 |
| Buenos Aires: Waterfront Cities of the World |
At Northview Community Church this morning, the sermon was in regard to three signs of true Christian belief.
This was reasonably presented as:
Profession
Practice
Perseverance
As with this article and my website posts in general, these three points are non-exhaustive.
A person could state rightly that love and a concern for goodness, justice and truth are also signs of a legitimate, Biblical, Christian walk. One could state that a person needs to demonstrate good 'fruit'.
Galatians 5:22-23 New American Standard Bible (NASB) 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
Galatians 5:22-23 English Standard Version (ESV) 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
Galatians 5:22-23 King James Version (KJV) 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
But for the purposes of a sermon, less than one hour in length, the three 'p' 's sufficed.
Romans 10: 9-10 was referenced:
Romans 10:9-10 New American Standard Bible (NASB) 9 [a]that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, [b]resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, [c]resulting in salvation.
Romans 10:9 English Standard Version (ESV) 9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Romans 10:9 King James Version (KJV) 9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Biblical keys from this section that demonstrate true Christian belief for salvation, are therefore confession, belief in the Biblical, historical Jesus Christ (belief in the Biblical God and the atoning work of Christ, implied), belief in the resurrection of Christ.
The sermon touched upon the books of James and Hebrews. From James 2, the pastor correctly noted that demonic faith was not sufficient as demons cannot be saved. It is a trusting, faith-based belief, not a mere intellectual belief that saves any person.
From Hebrews the concept mentioned was that some have confessed Christ but now deny him.
Doubtless this is Biblically and historical true as the pastor also referenced the false teachers from Jude. See also 2 Peter 2 (my add).
Hebrews 6 New American Standard Bible
Therefore leaving the [a]elementary teaching about the [b]Christ, let us press on to [c]maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, 2 of instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment. 3 And this we will do, if God permits. 4 For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, [d]since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame. 7 For ground that drinks the rain which often [e]falls on it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God; 8 but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close [f]to being cursed, and [g]it ends up being burned.
This passage is debated.
I gather from the sermon the pastor would view these as people that have never had a saving faith in Christ, but rather had demonic faith, like the demons. An intellectual, matter of fact, faith.
This is a reasonable biblical position.
As counter: The following
7 For ground that drinks the rain which often [e]falls on it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God; 8 but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close [f]to being cursed, and [g]it ends up being burned. 'worthless and close to being cursed'.
Reads very much like: (1 Corinthians considered by many Biblical scholars to have been written by Paul and Hebrews, perhaps so, or a Pauline associate).
1 Corinthians 3:15
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
15 If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.
This same pastor, I heard on an online sermon stated that the 1 Corinthians judgement was in regard to church leaders/leadership.
I reason, it is also reasonable that Biblically, those discussed in Hebrews 6 are non-repentant believers.
I mentioned to another pastor, in agreement, that a true Christian always confesses biblical belief. So called former Christians that now deny Jesus Christ, in my mind never had biblical, trusting, faith-based belief. Mental illness, perhaps could change the thinking process of a person, but in spirit at least, trusting, faith-based, belief would exist.
As the sermon pastor admitted, none of us are perfect. That means none of us are perfect in repentance.
I therefore reason that in biblical, Christian belief, general repentance to God is an essential sign of salvation. Confessing self as sinner, implies repentance.
However, specific repentance of each and every sin is not essential for trusting, faith-based belief, although to be clear, it is a command.
Acts 3: 19-21 New American Standard Bible
19“Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; 20 and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you, 21 whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time.
Repentance is an aspect of biblical salvation as turning from sin, and accepting the atoning and resurrection work of Christ applied to a person. The salvific work is done by God, not by human acts of faith. Technically speaking we are regenerated through the Holy Spirit (John 3) and saved by the atoning and resurrection work of Christ being applied to us. Repentance is via a regenerated human nature and will.
On a practical theological basis we can realize that due to universal sinful natures and sinful choices, human beings will not 'catch' every sin to repent of, and as well sometimes because of spiritual blindness, persons will not always specifically repent of sinful choices via sinful nature. The atoning and resurrection work of Christ covers a regenerated person that therefore demonstrates general repentance within trusting, faith-based, belief.
HUGHES, PHILIP, EDGCUMBE (1990) A Commentary On The Epistle To The Hebrews, Grand Rapids, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
