Continued from part 1.
So, in the gospel, as unbelievers we found acceptance through Christ and forgiveness from sin. But as believers, don’t we rely on that acceptance as we work out our salvation? Don’t we need to be constantly challenged to obey more and be more faithful to God? Does our spiritual life depend in some sense on our own efforts and our obedience to Christ? Yes and No. Let’s look at what the Bible says about the Gospel’s work in believers more closely.
The Gospel and the Believer
1. Spiritual growth comes by hearing the Gospel and believing.
Galatians 2:19-3:5 For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose. O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? Did you suffer so many things in vain? if indeed it was in vain? Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith?
Just as we initially receive the Spirit when we are converted by hearing (the gospel) with faith (Vs. 2). Even so, our continued life in the Spirit comes by hearing (the gospel) with faith (Vs. 5). We cannot live our spiritual lives by fleshly effort (vs. 3, 2:20, cf. Col. 2:20-3:4).
2. All of life is to be lived in accordance to the Gospel.
Gal. 2:14 But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all,….
Paul challenged Peter that his conduct was not measuring up to the gospel, implying that our conduct needs to measure up to the gospel. Paul could have scolded Peter for displaying the sin of racial prejudice. He could have called him to the carpet for disobeying the command to love his neighbor. Instead, Paul pointed out how Peter had failed to live in accordance with the gospel. The gospel has claims on us and requires we live in light of it as we make decisions in all of life.
3. Holiness, and proving that one has a genuine faith, depends on not shifting from the hope of the gospel.
Col. 1:21-23 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has not been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I Paul, became a minister.
Holiness and growth in godliness depend on keeping close to the gospel. Proving that one is indeed reconciled, that they have a genuine faith is manifested by how they continue in believing the gospel.
4. Strength is supplied to us by the gospel.
Rom. 16:25 Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith.
Strength is from the gospel, which is further described as the “preaching of Jesus Christ”. This preaching brings about the obedience of faith. So strength to obey and persevere in faith comes from the revelation of Christ in the gospel.
5. The Gospel is the very Power that Saves us.
Rom. 1:16-17 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is power of God for salvation to everyone who believes (literally = everyone [presently/continually] believing), to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, The righteous shall live by faith.
In one sense we are already saved from having believed the gospel, but in a very real sense we are not yet ultimately saved. When the New Testament uses the term saved or salvation, it often refers to the point in time when we are glorified in heaven, when we actually arrive there. Often Scripture speaks of salvation as in a sense a work in progress, it’s not yet complete. This is reflected well in how the ESV translates the meaning of the Greek tenses for the word sowzo (saved) in the following passages.
1 Cor. 1:17-18 For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
1 Cor. 15:1-2 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you””unless you believed in vain.
Salvation depends on us “holding fast to the word … preached”. When this doesn’t happen, it reveals that the individual has “believed in vain”. They have a faith like that described in Luke 8, they “believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away” (see also 1 Jn. 2:19). True saving, genuine faith endures to the end and doesn’t fail. What supplies us with that kind of faith is a holding on to the Gospel. The Gospel has a power by which it saves us.
To conclude this point: we have seen the Gospel has many purposes for believers beyond initial conversion. It is as much for believers as unbelievers. We’ll explore some practical ways we can avail ourselves of the power of the Gospel in our Christian life, in the third and final post in this series.
For more on the idea of “being saved”, check out posts in my topic on perseverance, especially My 219 Epiphany.
This looks interesting. I’ll be reading it soon. Just haven’t time yet.
Like the doctrines of grace, it is amazing how ubiquitous is the association between the good news of Christ’s life, death and resurrection for sinners (the gospel) and a believer’s spiritual growth. The ESV translation of “sterizo” in Romans 16:25 was for me especially enlightening. How much more clear it is to translate “sterizo” as “strengthen” than is the traditional transaltion “establish” (NIV, NASB) or “stablish” (KJV).
Studylight.org defines “sterizo” as follows:
1. to make stable, place firmly, set fast, fix
2. to strengthen, make firm
3. to render constant, confirm, one’s mind
I don’t personally know if “strengthen” is in any way less literal than “establish” but I do know personally that the sentence is actually comprehensible to me. When I read that something is established, I don’t get as clear of a concept in my mind as I do when I read “strengthen.”
And strength the gospel is to the faith of a believer. Just as Paul writes that the Law doesn’t have the power to generate obedience, but rather, provokes disobedience (Romans 7:7), so preaching that is devoid of the promise and assurance of forgiveness for my sins in the gospel is powerless to generate obedience in me, no matter how clearly and thoroughly the disciplines of a Christian walk are elucidated to me. Telling a believer what to do is powerless to get him to do it with any real spiritual profit or fruifulness if the gospel isn’t there to humble him and ingratiate him so that he is actually motivated to walk in the steps of Christ.
[...] June 3, 2009 Continued from part 2. [...]
Great thoughts, John. Of course, its funny that you can freely use “elucidated” in conversation, but “established” stumps you! I know what you mean though how modern translations can often help you really get the point of the verse better, especially if you compare several translations together.
I just put up part 3 and I think you’ll like one point particularly.
