The Pedestrian Christian: You would be Surprised and it is Coming to a Reformed/Calvinist or Evangelical Church Near You
….OR MAYBE NOT:
The Pedestrian Christian . blogspot .com
Excerpt #2: “False Reformation”; Chapter 2
This is the Achilles heel of the Reformation false gospel. When salvation is linear (a chain), there are only two choices: work your way into heaven via raw effort because the standard is my good works outweigh my bad works, or the standard is perfection according to the law, but Christ obeys it perfectly for me via my faith alone. The Reformers picked the latter.
To the contrary, in the parallel gospel, there is NO STANDARD to maintain. The righteousness of God has been deposited to our account in full. There is NOTHING to maintain, it is “FINISHED.” Sanctification operates on a totally different plane albeit a life colored by the reality of the new birth, and becomes one with the finished work at the resurrection. We can plainly see from the substantial data presented thus far that the Reformed gospel is not finished—it progresses towards the end of the chain. And, we are in the middle, and therefore a participant in justification in some way or another, and that is not only a really bad idea—it’s a false gospel. Keep in mind that it is the Reformers who call salvation a “chain,” it is their term.
Excerpt: “False Reformation”; Chapter 2
Consequently, the law is still a standard for our righteousness. As we have seen previously, the Scriptures make it absolutely clear that we are justified APART FROM THE LAW. The Reformers twist that to mean apart from us maintaining it which requires us to live by a faith that continually offers the obedience of Christ as a satisfaction to the law. And at any point where this is not done, we lose our salvation. Therefore, this is no different than Christ plus something for salvation; in this case, faith alone as defined by the Reformers.
Anytime salvation is not “finished,” works enter in. This is why a separation of true progressive sanctification and justification is absolutely essential—NOTHING we do in sanctification can affect our justification. This is the ground of our assurance, and our freedom to aggressively obey in progressive sanctification is the experience of it. One wonders if this is the primary point of election, a dynamic dichotomy between justification and sanctification. God wants us to be so certain that justification is finished that he completes it before we are even born….no, in fact, before the Earth was even created!
This seems to be the point rather than determinism. How ironic therefore that the sultans of fatalistic determinism posit a confusing requirement to maintain our just standing by a perpetual re-offering of the finished work of Christ that secured our justification. This does not encourage a free and aggressive obedience that pleases God, but rather a false assurance in exactly what the brother of Christ the Lord warned us against: “Faith without works is dead, being alone.” Moreover, if James meant the works of Christ and not ours; certainly, one of his stature in the apostolic church would be expected to communicate better than that, and it is doubtful that such sloppy communication would have escaped the divine editor embodied in the Holy Spirit.
The Potter’s House: Sunday, November 25, 2012
Gospel Review from Chapter One of, False Reformation: Four Tenets of Luther and Calvin’s Egregious False Gospel
Something new has happened at the Potter’s House. We have a set schedule leading up to the 2013 TANC conference which includes the publishing of two, maybe three books. However, because contentions from our Reformed friends closely relate to our present study in the book of Romans, Susan and I have decided to write a book that addresses our contentions in a more specific way. Lord willing, what will hopefully be more of a booklet than a book will be ready for print in, or about ten days. The first chapter of the book will serve as an apt review of what we have covered in Romans thus far. So, the message this morning will be a reading of the first chapter: “What is the gospel?”
PPT visitors can follow the progress of the book on our blog. An updated pdf file will be posted periodically. The book will delve deeply into what Luther and Calvin specifically wrote about the gospel. It will also make the case that present-day New Calvinists have a factual understanding of what the Reformers believed about the gospel. These are men who understand enough to be dangerous, and have ruined Luther and Calvin’s masterful nuances.
All prayers are greatly appreciated. With that, let’s take another look at the gospel from chapter one.
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