THE DOCTRINES OF GRACE MADE PLAIN - PART 1

[This article originally published here: Wild Boar Issue #3 - January 1997 ]

Part One: Total Depravity

The best place to begin a discussion of what are called the "Doctrines of Grace" is with a discussion of total depravity. It is because man is totally depraved that grace is essential for salvation. Indeed, the evidence of man's total depravity is what led C. H. Spurgeon to preach the sermon titled "Sovereign Grace Hated by Modern Religionist." The two subjects are so entwined that the truth of one demands the other.
Two common misconceptions surround the notion of total depravity. First, total depravity does not mean absolute depravity. Man is not always as evil as he possibly could be. Man is not the epitome of Satan himself. While Satan is "intensely evil," natural man is "extensively evil." To be extensively evil means that man can do no thing perfectly.
Second, total depravity does not mean a complete absence of relative good! At this point the distinction between relative goodness and perfect, or true, goodness should be emphasized. The Heidelberg Catechism well describes this scriptural distinction in the question: What are good works? Only those which are done from true faith, according to the law of God, and to His glory. Jesus described the difference in Luke 6:33, "And if you do good to them that do good to you, what reward do you have? For even sinners do the same." The nonelect may happen to do what is according to the law of God, but not because it is the law of God, and certainly not from true faith and to His glory. They do relative good because of God's common grace and due to the remnant of the image in which they were created.
What total depravity does mean is that even though "natural" (unregenerate) man can do relative good, his actions are NEVER perfectly good from the eternal perspective, "having a form of godliness but denying its power" (II Tim. 3:5). Even the seemingly good choice of "coming" to Jesus is not good enough to save (consider Matthew 7:21-23). It is also important to remember that even though a regenerate heart is capable of doing what is truly good (a rare occurrence indeed!), it is still affected by the sinful nature. It is often that a Christian is amazed and repulsed at how selfish, hypocritical, and dreadfully evil his own heart is. This is evidenced by the words of the apostle Paul, "I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature" (Rom. 7:18).
What total depravity also means is that there is an inability of natural man to do, understand, or even desire the good. The Belgic Confession is biblical when it says natural man has an "incapacity to perform what is truly good." Also, the Canons of Dort statement, "all men are. . . incapable of saving good." Jesus stated this Himself in John 15:5-6 (see also I Cor. 1:18, and 2:14). Not only does natural man not desire good, he desires evil, hates God, and is not able to desire good (Rom. 8:7).
The doctrine of total depravity humbles the human heart to its proper place of total submission to the Sovereign God upon which our salvation rests. If we arrogantly attempt to elevate our moral nature, then we inevitably begin to diminish our dependence upon God. Only those regenerated by God may truly choose Christ, and even then the Christian struggles with his depraved nature to do that which is truly good.
Reconsider Matthew 7:21 and ask yourself this question: How many of those people who walk an aisle and "choose" God, do so (1) from true faith, and (2) for His glory because God first "made them a new creation"? How many do so because of their own selfish motives for "fire insurance" or emotional discomfort created by a skilled orator? Consider your heart. Do you need to fully submit to the "author and perfector" of your salvation (Heb. 12:2)?V

Recommended reading:
Luther, Martin. The Bondage of the Will.
Packer, J.I. Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God.
Pink, A.W. The Sovereignty of God.
Spurgeon, C. H. Sermons on Sovereignty.

MORE VOICES FROM THE PAST

[This article originally published here: Wild Boar Issue #3 - January 1997 ]

[In his Introduction to John Owens'  The Death of Death in the Death of Christ, J.I. Packer states, "One of the most urgent tasks facing evangelical Christendom today is the recovery of the Gospel." We agree. Easy believism and the invitation system may make for large numbers of so-called Decisions, but how many of them are true conversions? In light of this, voices from the past may help us find our way home---Editors.]

Thomas Goodwin: "You see that salvation is no slight thing and that believing and turning to God is no slight matter. . . Can you appoint God the time when it shall be done? No. 'It pleased the Father,' saith the apostle 'to reveal his Son in me.' It is the Father draweth, and it is the Son that must take hold of you, and it is the Holy Ghost that must come down into your hearts. . . [T]hough the Gospel is preached, and sets forth Christ the great object of faith, yet all do not believe. What is the reason? 'No man can come to me unless the Father draw him.'"

