TheosGuy

The following outline was inspired and adapted from an outline of the same name in the book, Twelve Baskets Full of Original Bible Outlines.¹

1. “He Is Able—We Are Able,” Twelve Baskets Full of Original Bible Outlines, Pickering Hy. (Editor). London: Pickering & Inglis, 1918. p. 21.

Tags: HyP

The following reading, Steps in the Christian Life is taken from F.E. Marsh’s, 500 Bible Readings.¹

THERE are some terms that relate to the Christian life which are of pressing importance, because of the issues involved in relation to them. The following seven words indicate a few aspects of the Christian’s life, namely, “Believe,” “Pray,” “Abide,” “Walk,” “Take,” “Stand,” “Watch.”

1. To believe on Christ is the secret of the Christian life (Galatians 2:20 NKJV).
2. To pray to Christ is the stay of the Christian life (Philippians 4:6 NKJV).
3. To abide in Christ is the strength of the Christian life (John 15:4 NKJV).
4. To walk as Christ is the shining out of the Christian life (1 Peter 2:21 NKJV).
5. To take from Christ is the supply of the Christian life (Isaiah 27:5 NKJV).
6. To stand with Christ is the staple of the Christian life (Ephesians 6:14 NKJV).
7. To watch for Christ is the standing order of the Christian life (Mark 13:33 NKJV). The term watchfulness is a comprehensive one. It signifies far more than merely holding the truth of the Lord’s coming. It covers the whole trend of the spiritual life in the variety of its traits.

1. 500 Bible Readings, Marsh, F.E., (London: Marshall Brothers, 1897). Reading number 382.

Tags: Christian Living, Marsh, Theology

The following reading, Things We Obtain by Faith is taken from F.E. Marsh’s, 500 Bible Readings.¹

1. Salvation.. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” — Ephesians 2:8-9 NKJV
2. Justification.. “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,” — Romans 5:1 NKJV
3. Introduction.. “…through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” — Romans 5:2 NKJV
4. Adoption. “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus” — Galatians 3:26 NKJV
5. Sanctification. “…to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.” — Acts 26:18 NKJV
6. Purification. “…and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.” — Acts 15:9 NKJV
7. Occupation. “…that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love,” — Ephesians 3:17 NKJV
8. Progression. “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” — 2 Corinthians 5:7 NKJV
9. Preservation. “…who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” — 1 Peter 1:5 NKJV
10. Expectation. “For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.” — Galatians 5:5 NKJV

1. 500 Bible Readings, Marsh, F.E., (London: Marshall Brothers, 1897). Reading number 443.

Tags: Faith, Marsh, Theology

My Position in Christ

• I have been delivered from the power of darkness and conveyed into the kingdom of the Jesus Christ. (Col 1:13)
• I currently possess redemption, the forgiveness of sin, through the blood of Jesus. (Col 1:14)
• I have died, and my life is now hidden with Christ in God. (Col 3:3)
• I was purchased by God at a price. (1 Cor 6:20)
• I now belong to Christ and therefore belong to God. (1 Cor 3:23)
• I was chosen in Christ before the creation of the world, to be reckoned as holy and blameless before Him. (Eph. 1:4)
• I have been made alive with Christ and sit with Him in the heavenly places. (Eph. 2:5-6)
• I am God’s child. (John 1:12)
• I am Christ’s friend. (John 15:15)
• I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realms. (Eph 2:6)
• I am a citizen of heaven. (Phil 3:20)
• I am born of God, and the evil one cannot touch me. (1 John 5:18)

Regarding Sin

• I am free from the power of sin, and am now a slave to righteousness. (Rom 6:7-8, 11, 14, 18)
• I have been redeemed from the curse of the Law. (Gal 3:13)
• I am free from condemnation. (Rom 8:1-2)

• No works that I do will or can justify me. (Rom 3:20)
• I am justified. (Rom 5:1)
• I am saved by the grace of God through faith. (Eph 2:8-9)
• I am able to find God’s grace and mercy in time of need. (Heb 4:16)

I Am Complete in Christ

• I am in Christ, and am therefore complete in Him, because He is the fullness of the Godhead in bodily form. (Col. 2:9-10)
• I have access to the mind of Christ so that He may instruct me. (1 Cor 2:16)
• Through Christ, I have overcome the world. (1 John 4:4)

