Of Repentance Unto Life And Salvation

1. Such of the elect as are converted at riper years, having sometime lived in the state of nature, and therein served divers lusts and pleasures, God in their effectual calling giveth them repentance unto life. Titus 3:2-5.
2. Whereas there is none that doth good and sinneth not, and the best of men may, through the power and deceitfulness of the corruption dwelling in them, with the prevalency of temptation, fall into great sin and provocations; God hath, in the covenant of grace, mercifully provided that believers so sinning and falling be renewed through repentance unto salvation. Ecc. 7:20; Luke 22:31, 32.
3. This saving repentance is an evangelical grace, whereby a person, being by the Holy Spirit made sensible of the manifold evils of his sin, doth, by faith in Christ, humble himself for it with godly sorrow, detestation of it, and self-abhorrency, praying for pardon and strength of grace, with a purpose and endeavor, by supplies of the Spirit, to walk before God unto all wellpleasing in all things. Zech. 12:10; Acts 11:18; Ezek. 36:31; 2 Cor. 7:11; Ps. 119:6, 128.
4. As repentance is to be continued through the whole course of our lives, upon the account of the body of death, and the motions thereof, so it is every man's duty to repent of his particular known sins particularly. Luke 19:8; 1 Tim. 1:13, 15.
5. Such is the provision which God hath made through Christ in the covenant of grace for the preservation of believers unto salvation, that although there is no sin so small but it deserves damnation, yet there is no sin so great that it shall bring damnation on them that repent, which makes the constant preaching of repentance necessary. Rom. 6:23; Isa. 1:16-18; 55:7.

(The Second London Baptist Confession of 1689)

Faith and Trust as a Rule of Life

Many times we as Christians regard faith as something we use when we need something from God. The car is going on the fritz and what do we do, we pray. The kid is sick, and sometimes seriously, we pray. The church needs a new roof, we pray. We should indeed pray for these things. After all, did not Paul tell the Philippian church that, “And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus?” (Phil. 4:19) If it is a need, we should pray, right?

The problem I have is with the word use. It sounds like how we use a screwdriver when we want to tighten a bolt, or when we want to use the right kitchen implement. Is faith a “tool” we get out of the “prayer shed” when we have a need for it and then put it away when were done with it and until the next time we need to use it?

Faith is not to be regarded as a tool that we need to use when a need arises. It is not to be thought of as something we only get out of the drawer when something goes wrong and then put it away when things cool down. Faith is the rule, practice, moment by moment manner of life, and not the exception, by which we live in the physical and spiritual world. It is not something we use when we are in trouble. A true child of God, a real Christian, lives by faith as a rule of life.

Look at this text of Scripture:

“As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.” (Colossians 2:6,7)

Another translation put the clause, “In the same way you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him...”

How did you receive Christ Jesus the Lord? According to Ephesians 2: 8,9 it was “by grace through the instrumentality of faith,” that we were brought to faith and trust in Christ Jesus. The text goes on to tell us that it was the act of God alone and not of ourselves. Even the faith to believe was a gift of God. We could not generate the necessary faith. God had to make us alive from the dead, regenerate us, in order that we might believe unto salvation.

In that way, the way in which we were brought to faith in Christ, is how Colossians 2:6 and 7 tells us we are to walk in Him. By grace through the instrumentality of faith we are to walk in Christ. That is how we received Christ Jesus as Lord and that is how we are to walk in Him!

I want to make a connection between what I just said and the Word of God.

“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17)

In the tenth chapter of Romans, Paul speaks to the Gospel and shows us another instrumentality by which we were brought to faith and trust in Christ: by the hearing of the Word of God. Beginning with the 14^th verse of chapter ten, he makes the point that it is through the preaching of the Word of God that the Gospel message is heard. Linked to the Colossians 2:6,7 text, “In the same way you received Christ Jesus as Lord, so walk in Him,” we could also say that it is through the hearing of the Word that we are to walk in Him. Just as faith to believe savingly comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God, so does faith to walk in Him come by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Do you see that?

In other words, faith exercised in prayer is not a Sears and Roebuck mail order catalog to order what we think we need from a deity. Faith is the instrumentality, means, by which we not only come to faith in Christ but how we are to live in this world. It is by faith in God and His Word that we live as a rule of life if we are truly born again.

I want to share a very practical application to what I have just written. If we are to live (walk) by faith in God and the promises of His Word, how exactly does that work? What does this look like in the life of the believer?

Take for example Paul's explanation in Galatians:

“I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.” (Galatians 5:6,7)

Does not this pretty well sum up the point in the Christian's life? Walk in the Spirit and you will not do the evil within your sinful flesh that you do not wish to do? (See Romans 7) But how do you do this thing of “Walking in the Spirit?”

Now, in 1 John:

“Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.” 1 John 5:14,15

And, Philippians:

“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” (Phil. 2;12,13)

Now, think with me through this:

1. Does God want us (Is it His will?) to Walk in His Spirit that we not fulfill the lusts of our flesh? According to the Galatians 5 text the answer is, yes.

2. Does God promise that whatever we ask according to His will that He not only hears us, but we can know that we have that which we have asked of Him in 1 John? Yes.

3. Does God tell us in Philippians that we can “work out our salvation (Walk in the Spirit) with fear and trembling because it is He, and He alone, who works in us the desire and the doing of His good pleasure (His will)?” Yes.

Then as a child of God go to Him praying in believing faith:

“My Lord and God, I thank you for the promise in Your Word (1 John 5:14,15) which tells me that whatsoever I ask according to Your will that You hear me. And, if I know that You hear me in whatsoever I asked I can know that I have that which I have asked of You. Therefore, grant me the Grace I need to obey your Word where you command me to Walk in Your Spirit (Gal. 5:16,17) that I not fulfill the desires of my flesh. Thank-you that it is, again according to You Word, You Who is working in me this desire and it is You and You alone that will work in me the doing (Phil. 2:12,13) of walking in the Spirit. I ask these things in Jesus' name Who said that whatsoever I ask in His name You would give me (John 15:6-8). Amen.”

