The Biblical Order of Salvation (Ordo Salutis) As Opposed to the Protestant False Gospel of Progressive Justification
Houston, we have an obvious problem. While Protestant scholars deny progressive Justification, yet another one of their formal doctrines clearly states otherwise. Under the auspices of “the order of salvation (Ordo Salutis),”all aspects of salvation are listed. Let me state this in a different way. It is the “order” of what? Right, “salvation.” It has an order; elements take place in an order. And included in that order is the “Christian” life or what is theologically referred to as progressive sanctification. Obviously, the Christian life is a part of salvation’s order. In other words, clearly, according to yet another Protestant doctrine, salvation is a process. While continually denying a progression of salvation (justification), they continually refer to it as a “process” with an order. A process necessarily demands a progression or the process never takes place.
Case in point: an article written by John Piper;
In the Reformed camp, the ordo salutis is 1) election/predestination (in Christ), 2) Atonement 3) gospel call 4) inward call 5) regeneration, 6) conversion (faith & repentance), 7) justification, 8) sanctification, and 9) glorification. (Rom 8:29-30).
That is all the “order” of what? Right, “salvation.” What is included in the order? Right, sanctification. Everyone agrees that sanctification encompasses Christian living. So, obviously, Christian living is part and parcel with a salvation process and the order thereof. Also, note that salvation has a beginning (inward call, regeneration, conversion), a middle process (justification, sanctification), and a completion of the process (glorification). What could I possibly be missing here? Again, ALL of these elements are part of ONE process…SALVATION. Hence, the title of book 3, chapter 14 of the Calvin Institutes:
The Beginning of Justification. In What Sense Progressive?
Any questions?
The Reformers could have fared much better by making salvation predetermined, but finished in the life of the believer; however, there is a huge problem with that. If salvation is a finished work, the need for formal religion is greatly diminished because eternal salvation is no longer at stake. In other words, the supply and demand that would support massive religious industrial complexes like Protestantism wouldn’t be there. From the beginning of civilization, progressive salvation has been a necessary component to support religion and caste systems in general. If salvation is a onetime finished work in the lives of those who believe, a motivation to partake in some religious process with salvation as the prize is nonexistent. People motivated by love are poor candidates for fear and financial blackmail.
What then is the biblical Ordo Salutis? It begins with man’s ability to reason and choose. So, first in the order is hearing the word of God. Second is being persuaded by what you hear and believing.
So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Rom 10:17 KJV).
Also, consider passages like 1Peter 4:17 where references to not obeying the gospel are stated. The word is apeitheō (g0544. ἀπειθέω) which includes the idea of not allowing yourself to be persuaded. It is…suppressing the truth in unrighteousness (Rom 1:8) and willful ignorance (2Peter 3:5).
Thirdly, belief includes a desire to be born again of the Spirit. This is what makes us righteous; the new birth. Of course, only God can effect new birth in response to faith alone. We believe, God regenerates. Regeneration is the onetime quickening of the Spirit that puts the old man to death and resurrects him to eternal life. This is only possible with God, but is a promise to those who believe. In John chapter three, Christ explains to Nicodemus that the new birth is completely of God, beyond man’s technical understanding and reach, but follows that up by saying,
14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 16 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. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 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 (KJV).
- Hearing the word 2. Repentance (belief, faith, desire to be born again [“You MUST be born again”]) 3. The new birth. 1,2,3.
We see this order in Acts chapter 2:
37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” 40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” 41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.
The “promise” is primarily the promise of Spirit baptism that raised Christ from the grave after His death.
Acts 2: 29 – “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, 31 he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption (ESV).
In the biblical order of salvation, you receive the Spirit and are saved once, and for all of eternity. The salvation process ends as soon as it begins because it is a finished work in the life of the believer; the old person is dead and gone, and resurrected to new life. A believer cannot be unborn, nor can the old person be exhumed and returned to the old life.
paul
Blogger Tim Challies; An Archetype of Protestant Deception, Part 2 on Blog Talk Radio
Recently, Andy Young, a co-author here at PPT, brought this article to my attention written by Reformed blogger Tim Challies in 2014. This article is a paramount example of Protestant doublespeak and its progressive justification false gospel.
In the following weeks, we are going to drill down on this article and unpack it from several different angles. Susan and I have decided to finish our series on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (Blog Talk Radio) by including the topic in our upcoming childrearing series. We have already done an introduction to this new Challies series here on Blog Talk, and the transcript of the program will be available soon. It is our Understanding that Andy will be writing six articles on the Challies post as well.
