The Godhead

Godhead

IS IT POSSIBLE TO BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST AND REJECT THE GODHEAD?

“Now on the final and most important day of the feast, Jesus stood forth and cried in a loud voice, If any man is thirsty, let him come to me and drink! He who believes in Me as the Scripture has said, Out from his innermost being springs and rivers of living water shall flow (continuously). But He was speaking here of the Spirit, Whom those who believed in Him were afterward to receive. For the Holy Spirit had not yet been given; because Jesus was not yet glorified (raised to honour). (John 7: 37-39).

Satan’s prime strategy from the very beginning of creation has always been to destroy faith by presenting mankind with something that looks like the genuine item. In the parable in Matthew 13: 24-30 the darnel or tares, sown by the enemy, look exactly like wheat in the early stages of its growth and only show its true colours at harvest time.

True to its botanical nature one grain of wheat produces several new ears of wheat only when it dies, a fact taken up by Christ to show that spiritual fruitfulness has its origin in the death of self (John 12: 24; 1 Corinthians 5: 36).

The darnel or tares are completely void of any such botanical traits and remain a wheat-like grass without producing any fruit right up to harvest time. Here Jesus makes it very clear that genuine faith always translates into a change in life, a change of mind, growth and fruitfulness. This is borne out by what Paul says in Hebrews 12: 14, “Follow after peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no man shall see the Lord:”

A biblical founded faith must translate into a growth in sanctification. Please observe that it is not a growth to or up to sanctification, but in sanctification. We are justified by faith alone in Christ alone and in the same way He imputes sanctification to sinners the moment they are saved. From that instant onward the saint must abide in Christ in order to grow in grace and sanctification.

WHAT DETERMINES GENUINE FAITH?

Jesus chose the final and most important day of the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles to announce in a loud voice the only prerequisite for a genuine faith – He who believes in Me as the Scripture has said. Everything necessary to acquire a genuine biblical faith has already been said in God’s Word. Scripture form Genesis 1: 1 through to Revelation 22: 21 contains God’s only and final word on faith and salvation. All other extra-biblical revelations (including Joseph Smith’s Golden Plates, The Jehovah’s Witnesses NWT of the Bible, Roman Catholicism’s Church traditions or any other prophet or visionary’s alleged encounter with Jesus Christ) do not and cannot hold true to Jesus Christ’s words in John 7 and must therefore be rejected.

Having established, on the strength of Jesus’ words in John 7, that holy writ is altogether sufficient for the acquirement of the faith necessary for one’s salvation and sanctification, it is obviously also vital to know the Person or Persons who wrote it.

The validity of a letter or a document is not determined by its own intrinsic value but by the character or the moral fibre of the person who wrote it. People who claim they believe in Jesus Christ but deny that the Bible is the inerrant Word of God, are deceiving themselves and disqualifying themselves as genuine believers. It is impossible to maintain a belief in someone and simultaneously reject his personal biography. In similar vein, everyone who maintains that he/she believes in Jesus Christ, but denies His deity or the Godhead is disavowing the moral fibre and character of the Author of the Bible.

WHO IS THE AUTHOR?

Although the word “Trinity” never appears in the Bible – a fact many of God’s enemies use to discredit the validity of His Word and the Godhead. (Perhaps they should start looking for the word “automobile” or “aero plane” in Scripture to make sure they really exist) – it is not at all difficult to prove that three Deities (three equally omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent Gods in one Godhood) were involved in producing it.

In His answer to the woman who said, “Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts that You sucked!” Jesus used the word “Theos” when He said, Blessed are they that hear the Word of God (“Theos”) and keep it” (Luke 11: 27) The Greek word “Theos” (God) does not refer to a single person but clearly to the Godhead, comprising of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

In the well-known verse where Paul says that “all scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:” (2 Timothy 3: 16), he uses the Greek word “Theopneustos” (theh-op’-nyoo-stos) which is derived from “Theos” and means that the Word was inspired by all three the Persons in the Godhead. Apart from these definitive verses, there are several others where only One of the Persons in the Godhead are mentioned as the inspired source of the Word. Consider the following: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom;” (Colossians 3: 16) and “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” (2 Peter 1: 21).

WHAT LIES AT THE ROOT OF MANKIND’S REJECTION OF GOD’S WORD?

– Only one thing – unbelief. Anyone who does not believe in the Triune God according to what the Bible teaches cannot claim to be saved. Perhaps they could have avowed with certainty their salvation if Jesus had only said, “He who believes in Me . . .,” but He qualified the kind of faith that is necessary to believe in Him, i.e. “as the Scripture has said.”

The Holy Spirit Who was sent to convict the world of sin, righteousness and judgment will never move outside of the bounds of Holy Writ when leading a sinner to faith in Jesus Christ. Any “belief” or “faith” remotely off limits with the Bible cannot save. If it were true that any kind of faith was able to save, then Jesus lied when he said, “as the Scripture has said.” How can anyone expect to be convicted of sin by the 3rd Person in the Holy Godhead if they reject the Godhead?

