What We Believe: Doctrine of Salvation

Announcements

Tomorrow, from 11 AM til noon, the J.O.Y. Connection Group will have their monthly “Lunch & Stuff” to prepare our seed packets for Soul Winning Saturday.

If we do not have enough volunteers, we will be unable to follow through with our Festival of Trees in December.

Make your plans to participate in Soul Winning Saturday this Saturday, November 5th.

What We Believe

Last week, I wrapped up my message by finishing out what we believe regarding Man. The last part of our doctrinal statement, in that section, states:

We believe that consequently, his posterity inherit a corrupt nature, being born in sin and under its condemnation, and, as soon as they become capable of moral action, become actual transgressors.

Romans 5:12 KJV 1900

Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

Romans 3:23 KJV 1900

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

I want to use this specific point of our doctrinal statement as an opportunity to open the door on another subject that I will continue to look at in the coming weeks:

Calvinism

This evening, I am just going to crack the door open, just a bit, to this subject. As we continue through our doctrinal statement, I will address this subject in more detail.

What is Calvinism?

In his book, Forewarned & Forearmed, Dr. Chris Shepler wrote:

So, what is Calvinism? It is a theological error of mammoth proportions that undermines the will of God for the lost, that restricts the death of Christ to only an elect few and that takes away the free will of man either to accept or reject Christ as his or her Saviour. Ultimately it robs the Gospel of its open invitation to all men to be saved and dooms most men to a lost eternity with no Saviour to save them. That, my friends, is not the message of the Bible!

With that, it should be obvious where I stand in regards to Calvinism. I am not a Calvinist.

I had an individual, whom I’ve never met before, email me recently, and pointedly ask me, “Are you a Calvinists?” My response to them was simply, “No.”

The teachings of Calvinism are usually divided into five basic points.

While some individuals may consider themselves to be 3 point Calvinists or even 7 point Calvinists, most, I believe, would consider themselves to be 5 point Calvinists.

These 5 points make up an acrostic which spells:

T.U.L.I.P

Those 5 points are:

Total Depravity (or Total Inability)

Unconditional Election

Limited Atonement

Irresistible Grace

Perseverance of the Saved

Tonight, I will only use the first point to crack open the door to Calvinism:

The Total Depravity of Man

Now, it may surprise you - or not - but I also believe in the total depravity of man! (And this is the reason why I have opened this particular door right now.)

As one preacher stated,

“...all of mankind is morally corrupt, sinfully evil and completely defiled by sin from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet and throughout this innermost core being!”

I wholeheartedly agree with that!

Romans 3:23 KJV 1900

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Romans 7:18 KJV 1900

For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.

Jeremiah 17:9 KJV 1900

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

However, this is why it is so important for us to, as I say, define our words!

In his book, The Dark Side of Calvinism, George Bryson points out another author who incorrectly equates the Calvinist doctrine of total depravity with the biblical truth that…all have sinned.

As long as Christians erroneously assume that the Calvinist distinctive of total depravity is simply that all have sinned, they will continue to think erroneously that they believe in or agree with the first point of Calvinism.

A Calvinist twists the truth that all have sinned beyond recognition.

Dr. Chris Shepler (whom I referenced before) wrote:

Calvinists take the point of unsaved man being dead in his sins to an extreme, claiming that man is so dead in his sin that he cannot respond to the Gospel in faith of his own will, even if he wanted to!

Dr. John Piper, who is a Calvinist and a supposed independent Baptist states that total depravity means:

People are spiritually dead and therefore unable to respond to God’s offer of salvation unless He first regenerates them.

Evangelist and Bible Teacher, Paul L. Freeman (who is now with the Lord) wrote:

The teaching of Five-Point Calvinism is that man is totally unable to do anything to obtain salvation.

Calvinists state very emphatically that man cannot repent or believe the gospel.

Their teaching is that man cannot believe until he is born again.

This new birth is brought about by God who chooses certain individuals and regenerates them.

Those whom He regenerates are then capable of believing by virtue of their new birth.

Man does not have a free will by which he is able to come to Christ for salvation.

We believe:

We do believe that man is totally depraved from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet and that he is unable to do anything to obtain salvation.

Mark 10:17 (KJV 1900)

And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?

Ephesians 2:8–9 KJV 1900

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Note: Calvinists would argue that the gift spoken of in Ephesians 2:8 is faith - the faith. However, comparing Scripture to Scripture, we understand that, according to Romans 6:23, the gift of God is eternal life - not faith.

We do believe that man was created with a free will - the free will to either exercise faith in Jesus Christ for salvation or to reject God’s offer of salvation through Jesus Christ.

John 1:12 KJV 1900

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:

Acts 16:30–31 KJV 1900

And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

So, tonight, I have cracked open the door to address that matter of Calvinism in the coming weeks.

Please understand - I as your pastor am not a Calvinist and therefore, I am going to lead this church in a direction away from Calvinism not toward Calvinism.

What we believe @ SALVATION

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ “died for our sins according to the Scriptures; and that He was buried; and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.”

We believe that a person is saved when he repents of his sin and exercises faith by accepting the Lord Jesus Christ as his personal Savior.

