God Alone Must Be Glorified

[KenH]

God Alone Must Be Glorified

Why is it so important that we who claim to be saved by grace and to believe and rest in the Lord Jesus Christ to know that salvation was (and is) neither by our works nor our wills? It is because God has designed the salvation of His people for His own glory, and His glory is found in the truth of salvation by His powerful work and His sovereign will alone – “For He saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy” (Romans 9:15-16; cf. Exodus 33:18-19). God is the only one worthy of this glory, and He will not share His glory with another (Isaiah 42:8; 1 Corinthians 1:29-31). Also, in our salvation, God intends to humble us by a clear and honest view of ourselves – our sinfulness, spiritual death, and depravity; our complete lack of righteousness and our deservedness of condemnation – so that we see our complete dependence upon Him alone in and by the Lord Jesus Christ for our whole salvation (John 1:12-13; Romans 3:10-12; 1 Corinthians 2:14). Salvation is designed by God to give all glory to His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord our only Righteousness (Galatians 6:14; Philippians. 3:3-9; Colossians 1:15-18). “For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things: to Whom be glory for ever. Amen” (Romans 11:36).

—Bill Parker, pastor of Eager Avenue Grace Church in Albany, Georgia, via their March 9 church bulletin

 

[Piper 2]

Beautiful, Ken.

 

[Tenchi]

God Alone Must Be Glorified

Why is it so important that we who claim to be saved by grace and to believe and rest in the Lord Jesus Christ to know that salvation was (and is) neither by our works nor our wills? It is because God has designed the salvation of His people for His own glory, and His glory is found in the truth of salvation by His powerful work and His sovereign will alone – “For He saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy” (Romans 9:15-16; cf. Exodus 33:18-19). God is the only one worthy of this glory, and He will not share His glory with another (Isaiah 42:8; 1 Corinthians 1:29-31). Also, in our salvation, God intends to humble us by a clear and honest view of ourselves – our sinfulness, spiritual death, and depravity; our complete lack of righteousness and our deservedness of condemnation – so that we see our complete dependence upon Him alone in and by the Lord Jesus Christ for our whole salvation (John 1:12-13; Romans 3:10-12; 1 Corinthians 2:14). Salvation is designed by God to give all glory to His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord our only Righteousness (Galatians 6:14; Philippians. 3:3-9; Colossians 1:15-18). “For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things: to Whom be glory for ever. Amen” (Romans 11:36).

—Bill Parker, pastor of Eager Avenue Grace Church in Albany, Georgia, via their March 9 church bulletin

If this is a Calvinist/Reformed apologetic for divine monergism regarding our salvation, it has the effect of diminishing God's glory, rather elevating it.

Imagine a man who has a sore tooth. If it's going to be fixed and the pain relieved, he must first humble himself under the truth that he has not cared well for his teeth and cannot himself fix the problem he's caused himself by his poor dental hygiene, then he must believe the dentist can fix his tooth, then he must attend the dentist's office and sit in his dental chair and receive the dentist's tooth-saving, pain-relieving work. If the man did all these things, would his tooth be fixed? No, there is no amount of these things that can deal with his bad-tooth problem. Only when the dentist actually goes to work on the man's aching tooth is the tooth repaired and the pain dissolved. The man's admission of his poor dental hygiene, his belief in the dentist, and his going to the dentist's office for dental work can never repair his tooth. It is only the dentist who resolves the bad-tooth problem the man has, in the end. The man just receives the work of the dentist; to the actual dental work the dentist performs, the man can contribute nothing.

Now, imagine the man at home saying to his wife, "I fixed my tooth! My belief in the dentist and my sitting in his dentist chair has relieved my pain." If the man's wife has any brains at all, she'd understand the above and see the silliness of her husband's claim immediately.