In the same breath one may ask, how can anyone expect to be cleansed of their sins if they regard Jesus Christ merely as one of God’s creations? God strictly forbids anyone to worship a created being because it is nothing else than idolatry.

What are the consequences of unbelief? 

a) They do not have the Word of God and no light in them (John 5: 38; Isaiah 8: 20).

b) They cannot please God (Hebrews 11: 6)

c) They malign and discredit the Gospel (Acts 19: 9)

d) They persecute the ministers of righteousness (Romans 15: 31)

e) They incite others against the saints who preach the Gospel (Acts 14: 2).

f) They persevere in their unbelief (John 12: 37).

g) They harden their necks (2 Kings 17: 14).

h) They are condemned already (John 3: 18).

i) The wrath of God abides on them (John 3: 36).

j) They shall die in their sins (John 8: 24).

k) They shall not enter God’s rest (Hebrews 3:19; 4:11).

l) They shall be condemned (Mark 16:16; 2Thessalonians 2:12).

m) They shall be cast in the lake of fire (Revelation 21: 8).

“Since all this is true, we ought to pay much closer attention than ever to the truths that we have heard, lest in any way we drift past [them – the truths] and slip away. For if the message given through angels [that is, the Law spoken by them to Moses] was authentic and proved sure, and every violation and disobedience received an appropriate (just and adequate) penalty. How shall we escape if we neglect and refuse to pay attention to such a great salvation [as is now offered to us, letting it drift past us forever?] For it was declared at first by the Lord [Himself] and it was confirmed to us by those who personally heard [Him speak]. (Hebrews 2: 1-3).

[Therefore] while it is [still] called Today, if you would hear His voice, and when you hear it, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion . . . Today, if you would hear His voice, and when you hear it, do not harden your hearts.” (Hebrews 3: 15; 4: 7).

“Examine and test and evaluate your own selves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test and prove yourselves, [not Christ]. Do you not yourselves realize and know [thoroughly by an ever-increasing experience] that Jesus Christ is in you? unless you are [counterfeits] disapproved on trial and rejected! (2 Corinthians 13: 5).

IS YOUR SALVATION SECURE IF YOU BELIEVE THAT JESUS IS GOD AND MAN BUT KNEW NOTHING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT? (1 Corinthians 15)

When Paul first presented the Gospel to the Corinthians their thoughts were steeped in Greek Philosophy. The Greeks did not believe in the resurrection of the body as they proved by their attitude when Paul preached to them on Mars Hill (Acts 17:32). They laughed at him.

Their philosophers taught that the body was weak and a wicked prison of the soul, and the sooner it was released through death the better. They refused to accept that the body could live on after death. This was what Paul had to contend with when he wrote them this letter. The Corinthians did not doubt the resurrection of Christ and therefore Paul centred his discourse around this immutable truth in stead of repentance or salvation.

Indeed, something to remember is that Paul’s intention was not to bring them the Gospel. They had already accepted the Gospel and were indeed saved. They were well-acquainted with the Spirit’s work in their lives when they believed in Jesus Christ and His Gospel.

All that Paul needed to do was to prove to them that they, like Christ, would be resurrected from the dead. Furthermore, the resurrection of Christ itself is proof enough of the Holy Spirit’s work in the Gospel of salvation although the Spirit is not mentioned in chapter 15.

In Romans 8: 11 Paul says, “But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwelleth in you, he that raised up Christ Jesus from the dead shall give life also to your mortal bodies through his Spirit that dwelleth in you.” The Corinthians must have known this but could have been confused by false teachers and apostles. So, although the Spirit is not mentioned in chapter 15, His role in the Gospel of salvation is made clear by Paul’s discourse on the resurrection of Christ.

DOES ACTS 19 PROVE IT IS UNNECESSARY TO KNOW OR ACKNOWLEDGE THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE GODHEAD?

Some hold to the view that the twelve men Paul encountered in Ephesus were saved and base their argument on the fact that they were disciples. (verse 1). However the word “mathetes” (disciple) simply means “learner” or “pupil” and was a very well-known concept, especially amongst the Greeks.

Each philosopher had his own group of disciples, much like a professor of today who teaches a class of his own pupils. Because the term disciple was so well-known, Jesus qualified His particular brand of discipleship by His demand to deny oneself, take up the cross, to follow Him and learn from Him. Although the twelve were called disciples (learners or pupils) they were not disciples of Christ, but disciples of John the Baptist

The twelve should have known there was a Holy Spirit because the major thrust of of John the Baptist’s preaching was Christ’s future Baptism with the Holy Spirit and fire (Matthew 3: 11). They should have known the Holy Spirit was to be given, but they were ignorant of the fact that He had already been given on the day of Pentecost.

Note carefully how brilliant Paul approached the problem in the manner he posed the question, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” He did not ask them “Were you baptized by John the Baptist when or after you believed?” or “Do you know the Holy Spirit.” Had he asked them the latter question, they would probably have answered “Yes, we were baptized by John when we believed.” If they had said this and if Paul hadn’t known that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is a spiritual baptism, they would probably have forfeited the wonderful opportunity to be saved (Romans 8:9).

