Are adulterers,
fornicators, homosexuals and swindlers really born again?/ Book, J.F.
MacArthur, page 16 ff
This is is Old Testament promise of
rebirth through water and the Spirit / Book, J.F. MacArthur, page 35 ff)
The rebirth in the resurrection.
Words without deeds: the sin
of empty words. / Book, J.F. MacArthur, page 187 ff
No child of this world has been able
to decide whether it wanted to live or not. / Comment, B. Bollmeyer 00,
2006-09-10
Is rebirth an
"election"? / Commentary TK 00, 2014-03-02
The eternal existence of every
human being.
The biblical Trinity and
some other specifics of the biblical Christian faith.
Wir sehen jetzt, wie die Kirche der Gegenwart von einer
Serie abscheulichster We see now how the church of today is being shaken by
a series of the most revolting scandals, in which the most pitiful
depravities in the lives of certain world-famous television evangelists have
been made a public spectacle. It is very sad and painful that most outsiders
will see these people as typical Christian insiders, rather than as wolves
and false shepherds who have infiltrated the flock (see Mt 7:15). Why should
we believe that people who have not turned away from adultery, fornication,
homosexuality, dishonesty and all possible forms of shameless dissolution
are really born again?
But this is just the assumption that the Christians of today are being
taught to make. They have been told that the only criterion for salvation is
that a person should know and have faith in certain basic Christian
concepts. Right from the beginning they hear that obedience is voluntary. It
follows logically from this that when it comes to judging a person’s
Christianity, the confession of faith that he has once made is worth more
than the continuing testimony of his manner of living. Happenings in the
visible church have revealed the repellent consequences of this theology. As
a pastor, on the other hand, I have rebaptized countless people who had "come
to a decision" in the past and so received baptism, but had not
experienced any change in their lives. They experienced real conversion at a
later stage, and then asked for baptism again as an expression of their true
salvation.
(This extract has been taken from the book "Lampen ohne Öl" ["The
Gospel According to Jesus"] by John F. MacArthur, published by Verlag CLV
– Christliche Literatur-Verbreitung e.V. [CLV Publishing House for the
Dissemination of Christian Literature], Bielefeld).
The Foreword to this book by J. F. MacArthur is written
by the Reverend Dr. James I. Packer, a theology professor (Board of
Governors’ Professor of Theology) at Regent College in Vancouver, Canada. He
is also Director of the ‘Regent College Anglican Studies Program’, co-editor
of the journal ‘Christianity Today’ and an advocate of the doctrine of
predestination – that is to say, the view that human beings are selected by God
before the start of creation, some to eternal life and the rest to eternal
damnation. This is a point that needs to be made, as it does not appear so
clearly from the extracts taken from Mr. MacArthur’s book that he himself
champions this erroneous doctrine.
(See also Discourse 69: "Is
the sovereignty of God under threat? / Book, James I. Packer")
J. F. MacArthur’s reference to the way in which "the
most pitiful depravities in the lives of certain world-famous television
evangelists have been made a public spectacle" concerns of course contemporary
happenings in America. In Europe we may hope that such enormities do not happen.
But however that may be – and in whatever area – there is a danger that what is
going on in America will be happening here as well in just a few years from now.
Earlier you could reckon with an interval of 10 years, now it is more like 2 to
3 years. We can see signs of this already in the European charismatic camp. But
if we take a closer look at the evangelical scene in the USA, and compare it
with that which is to be found in German-speaking regions of Europe for
instance, we can see that with us there is still a fundamentally different
approach to faith and Christian teaching.
(See also: "Report on
the Charismatic Camp")
Since this website, Immanuel.at, has been translated into
English, I expected it to be accessed by many American visitors. The expected
flood has however only been a trickle. Consequently I tried to do something to
boost the popularity of the site in the USA by entering it in the "Top 1000
Christian Sites". On that occasion I took a look at the website that is right
at the top of this list of 1000. The ranking of these thousand sites is based on
the number of visitors or hits, and thus gives an excellent picture of the main
areas of spiritual interest among evangelical American Christians.
This number one website has between 5000 and 20,000 hits daily (Immanuel.at by
contrast, though bilingual, only has between 100 and 500). And seeing that this
American Christian site goes by the name of "Garden of Praise", we might
expect on entering the site to read words in praise of Our Lord Jesus Christ and
our God. But in actual fact what we are presented with in "About Us" is a
color photograph of the website author.
Then, under "Family", we get an
account of the life of the author’s mother (!), with an invitation to visit
her picture gallery. The next point is "Our Children", again with a picture
of course, and then there actually comes a page on "Gardening". Following
further autobiographies and family recipes (!), we finally get a page with a
listing of all the credits and awards that the author of this Christian website
has been given for his "fruitful" work. As we can see, it is not Our Lord
who is praised and glorified on this website, but rather the author of the site
and his family.
(See also: "Garden
of Praise".)
When we look at this kind of "evangelization" and its
immense popularity, it is hardly surprising that preachers like Benny Hinn,
Garry and Lilo Keller in the USA, as well as Walter Heidenreich and Christoph
Häselbarth in our parts – to name just a few – should attract such vast
audiences and lead them up the garden path with spectacular and impressive
demonstrations.
(See also Video: Toronto Blessing Unmasked)
Now although even in German-speaking parts of the world some "Christian"
websites of this self-advertising nature are to be found, with us the Bible has
on the whole remained the main focus of interest, and discussion rather centers
on the correct interpretation of Scripture. But when MacArthur refers in his
book to the teaching we find in Christian congregations, and observes that
people are being given the impression that "the only criterion for salvation
is that a person should know and have faith in certain basic Christian concepts",
this is a completely accurate diagnosis of the situation prevailing in our
congregations as well.
And the next few lines of the passage – like the whole
book, as a matter of fact – add up to an admirably realistic assessment of the
state of many of our Christian gatherings today. On the one hand he points to
the background reasons why faith in the congregations has become so lukewarm,
and on the other he indicates what needs to be done if this false course is to
be corrected.
It is becoming increasingly plain to serious Christians in the congregations
that in many quarters evangelization efforts and Christian gatherings have
substituted quantity for quality. So we find that a "lite" gospel is
preached, and increasingly campaigns are instituted that are designed to bring
as many people as possible to join a congregation without making clear to them
the consequences that, according to Scripture, should be associated with such a
step.
