Doctrines of Grace

THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY

Fri, 22 Dec 2006 22:10:00 -0700

THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY

Copyright Dr. Van Lees

One of the more important and central doctrines of Christianity is the doctrine of the Trinity. The concept that there is one God that subsists in three persons is essential to the Christian faith. J. Oliver Buswell, Jr., in his Systematic Theology of the Christian Religion states, "The doctrine of the Trinity is indispensable for the harmony and unity of other major doctrines in the Christian system" (p. 126). A good example of the essentiality of the doctrine of the Trinity is its relation to the incarnation of Christ. It would be impossible to conceive of God becoming man, dying for the sins of man, and rising from the dead apart from the concept of the Trinity.

WHY STUDY THEOLOGY?

Fri, 22 Dec 2006 21:10:00 -0700

WHY STUDY THEOLOGY?

Copyright Dr. Van Lees

Does theology really matter? That question is important in the present evangelical community because the systematic teaching of the Word of God is not present in many churches. Theology is said not to be connected with real life and, therefore, it is disparaged. David Wells, in his insightful book No Place For Truth addresses the lack of theology in the life of the Church: "The disappearance of theology from the life of the Church, and the orchestration of that disappearance by some of its leaders, is hard to miss today but, oddly enough, not easy to prove. It is hard to miss in the evangelical world - in the vacuous worship that is so prevalent, for example, in the shift from God to the self as the central focus of faith, in the psychologized preaching that follows this shift, in the erosion of its conviction, in its strident pragmatism, in its inability to think incisively about the culture, in its reveling in the irrational. And it would have made few of these capitulations to modernity had not is capacity for truth diminished. It is not hard to see these things; avoiding them is what is difficult. . . . The stakes are high: the anti-theological mood that now grips the evangelical world is changing its internal configuration, its effectiveness, and its relation to the past. It is severing the link to historical, Protestant orthodoxy. It is emancipating contemporary evangelicals to form casual alliances at will with a multitude of substitutes for this orthodoxy. And the reason for this is that what that orthodoxy had and what contemporary evangelicalism so often lacks is a theology at its center that defines the faith and prescribes the sorts of intellectual and practical relations is should establish in the world" (No Place For Truth, p. 95, 96). Dr. D. James Kennedy concurs with Wells and writes: "Ours is an era of malnourished church members who have been spoon-fed tapioca and cheesecake religion until their spiritual stomachs are bloated and their hearts are clogged with the cholesterol of meaningless 'I wanna be me' self-fulfillment" (How Do I Live For God? p. 9).

THE ORDER OF THE APPLICATION OF SALVATION

Wed, 20 Dec 2006 18:30:00 -0700

THE DOCTRINES OF SALVATION SERIES - PART 1

THE ORDER OF THE APPLICATION OF SALVATION

I remember watching a program a few years ago in which a huge maze of dominos was assembled. Lines of stacked dominos ran every direction in a large warehouse. The dominos went up little ramps and crossed each other. It took over a month to construct the intricate rows of dominos. At a signal, carefully positioned cameras began to film and the first domino was pushed over into the second one in the row. A massive chain reaction took place as the rows of dominos began to fall. Some rows split into three and four rows that fell simultaneously. The room was filled with the loud clatter of falling domino tiles. In just a few minutes, every domino had fallen. The stunt was dramatic and illustrated how closely related objects affect each other.

Wed, 20 Dec 2006 18:20:00 -0700

THE DOCTRINES OF SALVATION SERIES - PART 2

MANS RADICAL CORRUPTION

A favorite hymn of many Christians is Amazing Grace by John Newton. While this hymn is a favorite of many Christians, there are few Christians in the present evangelical community who know or understand the profound theology set forth in this hymn. The hymn proclaims the tremendous truth of God's divine initiative in our salvation.John Newton had been a slave trader who had been miraculously saved and became a minister. Because of his past, he understood well what he was writing when he penned the words: Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now am found, was blind but now I see. T'was grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved; How precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed. The words of the hymn emphasize that it is by God's grace that our hearts have an understanding of God, have a fear of God's justice and an awareness of our need, and that we are enabled to believe.