Paul the true gentleman that he was, assumed that they believed but tested their faith by asking them whether they had received the Holy Spirit. Knowing of the existence of the Holy Spirit and receiving Him are two completely different things. Had they indeed been saved they would have known that they had received the Holy Spirit because He and He alone applies the cleansing power of the blood of Christ to a sinner’s soul the moment he/she believes. The testimony of the Spirit within gives the assurance of your salvation (Romans 8: 16) and they did not have that inner witness because they did not even know that the Spirit was already given to quicken them the moment they believed.

So, what was the source of their problem? John the Baptist’s baptism had a two-pronged message attached to it – baptism unto repentance and belief in the One Who was to come after Him. Whether Apollos failed to convey this message in full, we do not know. We do however know that there was a flaw in his presentation of the Gospel because we read in the previous chapter (Acts 18 : 26) that “when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him with them and explained to him the way of God more definitely and accurately.” Whoever preaches the Gospel must present the full council of God.

They received the baptism of John without a full understanding of the necessity for repentance AND FAITH in the One Who baptizes in the Spirit and with fire and therefore was not saved. Ah! but how wonderful and precious is the unmerited grace of God. He did not allow them to continue in their unbelief and sent his servant Paul to present to them His full council.

John 14 from verse 18 shows that the presentation of the Gospel is the responsibility of all three of the Persons in the Godhead. “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me [GOD THE SON]: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and verse 21). “If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father [GOD THE FATHER] will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. (verse 23) “These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. whom the Father will send in my name, he [GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT] shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”(verse 25). Whoever believes as the Scripture has said, will know and believe in the Godhead because all three introduce themselves to the person who comes to Christ for salvation.

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Tom Lessing (Discerning the World)

Tom Lessing is the author of the above article. Discerning the World is an internet Christian Ministry based in Johannesburg South Africa. Tom Lessing and Deborah Ellish both own Discerning the World. For more information see the About this Website page below the comments section.

96 Responses

  1. Dan says:

    Thomas Lessing (Watch and Pray / Waak en Bid) wrote:

    Hans wrote:

    It is not the faith that is a gift of God, it is grace that is a gift of God
    Well said, Hans.

    Thom, here you agree with Hans that is not faith that is a gift of God but grace. May I quote you from a few posts back? You wrote: “Ephesians 2: 8-9 does not refer to faith but to salvation.”

    Which one is it Thom? Grace or Salvation?

  2. Dan says:

    Thom and Hans, where does your faith come from? Were you born with it?

  3. Dan,

    Thom and Hans, where does your faith come from? Were you born with it?

    In whose image was man made? If man was made in the image of God then surely man is able to choose freely. The freedom of choice and faith go hand in hand. Your problem is that you believe God gives faith only to the elect after their monergistic regeneration. That’s not faith. It’s coercion, enforcement. Did you force your wife to marry you or did she choose to marry you? If she chose to marry you because she loves you, she did in in good faith.

  4. Dan wrote:

    Thom, here you agree with Hans that is not faith that is a gift of God but grace. May I quote you from a few posts back? You wrote: “Ephesians 2: 8-9 does not refer to faith but to salvation.”

    Which one is it Thom? Grace or Salvation?

    To what purpose is God gracious and merciful? Isn’t it to save lost sinners? For the grace of God that bringeth salvation, hath appeared to all men, (Tit 2:11).

    I am not going to waste my time with you when you stubbornly refuse to understand. Your arguments are becoming quite wearisome. At least, try to understand that grace and salvation are two inseparable parts of God’s mercy and that He is merciful to all people because He does not want anyone to perish (2 Peter 3:9). And you say you are not a Calvinist? Really??? All your arguments are solidly embedded in Calvinism, the most vial doctrine there is.

    Waky, waky!!!

  5. Dan wrote:

    Faith is a gift from God that we RECEIVE by hearing the word of God. In (2 Cor 10:15) we see that faith can grow, so as we study the Bible God can add to our faith.

    Can anyone receive that faith, Dan? Or is it just the elect to whom God gives faith? If faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God, then anyone can receive the gift of faith because the Word of God was written for all men. Or was it only written for the elect?

    You must at least try to read passages in their context. Yes, faith comes through hearing the Gospel but in verse 12 Paul says that God’s gracious offer of salvation by faith was given to all, Jews and Gentiles alike. Would He have made such an offer if He thought man is unable to believe unto salvation of his own accord. Please learn to read your Bible in context and then come back to comment here.

    No one is boasting in his own faith. It is not your faith that saves (faith in your faith kind of thing). It is God alone who saves BUT through faith alone. You cannot be saved if you do not first put your trust in Jesus Christ. You and your Calvie friends say: “You must first be regenerated without knowing it (because you are as dead as a corpse) and then, only after you had been made alive (saved), He gives you the gift of faith so hat you may believe the Gospel you heard. Are you so dumb to believe that a corpse can respond in faith to the Gospel when he, as a cadaver, supposedly HEARS the Gospel? Can a corpse hear and respond to the Gospel? Like all Calvinists your arguments are one contradiction after another.

