How Faith Receives

"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works lest anyone should boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9). 

Faith receives "the gift of God." We cannot earn nor do we deserve God's salvation in Christ. It's by grace through faith. That means it's "not of yourselves." God saves you by grace, and it's through faith in the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).

Faith receives the Lord Jesus Christ. That faith is one of the three abiding gifts of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 13:13). The Holy Spirit enables you to come to God by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit, who inspired the Holy Scripture, uses the word of God to bring the gift of faith to you (Romans 10:17).

Faith receives the gospel of Jesus our Lord. He died for our sins. He is risen from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Believers confess, Jesus is Lord. And no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:3). The Holy Spirit gives us assurance of the gospel of Christ (1 Thessalonians 1:5).

Faith receives Christ to the praise of God's glory (Ephesians 1:6, 12, 14). To God alone be the glory! There is no room for us to receive glory, when it's all of God's grace. It is not our work for God, but God's gracious work for us in Christ, to the praise of His glory (Philippians 1:6; 2:13).

Believe and Be Saved

"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved" (Acts 16:31). The Bible is clear to answer the question. Base your salvation on the written word of God in your Bible. Trust the promise of God to save you as a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved through the gospel. The gospel teaches Christ died for our sins. He is risen from the dead as our living Savior and Lord (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Believers confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Romans 10:9). 

Believe and be completely saved. God promises that Christ does in you what you could never do for yourself (Hebrews 13:20-21). God will "make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen" (vs. 21).  Therefore, to be saved is to please God through Christ. Your relationship with God in Christ is forever.

Believe and be saved by grace through faith in Christ. Jesus is the fulness of God's grace (John 1:16). The grace of Christ saves you through faith in Christ. Grace in Christ is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8-9). Grace is God's unmerited favor for sinners. You are saved by God's grace in Christ.

God saves us "that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory" (Ephesians 1:12). To God alone be the glory, "to the praise of the glory of His grace by which He made us accepted in the Beloved" (Ephesians 1:6).

God Speaks Today

God speaks today. Scripture makes it clear. "Today if you will hear his voice, do not harden your hearts" (Hebrews 3:15). God speaks today through the Bible. It's God's love letter to us. The Holy Spirit inspired the words of Holy Scripture centuries ago, but He still speaks through it. Those who believe not, can only read printed words on paper. Believers read words that speak to their hearts. God is speaking today through the Bible.

God speaks today to your heart. The heart is your mind, will, and emotions. His word to you is through the Holy Spirit. God's voice has been seldom heard by the ears of men, even in Bible times. God's word in the Bible will speak daily to your heart. 

God speaks today to all of his children. God has important things to say to us through the Scripture (2 Timothy 3:16). He speaks in a personal and intimate way to every believer. God communicates that we may experience his love in our hearts, "because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us" (Romans 5:5).

God's Spirit, who inspired the Holy Scripture, speaks to the hearts of all God's children. God shares His thoughts with us. They are eternal thoughts found in your Bible from the Father above. God's thoughts encourage us, console and comfort us. His thoughts strengthen us and assure us. "God is love" (1 John 4:8). God speaks today with love.

Effectual Grace

The TULIP acronym uses the expression irresistible grace. But, is grace irresistible? R. C. Sproul, a Reformed theologian wrote, "The term irresistible grace is misleading." He further wrote, "God's grace is resistible in the sense that we can and do resist it." Dr. Sproul concluded, "Thus I prefer the term effectual grace."

Scripture is clear that people resist the grace of God. "You always resist the Holy Spirit" (Acts 7:51). Scripture also speaks of those who have "insulted the Spirit of grace" (Hebrews 10:29). Until the Holy Spirit comes with conviction and changes our hearts, we resist God's grace. Thereafter, we desire to follow Christ and seek to do God's will.

Dr. Sproul used his preferred term, effectual grace. That is grace which effectively changes the hearts of people through the gospel of Jesus Christ. In the book of Acts, Lydia is an example of effectual grace. "The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul" (Acts 16:14). She heard the gospel, believed and was baptized.

If people resist the grace of God by rejecting the gospel, it's their choice. They are responsible for their own just condemnation. However, if people hear and believe the gospel of Christ, they do so because the Holy Spirit works effectual grace in their hearts.

