"The Winds of Doctrine" Part 1
Darkness to Light Part 13
Dear reader, please listen to the following audio clip; it is from a current minister in my childhood church denomination. I hope to break down what is said in it and respond to the dangerous and reckless interpretation of Lord’s Day 7.
Not Allowed to Go to God
In this clip, the minister is worried about the young people being deceived into what he fears is easy believism; one may not simply go to God and ask for forgiveness and repent of their sins. He is speaking on Lords Day 7: Question 20 of the Heidelberg Catechism:
20.Q. Are all men, then, saved by Christ
just as they perished through Adam?
A. No. Only those are saved who by a true faith are grafted into Christ and accept all his benefits. 1
1.Mt 7:14; Jn 1:12; 3:16, 18, 36; Rom 11:16-21.
21.Q.What is true faith?
A.
True faith is a sure knowledge
whereby I accept as true
all that God has revealed to us in his Word. 1
At the same time it is a firm confidence 2
that not only to others, but also to me, 3
God has granted forgiveness of sins,
everlasting righteousness, and salvation, 4
out of mere grace,
only for the sake of Christ's merits. 5
This faith the Holy Spirit works in my heart
by the gospel. 6
1.Jn 17:3, 17; Heb 11:1-3; Jas 2:19.
2.Rom 4:18-21; 5:1; 10:10; Heb 4:16.
3.Gal 2:20.
4.Rom 1:17; Heb 10:10.
5.Rom 3:20-26; Gal 2:16; Eph 2:8-10.
6.Acts 16:14; Rom 1:16; 10:17; 1 Cor 1:21.
“Just go to God, just go unto Jesus. He wants you to come unto Him. Is that what the answer says? NO…”
Answer: Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. Matthew 11:28-29
He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. John 1: 11-13
He seems to be preaching against the willingness of the Savior to save sinners, adding, in a sense, perhaps some type of mystical experience to define one’s point of regeneration. Or perhaps saying a Saul-to-Paul type of conversion is necessary. It is not said but implied, leading to many becoming confused. Yes, regeneration is totally a work of God1, but what he makes it seem like to the hearer is that they should know that they are the elect (grafted) or know they are regenerated before they can believe.
This false teaching leads many to ask yet again… “what must I do to be saved?”
Instead of desiring to know the moment of regeneration and/or conversion we should instead look for its fruits2. These changes/fruits are a sign of a regenerated heart.3
A Prayer of Inaction
“That’s why we teach our children that simple prayer, ‘Lord give me a new heart’ That’s why we don’t teach our children go to Jesus, but we teach our children a wonder has to happen”
Dear reader, this is a horrendous teaching! Don’t go to Jesus? To whom else shall we go4? Sit… wait… pray this prayer… that most of you don’t really want. I know I didn’t, and I prayed for it for years. This is a prayer that leads to inaction and passivity, a prayer that has brought many to hell! Go! Look! Flee to Christ immediately! You can’t steal him; He is freely offered5. Oh, how I wish I could just show you the sweetness of Christ, how He is ‘meek(gentle) and lowly’6, how He is the object of our faith and the only way to have peace with God.7
Remember what Peter said to the crowd on Pentecost when they asked, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” Peter’s reply was not “Go home and ask for a new heart,” but he called them to action, saying, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”8 It also seems he is making the Holy Spirit more the object of faith than Christ… I hope to write more about this in part 2 of this article.
True Faith
Go back and read H.C.'s answer 21 about what true faith is. “True faith is a sure knowledge whereby I accept as true all that God has revealed to us in his Word.” That true faith is believing all that the Bible speaks of the promises of Christ and His willingness to save those who will come unto Him.9 But you say, ‘Oh, it must be given!’ It is, in the Bible, literally the entire Bible speaks of God’s longsuffering mercy and Christ’s willingness to save us from our sins. And that we are to go to Him in faith immediately.
Unfortunately, many use one-liners like: “It must be given,” “Pray for a new heart,” “Make use of the means,” and “Take it to your inner room.” and these are not bad advice in their own right but many would use them as a crutch to hold up their holy life while not actually repenting and believing in Christ. You say to God, “No, Lord, I will not take the commands to repent and believe in the Bible literally; I will just pray my prayer and wait for Thee to do Thy work in my life; until then, I will be comfortably unconverted.”
The Gospel
Dear unconverted reader, what do you do when you read these commands to repent and believe in the Bible? Do you just gloss over them and say, “That is not for me”… if not for you, then who? Will you call God a liar? Did not Christ come to save sinners? Are you not a sinner? Will you tell God no, I must be converted another way? That is a horrible sin of pride and unbelief!
Will you continue praying for a new heart, hoping God will one day convert you? Or will you today, right now, this instant pray: “Lord be merciful to me, a sinner. I repent of my sins. I believe in Jesus, the Son of God! I believe he died for my sins on the cross, rose on the third day, ascended, and is now sitting at the right hand of the Father, making intercession for my sins. Come unto Christ! He will not turn you away!
1 And can it be that I should gain
An int'rest in the Savior's blood?
Died He for me, who caused His pain?
For me, who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! how can it be
That Thou, my God, should die for me?Refrain:
Amazing love! how can it be
That Thou, my God, should die for me!2 'Tis mystery all! Th'Immortal dies!
Who can explore His strange design?
In vain the firstborn seraph tries
To sound the depths of love divine!
'Tis mercy all! let earth adore,
Let angel minds inquire no more. [Refrain]3 He left His Father's throne above,
So free, so infinite His grace;
Emptied Himself of all but love,
And bled for Adam's helpless race;
'Tis mercy all, immense and free;
For, O my God, it found out me. [Refrain]4 Long my imprisoned spirit lay
Fast bound in sin and nature's night;
Thine eye diffused a quick'ning ray,
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free;
I rose, went forth and followed Thee. [Refrain]5 No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in Him is mine!
Alive in Him, my living Head,
And clothed in righteousness divine,
Bold I approach th'eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own. [Refrain]Amen.
Charles Wesley (1738)
“Regeneration is a mystery that transcends complete human understanding. However, we may more fully describe regeneration as the super-natural rebirth or re-creation of a sinner by God in which he applies the life of the risen Christ to produce conversion in the inner man for the renewal of God’s image and definitive cleansing from sin - all only because of his mercy and love.” Reformed Systematic Theology, Volume 3 p.538
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such, there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Romans 10:9
Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. John 6:68
And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. Revelation 22:17
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. Matthew 11:29
Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: Romans 5:1
Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men, and brethren, what shall we do?
Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
Acts 2:37-39
All that the Father giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. John 6:37