DO YOU EVER GET FRUSTRATED With The Endless Theology Definitions And Arguments?
~ Three of the most prominent theologies today are: Calvinism,
Arminianism, and Free Grace. Yet there is another theology which sits
somewhere in the middle of all those, which is my theology - but there
is no fancy name for it. It is a very simple theology.
Jesus Christ was born of a virgin, the sinless man ~ He was crucified and died on the cross to make salvation, i.e., eternal life in the presence of God, available to all people ~ He rose from the dead, i.e., He resurrected, so that all people will also resurrect - some to eternal life, others to eternal damnation ~ He ascended into heaven where He sits at the right hand of God the Father, where He is the only mediator, i.e., defense attorney, for all believers. That is the Gospel, pure and simple.
Since He made eternal life available to all people (unlimited atonement), what do we have to do to receive that gift of life?
Our Calvinist brethren will tell us that the WORLD in John 3:16 does not mean the world, it means only those chosen to be the Elect before the Creation. If this happened BEFORE the Creation - how can anyone know if they were chosen to be among the Elect? The only way anyone can know for sure is at death.
Imagine this: a Calvinist dies and finds himself standing before two doors. The doors are labelled Eternal Life and Eternal Death. The Calvinist walks toward the Eternal Life door, but is told, "No, that is the wrong door. The Eternal Life door is only for those chosen to be among the Elect. You were chosen among the Reprobates and must enter the Eternal Death door." Oops! But too late, for once we die, there is no second chance.
Our Arminian brethren will rightfully tell us that the WORLD in John 3:16 means all the world, but that a person must believe in Jesus Christ for eternal life to be saved. However, these brethren hold a big "BUT" over their heads. BUT, some sin, maybe one so small that you did not know it was a sin, or it could be a sin that you do not know that you have committed.
BUT because of that insignificant little sin - you have LOST your salvation, you no longer have His promise of eternal life. How would you like to walk through life with that hanging over your head, continually having to look over your shoulder in fear that you may have committed that hell-bound sin?
Those two are the two extremes of the Theology Spectrum. Somewhere in between we find the relatively new Free Grace Movement. And this is where the water starts to get muddy.
Today I receive an e-mail notice of an article in the Grace In Focus magazine, the bi-monthly magazine of Grace Evangelical Society. The article is written by Dr. Bob Wilkin, Executive Director of GES.
The article is titled "Did Jesus' Death On The Cross Actually Or Potentially Remove Sin As A Barrier Between God And Man?"
In the article Dr. Bob Wilkin tells us:
In the article excerpt above we read, "The death of Christ was sufficient for all, but only efficient for those who believe that He died on the cross for their sins." The article continues with more of what could be confusing to the unbeliever:
There is an old saying using the acronym KISS - "Keep It Simple, Stupid!" Although I prefer to say, "Keep It Simple, Sam!" For I hate to call anyone stupid.
While I love to dig deep into the different theologies - much of the material which I study would not be useful for witnessing. Let me give you an example: My wife, Dory, calls me her "computer man." What the heck, I have been called worse. Dory is with computers like I am with cooking. I cannot boil water - and Dory has learned to turn her computer on and find what she needs. But when a problem occurs, "Honey, help me!"
Now just imagine that Dory's computer will not turn on and I go to help. I find that it was not getting power, i.e., no electricity, and resolve the problem. Should I tell her, "Your computer is working fine now." Or should I explain to her:
"Your computer was not getting any power, i.e., no electricity. And you know electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwell's equations. Electricity works by getting a bunch of conductor elements together and creating a flow of electron-stealing patterns through them. This flow is called a current. Conductors need to be surrounded with insulators so the electrons can only go in one direction."
Can you picture Dory standing there with a glazed look in her eyes, then turning and walking out of the room, mumbling to herself? I can, for at that moment I have lost her attention and totally confused her. The same will likely happen when we witness to an unbeliever - and attempt to show our expansive Bible knowledge.