So we then see members of Christian congregations whose behavior is in no
way distinguishable from that of the unbelieving and worldly sectors of the
population. And here, as a Christian whose faith is based on the Bible, one is
inclined to ask with MacArthur whether all these people are really born again.
In the second chapter of his book, MacArthur then attempts to demonstrate the
necessity of spiritual rebirth, in the light of Our Lord’s dialog with
Nicodemus in Jn 3,1-12. To make this clear, the passage is reproduced below:
Unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Jn 3,1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named
Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; 3,2 this man came to Jesus by night and said to
Him, "Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one
can do these signs that You do unless God is with him." 3,3 Jesus answered
and said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he
cannot see the kingdom of God." 3,4 Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a
man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s
womb and be born, can he?" 3,5 Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to
you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the
kingdom of God. 3,6 "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and
that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 3,7 "Do not be amazed that
I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 3,8 "The wind blows where
it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and
where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit." 3,9
Nicodemus said to Him, "How can these things be?" 3,10 Jesus answered
and said to him, "Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these
things? 3,11 "Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and
testify of what we have seen, and you do not accept our testimony. 3,12 "If
I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell
you heavenly things? Jn 3, 1-12;
MacArthur now comments on this as follows:
The water of which Jesus spoke was only meant symbolically,
as it was used in the Old Testament for purification purposes. Nicodemus
would have been able to understand this reference to the Old Testament,
because most ceremonies involved the water of purification being sprinkled
on the altar and on the sacrifice. As a scribe he doubtless remembered the
promise of the New Covenant in Ezekiel 36:25: "Then I will sprinkle clean
water on you". Two verses later the promise becomes "I will put My
Spirit within you" (verse 27). These two statements associate the ideas of
water and the spirit, and frame a further promise in verse 26: "Moreover I
will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove
the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh." This is
the Old Testament promise of rebirth through water and the Spirit. The only
baptism that is being spoken of here is baptism in the Holy Spirit. John the
Baptist said: "He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘He upon
whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the one
who baptizes in the Holy Spirit’" (Jn 1:33). Spiritual baptism takes
place on conversion, when the Lord makes the believer a part of the body of
Christ through the action of the Spirit (1Cor 12:13) and purifies him
through the water of the word (Eph 5:26; see also Jn 15,3). Paul calls this
"the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit" (Tit 3:5),
here using practically the same words as the Lord Jesus in John 3:5: "Unless
one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God."
So what Jesus was telling Nicodemus was that he needed spiritual
purification and spiritual rebirth. The point at issue was that the law and
the rituals of religion – including baptism – are not able to confer eternal
life. Because this message sounded so resoundingly in his ears, we can
assume that he understood it.
(This extract has been taken from the book "Lampen ohne Öl" ["The
Gospel According to Jesus"] by John F. MacArthur, published by Verlag CLV
– Christliche Literatur-Verbreitung e.V. [CLV Publishing House for the
Dissemination of Christian Literature], Bielefeld).
Here we have to agree completely with MacArthur when he says
that law and ritual – including baptism!! – cannot confer eternal life. At the
same time, however, his otherwise very clear statements do unfortunately contain
some admixture of inaccuracy. First of all, in referring to Eze 36,25-27 he
gives the impression that this has to do with the "promise of the New Covenant"
for the congregation, and the "Old Testament promise of rebirth." As so
often happens in biblical exegesis, here too certain verses have regrettably
been wrested out of context, without reference to the entire passage in which
they occur. So let us take a closer look at what precedes and follows the verses
quoted.
You will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers.
Eze 36,22 "Therefore say to the house of
Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, "It is not for your sake, O house
of Israel, that I am about to act, but for My holy name, which you have
profaned among the nations where you went. 36,23 "I will vindicate the
holiness of My great name which has been profaned among the nations, which you
have profaned in their midst. Then the nations will know that I am the
LORD," declares the Lord GOD, "when I prove Myself holy among you in
their sight. 36,24 "For I will take you from the nations, gather you
from all the lands and bring you into your own land.
36,25 "Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I
will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. 36,26
"Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and
I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
36,27 "I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My
statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.
36,28 "You will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers; so you
will be My people, and I will be your God. Eze 36,22-28;
And here it is plain to see that this word of God is addressed
not to the congregation but to Israel. This is irrefutably proved by the
formulation we find in verse 22:
Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says
the Lord GOD, "It is not for your sake, O house of Israel…"’
And again the special promises in verses 24 and 28 demonstrate
that these words are addressed to Israel
"For I will take you from the nations, gather you
from all the lands and bring you into your own land."
"You will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers; so you will
be My people, and I will be your God."
These two sentences are completely typical prophecies of the
salvation, gathering and return of the Israelites to their own land, to be
effected by their God in the Last Days, after the Second Coming of Our Lord,
their Messiah. And no one who is familiar with the Bible would take this to be a
reference to the Christian congregation. The congregation is not being "gathered
from all the lands", and certainly is not going to dwell in a land that was
"given to their forefathers". So the promises quoted by MacArthur -
"»Then I will sprinkle clean water on you«. Two
verses later the promise becomes »I will put My Spirit within you« (verse 27).
These two statements associate the ideas of water and the spirit, and frame a
further promise in verse 26: »Moreover I will give you a new heart and put a
new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and
give you a heart of flesh.«
This is the Old Testament promise of rebirth through water and the Spirit."
- are exclusively related to the conversion and salvation of the
people of Israel in the Last Days, and have nothing at all to do with the
Christian congregation or rebirth.
But here we see one of the biggest mistakes in the interpretation of Scripture -
namely, the abuse of the Bible for "quarrying" purposes. People ignore the
context, pick up a verse here and a verse there, and so cobble together a
personal structure of faith. In this connection it is a very popular approach to
take all the statements that relate to Israel and refer them to the
congregation. As happens here, this is most especially the case with the
promises made to Israel in the Old Testament, which are reinterpreted free of
charge to refer to the congregation as "the New Israel".
On the other hand, we are also confronted here with a
misinterpretation of Our Lord’s conversation with Nicodemus in Jn 3,1-6.
According to MacArthur’s conclusion above – "Spiritual baptism (spiritual
rebirth) takes place on conversion, when the Lord makes the believer a part
of the body of Christ through the action of the Spirit" – "rebirth" is the
believer’s act of conversion to the Christian faith.
