- Nov 4, 2016
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One of the most important things to grasp about salvation is how to KNOW that we have it .. how we LEARN that we have it.
In Psychology, there is a process for learning everything that we know. It is called the "stimulus-feedback loop." It works this way: we receive through our senses a stimulus .. we respond to the stimulus believing that we know what we are doing .. we receive feedback that either confirms our belief or contradicts our thinking about the stimulus.
So apply that to the gospel of Jesus Christ. The stimulus is the gospel .. if we believe it (Acts 2:37), we are to respond with repentance (Acts 2:38) to the Source of the stimulus, God, as He commands .. if we have responded properly (Ro 10:9-10), the feedback is that He takes away our sin guilt by "the washing of regeneration," His Holy Spirit comes in and "renews our spirit" (Titus 3:5) and we have "joy unspeakable and full of glory, Receiving the end of our faith, the salvation of our soul." (1Pet 1:8-9). The result of the validated belief is faith .. trust in God.
Let's suppose, though, that we receive the stimulus and simply believe it is true (as most Christian theologies teach). We have only believed what God says. We have not "bought into" it unless we have obeyed Him in what He says, right? As Peter told Simon Magus who "believed and was baptized," Acts 8:13, "You have neither part nor lot in this matter: for your heart [soul] is not right in the sight of God." (8:21).
So have we just found Calvinists, Arminians, and their traditions wanting of salvation? I'd say, "Yes." In fact, Calvinism was exposed in this by the Arminians who reasoned that if one only believed in order to be saved, he/she could turn around tomorrow and lose their salvation by not believing. The fact is that (and this is biblical doctrine) FAITH = knowledge + belief + application (repentance in the case of salvation).
I am on a quest these past few years to be sure that no one misunderstands the gospel and what obeying the gospel looks like. If you know it but don't receive it, it is like seed sown by the wayside .. pretty soon you will take it for granted without ever receiving it.
skypair
In Psychology, there is a process for learning everything that we know. It is called the "stimulus-feedback loop." It works this way: we receive through our senses a stimulus .. we respond to the stimulus believing that we know what we are doing .. we receive feedback that either confirms our belief or contradicts our thinking about the stimulus.
So apply that to the gospel of Jesus Christ. The stimulus is the gospel .. if we believe it (Acts 2:37), we are to respond with repentance (Acts 2:38) to the Source of the stimulus, God, as He commands .. if we have responded properly (Ro 10:9-10), the feedback is that He takes away our sin guilt by "the washing of regeneration," His Holy Spirit comes in and "renews our spirit" (Titus 3:5) and we have "joy unspeakable and full of glory, Receiving the end of our faith, the salvation of our soul." (1Pet 1:8-9). The result of the validated belief is faith .. trust in God.
Let's suppose, though, that we receive the stimulus and simply believe it is true (as most Christian theologies teach). We have only believed what God says. We have not "bought into" it unless we have obeyed Him in what He says, right? As Peter told Simon Magus who "believed and was baptized," Acts 8:13, "You have neither part nor lot in this matter: for your heart [soul] is not right in the sight of God." (8:21).
So have we just found Calvinists, Arminians, and their traditions wanting of salvation? I'd say, "Yes." In fact, Calvinism was exposed in this by the Arminians who reasoned that if one only believed in order to be saved, he/she could turn around tomorrow and lose their salvation by not believing. The fact is that (and this is biblical doctrine) FAITH = knowledge + belief + application (repentance in the case of salvation).
I am on a quest these past few years to be sure that no one misunderstands the gospel and what obeying the gospel looks like. If you know it but don't receive it, it is like seed sown by the wayside .. pretty soon you will take it for granted without ever receiving it.
skypair