“By Their Fruits You Will Know Them” The ABWE Pii Report
PDF file: 2016-04-15-abwe-ketcham-final-report
ABWE Missionary Kids Recap
“In all of this, the MKs have dragged ABWE’s dead corpse to a decrepit alter of repentance, but thereby preventing untold additional sorrow.”
“For starters in a long list of healing remedies, ABWE could create an oversight department and appoint the MKs to operate it…Instead, they are offering the same counseling that couldn’t cure Donn Ketcham; for free in a pathetic attempt to feign some semblance of the Spirit’s presence.”
As human beings living this life, we do what we can to heal after tragedy. Time heals, obtaining justice heals, and lessons learned resulting in good coming out of the tragedy definitely heals. But when tragedy occurs, parts of us die that we will never get back until redemption. That’s when Christ will make us whole and dry every tear from our eyes. Having that hope also aids present healing.
This week, ABWE released what would appear to be a final report on its longstanding culture of child rape among its missionaries. Like the GRACE unpublished report (because Boz Tchividjian capitulated to ABWE criminals), the Pii 280 page report reveals little more than what the Missionary Kids revealed on their blog in 2011. One wonders how much GRACE and Pii were paid to do little more than follow-up on the legwork already accomplished by the victims. At any rate, CT has a pretty decent post on the report HERE.
Oh, and in regard to healing, the MKs have dragged ABWE kicking and screaming for more than 20 years towards whatever confession they could get out of them and thereby, more than likely, preventing the rape of other children. Just this week, 20+ years later, ABWE is going to put new procedures in place. Whatever. It’s nothing more than window dressing; all changes and rape prevention will always come from outside of ABWE. Perhaps the MK’s work has just begun.
Additionally, all repercussions thus far have been the direct result of MK tenacity—nothing more, or nothing less. In all of this, the MKs have dragged ABWE’s dead corpse to a decrepit alter of repentance, but thereby preventing untold additional sorrow. Read the CT story for yourself and remember that a tree is known by its fruit. ABWE is a classic example of an organization that travels land, sea, and air to make others three times the children of hell that they are.
But if ABWE had a soul, they could affect real healing in this situation, but no black heart has knowledge of such. As you will read in the CT post, ABWE has never repented of the 40-year cover-up that led to additional child rape for years after the fact. Again, a tree is known by its fruit. For starters in a long list of healing remedies, ABWE could create an oversight department and appoint the MKs to operate it, and pay them at least as much as they paid Boz Tchividjian who had his homework done for him. Instead, they are offering the same counseling that couldn’t cure Donn Ketcham; for free in a pathetic attempt to feign some semblance of the Spirit’s presence.
All ABWE/MK posts are archived below:
paul
Articles Referencing ABWE/Bangladesh MKs
Too Bad About the “Kids,” But Like GM, ABWE is Just Too Big to Fail – 4/18/2011
Former Abused Missionary Children Are Loving ABWE God’s Way – 5/8/2011
Donn Ketcham, ABWE & the GARBC – 10/30/2011
A Slow GRACE for the Former Missionary Children: Part One – 11/12/2011
Two Latest Posts From The Former ABWE Missionary Children – 11/13/2011
Our Daily Dose of the Former ABWE Missionary Children (FAMC not “MKs”) – 11/15/2011
ABWE Scandal Has Too Much Gospel – 11/16/2011
Your Daily Dose of the Former ABWE Bangladesh Missionary Children – 11/17/2011
When Gospel Seperated From Law Becomes Bad News For Our Children – 3/20/2012
ABWE Bangladesh MK’s Fighting On for Allusive Justice and Protection of Others – 4/27/2012
OUTRAGE!!! Michael Loftis Appointed to Board of Trustees at Cedarville University – 5/28/2012
Some Hope in GRACE, and ABWE’s Position on the MKs via the Michael Loftis Letter – 5/31/2012
With Permission: The David C. Bennett ABWE Exposé – 6/6/2012
Spiritual and Sexual Abuse in the Church: I Can See Clearly Now – 7/23/2012
ABWE Scandal: Commentary on Dr. David Bennet’s “Remember Paterno’s Statue” – 7/30/2012
The Philosopher King Wars – 8/6/2012
New Finding: Truth the Root Cause of the Isolation Plague – 8/20/2012
David C. Bennett, D. Min.: ANOTHER INVESTIGATION INTO CHILD ABUSE BY ABWE MISSIONARIES – 8/23/2012
ABWE Edits Us from their Facebook Page – 8/24/2012
An Open Letter to ABWE-Supporting Churches – 8/28/2012
Another High-Profile ABWE Missionary Disciplined for Child Sexual Abuse – 8/31/2012
