Can you imagine, realizing on judgment day, that you were mistaken about your salvation and now all that waits is eternal torment without a second chance (Matthew 7:21-23)? I’ve talked more than once to our people about what scares me most as a pastor.
David Martyn Lloyd-Jones (on Romans, vol 2, page 98) makes a similar point:
“. . . There is nothing, surely, which is more dangerous to the soul than what we may call a glib believism.
And you see how this affects all our ideas of evangelism. If we are so anxious to get people ‘through’, as we say, instead of leaving the Holy Spirit to do His own work, we tend to say, ‘But look here, it is simple – - here, you see, the Scripture says if you believe you are saved. Do you believe? Yes. Very well, you are saved, it is all right’. But it may be all wrong! It may be terribly all wrong! And it can be an exceedingly dangerous thing to say that to a soul, and to give people the impression that because they have said they believe and accept, all is well. There is a sense in which we have got to say that to them, but we must not stop at that. We must go on – - we must say, ‘All your good living and all your works can never save you. You have got to see that, and you have got to admit that to yourself and to God. You have got to see that you can only be saved by the Lord Jesus through the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit will act upon you. He will bring into birth a new man within you; He will implant a new principle of life in you, and that will begin to manifest itself’. In other words, we must never stop at just believing – - we must always emphasize regeneration – - the re-birth – the new man. Otherwise it seems to me we are leaving souls in a very dangerous position.
2 Corinthians 13:5
If you have questions about your salvation, then you really need to talk to your pastor or another mature Christ SOON. If you don’t have a pastor, then find a Bible believing, Christ-centered church.
The images streaming in from Haiti look like scenes from Dante’s Inferno. The scale of the calamity is unprecedented. In many ways, Haiti has almost ceased to exist.
The earthquake that will forever change that nation came as subterranean plates shifted about six miles under the surface of the earth, along a fault line that had threatened trouble for centuries. But no one saw a quake of this magnitude coming. The 7.0 quake came like a nightmare, with the city of Port-au-Prince crumbling, entire villages collapsing, bodies flying in the air and crushed under mountains of debris. Orphanages, churches, markets, homes, and government buildings all collapsed. Civil government has virtually ceased to function. Without power, communication has been cut off and rescue efforts are seriously hampered. Bodies are piling up, hope is running out, and help, though on the way, will not arrive in time for many victims.
Even as boots are finally hitting the ground and relief efforts are reaching the island, estimates of the death toll range as high as 500,000. Given the mountainous terrain and densely populated villages that had been hanging along the fault line, entire villages may have disappeared. The Western Hemisphere’s most impoverished nation has experienced a catastrophe that appears almost apocalyptic.
In truth, it is hard not to describe the earthquake as a disaster of biblical proportions. It certainly looks as if the wrath of God has fallen upon the Caribbean nation. Add to this the fact that Haiti is well known for its history of religious syncretism — mixing elements of various faiths, including occult practices. The nation is known for voodoo, sorcery, and a Catholic tradition that has been greatly influenced by the occult.
Haiti’s history is a catalog of political disasters, one after the other. In one account of the nation’s fight for independence from the French in the late 18th century, representatives of the nation are said to have made a pact with the Devil to throw off the French. According to this account, the Haitians considered the French as Catholics and wanted to side with whomever would oppose the French. Thus, some would use that tradition to explain all that has marked the tragedy of Haitian history — including now the earthquake of January 12, 2010.
Does God hate Haiti? That is the conclusion reached by many, who point to the earthquake as a sign of God’s direct and observable judgment.
Trevin Wax is building a collection of Gospel definitions. See here. This will be a valuable resource for our Romans Project at church given the centrality of the Gospel in Romans.
For our church family, recall that when Paul wrote Romans he sought to address a wide range of issues through the Gospel. Paul knew that the Gospel is the fundamental solution for all of life.
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When Paul wrote Romans, he was addressing a wide range of issues.
Romans is a missions support letter. Paul’s intent was to stop in Rome and to then continue on to Spain with the help of the church in Roman (Romans 15:24).
The church in Rome was facing a conflict between the majority Gentile Christians and the Jewish Christians. Throughout Romans, Paul seeks to show the proper resolution of this conflict.
As is always the case, he wrote to sinful people. He warned against those who are divisive (Romans 16:17 ff).
In Romans 16:20 he reminded his readers that Satan is real, but that we can trust God to crush him.
I begin preaching on Romans today. I have never looked forward to a series any more.
The theme of the Romans series at The Red Brick Church is that the Gospel is the most exciting news ever heard. Paul was not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the proclamation that anyone can be in right relationship with God and part of his people regardless of the mistakes they have made or whey they are from.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”(Romans 1:16-17, ESV).”
