Sunday, May 22, 2011

Hypothetically Yours

Dear Mr. Calvin,
In view of your position on the "perseverance of the saints"- could you please give your exegesis on Romans 11:21-23. According to your point of view, a believer cannot fall away and perish in hell. As I read in the afore mention Scripture reference; disobedient Israel, the chosen nation, had been disowned by God and gentiles adopted as a result. In verse 22 the gentiles are, in no ambiguous terms, warned to remain in God's kindness lest His severity be directed towards them and they be cut off{AFTER having been grafted in(verse 24)}. How can you reconcile your philosophy of the perseverance of the saints{once-saved-always-saved} in light of this Scripture reference?
--> Romans 11:21-23[&24]
21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you.22 Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off.23 And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again.24 For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree.
-Hypothetically and in TRUTH, Jesus Follower

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Justice For All

Ezekiel chapter 3 and chapter 33 give a vivid picture of God's justice. Transitioning from Old Covenant to New Covenant, God's justice NEVER changes{Hebrews 13:8}; only the means of satisfying that justice changed.
First, a distinction should be made; Old Covenant and Old Testament are not synonymous- the Old Covenant is found written within the Old Testament. The Old Covenant has been replaced with a new and better Covenant{Hebrews 12:24} revealed in the New Testament; but the revelations of God's character and His will revealed in the Old Testament are unchanging from Genesis to Revelation.
Under the Old Covenant, the Law was written upon stone. When someone transgressed that Law, a trespass offering; preceded by a confession{Lev 5:5}; was required anytime an individual came to realize that he/she had sinned{Leviticus 5:1-19/6:1-7}.
Under the New Covenant, Jesus satisfied God's justice with His ONE sacrifice on the cross; ending the sacrifices required under the Old Covenant{cf. Romans 3:24-26}. God gives the Holy Spirit to all who will obey Him{Acts 5:32} and writes the Law upon the heart of the believer so that the believer by [new] nature is inclined to keep the Law{Romans 2:13-15}. Throughout the life of the believer, the Holy Spirit convicts the believer of any sins and prompts the believer to confess that sin and turn from it- and the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us of those sins once confessed and abandoned{cf. Philippians 2:13/1John 1:9/Acts 17:30}.
[**Disclaimer: please do not assume that I am suggesting that one is saved by works. Scripture teaches that it is purely an act of God by the gift of grace that we are saved- no amount of works can put us in a position of "deserving" salvation. This gift of grace is received through faith{Ephesians 2:8-9}. What is spelled out in this blog in regards to any works is that the Holy Spirit is responsible for the believer's good works{Philippians 2:13}]