Saved?

Why is there so much nominalism and luke-warmness in the modern evangelical church? Why are our pews filled with life-less, cold and dead “Christians” instead of passionate, healthy and radiating Christians?
I believe it is because we have forgotten what it truly means to be saved. Do you ever think about that? What does it mean to be saved? Ask most people in a church, indeed, most people in America because over 70% of Americans believe they are saved and going to heaven…ask them what it means to be saved and here’s what you’ll most likely hear:

“I prayed the prayer one time at a revival and I accepted Jesus as my savior. In fact, look here, I have my decision card that I signed when I chose Jesus.”

Ladies and gentlemen, that kind of answer worries me like you cannot believe. Does it worry you? It should…Show me one place in the Bible where Jesus says “make this decision, pray this prayer and you’ll be saved”. You won’t find it because it’s not in there. And here is what is so terrible about what such a person believes…they have based their eternal security, that is, their inheritance in heaven, on THEIR DECISION to ‘accept’ Christ as their savior. They believe that because they said a prayer one time that they are now and forever saved. Friends, this kind of thinking is so dangerous to fall into, but unfortunately, most people believe something along those lines.
The problem with their thinking is that they have completely missed the whole truth of salvation and forfeited the doctrine of regeneration. By deciding one time to believe in Christ, they have in effect made themselves their own savior. Their salvation, in their opinion, lies completely and fully in their own hands. They believe they have chosen Christ wisely whereas they could have just as easily chosen to reject Christ and go about their own paths. They have made themselves “partners” with God in bringing about their salvation. This belief is called synergism, which comes from the Greek word synergos meaning “working together”. However, there is a problem with this view. Namely, the Bible doesn’t teach synergism. It teaches the polar opposite of synergism, monergism. Monergism is the word used to explain the Biblical process for how salvation occurs or comes about. The idea is that God, acting alone and of His own sovereign will, regenerates a particular sinner and brings Him to faith and repentance in Christ without the assistance of the sinner. That is, God does all the work and we contribute nothing; not even ‘deciding’ to accept Christ is done by us.
To see scriptural proof for this doctrine, let us turn to the Gospel of John, chapter six, verse 44, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.” So here we see that no one can come to Christ unless God draws him. And it further goes on to say that the one who is drawn by God the Father, Christ will raise him up at the last day.
So what does this mean? First, as stated, no one can come…that is, no one has the power or ability to come unless God the Father draws him. Why can those not drawn by the Father not come to Christ? Because they are still in bondage to sin! In fact, every person on earth is in bondage to sin before he/she comes to Christ…back on topic…So, what we see here first is a declaration that God is at least the first mover in the salvation process. That is, unless God draws a sinner, they cannot and indeed will not come to Christ. Those whom God has not drawn will never come to Christ. Then we see the next part of the verse “and I will raise him up at the last day”. So, from the first part of the verse, the one who is drawn can come, and in the second part of the verse we see that He does in fact come because Christ raises him up at the last day; the two “hims” are not separate people.
If you are like most synergists (assuming you are one), you will most likely not be convinced by this argument. You will probably think that God enables someone to come, but he must make the decision to come. So I will now offer a deeper proof of this doctrine. Let is now turn to the book of Romans, written by the Apostle Paul, chapter eight, verses 29-30.
“29For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.”
Ah yes, one of the famous “predestination” verses…it’s a shame that so many people do not even realize that the word predestination is in the Bible. It is a further shame that so many are turned off by such a word and are thus 1) deprived of a valuable doctrine and 2) seek to deny what the scripture teaches. But I digress…
When we read these verses and in particular verse 30, we see a chain being made of those who are predestined, called, justified and finally glorified. When we look at these, we see a logical order to the life of a Christian. First, a sinner has been predestined by God (“For he chose us in him before the creation of the world” : Eph 1:4). Then the sinner is called by God (John 6:44). Next the sinner is justified by Grace through faith (“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God” : Eph 2:8) both of which come from God. And finally, the sinner is glorified with God, the completion of God‘s redemptive work.
So, what we see here is that the same people who are predestined, will ultimately and infallibly become glorified. Reading of the text does not allow for a breakage in the chain. One who is predestined cannot fail to be justified and glorified. Just like one who is justified, was predestined, called and will finally be glorified. However, my point here is that everything that happens in this chain is done by God for man and not “by man for God“. Man has done not a thing to contribute to his own salvation…not even accepting Jesus as lord and savior was done by the sinner! The point of all this is to show that it is not you who made a “decision” for Christ one time at a revival session. If you are truly saved, it was God who made the call and thank God for that, because you would have never made that decision on your own, ever.