This begs the question. “What is the Gospel?” I don’t want to presume that everyone knows what is meant by the word. Here is a brief explanation.
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The word “gospel” means “good news.” It is from the Greek word from which we get “evangelical.” This is what the word looks like in Greek: εὐαγγέλιον. Even if it’s all Greek to you, you can make out the outline of the word, “evangelical”
So, what is the “good news” referenced? In the Bible, the good news is that the Triune God is rescuing his people and his creation from their rebellion against him. Were there no rescue, the only expectation for eternity would be judgment. But, God is gracious and merciful (Ephesians 2:4ff). He sent his only begotten Son to die on the Cross for the sins of those who put their faith and trust in him (John 3:16, 36). One day soon (Revelation 22:12, 20), Jesus will return, and those who have truly believed will spend eternity with Christ on a New Earth (Revelation 21:3-5).” This is the Gospel or the Good News.
Be aware of the sobering truth that for those who reject Christ, the news is not good. They will go to hell regardless of whether or not their friends and neighbors considered them “nice people.” We are judged by God’s standard, not our friends and neighbors. All have sin and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).
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Our understanding of the Gospel must be based on what the Bible says. First Corinthians 15:1-8 is a good place to begin.
Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.(1 Co 15:1-8).”
In this passage, notice four aspects of the Gospel or Good News:
1. The Gospel was Planned. Paul said that Christ died for our sins, “according to the Scriptures.” Before the foundation of the world, God knew how he would rescue His people and His Creation from sin and destruction. Indeed, Isaiah talks about the good news of Christ 700 years prior to the time of Christ (Isaiah 52:7ff). After the resurrection, Jesus explained on the road to Emmaus how all the Scriptures pointed to his death burial and resurrection (Luke 24:27).
2. The Gospel is centered on the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. He was buried. He rose again. And, many people saw him, touched him, talked with him, and ate with him after his resurrection. These things really happened. They are the reality on which the Good News is based.
3. The Gospel proclaims that Christ paid the penalty for the sins of his people. I mentioned earlier that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. The only way that sinful people can justly spend eternity with God is if the penalty for their sin is paid. That’s why Paul stressed, “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.”
4. The Gospel requires that salvation must be received by saving faith. Notice Paul’s “if”:
. . . which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.
Paul’s point is that true faith will be accompanied by a changed life. If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation (1 Corinthians 3:16-17). As surely as God made little green apples from little green apple trees, his grace will result in Christ-like fruit in the life of a believer (Matthew 7:16).
If you say that you have faith in Jesus – - but, you haven’t been changed, then you may not have saving faith. See 1 John 2:3-4, James 2:14-26. Or, as I often stress at our church:
Works or conduct has nothing to do with salvation, but conduct does have something to do with assurance of salvation.
Quacking doesn’t make you a duck. But, ducks do quack. Acting like a Christian, doesn’t make you a Christian. But, Christians act like it.
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Many authors have summarized what Christians mean by the word, “gospel.” R.H. Mounce wrote:
The gospel is the joyous proclamation of God’s redemptive activity in Christ Jesus on behalf of man enslaved by sin.” R.H. Mounce. Evangelical Dictionary of Theology.
Before you criticize his spelling, know that it was in 1525, that William Tyndale penned:
Evangelion (that we call the gospell) is a Greek word; and signifieth good, merry, glad and joyful tidings, that maketh a man’s heart glad, and maketh him sing, dance, and leap for joy. William Tyndale, 1525, From The Prologue to the New Testament.”
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See also this post, what scares me most as a pastor in which I talk about the reality that there are some people who think they are Christians who are not. Or, read this post (click here) on assurance of salvation.
This is the most critical forgiveness question. Indeed, it is the most critical question, period. Nothing can be more important than knowing that God has forgiven your sins and that you will spend eternity in perfect fellowship with him and his people.
We must be careful that we do not falsely assume we are forgiven by God when, in fact, we are not. As I said in the introduction, Jesus taught that there are a group of people who have a false assurance of salvation. Similarly, James said that there is a kind of faith that is “dead” faith (James 2:14-16).
But don’t be discouraged. Even as the New Testament exhorts us to evaluate our salvation, it also teaches that there is a proper basis for assurance of salvation. You can be sure that you will not be one of the people who hears, “Depart from me, I never knew you.” Indeed, God wants his people to have assurance of eternal life. The entire book of 1 John in the New Testament outlines the proper basis for assurance of salvation.
I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.
~ 1 John 5:13 (emphasis added)
So, how can you be sure that are truly a Christian? You can evaluate whether you are forgiven by God by asking yourself three questions. Each of these three questions is of vital importance. Don’t ask yourself just one of them, but all three:
First, do you presently have faith in the Lord Jesus for salvation?
