11. Salvation
SALVATION Did God create some to be lost, or does His Word teach that He knew some or certain ones would be lost when He gave them life, or did God give certain ones life knowing that they would be lost? Is it not right for us to inquire into these things?
It is no doubt right for us to inquire into these things, but let us be careful to confine our inquiry to the Word of God and let us not be led off into inferences which may lead us far astray. There is no doubt that God’s absolute sovereignty is clearly taught in the Word of God, and just as clearly is man’s responsibility also taught in the Word. Our difficulty comes when we seek to “harmonize” these two doctrines. Such a task seems to be beyond the power of the human mind. Let us believe all that God has said on the subject and be content to wait for further light as to the harmony between these things. We may depend upon it that “the Judge of all the earth” will “do right.” Let us preach to men as if everything depended upon them, and then let us pray to God for them as if everything depended upon God.
I quote here from a personal letter received from Dr. C. I. Scofield in reply to a question about election:
You know of course the two antagonistic views of the Calvinists and Arminians. You state correctly the hyper-Calvinistic view, that God in His sovereign wisdom elected certain persons to be saved and doomed certain others to be damned, and the Arminian view that God has put before all men the possibility of salvation and has left them to elect blessing or cursing. As usual, where parties have been formed in the church of God upon doctrine, the truth is compounded of both views. It is not true, as the Arminians say, that election takes effect only in the will of the sinner. Such passages as Ephesians 1:4 cannot be explained by saying they simply teach the foreknowledge of God. On the other hand, there is no biblical warrant for the hyper-Calvinistic doctrine of reprobation. It is in the Calvinistic theology and inference from their doctrine of election. If God has chosen of His own good will without any cause moving Him thereto, certain persons to be saved, they argue that He has necessarily left certain other persons to be damned. As a general thing I am exceedingly shy of inferential doctrines. I fancy our reasons break down at precisely that point. The things that are revealed are for us and our children, but the secret things belong to God. The truth about election seems to be simply this: God elects to be saved all who are in Christ (see Ephesians 1:4 and kindred passages). And he offers fairly and in good faith a place “in Christ” to whosoever will. In other words, the election which is in the Biblical idea indistinguishable from predestination (though some theologians try to make a distinction), is to position rather than salvation. It stands connected with sonship rather than with redemption. The emphasis in the writings of Paul, where the great predestination passages are found, is upon the greatness of the position into which we of this dispensation have been brought, having predestinated us unto the adoption of children. Now this, as you readily see, is a very different thing from being predestinated unto salvation (Ephesians 1:5). To the same effect, the great passage in Romans 8:29 : “For whom he did foreknow he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.” The subject, of course, is full of difficulty, and yet I cannot but believe that most of the difficulty grows out of the misrepresentation of the nineth chapter of Romans. If one only sees that Romans 9, 10, 11 form, not a continuation of the apostle’s argument from the eighth chapter onward, but a parenthesis in which the apostle takes up at length the relation of Judaism to Christianity; so that troublesome nineth chapter has not to do with individual salvation but national election, the contrast being not between the saved and the lost but between Israel and the Gentiles; then I believe a most fruitful source of confusion on this important subject is eliminated.
I note your deprecation of teaching which puts God in the position of arbitrary dealing. There is no doubt, dear brother, that many passages of Scripture bearing upon the sovereignty of God leave difficulties in the mind. In other words, the Scriptures do not turn aside to vindicate the dealings of God. Here is the sphere of faith. Faith says, “I do not understand, but I believe that God always does right and some time I shall know the precise connection between His righteousness and His seemingly arbitrary dealings. In the meantime I trust.” As to the question of prayer for the conversion of the unsaved, I can only say we enter there upon a sphere of faith alone. God tells us to pray and love prompts us to pray. Prayer for the unsaved is putting the unsaved in a very special way into the hands of God; and I do not believe any good ever comes to us from speculating upon prayer.
I understand from your teaching concerning the dispensations into which time is divided, that in each dispensation there is a new test, and that under each of these tests man fails and comes into judgment. In the dispensation of innocence, for example, the test was obedience of the injunction concerning the tree of knowledge, and man failed to meet the test, resulting in his expulsion from Eden. Then, under the dispensation of law the test was obedience of the commandments of Sinai; man again failing, and the captivities resulted. Now, will you please tell us what was the relation between the dispensational test and the way of salvation? In other words, was obedience, which would be good works, the way of salvation under the dispensations preceding the present dispensation of grace?
No. Salvation has always been, as it is now, purely a gift of God in response to faith. The dispensational tests served to show man’s utter helplessness, in order to bring him to faith, that he might thrust himself upon God and be saved by grace through faith plus nothing. The law was Israel’s schoolmaster (rather, guide) unto Christ, that the people might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, even Israel is no longer under the guide (Galatians 3:24-25). Will you please tell me how the Jews were saved before the death of Christ? I know, of course, that they were saved by looking forward as we look backward, but I will thank you to go into some details.