Only when he has accepted Jesus can a believer – according to this view -claim to be "reborn". And
MacArthur thinks to find confirmation of this in Our Lord’s statements to
Nicodemus. So to see whether this assertion holds water, let us now take a
closer look at the passage in question.
Jn 3,1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named
Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; 3,2 this man came to Jesus by night and said to
Him, "Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one
can do these signs that You do unless God is with him." Jn 3, 1- 2;
This, now, is the introduction to the conversation, and presents
Nicodemus to us as a scribe (Pharisee) and ruler of the Jews, who comes secretly
to the Lord by night in order to question him.
Jn 3,3 Jesus answered and said to him, "Truly,
truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of
God." 3,4 Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is
old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can
he?" 3,5 Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is
born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 3,6
"That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the
Spirit is spirit. Jn 3, 3- 6;
Here we have the first part of the statements that are relevant
to our theme. In verse 3 the Lord says: "Unless one is born again he cannot
see the kingdom of God", and from this MacArthur concludes as follows: "So
what Jesus was telling Nicodemus was that he needed spiritual purification and
spiritual rebirth." But there is nothing here either about "purification"
or about "spiritual rebirth."
Nicodemus was familiar only with biological, physical birth, and so he asks the Lord whether we would have to go back
into our mother’s womb in order to be born again. And the Lord explains to him that we need both: our biological birth –
that which is of water (amniotic fluid) – and our rebirth, rebirth in the Spirit after death and Resurrection that is,
in order to enter the kingdom of God. One who has not been born biologically – of water – is not alive, and so cannot
subsequently be reborn from the Spirit after death and resurrection.
And then Nicodemus asks, in complete astonishment, whether a person can enter
his mother’s womb and be born a second time. So he had no idea what Our Lord
was talking about, and referred his statements only to biological, physical
birth. And the answer of the Lord was now both a response to the question of the
scribe, and also a resumption of the theme touched on earlier, that of rebirth.
He tells him: "Unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot
enter into the kingdom of God." This means that we need both: our biological,
fleshly birth – that of water (amniotic fluid) – and our rebirth, namely of the
Spirit, in order to enter the kingdom of God.
It follows that these words of Our Lord’s are not to be understood
symbolically, as MacArthur supposes – "The water of which Jesus spoke was only
meant symbolically, as it was used in the Old Testament for purification
purposes" – what we have here is rather the literal explanation of a
completely real process: nobody can in actual fact enter eternity who has not
been both born physically and then spiritually reborn as well.
In much the same way as in the above Gospel passage, so John again in his first
Epistle uses the expression "came by water" to indicate birth – in this case
that of the Lord Jesus. He is concerned here to demonstrate that Jesus Christ,
the Son of God, was born as a human being (in the flesh).
This is the One who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ.
1Jn 5,5 Who is the one who overcomes the world, but
he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? 5,6 This is the One who came by
water and blood, Jesus Christ; not with the water only, but with the water
and with the blood. It is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the
truth. 5,77 For there are three that testify: 1Jn 5, 5- 7;
Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God.
1Jn 4,2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every
spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God;
4,3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the
spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it
is already in the world. 1Jn 4, 2- 3;
Here again birth "in the flesh" (1Jn 4,2) is explained in
1Jn 5,6 with the phrase "came by water". And as the next sentence in this
verse shows, it is also in both passages the Spirit who testifies that Jesus
Christ was born as a human being. This is the key statement of these two
chapters, that Jesus Christ, although he is the Son of God, nonetheless was born
as a human being in the flesh.
And so this is the "’ referred to in 1Jn 5:8:
The water is birth in the flesh and the testimony that
the Son of God became man.
The blood is death in the flesh (Jn 1:29) and testifies to the New Covenant
(Lk 22:20).
And it is the Spirit who testifies to this. But not just to the birth and
death of the Lord, but also to his resurrection as the first fruits (1Cor 15,20-21)
of those who have been born of the Spirit (Jn 3:8).
Now some commentators think in both cases, both in the Gospel of John and in
John’s First Epistle, that "water" – that is to say, the amniotic fluid
from which every human infant has to be born and which is the proof of its
earthly origin – must be understood as Christian baptism. Quite apart from the
fact that Nicodemus is rather unlikely to have got to grips with Christian
baptism, and so would not have understood the reference either, Our Lord’s
statement in Jn 3,6 – "That which is born of the flesh is flesh" – gives
clear confirmation of the view that it is biological, fleshly birth, from water,
that is here being referred to. And in 1Jn 4,2 and 5,6 likewise, the expressions
"come in the flesh" and "came by water" undoubtedly refer to birth and
not baptism.
The "water", then, in Our Lord’s phrase in Jn 3,5 – "Unless one is born
of water and the Spirit" – refers to our biological, fleshly
birth. Accordingly the "spirit" must refer to spiritual birth, or rebirth.
At the same time, there is no explanation in these statements of Our Lord’s of
how the two are connected, nor is there any indication of the time when this
rebirth from the Spirit takes place. But there is another passage where we find
a quite concrete indication given by Our Lord himself as to the nature of this
event and where it is to be located in terms of time.
In the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne.
Mt 19, 28 And Jesus said to them, "Truly I say
to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son
of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve
thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Mt 19,28;
Mt 25,31 "But when the Son of Man comes in His glory,
and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. 25,32
"All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one
another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; Mt 25,31-32;
Here the Lord Jesus is himself making statements about rebirth.
At the same time – as we see from the indications in the context of the passage
- this regeneration is a rebirth, which clearly has yet to take place. This is
the time when the Lord will sit on his glorious throne to judge the world. The
apostles too will then sit upon twelve thrones to judge the twelve tribes of
Israel. This, then, is the time of the Last Judgment. And the event which
immediately precedes the Last Judgment is the General Resurrection. All human
beings of all races will rise from the dead to come before the judgment seat of
God. And this resurrection, in which the dead are restored to life and reborn by
the action of the Spirit, is what the Lord points to here as the actual rebirth.
They are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.
Lk 20,34 And Jesus said to them, "The sons of
this age marry and are given in marriage; 20,35 but those who are accounted
worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead neither
marry nor are given in marriage, 29,36 for they cannot die any more, because
they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.