My Hope is in the Character of God

• I will wait upon the Lord for His lovingkindness never ceases; His compassion never fails; He is good to those who wait for Him. (Lam 3:22-25)
• I will obey Him, for the Lord’s commandments are not burdensome. (1 John 5:3)
• I am safe for He will never abandon me. (Heb 13:5)
• The Lord is faithful. He will strengthen me and protect me from the enemy. (2 Thess. 3:3)
• I look forward to His glorious coming. He is preparing a place for me and will come again to receive me unto Himself. (John 14:1-3, 1 Thess 4:17-18)
• I am confident that the good work that the Lord has begun in me will be perfected. (Phil 1:6)

Tags: Christ, Faith, Salvation

The Greek verb used in relation to salvation is used in past (perfect), present and future tenses in the Greek (as well as aorist and imperfect).

Tags: Faith, Salvation

Following is a quote from Spurgeon in the May 15th morning devotion (from Morning and Evening):

The believer in Christ receives a present justification. Faith does not produce this fruit by-and-by, but now. So far as justification is the result of faith, it is given to the soul in the moment when it closes with Christ, and accepts Him as its all in all.

I quote this as further exhortation to not chronologically separate salvation and faith. I believe the Bible unequivocally links justification as a result of the exercising of personal faith. And I do not see how one can speak of salvation apart from justification.

I believe the heated battle of which precedes which when talking of regeneration and faith is quite heated but with little benefit. For regeneration apart from salvation doesn’t mean a lot to me. Every single writer of the New Testament with the exception of Matthew exhorts us to believe (or have faith) to receive justification (in a narrow sense) or salvation (in a broader sense). By “in the broader sense” I mean that while we all know that salvation encompasses more than justification, it does seem strange to think of salvation without justification.

We seem to argue over things that are not significant. To speak of salvation as anything but grace from God would seem to be unwarranted. To speak of receiving salvation apart from human exercising of faith would be unbiblical. Which precedes which is not as important to me as to know who is responsible for what. God is responsible for providing salvation, and man is responsible for receiving it.

As I urged you when I went into Macedonia–remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine, nor give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification which is in faith. Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, [from] a good conscience, and [from] sincere faith, from which some, having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk, desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm. (1 Tim 1:3-7 NKJV)

Tags: Faith

John Piper has a new book, Finally Alive on various aspects of regeneration. Piper has made some startling comments (at least to me) on the relationship between faith and regeneration. Why are they startling? Because knowing Piper’s strong Calvinism theology, he has made some strong statements regarding the necessity of faith in regeneration.

Here is how John puts them together in his First Epistle: “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith” (1 John 5:4). “Born of God” is the key to victory. “Faith” is the key to victory. Both are true because faith is the way we experience being born of God. Being born of God always brings faith with it. The life given in the new birth is the life of faith. The two are never separate.

Or consider how John says it in 1 John 5:11-12: “This is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life, whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.” Therefore, when Jesus says, “It is the Spirit who gives life” (John 6:63), and, “You must be born of the Spirit” (John 3:5, 8), and, “Believing you may have life” (John 20:31), he means: In the new birth, the Holy Spirit supernaturally gives us new spiritual life by connecting us with Jesus Christ through faith. For Jesus is life.

Therefore, when answering the question What happens in the new birth? never separate these two sayings of Jesus in John 3: “Unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (v. 3), and, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life” (v. 36). What happens in the new birth is the creation of life in union with Christ. And part of how God does that is by the creation of faith which is how we experience our union with Christ.[1]

Immediately preceding this section, Piper wrote the following:

And from our side, the way we experience this is that faith in Jesus is awakened in our hearts. Spiritual life and faith in Jesus come into being together. The new life makes the faith possible, and since spiritual life always awakens faith and expresses itself in faith, there is no life without faith in Jesus. Therefore, we should never separate the new birth from faith in Jesus. From God’s side, we are united to Christ in the new birth. That’s what the Holy Spirit does. >From our side, we experience this union by faith in Jesus.[2]

To me there is not really anyway to get around the fact that Piper is saying faith and regeneration are simultaneous. God is the initiator, Yes! Man responds, Yes! But if there is no separation of time, then by definition they are simultaneous. I agree, or I should say Piper finally agrees with me!

You might think I would say that we have no involvement in it [regeneration], because we are spiritually dead. But the dead are very much involved in their resurrection—after all, they rise! Here is an example of what I mean. When Jesus stood before the grave of Lazarus who had been dead four days, Lazarus had no part in imparting his new life. He was dead. Jesus, not Lazarus, created the new life.