I am not writing this to knock Dr. Bob Wilkin. He is a devout and dedicated evangelist who loves to share and teach the Word of God. It is just that I disagree with some of his Free Grace Theology - and must say I believe his writings are all "Preaching to the choir!" Yet, I respect Bob in the same way I respect Dr. John MacArthur, who is Calvinist - Dr. Ron Rhodes, Reasoning From The Scriptures Ministries, who is Reform, i.e., Calvinist - and the late Dr. R. C. Sproul, Ligonier Ministries, who was also Reform.
I often visit several web sites to get ideas on issues I am studying or writing about - and they are CARM (Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry) which is headed by Matt Slick, Reform Theology - and Got Questions where S. Michael Houdmann is the Founder, President, and CEO of Got Questions Ministries. He is also a follower of Reform Theology.
Why am I telling you this? My main reason is to emphasize that just because a person does not hold the same exact theological beliefs as me - does not mean that I cannot learn from that person. I just keep in mind those differences and use them as filters when reading material from any of these outstanding sources.
That is also why I have been almost dogmatic in my belief that a Christian believer, early in their walk with the Lord - should go through the exercise of putting his/her Statement of Faith, what you believe theologically, in writing - supported by Scripture references. That way you have a solid understanding of your beliefs which define your faith. Over the years you may, most likely will, find that you have learned something new which has somewhat altered one or more of your beliefs. That is not a problem. Matter of fact, that is good - for it shows that you are maturing in your knowledge of God's Word. And the more mature you are - the better witness for Christ you become. "Go, Make disciples, Teach them. . . Be My witnesses in all the world" (Matthew 28:19-20, Acts 1:8, Mark 16:15).
Yes, I left out "Baptize them" - for two reasons: First, we are not saved through baptism, and second, I am a firm believer that baptism is such a personal step in your Christian walk, that you will want to share it with your new Christian family, your local church fellowship where you have begun to worship.
I pray you have found this blog to be useful and that it will help you as you go into "your world" to be His witness.
God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,
Bill
Jesus Christ was born of a virgin, the sinless man ~ He was crucified and died on the cross to make salvation, i.e., eternal life in the presence of God, available to all people ~ He rose from the dead, i.e., He resurrected, so that all people will also resurrect - some to eternal life, others to eternal damnation ~ He ascended into heaven where He sits at the right hand of God the Father, where He is the only mediator, i.e., defense attorney, for all believers. That is the Gospel, pure and simple.
Since He made eternal life available to all people (unlimited atonement), what do we have to do to receive that gift of life?
Ephesians 1:13-14, 4:30, "In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the Gospel of your salvation; in Whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, Who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory. . . . And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by Whom you were sealed for the day of redemption."
Ephesians 2:8-9, "For by grace you have been saved through faith (in Jesus Christ, alone), and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast."
John 3:16-17, "For God so loved the WORLD (all people) that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but HAVE everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world (all people) through Him MIGHT be saved."
1 John 5:13, "These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God (faith in Jesus Christ, alone), that you may KNOW that you HAVE eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God."
Our Calvinist brethren will tell us that the WORLD in John 3:16 does not mean the world, it means only those chosen to be the Elect before the Creation. If this happened BEFORE the Creation - how can anyone know if they were chosen to be among the Elect? The only way anyone can know for sure is at death.
Imagine this: a Calvinist dies and finds himself standing before two doors. The doors are labelled Eternal Life and Eternal Death. The Calvinist walks toward the Eternal Life door, but is told, "No, that is the wrong door. The Eternal Life door is only for those chosen to be among the Elect. You were chosen among the Reprobates and must enter the Eternal Death door." Oops! But too late, for once we die, there is no second chance.
Our Arminian brethren will rightfully tell us that the WORLD in John 3:16 means all the world, but that a person must believe in Jesus Christ for eternal life to be saved. However, these brethren hold a big "BUT" over their heads. BUT, some sin, maybe one so small that you did not know it was a sin, or it could be a sin that you do not know that you have committed.
BUT because of that insignificant little sin - you have LOST your salvation, you no longer have His promise of eternal life. How would you like to walk through life with that hanging over your head, continually having to look over your shoulder in fear that you may have committed that hell-bound sin?
