John Newton On The Essence Of Heaven May, 1774
"I shall not always live this poor dying life; I hope one day to be all ear, all heart, all tongue; when I shall see the Redeemer as He is, I shall be like Him. This will be Heaven indeed, to behold His glory without veil, to rejoice in His love without a cloud, and to sing His praises, without one jarring note, forever"
Justification by Grace, Monergistic Sanctification by Grace, Synergistic One of the great misunderstandings of our day has to do with the difference between Justification and Sanctification. It is imperative that we teach the biblical principles that explain justification by grace through faith alone. The great 'Solas' of the Reformation have to do with justification. Luther's emphasis on justification by faith was exactly the message a Christendom steeped in works salvation needed to hear and heed. Calvin's emphasis on justification by the pure grace of God was exactly on target for a pseudo Christianity that was obsessed with earning salvation. The need was so great that the cure offered by these men (coming straight out of the word of God) has been the emphasis of all doctrinally sound evangelicals for the past 500 years. Salvation by grace through faith is monergistic. It is all the work of God in overwhelming grace. It is grace plus nothing. But, because of this Reformation emphasis, the doctrines of salvation by grace alone have been applied to sanctification as well , leading to a passivity and irresponsibility concerning the practical pursuit of holiness. I define sanctification as the process whereby the Holy Spirit forms Christ's character in the inner life of the believer. He does this work using the written word of God, providential circumstances, acquaintances and friends and so forth. But the individual is commanded to participate in this process as well. It is synergistic. The reason justification is monergistic is because the sinner is broken, depraved and totally unable and unwilling (and unable to be willing) to move toward God on his own. Therefore, God in mercy secretly implants the word in his undeserving heart and that word turns him from sin and self to the Savior. Why God does this for some and not others is lost to us in the mystic regions of God's perfect wisdom. Mortals must be satisfied with that or find themselves in a position of prating against God. Sanctification is a wholly different matter. It begins with God's gracious act of salvation but it is carried on in a synergistic way. The recipient of Grace is no longer just a broken, depraved individual with his will wholly in bondage to his lower nature or to the world and to the devil. He has been set free. He has been born from above. His will is no longer in bondage. He can now cooperate with God and he is expected …yea commanded to do so. The greater part of the New Testament is taken up with instructing Christians on holy living and godly character. It is imperative to wait on God to perform a work in us. It is just as imperative to obey the things God has told us to do toward our own sanctification while we wait. When this is done diligently we will marvel at the work of grace accomplished in our inner man. See Ephesians 4 and Colossians 3 along with Matthew 5-7 as examples of what I am talking about. KJV Philippians 2:12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. |