For some reason, though, Calvinists have got so enamored of God's sovereignty and so convinced that anything but monergism "steals His glory" that they seem unable (or maybe just unwilling) to see concerning salvation what the wife of the man with the sore tooth can see about her husband's fixed tooth. A lost sinner no more saves himself by humbling himself under the truth of the Gospel, believing in Christ as Savior, and going to Jesus in prayer for salvation than the man with a sore tooth fixes his tooth by humbling himself under the truth of his poor dental hygiene, believing the dentist can fix his tooth and going to the dentist for a filling.

What's more, in order for the dentist to properly claim to have done all the fixing of the man's tooth and to lay claim to all the credit for its success, it's not necessary for the dentist to claim he also forced the man to humble himself under the truth of his bad dental hygiene, and coerced him into believing and made him attend his office for treatment. That the man with the bad tooth acted freely to bring himself to the dentist for tooth repair in no way means the man has fixed his own tooth, or done anything more than receive the filling his dentist gave him. This is obvious in the case of the man with the bad tooth, but, somehow, this has become obscured to the Calvinist who says God is only properly glorified if He acts entirely monergistically in saving a lost person.

Long before I accepted Christ as my Savior and Lord, God's gloriousness was full, and awesome, and impervious to diminishment by anything I might choose, or not choose, to do regarding the Gospel. As far as I'm concerned, it's silly to think I can impinge on God's glory, or "steal" it, by believing He has allowed me the freedom to choose to be saved by Him through Jesus Christ, not according to desires He's ultimately imposed upon me (e.g compatibilism), but in a genuinely libertarian way. Decrying the lessening of God's glory and the erosion of His sovereignty under synergistic salvation is, it appears to me, to be, at least in part, an attempt to obscure what I've explained above.

 

[KenH]

in a genuinely libertarian way.

Man is not born with libertarian free will. When man fell, he died spiritually, he did not merely break his little pinkie.

Man cannot even lift a little pinkie(broken or otherwise) to do anything to save himself. Salvation is 100% of God, and 0% of man.

Salvation is not some kind of joint venture - God does some and man does some.

Salvation is not climbing up the ladder as best as one can and then God reaching down and making up the difference and pulling man up the rest of the way. No. Salvation is God reaching down all the way to the very bottom of the ladder where man lies prone on the ground and spiritually lifeless, and God gives him spiritual life(regeneration) and pulls him up 100% of the way to the new heavens and the new earth wherein dwells righteousness - God's righteousness not man's vain attempt at righteousness.

Man fell in Adam along with all of his posterity.

All of Christ's people, God's elect given to Him before the world began to be their Surety, are born anew in Christ.

Romans 5:
17 For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)
18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.
19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.

 

[KenH]

via Instagram.

 

[Van]

Romans 8:17 NASB
and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.

Those who ignorantly claim only God is glorified nullify verse after verse. What does this verse mean "to be glorified?"

Romans 8:30 NASB
and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.

Everyone God saves has been past tense glorified. Those saying only God is glorified are seemingly ignorant.

 

[Tenchi]

Man is not born with libertarian free will.

Well, obviously, I disagree. I think Man is given by God the libertarian (albeit in a soft degree) freedom to choose salvation.

When man fell, he died spiritually, he did not merely break his little pinkie.

You don't say...

Man cannot even lift a little pinkie(broken or otherwise) to do anything to save himself. Salvation is 100% of God, and 0% of man.

Simply asserting this in response to my post does nothing to defeat what I pointed out. All you've done is contradict, which is the stuff of playground arguments.

Salvation is not some kind of joint venture - God does some and man does some.

See above.

Salvation is not climbing up the ladder as best as one can and then God reaching down and making up the difference and pulling man up the rest of the way. No. Salvation is God reaching down all the way to the very bottom of the ladder where man lies prone on the ground and spiritually lifeless, and God gives him spiritual life(regeneration) and pulls him up 100% of the way to the new heavens and the new earth wherein dwells righteousness - God's righteousness not man's vain attempt at righteousness.

See above. And my last post. And this ladder analogy is nothing like what I described in my earlier post. As such, it is a Strawman of my view.

