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| Does it come from the Bible or not? |
As if the result of lost people not being saved is not bad enough, truly saved people are given logical but invalid reasons to doubt their salvation. The message given instead of the Gospel is a call to discipleship and because discipleship is a life long process that will never comes to a perfect result in this life; there can never be true assurance of Salvation.
It is argued: All soundly saved Christians are Disciples. Being saved is invisible, but the works of Disciples are visible. Therefore, since all Christians are Disciples, if we test for the visible works of Disciples we’ll be able to test for the invisible Salvation. Therefore if one is able to fail a test of Discipleship they must have reason to doubt their Salvation. Discipleship is a process of growing. The more we grow the more accurately we see ourselves and so it is a process by which we become more and more aware of our shortcomings. Christ (and His sacrifice on the Cross) is magnified as we see more clearly both ourselves and Him. The LS theology proponent however would have us believe that Discipleship is a path of victory and triumph where our Salvation is confirmed by how good we become; If we are saved we will become good, if we are not saved we will continue doing evil works.
John MacArthur, a leading proponent of LS theology, offers a test to see if one is saved on his Grace To You website.
I’m going to evaluate this test to determine if it is reliable and valid or not. In order for me to consider a test of one’s Salvation as valid it must meet all of the three following criteria:
- Be in accordance with the Scriptures. If it does not explicitly come from the Scriptures then it is man’s wisdom and cannot be relied upon, and is therefore invalid.
- Be passable by every single saved person, at every moment, in any situation. If it could give a false indication of an unsaved state to a person who actually is saved then the test is invalid.
- Be impossible to pass for every single non-saved person, at every moment, in any situation. If it could give a false indication of salvation to an unsaved person then the test is invalid.
MacArthur’s website tells us that there are “two important tests in Scripture to determine whether or not he or she is a true believer.”
One objective, the other is subjective;
There is first of all an objective test, which asks, "Do I believe?" Ask yourself if you affirm the Scripture's record of the person and work of Jesus Christ. Do you believe that He is God manifest in the flesh? Do you believe that God saves sinners solely through the merits of Jesus Christ's obedient life and substitutionary death on the cross?
This first objective test is simply, do you believe the Gospel? The Gospel can be found explicitly stated in 1Cor 15:1-11. Although objective test above does not state the full Gospel the intent is recognizable. For the sake of argument I will concede that the intent is to believe that Christ died for our sins, in accordance with the Scriptures, was buried, and rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures and was seen over many days to be alive by many witnesses. That this is the basis by which God saves sinners, and it directly provided for one’s own Salvation.
- Does this explicitly come from the Scriptures? YES.
- Can every saved person pass this test in every situation? YES.
- Is it impossible for an unsaved person to pass this test? YES.
Three yeses mean this IS an accurate and valid test of the reality of one’s salvation, given that God is faithful to save all those who believe. The fact is that if God truly is faithful, if He is worthy of our trust then there is no further test required. Either His word on the matter is good enough or it is not.
However, assurance based on God’s faithfulness to do exactly what He says is not deemed as enough for assurance by the MacArthur website article. For it continues on now to talk about the believer’s performance, which of course is counter to the above test question - “Do you believe that God saves sinners solely through the merits of Jesus Christ’s obedient life and substitutionary death on the cross?” If that is the “sole” basis, then that is also the end of the test. Has that happened? Then the test is passed. Has that not happened? Then the test is failed. The results are clear and straight forward.
I will close Part 1 of this series with this very serious and I believe solemn statement. If a person is not assured of their salvation based on the faithfulness of God alone (that is to say that God saves those who believe in Him just as He has said) then they do not have saving faith. I do make allowance for the fact of saved people being led astray by false teachers after they have been saved. For example the Corinthians and Galatians were led astray after they were saved and went on to doubt the provision that they had originally received by believing the Gospel. So to state this plainly, if one has not received the Gospel, that Christ has provided for our salvation fully as our full, final and only hope, then they have not had saving faith.
To seek assurance of salvation outside of, or along side of, the provision of Christ and His just propitiation of God’s wrath is to call God a liar. 1Jn 5:10, Jn 3:33, Jn 1:29, Rom 3:21-26, 1Jn 2:2
We will pick up with the subjective tests that the MacArthur website suggests to readers in the next instalment of this series.
8 comments:
Kev
Your statement here is not foolproof neither.
"This first objective test is simply, do you believe the Gospel? ...For the sake of argument I will concede that the intent is to believe that Christ died for our sins, in accordance with the Scriptures, was buried, and rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures and was seen over many days to be alive by many witnesses. That this is the basis by which God saves sinners, and it directly provided for one’s own Salvation."
