In our Ask FGBC Anything video series, listeners submit questions that we then answer in a video format.

Transcript

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

god, assurance, faith, jesus, gospel, christ, regeneration, believer, sin, apostles, believed, objectivity, salvation, work, call, choose, grace, jesus christ, preaching, paul

SPEAKERS

Pastor Mike Kirkpatrick, Wim Kerkhoff, Pastor Jim Butler

Wim Kerkhoff  00:00

I got a question from somebody. It’s a legitimate question from somebody – people struggle with these kinds of questions. Okay, is accepting salvation a choice? I know we can’t merit salvation by works. And I know salvation is by grace. But is that offered to all of us? Or can only the elected accept it?

Pastor Jim Butler  00:28

Okay, I would say that yes, it is a choice. Now I need to qualify that because sinners outside have faith in Jesus Christ. The Bible says they’re dead. They’re not limping along, they’re not a little crippled, but rather they are dead in their trespasses and sin. So what must happen is that they must be born again, the Holy Spirit must regenerate them. And when the Spirit does that, the spirit grants the graces of faith and repentance, so that you and I choose for Jesus but again, we need to qualify it we choose because God opened our hearts God gave a gave us new hearts to use the language of the prophet Ezekiel, took out the old stony heart put in a new fleshly heart put a disposition in us, such that now we see Jesus and all of his glory and offices, and we, by God’s grace be leave on him. So strictly speaking, or generally speaking, yeah, it’s a choice. But it’s a choice because God made us willing in the day of his power. The other question or part of the question has to do with what we call in theology, the general or external call of the gospel, and then the internal or effectual call of the gospel. So Jesus is clear in Matthew 28, and in Mark chapter 16, that we’re to preach the gospel to every creature, indiscriminately, go preach the gospel to every creature under heaven. So we call man, when we tell man the truth, as it is in Jesus life, death, resurrection, and then we call upon them to believe that gospel. So everybody hears the word or everybody should hear the word. That’s one of the things that church is trying to do. We want to Bible translators, we want missionaries, we want people to take the word out to the heathen in the bush so that everybody hears the gospel. But there is this effectual call. And that goes back to the first part of the question why? Why do some choose? Well, they’ve been effectually, called by God, so that new birth or regeneration, the granting of the graces of faith and repentance as occurred, and it occurs to the lacked, it occurs to those that Paul describes, in Ephesians. One, he says, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. And then he praises that one true and living God, specifically, the three persons Father, Son and Holy Spirit for the work of salvation. And he attributes sovereign election and predestination in Ephesians, one to the Father, He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world. He says, in love having predestined us unto adoption as sons by Jesus Christ, so so we choose, because God chose us. So general call, go out, preach the gospel to every creature under heaven, that’s your duty. That’s your responsibility. That’s your great privilege. The internal or effectual call is the purpose of God, to save through Christ, those whom he has predestined.

Pastor Mike Kirkpatrick  03:46

And I think we can distinguish between the act of faith and the object of faith. I think the Bible is very clear that as pastor Butler said, it’s a gift of God. Ephesians two does say that it’s the gift of God, it is not of works. Yet nonetheless, as we read in the book of Acts, I mean, especially with the Philippian jailer, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, he’s called to act he’s called to believe. He’s called to look to the object of his faith, which is Christ Jesus. And so, but that has to do with the gift comes first, regeneration precedes the gift of the believing the act of believing. And one theologian said that regeneration is life and planted, and then faith is the life act. And that all happens I believe, at once that conversion, regeneration, faith, all happens at that one time. And but it’s important to see that we must be born again, it’s a passive in John threes when we don’t make ourselves born again and that precedes faith. We also have to understand that predestination, to use the language of man precedes regeneration. I think the question seems to be do we choose God or does God chose to choose us And in reality they are, I guess, different categories and different times against being the manner of men. Predestination happens in eternity. And God decrees whom He will save. And we see regeneration and faith happen in time and space. And so, as pastor Butler said, we chose God because He first chose us before the foundation of the world.

Wim Kerkhoff  05:26

I agree with that. The I know, kind of the background of where these questions come from. I’ve heard that in sermons in the past, is that choosing, believing is a work that you’re adding to your salvation. You can’t ask, it has to be 100% God. But faith is the have you say that again, the instrument that receives?

