Salvation, page 3

Provision, election, atonement, faith, security. Most of the argument lives here.

121 questions answered, showing 18 on page 3 of 7. About this doctrine · All topics

Whosoever WillDoes Romans 9 teach that God creates some people for salvation and others for destruction? What are the "vessels of wrath fitted to destruction"?No. Romans 9 is about God's freedom to choose who carries the promise, Jacob over Esau as nations, not about God creating individuals for hell. The "vessels of wrath" are "fitted to destruction" (Rom 9:22), and Paul does not say God fitted them; the grammar leaves the fitting to the vessels themselves, while God actively "prepared" the vessels of mercy (9:23).
Whosoever WillDoes salvation depend on man's yes?Wanting is not needing. Jesus wanted Jerusalem gathered, offered it, and was refused: how often would I have gathered thy children together, and ye would not (Matt 23:37). He did not need their yes. Salvation depends on Christ entirely; whether a man receives it depends on whether he receives it, which is what John 3:18 says.
With Chuck SmithDoes unlimited atonement mean universalism?Chuck Smith called the everybody-will-be-saved teaching what it is. Of the claim that in the end "all sinners and everybody will be saved," he said: "This particular heresy has been based upon this one little scripture." Paul holds both truths in one verse: God "is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe" (1 Timothy 4:10). Christ died for all; only those who believe receive it. Read Chuck on Acts 3:21 in the reader. Chuck Smith commentary used by permission of The Word For Today.
Whosoever WillDoesn't the Flood prove God doesn't love everyone?No. The Flood account is full of God's patience and warning: 120 years of waiting, a preacher of righteousness sent, and God grieved, not eager, over the judgment. Equal love met with opposite response.
With Chuck SmithHow can a loving God send people to hell?Chuck Smith answered the question by turning it around: God "has done everything short of violating man's free will to keep him out of hell." Scripture names God as the One "Who will have all men to be saved" (1 Timothy 2:4). Read Chuck's teaching on Luke 16:23 in the reader. Chuck Smith commentary used by permission of The Word For Today.
Whosoever WillHow can I be sure I'm going to heaven?By trusting Christ, who died for your sins and rose again, and taking Him at His word. "These things have I written unto you that believe... that ye may know that ye have eternal life" (1 John 5:13). If you have received Him, you may be sure.
Whosoever WillHow can I have assurance of salvation? How do I know I'm saved?Assurance rests on God's promise, not your feelings. "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life" (1 John 5:13). If you have believed on Christ, you may know.
With Chuck SmithHow can I have peace with God when I keep failing?Chuck Smith: "if I were justified by works, then I would have peace with God as long as I was doing good. But when I failed, that peace would again be broken." The peace rests on faith, not performance: "being justified by faith, we have peace with God" (Romans 5:1). Read Chuck on Romans 5:1 in the reader. Chuck Smith commentary used by permission of The Word For Today.
Whosoever WillHow is the natural man free enough to say yes to what he hates?By the word. Faith comes by hearing, the gospel is the power of God to everyone who believes, and the Spirit reproves the world. God does not leave the natural man to himself and hope; He sends the word with power to every hearer.
Whosoever WillIf a man can resist, is believing a work? Is that synergism?Paul uses faith as the antonym of works: "to him that worketh not, but believeth" (Romans 4:5). Receiving a gift is not co-authoring it. Stephen said men resist the Holy Ghost and Jesus said "ye will not come to me"; neither was a synergist for saying so.
Whosoever WillIf Christ died for all and not all are saved, did Jesus fail?No. John 6:39 promises the keeping of those the Father gives, and the same passage defines them as the ones who come and believe. Of those He loses none. "Died for all" is a different sentence about a wider set, and Scripture puts the loss on the refuser.
With Chuck SmithIf God is sovereign, do I really have a choice?Chuck Smith answered from Jehoshaphat's prayer: "yes, God rules, but God in His rule has allotted man free moral agency, self-determination, the power or capacity of choice." The same prayer confesses that God rules "over all the kingdoms of the heathen" (2 Chronicles 20:6). Read Chuck on 2 Chronicles 20:6 in the reader. Chuck Smith commentary used by permission of The Word For Today.
With Chuck SmithIf Jesus paid for every sin, why do people still go to hell?Chuck Smith was plain about the reach of the cross: "That work of redemption was complete for all mankind. It covered every man's sin." Paul says the same: "he died for all" (2 Corinthians 5:15). Read Chuck on 2 Timothy 2:26 in the reader. Chuck Smith commentary used by permission of The Word For Today.
With Chuck SmithIf salvation is a free gift, why are there rewards in heaven?Chuck Smith kept the two apart: "God doesn't reward me with eternal life; that is a gift of God," while the believer will still "be rewarded according to my faithfulness." Life is "the gift of God" (Romans 6:23); reward is for work that abides (1 Corinthians 3:14). Read Chuck on Matthew 6:1 in the reader. Chuck Smith commentary used by permission of The Word For Today.
Whosoever WillIf the Spirit opens dead eyes, can the man still refuse?Willingly submits already means the will did something after the eyes were opened, which is the position. The remaining question is whether opened eyes can shut, and Scripture answers twice: ye do always resist the Holy Ghost (Acts 7:51) and ye would not (Matt 23:37). The Reformed reading calls that the outward call; this platform calls it the same call the saved received, answered differently.
Whosoever WillIf the Spirit's work is effectual, can it still be resisted?Effectual in what it does, not irresistible in what it forces. Scripture says the work can be refused: "ye do always resist the Holy Ghost" (Acts 7:51), and the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves (Luke 7:30). A work that can be resisted is a summons, not a decree.
Whosoever WillIf the Spirit's work is inward, is that prevenient grace?No. What makes a grace prevenient in the Arminian sense is not that it is inward; it is that it is given before and apart from the word to restore an ability. The Reformed confessions themselves describe inward work on men who refuse: Dort III/IV article 9 blames unbelief on the hearers and describes men who receive the word and relapse, and Westminster 10:4 speaks of common operations of the Spirit on the non-elect.
With Chuck SmithIf we are saved by grace, can't Christians just keep sinning?Chuck Smith, Why Grace Changes Everything, chapter 11: At this point, some will ask, "Still, if our good works don't save us, what's to keep us from running around smoking, or carousing, or hanging out in seedy bars?" It's not that I can't do these things; I simply don't have the desire. The love of Christ constrains me to live a life that pleases Him. Having tasted the goodness of His love, I don't want to walk away from Him. I want to draw as close to Jesus as possible because I love Him and He loves me. I don't want to get involved in anything that would dishonor Him. Ironically, I live a much straighter life under grace than I ever did under the law. Under a legal relationship I am always pressing the limits. I am always trying to ascertain whether specific actions are right or wrong. I am always looking for loop-holes. I rationalize and justify the things I am doing. I live to the legal limits, plus a little bit more. From Chuck Smith's books, used by permission of The Word For Today.