Will And Grace:

(An Excerpt from I Know Who I Have Chosen) 

Free Will & Sovereign Grace:  What is this ancient debate all about? Is it about God’s sovereignty? That God is ruler over all creation? Hopefully not! Denying His sovereign reign as God of all creation denies the God of the Bible. Every believer should acknowledge the absolute sovereignty of God over the universe. There is no God but God Almighty, YHWH, Jehovah, the triune Deity.

Is it about whether man has a will? Hopefully not! To deny that man makes choices is to deny the obvious. God made Adam with desires, intellect, emotions and a will, an ability to choose. After he sinned he still had desires, intellect and emotions but they were fallen, affected by his sin and depraved. Wasn’t Adam’s will fallen as well?

So what’s the problem? Simply this: How do we reconcile the absolute sovereignty of God with mankind’s ability to make choices? Some say God overrides the will of man and predestines everything to the point that man is just a pawn of fate. Others say that God limits his power to allow man to keep a totally free will. Some go so far as to say God limits his foreknowledge and omniscience. What does the Bible say?

First, let’s look at the Biblical examples where God requires humankind to make choices.

The Old Testament:

Joshua 24:14 “... fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River ...15 And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, ... But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Isa 1:16 “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil, 17 Learn to do good; ... 18 “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow... 19 If you are willing and obedient, You shall eat the good of the land;

The Gospels:

Matt 23:37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem ...How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks... but you were not willing!

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

John 7:17 If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God...

Book of Acts:

Acts 2:38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ ...

Paul’s Letters:

Rom 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find.

Also: 1 Cor 9:17; Phm 14; 1 Peter 5:2 

Now this is only a sample of many like verses, but it is evidence that begs the question, how much of our salvation is up to us and how much is up to the grace of God? Why does God tell us to seek and to choose if our ability to do so is damaged in the fall and disabled by our depravity? And how does ‘whosoever believes’ and ‘election’ go together?

There are other verses that people cite in contrast (not contradiction) to these, which seem to elevate the role of God’s choosing and election in salvation, and in other things pertaining to God’s will. Consider these verses:

The Old Testament:

Gen 25:21 … and Rebekah his wife conceived. 22 But the children struggled together within her … 23 And the Lord said to her: “Two nations are in your womb … One people shall be stronger than the other, And the older shall serve the younger.”  (see Rom 9:10 later)

Malachi 1:2 I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? Saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob, 3And I hated Esau… (see Rom 9:13 later)

Deut 7:6 “... the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, ... 7 The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people... 8 but because the Lord loves you…”

Neh 9:7 you are the LORD the God, who did choose Abram, and brought him forth out of Ur…

Psalm 65:4 Blessed is the man You choose, And cause to approach You…

The Gospels:

John 15: 16 You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you …

John 6: 44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; ...45 ...Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me.

John 13:18 “I do not speak concerning all of you. I know whom I have chosen…

John 17:6  “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they kept Your word.

Book of Acts:

Acts 2: 38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, ...be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ... 39 For the promise is to you, your children, and ....as many as the Lord our God will call.”

Acts 13:48 when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad ...And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.

Paul’s letters:

Rom 3: 10 “There is none righteous, no, not one; 11 ... none who seeks after God.

Rom 8:29 whom He foreknew He also predestined ... 30 ...whom He predestined He also called; whom He called He also justified; and whom He justified He also glorified.

Rom 9:10 ... (for the children not yet born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand ...), 12 it was said...“The older shall serve the younger.” 13 ...“Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.” ...15 For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.” 16 So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.

Rom 10:20 But Isaiah is very bold and says: “I was found by those who did not seek Me; I was shown to those who did not ask for Me.”

1 Cor 1:27 God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, God has chosen the weak ...28 and the base ...and the despised things God has chosen ...29 that no flesh should glory in His presence.

Eph 1: 4 …just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world... 5 having predestined us to adoption ...according to the good pleasure of His will... (cf. Eph 1:11)

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

James 2: 5  Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith...

1 Peter 1:1  Peter, ...to the pilgrims of the Dispersion... 2 elect according to the foreknowledge of God...

2 John 1  The Elder, To the elect lady and her children…

Jude 1  Jude, ...to those who are called, sanctified ...and preserved in Jesus Christ:

Once again there are many scriptures on the ability and need to choose to repent, believe, be baptized, etc; and many scriptures on God’s choosing. So the ancient question remains. How do we reconcile God’s sovereign election and man’s need or ability to make choices?