We believe that salvation is a gift of eternal life wholly by the grace of God without any merit or works.

We believe that the atonement of Christ is not limited, but that God desires all to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the Truth; that it is not His will that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. (I Corinthians 15:3-4; Romans 6:23; Romans 10:9-10; Acts 16:31; II Peter 3:9; Ephesians 2:8-9)

Why is it important?

Why is it important that we understand what we believe about salvation?

While all of doctrine is important (because our faith and practice is dependent upon our doctrine), the doctrine of salvation holds, I believe, a special place in the heart of God.

William Evans in The Great Doctrines of the Bible wrote:

The burden of the heart of God, and His one command to all men everywhere, is that they should repent.

Acts 17:30 KJV 1900

And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:

1 Timothy 2:4 (KJV 1900)

Who [God] will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

2 Peter 3:9 KJV 1900

The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Charles Ryrie in his Basic Theology gave two reasons why it is important for us to understand the doctrine of salvation:

Reason #1: The Curse

There are only two instances in the New Testament where a curse is pronounced upon Christians for their failure to do something:

1 Corinthians 16:22 KJV 1900

If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maran-atha.

The first is when we do not love the Lord. The second is when we preach a gospel other than the Gospel of the grace of God.

Galatians 1:9 KJV 1900

As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

The second reason that Charles Ryrie gives as to why it is important for us to understand the doctrine of salvation is:

Reason #2: Our Responsibility

Mark 16:15 KJV 1900

And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

We have been given a command - a holy responsibility - to declare the Gospel.

Therefore, we must have at least a basic understanding of the doctrine of salvation if we desire to give a clear presentation of the Gospel which is the means by which people are saved.

Romans 10:13–15 KJV 1900

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

Knowing and understanding the Biblical doctrine of salvation really is a matter of life and death!

With that, let’s turn our attention to our doctrinal statement...

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ “died for our sins according to the Scriptures; and that He was buried; and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.”

This aspect of our doctrinal statement comes directly from Scripture:

1 Corinthians 15:1–4 KJV 1900

Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

Question: Why is salvation necessary?

While that question may seem silly to those of us here tonight, I submit that it is a necessary question because of the answer.

The answer to that question can be found in the previous section of our doctrinal statement dealing with man.

Answer: Salvation is necessary because we are sinners.

Romans 3:23 KJV 1900

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Romans 6:23 (KJV 1900)

For the wages of sin is death...

Allow me to explain the necessity of salvation just as Evangelist John VanGelderen has shared before (and which is in our tracts, Good News):

1 Corinthians 15:3 (KJV 1900)

...Christ died for our sins...

Truth #1: The Problem of Sin

1 Corinthians 15:3 (KJV 1900)

...Christ died for our sins...

This goes back to Romans 3:23 and the Biblical truth that all of us are sinners.

Note: Before an individual will ever come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, they must first come to the realization and accept the truth that they are a sinner.

Truth #2: The Penalty of Sin

1 Corinthians 15:3 (KJV 1900)

...Christ died for our sins...

God, who is perfectly righteous and just, must punish sin. (People often will only focus on the truth that God is love and will completely ignore the truth that God is perfectly righteous and just.)

This goes back to Romans 6:23

Romans 6:23 (KJV 1900)

For the wages of sin is death...

Truth #3: The Payment for Sin

1 Corinthians 15:3 (KJV 1900)

...Christ died for our sins...

We are all sinners.

God must judge our sins but...

God loved us so much that He took our place and took our punishment.

John 3:16 KJV 1900

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Romans 5:8 KJV 1900

But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ “died for our sins according to the Scriptures; and that He was buried; and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.”

The last thing which I would draw your attention to, in this statement, is the phrase:

According to the Scriptures

1 Corinthians 15:3–4 (KJV 1900)

For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

Twice, in these two verses, Paul indicates that, what he is writing, is according to the scriptures not merely his own thoughts or teachings.

Here, I would remind all of us, that we believe that God’s Word is our final authority for faith (what we believe) and practice (how we live).

I seek to make this final point because of the door which I cracked open tonight - beginning to look at Calvinism.

Allow me to once again refer to Dr. Chris Shepler’s book, Forewarned and Forearmed:

…Calvinism is a complex system of theological belief based upon the teachings and writings of the French reformer John Calvin.

From there, then, Calvinists will “reinterpret” Scripture to support those beliefs (based upon the teachings and writings of John Calvin).

For example:

1 Timothy 2:3–4 (KJV 1900)

For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;

Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

Calvinists insist upon adding to - or reinterpreting - verse 4 to read/mean:

1 Timothy 2:4 (KJV 1900)

Who will have all men [who are part of the elect] to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

Even though the text does not state that nor is there any justifiable reason to read that verse in that way.

Church family, the Gospel message - the doctrine of salvation - must be according to the Scriptures. That is the only Gospel that has the power to save!

Prayer Requests

Although I have not received an update - today - from Pastor Scott, continue to pray for Ms. Donna and the incision on her head that it would stop bleeding.

Continue to pray for Mrs. Angela Jennings’ father.