KenH
Well-Known Member
Romans 9:18-23
Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.
Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?
Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?
Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?
What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:
and that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory?
...
Sovereign Grace is all about Christ. It is the way that God saves sinners completely and fully, in a way that God receives all the glory and credit for doing so. It is salvation conditioned on Christ alone. It is a salvation that no sinner can take credit for as to brag of any merit or righteousness in them but only by the righteousness the LORD Jesus Christ earned as He was obedient in His life and death to do a work that fully satisfied all the strict demands of God's Law and unbending justice.
One thing very offensive to the pride of a sinner is that in this exclusive way of salvation (there is no other way) God rules out all works or merit that sinners may try to use as a means to earn justification at Judgment and enter heaven. This would include any works of the Law or obedience in any form done by the sinner. Even actions that would credit the sinner's will or their sincerity. No prayer, no ceremony, no ritual, no system or formula, no matter how religious, pious, zealous, or done with good intentions will save, help save or add to salvation in any way. This means that salvation is by grace 100% or there is NO salvation at all.
Most people in "Evangelical" churches would credit the sinner for FAITH and REPENTANCE. They do this in such a way as to credit these to the exercise of the will, making the free action by the sinner of the will be the determining factor in heaven or hell. This shifts credit from the life and death of Christ and puts man's will in direct competition with the glorious, perfect, finished work of Jesus Christ. God, of course, will not have that. He will never share His glory with another (a sinner especially).
The word of God clearly teaches that both faith and repentance are gifts from God, which He works in the sinner by His Spirit, powerfully causing them to happen. Soon one begins to see that at every turn in describing how salvation is NOT by the works and will of the sinner, every possible cause or condition done by the sinner is eliminated. It is here that one will start to see that the remedy for sin MUST be totally in the hands of God alone and be done in a sovereign way, His way.
The doctrine of God's sovereign grace is that God Almighty alone is the determining factor in who will be saved and who will not be saved. It is just that simple. In the wickedness of the natural sinful heart and mind mankind will rebel against this truth saying that it is not fair and that God does NOT have the Divine right to decide. Feel free to take that up with the LORD when you face Him at judgment. He will destroy you with such an accusation. God's word is clear in many places that He is sovereign, not only in creation and providence but especially in salvation because of Redemptive Glory. That glory was magnified by the LORD Jesus Christ himself. Sovereign Grace is Christ-centered.
- excerpt from an article entitled, "Sovereign Grace: What Is It All About?", by Scott Price, pastor of Gospel of Grace Ministries, 25 miles north of downtown Cincinnati, Ohio( rest of article at Sovereign Grace: What Is It All About? by Scott Price | Grace Baptist Church | SermonAudio )
Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.
Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?
Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?
Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?
What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:
and that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory?
...
Sovereign Grace is all about Christ. It is the way that God saves sinners completely and fully, in a way that God receives all the glory and credit for doing so. It is salvation conditioned on Christ alone. It is a salvation that no sinner can take credit for as to brag of any merit or righteousness in them but only by the righteousness the LORD Jesus Christ earned as He was obedient in His life and death to do a work that fully satisfied all the strict demands of God's Law and unbending justice.
One thing very offensive to the pride of a sinner is that in this exclusive way of salvation (there is no other way) God rules out all works or merit that sinners may try to use as a means to earn justification at Judgment and enter heaven. This would include any works of the Law or obedience in any form done by the sinner. Even actions that would credit the sinner's will or their sincerity. No prayer, no ceremony, no ritual, no system or formula, no matter how religious, pious, zealous, or done with good intentions will save, help save or add to salvation in any way. This means that salvation is by grace 100% or there is NO salvation at all.
Most people in "Evangelical" churches would credit the sinner for FAITH and REPENTANCE. They do this in such a way as to credit these to the exercise of the will, making the free action by the sinner of the will be the determining factor in heaven or hell. This shifts credit from the life and death of Christ and puts man's will in direct competition with the glorious, perfect, finished work of Jesus Christ. God, of course, will not have that. He will never share His glory with another (a sinner especially).
The word of God clearly teaches that both faith and repentance are gifts from God, which He works in the sinner by His Spirit, powerfully causing them to happen. Soon one begins to see that at every turn in describing how salvation is NOT by the works and will of the sinner, every possible cause or condition done by the sinner is eliminated. It is here that one will start to see that the remedy for sin MUST be totally in the hands of God alone and be done in a sovereign way, His way.
The doctrine of God's sovereign grace is that God Almighty alone is the determining factor in who will be saved and who will not be saved. It is just that simple. In the wickedness of the natural sinful heart and mind mankind will rebel against this truth saying that it is not fair and that God does NOT have the Divine right to decide. Feel free to take that up with the LORD when you face Him at judgment. He will destroy you with such an accusation. God's word is clear in many places that He is sovereign, not only in creation and providence but especially in salvation because of Redemptive Glory. That glory was magnified by the LORD Jesus Christ himself. Sovereign Grace is Christ-centered.
- excerpt from an article entitled, "Sovereign Grace: What Is It All About?", by Scott Price, pastor of Gospel of Grace Ministries, 25 miles north of downtown Cincinnati, Ohio( rest of article at Sovereign Grace: What Is It All About? by Scott Price | Grace Baptist Church | SermonAudio )
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