Some have said election is not individual. It just means all of those who have believed are in Christ and He is the elect one. It is true that Jesus was chosen by God to be the Messiah, but this view doesn’t do justice to the many verses on election of us individually. (Eph 1:4-5)

It is a belief that is well with-in the pale of orthodoxy and held by respected Bible Scholars. But it appears to many others that there is a richer, more personal, approach to God’s election.

Some have said, God saves people in spite of themselves and man’s choice only “seems” to be involved. (This is commonly seen in the view called hyper-Calvinism.) It doesn’t do justice to the scriptural call on us to repent, believe, and call on the name of the Lord. (John 3:16)

Think for a minute about the three primary states in which mankind has existed. In the garden, Adam and Eve were perfect. Their intellects, emotions, desires, and choices were all perfectly pure and unblemished for a time. Then sin came, and in every way we know, humanity was fallen; living in a state much less than perfection and without hope. Our desires became evil, our emotions and minds were darkened. Why not our will? I would say our wills were damaged, too.[1] Not completely done away with, any more than our brains or emotions were.

Now, people find themselves born again; forgiven and changed. This is the third human condition. The Bible says we are new creatures. So are you perfect now in all that you do? No? Can you make choices independent of the bondage to sin that you once were in? I think so. Do we always love the Lord with all our hearts, minds and strength? No, but are you able now to love the Lord at all? You can and do if you have been forgiven of sin, regenerated, and born again. We’re not like we will be in glory, but we’re better than we used to be when we were lost.

This is where we find ourselves then. God knew us intimately (Rom 8:29ff)[2] before we were born, before the world began He didn’t just know about us, He - Knew - Us.

(For the Booklet:) 

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[1] Rom 11:7 ...Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, 8 as it is written, "God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see, ears that would not hear, down to this very day." 9 David says, "Let their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them; 10 let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and bend their backs forever."

[2] Rom 8:29 for those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son... 30 And those whom he predestined he called, and those whom he called he justified, and those whom he justified he glorified.

Traditional Southern Baptist Understanding of God’s Plan of Salvation - And My Take On It. (Which could be considered my Correction of it.)

A Statement of the Traditional Southern Baptist Understanding of God’s Plan of Salvation

Preamble (Somewhat condensed)

Every generation of Southern Baptists has the duty to articulate the truths of its faith with particular attention to the issues that are impacting contemporary mission and ministry. The precipitating issue for this statement is the rise of a movement called “New Calvinism” among Southern Baptists. This movement is committed to advancing in the churches an exclusively Calvinistic understanding of salvation, characterized by an aggressive insistence on the “Doctrines of Grace” (“TULIP”), and to the goal of making Calvinism the central Southern Baptist position on God’s plan of salvation.     (Clark: (Underlining mine) Who is committed to that? I have not heard that from any of the Calvinistic Baptists that I know of. Am I committed not to deny I believe this and help others see the beauty of the doctrines of Grace? Certainly I’m committed to that. But not in order to change a denomination. Just to make the wonderful grace of Jesus known!)

     While Calvinists have been present in Southern Baptist life from its earliest days and have made important contributions to our history and theology, the majority of Southern Baptists do not embrace Calvinism. ...For the most part, Southern Baptists have been glad to relegate disagreements over Calvinism to secondary status ... The Southern Baptist majority has fellowshipped happily with its Calvinist brethren while resisting Calvinism itself. And, to their credit, most Southern Baptist Calvinists have not demanded the adoption of their view as the standard... but some New Calvinists seem to be pushing for a radical alteration of this long- standing arrangement. (Clark: (underlining mine) Who are these New Calvinists? Approximately 70% or more of Southern Baptist individuals, schools, and agencies are made up of non-Calvinistic Baptists. We know this. We still cooperate and support these same institutions.)