In John 11:43, Jesus says to the dead Lazarus, “Lazarus, come out.” And the next verse says, “The man who had died came out.” So Lazarus takes part in this resurrection. He comes out. Christ causes it. Lazarus does it. He is the one who rises from the dead! Christ brings about the resurrection. Lazarus acts out the resurrection. The instant Christ commands Lazarus to rise, Lazarus does the rising. The instant God gives new life, we do the living. The instant the Spirit produces faith, we do the believing.

So that’s why I am asking two questions, and not just one question, when I ask How are we born again? I am asking: What does God do in our new birth? How are we born again from God’s side? And I am asking: What do we do in our new birth? How are we born again from our side? [3]

Consider verses 23-25: “You have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God.” Notice: The new birth happens through the word of God. Verse 25 says that this word of God “is the good news that was preached to you.” [4]

And when the Spirit connects you to me by faith, you experience new birth. [5]

The answer continues like this: Your act of believing and God’s act of begetting are simultaneous. He does the begetting and you do the believing at the same instant. And—this is very important—his doing is the decisive cause of your doing. His begetting is the decisive cause of your believing.[6]

(Eph 1:13 ESV) “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.”
(Col 1:5 ESV) “because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel.”[7]

It is our new birth. It involves our believing in the gospel of Jesus Christ. That’s why I say that my new birth does not take place without me believing. In believing we are acting out the new birth, we are breathing in the new life.[8]

What then does this mean for us?…
1. It means that we must believe in order to be saved. “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved” (Acts 16:31). The new birth does not take the place of faith; the new birth involves faith. The new birth is the birth of faith.[9]

Footnotes:
[1] Piper, John. Finally Alive. (Fearn: Christian Focus), 2009), 33.
[2] Ibid., 32.
[3] Ibid., 79.
[4] Ibid., 83.
[5] Ibid., 92.
[6] Ibid., 102.
[7] Ibid., 104, footnote 14.
[8] Ibid., 105.
[9] Ibid., 107.

Tags: Faith, Salvation

Here are some verses that indicate that faith is a gift from God.

For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, –The just shall live by faith.— (Romans 1:17 NKJV)

looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2 NKJV)

He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. (1 Peter 1:20-21 NKJV)

For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, (Phil 1:29 NKJV)

One of the most often quoted verses for support that faith is a gift is Ephesians 2:8-9.

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; [it is] the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9 NKJV)

However, there are some grammatical issues that for me make it a less than stellar support for the argument. The basic issue is that the gender for the word “it” (pronoun for the word “gift”) does not agree with the gender of the word “faith.” When you get down to it, the word “it” is referring to the overall concept of salvation, as opposed to the specific word “faith.”

Tags: Faith

Following are some Scriptures indicating the necessity of belief for salvation. I do not believe this applies to those individuals who for mental or physical reasons cannot exercise faith, for example, mentally incapable, infants, etc.

(Jhn 1:7 KJV) The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.

(Jhn 1:12-13 KJV) But as many as received him, to them gave he 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.

(Jhn 3:14-16 KJV) And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

(Jhn 3:18 KJV) He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

(Jhn 3:36 KJV) He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

(Jhn 4:39-42 KJV) And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did. So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days. And many more believed because of his own word; And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.

(Jhn 4:48 KJV) Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe.

(Jhn 4:53 KJV) So the father knew that it was at the same hour, in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth: and himself believed, and his whole house.

(Jhn 5:24 KJV) Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

(Jhn 5:38-40 KJV) And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not. Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.

(Jhn 5:43-47 KJV) I am come in my Father’s name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive. How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only? Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust. For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?

(Jhn 6:28-30 KJV) Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work?

(Jhn 6:35 KJV) And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

(Jhn 6:40 KJV) And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.

(Jhn 6:47 KJV) Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.

(Jhn 6:64-65 KJV) But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him. And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.

(Jhn 6:66-71 KJV) From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve.

Tags: Faith, Salvation

Four times we are told in scripture that “the just shall live by faith.” Faith on the finished work of Jesus Christ as our one and only true sacrifice.

Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But the just shall live by his faith. (Hab 2:4 NKJV)

For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith. (Rom 1:17 NKJV)

But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith. (Gal 3:11 NKJV)

Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him. (Heb 10:38 NKJV)

Tags: Assurance, Faith, Living