  6. Colin,

    The fact remains that man was made in the image of God and that image includes the ability to believe. To say that man is unable to believe and therefore only the elect must be given faith as a gift, is an outright denial that man was made in the image of God. It is blasphemy, to say the least. The problem Dan has, is, like all Calvinists, that he sees dead in trespasses and sins as being as dead as a corpse. If that is true, the corpse is not only unable to believe but also unable to do anything, including to sin. Paul Washer, for instance says that a corpse cannot hear, understand and respond to the Gospel and must therefore be regenerated (made alive) so that he can believe. That’s why they love to use Lazarus’s resurrection as an example of salvation. What utter nonsense. Please read here.

  7. Dan says:

    Thomas Lessing (Watch and Pray / Waak en Bid) wrote:

    Colin,
    The fact remains that man was made in the image of God and that image includes the ability to believe. To say that man is unable to believe and therefore only the elect must be given faith as a gift, is an outright denial that man was made in the image of God. It is blasphemy, to say the least. The problem Dan has, is, like all Calvinists, that he sees dead in trespasses and sins as being as dead as a corpse. If that is true, the corpse is not only unable to believe but also unable to do anything, including to sin. Paul Washer, for instance says that a corpse cannot hear, understand and respond to the Gospel and must therefore be regenerated (made alive) so that he can believe. That’s why they love to use Lazarus’s resurrection as an example of salvation. What utter nonsense. Please read here.

    Colin, Calvinism is the doctrine of demons. It can not save anyone. The whole human race was doomed to destruction by its own sin and not by any arbitrary decree of God. If God allowed everyone to go to hell—and He could justly have done that—people would be getting exactly what they deserved. The question is, “Does the sovereign Lord have a right to stoop down and select a handful of otherwise-doomed people to be a bride for His Son?” The answer, of course, is that He does. Is God unrighteous for doing that? “It’s not about justice it’s about mercy.” (Rom 9:14) Does God love ALL men? Scripture teaches that. Does God long for the salvation of ALL men? Scripture teaches that. Well how can we reconcile that with Him sovereignly electing some and not others? We can’t. But I see BOTH God’s sovereign election and man’s responsibility are taught in scripture. Therefore I’m going to accept both. Thom can’t. He wants to hold on his doctrine that he is saved based on HIS faith that God foreknew HE WOULD HAVE and therefore elected him.
    Now it is YOUR faith, but it never originated from you in the first place. “I am a new creation” entirely of Him. There is NOTHING of old Adam in there. ALL of it is a work of Him. Faith enters our lives for the first time, “by hearing the Word of God.”

  8. Dan wrote:

    Colin, Calvinism is the doctrine of demons . . . . Does God love ALL men? Scripture teaches that. Does God long for the salvation of ALL men? Scripture teaches that. Well how can we reconcile that with Him sovereignly electing some and not others? We can’t. But I see BOTH God’s sovereign election and man’s responsibility are taught in scripture. Therefore I’m going to accept both. Thom can’t. He wants to hold on his doctrine that he is saved based on HIS faith that God foreknew HE WOULD HAVE and therefore elected him.

    Now it is YOUR faith, but it never originated from you in the first place. “I am a new creation” entirely of Him. There is NOTHING of old Adam in there. ALL of it is a work of Him. Faith enters our lives for the first time, “by hearing the Word of God.”

    “And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb (looked like a little lamb), but he spake like a dragon.” (Rev 13:11)

    You cannot say Calvinism is of the devil while you believe and say the very same things they believe and say. That’s hypocrisy of the worst kind.

    God loves everyone but He does not save everyone although He could? And this you call a mystery? NO, it’s plain heresy. And with that I end this conversation. I don’t want to give you any further opportunities to blaspheme God.

  9. Dan says:

    Thomas Lessing (Watch and Pray / Waak en Bid) wrote:

    “And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb (looked like a little lamb), but he spake like a dragon.” (Rev 13:11)

    You cannot say Calvinism is of the devil while you believe and say the very same things they believe and say. That’s hypocrisy of the worst kind.

    God loves everyone but He does not save everyone although He could? And this you call a mystery? NO, it’s plain heresy. And with that I end this conversation. I don’t want to give you any further opportunities to blaspheme God.

    Thom, I have continuously tried to take you back to scripture. Instead you keep taking us back to the doctrines of Calvinism. Calvinism base their whole theology on some of the same scriptures I’ve given you. But like all lies of satan, the rest is made of half truths. Scripture teaches both election and the human response to that. Can you really not see that?

    I accept your decision to end this discussion.

  10. Dan,

    Scripture does NOT teach election unto salvation. Never!

  11. Hans says:

    Dan: God gave us the ability to reason, and we should use it. For lack of time I want to give you something to think about without all the scriptures, but will do so if needed. A human being, in his everyday life has the ability to choose from his own preferences: To love or to hate, to boast or to be meek, to endure or to give up, it is a matter of choice. To one person you will respond in a certain way and to another in another way. It all depends on what you think or believe of that person even if the situation is identical. Your way of thinking or faith in the character of the other person commands your way of reason and reaction. This is just a common fact of life. God does not have to give you faith to believe what you believe of the other person, it stems from the preferences and assumptions in your own heart. Likewise does God not have to give you faith in what you believe about Him when you hear about Him. That faith too stems from the preferences and assumptions in your own heart. Faith in Christ stems from a preference for the Spirit of Christ. You have been in this world and have seen it’s evil spirit, but when you hear about Christ, and become aware of His glorious Spirit, you have a choice (almost subconsiously)of which Spirit/spirit you prefer, and love for the Spirit of God in Christ draws you to Christ. This is why Jesus said: No-one can come to me if my Father do not draw them. It is the Spirit of the Father in Jesus Christ that draws you to Christ. Is it because you are good. No, no-one is good. It is as simple as choice, to love God, or to love the devil. This is the choice of free will. Once you have really chosen for God, God gives unto grace, the Spirit of grace to indwell you, to lead you and to guide you..

  12. Hans says:

    Let us look at the order of events when we were saved.2Th 2:10 and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Love for truth is the first step. Gal 5:6 For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love. This love for the truth, the Spirit of truth in Jesus Christ, proven to us in His crusifiction, works faith in those who love Christ when hearing the message of the cross. Rom 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. When we hear the word of the gospel, the word of our salvation we will either love what we hear or not. To love or not to love is a choice of our hearts and of our free will. Even evil men are able to love, but it is love for the Spirit of God in Christ that leads to faith in Christ, and this faith pleases God, and God gives unto you his Spirit to indwell you, to lead you and guide you and to even increase your faith. By the foreknowledge of God, knowing the end from the beginning, God foreknew who would love Him and elected them. Jesus Christ died for each and every person living on this earth, but only those that love Him will believe in Him, and be saved.

  13. Dan says:

    Thomas Lessing (Watch and Pray / Waak en Bid) wrote:

    What’s the point in preaching the Gospel to the elect when nothing can thwart their salvation?

    They are elected, not saved. Only Calvinists believe they’re saved by election. Election doesn’t save anyone. You have to personally accept Jesus Christ as your savior in order to be saved. Once you’re saved, it is your only proof that you were elected in the first place.

  14. Dan wrote:

    They are elected, not saved. Only Calvinists believe they’re saved by election. Election doesn’t save anyone. You have to personally accept Jesus Christ as your savior in order to be saved. Once you’re saved, it is your only proof that you were elected in the first place.

    Of course there are many who are not yet saved. I didn’t say they are already saved. I said that nothing can thwart (hinder, prevent) the elect’s salvation because God’s sovereign decree (the decision He made to save them monergistically before the foundation of the world) is irrevocable and cannot be prevented. Therefore, not even the so-called elect’s personal acceptance of Jesus Christ as their Saviour plays any part whatsoever in their salvation. What’s the point in accepting Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour when God has already accepted you, even before the foundation of the world, in Jesus Christ? Your acceptance of Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour is a so-called decisional regeneration which turns your argument that man can do absolutely nothing for his salvation on its head and makes it look silly. The very act of accepting Jesus as your personal Saviour is something you do in order to be saved. Have you changed your mind? How on earth can a corpse make a decision to accept Jesus Christ as his personal Saviour? That’s ridiculous. Unless, of course, God first brings to life (regenerates) the corpse without it having to believe (because it can’t) and only then enables the elect to accept Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour. This, my friend is Calvinism par excellence. It means that the elect must first be saved before they can be saved.

    If election is not unto salvation, unto what is it then? If your salvation is the only proof that you were elected in the first place, what then is/was this first place? The only proof that you are saved is that one time in your life you put your trust in Christ Jesus alone to save you. It is not your salvation that proves your election; it is your faith in Christ (faith as the Scriptures say – John 7:38) that proves you are saved. Paul said:

    For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. (2 Tim 1:12)

    Note carefully, Paul used the passed tense “I have believed.” He is not saying that he believed once and has now stopped believing. He is referring to that day in Ananias’ house when he first put his trust in Jesus Christ in order to be saved. He did not believe to prove that he was an elect. The faith Paul exercised was a precondition faith which simply means that he could never have been saved without first believing. You call this “accepting Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour.”

    By the way, when and where was Paul saved?

  15. Hans says:

    Thomas wrote:Therefore, not even the so-called elect’s personal acceptance of Jesus Christ as their Saviour plays any part whatsoever in their salvation. What’s the point in accepting Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour when God has already accepted you, even before the foundation of the world, in Jesus Christ?
    I do not understand what you are saying here. Could you please elaborate. Are you referring to what Calvinists believe, or is it somehow your own believe? From what you previously wrote it would seem as if you are referring to what Calvinists believe.

