Perfection?

But not everyone who hears the gospel has saving faith.

According to Arminian theology, the Holy Spirit only goes so far in the saving process. Billy Graham stated, "God does 99% of it, you do 1%."

Skan,

2 people hear the gospel equally. One believed. Why?

 

Skan,

This isn't from Sproul's Chosen by God; its from his essay, The Pelagian Captivity of the Church:

"What is the source and status of faith? Is it the God-given means whereby the God-given justification is received? Or is it a condition of justification which is left to us to fulfill? Is your faith at work? Is it the one work that God leaves for you to do? I had a discussion with some folks in Grand Rapids, Michigan, recently. I was speaking on sola gratia, and one fellow was upset. He said, "Are you trying to tell me that in the final analysis it's God who either does or doesn't sovereignly regenerate a heart?"

And I said, "Yes," and he was very upset about that. I said, "Let me ask you this: are you a Christian?"

He said, "Yes."

I said, "Do you have friends who aren't Christians?"

He said, "Well, of course."

I said, "Why are you a Christian and your friends aren't? Is it because you're more righteous than they are?" He wasn't stupid. He wasn't going to say, "Of course it's because I'm more righteous. I did the right thing and my friend didn't." He knew where I was going with that question.

And he said, "Oh, no, no, no."

I said, "Tell me why. Is it because you're smarter than your friend?"

And he said, "No."

But he would not agree that the final, decisive issue was the grace of God. He wouldn't come to that. And after we discussed this for fifteen minutes, he said, "OK! I'll say it. I'm a Christian because I did the right thing, I made the right response, and my friend didn't."

What was this person trusting in for his salvation? Not in his works in general, but in the one work that he performed. And he was a Protestant, an evangelical. But his view of salvation was no different from the Roman view."

................................................

Skan,

I know that you have struggled with these things, as have I. I went to an evangelical Christian school for a few years as a kid. I went to all the gospel rallies, I prayed the prayer over and over and over again. I never fealt satisfied that I had yielded enough or prayed the prayer sincerely. I went forward, I signed the card, I threw the pinecone in the fire. Then people told me I could lose my salvation day by day if I didn't yield enough. I rejected all that.

After years of living in the ways of the world and coming to a complete conviction of my sin, God saved me. And I attest to the fact that God's regenerating grace was completely independent of anything I did. I can attest with Paul, "I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature." (Romans 7:18a)

It is true that I came to active faith. But that was only because of the mighty hand of God. It was not because I heard the message and then came to some sort of internal decision on my own. If Arminian theology is true, I am more holy than many of my friends, because they heard the same message I did, but I believed. But that is not the case; I pray to God that he will save them--that he would turn their wills to him. For I worship a God that unconditionally saves sinners and I have faith that he can save whoever he wants reguardless of what kind of feelings they have toward him.

Arminian theology is a twisted set of half truths that equal a whole untruth. And I praise God that he delivered me from it.

 

Skan,

Some of your writings are words of wisdom, such as above. However, I believe God does reveal truth to his people, if not in regeneration, then through sanctification. I believe some true doctrines are experienced subjectively, such as inability. But this line of thought can be a slippery slope with the devil at the bottom.

In Romans 7:14-25, I believe Paul was writing as a regenerate saint. Even with the Holy Spirit he still attested to his inability to do good:

I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. (vs 18)

The pews of American churches today are filled with people who not only say the are inherently good, but they can do good whenever they want.

Paul here is saying that he would like to do good, but he is in a state of inability, even as a Christian.

He goes on to cry out:

What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? (vs 24)

The true blue Arminian will reply, "you can, just yield enough."

Thanks be to God--through Jesus Christ our Lord!

(vs 25)

I believe the gospel is the good news of what Christ has done and continues to do for his people, not what he would genuinely like to do if they would just yield enough. How can an impotent Saviour be Lord?