I personally know of several people who believe that the gospel is true, yet have NOT believed it to be true in their own case. Each will tell you outright that they themselves are not saved, though others may be.
They have not trusted that it was necessary for THEM to either have a Saviour, or to need one. For these, the Saviour was for other people, and they believed He would save these other people, but
they themselves either didn't need to be saved, or didn't want to be.
Others have believed that some parts of it are true and will tell you so, but in the end you find out they are holding to some kind of works righteousness.
Each one of these people believes the gospel in the sense that it is true to the saving of souls, but not in the sense that it was meant for them.
The problem always is that when we ourselves try to make any kind of foolproof test, someone just comes along and invents another fool.
One can tell very specifically, who brothers and sisters in Christ are, but we all fail at the point of writing down an explicit test for it. Suffice it to say that the Lord gives the scent of, and the ability to smell out others of like faith to Christians, regardless of actions or testimony. Just as there is something in those that are born again that draws them out of the world, there is something God-given in the spirit of each those that are born again that draws one to another. That will be about all the 'test' you will ever find.
Hi Look Up,
I think you know I meant that the person was depending on this Gospel to be true for their own selves.
If the person doesn't see God's wrath against them personally appeased by Christ's sacrifice then they don't have saving faith.
Each one of these people believes the gospel in the sense that it is true to the saving of souls, but not in the sense that it was meant for them.
That is the difference between mental assent and faith.
The problem always is that when we ourselves try to make any kind of foolproof test, someone just comes along and invents another fool.
Well there is that...
One can tell very specifically, who brothers and sisters in Christ are, but we all fail at the point of writing down an explicit test for it. Suffice it to say that the Lord gives the scent of, and the ability to smell out others of like faith to Christians, regardless of actions or testimony.
I think very many Christians could relate a time when they experienced this - I know I have. I think that it is specific prompting by the Spirit and not so much a "scent" (I know your intent for the term) that is given off by Believers.
I've found, and this is VERY subjective observation, that there is always some purpose for my having known the person was a Brother.
Kev
"It is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God's sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous." Rom. 2:13
I think you need to find out what this law is since it has been added to the law after Jesus' crucifixion. "For when there is a change of the priesthood that change creates the necessity of making a change of the law." Therefore your salvation from the penalty of the law is predicated upon hearing the only Way the change can be obeyed or a violation of the law is committed for which it is impossible to be forgiven.
Theodore A. Jones
Kev-
I am just going to call you "Mr. Interesting" as your posts of late have been quite that.
I can't wait to see what you do with the subjective tests.
For one thing, I am interested to know how MacArthur finds there is only one subjective test in Scripture. I see three, for a total of four tests. And the three subjective tests are all contingent on and subject to the one objective test, and are therefore secondary, not primary.
The three subjective tests I see are 1)fruit, which is what I figure MacArthur must be going to get at; 2) the witness of the Holy Spirit, as Look up pointed out; 3) the discipline of the Father.
I can add to this conversation my own experiences with knowing people I had never met to be saved just from them walking in the room. Conversation later brought out the fact that they were indeed brethren (sisters, actually, to be fussy.) So that makes three of us who know the witness of the HS is a test.
JanH
Annon, I think you have missed Paul's point in Rom 2:13 (check out Rom 2:12 and the rest of the chapter).
Not to mention Rom 3:21, Rom 4:13 and Romans 10:4 is most informative saying
For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
Gal 5:21 may also be helpful.
Phil 3:9 is of note.
Gal 3:19-25 may also be helpful.
19 What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator. 20 Now a mediator does not mediate for one only, but God is one.
21 Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. 22 But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. 23 But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. 24 Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.
Kev
hehe Jan, I just re-read my comment. When I wrote "Brother" I did intend a Brother or Sister.
That's actually pretty funny to me because I've been reading the translation notes of the updated NIV 2011 which was just released on Biblegateway and will be in print in March.
There is a lot of discussion about the "singular they" and inclusive gender statements - most of which I fully agree with. Actually more accurately I haven't found one that they used which I don't agree with.
Kev
Oh Jan,
I don't think the article intended to state that there is only one subjective test. The author ment to separate two sections of his/her proposed test. One part is objective - do you believe the Gospel (which I would word differently - Have you received/believed the Gospel)? And the second part are various questions from several passages that will be fairly familiar to us who have engaged in this overall LS/FG discussion for any reasonable time.
Kev
Theo
Situated in Romans 2 as Paul was still decrying mankind to show us our need of a Saviour, Romans 2:13 is intended to show that none are doers of the law and therefore none are justified by the doing of any law. If you believe you are justified before God by the doing of any law, you are a dead man walking.
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