While I do not mean that you should pray this pray literally, what I am meaning is to show you the connection between prayer, faith, and the Word of God. What is expressed in that prayer example is a life ruled by faith in God and the promises of His Word. That is what should characterize the life of the believer. That is the principle by which we should be living if we really are men and women of God.

Do you have a need in your life? Whether it is a physical or spiritual need, find in God's Word a text of Scripture that matches that need then claim it according to the promises of His Word. Have as your heart's desire the glory of God in His answering that prayer:

“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.” (John 15:7-8)

Of the Fall of Man, Of Sin, And of the Punishment Thereof - 1689 LBC - 1

Although God created man upright and perfect, and gave him a righteous law, which had been unto life had he kept it, and threatened death upon the breach thereof, yet he did not long abide in this honour; Satan using the subtlety of the serpent to subdue Eve, then by her seducing Adam, who, without any compulsion, did willfully transgress the law of their creation, and the command given unto them, in eating the forbidden fruit, which God was pleased, according to his wise and holy counsel to permit, having purposed to order it to his own glory.
( Genesis 2:16, 17; Genesis 3:12,13; 2 Corinthians 11:3 )

Our first parents, by this sin, fell from their original righteousness and communion with God, and we in them whereby death came upon all: all becoming dead in sin, and wholly defiled in all the faculties and parts of soul and body.
( Romans 3:23; Romans 5:12, etc; Titus 1:15; Genesis 6:5; Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 3:10-19 )

Salvation Is Of God and Not Man

It was a decision made before the world was. Before the existence of any human or animal, before the creation of the heavens and the planets, before time itself, the Triune God made a Divine decision. As God in His Word so perfectly phrases it, “before the foundation of the world” (Eph. 1:4) He chose us. To what did the Divine choose us and why did He do it? The Ephesians 1 text elaborates:

"just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved." (Ephesians 1:4-6)

Please note three things from this text:

One: We were chosen before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.

Two: We were chosen before the foundation of the world through “predestination unto adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself.”

Three: We were chosen before the foundation of the world according to the good pleasure of His will to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the beloved.

1) If you are believer, a true Christian with a sincere and visible profession of faith in the Lord and Savior, then it is not because you at some point in your life “decided as an act of your will to invite Jesus into your heart.” If you today believe in Christ as your Lord and Savior, it is because God made a decision. He made a choice before time even was that you should be “holy and blameless before Him in love.”

"Those whom God hath predestinated unto life, he is pleased in his appointed, and accepted time, effectually to call, by his Word and Spirit, out of that state of sin and death in which they are by nature, to grace and salvation by Jesus Christ; enlightening their minds spiritually and savingly to understand the things of God; taking away their heart of stone, and giving unto them a heart of flesh; renewing their wills, and by his almighty power determining them to that which is good, and effectually drawing them to Jesus Christ; yet so as they come most freely, being made willing by his grace." (THE BAPTIST CONFESSION OF FAITH 1689)

2) Predestination is that act of God whereby certain individuals, based absolutely on no merit of their own but entirely and infallibly due to “the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace” (See Ephesians 1:4-6), were chosen, ordained, elected to be brought to faith in Christ Jesus.

"What did God determine ahead of time? According to Romans 8:29-30, God predetermined that certain individuals would be conformed to the likeness of His Son, be called, justified, and glorified. Essentially, God predetermines that certain individuals will be saved. Numerous scriptures refer to believers in Christ being chosen. Predestination is the biblical doctrine that God in His sovereignty chooses certain individuals to be saved." (http://www.gotquestions.org/predestination.html)

"As God hath appointed the elect unto glory, so he hath, by the eternal and most free purpose of his will, foreordained all the means thereunto; wherefore they who are elected, being fallen in Adam, are redeemed by Christ, are effectually called unto faith in Christ, by his Spirit working in due season, are justified, adopted, sanctified, and kept by his power through faith unto salvation; neither are any other redeemed by Christ, or effectually called, justified, adopted, sanctified, and saved, but the elect only." (THE BAPTIST CONFESSION OF FAITH 1689)

3) God does nothing arbitrarily or capriciously. He acts according to the “good pleasure of His will” and is perfectly righteous in choosing some unto salvation while leaving others to the evil passion and desires of their fallen souls who freely, according to their sinful natures, choose to reject The Son of God. The Bible says plainly that salvation is not man who makes a “decision based on an act of His free will”—man has no free will—but according to God who has mercy on Whom He wills. (Romans 9:1-13)

Jonathan Edwards said,

“The sovereignty of God is his absolute, independent right of disposing of all creatures according to his own pleasure.” Then he went on to say, “God can either bestow salvation on any of the children of men, or refuse it, without any prejudice to the glory of any of his attributes”

"God is the king of the universe and he has all the power, the right to rule and carry out his will according to his own pleasure. When we say his own pleasure that means, God is not obligated to anyone, he has the full liberty, full freedom and he is fully independent. No human being how rich they are do not have this kind of pleasure, as all humans have an obligation to somebody and they are not fully independent, but God is fully independent and can do any thing according to his pleasure without any damage to his attributes." (http://www.sounddoctrine.net/Nick/uncondional_election2.htm)

(For further study read: Isaiah 46:10; Ephesians 1:11; Hebrews 6:17; Romans 9:15, 18; James 1:13; 1 John 1:5; Acts 4:27, 28; John 19:11; Numbers 23:19; Ephesians 1:3-5; 1 Timothy 5:21; Matthew 25:34; Ephesians 1:5, 6; Romans 9:22, 23; Jude 4; Romans 9; Ephesians 1 & 2;Romans 5:6; Romans 8:7; Ephesians 2:1, 5; Titus 3:3-5; John 6:44 ... See also THE BAPTIST CONFESSION OF FAITH--With Scripture Proofs Adopted by the Ministers and Messengers of the general assembly which met in London in 1689) 


Recommended Reading

Angry Elders

"An elder must be blameless, faithful to his wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. Since an overseer manages God’s household, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered..." (See context: Titus 1:6-9; Emphasis mine)

“Not quick-tempered.” The word used in the Greek text to convey this idea of “quick temper” is “orgilon.” It means wrath. I think the idea in the Titus text regarding the qualifications of an elder is that an elder is not to be given to exploding often in angry displays of really bad, wrathful behavior. The reasons are obvious. How can an elder manage or rule over the church of God if he cannot rule over his own temper? (See 1 Timothy 3: 5)

The Old Testament book of Proverbs speaks to this very issue.