The consequence of this understanding is to bring the sinner low before Christ, having exhausted any and all hope of salvation in another source. This doctrine humbles the proud and self-righteous spirit of one who believes he has made the right decision whereas other sinners are less than himself, because they have made the wrong decision even when they had the “free will” to do so. That pride and arrogance is utterly destroyed once we realize that it is God, acting alone, trumping our supposedly “free” will, raises us from death to life with Christ. People who think monergistically, understand that salvation is the supernatural power of God working in an individual to regenerate a soul that once hated God and sought to overthrow Him.
If you are still convinced it was you who decided to get saved and that your one time decision holds weight, let’s look at how one can know if he is a Christian. The Bible says to test yourself. “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?” (2 Cor. 13:5) So, we are to test ourselves. What does the test look like and how am I supposed to test myself? In short, how do I know that I believe?
“Well, in my heart of hearts, I know that I am saved” says the typical person.
Well, what does the Bible say about the heart? “The heart is wicked and beyond cure” (Jeremiah 17:9) So are you going to put your trust in your heart or are you going to follow the Biblical method for determining if you are really a Christian? I hope you would go with the true Biblical method.
When you sin, do you feel truly repentant for offending the Holy God? Does it cause you pain and anguish to know that you have sinned against the almighty Creator of heaven and earth and have profaned His very name by your actions? One of the signs of a true Christian, is that they are sensitive to the sins in their life and they will be led to repentance and confession of their sin. The truly saved sinner is heart-broken over what he has done to offend the God that knitted him in his own mother’s womb and he desperately wants to be forgiven.
Another way we have assurance is that we not only repented a long time ago, but we are continuing to repent today. We likewise did not simply at one time believe, but we continue to believe today. And it is not that we at one time walked with Him, but it is that we continue to walk with Him today.
And lastly, a true Christian is no longer enslaved and trapped to the things of this world. He is no longer a slave to his evil desires. We have made a turning from sin towards the righteousness and goodness of Christ. The Bible says we will know them by their fruit. “By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? 17Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.” What this is saying is that a Christian brings forth good things (good fruit) as evidence of his salvation. If you claim to be a Christian, but still continuously indulge the pleasures of the flesh, does your fruit indicate that you are a Christian? It does not.
This is not the same as teaching works based salvation. That is not what I am saying at all. A man is justified by faith alone in Christ alone. However, the Bible does teach that good works in keeping with your professed faith indicate that you are saved. And in fact, if someone claims to be a Christian but has made no progress and has no good works to speak of, we can confidently conclude that the person is not a Christian.

“As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead” (James 2:26)

I encourage you to take the test I have given you straight from the Bible, to examine yourself and see whether the Holy Spirit has worked in you to bring about a change. If you can truthfully see a real, radical change in your thoughts, desires, hatred towards sin and a love for God, then you can have confidence that you are saved. However, if you take that test and you see that you have fallen short, then Repent and Believe! Just remember this, you are not saved because you prayed a prayer one time or have decided at some point in your past to become a Christian. You are saved because God loved you enough to see that you would never come to Christ by yourself or of your “free will”. He has done the all the work in the life of a sinner including the work of bringing that very sinner to repentance. Realize this, and praise God for it everyday.

"On these two commandments depend the whole Law "...