Lk 20,34-36;
(See also Table 13: "The
judgment upon the risen nations")
Seeing that the Pharisees, by contrast with the Sadducees,
believed in the resurrection, we may suppose that Nicodemus, as a Pharisee,
would have understood this reference. The following verses in this dialog then
give further confirmation of this point of view:
The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit
Jn 3,7 "Do not be amazed that I said to you,
‘You must be born again.’ 3,8 "The wind blows where it wishes and
you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is
going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit." 3,9 Nicodemus said to
Him, "How can these things be?" 3,10 Jesus answered and said to him,
"Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things? 3,11
"Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what
we have seen, and you do not accept our testimony. 3,12 "If I told you
earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you
heavenly things? Jn 3, 7-12;
The Greek word standing for "anew" in the above passage (Jn 3,7, and also previously in Jn 3,3), namely anothen, as an adverb is meaning "from above, from the above to the below" (as it actually appears in Dietzfelbinger’s interlinear translation of the Nestle-Aland Bible), and is in fact translated "from above" in Jn 3,31 and 19,11 in all translations. But because the translators did not understand the real meaning of this sentence, in Jn 3,3 and 3,7 they chose not the spatial variant ("from above") but the temporal variant ("again, anew") and so prevented the correct interpretation of this statement of the Lord’s for generations.
So it is hardly surprising if people who have not yet died and risen from the dead, and so been born from above, are unable to do the things that the Lord attributes to reborn persons in this passage (Jn 3,8). The characterization of the person who has been spiritually reborn in the above passage (Jn 3,8) causes interpretative problems for those who advocate a spiritual "rebirth" on the part of the individual while he is alive, that is to say, at the time of his conversion.
When we are told here that everyone who is born of the Spirit may be compared with the wind, which "blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going", then these people should after all, as Christians who have been "reborn", be able to apply these characteristics to themselves. They would then have to show those very same capabilities which Our Lord had when in his resurrection he was reborn from the dead, and so was able to pass through doors and walls and the disciples did not know where he came from or where he was going.
Jesus came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst.
Jn 20,26 After eight days His disciples were again
inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors having been shut, and
stood in their midst and said, "Peace be with you." 20,27 Then He
said to Thomas, "Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach
here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but
believing." 20,28 Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my
God!" Jn 20,26-28;
This is now the unmistakable mark of someone who has been
spiritually reborn, and it is unlikely that any will be found among "reborn"
Christians who would claim to have such characteristics while they are still
alive and so to be reborn in this sense. In actual fact there will not be reborn
Christians like this until the Millennium, after the First Resurrection. Those
who are then living on earth will be able to have such experiences together with
the resurrected martyrs who at that time will rise from the dead as priests of
God and Christ, and rule with the Lord on earth (Rev 20:4-6).
(See also Chapter 12: "The
Resurrection")
Now we find a number of references to a person’s being "born
again" in other scriptural passages.
We are born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
1Pet 1,3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again
to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 1,4
to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade
away, reserved in heaven for you, 1,5 who are protected by the power of God
through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 1Pet 1, 3-
5;
Peter as well speaks in this passage, 1Pet 1,3-5, of the fact
that we are born again. He says that God has caused us to be born again – to be
born again to a living hope. Hope of what? Hope of an imperishable, undefiled
and unfading inheritance. And whereby? Through the resurrection of Jesus Christ
from the dead.
Our rebirth then, according to Peter, is a hope. This hope is based on the
resurrection of the Lord. Because Our Lord has risen from the dead, we too have
the hope that we will rise from the dead and be spiritually reborn. The goal of
this resurrection, and so also of this hope, is an imperishable, that is to say
immortal, eternal inheritance – in short, eternal life. This eternal life is now
reserved for us in heaven, as Peter says.
Now Our Lord’s phrase in Jn 3,5, quoted earlier – "Unless one is born of
water and the Spirit" – points to the necessity of these two
births for the saved Christian, but then it also enables us to see the quite
similar circumstances of these two events – our first, physical birth, that is,
and our spiritual rebirth. The final goal in the first case is earthly life, in
the case of rebirth it is eternal life.
The time of "good hope" in a
biological sense lasts nine months from procreation to birth, after which the
child sees the light of the world. The hope of the believing Christian last
until the resurrection of the dead and their rebirth in the Spirit. And they too
will then see the light of a new and different world – namely, the light and the
world of God and the Lamb. And they will then, after their rebirth, be "sons
of the resurrection", as the Lord says in the following passage.
They are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.
Lk 20,34 Jesus said to them, "The sons of this
age marry and are given in marriage, 20,35 but those who are considered worthy
to attain to that age and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are
given in marriage; 20,36 for they cannot even die anymore, because they are
like angels, and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. Lk
20,34-36;
(See also Chapter 13: "The
Last Judgment")
But Peter also says in the above passage (1Pet 1,3) that God "according
to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope." But this
means that God has put us in a position where we are able to have this hope. It
follows from this that in a temporal perspective we have been "reborn" at
the start of this hope. So this cannot be referring to our rebirth at the
end of the world, when all hope will already have been fulfilled. It is obvious,
then, that this statement of Peter’s and the verb "to be born again" alike
refer to the start of this hope, to the beginning of our life of faith on earth.
By analogy with the biological process, therefore, the most appropriate term for
it is "re-engendering".
But let us also take an objective look at the second passage in
this chapter where Peter uses the term "born again".
You have been born again of seed which is imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God.
1Pet 1,23 for you have been born again not of
seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and
enduring word of God.
1,24 For, "all flesh is like grass, and all it glory like the flower of
grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls off, 1,25 buit the Word of the
Lord endures forever." And this is the word which was preached to you. 1Pet
1,23-25;
So the rebirth to which Peter refers here is the result of
imperishable seed. As we can see, Peter himself likewise makes a comparison here
with biological birth or at least with natural reproduction, by indicating that
this – by contrast with spiritual rebirth – comes from perishable seed. But this
also gives us an indication that Peter actually means procreation and impregnation.
Impregnation, that is to say, with either perishable or imperishable seed – and
not a birth already. And he also tells us how this spiritual impregnation, this
re-engendering, comes about – through the living word of God. So it is Our Lord
Jesus Christ, who himself is this living word of God (Jn 1,1; Rev 19,13), who
has impregnated our spirit.