"A quick-tempered man acts foolishly, And a man of wicked intentions is hated."(Proverbs 14:17 NKJV)

A man of quick temper behaves not only foolishly but the conjunction used here, and, in the verse connects a quick-tempered man with a man of wicked intentions.

"He who is slow to wrath has great understanding, But he who is impulsive exalts folly." (Proverbs 14:29 NKJV)

This verse tells us that someone who is quick-tempered lacks great understanding and that he is impulsive and thus exalts folly.

But, most importantly, the Bible tells us in the Wisdom Book of Proverbs that we are not to even associate with a quick-tempered man:

"Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person, do not associate with one easily angered, or you may learn their ways and get yourself ensnared." (Proverbs 22:24 - 25 NIV)

An elder in a church who is quick-tempered is NOT qualified to be an elder. In fact, when there are more than two three witnesses (See Matthew 18:16; Deuteronomy 19:15) to this sinful behavior the fact can be confirmed that this is a problem from which the quick-tempered man must repent or step down, or be removed, as an elder.

We are commanded in Scripture not to make friends with or to even associate with such a one making it impossible to submit to the Biblical teaching and or discipline of such an elder.

***

Why We Must Be Tested: God's Sufficient Grace

Let's face it: The trials and tribulations of life that God sovereignly brings into our lives (those which He has ordained before the foundation of the world) are not fun. In fact, they are not pleasant, meaningful, exciting, and, in our carnal minds, we wonder just what is going on and if God has deserted us. The trials and tribulation are so severe sometimes that we find ourselves crying out in despair, unable to eat or drink, and are often so incapacitated by them that we are unable to respond to our families and friends. (See the Old Testament book, Job)

And yet, it is about the trials and tribulations of life that God in His inerrant Word commands us to count or regard as joy when we encounter what can seem to us overwhelming trials of life.

“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.” (James 1:2-3; NKJV)

Faith never grows so well as when we are under various trials and tribulations. This is a biblical fact and no matter how much we kick and scream against the goads, it is true whether we like it or not. It is the storms of life when the winds are blowing at tornado speeds and wreaking destruction, when the floodwaters rise up to our necks, when faith is the most disciplined and enlightened.

It is often because of the degree of our arrogance that the degree of our tribulation is the greatest. Think about it: The Bible tells us we are but “earthen vessels” all frail, delicate, breakable and yet upon whose sufficiency do we depend to get through life? Our own. Why then do we moan and cry out so when our own sufficiency fails us and we are in trouble as the result? Do we not make it worse when we try to claw our way out of tribulation rather than “count it joy” and depend upon that “treasure” we have in our “earthen vessels” to sustain us?

“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.” (2 Corinthians 4:7-10; NKJV)

[May I humbly suggest that the “this treasure” in the above text is the “Grace of God” via the ministry of the Holy Spirit.]

We never regard ourselves so weak, much less as earthen vessels, until we find ourselves in circumstances that knock the wind from our self-sufficient sails. What do earthen vessels do? What can they do but sit around until someone comes along and plants a pretty flower in them or knocks them off the shelf. It is when the earthen vessel hits bottom that the realization of just how weak and fragile it is becomes apparent. It cracks up and breaks.

Don't you see that getting knocked off the shelf is exactly why God not only gives us trials but also often does so in such degree so that we can see just how weak and frail we really are apart from His enabling Grace? We never would confess our sinful self-dependence and reliance apart from being rendered weak from the tribulations that God sends us. We never would know how weak we are apart from the trials and tribulations of life. And it is exactly in the position of weakness where God wants His children because that is when we learn to depend on the power and strength of the Grace of God in the middle of trouble. That's why and how we can “count it all joy when you encounter various trials...”

“And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:7-10; NKJV)

Incorruptible Seed

It continues to amaze and sadden me just how many so-called professing believers I run into or hear of who base their salvation in Jesus the Christ upon what is often expressed as, “Oh, I made a decision for Christ when I was young.” Yet, the vast majority of these with whom I am personally acquainted and who tell me this are caught up in besetting sins and are living like the devil himself. I am talking rampant sexual immorality or they are chronic liars and see nothing wrong with doing one or both of these sins while professing Christ as Lord and Savior.

Christ, in other words, has had NO impact upon their personal morality or ethics and their behavior betrays their profession of faith. Why is this so? Why is it that so many think that just because they prayed a prayer, raised a hand, walked an aisle, or signed a card in an evangelistic presentation that they are saved? That sounds good, right? What's wrong, if anything, with a scenario like that?

I can sum up the answer to those questions in one sentence:

“God has done all He can for you, now it is your turn.”

I have heard hundreds of variation of this; two are:

“God has done His part, now you must do your part.” … “Belief now is what God requires of you and that's all He expects as your part in this.”

And the list can go on and on.

A false, watered down, weak and emaciated gospel is presented in almost every professing evangelical church around the world. An appeal is made to man as if he or she had the ability to make a righteous decision to come to Christ. The results of this message are the shipwrecked lives so dominant in evangelical churches today.

Besides having no real sense of the crushing weight of their sin in their “decision for Christ,” no conviction, there is no understanding of the high calling of the believer in Christ. There is no sense of the New Creature that has been planted into the souls of True believers.