Do you presently trust in Christ, and him alone, for eternal life? You may be able to identify a time when you turned in faith to Christ. Looking back on that point when you put your faith and trust in Jesus ought to be a great blessing. But the more important question is, “Do you trust Jesus today for eternal life?” True, saving faith is not something that comes and goes. If we truly have faith, then we will continue to have faith (1 Corinthians 15:1-2, Colossians 1:23, Hebrews 3:14). Wayne Grudem writes:
Therefore a person should ask him or herself, “Do I have trust in Christ to forgive my sins and take me without blame into heaven forever? Do I have confidence in my heart that he has saved me? If I were to die tonight and stand before God’s judgment seat, and if he were to ask me why he should let me into heaven, would I begin to think of my good deeds and depend on them, or would I without hesitation say that I am depending on the merits of Christ and am confident that he is a sufficient Savior?”
This emphasis on present faith in Christ stands in contrast to the practice of some church “testimonies” where people repeatedly recite details of a conversion experience that may have happened 20 or 30 years ago. If a testimony of saving faith is genuine, it should be a testimony of faith that is active this very day.[1]
Second, does the Holy Spirit testify with your spirit that you are a Christian?
The Bible says in Romans 8:16:
The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.
~ Romans 8:16
If you are truly a Christian, then the Holy Spirit will give you an inner confidence that you know Christ.
This question is the most difficult to answer. You could drive yourself crazy asking, “Is that the Spirit testifying with my spirit? Do I truly have a sense of the presence of Christ in my life?”
Yet if you are a Christian, then the Bible says that God has poured out his love into your heart (Romans 5:5). Douglas Moo wrote:
The confidence we have for the day of judgment is not based only on our intellectual recognition of the fact of God’s love, or even only on the demonstration of God’s love on the cross…but on the inner, subjective certainty that God does love us…and it is this internal, subjective, yes, even emotional, sensation within the believer that God does indeed love us—love expressed and made vital in real, concrete actions on our behalf—that gives to us the assurance that ‘hope will no disappoint us.[2]
If you are truly forgiven, then you are a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:16-17) and the Spirit will testify with your spirit.
Third, does my conduct give evidence that I am a Christian?
If you are truly a Christian, then you should act like it. John said,
And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
~ 1 John 2:3-4
Now, let us be clear. Acting like a Christian does not make you a Christian. However, true Christians do act like Christians. As I said in Chapter 10, Quacking doesn’t make you a duck, but ducks do quack. Holding pears in your hands does not make you a pear tree. But pear trees do hold pears. And acting like a Christian does not make you one. But Christians do act like Christians. “Even a child makes himself known by his acts, by whether his conduct is pure and upright” (Proverbs 20:11).
Whatever you profess to believe, and whatever experience of God you may think you have had, if your conduct is not honoring to Christ, then you should question your salvation. Let’s say you profess to be a Christian, yet you are content to live your life with no consistent local church involvement. Let’s say you are unwilling to identify with Christ in believer’s baptism, or perhaps you persist in habitual sin. If these things characterize you, then you should seriously, seriously question whether you are truly forgiven by God.
So, in order to evaluate whether or not you are truly a Christian, ask yourself those three questions:
(1) Do I have present faith in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation?
(2) Does the Holy Spirit testify with my spirit than I am a Christian?
(3) Is there evidence in my life that I am different because of my faith?
Now, perhaps at this point, you may be saying, “Well, I’ve tried to evaluate myself in each of those three areas, and yet I’m still unsure. What do I do next?”
First, I would encourage you to talk with someone who is a mature, Bible-believing Christian. Beyond that, the best thing you can do if you are unsure about your salvation is get busy living the Christian life. Don’t sit around thinking yourself in circles. Get involved in a Christ-centered, Bible-believing church. Start reading the Bible. Pray consistently. Ask God to give you confidence in your salvation. Take Jesus’ yoke upon you and learn from him.[3]
[2] Douglas Moo, Romans 1-8, ed. Kenneth Barker, The Wycliffe Exegetical Commentary (Chicago: Moody, 1991), 312-313.
[3] Jonathan Edwards said, “And although self-examination be a duty of great use and importance, and by no means to be neglected, yet it is not the principal means by which the saints do get satisfaction of their good estate. Assurance of salvation is not to be obtained so much by self-examination as by action.” Jonathan Edwards, The Religious Affections (Carlisle, PA: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1746; reprint, 1997), 123, emphasis his.
“You can be sure of one thing though: When you set yourself to pursue holiness, you will begin to realize what an awful sinner you are. And if you are not firmly rooted in the gospel and have not learned to preach it to yourself every day, you will soon become discouraged and will slack of in your pursuit of holiness (Bridges, 60).”