Old Testament believers were saved exactly as New Testament believers are saved As appears from the form of your question, you are familiar with the principle of retroaction in connection with the death of Christ on the cross. He died for those who had lived before, as well as for those who have lived since. This principle is set forth in Romans 3:25; Hebrews 9:15. The Gospel of salvation by grace through faith is not a new thing contrary to the Old Testament Scriptures, but is only a newly or more fully revealed thing. Adam and Eve, Noah and Abraham, Moses and David, and all the Old Testament saints were saved on account of the blood of Jesus just as truly as we are thus saved.
Please explain verses 2-4 of the second chapter of Habakkuk.
Habakkuk 2:2-4 is a very important passage. The prophet had given a testimony to Jehovah in 1:12-17, and in 2:1 he awaits Jehovah’s answer, saying, “I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved.”
Then came the reply:
“And Jehovah answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables (tablets), that he may run that readeth it For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith” The vision, which occupies the entire chapter, has three elements: (1) The sins of Israel will be judged (vs. 5-15); (2) God’s purpose to fill the earth with the knowledge of His glory will be ultimately accomplished (14); and (3), meanwhile, “the just shall live by faith” (compare Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 10:37-38).
Please explain the different grades of offering under the Old Covenant. For example, in the first chapter of Leviticus, we are told that one might make a burnt-offering of the cattle, of the herd, of the flock, or he might bring fowls, as turtle-doves or young pigeons. What in the significance of all this?
It was a provision for the poor who could not bring an expensive offering. It is one of the proofs of our Lord’s earthly poverty that when Joseph and Mary presented the Child at the temple they brought an offering, and their offering was neither a bullock nor a sheep, but “a pair of turtle-doves, or two young pigeons” (Luke 2:24). Thus we see “the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9). But there was another significance to these grades of offering. They typify the degrees of apprehension among God’s people as to the value of the one sacrifice offered at Calvary. Some of us estimate the value of the blood far more highly than others of us, and those who have a high estimate of the value of the blood devote themselves more fully to the service of God than the others of us, and those who have a high estimate of the value of the blood devote themselves more fully to the service of God than others. That is to say, they bring a larger offering than the others. The three grades of offering appointed to believers are found in Romans 12:1-2 where we are besought to present our living bodies to God, and in Hebrews 13:15-16 where we are exhorted to “offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually”; and “to do good, and to communicate (that is, to share what we have with others): for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.” The believer who properly evaluates the sacrifice of Calvary says from his heart:
“Were the whole realm of nature mine, That were an offering far too small.
Love so amazing, so divine, Demands my soul, my life, my all.”
Please explainRomans 3:25. The passage teaches that the death of Christ was for believers past and future. That is to say, the work of Christ on the cross had in view those who should live afterward, and also those who had lived before the cross was set up. There is a second showing forth here. The supplied words, “I say,” in both the King James Version and the Revision, spoil the sense. Paul is not merely repeating in verse 26 what he has already said in verse 25: he is saying something new. Rotherham’s reading of the passage (verses 25,26) clears up the matter
“Whom God hath set forth as a propitiatory covering, through faith in his blood, for a showing forth of his righteousness, by reason of the passing-by of the previously committed sins, in the forbearance of God—with a view to a showing forth of his righteousness in the present season, that he might be righteous even when declaring righteous him that hath faith in Jesus.”
Here is the great triumph of the Gospel. God Himself is justified, and He succeeds in justifying sinful men! By the Gospel God’s righteousness is shown as to the past; His righteousness is shown as to “the present time”; and His righteousness is shown in His justification of those who, on their own merits, are only unrighteous! Surely, this is a wonderful salvation, and He is a wonderful Savior!
What is meant by the phrase, “the adoption of sons” (Galatians 4:5)? A similar expression is found in Ephesians 1:5 where we read that God has “predestinated us unto the adoption of children.” The Greek word for “adoption” is huiothesia, which means “placing as a son.” It does not have the same meaning as our English word “adoption” in modem usage. In olden times a boy was not called a son until he came of age; and then he was proclaimed as his father’s son and heir, in a ceremony called “huiothesia.”