The Natural Man

Do we have free will? Yes, as far as natural ability is concerned. Reason and experience makes that obvious. But, do we have free will as far spiritual things are concerned? Absolutely not, we are unable to understand until we are born of the Spirit.

Jonathan Edwards taught that free will from a biblical standpoint must be distinguished between natural ability and spiritual ability. All people have free will as far as natural ability is concerned. That is to say, God has given all of us the ability of choice in the natural world. Yet, the natural man without Jesus Christ is in bondage to sin and unbelief as far as spiritual ability is concerned.

Edwards view of free will is consistent with Scripture, and the teaching of the apostle Paul. The natural man cannot receive the things of the Spirit of God (1 Corinthians 1:18; 2:12-14). He is spiritually dead in sin and trespasses (Ephesians 2:1). His mind is unable to discern and believe what the Holy Spirit teaches (John 3:10-12).

Only when we are born of the Spirit, through faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ, are we able to understand and truly believe what Scripture teaches. The natural man cannot receive the things of the Spirit of God. After new birth, the Holy Spirit becomes our teacher through Scripture, guiding us into all truth. And, that truth is found in the one who is the truth, Jesus our Lord (John 14:6). 

3 Views on Election

Election is the doctrine that God chose His people in Christ (Ephesians 1:4-6). Serious students of Scripture cannot deny that this doctrine is taught in the Bible. The debate arises over how and why God chose His people. This debate over election has continued for centuries. Consider three views on election. 

Conditional election teaches the view that God chose certain people to salvation, because He foresaw they would believe in Christ (Acts 16:30-31). The condition for salvation, according to the Bible, is believing in the Lord Jesus Christ (John 3:16). Therefore, if salvation is conditional, then our election must be conditional. 

Unconditional election teaches that God did not choose any person to salvation in Christ based upon foresight of what they would do (Romans 9:11). Therefore, our election to salvation is according to whom God foreknew (Romans 8:29-30). Others are left in their choice of rebellion to be justly condemned according to God's justice, based upon their personal sins (Romans 9:22).

Corporate election teaches that the primary election is of Christ. He is the Elect One, chosen to redeem us (Isaiah 42:1). Therefore, our election is in the Elect One, Jesus Christ our Lord. The apostle Paul spoke of those "who also were in Christ before me" (Romans 16:7). All who come to faith in Christ are baptized by the Holy Spirit into Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13).  

Faith Resting in Christ

Charles Spurgeon wrote, "My faith rests not upon what I am or shall be or feel or know, but in what Christ is, in what He has done, and in what He is now doing for me. Hallelujah!" 

Faith must rest in Christ and not in ourselves. We know that we are sinners and Christ died for our sins. We are not trusting in self-righteousness. Faith is in the righteousness of Christ. He is our righteousness.

Spurgeon taught faith is "in what Christ is, in what He has done, and in what He is now doing." That's our faith resting in Christ alone. We are "looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith" (Hebrews 12:2).

Faith is confidence and assurance resting in Christ, and not in ourselves. It is knowing Christ as our Surety (Hebrews 7:22). He is our guarantee of eternal salvation. 

We may testify with Spurgeon, "My faith rests not upon what I am or shall be or feel or know, but in what Christ is, in what He has done, and in what He is now doing for me. Hallelujah!" 

Yes, true faith will rest in Christ alone. We confess, "I am a sinner for whom Christ died." We are focused upon Christ crucified for our sins. No self-righteousness do we claim. We know by faith, that Christ died for our sins. He is risen from the dead as our living Lord.

Our Daily Cleansing

John Owen (1616-1683) a Puritan theologian saw the believer's need for daily cleansing. He wrote, "Go daily to Jesus for cleansing. Hence also is manifest the necessity we have of continual applications to Jesus Christ for cleansing virtue from his Spirit and the sprinkling of his blood on our consciences to purge them from dead works."

Owen recognized the need for daily cleansing from our sins as believers. Not only did he recognize the need, but more importantly, he recognized that cleansing is open daily for all believers. Our conscience witnesses to our need. The blood of Jesus avails to cleanse us from all sin.

There are no perfect Christians here below. Our temptations continue. Our battle with the flesh is reality (Galatians 5:17). The believer's sanctification is not perfect nor complete. Our growth in holiness continues, but we do sin from time to time. Free from the bondage to sin, we are not yet free from the temptation to sin.