Listen to this:

“Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.” ” (1 Peter 1:13-16)

This is what a valid profession of faith should look like: 1) Resting your hope fully upon the unmerited favor of God; 2) Resting as obedient children; 3) Not walking as we did when we were non-Christians in our former lusts; 4) Walking as holy New Creations because He who called us is Holy. Do not miss this last point: “...be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”

The idea here is that if in all your conduct you are not walking as “holy New Creations” in Christ, then you cannot profess to be a Christian. (Gal. 2:20; 2 Cor. 5:17).

It would do the true believer good to keep his or her focus on the high calling of our new natures (New Creations) in Christ. We would fall less and grow more if we devoted our daily devotions less to physical needs and more to our spiritual ones. Take unto one's heart, thinking long and hard, that to be Regenerated, to be born again, is to have a new birth of an incorruptible, not corruptible, seed.

“having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever,” (1 Peter 1:23)

Do you see this? Someone born again, has had a spiritual re-birth, is of an incorruptible seed. If he or she lives as though he or she is of a corruptible seed, then a profession of faith in Jesus Christ cannot be made because He is that incorruptible seed.

We have to understand this calling if we are to be Christians and live like we are Christians. We cannot deny in word, thought, or deed that we are of (born again) an incorruptible seed and then not live as though we are. This we must keep in the forefront of our hearts if we are really born again.

We have to “carry ourselves,” in our conduct, as someone from a high and regal calling, heavenly speaking. In the world, we must, we have no other choice, to live as someone who is not “of the world.” As believers, we must live as though, and we are, of another world—heaven. As those distinguished by and in Sovereign Grace, we must—no alternative—live as holy princes and princesses of the King of kings and Lord of lords.

“It would be well if, in the spirit of humility, we recognized the true dignity of our regenerated nature, and lived up to it … Let the dignity of your nature, and the brightness of your prospects, O believer in Christ, constrain you to cleave unto holiness, and to avoid the very appearance of evil. ” (C.H. Spurgeon)

Of the Assurance of Grace and Salvation - 1689 LBC - 3

True believers may have the assurance of their salvation divers ways shaken, diminished, and intermitted; as by negligence in preserving of it, by falling into some special sin which woundeth the conscience and grieveth the Spirit; by some sudden or vehement temptation, by God's withdrawing the light of his countenance, and suffering even such as fear him to walk in darkness and to have no light, yet are they never destitute of the seed of God and life of faith, that love of Christ and the brethren, that sincerity of heart and conscience of duty out of which, by the operation of the Spirit, this assurance may in due time be revived, and by the which, in the meantime, they are preserved from utter despair.
( Canticles 5:2, 3, 6; Psalms 51:8, 12, 14; Psalms 116:11; Psalms 77:7, 8; Psalms 31:22; Psalms 30:7; 1 John 3:9; Luke 22:32; Psalms 42:5, 11; Lamentations 3:26-31 )

Hope In The Day of Evil

In His Word, God never tells us that the life of Christians is going to be a cinch. He never intimates that life will be one big roller coaster ride with us eating cotton candy and watching clowns that make us giggle our way through our earthly existence. Our walk through our path of life will have days of enjoyment and days when it feels like all the air has been sucked out of our lungs. Life is not a bed of roses and God never promises that in His Word.

There are times when passenger cars on the roller coaster fly off the tracks, the cotton candy makes us sick, and the clowns that made us laugh with glee now are striking terror in our hearts. And, we begin to wonder through what seems now to be days upon days of dark clouds and storms, whether there ever was a bed of roses that we used to admire for its beauty.

We come to ask, “Where is God in all of this suffering and pain?” Worse yet, we ask, “Surely this should not be happening to me; I am a Christian!”

Don't think that dear Christian much less say it!

Perhaps it seemed easily exciting when you were first brought to faith in Christ by the Sovereign working of God. Persecution was nonexistent; hardships seemed remote; exciting truths from the Bible were learned and you increased in knowledge; Christian fellowship was sweet and never ending. Then, the storm clouds rolled in, imperceptibly at first, until darkness seemed to cover everything in your life.

The most heroic of God's children have had to endure the most painful of trials and tribulations:

"...Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented— of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us." (Hebrews 11:35-40)

In Hebrews chapter 11, we are given the not only the definition of what faith is for the Christian but are also shown examples of how our brothers and sisters of the early church endured harrowing trials and temptations and did so by faith. Their horrid circumstances are in this chapter as a lesson to us that no Christian escapes trials. Tribulations are given, writes James, to give us opportunities to show a watching world (and other believers) that no matter in what package life arrives at the doorstep of our lives, we can have joy. Plus, endurance or patience is built into our character. But, warns James, we must let patience or endurance have its “perfect” work in us so that we will become perfect and complete and lacking in nothing. (See James 1:3-8)

No matter how unpleasant the thought, the Biblical fact is that in order to become full-grown children of God (and I am speaking to the issue of sanctification) in our experience or condition upon this earth, we have to have our faith tested through trials and tribulations.

We need to, no, it is essential that our faith be strengthened through trouble, problems, tragedies, unclimbable mountains, unsolvable puzzles, that will force us to deny our sinful dependence upon our flesh and trust in the Triune God. This is how it is and there is no avoiding it. Our God gives grace to the humble (Proverbs 3:4; James 4:6).

God is our hope, strength, and sustenance in the day of evil (See Jeremiah 17:17).

Can Christians Practice Sin as a Way of Life?

She lies constantly. Each time she is asked her age, she tries convincing the inquirer that she is fifteen to twenty years younger than she actually is. If pressed, she verbalizes an elaborately planned out scheme, presented in a most convincing manner, to cover her fraudulence. Not only is she a chronic liar she also is a pathological gossip. Her gossip is so laced with lies and half-truths that she can't even keep track of what is reality and what isn't. She has undermined at least one couple's marriage with her meddling and has been working on a second one.