Also, again, mere contradiction, mere assertion without justification, is what children offer in their arguments with one another.

 

[Van]

Everyone believing into Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.

Most Christians believe this truth from John 3:16. Who do not? Calvinists!!

Why not. They believe that the Lost cannot believe, but must be given faith via Irresistible grace!!

Does a lost person choosing to believe in Christ's name result automatically in the lost person's salvation? Nope, but some believe it does.

These "automatic salvation" folks, deny God must credit a person's faith as righteousness, before their faith leads to salvation.

 

[David Lamb]

Everyone believing into Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.

Most Christians believe this truth from John 3:16. Who do not? Calvinists!!

Why not. They believe that the Lost cannot believe, but must be given faith via Irresistible grace!!

Does a lost person choosing to believe in Christ's name result automatically in the lost person's salvation? Nope, but some believe it does.

These "automatic salvation" folks, deny God must credit a person's faith as righteousness, before their faith leads to salvation.

Well , I am a Calvinist and I believe that everyone who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ shall not perish but have everlasting life. To say that Calvinists don't believe that is just wrong. Yes, they do believe that the bible teaches that unsaved sinners are dead in trespasses and sins, that the natural man "does not receive the things of the Spirit of God," so they don't agree that sinners can themselves summon up faith to believe on the Saviour.

 

[Martin Marprelate]

'Lord, I was blind: I could not see
In Thy marred visage any grace;
But now the beauty of Thy face
In radiant vision dawns on me.

Lord, I was deaf: I could not hear
The thrilling music of Thy voice;
But now I hear Thee and rejoice,
And all thine uttered words are dear.

Lord, I was dumb: I could not speak
The grace and glory of Thy name;
But now, as touched with living flame,
My lips Thine eager praises wake.

Lord, I was dead! I could not move
My lifeless soul to come to Thee;
But now, since Thou hast quickened me,
I rise from sin's dark sepulchre.

Lord, Thou hast made the blind to see,
The deaf to hear, the dumb to speak,
The dead to live; and Lo, I break
The chains of my captivity. [William Tidd Matson]

The people whom the Lord Jesus healed were not shortsighted, hard of hearing, stammering or suffering with a nasty cold - they were blind, deaf, dumb and lepers! And Lazarus was not just a bit poorly; he was dead and stinking in his tomb!
What a disservice we do the the Lord Jesus when we imagine that we ourselves were not really dead in trespasses and sins as the Bible tells us, but actually able to pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps to become saved.

 

[Tenchi]

What a disservice we do the the Lord Jesus when we imagine that we ourselves were not really dead in trespasses and sins as the Bible tells us, but actually able to pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps to become saved.

Throughout the Bible, men who were not spiritually-regenerate, who were not born-again, were given high praise:

Job 1:1
1 There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and that man was blameless, upright, fearing God and turning away from evil.

How could this be? Wasn't Job, being "stinking in his tomb" spiritually and utterly unable to move toward God, incapable of this sort of living? But here Job is, "blameless" and "upright" and "fearing God" and "turning away from evil" all without spiritual regeneration, "dead in trespasses and sins." Maybe being "dead" spiritually isn't this radical incapacity that Calvin imagined...

Genesis 6:9
9 These are the records of the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God.

??? But Noah was "dead in trespasses and sins"! Wasn't he totally without the capacity to move toward God, then? Apparently not.

Acts 13:22
22 And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.

Impossible. David was "dead in trespasses and sins" and without the post-Calvary benefit of the spiritually-regenerating, indwelling Holy Spirit. But here Scripture indicates that whatever "dead in trespasses and sins" means, it doesn't mean "totally without the capacity to move toward God." In David's case, though not born-again, he was still a "man after God's own heart."

Acts 10:1-2
1 There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band,
2 A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God always.

And here's Cornelius defying, too, the Calvinist notion that "dead" means "utterly without capacity" or "a corpselike inability to respond." Though spiritually unregenerate, as the chapter later reveals, he was a "devout man" and "feared God," and prayed always to Him. That's a lot of movement toward God by one who was "corpselike" and "stinking in his tomb" spiritually...

The list of such people doesn't end here, of course. There's also Daniel, Joseph, Enoch, etc.

 

[KenH]

??? But Noah was "dead in trespasses and sins"! Wasn't he totally without the capacity to move toward God, then? Apparently not.

Apparently so.

Psalm 110:3 Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power.

 

[David Lamb]

Throughout the Bible, men who were not spiritually-regenerate, who were not born-again, were given high praise:

Job 1:1
1 There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and that man was blameless, upright, fearing God and turning away from evil.

How could this be? Wasn't Job, being "stinking in his tomb" spiritually and utterly unable to move toward God, incapable of this sort of living? But here Job is, "blameless" and "upright" and "fearing God" and "turning away from evil" all without spiritual regeneration, "dead in trespasses and sins." Maybe being "dead" spiritually isn't this radical incapacity that Calvin imagined...

If he truly feared God, he was not spiritually dead. God had given him spiritual life.

Genesis 6:9
9 These are the records of the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God.

??? But Noah was "dead in trespasses and sins"! Wasn't he totally without the capacity to move toward God, then? Apparently not.

But we are told:

“But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.” (Ge 6:8 NKJV)

Grace is God's undeserved favour. Without God's grace, he would have been dead in trespasses and sins.

Acts 13:22
22 And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.

Impossible. David was "dead in trespasses and sins" and without the post-Calvary benefit of the spiritually-regenerating, indwelling Holy Spirit. But here Scripture indicates that whatever "dead in trespasses and sins" means, it doesn't mean "totally without the capacity to move toward God." In David's case, though not born-again, he was still a "man after God's own heart."

Who says David was not born again? It's not called that in the Old Testament, but what changed him otherwise? Later he wrote:

“Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.” (Ps 51:5 NKJV)

In other words, from the cradle he was a sinner. Yet God graciously dealt with him and called him "a man after my own heart."

Acts 10:1-2
1 There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band,
2 A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God always.

And here's Cornelius defying, too, the Calvinist notion that "dead" means "utterly without capacity" or "a corpselike inability to respond." Though spiritually unregenerate, as the chapter later reveals, he was a "devout man" and "feared God," and prayed always to Him. That's a lot of movement toward God by one who was "corpselike" and "stinking in his tomb" spiritually...

Again, if he was still dead in trespasses and sins, how could he do spiritual things like being devout, fearing God, and so on? That's just like suggesting that Lazarus, dead in his tomb, could raise himself to come and meet Jesus.

The list of such people doesn't end here, of course. There's also Daniel, Joseph, Enoch, etc.

And many of those you have mentioned are listed in that "faith chapter", Hebrews 11. For example:

“By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.” (Heb 11:7 NKJV)

How could someone spiritually dead do something spiritual like exhibiting faith? Impossible! Conclusion: by the time he exhibited faith, he had spiritual life. Without it, he couldn't have faith.

 

[KenH]

Everyone God saves has been past tense glorified.

Romans 8:
18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,
21 because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.
24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?
25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

 

[KenH]

Maybe being "dead" spiritually isn't this radical incapacity that Calvin imagined...

Apparently, such radical spiritual incapacity of the natural man is actually radical spiritual incapacity.

Psalm 110:3 Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power.

 

[KenH]

In David's case, though not born-again, he was still a "man after God's own heart."

David was indeed born again(born from above).

Psalm 110:3 Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power.

 

[KenH]

And here's Cornelius defying, too, the Calvinist notion that "dead" means "utterly without capacity" or "a corpselike inability to respond."

Cornelius was not capable of doing anything to save himself. Salvation is 100% of God, and 0% of man.

Psalm 110:3 Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power.

 

[KenH]

There's also Daniel, Joseph, Enoch, etc.

All of God's elect are born again(born from above) at some point during their time on this earth. God always saves His elect by His sovereign grace, from the beginning of time until Christ returns and establishes the new heavens and the new earth wherein dwells righteousness.

Psalm 110:3 Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power.

 

[KenH]

Again, if he was still dead in trespasses and sins, how could he do spiritual things like being devout, fearing God, and so on?

I agree with Robert Hawker's commentary on Acts chapter 10 as to the timing of when Cornelius was born again. We know that the natural man can be moral, even an atheist can live morally - in the eyes of man.

"It should seem by the circumstances related in this Chapter, nothing short of a vision from heaven to Peter, and accompanied at the same time, with the message of an angel, and a command of the Holy Ghost, to him to obey, would have been competent to remove those narrow conceits from Peter's mind: and to teach him, and all the Jewish Church through him, that God had granted to the Gentiles, as well as to the Jews, repentance unto life, Acts 11:2.

In the history of Cornelius, as related in this Chapter, the Lord was pleased to set forth this precious doctrine. This man, we are told, was a Centurion; that is, a Roman officer, commanding an hundred men. His character also is given. He was a devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God continually. That is, he was a Proselyte of the Gate so called. He followed the stated hours of prayer, observed by the Jews, and feared the God of Israel. And to the love of God, as far as his knowledge led him, he added the love of man; and was of good report in the neighbourhood where he lived, for his alms, deeds, and charity. So that it appears, he was what the world would call a good man. And very certain it is, that the world at large would be a far different world from what it is, if it was composed of such characters. Happy would it be, for the peace and welfare of mankind, if we could look round, and behold men like Cornelius, in every neighbourhood. But with all these amiable qualities, as they relate to the intercourse with men, they fall short of what is essential to a friendship with God, And it should seem, that the Lord designed, in making choice of this very man, by way of declaring the necessity of salvation, plainly and decidedly to shew, that these things do not stand in account before God; and that without Christ, he must have perished everlastingly.

To accomplish this purpose, and to bring this honest Centurion into the way of learning by outward means, the knowledge of Christ, he is favored with a vision; and directions are given to him where to send, and from whom he should learn words, whereby he, and all his household should be saved, Acts 11:14."

 

[DaveXR650]

If this is a Calvinist/Reformed apologetic for divine monergism regarding our salvation, it has the effect of diminishing God's glory, rather elevating it.

I think you have a point. Many who insist on some level of free will involvement claim they are guarding the character of God which is not less admirable than guarding the sovereignty of God. And the fact is, whether you are a Calvinist or not, nothing you do by choice is not being done by your own free will. It's so obvious it sounds silly to say it. Your will has to be involved.

Using your example of the guy who needs a dentist let me say this. There is no question that he decided to go to the dentist. He had a God given ability to detect pain resulting from a bad tooth. His will was not autonomous in this in that he had no ability to just decide on his own to go to the dentist. He was prompted, even driven by pain and by the realization of what the course of events would be if he did nothing.

The Calvinist argument (at least the moderate Calvinist) is that naturally, we tend to not see the need for Christ and willfully don't want to come to Christ. Unlike the dental situation where God has physically given us what we need to respond to the situation we don't naturally have this sense when it comes to spiritual things. We naturally can't "see" as it were the value of Christ, the danger of sin, our guilt and so on. If you have friends who know you are a Christian they might try to be kind but they would say "Well, he's just a little over the top in religious things, and he takes things too seriously. After all, we are doing the best we can". They might know the claims of the Christian faith and cognitively understand the warnings, but there is something lacking beyond just that. If the Holy Spirit doesn't work in them to enlighten them to these things they will go on like this, on into eternity.

But having said that, you are correct in that in the extreme Calvinist position, which has God causally determining that many if not most men are created and designed for the express purpose of burning in Hell to show God's dislike of sin, and that this was set before they had even been born, then they go too far and slander God's character. Not all Calvinists believe that, but yes, some do.