Those two are the two extremes of the Theology Spectrum. Somewhere in between we find the relatively new Free Grace Movement. And this is where the water starts to get muddy.
Today I receive an e-mail notice of an article in the Grace In Focus magazine, the bi-monthly magazine of Grace Evangelical Society. The article is written by Dr. Bob Wilkin, Executive Director of GES.
The article is titled "Did Jesus' Death On The Cross Actually Or Potentially Remove Sin As A Barrier Between God And Man?"
In the article Dr. Bob Wilkin tells us:
Several years ago, a friend of mine met with me and the entire GES board at our annual conference. He wanted to discuss three issues, one of which was the atonement. He had graduated from DTS shortly before I started. He indicated that he had been taught at DTS that the death of Christ was sufficient for all, but only efficient for those who believe that He died on the cross for their sins.
While my friend calls that view unlimited atonement, I call that view limited atonement. If Christ’s death did not take away the sin of the world, but only potentially did so, then many verses are incorrect (e.g., John 1:29; 3:16; 1 John 2:2).
Bill Gray Note: This is really confusing, for it sounds like Bob Wilkin is promoting Universalism, that ALL people are saved. And I know that is not what he believes. To me, Wilkin seems to be arguing that an orange is an orange. Hey, Bob, you are right. And unlimited atonement does mean that the death of Jesus Christ opened the door to eternal life - but each of us, individually, must choose to walk through that door.
He seems to be arguing the point that Christ's death took away all sin, which is correct. Christ's death was the "Paid In Full" full pardon which allows us to walk out of the Sin Prison and be free of the Adamic Sin Debt to God. The problem is that many people, even when told they have a full pardon, will still refuse to leave their Sin prison. Those people still live under the Adamic Sin Curse - and unless we can convince them to change, leave their Sin Prison, and turn to follow Christ - they will be lost eternally. This is why we must keep our Gospel Message to them short and sweet, but with enough meat for them to be spiritually fed and nourished.
(The article continues) Notice as well how this changes the content of saving faith. One need not believe in Jesus for everlasting life (John 3:14-18, 36; 5:24; 1 Tim 1:16). He only needs to believe that Jesus died on the cross for his sins. He does not need to believe in Jesus for anything. He need not believe in the free gift of everlasting life. He could believe in works salvation and be born again. The only issue is believing that Christ died for you.
Bill Gray Note: Once again, Wilkin seems to be arguing that an orange is an orange. Hey, Bob, you are right. And unlimited atonement does mean that the death of Jesus Christ opened the door to eternal life - but each of us, individually, must choose to walk through that door.
(The article continues) In this view, Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and nearly all Protestants are born again. Assurance of everlasting life becomes a sanctification issue. It is like a sunroof on a car. It makes your driving experience a bit better, but you do not need it. In the same way, a person never needs to believe that Jesus has saved him once and for all. That is nice information to have, but it is not essential.
Bill Gray Note: On this point it appears that Wilkin is being a wee bit facetious - or tunnel visioned. Yes, people from all Christian churches, i.e., Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and all Protestant churches - can be born-again. I am not saying they are, but yes, it is possible for a person to be in the Roman Catholic church and be a born-again believer. I will admit that after a while, if that were me - to see the worship of and praying to Mary and all the Saints - would begin to rub me the wrong way and I would have to leave that church. I have always said that a person could stay in the Roman Catholic church about a year before his/her faith would force him to leave.
About 15 years ago, I went to the Church On The Solid Rock in Orange County because Dr. Anthony Pezzotta, who served as Roman Catholic Director of Schools and Seminaries and Rector of Local Salesian Communities in Manila, Philippines, for ten years - was speaking there that day. After all those years, he could not teach what he did not believe and he left the Roman Catholic church and joined a Baptist church in Manila.
At his Q&A session, to get his personal view, I asked the question: "How long can a person who has become born-again stay in the Roman Catholic church without it starting to bother him?" His answer to me was short and sweet. He told me, "I stayed about two hours."