So, how can we become more firmly rooted in the Gospel? You could do no better than to meditate on Titus 3:3-7. It is one of the richest summaries of the doctrine of salvation. Notice how many doctrines Paul references in these verses.
3 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.
Lostness / Total Depravity. Sin has destroyed the relationship with God that every man and woman needs. All are born in sin: spiritually dead.
4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared,
Mercy. Salvation is at the initiative of God. Jesus came into history and became humanity, see 5b.
5 he saved us,
God saves. He delivers sinners from being objects of His anger and eternal punishment.
not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy,
Grace. Salvation has nothing to do with our righteousness, works, conduct or what we earn. Salvation is based on grace (see v. 7 below), God’s unmerited favor. Grace is the overarching terms that includes all that God offers freely in Christ to save the lost.
by the washing of regeneration
Regeneration is God’s changing of believers when they are saved so they are completely made new and have new direction for their lives.
and renewal of the Holy Spirit,
Sanctification is God’s setting apart of believers and the Holy Spirit working in their lives so that their lives reflect that they are justified.
6 whom he poured out on us richly
Pentecost was the very important day that the Holy Spirit was poured out on believers. All believers are baptized in the Holy Spirit. Baptism in the Holy Spirit is not presented as a second work of the Holy Spirit that happens at some point after salvation.
through Jesus Christ our Savior,
Atonement is the work which is needed to reconcile sinners to God. Christians can have a relationship with God the Father because Jesus paid the penalty for their sins.
7 so that being justified by his grace
Justification is God’s declaration that believers are from that time on righteous and no longer guilty of their sins.
we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Hope is the certain expectation for every believer that Jesus will one day return and that we will spend eternity with him where there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain. We will share with Him in the great adventure that will never end, in which every chapter is better than the one before.
I have shared previously (see here) that while many evangelicals are unaware of the discussion taking place regarding the New Perspective on Paul, it does have major implications for the Church.
It may help to understand the intensity and foundational nature of the debate if you read N.T. Wright’s strong criticism of the NIV:
I do not know what version of Scripture they use at Dr. Piper’s church. But I do know that if a church only, or mainly, relies on the NIV it will, quite simply, never understand what Paul was talking about . . . This is a large claim, and I have made it good, line by line, in relation to Romans in my big commentary, which prints the NIV and the NRSV and then comments on the Greek in relation to both of them. (Justification, page 52).
Is that not an amazingly strong statement by Wright? Churches that mainly use the NIV will never understand what Paul was talking about.
My point here is not to dismiss Wright’s argument because he is a harsh critic of a major translation. Indeed, the reason I am studying Wright so carefully is because I think this is a discussion that deserves attention. My intent with this post is to allow people to see the seriousness of the discussion regarding our understanding of Paul.
Piper has also gone on record regarding concerns about the NIV and he is a vocal advocate of the ESV, see here.
For the record, I also have concerns about the NIV – - see for instance this post. The nature of the NIV’s approach to translation does leave it more vulnerable to a criticism like Wright’s. But, I am long ways from stating that churches that use the NIV don’t understand Paul.
At a minimum – - be aware that there is a major discussion taking place today in the church about the doctrine of justification. The parties include those who defend a traditional reformed understanding of the doctrine of salvation and others who espouse what is often called the New Perspective on Paul.
One of the decisions I have made with my blog over time is to target the people in my church. I avoid getting into doctrinal discussions that are unnecessarily esoteric or difficult to follow. Of course, I am not a pastor who believes we should preach “down” to our people. And, I do believe that people in our churches need to be aware of significant doctrinal developments.
So, for those willing to stretch their thinking, go over to Mike Wittmer’s blog and read his post on N.T. Wright’s latest book (Click here).
Again, be aware that there is a major discussion underway in the Evangelical church about the doctrine of justification. Since the Reformation, the Protestant definition of “justification” has been a legal declaration by God that those who believe are righteous. But, N.T. Wright and others are calling into question the Reformer’s understanding of the doctrine of justification. Which leads Wittmer to ask, “If someone adopts a different doctrinal understanding . . . should they still consider themselves Protestant?”
This is arguably the most important doctrinal discussion taking place right now in the English speaking world. (Agreed?)
I would acknowledge that I have not studied this enough to write with real clarity about it. I welcome comments from those who will help others understand more clearly the nature of the debate.
“. . . Chris Brauns has done a magnificent job in helping us understand the true nature of biblical forgiveness. Every Christian will profit from reading and applying this book.” Jerry Bridges.
“ . . . Unpacking Forgiveness is an engaging, convicting but emphatically encouraging treatment of this hugely important (and sometimes mindbogglingly challenging) part of life. Dr. Brauns writes from the standpoint of a faithful, wise, experienced and caring pastor . . .” Ligon Duncan, First Pres, Jackson, MS
, I address common forgiveness questions such as:
