Thursday 29 January 2015

Is Gratitude the Ultimate Reason behind the Christian's Good works?

It is a widespread belief that Christian's do good works out of gratitude to God. That is the Christian does good works because he offers thanks to God for all that He has done for him especially in salvation. This is true. But what lies behind this motivation? Sadly many today focus merely upon the motivations of man rather than on the purposes of God. An important issue that often does not get addressed is, where is God in the good works of the Christian? With good works as in many other areas Christians all too often focus upon man rather than upon God. For the very same God who saves is the very same God who does so for his own glory as he redeems a people and offers them unto his Son. And it is God who is at work in the Christian to mold him and renew him so that every good work is evidence of the potter who is is forming from the lump of clay one who glorifies Him. 

The apostle Paul wrote in his epistle to the Ephesians that,

"we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2:10)

The reasons the Apostle gives for the Christian doing good works are far removed from the man centered reasons given by many modern day evangelicals. He simply does not give gratitude as the ultimate reason for Christian good works. Instead he gives the following reasons:

(1) The Christian is the workmanship of God. He is the Creator and he is the Saviour so that all Christians belong to him. And he is the one who has all rights and all power to do with the Christian whatsoever he chooses. God saved the Christian with an ultimate end in mind and this he accomplishes in the life of every Christian without exception. He is the molder of the clay working upon the Christian life to make vessels that achieve His end.

(2) The Christian is "created in Christ Jesus." He has been made a new Creation who bears the very nature of the one who died for him on the cross. This nature though it is born yet has not come to full fruition. So it is that it can be said that the Christian who is created in Christ is being daily recreated so that he will one day fully bear his likeness.

(3) The evidence that a person is a Christian and is therefore saved are good works. The works themselves save no one since salvation is solely the work of God in Jesus Christ. Yet the very same God who saves has not stopped working in the life of the Christian. He daily shapes and changes the Christian so that they reflect back to him his own glory as they bear with increasing measure the image of Christ in them.

(4) These good works are not something that God makes up as he goes along. They were prepared beforehand, that is before the foundation of the world. They existed in the mind of God before he had created a single living soul. These works originate in God and trace their purpose and their ability to be done not in man but in Him. For it is from God that those works have meaning and it is from God that the Christian receives grace so that he does all that the Father has prepared beforehand. 

(5) The words, "should walk in them" can be misunderstood. They can be used to cast doubt on the good works that were prepared before hand. In truth there is no doubt from God's perspective. Because God is the one who prepared these works it is absolutely certain that every Christian will walk in them. For the same God who powerfully saves is the same God who powerfully renews his people from the internal outwards and as he does so this flows from the unseen to be seen in the changed life of the Christian.


A Note

A friend recently pointed out to me an imbalance in my theology. That is I brought to the fore God's role in good works while denigrating the Christian's motives and desires to do good. The bible clearly teaches that God so works in the Christian that they bear the fruit of belonging to him in good works. 

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." 
(Galatians 5:22-24)

 But it also teaches that the Christian is to give thanks to God as he does good towards others. 

"And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."
(Colossians 3:17)

I thank my friend for pointing out to me that while God changes the Christian so that they then do good they are also to seek to do good in thankfulness to God. That is the divine and human aspect to good works both need to be kept in their right balance and equally taught for both are found in the pages of Scripture.






Sunday 18 January 2015

The Weak Saviour of Arminianism

The most widely held theology in this country is Arminianism. At the heart of this theology is man's libertarian free will. It is man's ability to choose God whenever he chooses. Though he is sick in his sin God gives him enough grace so that he is made well enough to respond to him. Though God extends prevenient grace to all men and Jesus Christ died for all men it is the will of man that makes that grace and Christ's death effectual. God has done all he can but it is up to men to make what he has done effectual for them. This is the very core of Arminianism. It is the extension of salvation to all but it is up to man in his free will to accept what he has done. 

Very few ask the question, "what does this make of Christ?" So centered is this theology upon man and the defense of man and his free will that Christ is given a secondary thought. But it is absolutely essential to ask what does any system of theology make of Christ. For what a system of theology makes of Christ determines whether it is biblical and true, or unbiblical and not. So what does Arminianism make of Christ?

Firstly, Christ cannot save anyone, he merely extends his salvation to men in the hope that they will receive it. He does not know who or if any will. He came to this world, died on the cross without knowing who he was dying for because his death is only made effectual when man uses his free will to receive his death for him. The cross of Christ to powerfully save is emptied of its power, it is stripped of its effectiveness to redeem the lost from the slave market of sin. Instead he has died, has been resurrected, ascended to heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God, where he waits and hopes that someone will choose him. What a frustrated and anxious Saviour he must be.

Secondly, the grace of God is made prevenient. It is a grace that is extended to all men and makes all men savable. It is the free will of man which is such an essential of Arminianist theology that determines whether this grace saves or it does not. Though it is extended to all it is not sufficient to save any. It is only when man in his free will chooses grace that it has any power to regenerate and bring about new birth. How powerless is God that he can save no one without their permission. How feeble is God's grace that it needs the cooperation of a sinner before it can save even a single soul.

Thirdly, who is Jesus the mediator for in heaven? For whom does he stand before the Father and offer his sacrifice for? Since, in Arminianist theology, Christ died for all does this also mean he is also the mediator for all? Very few are those who are willing to take their theology to its logical conclusion.Very few will say that since Christ died for all he is also the mediator for all. But this is the logical conclusion of Arminianism. Since if he died for all it follows he must also be the mediator for all. And yet to believe this would be to say that there are people who Christ died for, he is the mediator for, yet they will go to hell because they use their free will to deny Christ. How useless a mediator is Christ. How unjust is God to condemn to hell those who Christ has died for and is the mediator for. Thankfully many are the Arminianists who are inconsistent.

Fourthly, how weak are the Father and the Son to keep any from permanently falling away. Many Arminianists will say that God will cause them to persevere to the end. But how can he do this? Can't the same free will man uses to enter into relationship with God be used to walk away from him? Does man lose his free will when he becomes a Christian? The Arminianist, if they are consistent with their theology, must believe that the same will they used to come to Christ and believe is the same will they can use to turn their back on Christ and to reject the faith they once confessed. Again, thankfully, very few are the Arminianists who are consistent with their theology.