And if we now consider once more the view mentioned at the start of this
discourse that "rebirth" takes place when the believer is still alive, at
the time of his conversion, we can see that this term is incorrect. Just as a
biological birth must be preceded by a biological act of procreation, so
spiritual rebirth calls for an earlier spiritual act of procreation.
Consequently we are not reborn at the time of our conversion, but rather we are
first of all spiritually impregnated and so re – engendered.
What actually happens at our conversion, then, is that we are spiritually
impregnated by the living word of God. This is a re – engendering, then,
not yet rebirth. Our spirit is impregnated – in "the family way", if you
want to put it that way; we are "in good hope" of a rebirth. So
whereas the Lord uses the Greek term "paliggenesia" for "rebirth"
in Mt 19,28 the original Greek text of 1Pet 1,3.23 and Jn 1,13; 1Jn 2,29; 3,9;
4,7; 5,1.4.18 respectively contains the Greek participle anagegennemenoi for
"born again" and gegennetai, the infinitive, respectively for "born".
Both verbs can be translated "(re) – engender /
begotten again" as well as "(re)born / born again". And as the
translators did not know the profound background of this statement of the Lord
in Jn 3,7-8 they translated with the customary "reborn" and "born" which
should actually be translated as "re-engender" or "procreate" (see
Nestle-Aland and Barnes New Testament Notes).
The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be begotten again.
1Pet 1,3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to b begotten again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the
dead, 1Pet 1, 3;
For you have been begotten again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable
1Pet 1,23 For you have been begotten again not of seed which is perishable but
imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of
God. 1Pet 1,23;
The Revelation of John also shows us how the real, the true rebirth is identical
with the resurrection from the dead, when the Lord Jesus is described as the "firstborn
of the dead" in connection with his resurrection.
Jesus Christ, the firstborn of the dead.
Rev 1,4 John to the seven churches that are in
Asia: Grace to you and peace, from Him who is and who was and who is to come,
and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, 1,5 and from Jesus
Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and
the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from
our sins by His blood- 1,6 and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His
God and Father-to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. Rev
1, 4- 6;
Now one might be inclined to object that in the last resort it
is not a matter of such importance whether at our conversion we are spiritually
reborn or spiritually re-engendered. It is hardly worth making such a fuss, the
main thing is that we have been converted. But here the well-known saying is
applicable: "At the moment when we start thinking in different terms, we also
think in different directions." And when we come to grips with the background
and detailed circumstances of the case, we can see that it is precisely this
superficial attitude that has led to the situation which MacArthur rightly
deplores in his book, and to which he gives concrete expression in his question:
"Why should we believe that people who have not
turned away from adultery, fornication, homosexuality, dishonesty and all
possible forms of shameless dissolution are really born again?"
The origins of this contradiction can be discerned from the
common features to be found in both biological and spiritual development, from
procreation through to birth. Our conversion is the spiritual impregnation, our
re-engendering. Spiritual rebirth is the resurrection (First Resurrection or
General Resurrection), and this corresponds to physical birth on the biological
level. In both cases we emerge from the "darkness" and see the light of a
new world.
But the time from procreation to birth is not without danger, either
in the one case or in the other. Everything that may hamper or even terminate
the development of the child in the period between biological procreation and
biological birth can also – in a metaphorical and spiritual sense – hinder the
development of a Christian. A vivid allegorical account of these dangers,
incidentally, will be found in "The Pilgrim’s Progress" by John Bunyan.
And just as it is sadly the case that not all biologically engendered children
come to be born, so not all Christians who have been spiritually re-engendered
come to be reborn. Many finish up as spiritual "stillbirths", and fall away
from the faith. Anyone who seeks to claim that we are reborn at our conversion,
and on top of that, that is is impossible for born-again Christians ever to be
lost, is naturally going to find this hard to explain. And then we find the most
far-fetched arguments advanced in an attempt at explanation. In this case,
however, it is the basic idea that is simply wrong: with the exception of the
Lord no one on earth has yet been reborn.
To come back, now, to the book by John F. MacArthur – from the above analysis it
can be seen that just those problems in the congregations which MacArthur
describes, and justifiably criticizes, are the evident consequence of the
incorrect interpretation of this saying of Our Lord’s. Whereas "reborn"
suggests a finished and completed state – which is the basis for the statement,
in itself logical enough, that someone who has been "born again" cannot be
lost – in actual fact we have only been re-engendered, and still have the
whole spiritual "pregnancy" (our further life of faith until our death and
resurrection, which is then the real rebirth), with all the problems and
difficulties that may arise, ahead of us.
So if we know that we, as converted Christians, are not yet reborn but only
re-engendered, it is clear that we cannot rest on our laurels in any way. We
must examine our thoughts and our actions from day to day if we are to be able
to recognize faults and correct them in good time. Then too, it becomes possible
to understand the fact that we so often see brethren leaving the right path or
falling away from the faith altogether.
And we no longer find this a difficult
fact to explain: it is sad, certainly, but not an inexplicable happening. And
finally, those uncharitable insinuations also become superfluous, like the
observation "If he behaves like that he cannot be a born-again Christian."
No! He is not! But neither are we! None of us has been reborn! We are
only re-engendered, and so do not yet have a place reserved for us in heaven!
We find further confirmation of this conclusion if we look at other parables of
Our Lord’s. As Peter says in the passage quoted earlier, 1Pet 1,23 (correctly
translated), we have been "re-engendered of seed which is imperishable".
But this seed requires a good soil, must form roots and grow in us and withstand
the various influences of a worldly environment. And just this is what the Lord
shows us in the parable of the sower:
And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, he hears the word and understands it and bears fruit.
Mt 13,18 "Hear then the parable of the sower.
13,19 "When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand
it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart.
This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road.
13,20 "The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the
man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 13,21 yet he
has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or
persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away.
13,22 "And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the
man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of
wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 13,23 "And the one on
whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and
understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold,
some sixty, and some thirty." Mt 13,18-23;
In the above passage (Mt 13,18-23), in which the Lord explains
the parable of the sower, the seed is the subject of discussion. This is the
seed of wheat that the sower sows on the field. From the explanation above we
recognize that this seed – just like the "imperishable seed" referred to
earlier (1Pet 1,23) is the word of God.