This woman claims to be a Christian.

“For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s. ” (1 Corinthians 6:20)

In redemption, the shedding of the blood of the Messiah for our atonement, we were purchased. God bought us, body and soul, by a terrible price. The death, resurrection, ascension paid a price we could not possibly pay and made us God's. We are His if indeed Christ is us and we in Him (Gal. 2:20).

Because in body and spirit we are not our own but God's, there can be no neutrality in our hearts and minds. In word, thought, and deed we are either His or we are not. If we belong to Christ then we take everything, even our thoughts, captive to Jesus Christ.

“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.” (2 Corinthians 10:3-6)

No neutrality; there is only obedience to the One Who bought us if we profess the name of Christ in our hearts and lives.

If this is so, then Christian, who do you trust? On whom do you rely? Who is it that comes up in the conversation with your neighbors? To what do you yield your tongue when asked your age or anything else? The revealing of one's age isn't the point. One could always say something like, “I'd rather not discuss my age.” But to lie and to do it chronically is to practice sin. One has a false profession of faith if there is the practice of lying or any sin in one's life.

Let me make this point even clearer. If you profess to be a Christian, you cannot practice sin as a way of life. Christ became Lord or King over you when and if you are really saved. How then are you serving your Lord and King? What is it you are taking (have taken) captive to the obedience to Jesus Christ? Or, I should say, what is it you are hanging onto sinfully and not yielding to your Lord and King?

If you think that you can call yourself a Christian and serve sin, like my lying friend I mentioned, run, don't walk, away from this thing in your life to the cross of Jesus Christ. Run to Him and yield your obedience to His Scriptures and do what He says. To be a liar means you cannot be a Christian. Obey Christ and not the sinful inclinations of your flesh. Demonstrate your love for Christ in willing obedience to His word.

The true and only proof that you are really saved is that you obey His commandments.

“Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.” (1 John 2:3-6)

If you abide in Christ as 1 John 2: 6 says, then you have to walk as Jesus Christ walked. You have no other choice or option. Jesus was not a liar or deceiver of men. His walk matched His profession to being the Son of God. Your walk, your actions in word, thought, or deed have to match your profession of faith in Christ or you are not a Christian!

I close with a most sobering verse regarding lying:

“But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” (Revelation 21:8)

An impenitent liar will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

Walking in Saving Faith

If I had but two things to share from the Word of God that would show a believer what it is he or she should seek, they would be these two: A life of saving faith, and a life of walking by that saving faith. To understand these is to understand Biblical Salvation.

These two issues are crucial to the life of the true believer. You will never find a life of saving faith unaccompanied by true piety; nor will you ever find a genuinely pious life that does not have as its foundation the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ. And the thing is, you cannot have the one without the other!

There are those who would try and have a cold and calculating orthodox faith bereft of true piety. They have lined all their theological ducks in a row but there is no Christ likeness in them. Then, there are those who seek to mimic true piety but, in their imitations, they have no actual true saving faith.

We must have a living, genuine, saving faith as the foundation of our lives with real and lasting piety as the building that is built on the foundation.

What possible use is a foundation, just the foundation, if there is no building on it? Can one shelter oneself in a storm on foundation? There must be a building erected upon the foundation where one can hide from the dangers of the storm. But, one must have both. If the foundation has no building, then one is not safe. Nor is there safety if there is a building without a foundation. The dangers of the storms of life threaten both.

We need a life of saving faith (the foundation), and a life of walking by that saving faith (the building), if we are to have peace in times of problems and trouble. We cannot seek a life of walking by saving faith (piety) if the foundation of saving faith is not there. To do this is like trying to live in a house with no sure foundation. The winds of life will blow it down.

As therefore ye have received the Christ, Jesus the Lord, walk in him, rooted and built up in him, and assured in the faith, even as ye have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. (Col. 2:6,7)

The Great Apostle Paul or The Misogynist ?

Do the pages of Holy Scripture ever refer to a situation as being a cultural circumstance and not applicable to the 21^st century? Are there cultural issues in the Bible that perhaps might be changeable for our “day?” I think in answering this question one has got to exercise a great deal of exegetical wisdom and apply a remarkably reliable hermeneutic to come up with the answer. And, how exactly can we know the difference? How can we be sure what we are looking at in Scripture so we do not become guilty of bringing into question the infallibility of the “God breathed” (inspired) Word of the Living God?

A text that some take as being cultural is found in 1 Cor. 7 regarding marriages. Paul's exhortation to remain single seems to be tied to the persecution of the times. Another text, and in my view a stronger one, is the issue of eating meat sacrificed to idols. Regarding head coverings in 1 Cor 11, Paul even says, “judge among yourselves” whether it is proper for a woman to wear a head covering (verse 13). The thing to realize is Paul appeals to custom or tradition if it is not in conflict with the imperative principles of Holy Scripture.

Matthew Henry says: “The Christian religion sanctions national customs wherever these are not against the great principles of truth and holiness; affected singularities receive no countenance from any thing in the Bible.” ¹

A text that is NOT speaking to a cultural issue, but is often thought of being just a “cultural thing,” is found in 1 Timothy 2:11-15:

“Let a woman learn in silence with all submission. And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression. Nevertheless she will be saved in childbearing if they continue in faith, love, and holiness, with self-control.”

How do we know this is not some misogynistic ploy by the Apostle Paul to bring those rebellious women under control? Why isn't this a trick to make all Christian women into some inferior beings subservient to all those nasty men in the church?

“In other words, if the biblical passages merely reflect the chauvinism of a first century rabbinic Jew, they are unworthy of our acceptance. If, however, Paul wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and if the New Testament is the Word of God, then the charge of chauvinism must be leveled not only at Paul but at the Holy Spirit Himself - a charge that cannot be leveled with impunity.” ²

I can give you the answer in three words how we know we are not dealing with the culture of the first century: Creation Ordinance Hermeneutic.

