Thursday, November 08, 2007

Salvation by Grace through Faith

Does a person know that he is saved because he believes,
or does he believe because he knows that he is saved?

Ephesians 2:4-10

Romans 10:8-21


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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Or one could say:
It's raining, for the window is wet.

Or as Jesus says:
"For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little."
(Luke 7:47)

so I conclude that:
"The window being wet is the EVIDENCE of the fact that it is raining."

Or is this not what you have in mind?

MG

11/09/2007 1:37 PM
Not Alone +++ PAS said...

Hi MG,

I’d say that we are speaking along similar lines but that the question runs more deeply than this.

You say:

“Or one could say:
It's raining, for the window is wet.”

However, the window can be wet for other reasons, too. I could be wet on account of condensation due to temperature and humidity differences. It could be wet on account of someone having wiped it with a wet cloth. It could be wet because an elephant walked by and blew water from its trunk. If the window is near the ocean it could be wet from ocean spray.

The point is that the perception of the wetness of the window is only that.

You said:

Or as Jesus says:
"For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little."
(Luke 7:47)

so I conclude that:
"The window being wet is the EVIDENCE of the fact that it is raining."

Your conclusion is based upon multiple assumptions. People make the same mistake regarding faith. They assume that the presence of faith is evidence that they believe. But the truth is that they believe because of the presence of faith.

The statement that the Lord makes is meant to counter the assumptions of those present. Just as the moisture on the window was NOT produced by the window, but by other forces acting upon the window, so faith is not produced by the believer, but by forces acting upon the believer. The woman’s love was produced by the faith that was produced by the knowledge of knowing that she was forgiven. But the active force was the Forgiver, not the one who was forgiven. The woman’s love was like the water on the window.

Simon, the Pharisee, reacted according to his false assumptions. His false assumptions were many, but the big one was that Jesus was less than He really was. He also was entirely wrong about the definition of sin and of being a sinner, and therefore also, the definition of being righteous. The false assumptions explode exponentially from there.

But Jesus, being God in the flesh, made no assumptions. His judgement was based upon what He knew of the woman and of what HE, as God, had done for her. HE forgave her. She, knew Him as her God and Savior and Forgiver. Thus, having faith given to her, having received this faith, she believed in the forgiveness that He had bestowed upon her, and responded with actions that flowed from the love that this knowledge and faith produced in her.

Her faith and her love were produced within her, and then she acted upon these. Not the other way around. In His grace, God reckons these to her as though they were her own actions. Such is the nature of our God.

11/10/2007 4:07 AM
Not Alone +++ PAS said...

By the way, MG,

Thanks for your questions and insight. They are invaluable.

You have often caused me to dig more deeply into the Scritpures so that I have both grown in understanding and in faith, and also have grown in understanding how better to express the various issues of faith that you have questioned or made suggestions about.

Thanks.

11/10/2007 4:22 AM

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