We further recognize that all four "qualities" of soil mentioned here have
seed sown upon them without distinction. This means – and it is very important
to realize the fact – that the word of God has been preached to all four groups
of people. And what is more, apart from the first group the seed has come up in
all of them, so they have received the word of God and the Lord Jesus -in a
positive sense: they have been spiritually impregnated, in other words
re-engendered.
But what happens in the end? The heart of the first group is just as hard as the
road on which the seed was sown. The seed, the word of God, finds no hold,
cannot take root. This hardness of heart, it must be said, is something for
which the person cannot disclaim responsibility. Like the road, on which
hundreds of people have had to travel to make it as hard as it is, so too this
person must have closed and hardened his heart hundreds of times in the past to
become so hard that he finally can no longer receive the word of God. This is
the only one who is not spiritually impregnated or re-engendered.
In the second group the situation is rather different. This is the type of
person that demonstrates to us most evidently what a risk we run into with our
uncritical and superficial perceptions. He has good soil, a good heart. But he
is very shallow. Under a thin layer of good topsoil, he has hard rock in his
heart. His conversion and his faith have never penetrated deeply. He was
impregnated, and showed a certain interest, but then soon turned back to more
cheerful things.
The consequence of this is that the seed finds good soil and takes root. As a
result of the shallowness of the soil and the rocky substratum, which reflects
the heat, the soil now warms up much more quickly than deep arable land does.
The seed develops with great rapidity and shoots up with full force. So the word
has been given an enthusiastic reception. It has been a true conversion. And all
the brethren are full of joy and pride at this proof of the power of the word of
God – as they suppose.
But soon – all too soon – the rocky substratum is reached. The grain of wheat
wants to put down deeper roots, but the rock below the earth prevents it. In
purely external terms, nothing has changed in this person at all. He is just as
he was at the time of his conversion. And just as at that time he turned
enthusiastically to the word of God, so now – with equal enthusiasm – he turns
to some other goal. He found it a bit of an effort to live up to what people
expected of him. And his friends too made fun of him. And besides, it was all
getting to be a bit monotonous. He prefers variety.
With the third person we have every right to assert that he is a believer, one
who has been re-engendered. He has received the word, and he also has enough
deep "arable soil" in his heart for the word to take root there. At the same
time, there are the "thorns". Either he is poor and doesn’t know where he
is going to find the money for his family’s next meal, or he is rich and doesn’t
know how best to invest his money to save it from being lost as a result of
economic crises, inflation and devaluation.
Both types have their worries – of a fundamentally different nature in either
case, admittedly, but still they are both worries. And these worries blot out
the light. Even in the best soil, the grain of wheat cannot grow if it has no
light. And the most convinced person cannot remain a believer, in the long run,
without the loving care and attention of his God. But this third person’s
worries not only eat up his time, they also result in his having no room left in
his heart for God.
Just like the grain of wheat, so the faith of this person is
stifled and dies away and yields no fruit. As with natural propagation, whether
of plants or of animals, not every impregnation has successful consequences, so
the three first types in this parable have been re-engendered by the Spirit of
God but have killed off the seed – in what might be described as a spiritual "abortion".
With the fourth and last of the series we find a different situation. Actually
it is not just one type that is referred to here, but three. All three are
subject to the same conditions – soft, deep soil, and no thorny thickets to shut
out the light. Their faith grows, God blesses them, and all three of them bear
fruit. The difference between them lies not in the quality but in the quantity
of their fruitfulness. One brings forth a hundredfold, another sixtyfold and the
last thirtyfold. We are not told the reason for these different levels of
fruitfulness. But instead of asking why one yields less than another, we should
rather be asking why the other brings forth more than the first.
This third class may equally well include rich or poor individuals, just like
the group "among thorns". It is not our external circumstances that present
an obstacle to our faith, but the importance that we attribute to these
circumstances. It is up to us whether they become thorns that overshadow our
lives completely, or just problems that have to be resolved from day to day -
important problems certainly, but in no way life-threatening.
Our Lord’s parable of the sower thus gives us clearly to understand that the
seed has been sown with many people, but not all give it the opportunity of
growth. On the human level this is comparable both with the physical and also
with the spiritual development of a person: the seed has been sown, that is to
say the impregnation or re-engendering has taken place, then follows the period
of growth, or pregnancy (the life of faith) and only at the end the harvest -
birth, or rebirth (resurrection).
A seed does not immediately become an ear of corn on being sown in the ground:
it is first of all just a seed, and still needs to grow and develop and
withstand any adverse influences. And in just the same way, an ovum that has
been impregnated naturally does not at once become a fully grown child either,
but needs to grow and develop in the mother’s womb and may also be confronted
with health problems or other difficulties during this period. So likewise a
Christian, on being converted, is not yet reborn but only re-engendered, and
must still prove himself in his life of faith, until after his death and
resurrection – which is the true rebirth – he sees new life.
If we now consider the practice of many Christian congregations where the
converted brethren are referred to as "born again" and relate it to Our Lord’s
parable of the sower, we would have to picture the seed that has just been sown
being dug up again at once, and sold on the market as wheat. And this is just as
absurd as if an expectant mother were to want to suckle her impregnated ovum.
The character that is attributed to recently converted brethren – not to speak
of the responsibility!! – when they are referred to and regarded as born again
can often lead, in their continuing life of faith, to major problems. Not least
because these brethren instinctively recognize themselves that they actually
cannot live up to these expectations in their present state of life.
Rather in the same way as the Catholic church, in a wholly unrealistic way,
ordains celibacy for its priests – which has no basis in Scripture and has led
to regrettable enormities like homosexuality and child abuse by Catholic priests
worldwide – so too in evangelical congregations the predicate "reborn" is
assigned to the brethren in a complete overestimation of their capacities and
their actual state of faith, without reflecting on the consequences which this
way of proceeding is likely to entail.
From child of man to child of GodThe development of a child of God is in every way comparable to
that of a human child. Just as the egg in the female body is the beginning of
existence for a human child, so the spirit in the human brain is the starting
point for the child of God (Jn 6:63). "The wind blows where it wishes
and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; And that, now, is also the form of existence – namely as
spiritual beings – of which the Lord promises us in Jh 3:3 that this is the way
we can enter the kingdom of God (heaven). "Unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." 1)
The Greek word is anagegennēmenoi = rebegotten, as also in 1Ptr 1,23 (not "reborn"!!) – after
fertilization, spiritually begotten again through the word of God. |
Now a dear sister in the Lord and visitor to Immanuel.at, Ms.