God does not adopt those who are not His children already. Adoption is a word of position rather than of relationship. When a man is born again he becomes by that birth a child of God, and then God places him in the position of full sonship in his house. The Holy Spirit indwelling the believer assures him of this new position as a present experience. The full manifestation of this wonderful position, however, awaits the second coming of our Lord when the believer will receive his transformed body; and it will be made manifest to principalities and powers in the heavenly places that he is indeed a son of God. This is stated in Romans 8:23 where we read that we wait “for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.” Could you explain the first part of Galalians 4, concerning sonship? Are not all Christians sons of God? The contrast is between the status of Jewish believers before the death and resurrection of Christ, and that of all believers, whether from among Jews or Gentiles, afterwards. In the old dispensation, believers were in the position of minor children and under the law, but in the new dispensation, believers —all of them—are in the position of full grown sons, free from the law and in partnership and fellowship with the Father. The “elements of the world” (verse 3) are the commandments of Sinai (compare verses 9 and 21 and Colossians 2:20). The law was an elementary “child-guide unto Christ,” that they might be justified by faith. But after faith came they were delivered from the old “child-guide,” being no longer under law, but under grace (Galatians 3:23-25; Romans 6:14). In Galatians 3:25 the word “children” should read “sons.” The whole matter is worked out in the fourth chapter.
What shall we say of the words, “if ye continue,” inColossians 1:23, and “if we hold . . . steadfast unto the end,” inHebrews 3:14? What of those who do not thus continue?
Those who do not continue prove thereby that they are not really saved at all; “for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us” (1 John 2:19).
What is meant by the words of the Lord Jesus inMatthew 19:24, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God”? Does it refer to the Needle’s Eye Gate in the wall of Jerusalem, through which a camel cannot go except when he is without a load and on his knees?
No, that is not His meaning. He meant to teach that it is impossible for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God. But, thank God, what is impossible for man is possible with God; and the way He saves a rich man is to make the rich man see that his riches are not his at all, but God’s. The rich man, like any other man, must come as a helpless, hopeless, naked and undone sinner, and receive the unspeakable gift of God, which is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:23). Is it ever impossible for a man to believe the gospel?
Yes, it is possible for one to come to the place where he is unable to believe. In John 12:39 it is declared of certain people that “they could not believe.” And the reason given is in the words quoted from Isaiah 6 : “He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their hearts; that they should not see with their eyes, and understand with their hearts, and be converted, and I should heal them.” It is tragically possible for people to trifle with God and the Word of God so long that their hearts become hardened, and they are unable to believe. The Word of God itself, unless it is believed and obeyed, becomes a snare, and through it the human heart becomes hard and callous.
It is vital to remember that God never reveals any truth to a man except to have that man obey the truth. If a man goes on obeying, God goes on revealing, but if a man disobeys and keeps on disobeying the time comes when God no longer reveals truth to him, and his eyes are blinded and his heart is hardened. In 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 we read of “them that perish because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” This is solemn language and we do well to take heed unto it.
I have a very dear friend who is fine in every respect, but he does not believe in God. He Isaiah 20 years old, and calls himself a Deist. Is there any hope for him? He says he believes in the laws of nature. Please tell me of a passage in the Bible that might mean the salvation of a really fine character. The answer is that there is no such thing on the earth as “a really fine character.” The Bible testifies that “there is no difference, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:22-23). Your friend, who “calls himself a Deist” and “does not believe in God” is in awful peril, for he makes God a liar, he treads underfoot the Son of God, making the blood of the covenant an unholy thing, and does despite or insult to the Spirit of grace (Hebrews 10:29). He is not in danger of being lost, but he is already lost. He is “condemned already because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18). He is without Christ, without God, and without hope, unless he turns to the Lord, confessing himself as a helpless and lost sinner, and receiving the Son of God as his Savior and Lord (John 1:11-13).
If, as you teach, the sins of the whole world were laid on Jesus as He died on the cross, why is not the whole world saved? The whole world would be saved if salvation were only forgiveness, or even justification (Romans 5:18-19). But salvation is life; and the world is lost because it will not come to Him who offers life (John 5:39-40; Romans 5:21; Romans 6:23). The Bible certainly does not teach universal salvation, but it just as certainly teaches universal redemption. The blood was shed for all men (1 John 2:1-2; Hebrews 2:9; 1 Timothy 4:10). Can you explain the new birth?
No. The second birth is a mystery, and so is the first birth. No one is able to explain either of them. We know only that in the first birth certain causes produce certain effects, and that in the second birth certain causes produce certain effects. The second birth is a birth, no less than the first. And just as one must be born in order to enter into the natural life, so, “except a man be born again, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God” (John 3:1-8). This new birth is “of the Spirit,” through the Word (Tames 1:18); and it is unto life eternal, since the Word is incorruptible seed, which “endureth for ever” (1 Peter 1:22-25).
How do you know you are saved, and what do you do if you doubt your salvation?
I know I am saved because of the testimony of the Word of God. I have confessed with my mouth Jesus as Lord, and I have believed with my heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, and His Word says that whosoever does those two things shall be saved (Romans 10:9-10). Then, too, there are many tests laid down in the Word of God by which we may determine whether we are saved. What is your attitude toward the Bible itself? If you are saved, the Bible speaks to your heart, and you hear in it the voice of your Father, and the call of your Shepherd. Then, too, if you are saved you have a peculiar affection for others who are saved. “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren” (1 John 3:14). There is no need for anyone to remain in doubt about his salvation. See 1 John 5:13. Can a person who never heard the Gospel but has read it from the Bible or from a tract, be saved if he or she believes on the Lord Jesus Christ?