In a study of the doctrines of salvation, an understanding of the doctrine of man's radical corruption in sin is an essential starting point. Understanding man's condition in sin and his need before God is the foundation for understanding and appreciating the grace of God in our salvation.Today, most Christians realize that it is by God's grace that they are saved, but they do not comprehend the depth of their sin and the extent of grace that has been given them in their salvation. It is only when we realize the degree of our fallenness in sin that we realize the degree of grace that has been given to us in our salvation.This doctrine is not only crucial for understanding the grace of God in our salvation, but also for understanding almost every doctrine associated with our salvation.

In historical theology, man's condition in sin has been called Total Depravity.This terminology, however, is easily misunderstood.It does not mean that every human being is a bad as they could possibly be; that would be utter depravity.The phrase total depravity is attempting to communicate that sin affects every aspect of man's being.Sin dominates every aspect of a person's thoughts, actions, attitudes, and desires.Because of the misunderstanding associated with the term Total Depravity, many theologians prefer the term radical corruption.The term radical is derived from the Latin radix, which means root.Therefore, this term is saying that sin permeates the very core or root of man's being.

Wed, 20 Dec 2006 18:00:00 -0700

THE DOCTRINES OF SALVATION SERIES - PART 3

MANS MORAL INABILITY

In the first article of this series, we examined some of the aspects of man's radical corruption in sin. We observed that man is dead in sin (Eph. 2:1-3; Col. 2:13), represses the knowledge of God and creates idols (Rom. 1:18-25), does not do good according to God's law, and does not seek for God apart from the work of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 3:9-12). Because of the nature of man's sin, for a person to come to Jesus for salvation, God must take the initiative; God's divine initiative is the first step in anyone's salvation. The Bible's strong statements about the degree of man's corruption in sin and God's initiative in our salvation magnify the grace of God in salvation. This article continues this examination of man's corruption in sin which is classically called total depravity (meaning that sin affects man's total being) and God's divine initiative in our salvation.

EFFECTUAL CALLING AND REGENERATION

Wed, 20 Dec 2006 18:00:00 -0700

THE DOCTRINES OF SALVATION SERIES - PART 4

EFFECTUAL CALLING AND REGENERATION

In the last chapter, we examined the nature of man's sin and the consequent necessity of God being the divine initiator of our salvation.We are now going to consider the process by which God makes us alive in Chirst.Ephesians 2:1-5 states:

And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desire of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved. . . .

As we observed earlier, this passage proclaims that fallen man is dead in his sins and trespasses; he has no spiritual life or moral ability to respond to the gospel. His disposition and desires flow from a condition of spiritual death and, therefore, he does not desire God or have any inclination toward true faith and repentance.Verses 4 and 5 say that when we were in this condition God acted and made us alive in Christ Jesus:But God. . . made us alive together with Christ.There are two aspects to this work of God, calling and regeneration. Both are works of God that take place at the initial point of salvation in our lives and are closely linked together.The sovereign call of God is effective in that it produces the desired results.The term call implies that a person answers and responds to the call. This call of God is made effectual through the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit.¹The concept of regeneration addresses how the Holy Spirit changes the heart of fallen man so that he responds positively to the call of God. The person who is made alive in Christ, who is regenerated, acts according to a regenerate nature and responds positively to the gospel in faith and repentance.This chapter first examines effectual calling and then the concept of regeneration.

SAVING FAITH

Tue, 19 Dec 2006 20:30:00 -0700

THE DOCTRINES OF SALVATION SERIES - PART 5

SAVING FAITH

The question has sometimes been raised about which comes first, faith or repentance. The two concepts, however, are really twins that are linked together. Our faith is a repenting faith and our repentance is a believing repentance.In Acts 20:21, in the middle of Paul's farewell address to the Ephesian elders, he states, . . . solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.Paul sees faith and repentance as concomitants. While they are linked together, they are different concepts.

REPENTANCE UNTO LIFE

Tue, 19 Dec 2006 20:20:00 -0700

THE DOCTRINES OF SALVATION SERIES - PART 6

REPENTANCE UNTO LIFE

In the last chapter, we considered that once a person has been made alive spiritually by the work of the Holy Spirit, his regenerate heart naturally believes and repents. We have also observed that faith and repentance flow out of regeneration; they are not the cause of regeneration.Faith and repentance are closely connected;neither has a priority, but are best considered as twins.D. James Kennedy writes:Repentance and faith are inseparable in Scripture.There can be no genuine repentance without faith. And there is no genuine faith without repentance.The two go together as heads and tails on one coin.¹John Murray concurs:

The faith that is unto salvation is a penitent faith and the repentance that is unto life is a believing repentance. . . . It is impossible to disentangle faith and repentance.Saving faith is permeated with repentance and repentance is permeated with faith. Regeneration becomes vocal in our minds in the exercises of faith and repentance.²

Paul connects faith and repentance in Acts 20:21:. . . solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in ourLord Jesus Christ.

JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH ALONE

Tue, 19 Dec 2006 20:10:00 -0700

THE DOCTRINES OF SALVATION SERIES - PART 7

JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH ALONE: THE HEART AND ESSENCE OF THE GOSPEL

Martin Luther said that justification by faith alone is the article upon which the church stands or falls (articulus stantis et cadentis ecclesiae).¹Charles Spurgeon, concurred and stated, Any church which puts in the place of justification by faith in Christ another method of salvation is a harlot church.²The doctrine of justification by faith alone is the heart of the gospel.It is possible for Christians to be in error on a myriad of theological points and still be in a state of salvation, but if a person is wrong on the Bible's teaching concerning how a person is justified, they cannot be in a right relationship with God.The doctrine of justification by faith alone answers the most basic theological question:how can sinful man be right or just with God?How is it possible for people who have broken God's righteous law and are unholy to be right with the Holy One?John Murray expressed this idea well when he wrote:

In the last analysis sin is always against God, and the essence of sin is to be against God. The one who is against God cannot be right with God.For if we are against God then God is against us. It could not be otherwise. God cannot be indifferent to or complacent towards that which is the contradiction of himself. His very perfection requires the recoil of righteous indignation. And that is God's wrath.The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men (Rom. 1:18).This is our situation and it is our relation to God; how can we be right with him?³

THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY DEBATES ON JUSTIFICATION

Tue, 19 Dec 2006 20:00:00 -0700

THE DOCTRINES OF SALVATION SERIES - PART 8

THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY DEBATES ON JUSTIFICATION

In 1517 a monk in Germany nailed a document to a church door.There was nothing unusual about this since it was the common practice to use the church door as a bulletin board. Issues for debate were often nailed to the church door.However, the hammer blows that sounded that day reverberated throughout Europe.That monk was Martin Luther and the document he nailed to the door of the Castle Church at Wittenberg was his Ninety-five Theses.Luther invited the Wittenberg University students and faculty to a public debate regarding the university's position on the sale of letters of indulgence:Out of love and zeal for the elucidation of truth, the following theses will be debated at Wittenberg, the Reverend Father Martin Luther, Master of Arts and Sacred Theology, presiding.He begs that those who cannot be present at the oral discussion will communicate their views in writing. In the name of Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.¹Simply stated, an indulgence was a way in which a person could purchase merit before God, the idea being that one could ultimately gain enough merit before God to enter heaven.Luther's invitation to debate was followed by ninety-five points in which Luther challenged the practice of selling indulgences and set forth the New Testament message that salvation only comes through faith in Christ.Luther's timing was strategic.He posted his challenge to the sale of indulgences on the eve of All Saints' Day.The Castle Church at Wittenberg possessed almost 18,000 so-called sacred relics containing such absurd items as a twig from Moses' burning bush, five particles of the milk of the Virgin Mary, four pieces of the hair of Mary, three pieces ofthe shirt of Mary, one piece of the straw on which the Lord lay when he was born, and a thorn from Jesus' crown of thorns.² By viewing these relics and making the proper prayers, it was said that one could cancel out 1,902,202 years in purgatory.³Each year, on the Day of All Saints, the church was visited by thousands of pilgrims.They traveled to Wittenberg in order to pray before these special relics and earn the many years worth of indulgence before God. On November 1, 1517, however, as pilgrims entered the Castle Church, they read the Ninety-Five Theses which were questioning the very purpose of their pilgrimage. Luther's Ninety-Five Theses, in accordance with the teaching of the Bible, said that forgiveness is free through faith in Christ and that viewing religious relics had nothing to do with salvation.The Ninety-Five Theses were printed and circulated throughout Europe. Within one month, the content of the Theses was broadly known and there was intense interest in the outcome of the debate.Historically, this event touched off the Protestant Reformation as well as signaled the beginning of the most intense theological debate in Church history.