"...if anyone makes the assistance of grace depend on the humility or obedience of man and does not agree that it is a gift of grace itself that we are obedient and humble, he contradicts the Apostle who says, "What have you that you did not receive?" (1 Cor. 4:7), and, "But by the grace of God I am what I am" (1 Cor. 15:10). (Council of Orange: Canon 6)
We are a community of confessing believers who love the gospel of Jesus Christ, affirm the Biblical and Christ-exalting truths of the Reformation such as the five solas, the doctrines of grace, monergistic regeneration, and the redemptive historical approach to interpreting the Scriptures.
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Without election no one would be saved. But election is not what saves. By it God determines who will be saved in Christ, in time, through the gospel, by the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit. Evangelism casts the seed of the gospel, which the Holy Spirit uses to germinate the elect unto life.
Comments
I think the parable of the soils illustrates how this works. It took two things for the soil to yield a harvest.
God decided which ground to prepare, to plow, to make ready (election). We often associate the effect of this with the Spirit preparing the elect to be receptive to the Gospel.
God provides the seed (Gospel). We often associate this activity with the Son (who came down from Heaven and revealed the Gospel to His messengers) and subsequent messengers who tell what was received.
This is why we have to preach the Gospel. While the soil is made ready (election), it still needs to receive the seed (Gospel) to yield a harvest. Jesus promises that every soil prepared will receive seed.
Posted by: M Russell | August 24, 2011 01:26 PM