Eternally Safe & Secure in Christ: Calvinism vs. Dispensationalism

 Both Calvinists and Dispensationalists believe that the Christian is eternally secure in Christ. As Jesus had declared, “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:28). However, these two groups have different understandings of Biblical faith, and which kind of faith is associated with our security in Christ. Pastor and dispensational theologian Charles Stanley believes that a saving faith might not be one that endures:

• The Bible clearly teaches that God’s love for His people is of such magnitude that even those who walk away from the faith have not the slightest chance of slipping from His hand. (Eternal Security, 74)

Both groups agree that “God’s love for His people is of such magnitude” that He will keep those who are His. However, the Calvinist would deny that “those who walk away from the faith” completely were ever His, that they were ever in “His hand.”

Stanley clearly believes that even the “believer” who becomes an unbeliever remains in Christ:

• Even if a believer for all practical purposes becomes an unbeliever, his salvation is not in jeopardy. Christ will remain faithful. (93)

Of course, “Christ will remain faithful,” but to whom? Will He remain faithful to someone who had merely a passing “faith?” Or is the real faith – the Biblical gift of faith – one that will endure, however battered it might be? According to Stanley, saving faith need not endure.

Stanley compares the human institution of marriage to our marriage with God. He reasons that because we can be married to our wife without acting as if we are married, we can also be married to God in this unfaithful manner:

• Just as there are married people who act as if they are not, so there are Christians who show no evidence of their Christianity as well. But that does not change their eternal status, any more than a lost man can change his eternal destiny by acting saved. (71)

However, does a mere marriage certificate – think church baptism, membership and signing a statement faith – reflect a Biblical marriage to God, a real connection to Him, and the Biblical gift of faith? In contrast to Stanley, Jesus taught that the water (faith) that He gives would cause the recipient to “never thirst” again:

• Jesus answered [the Samaritan woman at the well], "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (John 4:13-14; 6:50-51)

However, Stanley’s position suggests that the “believer” who rejects the faith will thirst, now lacking any fellowship with Christ.

As a result of believing, we become “children of the light,” according to Jesus:

• Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light." (John 12:36)

However, those who have rejected the faith cannot be called “sons of light,” since they no longer walk in the light. Instead, their fruit identify them as sons of the darkness (Mat. 7:15-20).

A true faith bears fruit (James 2:18).  A faith profession alone does not make us a child of God. A life that is characterized by the willful practice of sin cannot possess saving faith. Although our good deeds do not save us, a real faith should give rise to good deeds. If it only gives rise to evil, the evildoer should be warned against having a confidence of salvation:

• Then I [Jesus] will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' (Matthew 7:23)

According to Jesus, these “evildoers” are not His children. Neither should they be affirmed as such, as Stanley might do.  Of course, Christians struggle against sin daily, often succumbing to its allures and deceptiveness. However, we have the assurance that if we honestly confess our sins, God will forgive and fully cleanse us from the effects of the sin (1 John 1:8-9). However, Stanley’s theology would admit that we can live like the devil – and not confess our sins – and be a child of God. However, this contradicts so much of what we read in Scripture. Jesus gave us a picture of what His sheep look like:

• “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.” (John 10:27-28)

• When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him [Jesus] because they know his voice. (John 10:4)

While Jesus claimed that His sheep follow Him, Stanley claims that this isn’t necessary. This insistence simply contradicts so much of what Jesus taught:

• Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. (Matthew 16:24)

Self-denial was more than just a suggestion. It was a requirement. Jesus taught us that our “righteousness” must surpass that of the scribes and Pharisees (Mat. 5:20) and then provided a picture of what this should look like. Jesus also claimed that if we live like the devil, we should not expect eternal life (Mat. 25:46). He also warned that those whose practice had been evil “will rise to be condemned” (John 5:29). Friendship with Him was characterized by doing “what I command” (John 15:14). Meanwhile, those who bore no fruit would be removed from where they thought they stood (John 15:2).

The Book of Hebrews also insists upon an obedient life:

• Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. (Hebrews 12:14)

Although our personal holiness does not save, it’s something that must accompany faith, if it is a true faith. However, Stanley denies that faith must give rise to some degree of obedience or discipleship.