I have recently been inspired to write on a concept that is central to Christianity; and that my brothers and sisters, is to "love they neighbor as thyself." We all know this saying. It is known as the "Golden Rule" and is observed even in some secular circles. However, do we all show that we love our neighbor? Do we treat our neighbor the way that we would like to be treated? Certainly we recognize it when others fail to keep this law.
How? It's blatanly obvious when someone treats another person badly, unjustly ot improperly. WE ALL KNOW IT. We even talk about it with our friends because it makes an impression on us. You see, the way you treat others makes an impression on those around you. Oh, but it goes further than that, your actions to other people DEFINE in the minds of others, WHO you ARE as a person. We all know that someone in the group who loves to pick apart someone else. They just can't stand that person and every opportunity they get, they just lambast that person until they have expunged every vulgar, vitriolic comment they can make. Let me ask you this then, did you laugh? Did you nod your head in silent agreement? Or did you just jump right in and bash the person too? We all know the answer: yes. Of course we did. But, did you ever stop and consider that your very words could be KILLING the person you dislike?

Follow me here. You are literally DESTROYING someone's character and someone's very being by making these comments. In effect, you are killing that person in the minds of those around you. And that is the desired effect of course. But, did you stop and think about how it feels when, all of a sudden, it's you they're talking about. It's you they're making fun of and it's you they're KILLING. No, I guess not. You see brothers, we are the same group of people who talked about someone else behind His back, made fun of someone when He wasn't there to defend Himself, murdered someone who DID NOT DESERVE TO DIE! You know who I'm talking about. Jesus Christ was crucified because of people like you! People who failed to stand for the truth and for what was right, "luke-warms" who just occupied space and nodded in agreement with everything that was said. And what's more, played both sides of the fence, agreeing with one person to his face, then denying and destroying him behind his back.
If this sounds like you, it is time for you to come to Jesus and confess your part in putting him on that cross. Tell him you're sorry for how badly you have treated other people. Repent of the way you have been living. Others, maybe you exude the golden rule. Maybe you treat others exactly how you like to be treated. But maybe, even you slip up every now and again. You too, do not consider yourself higher than you ought, lest you decieve yourself. In closing, I want to say that I have addressed something that God put on my heart. I hope that all who read this little seromn, take it to heart and heed its warning and follow Christs simple command to 1) Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, soul and mind. and 2) LOVE THY NEIGHBOR AS THYSELF.

"Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law."

ROMANS 13:10

Welcome all to Reformed Hall

After much pushing and prodding from some of my friends, I have broken down and created my own blog. Over the past year, I have written a number of notes and articles but did not have a really good way to publish them for others to view. I posted some on my face book profile, but never got the kind of traffic or responses, or in fact exposure I was looking for. With this blog, I hope to reach many more people than I have previously been able to.
First, I am a Christian. My passion is spreading the Word and Jesus’ fame for the glory of God. However, I believe that what constitutes American Christianity today has drifted dangerously far from its more “traditional” and theologically sound doctrine of one hundred to one hundred and fifty years ago. The truth of scripture has been exchanged for the lies of self-esteem, minimizing sin, universal atonement and universal salvation, the denial of eternal punishment and so on. This blog takes a decisive stance against all distorters of the true Christian faith, and they are numerous.
As you might expect by the name of this blog (reformed hall), I approach Christianity from the reformed or Calvinist perspective. While I lean more Presbyterian in my beliefs, I am not a Presbyterian. I actually attend a Baptist church currently. And I know that this seems to really only be a problem when we get down to the issue of paedo-baptism versus credo-baptism. However, my goal all along has been to unite Reformed Baptists and their Presbyterian brothers through understanding of each other’s doctrine and also moving towards tolerance between the two camps. I think it is entirely arrogant and repugnant for a Baptist to look down on a Presbyterian because of their baptismal practices. And I find it to be equally arrogant and repugnant when the situation is reversed.
In any event, this blog is dedicated to preaching the same Christ crucified as preached by the Bible, the apostle Paul, Augustine, Luther, Calvin, Mather, Edwards, Spurgeon and later J.I. Packer, R.C. Sproul, John MacArthur and John Piper. I hope you like what you read in the coming days/weeks!