  16. Hans

    Dan said that only those who accept Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour are counted as the elect. And yet, he also says that the elect, whilst they are yet unsaved, are not able to believe (put their trust in Jesus in order to be saved) because they are dead as a cadaver in their sins and trespasses. So, how can they accept Jesus as their personal Saviour when they are dead? The solution he offers, is Romans 10:17. However, he says “hearing” in this verse is not a verb (something the elect has to do) but is a substantive word which means “hearing” is used as a noun or an adjective in this sentence. With this kind of gymnastic semantics he tries to prove that faith does not originate with the sinner (which also implies that the sinner does not have a free-will to choose something good but only sinful things) but that the Word magically infuses “hearing” into the heart of the elect so that they can understand and believe. He says he is not a Calvinist but he surely thinks and talks like one.

    Yes I am referring to what Calvinists believe.

  17. Dan says:

    Thom, You seem to have this idea that the fall didn’t affect your free will at all. In (Rom 10:5) Paul quotes Moses who said that if you keep the law you will be saved. Luther summed it up nicely: “If the human will is free, how can you account for the fact that throughout all the years of human history, then there ought to have been one person who obeyed perfectly the Word of God and one who sought God perfectly.” Yet we know that is not the case.

    Do we have a will? Yes, we see that in a baby who doesn’t want her diapers changed.
    Do we have free will? We have free will in the sense that you are free to make your own choices. You are not controlled. We are responsible for the choices we make. All through scripture we see God appealing to His creatures to make good choices and weeping when they fail to do so. He wept when the people of Jerusalem didn’t come to Him (Luk 19:41-44)

    Did you utilize your free will to search after God? “There is NOT ONE that seeks after God.” (Rom 3:11) “The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God” (1 Cor. 2: 14).
    Your desire or effort to search after God did not originate from you. The fact that anybody (including you) searches after God is the EVIDENCE of God’s grace, NOT the cause of it.

    (Joh 15:16) “You did not choose Me, I chose you.” Was Jesus violating their free will? Were they not free to accept or reject it? The very first time faith entered your life was “by hearing the word of God.” If you felt that God was violating your free will, you should have closed your ears the day someone shared the gospel with you.

  18. Dan,

    You really don’t have to give me a lecture on Luther who wrote a book called “The Bondage of the Will” which is wilfully contrary to the Word of God’s teaching on free-will. You are wilfully in danger of misrepresenting God and wilfully listening to the ramblings of a sinful man instead of to Him and his Word. You don’t seem to know the meaning of the following passages.

    And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. (Rev 22:17)

    And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. (Jos 24:15)

    I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: (Deu 30:19)

    God did not say, “I will make some of you to choose life and the rest to choose death cause you cannot make a choice according to my will.”

    You wrote:

    Did you utilize your free will to search after God? “There is NOT ONE that seeks after God.” (Rom 3:11) “The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God” (1 Cor. 2: 14).
    Your desire or effort to search after God did not originate from you. The fact that anybody (including you) searches after God is the EVIDENCE of God’s grace, NOT the cause of it.

    You acknowledge that man has a free-will but that he is unable to use it because it is supposedly in bondage to doing only evil. Deut 30:19 completely debunks this view. It says that man is capable of choosing between life and death (heaven and hell). Is heaven something evil?

    The evidence of God’s grace does not lie in man’s ability or non-ability to search for God but in the fact that God loved the WORLD so much that He gave his only begotten Son, so that whomsoever chooses to believe in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

    I have already quoted to you God’s command in Jeremiah 29:13 and yet you still cling to the silly notion that man does not seek God. Romans 3:11 does not mean that man is unable to seek God. It simply means that he does not want to seek Him. He rather seeks his own will and the pleasures of his own self-centredness and not God.

    1 Cor 2:14 refers to the deep things of God because it is the Holy Spirit that conveys it to believers deep within their inner beings (spirits). Unbelievers cannot understand the deep things of God because they don’t have the Holy Spirit. It’s as simple as that. It does not mean they are unable to understand and respond to the Gospel. Jesus Himself said that his Holy Spirit will convict the WORLD of sin, righteousness and judgment – of sin because they believe not on Him. (John 16:6-9). All people are able to either believe or not to believe in Jesus Christ because they are quite capable to resist or to respond to the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Or does the Holy Spirit only convict the elect because they are the only ones who have sinned?

    You wrote:

    (Joh 15:16) “You did not choose Me, I chose you.” Was Jesus violating their free will? Were they not free to accept or reject it? The very first time faith entered your life was “by hearing the word of God.” If you felt that God was violating your free will, you should have closed your ears the day someone shared the gospel with you.

    As I said, you use the same old dumb arguments Calvinists constantly use because you don’t read your Bible. Do you have your own business? Have those who work for you chosen themselves to be employed by you or did you choose them? Contrary to the common practice of disciples (followers) picking a teachers in Jesus’ time, He had chosen his twelve disciples. He even chose Judas Iscariot.

    If man is as dead as a cadaver in sins and trespasses how can he hear and respond in faith to Gospel when it is shared with Him? Once again you are contradicting yourself. Paul made it very clear that God’s gracious offer of salvation through faith was given to all people – Jews and Gentiles alike (Romans 10:12). The Greek word “akoe” (hearing) can mean the thing heard (the message; Romans 10:16) or the act or sense of hearing (Romans 10:17).

    Look Dan. I am no longer going to waste my time listening to your Calvinistic arguments. I know every single one of their arguments and also their pet Scriptures they love to quote to you. Like them you are misrepresenting the God of the Bible and that is very dangerous. In fact, it is idolatry because you are presenting Him in a way contrary to his own revelation of Himself.

  19. Hans says:

    Thank you Thomas, I thought so, just had to be sure that you are not starting to reason as a Calvinist does. Dan: I will once again quote to you the origins of faith. You can choose to believe God or not. Gal 5:6 For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love. FAITH WHICH WORKETH BY LOVE. Do you want to believe God? It is love for Christ that works faith in Christ. I am not only referring to faith that Jesus Christ, the human, died for our sins, but to faith in the Spirit of God in Jesus Christ made known to us on the cross and in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Every human being is capable of love, to love his wife, to love his children, to love his car, and even to love God when he hears the gospel. It is his choice.

  20. Dan says:

    Thom we can agree on this: man has to personally come to accept the Lord Jesus Christ as his savior in order to be saved. It is on how man got to that point, that we hold different views.

    God bless my friend.

  21. Dan

    Thom we can agree on this: man has to personally come to accept the Lord Jesus Christ as his savior in order to be saved. It is on how man got to that point, that we hold different views.

    God bless my friend.

    Indeed, the HOW is the deciding factor.

    “Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall WE DO? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” (Act 2:37-38)

    “Then said they unto him, What shall WE DO, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God [THE WORK REQUIRED OF YOU], that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.” (Joh 6:28-29).

  22. Dan says:

    Thomas Lessing (Watch and Pray / Waak en Bid) wrote:

    Dan
    Thom we can agree on this: man has to personally come to accept the Lord Jesus Christ as his savior in order to be saved. It is on how man got to that point, that we hold different views.
    God bless my friend.
    Indeed, the HOW is the deciding factor.
    “Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall WE DO? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” (Act 2:37-38)
    “Then said they unto him, What shall WE DO, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God [THE WORK REQUIRED OF YOU], that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.” (Joh 6:28-29).

    Yes, I agree with all that. I’m saying a person is being led TO that point of repentance because he wasn’t able to reach that point by himself. You believe that man is totally free in his will and able to get there. That’s the difference and I can accept that we won’t agree on that.

  23. Dan wrote:

    Yes, I agree with all that. I’m saying a person is being led TO that point of repentance because he wasn’t able to reach that point by himself. You believe that man is totally free in his will and able to get there. That’s the difference and I can accept that we won’t agree on that.

    NO, it is not I who say man is totally free in his will. God Himself says so. I quoted the verse to you. Why do you shun God’s Word?

  24. Hans says:

    Dan, is God wicked? Rom 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
    Rom 1:19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. If God shewed (has shown) unto man that which can be known of Him, but somehow did not do that something that man might believe then God would not be just, and would be utterly wicked, for punishing them for something they have no control over, that is if they do not have the capability in themselves to believe the gospel. Such a god would be unjust and a wicked bully. The same goes for a god that sais ini mini miny mo, I choose you, the rest I”ll send to hell.

  25. Dan says:

    Did Jesus only die for the elect? No He died for all. I’ve heard it explained like this: The parable of the dinner (Luk 14).
    After the completed work of Jesus Christ on the cross: “A man was giving a big dinner, and he invited many; and at the dinner hour he sent his servant (the Holy Spirit) to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come; for everything is ready now.’ “But they all alike began to make excuses…… Then the head of the household became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ “And the servant said, ‘Master, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ “And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and along the hedges, and COMPEL THEM to come in, so that my house may be filled. ‘For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste of my dinner.”

    Paul said: “For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren.” Paul was willing to sacrifice his place in Christ so that his brethren could be saved. (Rom 9:3) Moses did exactly the same thing: (Ex 32:32)
    If this was Paul’s response, how should we respond to this? Paul taught election (to the saints) but he preached Christ to ALL. We are commanded to do preach Christ to ALL.

    Tom, I am convinced that this doctrine, if researched and presented well, might bring a few Calvinists to repent and accept Christ. You seem to have a lot of Calvinists visiting here from time to time. It is for this reason, that I brought this before you. Unfortunately but quite understandably so, it escalated into long philosophical discussions on Calvinism instead.