There are many Scriptural warnings that we cannot live in any manner we wish.

• If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. (Hebrews 10:26-27)

While Stanley claims that we can “deliberately keep on sinning” and expect to go to heaven, this hope is contrary to Scripture. Clearly a real faith will not continue in this manner. Hebrews assures us that if we are His, we will not do so:

• But we are not of those who shrink back [from following Jesus] and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved. (Hebrews 10:39)

Likewise, we are warned that if we entirely fall away from the faith, there can be no restoration:

• It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. (Hebrews 6:4-6)

Falling away from Christ means falling away from salvation. However, once again, the writer of Hebrews assures us that this cannot happen:

• Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are confident of better things in your case--things that accompany salvation. (Hebrews 6:9)

What accompanies salvation? The fact that we will never completely turn away from our Savior! However, Stanley claims that we can do so and still be saved, despite that warning that those falling away cannot be restored.

There are many other such warnings in Scripture, which equate falling away from Christ with losing salvation (1 Cor. 6:9-11; Gal. 5:19-24). However, these same warning-verses give us the assurance that we will not fall away.

In fact, God will not allow us to fall away! First John teaches us that we will not continue practicing sin because we have His seed within us (1 John 3:9; 5:18).  John also provides ways we can reassure ourselves that we have saving faith:

• The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. (1 John 2:4)

John provides many tests to reassure the brethren that they have Christ. If those who professed Christ didn’t follow the commands of Christ, they didn’t have Christ, contrary to Stanley’s insistence. Truly, if we trust Christ, we will do what He tells us to do. If our doctor tells us to take the pills he has given us and we refuse them, it probably means that we don’t trust him.

John claims that those who had been part of the church and confessed Christ but then denied Him were really never of Him (1 John 2:19; Mat. 7:23). If they had been of Him, they would have stayed with Him. However, Stanley insists that we can be saved even if we reject Christ entirely.

John also claims that:

• We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us [the Apostles and their writings]; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood. (1 John 4:6)

If we reject the Apostolic writings – the New Testament – this is a sign of the “spirit of falsehood,” that the individual is not “from God.” However, Stanley must insist that we can subsequently reject the entire Bible and still be “from God.”

There are many verses that tell us explicitly that a true faith is one which endures. Jesus warned His disciples that they had to continue to have faith:

• All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. (Matthew 10:22)

In contrast, Stanley claims that we need not endure to the end. Old-line dispensationalists claim that this requirement constitutes a meritorious work and not grace, and it therefore imperils the central Gospel message that we are saved by grace apart from any works of the law. However, this danger is sidestepped once we realize that it is God – and not we - who guarantees that we will continue in faith (1 Peter 1:5; Phil. 1:6). Our Lord doesn’t simply give us the gift of faith and then leaves it untended. Our salvation is not guaranteed by simply a one-time giving of faith, but also by a God who nurtures us throughout our lives. The gift isn’t limited to a single moment in time, but represents a beachhead where our God has secured control.

Paul also wrote that a real faith is one that endures to the end:

• But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation-- if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. (Col. 1:22-23)

If we don’t “continue in…faith,” it means that we had never been reconciled. However, there is still hope for those who made a profession and didn’t continue. Any who confess their sins will be forgiven and cleansed (1 John 1:9-10).

The Book of Hebrews issues the same warning as Paul:

• But Christ is faithful as a son over God's house. And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast…We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first. (Hebrews 3:6, 14)

If we don’t “hold firmly till the end,” it means that we had never trusted and shared in Christ. Because He works all things for good for His children (Rom. 8:28), this would preclude any possibility of disowning the faith. If we deny Christ, it means that He failed to work everything for good. This suggests that we were never His!

We cannot inherit the promise of eternal life if we fail to continue to follow Christ:

• We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience (Hebrews 6:11-12)

We need to persevere in the faith in order to “inherit what has been promised.” However, if our faith is real (and continually nurtured by the Spirit), we will continue to follow Him.

I fear that what I have been writing might be quite chilling. It might raise old fears that we don’t have enough faith or that we aren’t righteous enough. Therefore, I want to allay these fears. Actually, it is our God, who is so incredibly merciful, who wants to allay these fears. Even though Lot was living a highly compromised life in Sodom, He is divinely remembered as “righteous Lot” (2 Peter 2:7-8).