Hermeneutics is defined as: “the study of the methodological principles of interpretation (as of the Bible) ” ³

The 1 Timothy 2:11-15 text is an excellent example of Paul presenting a truth of Scripture and appealing, not to culture, but to Creation itself as the basis for his Divinely inspired, infallible, and Apostolic teaching.

Rejection of this passage as anything other than what it is, absolute Truth, stems out of liberal theology. “Of course Paul would say this. He is a man.” It is relegated to the boondocks of the cultural boogeyman by those who don't think it is “fair.” When has “fairness” ever been a valid hermeneutic for exegeses of Holy Scripture? (I'm just saying.)

Paul's hermeneutic is to use Genesis chapter one through three as the basis for what he has just said. Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and in exercising his Apostolic authority, says women are to keep silent in the church and uses the Creation Ordinance in Genesis as his Divinely inspired reason. He gives no cultural “judge for yourselves” in this text.

R.C. Sproul said:

“One of the chief considerations in determining the question of principle or custom is whether the matter involves a Creation ordinance.”

And, my dear readers, 1 Timothy 2:11-15, as distasteful as liberal theology regards it, is tied directly to a Creation Ordinance.

1  Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible Public Domain

2   R.C. Sproul

3  http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hermeneutic

What Is Your Passion?

The true Christian, the genuine believer in Christ as Lord and Savior, will be characterized by the unassailable passion to glorify God in his or her life. Everything else in the life of the Christian should be secondary. The driving inclination in the believer's life is that the glory of the Triune God would be manifested in and through his or her life.

The believer might want to see success in life's endeavors but only to the extent that God is glorified. A professing believer is not evidencing a credible testimony if there exists any other motive than to show God off, to glorify Him, in any and all aspects of the believer's life.

The Bible is explicit in this regard. It is very clear, it is precise, that we are to glorify God. But, why?

“Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” (1 Corinthians 6:19, 20)

Christ redeeming us with the price of His blood purchased us for God. It is because of that terrible price that we are not our own. If we have been bought by the blood of Christ, if we are therefore Christians, then we have no right to do anything other than glorify God in and through our bodies.

Glorifying God has got to be our soul's desire. To glorify God has got to be the basis for all our affairs. There is nothing in our lives this does not touch. Whether business, fame, fortune, marriage, children, church, driving a car, there is nothing in life that escapes the command to glorify God in our bodies.

And, we must grow in our desire to glorify God. We must search out any nook or cranny in the cupboards of our hearts where He is not being glorified and crucify that thing afresh to the glory of the Living God.

Let it be an ever-increasing passion!

How Does God Speak Today?

My wife and I have this friend. She is bright, in her 40's, but not formally educated in systematic theology or Biblical Studies. Yet, when in a woman's Bible study where she was asked, “How does God speak to you?” she responded correctly, “He speaks to me through His Word by means of the Holy Spirit.” Well, you would have thought from the responses she got that she had uttered absolute blasphemy. The participants proceeded to inform her that God speaks to them all the time and in various ways and that our friend should not be so “black and white.”

Of the many foundational truths of the Reformation, one that has to do with the above paragraph and the point of this article is that the Word of God is the absolute authority source for faith and practice.

“The Holy Scripture is the only sufficient, certain, and infallible rule of all saving knowledge, faith, and obedience, although the light of nature, and the works of creation and providence do so far manifest the goodness, wisdom, and power of God, as to leave men inexcusable; yet are they not sufficient to give that knowledge of God and his will which is necessary unto salvation. Therefore it pleased the Lord at sundry times and in divers manners to reveal himself, and to declare that his will unto his church; and afterward for the better preserving and propagating of the truth, and for the more sure establishment and comfort of the church against the corruption of the flesh, and the malice of Satan, and of the world, to commit the same wholly unto writing; which maketh the Holy Scriptures to be most necessary, those former ways of God's revealing his will unto his people being now ceased.
( 2 Timothy 3:15-17; Isaiah 8:20; Luke 16:29, 31; Ephesians 2:20; Romans 1:19-21; Romans 2:14,15; Psalms 19:1-3; Hebrews 1:1; Proverbs 22:19-21; Romans 15:4; ) ” (London Baptist Confession; Chapter 1; #1)

The above quote from the LBC has been one that has given definition to the Reformed movement for centuries and indeed has been a central component to professing Evangelicalism. But note I said “...indeed has been...”

Though the LBC represents my personal conviction regarding Divine revelation, there has been a change floating about in theological circles that has worked itself into the hearts and minds of professing Evangelical for some time now. Some are now offering a new understanding of the Word of God, which says God now speaks to believers apart from and in addition to the Bible. It is an attempt by some to change the historically orthodox view of the “sufficiency and finality of Holy Scripture (R. Fowler White).”

Even a former professor at Dallas Theological Seminary wrote:

“In order to fulfill God’s highest purposes for our lives we must be able to hear his voice both in the written word and in the word freshly spoken from heaven. . . ”

Don't miss this point here. If this former Dallas Theological Seminary professor is correct, then those of us who adhere to the theology of the Reformation that the Word of God is our one and only authority for faith and practice are not only wrong but are also quenching the Holy Spirit.

Essentially, what these folks are suggesting is that God speaks to His people as He always has when He would deliver Truth to the prophets in supernatural means and extra-written: Burning bushes, handwriting on the walls, and talking donkeys are some examples.

So, are these guys like our seminary professor friend right? I do not think so.

What these advocates fail to realize and acknowledge is that in the days in which God did speak to His people through supernatural and other means, it was done in a time when little, if any, of the will of God was in written form. In those days, God's elect were forced out of necessity to rely on what they did have of God's will in written form plus other means. However, today we have a closed canon of Scripture and agree with ages of orthodoxy and orthopraxy that what we have in written form, the Bible, is our sole source and therefore the only authority for faith and practice. And, how and why do we affirm this?

