Assurance of Salvation

How do you know that you are saved? How do I know that I am saved? Is it because once in my life I prayed a prayer inviting Jesus into my heart. No. (That can be a stumbling block, and a false assurance of salvation.)

Is it because I live right and believe that there is a God? No.

It is because that I have believed that Jesus Christ is my Savior, he is the chosen One, he is the one who took my sins on the cross FOR me. Jesus is not a part of my life. He is my life. My old life is gone and I have a new life in Christ.

But how can we continually know that we are saved and have proof of assurance?

That’s My King!

I linked to this video last year in April, but it never gets old, and I always love hearing it, so here it is again.

God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow! This is a timeless message because the cross is always relevant. We don’t need our churches trying to become more “culturally relevant” (I think I cringe when I hear that phrase).

It Can Be Dangerous to Have a “Leader”

There are some religions and/or denominations that have coined a leader, so to say. I say that this can be a dangerous thing. Maybe I am just blind to this fact, but I would say that Christianity does not have a human leader. Of course I know that Jesus is the leader of Christianity, so to say. When I reference people like John MacArthur, John Piper, Charles Spurgeon, C.S. Lewis, and others, yes, I view them as people who I would like to emulate in their walk with Christ, but I in no way view them as a leader of Christianity in the sense that other religions do. What I am getting at is that some religions have human leaders and/or false gods, and that makes them false religions.

With All I Am

I am always on the lookout for powerful worship songs. The song below is by Hillsong, and is titled “With All I Am.” This one really hit me when I heard it just recently. It is funny how we hear something over and over and one time it hits us so powerfully. (HT:MD)

Arminianism vs. Calvinism – Perseverance of the Saints/Conditional Salvation

The fifth of the five points of TULIP (Calvinism theology) is perseverance of the saints. This was a direct response to the Arminian view of conditional salvation. Perseverance of the saints is the idea that if you’re saved, you’re going to persevere to glory. Arminian theology says you might not; you could lose your salvation along the way.

Having previously written about this, I am going to keep this short. First, Calvinists do not believe that a person is saved “because I prayed the prayer but don’t live according to Christ.” I believe that a person whose faith does not show some sort of works is not truly saved. This is a Biblical principle (James 2:14). I am not saying, of course, that salvation is dependent on works. We are justified apart from works (Eph. 2:8-9, Romans 3:24). My point in all that being that Calvinists do not believe in salvation by “praying the prayer” and nothing else matters. Christ is in the business of not just saving lives, but transforming lives. If He abides in us, then our fruit should show evidence of Him at work within us.

Arminianism vs. Calvinism – Irresistible/Resistible Grace

The fourth of the five points of TULIP (Calvinism theology) is irresistible grace. This was a direct response to the Arminian view of resistible grace. Irresistible grace is the idea that when the spirit of God works on the heart of a sinner, the sinner can’t resist. Resistible grace states that God calls all to salvation, but that many people resist and reject this call.

Perhaps a more proper term for the Arminian view is prevenient grace. It is a matter of God opening the doors to heaven and a person choosing for themselves to walk through. If God does not open the door, the person cannot get in, but just because the door is open does not mean the person will walk through it. The person still has free will; this grace allows the person to choose God that would otherwise be unable to do so.

Arminianism vs. Calvinism – Limited/Unlimited Atonement

The third of the five points of TULIP (Calvinism theology) is limited atonement. This was a direct response to the Arminian view of unlimited atonement. I will say that I think limited atonement is the most difficult of the five points to understand. When a person first hears that term, it is almost like, “Whoa! Are you limited Christ’s atonement?” That is in fact not what we [Calvinists] are doing.

I would say that this term is better described as “particular atonement.” What we mean by limited atonement is that Christ died for the many, or for the elect. That is, it’s limited to those who believe and were chosen by God.

Arminianism vs. Calvinism – Unconditional/Conditional Election

The second of the five points of TULIP (Calvinism theology) is unconditional election. This was a direct response to the Arminian view of conditional election, or election based on foreknowledge.

Unconditional election is the view that God elects individuals to salvation based entirely on His will alone, not on anything inherently worthy in the individual. Paul states in Ephesians:

“even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.” – Ephesians 1:4-6

Unconditional election is basically saying “of God, by God, through God.” Conditional election, on the other hand, states that God elects individuals to salvation based on His foreknowledge of who will believe in Christ unto salvation, thereby on the condition that the individual chooses God.

Arminianism vs. Calvinism – Total/Partial Depravity

The first of the five points of TULIP (Calvinism theology) is total depravity. This was a direct response to the Arminian view of partial depravity.

What does total depravity mean? It is referring to man’s depravity meaning man’s natural condition apart from any grace exerted by God to restrain or transform man. Total depravity is captured by the phrase, “the dead man theory.” Ephesians 2 puts it this way:

“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins…even when we were dead in our trespasses, [God] made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved-…” – Ephesians 2:1,5

Total depravity may be better explained in Romans:

The Five Points of Arminianism

A while back, I purchased a DVD titled, “Amazing Grace: The History & Theology of Calvinism.” This is a great video, and quite objective I might add, detailing how Calvinism started, the difference between Calvinism and Arminianism, and TULIP. I would urge you to invest in this DVD or borrow it from someone who may have it.

I am going to use this DVD as a base to start a five day intensive short study of the differences between Calvinism and Arminianism. Today is an introduction; each following day will be a look at the each of the five points of Arminianism and the Calvinism response, as shown in TULIP.

This is an introduction to the five points of Arminianism. Below are the basics of what Arminians believe. In case you were unaware, Arminianism is a system of theology started by Jacobus Arminius (1560 – 1609).

Brokenness

A couple of days ago I listened to a sermon on Brokenness from Voddie Baucham (which I subsequently found on YouTube so you can hear it too).

First, I have heard Voddie Baucham speak before, and not only is he one of the smartest apologetics that I have heard, he is one of the smartest all around men I have heard, not to mention he has an amazing testimony.

I highly encourage you to take an hour of your time and listen to this sermon on brokenness. God speaks in His time, and I think He was speaking to me through Voddie and He might do the same for you.

What Defines Me?

Speaking from a guy perspective, there are certain things that define us (guys). We can be defined by the friends we have, what kind of activities we are involved in, or even our status in the community. Mostly though, I think we are defined by our job. We tell people what we do, and that is pretty much who we are.

I know that I have always been defined by my job – or so I thought. If someone asks me what I do, I wouldn’t tell them that I work at this place ___ (fill in the blank). I would always say that I am a ___ (profession – fill in the blank). That’s what I am, it’s not just that I work at a certain place.