We propose that what most Southern Baptists believe about salvation can rightly be called “Traditional” Southern Baptist soteriology (Clark: I stand aghast at that proposal! Aghast I tell you!), which should be understood in distinction to “Calvinist” soteriology. ...the clear trajectory of the BF&M since 1925 is away from Calvinism (Clark: The 2000 BF&M put the brakes on that a bit). ... Without ascribing to Calvinism, Southern Baptists have reached around the world with the Gospel message of salvation by grace through faith in Christ alone (Clark: Yes, and some of them have been calvinistic Baptists.) ... While we are not insisting that every Southern Baptist affirm the soteriological statement below in order to have a place in the Southern Baptist family,(Clark: Well, thanks for that.) we are asserting that the vast majority of Southern Baptists are not Calvinists and that they do not want Calvinism to become the standard view in Southern Baptist life... (Clark: OK, I’m OK with that.)

    ...We believe that most Southern Baptists, ...will find the following statement consistent with what the Bible teaches and what Southern Baptists have generally believed about the nature of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. (Clark: Some Southern Baptists have “generally believed” this, but since the beginning of the convention there have been those who disagreed. Are they not traditional Baptists as well?)                                                      
(Clark: Also, while I embrace the Doctrines of Grace which were embraced by Spurgeon, Broadus, Manly, B.H. Carroll and others, I’m NOT a Calvinist. I reject infant baptism, pure covenantal theology, and double predestination. Just FYI.)

Articles of Affirmation and Denial : Article One: The Gospel

We affirm that the Gospel is the good news that God has made a way of salvation through the life, death, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ for any person. This is in keeping with God’s desire for every person to be saved.                                                                                                    We deny that only a select few are capable of responding to the Gospel while the rest are predestined to an eternity in hell.                                       Genesis 3:15; Psalm 2:1-12; Ezekiel 18:23, 32; Luke 19.10; Luke 24:45-49; John 1:1-18, 3:16; Romans 1:1-6, 5:8; 8:34; 2 Corinthians 5:17-21; Galatians 4:4-7; Colossians 1:21-23; 1 Timothy 2:3-4; Hebrews 1:1-3; 4:14-16; 2 Peter 3:9                                                                   
Clark: Agree! But recognize that God’s desire is not the same as His secret decreed will. Unless one recognizes that the “will” of God in scripture refers to 2 or 3 different things, this will be misunderstood. For instance, the 10 Commandments is a pretty good statement on the Will of God. This is how he desires people to act. Do all obey? Of course not. Also, it was God’s will that Jesus be crucified. Was he? You betcha! This was decreed by God to happen. See Psalm 22 and Isa 53.

Article Two: The Sinfulness of Man

We affirm that, because of the fall of Adam, every person inherits a nature and environment inclined toward sin and that every person who is capable of moral action will sin. Each person’s sin alone brings the wrath of a holy God, broken fellowship with Him, ever-worsening selfishness and destructiveness, death, and condemnation to an eternity in hell.                                                                                                                                                            We deny that Adam’s sin resulted in the incapacitation of any person’s free will or rendered any person guilty before he has personally sinned. While no sinner is remotely capable of achieving salvation through his own effort, we deny that any sinner is saved apart from a free response to the Holy Spirit’s drawing through the Gospel. Genesis 3:15-24; 6:5; Deuteronomy 1:39; Isaiah 6:5, 7:15-16;53:6; Jeremiah 17:5,9, 31:29-30; Ezekiel 18:19-20; Romans 1:18-32; 3:9-18, 5:12, 6:23; 7:9; Matthew 7:21-23; 1 Corinthians 1:18-25; 6:9-10;15:22; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Hebrews 9:27-28; Revelation 20:11-15

Clark: YES, to the Fall and the inherited fallen nature that humanity is born into. YES, to the fact that every person sins. But if everyone is bent towards sin, and everyone will sin, and does in fact sin, how can one claim that free will is not incapacitated in some way? If Free will is intact, why hasn’t there been another sinless person? Because, even though we still bear the image of God, we are totally depraved! That doesn’t mean as bad as we could possibly be, it simply means that every aspect of humanity, Will included, has been tainted by the Fall.                                                                                                                            

Rom. 7:14-15, 24 We know that the law is spiritual; but I am carnal, sold under sin. I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. ... Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?                                                                                                                 Rom 5:12  Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—    Humans are born dead! How can that not affect the human condition concerning spiritual things?