Pastor Jim Butler 05:49

the empty hand that receives the gift, you know, nothing in my hand, I bring simply to the across a claim. You know, in Philippians, chapter two, the apostle says, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, you can only work out what God has placed there. He’s not saying work for your own salvation. Then he says, For this God who is at work in you both to will and to do according to His good pleasure. The idea of us wheeling necessarily involves choice we choose to drink water, we choose to drink coffee, we choose to believe the gospel but again, not an unqualified Arminian and freewill sense, but because because God for ordained or predestined from before the foundation of the world, that we should, and then in time through the preaching of the Gospel, the means that he’s ordained, he grants us those graces of faith and repentance. So that yes, we do choose for Jesus, but not in an unqualified sort of a way. Yeah. And you see this emphasis in Acts. So in Acts 13, you have this statement in verse 48, that all those who are appointed to eternal life believed, okay, wasn’t that they believed and then were appointed to to eternal life. They were appointed to eternal life, and they believed, and then later in Acts. So that’s Acts 13, then Acts 16. You’ve got Paul at the Riverside in Philippi. And they’re the Lord open Lydia’s heart to receive the things that were spoken by the apostle Paul, but sort of smack dab right in the middle, you’ve got 13 there a point, believe, open heart believe in Acts 14:1, the apostles so spoke that a great multitude believed. So the scriptures don’t have that sort of hyper Calvinism or Arminianism about them, where they got a smooth off what they perceive to be rough edges. Well, you know, I don’t know that we could say God, so loves the world, that might seem to indicate universalism, the biblical authors don’t do that. And the biblical authors treat the truth, because it’s truth. So on the one hand, they’re appointed, and they believe, on the one hand, she opens or God opens her heart, so that she believes, but on the other hand, the apostles could preach, and because they could preach a great multitude believed that doesn’t mitigate sovereignty, it simply underscores that the sovereign God ordains, not only the ends the salvation of sinners, but the means good breaching, attending the Word of God reading it for yourself, listening to your parents read it, all those things are calculated or means given by God to bring about his purpose. And the beautiful thing, it’s a great thing. It’s a wonderful thing. So, so we shouldn’t be rationalists in our attempt to explain away, you know, large swathes of the scriptures. Yes.

Wim Kerkhoff  08:41

I think the other thing behind this question is, there’s a fear of being deceived, that we’ve made that choice, we’re following Jesus, and we’re doing all the good things. But to get to judgment day and be like, Oh, no, you weren’t actually elect, you lived the life of a Christian and you thought you were saved, but you weren’t sort of Yeah. And that that runs deep.

Pastor Jim Butler 09:01

For sure. Yes, it does. And I, and I sympathize. I do it’s not, it’s not, this isn’t trite. It’s not well, you know, Buck up, suck it up, just to be a better you know, I get that you’re conditioned. Basically, you’re you’re you’re sort of indoctrinated that, you know, if you have a degree of joy or, or comfort or assurance, the warning and the wagging finger is always there. Make sure you’re not deceived. And I do sympathize. And I think the way to deal with that, ultimately, is just to keep the objectivity of the cross and view you know, our comfort or assurance is ultimately not our feelings. It’s not ultimately our good works or fruits or anything like that, but it’s the objectivity of the cross. I love the the other hand that we sing, I think it’s Edward note. He says, My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness. As he says, I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but holy lean on Jesus name. You and I both know sweet frames come and sweet frames go. And our assurance will come and go with those frames. Now you need to look to Christ, you need to look to the Christ of the Gospel, the one who live the one who died, the one who was raised again, I think that’s the first place we go for that assurance and for that, you know, confidence if I can use that word, that we’re not deceiving ourselves, I would suggest Secondly, you know, there’s an old maxim, all that glitters is not gold, right? But gold does glitter. And so you know, cross first. And then the reality you know, there’s consequences of us having, by God’s grace, believe the gospel. And I think John treats those things in First John, you know, a pursuit of righteousness and, and and obedience. Now again, pagans do outwardly righteous thing. So this isn’t surefire, this isn’t sure shot, because again, vegans will do, you know, nice things, so you can’t necessarily argue yourself into the kingdom. But if all that glitters is not gold, you got to realize gold does glitter, and there will be fruits to a degree and consequences, with reference to a justifying faith in Jesus. So I would suggest, first, the objectivity of the cross. Secondly, those fruits that are consistent with that, and then, you know, most importantly, the testimony, the Holy Spirit. He really is, you know, with us, and I mean, and some good expectations or some biblical expectations. I’ve often tried to explain that, you know, when you become a believer in Jesus Christ, you’re still you. I mean, you’re a new creature, all things have passed. And you know, all things are new, in terms of redemption, in terms of category in terms of covenant in terms of all that. But I’m still five, nine, I’m not six, two, I’m still scrambled up in the way that I want. So, so these expectations of what does new life and Jesus Christ look like? It’s not going to add interest to your height, it’s not going to add digits to your bank account. It’s not going to add, you know, a brand new perspective on everything I, I don’t want to say lower your expectations, but have a healthy understanding that you’re still going to have struggles, there’s still going to be depressing days, there’s still going to be challenges in the Christian life and don’t immediately conclude, well, I must not be a believer than I think, at times, and I don’t mean to be callous or you know, unkind to the questioner. At times that can be a weaselly sort of way out. You know, it’s easier to, you know, I can’t believe I did such and such today, I must be deceiving myself. Now. You’re a believer in Christ, that needs to own the fact that you’ve sinned, and go to the Blessed advocate with the Father, even Jesus Christ, the righteous, fetch up fresh forgiveness, go on, and don’t continue in that pattern anymore. You know, if every time a believer sins, the, the reflex responses, well, I must not be a believer. I’m not reading that Bible. You know, the good that I wish to do, I don’t do. Paul says in Romans seven, the evil I don’t want to do I find myself doing. What’s he saying? Galatians five, for the flesh loss against the spirit, Spirit against the flesh. These two are contrary to one another so that you don’t do the things that you want. There is this remaining corruption in the heart of God’s people. And I’m not justifying that I agonize over that. I don’t appreciate that. But I’m suggesting that your behavior or your performance or your thought of where you’re at, relative to Jesus, thankfully isn’t what brings you to happen. It’s the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, it is His life, His death and His resurrection. So I would say the more you understand the glories of the Cross, the more the pathway to assurance is accessible.