Asahel Nettleton: "If every effect must have a cause, then this cause must be prior to the effect, then no sinner ever did, or ever will, put forth a holy choice until this ineffable tendency to sin be removed, and succeeded by an infallible tendency to holiness; unless an infallible tendency to sin can be the cause of a holy choice. . ."

Archival Malay: "In my ministry it has been my aim to keep back nothing profitable to my hearers, but to declare unto them 'all the counsel of God.' The leading theme of my preaching has been Christ crucified, as the only Savior of lost sinners. I have shown the universal and total depravity of man; that every unconverted sinner is under the dominion of a carnal mind, which is at enmity to God and not subject to his law; that a change of heart, a heavenly birth, is absolutely necessary to see the kingdom of God and enter therein; that the same power that created the world, and raised our Lord from the dead, must quicken the sinner dead in sins, and make him alive to God; that if saved from sin and hell, it must be by free, sovereign, efficacious grace, through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; and that nothing can meet the necessities of a sinner awakened to a sense of his guilt of the teaching of the Holy Spirit, but what satisfied divine justice, the full atonement of Jesus Christ."

George Whitefield: "I see poor, trembling, Christless, wretches, standing before the bar of God, crying out, Lord, if we must be damned, let some angel, or some arch angel, pronounce the damnatory sentence: but all in vain. Christ himself will pronounce the irrevocable sentence. Knowing therefore the terrors of the Lord, let me persuade you to close with Christ, and never rest until you can say, 'The Lord our righteousness'." Who knows but the Lord may have mercy on, nay, abundantly pardon you? You need not fear the greatness or number of your sins. For are you sinners? So am I. Are you the chief of sinners? So am I. Are you backsliding sinners? So am I. And yet the Lord . . .is my righteousness."

Ezekiel Hopkins: "The preaching of the Word is the great means which God hath appointed for regeneration": 'Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.' (Romans 10:17) When God first created man, it is said that he breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, but when God new creates man, he breathes into his ears. This is the Word that raiseth the dead, calling them out of the grave; This is that Word that opens the eyes of the blind, that turns the hearts of the disobedient and rebellious. And though wicked and profane men scoff at preaching, and count all ministers' words, and God's words too, but so much wind, yet they are such wind, believe it, as is able to tear rocks and rend mountains; such wind as if ever they are saved, must shake and overturn the foundations of all their carnal confidence and presumptions. Be exhorted therefore more to prize and more to frequent the preaching of the Word."

EVANGELISM: MAN'S WAY OR GOD'S WAY?

[This article originally published here: Wild Boar Issue #3 - January 1997 ]

Evangelism: Man's Way or God's Way?

"God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life!" So says a popular evangelistic tract. The problem is: it's not exactly true. At least not without some serious qualifications. Evangelistic practices in our day have departed from biblical standards. They have ceased to be God-centered and biblically grounded, and have instead become very man-centered. That is, evangelistic techniques today tend to be designed to appeal to the likes and tastes of unregenerate men and women, rather than exalt Christ and call men and women to cast themselves upon the mercy of God. This man-centered evangelism waters down both the Law and the Gospel, and allows human pride to enter the process of salvation. This issue of The Wild Boar focuses on a critique of this man-centered evangelism and calls for a return to God-centered evangelism.

Evangelism Man's Way
Man-centered evangelism has several characteristics that can easily be spotted if one looks for them. First of all, it appeals to "felt needs." One popular strategy today is to find out what unbelievers want and then to taylor the programs of the church and the gospel message to address that "felt need." I cannot tell you how many times I have heard or read about churches going out into their communities and polling their neighbors about what they want in a church. A few weeks later, fliers are distributed advertizing a service that reflects the answers given by those polled. But since when does the church look to unbelievers to learn what the church is supposed to do? And since when does the church look to the unregenerate to find out what needs the church and the Bible are supposed to address? Don't we already know what they need? Don't they need the justifying grace provided by the Lord Jesus Christ, without which they will perish in Hell forever?
What kind of "needs" do unbelievers feel they have, anyway? The Bible tells us that "the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked; who can know it?" (Jer. 17:9). And Paul makes it abundantly clear that "the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned" (1Cor. 2:14). Whatever felt needs an unbeliever has will not provide an inroad to the gospel because his felt needs are idolatrous! The biblical preaching of the Law and the Gospel cannot appeal to an unbelievers felt needs, because the Law and the Gospel will, by the very nature of the case, undermine and challenge his felt needs.
Another characteristic of man-centered evangelism is the manipulation of emotion. Now, of course, the Law and the Gospel can have a powerful emotional impact on the hearer. But, rather than letting the truth of God's Word enter the mind and having its proper affect on the emotions, modern techniques go "straight for the heart." Bypassing the mind, the emotions of the hearers are directly manipulated to result in a, seat-of-the-pants "decision" for Christ. Through cajoling, peer-pressure, sentimental music, the telling of emotionally-charged testimonies, or the promise of a powerful religious experience, unbelievers are dragged down the aisle to ask Jesus to "come into their hearts."