Our Lord Jesus not only cleanses us at the point of conversion, but he graciously continues to cleanse us as we confess our sins (1 John 1:7, 9). Scripture warns us not to claim that we are sinless. If we do, then we only deceive ourselves (1 John 1:8, 10). John Owen wisely saw "the believer's need for daily cleansing." 

Your New Creation

The Word and Spirit brings forth your new creation in Christ. The word of the gospel is about the Word who became flesh, even Jesus Christ our Lord (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). The power of the Holy Spirit, who inspired the written word of God, makes you a new creation through faith the gospel of Christ (Romans 1:16).

John MacArthur wrote "The unbelieving heart must be made alive, transformed, cleansed, and renewed (Ephesians 2:4). And it is the Holy Spirit who regenerates sinners, such that those who were formerly miserable wretches are reborn as new creations in Christ."

MacArthur further stated, "To see a spiritually dead sinner made alive in Christ Jesus by the power of the Spirit is to witness an actual miracle of God." He concluded, "The same Source of explosive power that brought the world into existence out of nothing is today at work in the hearts and lives of the redeemed."

The Spirit of God who moved in creation, has moved in your new creation. Every time a sinner is truly born again, there is new creation. If anyone is in Christ, he has become a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). God's Spirit takes away a heart like stone to create a new heart within you (Psalm 51:10; Ezekiel 36:26). The agent of your new creation is the power of the Holy Spirit.

Christ Revealed to All

The Holy Bible is actually 66 books and letters in the Old and New Testaments. Many would think that Revelation is one of the hardest books in the Bible to understand. Christ is the key to interpreting the Book of Revelation. It is "The Revelation of Jesus Christ" (Revelation 1:1). From Genesis to Revelation, Christ is revealed to all in the Bible.

The revelation of Jesus Christ to all is in the Bible, inspired by the Holy Spirit. He is the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament. The prophets spoke of the One who was coming. The New Testament declared He has come. His name is JESUS, who came as the Messiah of Israel and the Savior of the world. 

Christ is revealed to all in the Bible through progressive revelation. God spoke in times of old by the prophets who knew in part and prophesied in part (Hebrews 1:1-2). Today, we have the full revelation of Jesus Christ. He is the Word of God incarnate. "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14).

All Scripture points all to Christ. There are literally hundreds of types pointing toward Christ in the Old Testament. For example, the Passover Lamb in Exodus points toward Christ our Passover. "For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us" (1 Corinthians 5:7). It's the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Filled with the Spirit

All Christians are commanded to "be filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18). Those who are filled with the Spirit yield to the love and power of God (Acts 1:8; Ephesians 3:19). How can we be filled with the Holy Spirit? The Bible gives us clear instruction about being filled with the Spirit.

On the Day of Pentecost the disciples were both baptized and filled with the Spirit (Acts 1:5; 2:4). They were baptized by the Spirit to become the body of Christ collectively. They were individually filled with the Spirit. Nowhere in Scripture are you commanded to be baptized with the Spirit. Believers are commanded to be filled, and to keep on being filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18).

We are filled with the Holy Spirit through prayer. "And when they had prayed . . . they were all filled with the Holy Spirit" (Acts 4:31). The apostle Paul wrote his prayer for all believers to be filled with God's Spirit (Ephesians 3:14-21). Those who are filled with the Holy Spirit are filled with the power of God's love.

We are filled with the Holy Spirit yielding to Jesus Christ as Lord through prayer and obedience. For that reason, A.W. Tozer could say, "The Spirit-filled life is not a special, deluxe edition of Christianity. It is part and parcel of the total plan of God for His people."

Condemned or Justified

Justification is a legal term. In court, one accused of a crime is either condemned or justified. Based upon the merit of Christ, sinners are justified before God. His sinless life and substitutionary death on the cross for sinners is the basis for our justification. We are justified "through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:24).

We are justified by faith in Christ. "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1). Faith is trust and confidence, relying upon Christ alone. By faith in Christ, sinners are justified with God.

We are justified by grace alone through faith in Christ. Faith receives the grace of God in Christ. Faith is the evidence that the believer is justified before God. It is the assurance of faith. "Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed" (Romans 4:16).

We are justified by faith alone in Christ unto righteousness. The only way we can become righteous before God is by faith alone. Righteousness is the gift of God to us. "But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness" (Romans 4:5).