Article Three: The Atonement of Christ We affirm that the penal substitution of Christ is the only available and effective sacrifice for the sins of every person.                                                                                                                                           We deny that this atonement results in salvation without a person’s free response of repentance and faith. We deny that God imposes or withholds this atonement without respect to an act of the person’s free will. We deny that Christ died only for the sins of those who will be saved. Psalm 22:1-31; Isaiah 53:1-12; John 12:32, 14:6; Acts 10:39-43; Acts 16:30-32; Romans 3:21-26; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 3:10-14; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 1:13-20; 1 Timothy 2:5-6; Hebrews 9:12-15, 24-28; 10:1-18; I John 1:7; 2:2

Clark: I Absolutely Agree to the penal substitution of Christ. I agree that a person must respond in repentance and faith. But think about this quote from above: “We deny that God imposes or withholds this atonement without respect to an act of the person’s free will.” Does this mean that all persons on earth since the time of Christ had an opportunity to believe the gospel? Seriously? The Africans who never heard? The Native Americans that never had any access to the gospel prior to the 1500s? It seems to me there are many from whom God withheld the message of the Atonement of Christ. I don’t know why that is, but I accept it as part of God’s sovereign will.

Further, think about the possible outcome of leaving it all up to people to choose. Knowing that men's hearts are deceitfully wicked, if left to "Chance" No-one would be saved. God would have sent His Only Begotten for NO-One! That is unacceptable theology. Especially in light of scriptures telling us that we were chosen before the foundations of the world.

I do agree that Jesus’ death was sufficient for all.

Article Four: The Grace of God

We affirm that grace is God's generous decision to provide salvation for any person by taking all of the initiative in providing atonement, in freely offering the Gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit, and in uniting the believer to Christ through the Holy Spirit by faith.   
We deny that grace negates the necessity of a free response of faith or that it cannot be resisted. We deny that the response of faith is in any way a meritorious work that earns salvation.                                                                                                                
Ezra 9:8; Proverbs 3:34; Zechariah 12:10; Matthew 19:16-30, 23:37; Luke 10:1-12; Acts 15:11; 20:24; Romans 3:24, 27-28; 5:6, 8, 15-21; Galatians 1:6; 2:21; 5; Ephesians 2:8-10; Philippians 3:2-9; Colossians 2:13-17; Hebrews 4:16; 9:28; 1 John 4:19

Clark: Once again, I almost agree with the whole statement, but not quite. My only difficulty with this statement is in the phrase, “We deny that grace ... cannot be resisted.” Along with the general call there must be a call that “effects” and enables the change in the person who is dead in trespasses and sins. (Rom 8:28-30) When that effectual call occurs God’s grace will not be resisted.   
John 6:37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.   
John 6:44-45: "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.... Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me."                                                                                                                                                  John 6:65: "[N]o one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father."

Article Five: The Regeneration of the Sinner

We affirm that any person who responds to the Gospel with repentance and faith is born again through the power of the Holy Spirit. He is a new creation in Christ and enters, at the moment he believes, into eternal life.                    
We deny that any person is regenerated prior to or apart from hearing and responding to the Gospel. Luke 15:24; John 3:3; 7:37-39; 10:10; 16:7-14; Acts 2:37-39; Romans 6:4-11; 10:14; 1 Corinthians 15:22; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 2:20; 6:15; Colossians 2:13; 1 Peter 3:18

Clark: I used to believe this way. And still agree with the fist part, but not the denial. I have come to see that Biblically there is a regeneration, the dead person quickened so that they might express faith and repentance and be saved.           
Tts 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;                                                                                                                                                          Joh 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.                  
Philippians 2:13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to do his good pleasure.                                                                
The Lost cannot please God:  Rom 8:7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. 8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.                                                                                  
Without Faith one cannot please God.  Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him:                                                      So how can the lost please God when they are in the flesh, unless there is an enabling by God when He gives them the ability to believe? I would call that regeneration. Not salvation. That comes after the person freely believes and repents of sin. 1Co 2:14  But the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

Article Six: The Election to Salvation

We affirm that, in reference to salvation, election speaks of God's eternal, gracious, and certain plan in Christ to have a people who are His by repentance and faith.                                                                                                 We deny that election means that, from eternity, God predestined certain people for salvation and others for condemnation. Genesis 1:26-28; 12:1-3; Exodus 19:6; Jeremiah 31:31-33; Matthew 24:31; 25:34; John 6:70; 15:16; Romans 8:29- 30, 33;9:6-8; 11:7; 1 Corinthians 1:1-2; Ephesians 1:4-6; 2:11-22; 3:1-11; 4:4-13; 1 Timothy 2:3-4; 1 Peter 1:1-2; 1 Peter 2:9; 2 Peter 3:9; Revelation 7:9-10

