I've been reading The Gospel According to Jesus: What Is Authentic Faith? - Revised & Expanded Anniversary Edition by John MacArthur and absolutely LOVE this book. In his expositional style MacArthur lays out beautifully a defense of "lordship salvation" which is nothing more than biblical salvation. I came across this statement and thought I should share it:
"Faith obeys. Unbelief rebels. The direction of one's life should reveal whether that person is a believer or an unbeliever. There is no middle ground. Merely knowing and affirming facts apart from obedience to the truth is not believing in the biblical sense. Those who cling to the memory of a one-time decision of "faith" but lack any evidence of the outworking of faith had better heed the clear and solemn warning of Scripture: "He who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him" (John 3:36)." pg. 193
Awesome book! I always thought something was off about "decisionism" and this book gave me a scriptural foundation against it.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean.
ReplyDeleteGod would rather see you anywhere else than living in rebellion and resistance to His will. Which decribes about 20 years of my life! Once you come to the cross of Christ, God's will for you is your sanctification. If you're not advancing (which we can be in a nonadvancing state) in that process, God will allow you to go or will take you to some awful places so that His purposes in you might be accomplished. My testimony is not an instant conversion but a 20 year conversion. God called me in 1973 I give all I knew then. In 1976 I chose to believe God's Word was the only truth and in 1994 God opened my understanding of truth through showing me the sin of unforgiveness was my hang up. My heart was then bended, my mind began being transformed and my life has never been the same. (I am not sure how to post conversations, and this is the place that come up. This probably has nothing to do with the book, which I have not read yet but am going to.)
ReplyDeleteYou're in the right place.
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