Confess Jesus Is Lord

"That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans 10:9). Is Jesus your Lord? If so, you believe that Jesus is risen indeed. Therefore, you confess Jesus is Lord.

Jesus risen from the dead is the singular most important doctrine in the Christian faith (1 Corinthians 15:17). The salvation of every believer rests upon the resurrection of Christ. It's the miracle you must believe to be saved. Confessing Jesus as Lord is the earliest confession of the Christian faith. It focuses upon the resurrection of Jesus as our confession of faith.

You are willing to confess Jesus is Lord, when the Spirit of God convinces you (John 16:7-11). The Holy Spirit illumines the mind and brings you to repentance, a change of mind, concerning the resurrection of Christ. Then and only then, you will truly confess that Jesus is Lord, because you know the truth personally. "No one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit" (1 Corinthians 12:3).

Believing the gospel and confessing from your heart that Jesus is Lord means you are saved. The word saved means to be delivered from the condemnation and judgment of your sins. Also, it means to be delivered from the wages of sin which is death (Romans 6:23). To be saved is to receive eternal life through the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Spirit's Abiding Gifts

The Christian life is Christ in you. The Spirit of Christ, also know as the Holy Spirit indwells every believer (Romans 8:9). Upon believing the gospel of Christ, you are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, "having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise" (Ephesians 1:13). The Holy Spirit is in you with the abiding gifts of faith, hope, and love (1 Corinthians 13:13).

The Spirit of Christ abides in you with the gift of faith. It is the faith of Jesus Christ. "Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith" (Hebrews 12:2). The Holy Spirit abides in every Christian with the gift of faith. It is faith from Christ and faith in Christ. Faith is trust, confidence, and reliance upon Christ.

The Spirit of Christ abides in you with the gift of hope. It is your hope in Christ. The Holy Spirit brings hope in Christ. It is the hope of glory, which means the hope of the believer's glorification. Everything you are, or hope to be, is in Christ. We are "looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ" (Titus 2:13).

The Spirit of Christ abides in you with the gift of love. It is the Father's love for us in Christ and our love for Christ. Love is a gift of the Holy Spirit and the greatest evidence of Christ in you. Without the love of Christ, there is no real and true Christian life. Christ in you is the love of the Holy Spirit in your heart (Romans 5:5).

The Trinity Revealed

The Trinity of God is revealed as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Bible clearly reveals the Trinity in your eternal salvation. There is election by the Father, redemption by the Son, and regeneration by the Holy Spirit. The three eternal Persons of the Holy Trinity work in perfect harmony from the beginning to the completion of your salvation.

Water baptism reveals a public testimony to the Trinity. Jesus commanded us to baptize believers in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19). Praise Father, Son, and Holy Spirit for your eternal salvation. The triune God saves you to the praise of His glorious grace (Ephesians 1:6, 12, 14).

God the Father chose to save us by grace through His Son Jesus. God the Son came to reveal the fullness of God's grace (John 1:14). That grace for sinners was fully revealed at the cross of Jesus. His substitutionary death guarantees your eternal salvation, for you and all who believe the gospel (1 Cor. 15:1-4). His glorious resurrection is every believer's justification.

God the Holy Spirit is revealed as the Spirit of grace, applying eternal salvation to your heart. The Holy Spirit seals every believer as the guarantee of your eternal salvation, complete unto glorification in the day Christ returns (Ephesians 1:13-14).

God's Desire for All

"For this is good and acceptable to God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth" (1 Timothy 2:3-4). God desires all to be saved from death, judgment, and everlasting punishment. God sent His Son into the world to make the one and only sacrifice which is sufficient to save sinners (Romans 3:23; 5:8).

God desires all to trust in Christ. None who sincerely trust in Christ will be turned away (John 6:37). No one who believes in Him will be disappointed (Romans 10:11). God's call to salvation is for all nations, Jew and Gentile (Romans 1:16; Acts 1:8). The gospel of Christ is freely offered to all people.

God desires all to repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 16:31; 17:30). This speaks of our responsibility. Those who refuse to repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ are responsible for their own just condemnation (Luke 13:3, 5). All who repent and believe the gospel of Jesus Christ will be saved (John 3:36; Acts 2:37-39).