ABWE Fires GRACE: GARB Can No Longer Be Taken Seriously as a Denomination – 2/11/2013
A.B.W.E and the Missionary Kids Back in the News: A Call for Action – 11/27/2013
It’s Official: The World Knows More About Justice Than Calvinists – 12/5/2013
Articles Referencing G.R.A.C.E./Boz Tchividjian/Spiritual Abuse in the Church
The “Cross Story” and Sanctified Rape in the Church – 1/31/2013
DisG.R.A.C.E: The Boz Tchividjian Fraud; Gracing the Victims into Obscurity – 9/25/2013
The “Discernment” Blogosphere’s Celebration of Boz Tchividjian’s Hollywood Gospel – 5/8/2014
The Protestant Culture of Death and the Folly of Discernment Blogging – 7/31/2014
The Bob Jones DisG.R.A.C.E. Report: Hope for Change if God Cooperates – 12/11/2014
Why Home Fellowships Can Help Abused Women and the Institutional Church Cannot – 3/31/2015
Blank Check Forgiveness Necessarily Calls For The Shutting Down Of All Discernment Blogs
As written about many times on PPT, blank check forgiveness is a Reformed principle that flows from Martin Luther’s Theology of the Cross. Luther’s ideology, and John Calvin can be included in this as well, rejected the idea of multifaceted justice amidst humanity. In Protestant Reformed thought, there is only one legitimate justice that must be satisfied; man’s sin against God. In Reformed thought, sin among men and a “Cry for Justice” is all but completely irrelevant.
And in fact, given the constant ongoing church drama regarding spiritual abuse what in the world is more obvious? We can “Cry for Justice” all day long and every day until the second coming; such is not a Protestant metaphysical or gospel reality. If you think differently, you might want to do a legitimate independent study on the Protestant Reformation. Luther and Calvin scoffed at the idea of justice among people.
Consequently, blank check forgiveness and discernment blogs are an oxymoron. A biblical definition of forgiveness calls for a cancellation of discussion surrounding the offence. This is why, in contradiction to Reformed orthodoxy, Christians will not appear at a final judgement where the law is present. This is why Biblicism calls for multiple resurrections and judgments as opposed to Protestant orthodoxy confused Protestants notwithstanding. Let me illustrate this from one of many Bible passages that define forgiveness:
“For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.”
And…
“I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.”
And…
“then he adds, ‘I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.’”
Of course, God doesn’t have a bad memory; the idea is that He will not bring up the sin to himself, others, or you ever again, especially at a final judgement where the law is present. This isn’t hard to understand if you understand the gospel and the literal new birth that saved us; the former you that committed the sin died with Christ and was resurrected to new life that pursues law for the sake of love without fear of condemnation. This also speaks to the folly of endorsing blank check forgiveness via “We should forgive others the way we were forgiven.” Well then, stop bringing the offence into constant remembrance on your blog. You can call it a “journey” until the cows come home, but it is not forgiveness.
Common among discernment blogs is a constant harping about blank check forgiveness while documenting the “journey” in reliving whatever abuse was suffered. Biblicism defines forgiveness as a debt cancellation. Bill collectors don’t blog about debts that have already been paid.
Hence, without repentance and restitution where possible, we don’t grant forgiveness anymore than God does. He didn’t forgive you without repentance, and if you are going to forgive others differently from how God forgives, don’t argue for “forgiving others the way we were forgiven.” Huh?
Let me suggest the Biblicist way: we forgive those who repent, and we love those who don’t repent while leaving revenge to God. Sometimes I wonder; does God refuse to deal with spiritual abusers because we arrogantly grant forgiveness that is unbiblical and then put His name on it? And, does God lead people to repentance by continually reminding them of their unreconciled offences? See, when we say that the love of God leads people to repentance, this is what we are talking about. Love does not ignore the sin issue and fail to hold people accountable. Since when is that love?
Now, if your blog continually brings up the unrepentant abuse for the purpose of leading that person to repentance…you do well…but if you have actually forgiven them…
…shut down your blog.
paul
leave a comment