So I have to disagree with Bob Wilkin, a person can be in those churches - and I have many Friends who are in Pentecostal churches, I have Friends who are in Legalistic churches, and I have Friends who are in Liberal Theology churches - and they are all just as born-again as me - and I have absolutely no doubt about my salvation and eternal life.
In the article excerpt above we read, "The death of Christ was sufficient for all, but only efficient for those who believe that He died on the cross for their sins." The article continues with more of what could be confusing to the unbeliever:
What is it that we are seeking to persuade the person to whom we witness? Is our ultimate goal to convince that person of substitutionary atonement? Or is our aim more than that? Is our target to persuade him or her that because of the cross our sins are no longer the issue so that all we need to do to be saved is to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for the everlasting life that He guarantees to the believer?
There is an old saying using the acronym KISS - "Keep It Simple, Stupid!" Although I prefer to say, "Keep It Simple, Sam!" For I hate to call anyone stupid.
While I love to dig deep into the different theologies - much of the material which I study would not be useful for witnessing. Let me give you an example: My wife, Dory, calls me her "computer man." What the heck, I have been called worse. Dory is with computers like I am with cooking. I cannot boil water - and Dory has learned to turn her computer on and find what she needs. But when a problem occurs, "Honey, help me!"
Now just imagine that Dory's computer will not turn on and I go to help. I find that it was not getting power, i.e., no electricity, and resolve the problem. Should I tell her, "Your computer is working fine now." Or should I explain to her:
"Your computer was not getting any power, i.e., no electricity. And you know electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwell's equations. Electricity works by getting a bunch of conductor elements together and creating a flow of electron-stealing patterns through them. This flow is called a current. Conductors need to be surrounded with insulators so the electrons can only go in one direction."
Can you picture Dory standing there with a glazed look in her eyes, then turning and walking out of the room, mumbling to herself? I can, for at that moment I have lost her attention and totally confused her. The same will likely happen when we witness to an unbeliever - and attempt to show our expansive Bible knowledge.
I am not writing this to knock Dr. Bob Wilkin. He is a devout and dedicated evangelist who loves to share and teach the Word of God. It is just that I disagree with some of his Free Grace Theology - and must say I believe his writings are all "Preaching to the choir!" Yet, I respect Bob in the same way I respect Dr. John MacArthur, who is Calvinist - Dr. Ron Rhodes, Reasoning From The Scriptures Ministries, who is Reform, i.e., Calvinist - and the late Dr. R. C. Sproul, Ligonier Ministries, who was also Reform.
I often visit several web sites to get ideas on issues I am studying or writing about - and they are CARM (Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry) which is headed by Matt Slick, Reform Theology - and Got Questions where S. Michael Houdmann is the Founder, President, and CEO of Got Questions Ministries. He is also a follower of Reform Theology.
Why am I telling you this? My main reason is to emphasize that just because a person does not hold the same exact theological beliefs as me - does not mean that I cannot learn from that person. I just keep in mind those differences and use them as filters when reading material from any of these outstanding sources.
That is also why I have been almost dogmatic in my belief that a Christian believer, early in their walk with the Lord - should go through the exercise of putting his/her Statement of Faith, what you believe theologically, in writing - supported by Scripture references. That way you have a solid understanding of your beliefs which define your faith. Over the years you may, most likely will, find that you have learned something new which has somewhat altered one or more of your beliefs. That is not a problem. Matter of fact, that is good - for it shows that you are maturing in your knowledge of God's Word. And the more mature you are - the better witness for Christ you become. "Go, Make disciples, Teach them. . . Be My witnesses in all the world" (Matthew 28:19-20, Acts 1:8, Mark 16:15).
Yes, I left out "Baptize them" - for two reasons: First, we are not saved through baptism, and second, I am a firm believer that baptism is such a personal step in your Christian walk, that you will want to share it with your new Christian family, your local church fellowship where you have begun to worship.
I pray you have found this blog to be useful and that it will help you as you go into "your world" to be His witness.
God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,
Bill
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