Peter had denied Jesus – and Jesus had warned that those who deny Him, He would also deny – but Jesus returned to him with a special commission to “feed my sheep.”

Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had all been spiritual failures for most of their lives. Yet their God never abandoned them. However, these weren’t people who had rejected their God as Stanley claims that we can do without loosing our salvation.

Our faith can be of the smallest size (Luke 17:6) and yet still be divinely regarded as great faith. Israel was a perfect example of this. Moments before passing through the Red Sea by faith, they had been rebelling against Moses and God. And yet they are examples of faith (Hebrews 11:29). We see the same with Moses (11:27) and Sarah (11:11). They had greatly feared and yet our God remembers them as fearless – people of faith.

I appreciate Charles Stanley’s emphasis on the assurance that comes from knowing that faith and salvation are free gifts. However, I think that we need to understand our free gift as one that will continue in faithfulness.

Salvation: Is Repentance Necessary?

Our response to God is a hot issue and will continue to be so. Just recently, Alan Chambers, president of Exodus International, a ministry to help gays leave the gay lifestyle, inadvertently raised the issue of the necessity of repentance for salvation. He claimed that unrepentant gays are fellow brothers in Christ and will therefore go to heaven:

• Is there condemnation for those who are in Christ? There is not! There are people out there living a gay Christian life, an active Christian life. God is the one who called them and has their heart and they are in relationship with Him. And do I believe they will be in heaven with me? I do!

This statement affirms that forgiveness and salvation – and they are inseparable – do not require repentance, but simply a profession of faith. However, this raises an important question: “Is a faith that lacks a willingness to repent truly a saving faith?”

It seems that faith includes the idea of repentance. Here is one type of evidence in support of this. We find that the two terms are often used interchangeably. In His final commission to His Apostles, Jesus instructed them to preach “repentance”:

·        And repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. (Luke 24:47)

Although virtually all Christians acknowledge that faith is necessary for salvation – and Jesus is clearly preaching salvation in this context – it is curious that Jesus made no mention of faith, something He often did (John 3:16; 5:24; 6:29; 8:24). However, this problem is easily resolved if we understand that preaching repentance is virtually the same as preaching faith.

In the Hebrew Bible, we often find admonitions to “turn to God.” They also entail a turning from sin. There is no conflict here because only one “turn” is viewed. This is because when we turn to God, we turn from sin – our old lives – at the same time:

·        "Therefore, O house of Israel, I will judge you, each one according to his ways, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, O house of Israel? For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!” (Ezekiel 18:30-32)

Certainly, this repenting, this turning from sin, also represents a turning to God. Clearly, there can be no salvation without a turning to God, a trusting in Him.

We find a call to salvation with “repent” as the requirement in many places. Peter called for repentance without mentioning faith:

·        "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38)

·        “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you--even Jesus.” (Acts 3:19-20)

Is repentance a substitute for faith, a second requirement? It couldn’t be! According to dispensational theologian Lewis Sperry Chafer, there are approximately 150 New Testament verses stipulating faith (or belief) alone as our necessary response to the offer of salvation. Why then no mention of repentance? Simply because faith includes repentance! However, Chafer denies this association:

• Scripture is violated and the whole doctrine of grace confused when salvation is made to depend on anything other than believing. The divine message is not “believe and pray”…”believe and repent”…If they were as essential to salvation as believing they would never be omitted from any passage wherein the way to be saved is stated. (Major Bible Themes, 187).

However, Chafer doesn’t entertain the possibility that turning to God in faith might also necessarily involve the turning away from sin – repentance. Why else would the NT preach repentance without a mention of faith!

Nevertheless, I appreciate Chafer’s desire to defend the purity of the Gospel – salvation by grace through faith alone. But what if repentance is just another aspect of faith? And perhaps we have understood repentance wrongly, regarding it as a meritorious work of obedience.

