Date: July 25, 2010

Series: Romans

Topic: Perseverance of the Saints (Eternal Security, Once Saved Always Saved)

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"We should strive to hold our beliefs with a charity and kindness that won't embarrass us in heaven."

-Josh Harris, Dug Down Deep, p. 229.

HT:Justin Buzzard

(from DesiringGod.org)

If God has already willed to send rain, then why pray for it? Or if God has chosen to save you, then why fight so hard against temptation?

Edwards gives his answer to questions like these in Miscellanies #29 (reformatted for readability):

God decrees all things harmoniously and in excellent order; one decree harmonizes with another, and there is such a relation between all the decrees as makes the most excellent order. Thus God decrees rain in drought because he decrees the earnest prayers of his people; or thus, he decrees the prayers of his people because he decrees rain.

I acknowledge, to say God decrees a thing "because," is an improper way of speaking, but not more improper than all our other ways of speaking about God. God decrees the latter event because of the former, no more than he decrees the former because of the latter.

But this is what we [mean]: when God decrees to give the blessing of rain, he decrees the prayers of his people; and when he decrees the prayers of his people, he very commonly decrees rain; and thereby there is an harmony between these two decrees, of rain and the prayers of God's people.

Thus also,

• when he decrees diligence and industry, he decrees riches and prosperity;
• when he decrees prudence, he often decrees success;
• when he decrees striving, then often he decrees the obtaining of the kingdom of heaven;
• when he decrees the preaching of the gospel, then he decrees the bringing home of souls to Christ;
• when he decrees good natural faculties, diligence and good advantages, then he decrees learning;
• when he decrees summer, then he decrees the growing of plants.

Thus, when he decrees conformity to his Son, he decrees calling; and when he decrees calling, he decrees justification; and when he decrees justification, he decrees everlasting glory.

Thus all the decrees of God are harmonious; and this is all that can be said for or against absolute or conditional decrees. But this I say, it's improper to make one decree a condition of another, any more than the other a condition of that; but there is a harmony between both.

John Stott writes this piercing quote concerning the church's place and role in our lives.

"If the church is central to God's purpose, as seen in both history and the gospel, it must surely also be central to our lives. How can we take lightly what God takes so seriously? How dare we push to the circumference what God has placed at the center?"

-John Stott

HT: Justin Buzzard

I recently bought a Kindle reading device. One of the first books I download was John Bunyan's (you remember him, he wrote Pilgrim's Progress) autobiographical work, Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners.

(By the way, if you have a Kindle, or if you have the Kindle app for your phone you can download this for free from the Kindle store.)

About a quarter of the way in, Bunyan is recounting how God softened his heart toward Christ and made him long to be a Christian, but for sin's sake, he still felt cut off from the grace of Christ and the fold of God's people.

Check out the following quote from Grace Abounding, and listen to how Bunyan thought about the church (and what he compared it with). I wonder how you think of the church?

About this time, the state and happiness of these poor people at Bedford [his local church] was thus, in a kind of a vision, presented to me, I saw as if they were on the sunny side of some high mountain, there refreshing themselves with the pleasant beams of the sun, while I was shivering and shrinking in the cold, afflicted with frost, snow and dark clouds: methought also, betwixt me and them, I saw a wall that did compass about this mountain, now through this wall my soul did greatly desire to pass; concluding, that if I could, I would even go into the very midst of them, and there also comfort myself with the heat of their sun.

About this wall I bethought myself, to go again and again, still prying as I went, to see if I could find some way or passage, by which I might enter therein: but none could I find for some time: at the last, I saw, as it were, a narrow gap, like a little door-way in the wall, through which I attempted to pass: Now the passage being very strait and narrow, I made many offers to get in, but all in vain, even until I was well-nigh quite beat out, by striving to get in; at last, with great striving, methought I at first did get in my head, and after that, by a sideling striving, my shoulders, and my whole body; then I was exceeding glad, went and sat down in the midst of them, and so was comforted with the light and heat of their sun.

Now this mountain, and wall, etc., was thus made out to me: The mountain signified the church of the living God: the sun that shone thereon, the comfortable shining of His merciful face on them that were therein; the wall I thought was the word, that did make separation between the Christians and the world; and the gap which was in the wall, I thought, was Jesus Christ, Who is the way to God the Father.  John xiv. 6; Matt. vii. 14.  But forasmuch as the passage was wonderful narrow, even so narrow that I could not, but with great difficulty, enter in thereat, it showed me, that none could enter into life, but those that were in downright earnest, and unless also they left that wicked world behind them; for here was only room for body and soul, but not for body and soul and sin.

This resemblance abode upon my spirit many days; all which time I saw myself in a forlorn and sad condition, but yet was provoked to a vehement hunger and desire to be one of that number that did sit in the sunshine: Now also I should pray wherever I was: whether at home or abroad; in house or field; and would also often, with lifting up of heart, sing that of the fifty-first Psalm, O Lord, consider my distress; for as yet I knew not where I was.

What a challenge to the church of Christ today! I wonder if those on the outskirts of God's grace are looking envyingly at the bride of Jesus and longing to soak up the same rays of Christ's joy?