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Pastor's Corner
October 31st, 2006
Grace: Not to be abused
"If any man ascribes anything of salvation,
even the very least
thing, to the free will of man, he knows nothing
of grace,
and he has not learned Jesus Christ rightly."
Martin Luther
As I write this today it is a wonderful day for Christendom.
Today is "Reformation Day." On this day in 1517, Martin Luther
nailed his 95 Theses to the Castle Church doors in Wittenberg,
Germany to launch an official protest of the doctrine and practice
of the Church in Rome. Out of this "protest" came what we know today
as "Protestants or Evangelicals" and an event in church history
known as the Reformation.
During the Reformation, several Latin slogans emerged, illustrating
the Reformers' concern that the authorities of the Church had
distorted the message of justification before God, and salvation in
Jesus Christ. In other words the Church of Rome had made salvation a
human work by adding that men have a part in their own salvation.
The Reformers found it necessary to return to the simplicity of the
Gospel in terms of the issues designated by these slogans or solas
as they are called in Latin.
There are five Solas, four discussed here. The fifth, Soli Deo
Gloria (to God alone the glory), is intended to underlie the other
four. These slogans essentially became rallying cries to challenge
the problems the Reformers had identified, which are:
Solus Christus: Christ alone - The Protestants characterize the
dogma concerning the Pope as Christ's representative head of the
Church on earth, the concept of meritorious works, and the Catholic
idea of a treasury of the merits of saints, as a denial that Christ
is the only mediator between God and man.
Sola Scriptura: Scripture alone - Protestants believe that the
teachings of the Roman Catholic Church obscures the teachings of the
Bible by convoluting it with church history and its own man made
doctrine.
Sola Fide: Faith alone - Protestants believe that faith in Christ
alone is enough for eternal salvation, unlike Roman Catholics who
believe it requires "faith and good works." Instead, Protestants
believe that practicing good works attest to one's faith in Christ
and his teachings.
Sola Gratia: Grace alone - The Roman Catholic view of the means of
salvation was believed by the Protestants to be a mixture of
reliance upon the grace of God, and confidence in the merits of
one's own works, performed in love. The Reformers posited that
salvation is entirely comprehended in God's gifts, (i.e. God's act
of free grace) dispensed by the Holy Spirit according to the
redemptive work of Jesus Christ alone. Consequently, they argued
that a sinner is not accepted by God on account of the change
wrought in the believer by God's grace, and that the believer is
accepted without any regard for the merit of his works - for no one
deserves salvation.
"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. For we are His workmanship, created in
Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we
should walk in them."
Ephesians 2:8-10
Today we need to sound the alarm of the reformation
even louder because what the evangelical church is losing, or in
some cases has lost, is its understanding of salvation by grace
alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.
The confusion about the terms "born again,"
"regeneration," and "conversion," and what order they play in our
new birth and why we have to be regenerated in the first place. It
would probably be true to say that what many people call "being born
again" comes closer to conversion in biblical terms than
regeneration. Here are some quick definitions:
Conversion is the act of turning away from sin and
its self-deifying attitudes and turning toward Christ in trust. It
is a conscious act, attended by regret, sorrow, pain and coupled
with a belief in Christ's saving work after we have been
regenerated.
Regeneration in Scripture, in contrast to
conversion, is the instantaneous, divinely wrought work of God in
the soul in which spiritual life is imparted where none existed.
Although we are active in conversion, turning from sin to Christ, we
are not active in regeneration. We do not give ourselves birth. Life
is given by God. We no more give birth to ourselves in the spiritual
world than we do in the natural world. We are born. We are not
self-created in Christ but created in Him by God the Father.
Regeneration has to take place before conversion
because we are helpless and dead spiritually. The reason we have to
regenerated by God is that by nature we are hostile to Him. The
fallen mind "does not submit to God's law, indeed it cannot" (Romans
8:7) We have neither the desire to reconcile ourselves to God nor
the means of regenerating ourselves. And even if we could we
wouldn't because the things of God are foolish to us apart from
being truly "born again" or regenerated.
"But the natural man does not receive the things
of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he
know them, because they are spiritually discerned."
1 Corinthians 2:14
Today, I recommend you ask your pastor and/or church
leaders what they believe about the process of salvation and/or what
it means to be "born again" (Click
here for a list of resources to get started) and if they imply that we somehow
convert ourselves by any type of work you should start looking for a
church the preaches, teaches, and practices the whole Word of God.
This is not a "secondary" issue but one that I would consider the
most important thing a person needs to understand in this life.
Today and everyday, let us celebrate the fact that we are saved by grace
alone, through faith alone in Christ alone.
"Who has saved us and called us with a holy
calling, not according to our works, but according to His own
purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus
before time began"
2 Timothy 1:9
Semper Reformanda!
Love in Christ
Jeff
*Merriam-Webster, I. (2003). Merriam-Webster's
collegiate dictionary. Includes index. (Eleventh ed.). Springfield,
Mass.: Merriam-Webster, Inc.
**Johnson/White (2001). Whatever Happened To The Reformation?.
Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R Publishing
***The New King James Version. 1982. Nashville: Thomas
Nelson.
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