Brightfame52
Well-Known Member
From reading your posts I see your faith in Christ is that he made your salvation possible. He didnt actually save you but made it possible for you to get saved if you believe. Im I right about it ?
-
Welcome to Baptist Board, a friendly forum to discuss the Baptist Faith in a friendly surrounding.
Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to all the features that our community has to offer.
We hope to see you as a part of our community soon and God Bless!
Calvinism Made Me Doubt My Salvation
- Thread starter Regulus
- Start date
The Atonement made it possible for all men to be saved.
Even those who lived before the Atonement took place, by the promise of God that He would bring it to pass. Gen. 3:15.
I am saved by grace though faith in the finished work of Christ, but as the Scripture tells us in many places, I must hold fast to that faith to the end for my full sanctification at the resurrection.
Brightfame52
Well-Known Member
Okay so that's what your faith believes about Jesus, a possible saviour. My Faith given to me by God believes that the atonement of Jesus Christ saved the elect of God.
Replace that with "whosoever will."
Matt. 16:25
"For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it."
Do you know what that verse means, BF?
BF, everyone of us has a choice to believe Christ and leave behind the ways of this world (losing his life for Christ), or put off Christ and continue in this world as we see fit (losing out on eternal life).
We all will make that choice, there is no way to avoid it.
Brightfame52
Well-Known Member
My Faith given to me by God believes that the atonement of Jesus Christ saved the elect of God.
Brightfame52
Well-Known Member
You believe Christ made salvation possible. Thats your confession of faith
Whereby one mans sin entered the world, all have sinned.
The Law of Sin and Death condemned all of us to eternal separation from God.
Only through the Atonement was it possible for man to be saved.
I hope your faith is in that Atonement for mankind and not in your election.
Rom. 8:2
"For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death."
It's only by faith in what Christ has done for us, believing in His death, burial and resurrection to save us from our sins, that we are made free from the condemnation of the Law of Sin and death.
Believing you are one of the elect is not going to cut it with God, your faith must be in His Christ or you're not going to make it!
DaveXR650
Well-Known Member
This is a little confusing. As a point of theology that a Calvinist believes that the atonement of Christ actually atoned, as opposed to potentially atoned for all who would ever be saved (the elect by name) is correct. But the Calvinists I read, even the high Calvinists, do believe that in time everyone who is saved does (and must) come by faith and then and only then are the salvation benefits of the atonement applied to that individual.
This simply cannot be denied without going way off track. Faith in your election, or faith that you are elect, has no bearing on your salvation, however correct or incorrect it may be as a theological truth. At the point of actual conversion, a person comes to Christ willingly and by faith, putting their case so to speak in Christ's hands and pleading nothing but that they need Christ. Election or non-election have no bearing here. That those who do this are already elect is a Calvinist teaching, and that those who do this are of the elect after or as they do this is the non-Calvinist view. But that everyone who is saved does this is not in dispute, at least from the Calvinists I am familiar with.
Any Calvinism, if there is such a thing, which goes so far in predestination as to begin to deemphasize the absolute necessity of faith as what is done on man's part, in order to be saved is on a dangerous path in my view.
It's Hyper-Calvinism, taking Calvin's theory to the extremes.
Brightfame52
Well-Known Member
Duh thats my point, your faith in Christ is that His atoning death merely made salvation possible. On the other hand my Faith in Christ is that His atoning death made my salvation certain and factual, it saved me. See the difference
Brightfame52
Well-Known Member
I dont see why
I believe all the elect of God that Christ death actually saved, will in due time be given faith by regeneration causing them to believe in Christ because He has saved them.
I'm worried for you, BF.
It seems you are depending, your faith being in God automatically giving you salvation by the election of salvation, whereas I came to faith by believing the Gospel to salvation. Do you see the difference?
Your misunderstanding is that the Atonement automatically saved the Elect, that is not true, BF.
DaveXR650
Well-Known Member
Charlie beat me to the post above but to add to what he said I would say that I am familiar with the arguments for the theology behind our salvation and the differences in understanding. And so, I am OK with faith being wrought in us or given to us or "worked" in us, so to speak. But I think that regardless of our individual perceptions of what exactly is going on when we are saved from a theological standpoint, the fact is that you as a Calvinist, and me, and Silverhair and Charlie, all come to Christ for salvation in exactly the same way and exercising the same essential faith, no matter where it was derived theologically speaking.
This is why Spurgeon, a Calvinist, said he was saved as an Arminian, and without any guilt in that. But as he studied he realized more and more how much of his salvation was wrought by God, even his "decision" to come to Christ and so he leaned toward Calvinism when he was called upon to identify with a theology. I really don't think it matters, except on the edge of both theologies you can fall into practical error.
Brightfame52
Well-Known Member
Dont be
Yes my Faith in Christ is that His work, atoning work of the Cross saved me as well as all of the elect. Your faith in Christ is that His atoning work didnt actually save anyone, but made it possible to get saved. So my Faith is in Christ as a Saviour, your is in Christ as a possible saviour. See the difference ?
Brightfame52
Well-Known Member
I disagree, its vitally important as to where Faith to believe in Christ is from. Whether its from the flesh of the unregenerate man or its from the grace of God worked in us by the regeneration of the Spirit.
I don't know where you stand with Calvin, BF, but he believed a person came to faith at some point in their life by hearing and believing the Gospel. The same way I came to faith.
That is not what you are expressing. You are expressing a God-given faith before even hearing the Gospel. That's why I'm concerned for you.