Certainly. Believing the Gospel is what saves. And whether it be heard or read is not important. The great thing is to believe it. It is true generally that “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” (Romans 10:17), but certainly that would not hinder a person who is totally deaf from being saved because he could not hear the Gospel. It is written in Romans 10:9-10, “that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth,” etc., but that would not hinder a dumb man without the power of speech, from being saved. There are other ways of confessing besides with the mouth. “By grace are ye saved through faith” (Ephesians 2:8).
Please comment for us onIsaiah 32:17.
Isaiah 32:17 reads: “And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance forever.” It is a splendid statement of the believer’s assurance and the ground for it. The believer is assured of salvation because of the work of righteousness wrought out for him on the cross of Calvary by the Lord Jesus when He died for our sins according to the Scriptures. He was “delivered up for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification” (Romans 4:25), and this justification is our righteousness, and the effect of this righteousness is “quietness and assurance forever.” The believer is saved by grace through faith plus nothing. And whoever is saved is safe forever.
Just what is the meaning of the words of our Lord inJohn 6:37, “him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out”? Did He mean that those who came would surely be received? Or is there some further meaning?
There is indeed “some further meaning,” and it is precious. Of course, all who come to Him He will surely receive, but that is not His meaning here. Please read the words you have quoted, together with the three verses immediately following them:
“Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do his own will, but the will of Him that sent me. And this is the Father s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should LOSE NOTHING, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of Him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.” The teaching here is that, once He gets us, He will never lose us: the life He gives is everlasting, and can never stop. Those whom He saves are forever safe.
I was saved at the age of 19, and I never doubted that God intended that I should one day preach the gospel. But I fell into deep sin, and I have felt myself to be accused of God—very much so. His displeasure has been unmistakable. It is hard for me to see how a man could ever be just like he was after such defilement, even though he should repent and be forgiven. It will be my lasting regret I remember your having stated in an article that “backsliding is always attended by immeasurable loss.” That is certainly true, as I can well testify. If I had gone ahead with God I would be a thousand times better off today. I am in the dark, and doubts and perplexities have multiplied. Can you help me?
Please let me thank you for writing me of your trouble. It is well that you are troubled, for it would be too bad if God permitted an estranged child to be happy out of His fellowship. You are having the experience of the prodigal son who could not thrive on hog food and longed for his father’s house.
But, my dear brother, you must stop walking in unbelief, for that is the worst kind of sin you could commit in God’s sight. When He says that “if we (that is we, His children) confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9), He means just that, and it is for us to believe Him, and to receive with joyful assurance the forgiveness He so freely gives. If we fail to do this, we are denying the value of the blood of Calvary, which God says “cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).
Count on His faithfulness, and rejoice in sins forgiven, and then go to work to testify of His goodness, and tell others about His readiness to save. “He that winneth souls is wise.” Get your eyes off yourself, and exert yourself to get others saved, and then you may expect your Heavenly Father to restore unto you the joy of His salvation. Can a true Christian hold a grudge? In the Lord’s prayer it says “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive,” etc. Do we not have to forgive before we can expect forgiveness? A truly regenerated person may fall into a backslidden state, and be out of fellowship with his Father; and while in that state he may do many sinful things, even “hold a grudge.” The so-called Lord’s prayer, given to Jewish disciples under law, does not give the basis of forgiveness in this day of grace. You will find the true basis for us in Ephesians 4:32, “forgiving one another, even as God, for Christ’s sake, hath forgiven” us. Of course, a backslidden Christian, so long as he walks in sin, whether holding a grudge or something else, loses his fellowship with God, his joy, his testimony and his fruitfulness. The way back for him is to confess and forsake his sin. “If we (that is, we Christians) confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all righteousness” (1 John 1:9). Is it true that the death of Christ on Calvary was retroactive in its effects?
Yes. In God’s plan of redemption, His Son was reckoned as “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8), and it was by His blood, already in God’s reckoning shed on Calvary, that Old Testament believers were saved. Their sins were imputed to Christ beforehand. This is the meaning of Romans 3:25, where we read that God set forth His Son as “a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness in the remission of sins that are past through the forbearance of God”; and also of Hebrews 9:15, which shows that on the cross the Son of God died “for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament.”
