"Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen." - 2 Peter 3:18
I've been accused recently of teaching that knowledge of Gospel propositions is not necessary. This is due to the fact that I stated that some believers who were raised in false religion don't shed all of their "shibboleths" immediately upon conversion to the truth in the Gospel. For example, even phrases such as "good luck" can persist amongst those who were taught the Gospel of sovereign grace their whole lives. Believers that use this phrase, "good luck" are not usually adopting and believing the logical conclusions of this phrase. They say it out of habit, and they usually intend something totally different than the actual words they used. What they usually mean is, "I hope for the best," or something else along those lines.
However, there are some amongst us that whenever they hear a phrase that goes against the Gospel will conclude that the person who uttered that phrase understands and adopts the logical implications of that phrase as the actual propositions they believe! And the phrase "good luck" certainly is GOD AND GOSPEL DENYING when the words are taken to their logical conclusions. And so I ask, if you were to hear that phrase from a dear brother or sister of yours, would you hastily judge them as an unbeliever upon hearing that phrase? I'd hope not, and that you would take the time to dialog with them to determine what it is they meant!
And the same holds true for any other phrase that you might hear uttered by someone for any reason. Let's not judge those who come to us confessing Christ too quickly and too harshly. Let's take the time to talk to folks and to give folks a benefit of any doubt we might have. Let's be charitable and careful in our judging. And that is all I was trying to say in my previous articles.
But alas, no matter what I say, the word has gotten out now that I supposedly believe that the free will gospel (which is NO GOSPEL) apparently is true. And there probably is nothing I can say that will remedy that in people's minds. Those words now have probably even forever condemned me in the minds of some. This seems to be a repeating pattern amongst some on the internet. It seems popular to take a phrase or two uttered by some teacher, dissect the words, broadcast an opinion about those words, and then condemn that person for adhering to the logical conclusion of those words without even dialoguing with them about it or taking into account the possibility that the person had trouble articulating what it was they actually meant. This quick rush to judgment is popular not just amongst believers, but it seems to be a symptom of the world we live in today.
But the fact of the matter is, my position since this site has been on the internet is that :
- God saved His people in Christ's death and resurrection,
- all of God's people will be given knowledge of Gospel propositions,
- and they will believe these Gospel propositions at God's appointed time.
I also firmly believe that it is possible for someone to have knowledge of Gospel propositions without believing them. I've seen many who have contended for the Gospel but later deny the Gospel completely! So knowledge of the Gospel is not enough. One must believe (knowledge + assent / agreement) if they are to have any evidence they are numbered amongst Christ's redeemed. This is also a sobering warning for us to make our calling and election sure!
However, when someone comes to believe the Gospel, God's perspective of them does not change as He's always viewed His elect people in Christ. Knowledge and believing does not save someone in God's perspective. But this knowledge and belief is given to the elect to assure them that they are saved in Christ. They are born again and the Holy Spirit takes up residence within them and they commune with God. And this happens for every single one of God's sheep. And every one who believes will not ever stop believing as they will persevere in the faith until the end. However, knowledge and belief does not guarantee proper articulation all of the time. We stumble and bumble our way through our crude use of our languages. Our languages are not perfect, but it's what we have, and Christ's atonement covers all sin, both commission and omission, which certainly includes improper articulation of the Gospel!
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are my opinions and mine alone. They do not necessarily represent the view of any church or particular person I might be associated with or talk to on the internet. This is strictly my opinion. Also, some may read the title and assume I believe in luck now. I used this title as a way to encourage people to click on the article and to think about the subject at hand. However, there are some that won't read past the title and will draw their own conclusions about what I think without reading the article.
Here is more on this subject that I have to say: Are Free-Willers Brethren?, Freewiller Shibboleths, Which Error is More Grievous?, Are You Just Pretending?