Pastor Mike Kirkpatrick 14:25

And if I could add to that you mentioned first John twice, I call it the book of assurance. I’m sure somebody else in the past has called it that as well. But John does write to believers and says, I write the you might know that you have eternal life, those who believe in his name. And Pastor Butler mentioned, you know, First John too, but the verse that precedes that John says little children do not sin. And then he says, if you do and so the implication seems to be that we are going to sin and the context of first John are those who thought they didn’t have sin, those who thought that they were fine and everything was great and and not only do we measure our performance against Christ. I think unfortunately, we measure our performance against other people as well. And that, and that doesn’t do it do anything for us. And so I just like the way John words that little children do not sin, but if you do, we have an advocate with the Father of Jesus Christ, the righteousness of Christ still, as our high priest, he still pleads for us. And it’s based upon His finished work. And John goes on to say that when he says, Jesus Christ, the righteous and He is the Spirit, He is the propitiation for his people, he turns out the sacrifice for his people, not only for our sins, but for the sins of the whole world. And I do think that is referring to not just the elites, not just the apostles, not just those with PhDs in theology, but even for those that do not that there is an advocate and Christ’s work is sufficient. So John is a great book for those struggling with assurance.

Pastor Jim Butler 15:55

I would just like to sort of piggyback off that and say, there’s a great responsibility in terms of preaching. If a preacher holds up a particular man in history and parade, Sam, as sort of the man to aspire after, to follow to be like, you know, this man, he agonized over his sin for 15 years, this man, you know, finally gotten relief, and Jesus, but from then on, all he ever did was struggle. The preachers job is to hold up one man, and that’s the God man, the word who became flesh, who dwelt among us, we’d beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.  When we parade, Now, again, as a father, I might say to my child, you know, you ought to be more like your older brother, I shouldn’t do that a lot. But, you know, there’s a place perhaps for that, but preaching that celebrates the accomplishment of Christian men, beyond saying, you know, this brother, you know, Spurgeon useful man, wonderful brother, John Owen, you know, the guys on the shelf there, Turretin and Van Masterik, we love to read those man. But that’s a far cry different than you need in terms of you’re coming to Jesus, it needs to model or be parallel or look a lot like this. The Bible doesn’t do that the Bible doesn’t give us sort of paradigm for every single converted person. And perhaps, that kind of preaching is calculated, or, you know, probably unwittingly, to produce this idea of deception to produce this idea of a lack of assurance. In other words, if I’m aspiring to be like, some hero in the faith, and I’m not looking to the objectivity of the cross, I’m gonna be in dire straits. Well, you know, my life doesn’t look like this one’s life. Nowhere in the Bible does it say your life has to look like this one’s so some preaching may be you know, in a way, promoting producing resulting in that sort of thing. So examples in the Christian life good: biography, good autobiography, good. All that’s great. But don’t make that the paradigm for everybody else. And if everybody else doesn’t sort of measure up to that, then they mustn’t be saved. Because the Bible doesn’t do that.

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