What is the meaning ofJohn 1:16: “And of his fullness have all we received, and grace for grace”? This verse contains a truly wonderful statement. The thought is that when one is born again he receives the Lord Jesus Christ as the unspeakable gift of God; “of his fullness have all we received.” When we receive Christ we receive “of his fullness.” In Colossians 2:9-10, it is written: “For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power.” At the moment of the new birth all this fullness becomes the possession of the believer. This does not become manifest all at once, nor indeed will it be fully manifest until the believer is finally presented “faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy” (Jude 24). When one is born again he becomes at once a son of God, “and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:1-2).
“We shall be like him,” and this will be true in the most absolute sense; we shall be like Him, and in us every beauty of His adorable Person will be duplicated. This is the meaning of the clause, “grace for grace.” The Reviser’s marginal rendering is “grace upon grace.” The preposition rendered “for” or “upon” might even more literally be rendered, “corresponding to.” Thus we should read, “And of his fullness have all we received, and grace corresponding to grace.” Every grace in Him will be reflected in us, just as in the mirror every detail of one’s face is reflected. This is the goal awaiting us at the end of our course. What a wonderful Savior!
What does Paul mean inRomans 2:29when he says: “But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God”! My difficulty is with the phrase, “in the spirit, and not in the letter.”
You will find a similar expression in Romans 7:6 where Paul writes: “But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.” “The letter” is the law of Moses to which the believer is dead and from which he is forever free, while “the spirit” signified the relation of the believer to Christ through the new life received in his new birth. This matter will be cleared up even further by a study of 2 Corinthians 3, where Paul presents a series of contrasts between the law and the gospel, and where Paul declares that he is a minister of the new covenant, “not of the letter, but of the spirit; for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life” (verse 6). In verse 7 he speaks of the law, that is, the letter which killeth, is “the ministration of condemnation,” while the gospel is called, “the ministration of righteousness.” The law utterly condemns the best man in the world, while the gospel utterly justifies the worst man in the world who believes it. In verse 11 Paul declares that the law which was glorious is “done away,” while the gospel which is even more glorious “remaineth.” ‘The contrast,” says Dr. Scofield, “is not between two methods of interpretation, literal and spiritual, but between two methods of divine dealing: one through the law, the other through the Holy Spirit.” In 2 Corinthians 3:18 the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer is wonderfully set forth in these words: “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed, into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
Three fine young married men worked in a bank. None of them was a member of any church. One day a bandit robbed the bank and murdered the three young men. The bandit was captured and sentenced to death. Prior to his death, a preacher talked to him and he was converted. He died with the church’s blessing. Then said the lecturer, “You tell me this murderer swung off the gallows into everlasting glory and looked down from the safe battlements of glory and saw in the place of pain below the three men he had shot down in their unregenerate state?” Would you explain the fallacy in this reasoning? The three bank clerks, if they were lost, were lost because they had persistently rejected the gift of God which is eternal life. They hadn’t killed anyone, but they had done that which is much worse; they had trodden under foot the Son of God, making the blood of the covenant an unholy thing, and doing despite unto the Spirit of grace (Hebrews 10:29). The murderer, if he was saved, was saved because Christ had died for his sins and he had believed on Him unto salvation. “Whosoever will may come.”
What is the meaning of2 Peter 2:20?
It is a warning to those who know the way of salvation and still reject it. The three verses, 20 to 22, should be read together: “For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.” There is no conceivable way for a dog or a hog to become a sheep except to be born again. And so there is no conceivable way for a sinner to become a child of God except to be born again. It is not enough to know the gospel. The gospel must be believed and obeyed.
What is a Christian, and how does a man become a Christian? A Christian is a born-again person. The Church of God is made up of all those, and only those, who are born again, born from above by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The way to become a Christian is to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as one’s own personal Savior. There is no other way. Receiving Christ is what the New Testament means by believing on Christ. This is shown by John 1:11-13, where the phrase, “as many as received him,” is made equivalent to “them that believe on his name.”
Please inform us about the conversion of small children. Is it true that they may be really converted?
It depends upon what you mean by “small.” Of course, it is impossible for a babe in arms to be converted, but many eminent men have become intelligent and powerful Christians who were converted at a very early age. Isaac Watts was born again at the age of nine years, Jonathan Edwards at seven and Robert Hall at twelve. I myself am personally acquainted with thorough-going Christians who were born again as young as five years of age. But such cases are exceptional. Care should be taken, for instance, in the present child evangelism movement, lest the children “raise the hand” or “come forward” to please a much-loved teacher, when there may have been no change whatever in the children’s hearts toward God. But care must be taken, too, in the case of older folks. We have all seen them coming forward when “the doors of the church” were opened and have seen them received into the membership with what seemed very superficial examination. Well, let us take it right home, and take heed to the exhortation, “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith.” And let us remember also the words of Matthew 18:3 : “Except ye be converted and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Do you think that children of unbelieving parents, dying before they reach the age of accountability, are lost? I always thought they would go to Heaven, but some time ago a minister said they would be lost, and gavePsalms 58:3as his reason. What do you think?