  26. Dan wrote:

    Did Jesus only die for the elect? No He died for all. I’ve heard it explained like this: The parable of the dinner (Luk 14).
    After the completed work of Jesus Christ on the cross: “A man was giving a big dinner, and he invited many; and at the dinner hour he sent his servant (the Holy Spirit) to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come; for everything is ready now.’ “But they all alike began to make excuses…… Then the head of the household became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ “And the servant said, ‘Master, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ “And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and along the hedges, and COMPEL THEM to come in, so that my house may be filled. ‘For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste of my dinner.”

    You believe that man has a free-will and is responsible for his choices but at the same time you believe that he must be COMPELLED (FORCED) to enter into a relationship with Jesus Christ? What kind of free-will is that?

    Luke 14 deals with Jews and Gentiles. Those who were invited but excused themselves with all kinds of silly reasons not to attend the dinner, are the Jews and those on the highways and along the hedges are the Gentiles. As such you are saying that only the Gentiles must be compelled to enter into an eternal relationship with Jesus Christ.

    Who are those doing the compelling? Well, the Master sent his servants to compel them. That means the servants had the authority to elect people to enter into an eternal relationship with God, that’s IF by compelling you mean to be elected.

    Do you know where your interpretation of Luke 14 comes from?

    Dave Hunt writes in his book What Love is This?”

    Though he preferred persuasion if possible, Augustine suppormilitary force against those who were rebaptized as believers after ersion to Christ and for other alleged heretics. In his controversy the Donatists, using a distorted and un-Christian interpretation of 14:23,
    Augustine declared:

    Why therefore should not the Church use force in compelling her lost sons to return?… the Lord Himself said, “Go out into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in….” Wherefore is the power which the Church has received…through the religious character and faith of kings…the instrument by which those who are found in the highways and hedges—that is, in heresies and schisms—are compelled to come in, and let them not find fault with being compelled.

    Sadly, Calvin put into effect in Geneva the very principles of punishment, coercion, and death that Augustine advocated and that the Roman Catholic Church followed consistently for centuries. Henry H. Milman writes: “Augustinianism was worked up into a still more rigid and uncompromising system by the severe intellect of Calvin.” And he justified himself by Augustine’s erroneous interpretation of Luke 14:23. How could any who today hail Calvin as a great exegete accept such abuse of his passage?

    Compel? Isn’t that God’s job through Unconditional Election and Irresistible Grace? Compel those for whom Christ didn’t die and whom God has predestined to eternal torment? This verse refutes Calvinism no matter how it is interpreted!

    You adamantly maintain that you are not a Calvinist. If you’re not one of them, STOP using their silly arguments.

  27. Dan says:

    The idea that a seeking sinner would search for God and not find Him because he is not one of the elect, is a lie straight out of hell. The fact that ANYBODY (including you, me, Cornelius) (Acts 10) searches after God in the first place, is PROOF that the Father is drawing us. It is the EVIDENCE for grace, not the RESULT of it.

    If you do not encounter the following objection to your doctrine on election, you do not have Paul’s doctrine on election: “Is there injustice with God?” (Rom 9:14)
    Paul responds to a question about righteousness with: “..MERCY..” (Rom 9:15)

    Grace is getting what you do not deserve. Grace is extended to ALL. Salvation is by grace and freely available to anyone who wants it.
    Mercy is not getting what you do deserve. Like Pharaoh, we all deserved the hardening of the heart (Rom 9:17;18). Why? “There is not one who seeks after God…..not even one.” (Rom 3:10-12)

    The conclusion here is: “So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has MERCY.” (Rom 9:16)
    “Faith comes by hearing” indicates that it wasn’t there before. It came to you BY hearing. God is the source.

    To say that God elected you because He foreknew you will have faith, is contradicting to the truth. It is self-righteousness.

  28. Dan

    The idea that a seeking sinner would search for God and not find Him because he is not one of the elect, is a lie straight out of hell. The fact that ANYBODY (including you, me, Cornelius) (Acts 10) searches after God in the first place, is PROOF that the Father is drawing us. It is the EVIDENCE for grace, not the RESULT of it.

    Have you never heard; have you never read, have you never understood THAT GOD DRAWS ALL PEOPLE. (John 12:32)

    You think too highly of yourself when you say it is your searching that corroborates God’s drawing. Have you never heard of the cross of Jesus Christ? The cross of Jesus Christ is the PROOF that God draws all people, regardless of whether they seek Him or not. And you have the audacity to accuse me of self-righteousness?

    Please don’t comment here again and waste my time, until you have learned what the Gospel of Jesus Christ is all about.

  29. Margaretha Tierney says:

    It seems all your correspondents believe in the Trinity and that those who do not are not Christians. However, I would like to say that there are many Christians who do not believe in the Trinity. Instead they believe in one Supreme God the Father and His only-begotten Son Jesus Christ. 1 Cor 8:6. The Holy Spirit is the omnipresent Spirit of both the Father and the Son. Christ dwells in us by His Spirit. Col 1:27. All are free to study and believe as they are convicted, but in the end, there is only one truth.

  30. Margaretha

    >> All are free to study and believe as they are convicted, but in the end, there is only one truth.

    You are right, you are free to believe what you what, but it’s not the truth.

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