Brunhilde Bollmeyer, recently wrote to me in response to my arguments along the
same lines in Discourse 69 ("Predestination and the elect"),
"In Ex 33,19 God says, "I will be gracious to
whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show
compassion." Paul quotes this verse in Rom 9,15. Then too, Jn 6,44.65,
15,16.19 and 17,2.6.9.24 seem to speak rather of activity on God’s part, or am
I overlooking something? Your reference to the possibility of a person’s being
blotted out of the book of life suggests to me questions as to how we can be
certain that we are saved."
Taking into account the promulgation in many congregations of
the doctrine that converted brethren are already reborn, rather than just
re-engendered – leading to claims about the "irreversibility of the eternal
salvation of the born-again Christian" – this argument is of course completely
correct, and is the logical consequence of such teachings. While the scriptural
passages referred to by Ms. Bollmeyer above are all discussed in Discourse 69, I
would like here to consider that scriptural passage which makes the strongest
claims in connection with the "certainty of salvation" and which is also
repeatedly referred to in this connection by the advocates of this view:
I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand
Jn 10,27 "My sheep hear My voice, and I know
them, and they follow Me; 10,28 and I give eternal life to them, and they
will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. 10,29
"My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is
able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. Jn 10,27-30;
When this passage is quoted in the congregations, and preachers
accordingly inform the brethren of their eternal certainty of salvation, it is
hardly surprising if the great majority of them welcome the news and pass it on
in their lives. And then they are rather shocked when they hear or read that
this is not the whole truth, and that this kind of certainty of salvation is
nowhere to be found in Scripture.
This is all the more so if, as is the case in
some Christian denominations, this view has been disseminated in such a way as
to imply that a Christian cannot be lost because he has been chosen by God in
the most personal way (predestination), and so while he is still on earth
already has, as it were, a passport for eternity. So with a view to
demonstrating the correctness of the point of view advanced here, let us just
take a look at another of the Lord’s parables, again having to do with sheep:
So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish.
Mt 18,12 "What do you think? If any man has a
hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the
ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying?
18,13 "If it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he
rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray.
18,14 "So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of
these little ones perish. Mt 18,12-14;
When we look at the wider context of this passage, we see that
the Lord is here referring to the children, and at first glance this passage too
would appear to confirm the view that we have an assurance of salvation. But
when we take a closer look at these statements, we can see the difference from
the above parable. Whereas in the first case the Lord says that his sheep will
never be lost for all eternity, here we are told that they can go astray. And
the phrase "If it turns out that he finds it" makes it very clear to
us that it is not certain whether it will actually be possible for the lost
sheep to be found. And so let us now look at a few more scriptural statements
where these matters – the straying of a sheep, i.e. the loss of faith by a
Christian believer (one who has been "born again") – are referred to:
For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end.
Hbr 3,12 Take care, brethren, that
there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away
from the living God. 3,13 But encourage one another day after day, as long
as it is still called "Today," so that none of you will be hardened
by the deceitfulness of sin. 3,14 For we have become partakers of Christ,
if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end.
Heb 3,12-14;
Here the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews warns the brethren
against falling away from the living God. If every believing Christian had an
automatic certainty of salvation, if, that is to say, the "irreversibility of
the eternal salvation of the born-again Christian" were actually biblical,
this would presumably have been an unnecessary warning. And in verse 3,14 we are
then told in concrete terms that we have only become partakers of Christ if we
hold fast the beginning of our assurance – our faith on conversion, and our
first love of God – until the end. That by no means all "born-again"
brethren succeed in this is shown by the following passage:
For it is impossible to renew again to repentance those who have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit and then have fallen away.
Hbr 6,4 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, 6,5 and have tasted the good word of God
and the powers of the age to come, 6,6 and then have fallen away, it
is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to
themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame. Hbr 6, 4- 6;
The phrasing we find here, in Hbr 6,4 – "who have once been
enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of
the Holy Spirit" – must lead any serious biblical commentator to conclude that
we have to do here with believers, which is to say, without a shadow of doubt,
so-called "born-again" believers. No ingenious arguments are going to get
around that.
One who has tasted of the heavenly gift and has been made a
partaker of the Holy Spirit cannot either be an unbeliever or a nominal
Christian, beyond doubt he must be a "reborn" – or to put it more
accurately, "re-engendered" – Christian. And such a person, we are told in Hbr 6,6, has fallen away from the faith and been lost. Paul likewise confirms,
in 1Cor 15,2, that a Christian can fall away from faith, in such a way that his
faith has been in vain.
The Gospel, by which you are saved, if you hold fast, unless you believed in vain.
1Cor 15,1 Now I make known to you, brethren, the
gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you
stand, 15,2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word
which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.1Cor 15, 1- 2;
Especially for those who believe in Predestination (that is, the
arbitrary preselection of human beings by God, some to eternal life and others
to eternal damnation), as it is taught by the Calvinists for instance, who take
the view that God has already divided all human beings into "good" and "bad"
so that the first only have to wait for the resurrection to enter the kingdom of
heaven, while the others can do whatever they like but still have not the least
chance of salvation, Paul’s warning in his Epistle to the Romans is
particularly deserving of note:
If you do not continue in the kindness of God you will also be cut off.
Rom 11,19 You will say then, "Branches were
broken off so that I might be grafted in." 11,20 Quite right, they were
broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be
conceited, but fear; 11,21 for if God did not spare the natural branches, He
will not spare you, either. 11,22 Behold then the kindness and severity of God;
to those who fell, severity, but to you, God’s kindness, if you continue in
His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off. Rom 11,19-22;
It is completely astonishing, incidentally, that this false
doctrine of Predestination – in the sense of an arbitrary selection of human
beings by God – should have been able to establish a foothold in Christian
congregations. And it proves the general ignorance prevailing of what Scripture
tells us on the subject of God’s justice. God is justice in person, and has
subordinated all his other properties to this criterion. So also the love of
God, which is repeatedly referred to as "infinite", while it may be very
great, is nonetheless subject to limits.