Repentance is not a good deed! In his defense before King Agrippa, Paul distinguishes repentance from the “deeds” of repentance:

• “First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and to the Gentiles also, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds.” (Acts 26:20)

As faith produces the fruit of deeds, so does repentance. It stands to reason that if we trust in Jesus, we’ll do as He tells us to do. If we refuse to do these things, then it is obvious that we don’t trust in Him. Likewise, Paul points out that repentance – a change of heart about sin - produces deeds. However, it is distinct from deeds as faith is also distinct.

The union between faith and repentance can be noted in another way. Both are given as gifts. Paul claimed that both faith and salvation are free gifts from God:

• For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephes. 2:8-9; also see Rom. 12:3; Phil. 1:29; Acts; 13:48; 16:14; 18:27)

If we find that repentance also is a gift, then there is no danger of considering it a meritorious deed, thereby undermining the purity of the Gospel. And this is just what we find:

• Those who oppose him he [the mature Christian] must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will. (2 Tim. 2:25-26; also see Acts 5:31; 11:18)

Nevertheless, many resist the idea that repentance is inseparable from faith – opposite sides of the same coin – and salvation. Dispensationalist theologian, Charles Ryrie, asks the rhetorical question:

• Does one have to make Christ Lord of his life [or be repentant] or be willing to do so in order to be saved? (Basic Theology, 390)

This is just another way of asking, “Is repentance from sin necessary for salvation?” For Ryrie, the answer is “no!” He then contrasts his position with those of Arthur Pink:

• “No one can receive Christ as his Savior, while he rejects Him as Lord!”

And James Boice:

• “Is faith minus commitment a true biblical faith?”…“No!”

Against these two theologians, Ryrie argues that “The Bible furnishes some clear examples of people who were saved but who lacked commitment” – repentance. He then cites the example of “righteous” Lot:

• And if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)—(2 Peter 2:7-8)

To support his case, Ryrie argues that Lot was uncommitted and unrepentant. Although it is true that Lot had compromised himself by living in Sodom, it is quite a stretch to conclude that he was entirely uncommitted and unrepentant.

Ryrie also argues that Jesus never required commitment and repentance from the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:10). However, there was a lot He didn’t tell her about Himself. This doesn’t mean that the Trinity or the Cross weren’t essential truths. Besides, we can argue that His insistence that the Father be “worshipped in Spirit and in truth” (John 4:23-24) also entailed repentance.

There are many verses that can be cited against Ryrie’s salvation-without-commitment- and-repentance:

·             The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. (1 John 2:4)

·             You are my friends if you do what I command. (John 15:14)

·             He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. (John 15:2)

·             "Then they [who didn’t visit me in prison] will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." (Matthew 25:46)

·             Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. (Hebrews 12:14)

The writer of Hebrews uses the negative example of the “profane person” Esau to illustrate the nature of holiness. He sought God’s blessing “diligently with tears.” However, “he was rejected” by God because he lacked that one essential element – repentance (Heb. 12:17). Salvation requires holiness, and holiness requires repentance!

In addition to this, there are many verses that explicitly cite repentance as a necessary condition for salvation. In consecrating the Jerusalem Temple, King Solomon specified repentance as a condition for forgiveness and restoration:

• "When your people Israel have been defeated by an enemy because they have sinned against you, and when they turn back to you and confess your name, praying and making supplication to you in this temple, then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and bring them back to the land you gave to their fathers.” (1 Kings 8:33-34; also see Jer. 24:7; Ezek. 18:30-32; Mal 3:7; Isaiah 1:27; 59:20)

There are also many NT verses that cite repentance as a requirement of salvation. In his final meeting with the Ephesian elders, Paul asserted that turning to God in faith entailed repentance:

• I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus. (Acts 20:21)

Even more explicitly, Paul stated:

• Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. (2 Cor. 7:10)

Paul makes no mention here of “faith,” because repentance – a requirement of salvation – is inseparable from faith. Peter clearly believed the same way. Simon the magician demonstrated that he lacked faith by thinking that he could purchase the gift of God. Peter therefore warned:

• Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. (Acts 8:22)

In the Book of Revelation, Jesus informs five churches that that they must repent if they are to be saved. For instance, He promises the church at Laodicea:

• Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. (Rev. 3:19-20; also see Rev. 2:5; 16; 22; 3:3)

They were naked and Jesus told them how they could obtain “white garments” of salvation by means of repentance. Salvation was the issue. There can be little doubt of this. The church at Sardis had been encouraged that if they did repent, “I will never blot out his name from the book of life” (Rev. 3:5).