“But why does the church affirm that the canon is closed? The only demonstrable basis for this affirmation is that God’s giving of revelation, spoken and written, is always historically joined to and qualified by God’s work of redemption. Now that God has accomplished salvation once-for-all, in Christ, He has also spoken His word, once-for-all, in Christ and in those whom Christ authorized and empowered by His Spirit (Heb. 1:1-2; 2:3, 4; Matt. 16:15-19; John 14:26; Eph. 2:19, 20). With the completion of salvation in Christ comes the cessation of revelation. Consequently, the church now lives by a "Scripture only" principle of authority To tamper with this principle invites a host of theological and pastoral problems. The proof of this observation can be seen in the effect of these "prophecies" upon many who are being led far afield from the sufficiency of the gospel itself. Its finality and complete sufficiency is, in reality, subtly assaulted by these claims to modern prophecies. ” (R. Fowler White)

In addition, the Word of God itself gives us no indication that He speaks to His elect through anything other than the Holy Spirit illuminating our hearts and minds through the Bible. What those who believe otherwise do when they say that God speaks to them through supernatural and extra-biblical means is detract and distract from the all sufficiency of Holy Scripture and how exactly is that extra-orthodox position not “quenching the Spirit?” (R. Fowler White)

My opinion is that they are doing exactly that, “quenching the Spirit,” in their advocacy of extra-biblical revelation. That's just how serious this issue really is. It is God's Word, Holy Writ, in which God's elect hear His words and receive guidance by the illumination of the Holy Spirit through His written Word.

“The authority of the Holy Scripture, for which it ought to be believed, dependeth not upon the testimony of any man or church, but wholly upon God (who is truth itself), the author thereof; therefore it is to be received because it is the Word of God.”
( 2 Peter 1:19-21; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; 1 John 5:9 ) (London Baptist Confession; Chapter 1; #4)

Put To Death The Deeds of The Flesh

I received a phone call from a woman, a professing believer in Jesus Christ, who was going through some sort of tribulation that was vexing her soul. Her first words after explaining to me what was happening were,

“God already knows I am a woman of great faith, so why is He bringing these trials and tribulations into my life?”

The only thing I can say in her favor is that she accurately understood the Biblical explanation for trials and tribulations in the lives of His people:

“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” (James 1: 2-4; NKJV)

My acquaintance got the connection between how God brings into His elect's lives trials and tribulations to test their faith with the consequent result of patience, a fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5: 22-23) being produced in the lives of Christians. She got that. A star for her.

What she so tragically did not get was that she was expressing to me on the phone that she believed she had arrived at such a place in her professed faith in Christ where she no longer needed God to produce patience in her life through the medium of trials and tribulation. In her mind, she had reached a level of perfect sanctification where it was, according to her, no longer a need that the Triune God keep perfecting or completing her.

“Why more trials when I am already there? I've reached the goal. I've arrived!”

“...being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;” (Philippians 1:6; NKJV)

You see, what the Bible teaches is that the good work of salvation, initiated by God in the lives of His elect, won't be completed until the day of Christ Jesus. In other words, the work of completing or perfecting believers will never end until the death of the believer or the second coming of Jesus Christ for His church.

Yet, like so many others with dubious professions of faith in Christ, there is a kind of pride. It is a sinful boasting of having been perfected in grace when in reality there is a total lack of Biblical grace in their lives.

People like that, if they are even Christians to begin with, actually think they have reached a goal while the rest of us sit around in anguish lamenting our pain and suffering. They either are ill taught or are not believers to not know that “until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil 1:6) means that a continual flow of the Grace of God must be constant in their lives to enable them to cope with the multitudinous tribulations that God will indeed providentially bring into their lives.

To deny this is directly from their sinful flesh. In the boast of having arrived at some falsely conceived level of perfection the rest of us are still waiting for, is to glory in one's carnal and base instincts. It is to glory in the self-aggrandized “I have already arrived” state of thinking instead of glorying in the Person and work of Christ and the strength only He can work into your life to enable you to cope with the trials and tribulations God has ordained for your life.

Put to death the deeds of your body and mind (Romans 8:13) to keep yourself from reaching such a prideful notion that you have arrived at a level of completion or perfection and no longer need to have your faith tested by the Loving, Providential, and Sovereign Hand of God. Glorify in the One who can supply you the strength to endure by:

Spend a protracted amount of time in prayer seeking the strength of God.

Spend more time in meditating on the wonders and care of God in His Word. Read the Scriptures diligently and carefully.

Glory in God's strength, the only One who can keep you from falling.

Live nearer to God by watching and praying lest you fall into the temptation of pride and arrogance.

Let your conversation in front of the people of the world ALWAYS be seasoned with the Grace of God.

Let your heart be scented with the aroma of Biblical love for the lost souls of the world.

Let the words of your mouth and the meditations of your heart be such that men want to know what is in your life that's not in theirs.

“Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” (1 Corinthians 10:12)

“Hold Thou me up, and I shall be safe.” (Spurgeon)

I blogged recently about this woman who called to ask me why God keeps testing her faith when she was sure that He knew that she had already become a woman of “great faith?” I can't get her out of my mind. Just how is it that someone can come to the conclusion that they had arrived at such a state of perfection that they no longer needed to be tested in their faith?

It is indeed a very dangerous thing to reach the conclusion of such a prideful and false notion that you have mastered such an important aspect of the Christian life, is it not? Never is the true believer in a more dangerous position than to be deceived into thinking he or she has mastered anything to do in the Christian life. One can never gloat that he or she has reached the point where there is no longer any need to have trials and tribulations in his or her daily life. The path of anyone's life is not so pristine so as to stop dirtying one’s clothes. To keep one’s hands clean in such a defiling, filth-ridden world, there has to be much watching and praying lest one fall into temptation (Mark 14:38).

At every turn, corner, or juncture in life's road is something just waiting to steal away joy, peace, patience, and contentment. Everything we encounter in life has within it the potential of taking away joy and peace. If we survive trials and sufferings, it is only due to the Sovereign working of God in preserving us that the fruit of the Spirit would be seen in the midst of seeming impossibilities. In this God is glorified.