Psalms 58:3 says: “The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies.” Children are sinners, and therefore they need salvation. Since Jesus died for all, He died for the children whether their parents are believers or unbelievers. And such children, dying before the age of accountability, are under the blood and saved by the blood.
I have a problem that is worrying me a lot these days. I have one child, a girl, that I have given Bible instructions to since she was old enough to understand. I taught her the meaning and use of prayer, so I know many times in her grade school days when she was 8 or 9 years, she has told me how she asked God to help her solve many problems. When she was about 14 years there was much talk about our ancestors being monkeys, but she said, “No one can make me believe that.” I was so happy about her and felt sure she was going to grow up to be a servant of God and to help in His work. When she was about 16 years a change came over her and when I mention anything about the Bible it seems to annoy her and she seems to have lost interest. Do you think that she was really saved at that early age and that God will in some way bring her back? But did you ever definitely tell your child the way of salvation, and seek to lead her to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as her personal Savior? From all you tell me, she may have never been saved at all. Let us be more thorough and watchful, lest we fail to lead our children aright. Is there any Scriptural foundation for the teaching that there will be infants and other children taking part in the first resurrection and that they will reign with Christ a thousand years?
I am convinced that unaccountable children are saved by the blood of Christ and that they will participate in the first resurrection and the Rapture. But I have no light upon the question as to what their part will be in the Kingdom.
What Scriptural light is there as to the effect of the Rapture of the Church on children who have not reached an accountable age? Is there any difference between children of saved and unsaved parents in that event?
I know of no Scripture bearing directly upon your question. I have no doubt that all who die in infancy, whether children of saved or of unsaved parents, are saved through the blood of Christ. Since the Rapture is a deliverance from the terrible judgments of the Great Tribulation, I am satisfied that all infants, since they are in a state of safety at the time of the Rapture, will be taken away with the Church. Yet I speak reservedly for I am afraid of purely inferential doctrines and of conclusions based upon implications only. Has God told us whether a still-born infant has a living soul? What does the Bible say to a mother whose baby never breathed? The fact that the child “never breathed” after birth does not alter the fact that it certainly lived in the mother’s womb before birth. It therefore had a living soul and spirit, as well as a living body, in the prenatal state, and is safe in Him who died for us all, and who said of little children, “Of such is the kingdom of God” (Mark 10:14). Will you please give the meaning of the last part ofMatthew 20:16—”for many be called, but few chosen”? The clause referred to is found also in Matthew 22:14, and in both instances it relates to a Parable of the Kingdom. In the case you cite the question is one of rewards rather than of Salvation. “Many are called to work in God’s Vineyard,” says Archbishop Trench, “but few retain that humility, that entire submission to the righteousness of God, that utter abnegation of any claim as of right on their own part, which will allow them in the end to be partakers of His reward.” And Mr. Spurgeon, writing upon the Parable of the King’s Son, said: “Those who were ‘called’ included the rejecters of the King’s invitation; who, by their refusal, proved that they were not ‘chosen.’ Even amongst those who accepted the invitation there was one who was not ‘chosen,’ for he insulted the King in His own palace, and showed his enmity by his disobedience to the royal requirements. There were, however, ‘chosen’ ones; and sufficient to fill the festal hall of the great King, and to render due honor to the wedding of His Son. Blessed are all they that shall sit down at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb! May the writer and all his readers be amongst that chosen company, and forever adore the distinguishing grace of God which has so highly favored them!”
It is said by some that Christ taught a distinct separation or class condition of His followers in saying, “Many are called but few are chosen,” and that this is emphasized in the Parable of the Ten Virgins. In this they teach that the wise virgins are the Spirit-filled, and only they will be caught up in the Rapture—all others must pass into the Tribulation. Does not this savor of the spirit of Seventh-Day Adventists who claim that they alone are the 144,000? In the above Parable is not the expression positive that the foolish “took no oil” in their vessels? Can the word “vessels” possibly refer to the body in distinction from the spirit? The Parable of the Ten Virgins has no direct reference to Christians of any “class”; it refers to professing Jewish disciples of the Great Tribulation period, some of them true believers and some mere professors, “having not the Spirit” (Judges 19; compare Romans 8:9 and context). The “vessels” of the Parable are unquestionably the bodies (See 1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
Any teaching is mischievous which divides born-again ones into “classes.” The Spirit of Truth is always careful to preserve in His teaching the unity of the body. The Rapture is for all who belong to the Lord, and He “knoweth them that are his.”
What is meant by the words inRomans 5:10, “We shall be saved by his life”? I supposed we were saved by the death of Christ rather than by His life.