Telling people that they need not repent in order to be saved might be comforting, but it is a false and temporary comfort. Jesus warns the church at Ephesus that if they didn’t repent, He would remove their lampstand. However, if they did repent, they would “eat at the tree of life” (Rev. 2:7). This should be foremost in our thinking.

We shouldn’t underestimate the force of the temptation that Alan Chambers experienced. It is just too easy to overlook the need to repent when others insist that you regard them as brethren in Christ, and then treat you like a hero after you compromise.

I don’t Feel the Need for God, so I Need not Seek

Often we encounter people who tell us:

• My life is just fine. I feel no need for God.

We Christians tend to respond, “Well, perhaps someday you won’t feel fine. So just remember that there is a God who loves you.” However, this response inadvertently reinforces this errant worldview. In essence, it says, “Your feelings are what matters. They determine what is ‘true’ for you. So, if you don’t feel the need for God, no one can blame you for that.”

Instead, our responsibility to seek God is not only about what we feel; it’s also a matter of what God feels. Paul had informed the Athenians on Mars Hill about God’s feelings in this matter:

• In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead." (Acts 17:30-31)

It wasn’t a matter of whether the Athenians felt like repenting. Instead, God required them all to repent.

For the Athenians, the big question was, “Before which god(s) do I repent?” I think that this question is still relevant today, although the list of possible god-candidates has changed. Today in the West, the main contender against the monotheistic God is an impersonal naturalistic god – a force like gravity, which physicist Stephen Hawking had surmised could create all else.

Paul challenged the Athenians to look at the evidence. He reasoned from the first cause:

• "Therefore since we are God's offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone--an image made by man's design and skill.” (Acts 17:29)

In all of our dealings with causation, the cause(s) is always greater than the effect. (An effect that lacks an adequate cause is, in some ways, uncaused – a bane to all science and reason!) Therefore, God has to be greater than man. He couldn’t be a mere carved object or impersonal force. He had to be greater than what He had created. The Athenians seemed to have no problem with this reasoning.

Paul then challenged them to explore the evidence for the resurrection. Of course, the Athenians had not seen the resurrection, but there existed much testimonial evidence. In effect, Paul was asking them to sit as jurors and evaluate the witnesses and their testimonies – testimonies we still have today.

Paul put forth these arguments, assuming that repenting and coming to God didn’t have to be feelings-based; it could also be reason-based, (although no one will receive either the feelings or the argumentation if their minds are closed.)

Humanity has a responsibility to use their minds and to seek explanations for their origin and purpose in life. One woman confided to me about her weighty and gladly-accepted obligation to take care of her parents. I explained that if she was willing to acknowledge her responsibility toward her parents, shouldn’t she also recognize her responsibility toward the Parent – God - of her parents (and of herself)? It is like receiving an expensive gift in the mail and refusing to open the card to see from whom it came, as if this would negate any moral obligation. This is moral irresponsibility.

She responded, “How do I know that there is a God?” I retorted that she had a responsibility to find this out by opening the card.

“Well, I’m quite satisfied with the explanation of evolution,” she replied. As gently as I possibly could, I asked her if evolution could explain the origin of the universe, its incredible fine-tuning, the laws of nature, DNA, the cell, life, consciousness, and moral truth. She admitted that evolution couldn’t even begin to explain these. I therefore returned to my original challenge:

• Well, don’t you think you need to explore these issues? If there is a God who has created you and given you everything that you’ve needed for life, don’t you think that you at least have the responsibility to seek to find out whether or not this God exists and what your obligations to this God might be?

We are morally bound to open the card that came along with the priceless gift. Sometimes, we are challenged with a variant:

• I have no interest in God whatsoever. I don’t feel drawn. I guess I’m just not one of the elect, the chosen of God.

This is a red-herring argument to lead us away from the true scent. Despite this man’s desires, God calls “all people everywhere to repent,” as Paul claimed. Whatever our feelings might be, we all know God (Romans 1:18-32; 2:14-15) and therefore are without excuse. Lovingly and patiently, we need to remind people that they are “without excuse” and must seek after God.

Paul told that Athenians that the true God is within their reach:

• “From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. [Today, such a statement is highly controversial, but evidently not for the Athenians of Paul’s day.] God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 'For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.'” (Acts 17:26-28)

According to Paul, it was not just the elect who had the responsibility to “seek him.” We all have this responsibility. And He is available! He is “not far from each one of us!”

If we all have the knowledge and faculties to seek Him, why don’t we find Him? Clearly, it is not because God has withheld the emotional and intellectual software from certain individuals. Rather, it is we who have freely rejected the light (John 3:19-20). If this is the case, then it is important that we recognize our culpability instead of blaming God, who has revealed Himself to all.

However, some might understandably protest:

• Your Bible claims that only those whom God chooses will actually come to Him and be saved. How then can God regard me as guilty!

However, we are all invited to God’s banquet (Rev. 22:17; Isaiah 55:7), but we willingly reject the invitation (Romans 3:10-18). His invitation interferes with our own agenda and interests.

In the face of this rejection, the Host then directed that others be induced to come:

• "Then the master told his servant, 'Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them [“the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind” – Luke 14:21] come in, so that my house will be full. I tell you, not one of those men who were [initially] invited will get a taste of my banquet.' " (Luke 14:23-24)

The fact that this latter crowd was chosen to attend in a special and more coercive manner, doesn’t let those who had turned down the first invitation off the moral hook. The Host had not been remiss in any way regarding them. The fact that the latter group had received an extra nudge in no way negates the moral culpability of the first group. In fact, He was understandably angry with them.

We do no one any favors when we affirm that, if they have no desire for God, they have no obligation to seek Him. This might represent an unwillingness to hurt feelings, but this isn’t love. A true love will warn of the dangers and also point the way to the answer.

Grace might be far more Gracious than you had ever Imagined?

Although we yearn to fully embrace the promise of grace, many verses seem to throw a stumbling block in our way. For instance, Jesus warned the church at Thyatira:

• “I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.”(Rev. 2:23)

The prospect of being judged according to our “deeds” is reiterated throughout Scripture (Psalm 62:12; 2 Cor. 5:10). This is disturbing. It seems to suggest that we haven’t truly been separated and cleansed from our sins and will be judged according to them. Even if we are not to be judged according to our sins, the idea that we will be judged according to our “deeds” is still troubling. Perhaps this means that we might eternally grieve and regret our sins of omission.

It also creates theological problems. For one thing, it disrupts our assurance of oneness and unity in Christ, which is assured by the fact that we all share “one hope” or inheritance (Eph. 4:2-4; Romans 8:17; 1 Cor. 3:21-23 ). Perhaps even worse, it reintroduces, through the back door, a theological basis for boasting: “I have this greater position in heaven because of my good deeds!”

However, to this same Thyatiran church – and they had been promised that they would be judged by their “deeds” -  Jesus offers the hope of a joint reign with Him:

• “To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations--He will rule them with an iron scepter; he will dash them to pieces like pottery.” (Rev. 2:26-27)

Well then, what does it mean to “overcome?” How can we be certain that the blessings of the above verses also pertain to us? In the seven letters to the seven churches, promises of eternal life and heavenly blessing are promised to “him who overcomes.” What then are the conditions for this blessedness? For the two most faithful churches – Smyrna and Philadelphia – there was only one condition. They simply had to remain faithful.

For the five other churches, there was surprisingly only one condition. They had to repent; they had to swear-off their sins, and this would make them overcomers – co-heirs with Christ (Rom. 8:17). Yes, they would be judged by their deeds, but repentance was the deed (even if it is, before all else, a gift – 2 Tim. 2:24-26; Acts 5:31; 11:18) that would trump all the rest.

I know that this sounds too good to be true. So perhaps a Biblical example might be fitting. Job had made many false and unjust accusations against his God. The prophetic Elihu confronted Job with his rash words (Job 33:8-12; 34:5-6). Following this, God reiterated the same charges against Job (Job 38:1-3; 40:8). Although, Job didn’t curse God and die, as his wife had suggested, Job had been majoring in accusations against the Divine (Job 9:21-24; 27:2-6; 16:12-17).

However, Job repented (Job 40:4-5; 42:3-6), and this was followed by one of the most incredible verses in Scripture:

• After the Lord had said these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, "I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has. So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly. You have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has." (Job 42:7-8)

Job’s three friends had hurled no railing accusations against God, as had Job, but Job had repented, and that made all the difference in the world. Everything he had charged, prior to this, had been forgotten and forgiven. Only one word remained: “Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes" (Job 42:6). Nothing further was needed!

We will all appear before the judgment seat of the Lord to receive according to our deeds, but we will already have been transformed into His likeness:

• Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. (1 John 3:2)

We will be standing before the judgment seat safe-and-sound in the glory of our Savior:

• For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words. (1 Thes. 4:17-18)

Only this remains for us to do – to repent of all of our sins!

The Justice of God: A Defense

The Bible is unequivocal that God is always just. However, numerous verses are cited to dispute this claim. For instance, one atheist blogger has collected many such verses. Here’s one of them:

• God will prevent people from hearing and understanding "lest they ... convert and be healed." [It then cites Isaiah 6:10] “Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed."

It sounds as if God has hardened the hearts of innocent people, people who really want the truth, preventing them from finding salvation. If this is the case, then it would appear that God is not just.

However, I think that if we are sensitive to the context, we will understand God’s judgment in a different way. Isaiah 29 presents the almost identical message:

• Be stunned and amazed, blind yourselves and be sightless; be drunk, but not from wine, stagger, but not from beer. The Lord has brought over you a deep sleep: He has sealed your eyes (the prophets); he has covered your heads (the seers). (Isaiah 29:9-10)

In this context, it becomes clear that God hadn’t passed judgment on the innocent seekers:

• The Lord says: "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men. Therefore once more I will astound these people with wonder upon wonder; the wisdom of the wise will perish, the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish." (Isaiah 29:13-14)

It appears that God’s judgment is against those whose “hearts are far from me,” and not the innocent. This now brings us to another question. How will the “intelligence of the intelligent will vanish?” Will God accomplish this hardening of heart and mind proactively or passively by merely letting people go their own way to reap the natural consequences of their rejection of God?

Paul tackles this question, claiming that God merely allows us to have the desires of our heart:

• For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. (Romans 1:21-24)

Is there anything unjust about allowing us to go our own freely chosen way? Must God endlessly endure rejection? Shouldn’t there be appropriate consequences for sin? And it seems that allowing people to have their own way is the most appropriate consequence.

The atheist blogger also claims that:

• “God will cause us to believe lies so that he can damn our souls to hell.” [He then cites Second Thess. 2:11-12] “And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”

Again, we have to ask whether these people sought the “strong delusion” to substitute for the truth about God. Conveniently, the atheist blogger left out the preceding verse:

• They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. (2 Thes. 2:10)

These weren’t innocent people but rather those who wanted the “strong delusion.” And they got the very thing that they wanted. However, did God proactively send this “strong delusion” or did He merely allow His despisers to have the very thing that they wanted? I favor the latter, but perhaps this distinction is not significant. The important thing is that these folk received the very thing that they wanted.

However, the atheist will then protest that if God is love, then He should save everyone. The blogger derisively cites Romans 9:19:

• Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, [and he hardens whom he wants to harden.]

This, however, isn’t a question of justice. Justice requires that we receive what we deserve. However, we all deserve punishment (Romans 3:10-23; 6:23). Instead, it is a matter of mercy that God would save anyone. However, mercy, unlike justice, can be discriminate. For example, I can invite anyone I like to my party. My neighbor cannot accuse me of injustice if I fail to invite him. While justice is about fairness and equal treatment, mercy is about one’s free choice to use his resources in any way he pleases.

Consequently, we cannot fault God for not saving everyone. It’s completely His choice. It’s not a violation of any principle of justice.

Marital Impediments to Forgiving, Loving and Cherishing

Only Christ can give us the resources we need to break through denial to restore our relationships. Let me try to demonstrate this with the example of marriage. Although marriage can be perplexing, frustrating, and deeply troubling, according to the Bible, the answers are very clear-cut:

• Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. (Ephes. 4:31-32)

Interestingly, even secular therapists now agree with this prescription! However, this raises the question, “If it’s really so easy, why do we continue to have such problems with our mates?”

Clearly, there is resistance or impediments to implementing this clear prescription. For one thing, we really don’t want to implement it and are able to produce many reasons for this:

1. I’m not getting out of this relationship what I’m putting into it.
2. I’m not getting my 50%.
3. I’m doing all the changing. My mate will never change.
4. S[he] isn’t worth it!
5. I can do better elsewhere!

In short, we tell ourselves, “My mate is unworthy of me!” Of course, if we believe this way, it will be difficult to continue to love and cherish.

However, perhaps we are spiritually blind. Perhaps we are not seeing clearly. Perhaps we have a distorted view of our mate. Psychologist Aaron Beck claims that blindness is the substance of a troubled marriage:

•  “Typically each partner in a distressed marriage believes that he or she has made the most adjustments…[and] has given more to satisfy the mate’s needs than they have received.”, Love is never Enough, 77)

One revealing study separately asked husbands and wives, “What percent of the housework do you do?” Often, the husbands answered “50%,” while the wives answered “95%.” What a testimony to our inflated estimation of our contributions! How then can we resolve our problems if we can’t even agree on the facts!

The Bible agrees that blindness is typical:

• All a man's ways seem right to him, but the Lord weighs the heart. (Proverbs 21:2; 16:2; 20:6; 30:12)

If this is the case, then blindness is highly damaging to our relationships. It means that problem solving – working through disagreements – is almost impossible. Therefore, trying to correct our mate can become an obstacle course with live bullets. In fact, we tend to be so blind that, according to Jesus, we shouldn’t even attempt to correct someone else:

• "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,' when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.” (Luke 6:41-42)

We have inserted a plank into our eye, blinding ourselves to whom we really are – our faults and failures. In our denial and refusal to see our culpability, our spouse becomes the “bad guy” – the sole cause of our marital problems.

Our plank conveniently enables us to think that we are the “good one.” However, denial kills relationships. It creates distance and hopelessness. Nevertheless, there is hope. If we accept ourselves as we truly are – especially those ugly parts – we can begin to appreciate our mates.

A thought-experiment might help to illustrate this hope. Just imagine that you had been sentenced to a long prison term for child molestation. Consequently, all of your friends and associates abandoned you, except for your mate. Now imagine that you were going to be discharged early because of your terminal illness and your mate is glad to receive you back and to care for you. Would you now be willing to overlook all of the disappointments and frustrations of married life? Would you now fully forgive and cherish? A drop in our self-esteem can produce wonders. Our mate once again looks beautiful.

We are tragically blind about our unworthiness. We live in denial about our bad traits and inflate our good and have little appetite for the truth about ourselves. Instead, we have convinced ourselves that we are kings. Therefore, we will not be satisfied with anything less that a perfect Queen. However, after we have been disgraced, we become grateful for our less-than-perfect spouse. (I should mention that old thinking-patterns die slowly!)

However, facing the truth about ourselves is the last thing in the world we’d choose to do. Jesus claimed that we hate this light:

• This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. (John 3:19-20)

If we hate the light, it means that we can’t bear the truth about ourselves. No wonder problem-solving eludes us and self-acceptance is harder to attain than a trip to Jupiter. If we are in denial about ourselves and our contribution to our marital problems, then any attempt to force us to see will be met with great resistance.

What then is the cure? Simply Jesus! As we grow in Him and the assurance of His love and forgiveness, we can pass this along in our marriage. As we come to know His acceptance of us, we can begin to accept our mate. With our growing assurance, we can begin to let down our guards and confront the ugly truth about ourselves. We also have to always remember from where God has brought us so that we’d be grateful and faithful (Titus 3:3-8).

I am a recovering cave-dweller – a light-hater. However, as I’ve grown to tolerate, even to love the painful light – and this humbles me – I’ve also grown to be grateful for my wife. Consequently, I’m quicker to pass over irritations and disappointments and more ready to love and cherish.

I also try to regard myself as terminally ill – and I am - and, if not a child molester, as someone equally undeserving, who, in truth, I am. My wife may not be a queen. However, with each passing day, her crown becomes more apparent.