God desires all to come to "the knowledge of the truth" (1 Timothy 2:4). Jesus said, "I am the truth" (John 14:6). The Spirit of truth uses the word of truth to bring us to the one who is the truth (John 16:13; 17:17). God will not save anyone who rejects the truth. Those who reject the truth, believe the lie. They perish, "because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved" (2 Thessalonians 2:10).

What Is Foreknowledge?

God's foreknowledge includes his people in Christ. He foreknows us as justified and glorified in Christ. God foreknows our salvation as done. In Romans 8:28-30, God's purpose in salvation is a prolepsis (i.e., to see before). God foreknows all who shall be in Christ (1 Peter 1:2).

Although God foreknows us in Christ, everyone is commanded to repent and believe the gospel (Luke 13:3, 5; Acts 16:31). However, only those who repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ will be saved. As believers, we experienced the gospel in power with assurance. That was the Holy Spirit working in our hearts (1 Thessalonians 1:5).

God foreknows us justified by grace through faith in Christ. We are justified through the death of Jesus Christ for our sins. Justification is by faith in the power of his resurrection. Justification means all our sins are taken away through the blood of Jesus (1 John 1:7). God declares us justified by faith in Christ. "It is God who justifies" (Romans 8:33).

God foreknows us glorified in the image or likeness of Christ. Glorification is salvation complete. "We shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is" (1 John 3:2). What is future for us as believers is now in the foreknowledge of God. Therefore, God foreknows us as glorified in the very image and likeness of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Two Sides of Election

The Bible doctrine of election has two sides. There is the divine side and the human side. God chose His people in Christ before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4-6). However, the believer makes his calling and election sure in time (2 Peter 1:10).

God chose the elect before He created time. The elect are born again at a certain point in time. God chose the time of their conversion, but they must respond to His grace through repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (Galatians 1:15; 2:20).

The debate over election continues, as some look at the doctrine from God's perspective, and others look at it from man's view. If you begin with God, election is unconditional. If you begin with man, election is conditional. If you begin with God, election is certain to all the elect. If you begin with man, election is always contingent upon the response of repentance and faith. Jesus said, "unless you repent, you will all likewise perish" (Luke 13:3).

The two sides of election are based upon God's sovereignty and man's responsibility. God chose His elect in Christ before time began. Yet, we are responsible to receive Jesus Christ by faith (John 1:11-12). We must make our calling and election sure, as we grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:10; 3:18).

If We Confess Our Sins

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). God promises to forgive our sins and cleanse us. God forgives us according to His word of promise. Confess your sins to God and be forgiven and cleansed from all sin.

God forgives all who agree that they have sinned (1 John 1:8-10). However, we never need to beg God to forgive us. Our faith is based upon the faithfulness of God to forgive us. He has clearly promised to forgive and cleanse us.

God forgives all who believe His written word. All the covenant promises of the Bible are made by the sworn oath of God to His people. The New Covenant (Testament) of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ provides a sacrifice at the cross which removes all of our sins (1 John 1:7).

God has sworn with a covenant promise to forgive you. "For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more" (Hebrews 8:12). God forgives sinners. It's based upon God's covenant oath.

God is faithful to forgive you. He is sure to forgive and cleanse you from all sin. As a believer, you can know that you are clean before God. It is based upon what Christ did for you at the cross (1 John 1:7). He took your sins away (John 1:29). God will forgive you and cleanse you from all sin. He is faithful to His covenant word to perform it.

God's Grace for You

The apostle Paul often began his New Testament letters with the words grace and peace. For example, notice Romans 1:7, "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." Knowing God as Father through our Lord Jesus Christ is by grace alone. Grace for you is peace from God. 

God's grace for you is never earned. Grace comes as unmerited favor received through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9). It comes to you as the gift of God, through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Grace comes as God's unmerited favor in your heart and life.

God's grace for you is confirmed with the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). That includes peace. "And the peace of God that passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:7). You experience peace through grace. It defies explanation to those who have never experienced it. Only the Holy Spirit can make God's peace real to you. It's a fruit of God's Spirit working grace in your heart and mind (Galatians 5:22).

God's grace for you changes your heart. It happens within you. That's in your mind, will, and emotions. Peace confirms it. God's presence in your life brings love, joy, and peace, through the Holy Spirit. That's grace for you.