Tag Archives: Grace

The Invincibility of Monergistic Regeneration


I just read another fantastic article by John Hendryx over at Monergism lucidly expounding upon the teachings of Jesus found in John chapter 6. He identifies our Lord’s use of a syllogism in order to put two and two together and prove several profound truths from these scriptures:

Truth 1. No one comes to Christ unless it is granted to him by the Father.

PLUS

Truth 2. Everyone who is granted permission by the Father will believe in Christ.

EQUALS

Truth 3. Every step of our salvation is all of God’s grace.  His grace is irresistible and invincible.  Even our coming to him in faith only happens in response to his calling.

Here is an excerpt:

The purpose of this short essay is to show from Scripture a discussion Jesus had in his time on earth where he unequivocally asserts that it is grace alone that makes persons to differ in our response to the gospel; whether we believe it, or reject it. And to drive this point home we will show how Jesus insists that UNLESS God grants His invincible grace no one would ever believe the gospel … yet ALL persons to whom he grants this same grace will believe unto eternal life.

To those who have not considered Jesus discourse to the Jews in John 6, I would encourage you to take the time to reflect on it today. We find out that, when speaking to the Jews, Jesus uses a syllogism that leaves no room for human boasting. Defined simply, a syllogism is a logical formula consisting of two premises and a conclusion which follows of necessity from them. It is a combination of two judgments infallibly necessitating a third judgment as a consequence of their mutual relation. A simple example of a syllogism is: If all humans are sinners, and all Greeks are humans, then all Greeks are sinners.

You ask, but what does this have to do with Jesus?

In John chapter 6, in the context of Jesus’ calling the Jews to believe the gospel about Himself and their resulting unbelief in Him, He presents them with the following two simple yet profound statements, which, when applied together necessitates the conclusion that saving grace is always both invincible and indelible. He claims that those to whom, in due season, the Spirit regenerates will infallibly believe the gospel. Grace and faith, therefore, are not the same thing, and when it comes down to why some have faith and not others, Jesus emphatically comes down on the side of grace. What I call “the Jesus syllogism”, where He authoritatively communicates this truth, should end all arguments about this issue. it can be found in the midst of his discourse with the Jews in John 6:37 & John 6:65 where He says:

“All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.” ( 6:37) ”… no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.” ( 6:65)

Read the entire article HERE.

The Righteousness of Noah


I must admit, my Sunday school class continues to stimulate and challenge my beliefs in the doctrines of Grace. This past Sunday our lesson ‘Aspire to Walk with God’ centered on the story of Noah and the Flood. I studied the passages in Genesis chapter 6 and had decided to focus in on the righteousness of Noah, anticipating that this would be a hot topic during discussion. Turns out I was correct. The teacher asked a question I think everyone has when first reading this passage. Here’s the text. Read through it and I bet the question that first pops into your mind is the same as mine.

Gen 6:5-22 The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. (6) And the LORD was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. (7) So the LORD said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” (8) But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. (9) These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God. (10) And Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (11) Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. (12) And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. (13) And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth. …. (17) For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die. (18) But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. (19) And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every sort into the ark to keep them alive with you. They shall be male and female. (20) Of the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground, according to its kind, two of every sort shall come in to you to keep them alive. (21) Also take with you every sort of food that is eaten, and store it up. It shall serve as food for you and for them.” (22) Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.

I came away asking this: How could Noah possibly be righteous and blameless in a world corrupted by sin?

While you chew on that, here’s another question to ponder: Who is responsible for mankind’s redemption in this story? Did God redeem man or did Noah? Well, it looks like God desired to wipe out the whole human race because they were evil. Noah, because of his righteousness, was spared. If Noah had not been blameless in God’s sight we would not be here discussing this story. The world would be barren and lifeless. So, we are in fact indebted to Noah and some kind of inherent righteousness he somehow possessed that no other human had. Noah is our hero! All hail to the savior of us all! In spite of God’s will to destroy all flesh, man prevailed. Continue reading →

A Brief Discourse on the Heart of the Gospel


lighthouse.jpgBut God commends 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 from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. (Rom 5:8-10)

I have two student workers who help me out a couple of days during the week, doing various technology related tasks. They are generally enthusiastic and energetic workers. They are also neither one Christians. One is a sort of agnostic who is considering Judaism. (I don’t get it either.) The other is a practicing Hindu. I have spent the last year witnessing to these young gentlemen. I have sat down with them and taken them systematically through the full scope of the gospel message, from law to grace, from hell to heaven, from death to life, from the depravity of man to the glory of God. As of yet, neither has put their faith in Christ. One has hardened himself against the message and generally mocks God and his word. The other is more respectful and appears to have a general interest in what I have to say.

So I keep teaching. One tool I frequently utilize is the white board I have in my office. Every week I put up a few scripture verses. When they come in to work, I often take a moment to quickly expound the text for their edification. The student who actually pays attention to me has come to eagerly await a new nugget of wisdom from God’s word every week. He is quick to rebuke me whenever I fail to post a new scripture. I can sense that he is digesting the milk I am feeding him. Encouraged by his hunger for knowledge, I keep at it, praying that God will cause the seed I have planted to take root. My hope is that someday it shall sprout into a tree of life.

Last week as I searched for a scripture to display I came across the text from Romans posted above. As I read through it I realized the Apostle Paul here succinctly summarizes the core of the gospel message in these three short verses. I will attempt to expound these verses just as plainly as I explained them to my student workers a few days ago. Continue reading →

Post of the Week: The Church is Full of Hypocrites


Extreme Theology has posted an exceptional article on hypocrisy in the church by Rev. Bryan Wolfmueller.

Here is an insightful excerpt:

There are two things at work behind the accusation of hypocrisy, one true, the other false. The first is the sad reality that the church is often marred with shameful sin. More on this later. But, the second thing behind the accusation of hypocrisy is a wrong assumption about what Christianity is. Those that accuse the church of hypocrisy often assume that the whole point of the Church is to make people good, moral. “You’re a Christian: you’re supposed to be good and holy and all that stuff.” The world sees the church as a place where people go to learn about God’s rules, and to talk about how they are keeping them and the world is not.

Here we must be clear that the main point of Christianity is not our morality and goodness. This is, to be sure, the thing driving every other world religion from Judaism to Hinduism, Islam to Mormonism and even Atheism! All of these “ism’s” are pointing mankind to achieve more and be better, to climb the ladder of moral success and be a good person. But Christianity is different, it begins not with man’s goodness or potential goodness but rather with man’s wickedness. From the first chapters of Genesis until the Revelation given to St John the Bible is a record of mankind’s failure; it is a testimony of his sin.

Click here to read the rest of the article.