Featured Did Christ Die For The Sin Of Unbelief?

He is no respecter of persons. What good can a totally depraved, spiritually dead human do? Did he see you as a cut above the rest? And saved you for your goodness? Isn't that robbing God of his glory and giving yourself a portion? Yikes, brother...

 

The minute God intervenes in anyway he is saving a person. The western pagan idea of retributive Justice is not like the Jewish restorative version of Justice.


1 timothy 1

12I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service, 13even though I was previously a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief; 14and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus. 15It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost. 16Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost sinner Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life.


The moment someone hears the gospel from you God is saving them.

 

If you stick to the subject, it will make perfect sense. If not by arbitrary selection, He is a respecter of persons.

 

I do know people who believe they decided to turn to Christ because they were smart enough to see the advantages. I also know Calvinists who seem to somehow be proud of their election. That's people. But even in an honest effort to give God all the glory you can go beyond the truth of the matter. The high Calvinists like Owen appealed to men's reason in sermons and told them to strive with all their might for salvation. They told them they had to believe with no worries of usurping God's glory.

 

That's why I don't like the TULIP acronym. It's easy to take unconditional and make it arbitrary which we don't know. It was according to God's wisdom. Also, there is no salvation without justification.

 

TV preachers see lots of greedy converts. Is that how God saves people? How can anyone choose to be saved and not think they are saving themselves?

 

It is arbitrary. God, not you, gets the glory.

 

Most reject the gospel. And many only hear what they want to hear.

 

Dave, the above is a quote from John Owen. Are you OK with the way he said that?

 

A good verse to preach on at Christmas is Matthew 1:21. '.......And you shall call His name JESUS, for He shall save His people from their sins.'
Saviour is what He is, and saving is what He does. There have been worldly kings who have been given titles: Alfred the Great, William the Conqueror, Richard the Lionheart, Charles the Bold of France, Suleiman the Magnificent of the Turks; not to mention Ivan the Terrible and Vlad the Impaler! But our King has the greatest name of all; He is Jesus, the Saviour.

 

God is not a respecter of persons. It sounds as though you think God foresees the self-righteous. And selects them on that basis. But there are none righteous, not one.

 

I'm not OK with your position.

 

If he is not a respecter of persons, how does he not arbitrarily choose whom he will save?

 

ar·bi·trar·y

adjective

1. based on random choice or personal whim, rather than any reason or system.
   "his mealtimes were entirely arbitrary"

““And all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, But He does according to His will in the host of heaven And among the inhabitants of earth; And no one can ward off His hand Or say to Him, ‘What hast Thou done?’” Daniel 4:35 (NASB)