It’s different because I don’t have to read my own stuff. I know what I mean even if you don’t.
[...] Continued from part 2. [...]
This Calvinist interpretation of the parable will always suffer we from the “Elephant in the Room” syndrome. Our Lord clearly identified only one of the four as having not been “phuo(ed)” or having come to life and that one, and that one only, is said to be the one that did not believe and be saved. The springing to life, then, is indisputably a reference to precisely what happens when one does believe and this is attributed to the remaining three.
Now what distinguishes the remaining three is not whether the gospel or the “seed” gave life, clearly it did, but their growth after coming or springing to life (unless you are suggesting Jesus meant to include the two that did not mature as not believing and being saved and just “forgot” to say this was the case, too. Obviously this is a rhetorical statement. We know the answer. Our Lord clearly identified only one as having not believed and been saved and it was not possible for him to miscommunicate).
Finally, the term to “believe in vain” has been misused here. To believe in vain, if you will check the exegesis, does not mean to have believed…but then not really have believed…or to believe and magically experience spiritual life of some sort but not really-really have believed or come to life at all yet came to life in some way, enough that you could grow and actually bear some fruit, just not mature fruit (in fact how can one be described as having come to life at all if they never came to life since this is what the new birth is? To say these two did not really believe yet came to life is ludicrous since it is believing that brings life. Oh wait, regeneration before belief, I forgot, I guess Jesus should have been informed about this before telling the parable. Far too many contradictions with this proposition you are making). To believe in vain means to have believed either:
That which is not the gospel
or
That you did believe the gospel but the gospel is not true
When Paul writes about believing in vain he generally is referring to the second one in a hyperbolic context.
But let’s imagine it is the first. Remember, the “seed” is the gospel so it cannot be a case of them coming to life based on a “non-gospel” since a “non-gospel” cannot give life and again, Jesus makes it clear, it the seed is the gospel for all of them.
So while you are more than challenged, I say refuted, by the text and exegesis, which I would gladly argue with any theologian of any pedigree on any day, but particularly a Calvinist seeing that his suppositions dictate his exegesis and not the other way around as it should be and it leaves him constantly vulnerable to exegetical arguments since he entraps himself in rational arguments that very often lose sight of the exegetical boundaries thereby proposing views that cannot be sustain textually, I submit that your statement…:
“Salvation depends on us “holding fast to the word … preachedâ€.
…reflects the very unfortunate theological exchange that is placed upon a man when he enlists in Calvin’s army. I am amused by all this talk of election by Calvinists and their heighten piety when feigning offense toward the “absolute sovereignty of God” that we somehow have something to do with whether we are saved or not, even in exercising our volition. Yet out of the other side of their mouth glaringly contradictory statements like this are made…”us…hold fast”. Yeah, I know, if “we hold fast” it means we really were elected…phew…
None of this negates that this is still a very interesting blog!
I would argue that your’re wrong about Luke 8.
Look at what comes in context three verses after the explanation of the Parable of the Soils/Sower:
I think contextually the “what he thinks that he has” should guide us here. Furthermore, “believe and be saved” doesn’t have to imply being saved immediately in the present sense of salvation right after believing. It could very well in context mean, the ones who have the word snatched away don’t have the chance to believe, hold on to that belief through trials and worldly distractions and be saved. Being saved is tied to belief, and the rocky soil is said to have the belief last only a little while. The belief doesn’t continue, so being saved ultimately doesn’t happen either. This is borne out by the warnings later in the passage.
On 1 Cor. 15:2 I think we went at this before somewhere else on my blog. If what you say makes sense why stress “if you hold fast” like Paul does?
“Furthermore, “believe and be saved†doesn’t have to imply being saved immediately in the present sense of salvation right after believing.”
Except in this case it does! It is absolutely astounding you would argue otherwise. Jesus only identifies one of the four that did not believe and be saved.
You really have zero exegetical grounds here for any of your positions.
1. Jesus makes clear the seed is the gospel and it is removed by the Devil lest they “believe and be saved”. Therefore there is no other context other than believing and being saved, immediately, because that is what happens when one believes the gospel, they are immediately saved! This is purely a gospel context and no other, Jesus makes that quite clear.
2. Jesus identifies none of the other 3 the way he describes the 1st, as not believing and being saved.
3. Jesus identifies the remaining 3 as having received the word and come to life. None is said to be otherwise.
4. The only difference between the 3 is their level of growth. That does not undo or deny their having “phuo(ed)” or sprang to life, i.e. their salvation. Again, all 3 are described identically.
5. Finally the 3rd (one of the ones you claim was not “really
saved) did bear fruit, just not mature fruit. So magically your answer for this is???? He bears fruit but isn’t really saved? Are you kidding? Has your rationalism actually lead to this kind of irrationality?
But wait, you subscribe to a theological system that cannot endure this prima facie context, so I do understand why you are willing to contort and even deny the obvious.
Bob I wonder if you simply traded one authoritarian school for another when you left IFBKJVO land embraced your current school. Surely you can think through this and see the blatant errors being forced upon the text because of allegiance to a theological system.
Man, I keep forgetting to notice the nifty little “reply” links.