When the believer stops watching and praying lest he or she fall into temptation is exactly when the fall comes, and great is the fall thereof. Just like a man who walks around with a stick of dynamite in his hand and has to watch lest he venture too close to an open flame so the fuse doesn't ignite, so the Christian can never give up watching and praying lest the fuse of temptation is ignited and the explosion of iniquity occurs.

Everyday affairs in life must be considered as potential land mines for nothing in this life and in this world works to foster any God-glorifying godliness in the life of the Christian. Nothing must be assumed to be safe enough to stop watching and praying lest we fall into temptation. The world system seeks to offer death and destruction to the life of joy and peace.

Instead of false and arrogant protestations of not needing trials and tribulations any longer in your life, there should be supplications directed heavenward desperately seeking God's sustaining Grace through the pain and sufferings of life. You should pray,

“Hold Thou me up, and I shall be safe.” (Spurgeon)

That and that alone should be your prayer when you are tempted to think you have arrived at spiritual perfection of not needing the testing of your faith.

And, having expressed your anxious need for God's help, you must watch diligently and vigilantly taking every word, thought, and deed captive to Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5).

And when required to venture into a situation where temptation is most intense, never go forth without the Full Armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18).

Easy-Believism: Who Gets The Glory?

In thinking more about Decisionalism or Easy-Believism salvation, the plague that has infected Evangelicalism, I began to wonder just who do these proponents of this error think they are glorifying in teaching that “God has done His part, now it is up to you to do your part?”

With the Bible being crystal clear that salvation is “not of yourself lest any man boast,” just how do they explain this? Are these Easy-Believism advocates saying that when you get down to brass tacks, it is man's fallen volition, a will that is dead and enslaved to sin, that is the final determiner in bridging the gulf that separates God and man?

I would suggest that this is straight from the fallen will of man. It is a direct response from man's hideous total depravity to say, much less think, that man has some island or spark of righteousness left in him that enables him to respond favorably to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is an attempt to glorify himself. It is taking away from God the glory when He acts to save His people or His elect.

In discussions with Easy-Believism proponents, I have actually been told that the reason someone is saved while his neighbor is not is that the saved one made the right decision. If that is so, then is it not of works that a professing believer comes to faith and trust in Christ? Is it not then the result of a good work that the professing Christian is saved? To believe unto salvation certainly is not a non-work or a bad work, is it? Therefore, in the minds of those who believe this error, that which makes the difference between them and their lost neighbor is that they make the good and right decision whereas their lost and hell-bound neighbor did not.

"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast."(Ephesians 2:8,9)

I can't begin to count how many people have told me they are “born-again Christians” and yet they are very publicly ensconced in lives that would, in some cases, make the Devil cringe. A young man who is on his second or third sexual lover told me he is a born-again Christian. His mother told me the same thing about herself, that she is “born again,” and she lies every time she opens her mouth, pirates satellite signals for free, and makes sexual advances toward men other than her husband. A woman in our church is 44 or 45 years old and tells everyone she is 27. She makes no connection between her profession of the Gospel and telling the truth.

This horrid and damnable false doctrine creates the idea in the heads of its advocates that to have forgiveness of sin they think their volition wrought for them means that there is no obligation to obey the commandments of God. This horror creates in their minds a license to sin and to sin freely.

I was listening to a YouTube video in which a famous Reformed Baptist preacher was telling the story of one of his parishioners who admitted to him in a counseling session that she was involved in a long-term sexual affair with a married man. She herself was also married. She saw nothing wrong with this. The preacher told her she would go to hell if she did not stop this. Her response was that she was heaven-bound and that God had to forgive her of this sin because of the decision she made twenty years prior. “Once saved, always saved” is what she chanted to him.

Some take 1 John 1:9 as a kind of permission to sin and get away with it. They have chronic sin practices in their lives but believe as long as they confess it they can get it forgiven and get by with it.

“In the Bible, to know someone includes close communion and love. To “know Christ” means to keep His commandments. This knowledge of Christ is called a “perfected” love of God (v.5), not because it makes us perfectly sinless, because it is irrevocably established in those who live by it. Anyone who presumes to have received forgiveness from God but spurns the gift of obedient love as unnecessary is a “liar.” Instead of receiving “Jesus Christ the righteous” as Savior, such a person manufactures a false christ , a savior who is indifferent to righteousness.”¹

Easy-Believism glorifies man's totally and absolutely depraved nature. This theological system is man-centered and makes man's fallen will the final determiner in salvation. It is not the salvation of the Bible and is, in the long run, rank and file heresy.

1  New Geneva Study Bible; NKJV; Nelson Publishing; pg. 1987; 1 John 2:1-6 footnote

Of Repentance Unto Life and Salvation - 1689 LBC - 2

This saving repentance is an evangelical grace, whereby a person, being by the Holy Spirit made sensible of the manifold evils of his sin, doth, by faith in Christ, humble himself for it with godly sorrow, detestation of it, and self-abhorrency, praying for pardon and strength of grace, with a purpose and endeavour, by supplies of the Spirit, to walk before God unto all well-pleasing in all things.
( Zechariah 12:10; Acts 11:18; Ezekiel 36:31; 2 Corinthians 7:11; Psalms 119:6; Psalms 119:128 )

  As repentance is to be continued through the whole course of our lives, upon the account of the body of death, and the motions thereof, so it is every man's duty to repent of his particular known sins particularly.
( Luke 19:8; 1 Timothy 1:13, 15 )

Such is the provision which God hath made through Christ in the covenant of grace for the preservation of believers unto salvation; that although there is no sin so small but it deserves damnation; yet there is no sin so great that it shall bring damnation on them that repent; which makes the constant preaching of repentance necessary.
( Romans 6:23; Isaiah 1:16-18 Isaiah 55:7 )