It is true that we are saved by His death on Calvary, but we are kept saved by His life in resurrection power. This is the argument throughout the passage to which you refer, Romans 5:8-10 : “God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved (kept safe) from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall he saved (kept safe) by his life.” This is the teaching of Hebrews 7:25 : “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.” And this is the meaning of our Lord’s assuring words in John 14:18 : “Because I live, ye shall live also.” Without His resurrection, His death on the cross would have been merely death.
In2 Peter 1:11we read of the “abundant entrance,” yet in1 Peter 4:18he writes that the righteous are scarcely saved. What is the explanation of this seeming discrepancy? The phrase “scarcely saved” means “saved with difficulty.” Our salvation was God’s most difficult problem, for it involved His justice as well as His mercy. How could He righteously reckon righteous those who were unrighteous? He “found a ransom,” and by the death of His Son, that Son Himself being a willing sacrifice, God found a way, “that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus” (Romans 3:26) This is the marvel and the triumph of the gospel. Was Cornelius a saved man before he sent for Peter? The words ofActs 11:14would seem to indicate that he was not
You are quite right; but Cornelius sought after God and was found of Him. His salvation came through hearing and believing the Gospel at Peter’s mouth.
InJohn 6:44, will you please make it clear that God draws, and desires that all should be saved?
John 6:44 says only that no man can come to the Son unless the Father draw him, and he will be raised up at the last day. But it is clear, from other Scriptures, that God desires that all men should be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4). He is “long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). This verse by no means clears up the relation between the doctrines of divine sovereignty and human freedom, both of which are Bible doctrines and true. The true attitude of faith is to believe them both and then to follow the old Pastor’s example who said: “I pray for my people as if everything depended upon God, and then I preach to them as if everything depended upon them.” That is a good rule to follow.
InEphesians 2:8it says: ‘Tor by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.” To what does the pronoun “it” refer? Is it grace? Some have thought it was faith. One man thought it meant salvation. What would you interpret it to mean?
There may be some question as to precisely what is referred to here as being “the gift of God”; but it is certain that the “grace,” the “faith,” and the “salvation,” are all included in “the gift of God” which is “eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23, R.V.).
I have a family of persistent unbelievers with as strong a set of wills as probably exist. They will sometimes listen to the Word in obdurate silence and utmost indifference, but never yield an inch. I have faith that constant prayer will effect what would be nothing short of a miracle in their case. Is there any practical consolation to be had inActs 16:31? Was that invitation specific only to the jailer and “his” family, or can I also take it? Even then, how can it be taken literally? Each one must make “his own” peace with God through Jesus Christ, and not one for another—so wherein does this promise count? I am sorely tried. The language of Acts 16:31, taken by itself, is capable of two constructions: either, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and (by reason of thy belief) thy house also shalt be saved” or, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved; and this is true not only for thee, but it is also true that if thy house believe on the the Lord Jesus Christ, it too shalt be saved.” The context shows that the latter construction is correct. For the preachers “spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house,” with the result that the jailer “rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.” Of course, each person had to believe for himself. Keep right on with your praying to God for your own house, and keep on in your faithful testimony, leaving it all with Him who knows all about it and “judgeth righteously.”
IsHebrews 2:3for the saved or the unsaved?
It is for the unsaved. The saved are saved just because they have not neglected “so great salvation.” Is a person who commits murder forever lost, regardless of repentance after?
Salvation is freely offered to sinners who come to God through Jesus Christ His Son. David was a murderer, but God forgave him and received him. Whosoever will may come. Can you tell us whether or not Adam was saved? And will you kindly give some Bible reasons for your answer?
I have no doubt that Adam was saved. The fact that he called his wife’s name Eve (meaning living or life-giver), “because she was the mother of all living” (Genesis 3:20), proves that he believed the promise of God with reference to the coming Redeemer who should be the Seed of the woman.
If after a number of years of faithful service a Christian should stumble, does he lose his reward for the work that has been done previously? Kindly give Scriptures pointing out your answer.
Salvation is a gift, and rewards are earned by works. Salvation is a present possession, and rewards are a future attainment. God is not unfaithful nor forgetful and will certainly reward His faithful servants for every faithful service. On the other hand, He is sure to faithfully chasten those whom He loves and who are in need of chastening. We may depend upon the Judge of the whole earth to do right. Read 1 Corinthians 3:11-15; 1 Corinthians 11:31-32; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Hebrews 12:1-11. Will there be rewards in Heaven, or only in the Millennium?
Both. Are there differences in rewards for believers?
Yes. Read 1 Corinthians 3:11-15. Rewards are to be distinguished from salvation. Salvation is a free gift while rewards are earned by works. Salvation is a present possession while rewards are a future attainment.
What is the significance of crowns in the Scriptures, such as the crown of glory, etc.?