The Consequences of These Errors
Man-centered evangelism inevitably produces undesireable results. One such result has already been alluded to: the marketing of the "gospel." The gospel message is treated like any other consumer product, advertized and marketed to appeal to religious "consumers." It is no longer a message calling fallen men and women to faith and repentance in Christ as the only hope of salvation (unless "salvation" is redefined as the meeting of a "felt need").
Secondly, man-centered evangelism produces spurious conversions, which explains the high drop-out rates in evangelical churches and the luke-warmness of those who stay. People who aren't really saved cannot be expected to be fervently committed to Christ. When the "product" doesn't produce what was promised (health, wealth, happiness, etc.), they are ready to jump ship. Moreover, those who have "come to Christ" in pursuit of an idolatrous felt need surely can't be expected to be sacrificial in the giving of their time, money, and talents to church causes. After all, Jesus was supposed to meet their needs, not make demands on them. Man-centered evangelism doesn't ask people to count the cost of discipleship.

Assumptions of Man-Centered Evangelism
Man-centered evangelism is based on certain false assumptions. One such assumption is that unbelievers will want Jesus if the gospel message is packaged in the right way. But this is not the case. Romans 3:11 tells us that there are "none who seek after God," and we have already been reminded that unbelievers think that the things of God are foolish (1Cor. 2:14). Jesus will never be sweet to those with unregenerate hearts that desire to live in sinful autonomy from God.
Another false assumption, related to the first, is that the unregenerate have the spiritual ability to respond to the gospel. A pernicious error that exists in the church is what is called decisional regeneration. This is the belief that a person who hears the gospel can "decide" to accept Christ, and when he makes such a decision he is "born again." Not only does such a view imply salvation by works, but it is clearly contrary to certain Scriptural texts which teach that regeneration precedes faith, and that this regeneration is the sovereign work of the Holy Spirit (cf. John 1:13; 3:3, 7-8; Eph. 2:1-3). Given that fallen human beings "cannot receive the things of the Spirit," a faith-response to Christ cannot come any other way. (For more on man's spiritual inability, see the article on Total Depravity).
Both of the above assumptions are part and parcel of Arminianism. Though much more needs to be said in describing Arminianism, the basic idea behind this view is simply this: God makes salvation possible through Christ, but it is up to us to accept it or reject it. The problems with this view are numerous and serious. But, since our topic in this issue is evangelism I will limit my discussion to two. First, as we have already seen, Arminianism falsely assumes the spiritual ability of the unregenerate to respond to the gospel on their own. Secondly, Arminianism cannot help but lead to the man-centered style of evangelism we have discussed above. Since man has the ability to come to Christ, he can be persuaded by the evangelist to do so. So, if the unbeliever resists, there must be something wrong with our presentation of the gospel. Perhaps we haven't made it as clear to him as we could. Or perhaps we haven't "packaged" the gospel just right so that he can see its "relevance." Once such conclusions are reached, the manipulation of emotion and the appeal to felt needs is not far behind.
Biblical evangelism---evangelism God's way---is never tempted to water down the message, or make it relevant to felt needs, or manipulate emotions. Biblical evangelism assumes man's spiritual inability, and sees the task of the evangelist as simply setting forth the Law (which condemns and shows the need of a savior, calling into question the relevance of all of the unbeliever's felt needs) and the Gospel (which for the regenerate is "the power of God unto salvation" [Rom. 1:16], and their only real need).