Clark: I Agree in part. Here the writers are arguing with those who believe in double predestination. That before time God chose some to be saved and some to be damned. Let me ask you this: Did God know before time who would be saved and who would be damned? If Yes, then, could anything change what God already knew would happen? No.                                              So here is what happened. Omniscient God knew that Adam would sin. That death would be passed on to all humanity. Then God purposed to save some. None deserved it. All are without excuse, but He made a way to save some of those who were in Christ’s own words, “condemned already.” (Jn 3:17)     
Acts 13:48: And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.
Romans 8:29-30: For whom (the individuals He knew personally) He foreknew He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren; and whom He predestined, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.                       
Ephesians 1:5: He predestined us (not some) to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will.

Article Seven: The Sovereignty of God

We affirm God’s eternal knowledge of and sovereignty over every person’s salvation or condemnation.            We deny that God’s sovereignty and knowledge require Him to cause a person’s acceptance or rejection of faith in Christ. Genesis 1:1; 6:5-8; 18:16-33; 22; 2 Samuel 24:13-14; 1 Chronicles 29:10-20; 2 Chronicles 7:14; Joel 2:32; Psalm 23; 51:4; 139:1-6; Proverbs 15:3; John 6:44; Romans 11:3; Titus 3:3-7; James 1:13-15; Hebrews 11:6, 12:28; 1 Peter 1:17

Clark: I agree 100%. BUT, unless God enables a person to have faith in Christ, no-one will be saved.                                            Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.                                                                                                                                                                            However you parse the above verse, faith is at least part of the Gift of God. Along with grace, it stands over against works. Again, the lost, carnal, natural man cannot please God, understand the things of God, or express faith in God. God has to give him faith, that he then freely places in Christ.

Article Eight: The Free Will of Man

We affirm that God, as an expression of His sovereignty, endows each person with actual free will (the ability to choose between two options), which must be exercised in accepting or rejecting God’s gracious call to salvation by the Holy Spirit through the Gospel.                                                                                                                      We deny that the decision of faith is an act of God rather than a response of the person. We deny that there is an “effectual call” for certain people that is different from a “general call” to any person who hears and understands the Gospel. Genesis 1:26-28; Numbers 21:8-9; Deuteronomy 30:19; Joshua 24:15; 1 Samuel 8:1-22; 2 Samuel 24:13-14; Esther 3:12-14; Matthew 7:13-14; 11:20-24; Mark 10:17-22; Luke 9:23-24; 13:34; 15:17-20; Romans 10:9-10; Titus 2:12; Revelation 22:17

Clark: Now this one is just unfortunate! The ability to choose between two options is fine as long as neither option requires FAITH or REPENTANCE! Which shirt to put on, which way to turn the car, what to eat for dinner: All fall within the realm of human choice.                                                                                                                                                                          Romans 8 clearly teaches that all who are called are justified. (The called were already predestined) There must be a difference between the call of the evangelist and the Call of the Spirit of God. God is the caller, the church merely echoes that call.                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Rom 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.                                                                                    Rev 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that hears say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

Article Nine: The Security of the Believer

We affirm that when a person responds in faith to the Gospel, God promises to complete the process of salvation in the believer into eternity. This process begins with justification, whereby the sinner is immediately acquitted of all sin and granted peace with God; continues in sanctification, whereby the saved are progressively conformed to the image of Christ by the indwelling Holy Spirit; and concludes in glorification, whereby the saint enjoys life with Christ in heaven forever.                                                                                                                                      We deny that this Holy Spirit-sealed relationship can ever be broken. We deny even the possibility of apostasy. John 10:28-29; 14:1-4; 16:12-14; Philippians 1:6; Romans 3:21-26; 8:29,30; 35-39; 12:1-3; 2 Corinthians 4:17; Ephesians 1:13-14; Philippians 3:12; Colossians 1:21-22; 1 John 2:19; 3:2; 5:13-15; 2 Timothy 1:12; Hebrews 13:5; James 1:12; Jude 24-25

Clark: I agree 100%. But, of course, I would add, that salvation is all of God and all of Grace and since we didn’t bring ourselves into His Kingdom neither can we take ourselves out. But then I’d probably be just wishing for a fight! ;-)