Salvation and rewards are carefully distinguished in Scripture and crowns are rewards. Salvation is a gift, while rewards are earned by works. Salvation is the believer’s present possession, while rewards await the judgment seat of Christ (1 Corinthians 3:11-15). There are five crowns offered for rewards: (1) The crown of rejoicing, for faithfulness in service (1 Thessalonians 2:19-20; Php 4:1); (2) the crown of righteousness, for faithfulness in testimony (2 Timothy 4:8); (3) the crown of life, for faithfulness under trial (James 1:12; Revelation 2:10); (4) the crown of glory, for faithfulness in suffering (1 Peter 5:4; Hebrews 2:9); (5) the crown incorruptible, for faithfulness in the exercise of self-control in the race for Christ’s approval (1 Corinthians 9:24-27).
How can a Unitarian who denies the atonement, who teaches salvation by character instead of grace, and who counts the blood of Jesus Christ of no more importance when it was shed upon the cross than when it was flowing through His veins be saved? How aboutHebrews 9:22? How about the book of Galatians, which was written especially to show the evils of the admixture of law and grace?
How can a Roman Catholic be saved, who counts the word of the priest of greater import than the Word of God, and who believes that when, in the confessional, the priest raises his hand and says, “I absolve thee,” his sins are forgiven without ever going to Christ Himself?
Unitarianism is non-Christian, and so also is Roman Catholicism. Yet I have no doubt that there are individuals in both these communions who, in spite of the system with which they are connected, are nevertheless believers on the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God and as God incarnate; and, of course, if there are such, they are saved.
I remember a dear old man I once knew in Pennsylvania who was related to the Hicksite Quakers, and the Hicksite Quakers, as you know, are Unitarians. I was invited by this man to teach a weekly Bible class in his home which I did for quite a long time; and although he continued even to his death with the Hicksite Friends, yet he confessed to me that he believed in the Lord Jesus Christ and worshiped Him as God in the flesh.
Training has much to do with these things. Let us thank God that He knows those who are His. And no matter what their relation may be to this or that or the other group, nevertheless, if they are born again they belong to Him.
Since the Bible is so easy to understand that even a wayfaring man or a fool shall not err therein (Isaiah 35:8), how can men of God differ so much in the exposition of the Scriptures? Is it possible for both to be filled with the Holy Spirit? How can we tell which is right? The answer to your question is in the second chapter of the First Epistle of John. Every child of God has the Holy Spirit dwelling within him, and he must study the Word of God for himself under the Spirit’s guidance and not be guided by any man. Read especially verses 20 to 27.
Please explainRomans 8:12-14.
There will be no difficulty at all in understanding these verses if you will see that in this chapter walking in the flesh is simply an unsaved man trying to get saved through his own efforts. The whole argument of Romans 8 hinges on the question as to whether one is truly saved or not. The word “brethren” in verse 12 might present a difficulty, but I do not think it does. Paul is addressing his argument to a Christian church, but the argument itself is upon the question as to how men are saved. Salvation comes not through walking after the flesh and seeking by fleshly efforts to make oneself presentable to God, but rather through walking after the Spirit, that is, giving up all self efforts and depending only upon the Spirit of God to accomplish the work including regeneration and all that follows. Is it possible for the regenerate man to walk in the flesh? We read in many of the Epistles of a whole list of sins which are of the flesh, and it is declared that all they which do such things shall not enter into the Kingdom of God.
It is, alas, quite possible for the believer to walk in the flesh for the flesh in the believer is unchanged. It is exactly the same as the flesh in an unbeliever. By the flesh, of course, is meant the old nature, born of Adam, which remains unchanged and unchangeable until we are changed into the Lord’s image at His coming.
Meanwhile, if we walk in the flesh, God will chasten us for He is a faithful Father. The reference to “those which do such things” is to the natural man who is not born again. We must interpret these passages in the light of the general teaching of Scripture on the subject.
I know some people that are holding to erroneous beliefs concerning the Bible and salvation, and I am interested in this question: Will such people, when they are perfectly sincere, be lost just because they hold such teachings?
Saul of Tarsus was sincere when he held erroneous belief regarding salvation, but he was lost until he received the Lord Jesus Christ as his own personal Savior. Sincerity is a good thing if it is directed in the right way, but sincerity in error is dangerous. Salvation does not lie in that direction: “for by grace are ye saved through faith.”
What place has repentance in salvation? Should we tell people to repent of their sins to be saved? The Gospel of John is the Holy Spirit’s Gospel Tract, written that men might believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God; and that believing they might have life through His name (20:31). And it does not mention the word “repentance.” But that is only because repentance is a necessary part of saving faith. Strictly speaking, the word repentance means “a change of mind.” It is by no means the same thing as sorrow (2 Corinthians 7:10). Since it is not possible for an unbeliever to become a believer without changing his mind, it is therefore unnecessary to say anything about it. The only thing for a man to do to be saved is to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ: and to believe on Him is the same thing as receiving Him (John 1:11-13).