Article Ten: The Great Commission

We affirm that the Lord Jesus Christ commissioned His church to preach the good news of salvation to all people to the ends of the earth. We affirm that the proclamation of the Gospel is God's means of bringing any person to salvation.                                                                                                                                                                 We deny that salvation is possible outside of a faith response to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Psalm 51:13; Proverbs 11:30; Isaiah 52:7; Matthew 28:19-20; John 14:6; Acts 1:8; 4:12; 10:42-43; Romans 1:16, 10:13-15; 1 Corinthians 1:17-21; Ephesians 3:7-9; 6:19-20; Philippians 1:12-14; 1 Thessalonians 1:8; 1 Timothy 2:5; 2 Timothy 4:1-5

Clark: and finally, I agree with this 100% as well. In fact, I support Southern Baptist Missionaries knowing that many would probably sign this document and disagree with me. But I trust they preach Jesus and Him crucified for our sins. And that salvation comes only by Grace through Faith.

Forever Eternally Imperishably Saved Part Dos

Second, let’s consider scriptures that talk about the “How” of Salvation:

Eze 36:25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

See all the “I wills” of God here? God does all those things not believers. If you can reject God after salvation what happens to the new heart and God’s Spirit He gave you? That which is eternal cannot die by nature of the fact that it is eternal.

John 1:12  But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

Faith produces sonship, but new birth (regeneration) is strictly the work of God. It has NOTHING to do with man’s will. We do not ‘choose’ to be born. (1^st time or 2^nd) What happens to a New Creature if he rejects Christ? Can he cease to be a new creature?

Eph 2:1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2. in which you once walked, following the course of this world...

Eph 2:4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love... 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved-- 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

 

We were dead. We could not repent and believe until we were made alive. Drowning men can grab a lifeline, but Dead men can’t. Also see: Col 2:13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,

Jas 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights... 18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first-fruits of his creatures.

Salvation is a gift, as are repentance and faith[1]. The word “Grace” means gift. If you ‘could’ choose to believe it would not be entirely of His Will.

Act 16:14 One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira... who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul.

Why did God open her heart?

1Co 2:14 the natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.

            You see, the ‘natural’ man cannot receive the things of God. That would include the gifts of faith and repentance. He must be changed by regeneration in order to understand, believe, repent, follow etc.

            Yes! People do have a will. There are many places where choices made by humanity are called for and even required. “Choose you this day whom you will serve...”, “Come unto me all who labor...”, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ...” There is such a thing as man’s will, but no where in scripture is man said to have a free will. Maybe, in the Garden before the fall, man had a free will. (I still don’t think he could fly so his will has always been limited to some degree, because our will is always limited by our abilities.[2]) But after the fall, man’s will was limited all the more.

            What did the Fall of Adam produce?

Gen 6:5 “The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”

            Man’s fallen will is corrupted and has little to do with Salvation. Man was bent toward sin.[3] He sinned “Freely” not under compulsion to sin, but sin was a necessary outcome because his nature was sinful.

            God’s nature is Holy. Does God have a free will? Well, let’s consider this. He only does good and He does not sin, why? Because, He acts according to His nature; which is Holiness and Love, He is merciful and just, and all powerful.

            The whole idea of "Totally Free" will in man is false and irrelevant. In effect it wants to say, Man doesn’t need God’s intervention. And THAT makes it dangerous, too. Satan may be said to have started this delusion when he said to Eve, “You shall not surely die.”

            Men who insist on their Free Will are insisting in contradiction to the Sovereignty of God, or the Perfect Foreknowledge of God, or both.[4] Being locked into the idea of "Free Will" People often come to scripture and force the paradigm they they believe in onto what Scripture says. All of us are capable of doing that. But we need to see scripture for what it truly teaches not what we want it to teach. 

Once one realizes that salvation begins with God’s initiative and God’s act to regenerate, however, one realizes what God makes eternally alive, no man can kill!

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[1] Eph_2:8 by grace you’ve been saved through faith. And it is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,

[2] God, it could be said, has no limit on His abilities.

  Rom_5:14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam.... 1Co_15:22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 

[4] I used to hear God described as a Gentleman who won’t force you to do His will. First, nowhere does the Bible say God is a gentleman. Second, He does in fact force Hell on sinners who don’t repent.