It ends at the point where God’s
grace and mercy has exhausted and his justice begins. The omnipotence of God
could not exist, if it were not directed by his absolute justice. And it was
also this absolute justice of God which made it necessary that the Son of God
should die on the cross to supply the redeeming sacrifice for the sins of the
world and the salvation of humanity.
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
2Cor 5,21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin
on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2Cor
5,21;
Righteous are You, O LORD, And upright are Your judgments.
Ps 119,137 Righteous are You, O LORD, And
upright are Your judgments. 119,138 You have commanded Your testimonies in
righteousness And exceeding faithfulness. Ps 119,137-138;
Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness.
Ps 119,142 Your righteousness is an everlasting
righteousness, And Your law is truth. 119,143 Trouble and anguish have
come upon me, Yet Your commandments are my delight. 110,144 Your testimonies
are righteous forever; Give me understanding that I may live.. Ps
119,142-144;
The judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things.
Rom 2,2 And we know that the judgment of God
rightly falls upon those who practice such things. Rom 2, 2;
For not knowing about God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their own.
Rom 10, 3 For not knowing about God’s
righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject
themselves to the righteousness of God. Rom 10, 3;
Righteous and true are Your ways, King of the nations!
Rev 15,3 And they sang the song of Moses, the
bond-servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, "Great and marvelous
are Your works, O Lord God, the Almighty; Righteous and true are Your ways,
King of the nations! Rev 15, 3;
And now, in spite of this, we find brethren who believe God will
promote them as the "Elect", without any action on their part, and reject
others. This "sovereignty" of God – this is the shameless term that they
give to this way of proceeding – is in truth the human mentality of corruption
and nepotism, which principally focuses on one’s own advantage and not on the
actions of an absolutely just God.
And so Predestination too is to be attributed
to an incorrect interpretation of Scripture, in that these people have failed to
realize that at the beginning of the history of the world God, in his
omniscience, recognized in advance all those human beings of all time who
would decide for God in the course of their lives, and these are then the
ones whom he selected and whose names he wrote in the "Book of Life"
(1Pet
1,1-2; Rom 8,29). The first part of this story has been elided, so all that is
left in the teaching is an elitist advance selection.
And on the basis of this doctrine people go on to postulate that human beings do
not even any longer need to decide for God. Those who have been "elected" by
God, without any action on their part, already have eternal life, and the rest
have no hope of attaining to it. But this very thing would be in complete
contradiction of God’s justice. With God, absolute freedom prevails, and no one
is compelled to believe. The actual state of affairs here is explained to us
both by Peter and by Paul.
Peter, to those who reside as aliens, who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father.
1Pet 1,1, Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To
those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia,
Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen 1,2 according to the
foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit,
to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be
yours in the fullest measure. 1Pet 1, 1- 2;
For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son.
Rom 8,28 And we know that God causes all things to
work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according
to His purpose. 8,29 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined
to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn
among many brethren; Rom 8,28-29;
The Father then, in his foreknowledge (omniscience) has
previously recognized, and chosen or predestined, those who will
decide for him in the course of their lives. God knows them all by name
since the beginning of time, and as we read in Jn 10,29, has given them to his
Son as a gift. These are the sheep who will listen to the voice of the Good
Shepherd – not, however, as the result of an arbitrary preselection by God, but
in view of their decision while they are alive to accept God as their Father and
Jesus Christ as their Savior.
Since we human beings, on the other hand, are not possessed of omniscience, we
do not have any such foreknowledge, but can only recognize whether a person is
saved when he comes to believe, is re-engendered by the living word of God and
stands firm in the faith to the end of his life. Anyone who thinks that he might
be able to miss out on this development that has been prescribed by God – on the
basis of Predestination, say, or a mistaken understanding of rebirth – is
committing a fatal error.
Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God.
2Jn 1,8 Watch yourselves, that you do not lose what
we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward. 1,9 Anyone who
goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God;
the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son. 1,10 If
anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into
your house, and do not give him a greeting; 1,11 for the one who gives him a
greeting participates in his evil deeds. 2Jn 1, 8-11
(See also Discourse 69: "Predestination
and the chosen")
And here we come back to the statements made by Our Lord in Jn
10,27-30, where we are told that his sheep hear his voice and that when he calls
them by name they will follow him.
I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.
Jn 10,27 "My sheep hear My voice, and I
know them, and they follow Me; 10,28 and I give eternal life to them, and
they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. 10,29
"My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no
one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 10,30 "I and the
Father are one." Jn 10,27-30;
When advocates of Predestination refer this passage to
themselves, thinking that God has "chosen" them out of all the human race by
an arbitrary act of will and without any action on their part, this reference is
actually to those people whom the Father has recognized in his omniscience at
the start of creation as being the ones who would decide for God in the course
of their lives. These are the ones of whom the Lord Jesus says, in Jn 10,29,
that the Father has given them to him. He knows them all and calls them by name,
and they follow him. And he gives them eternal life and they will never perish -
not because they have been preordained by God on the basis of coincidence, but
because they had free choice and themselves decided for this God and his Son
Jesus Christ.
But of course the above text, Rom 11,19-22, also bears an
important relation to the theme with which we are concerned. We stand by faith
alone – and not as the result of any kind of elitist and arbitrary preselection
on the part of God. If we remain in the goodness of God, it will become our
portion. If not, we will fall out of God’s goodness and fall away from faith.
This is what we are told by all the scriptural passages quoted above, and indeed
in principle by the entire New Testament. All statements promising eternal life
invariably contain at least a condition, as does for example this statement of
Our Lord’s in Jn 3,36:
He who believes in the Son has eternal life.
Jn 336 "He who believes in the Son has
eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the
wrath of God abides on him." Jn 3,36;
So if a person does not obey the Son, the wrath of God abides on
him and he is lost. Here it is completely immaterial whether the person, in his
disobedience, has never come to faith at all or whether he has become a believer
and then fallen away from the faith. This very situation, in which it becomes
necessary to exclude a believer from the congregation of believers for
disobedience, is described to us by the Lord in Mt 18.15-17, after all:
If your brother sins, and refuses to listen, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.
Mt 18,15 "If your brother sins, go and show
him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother.
18,16 "But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so
that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed. 18,17
"If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he
refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax
collector. Mt 18,15-17;
But how is it now that the Lord first promises to the faithful
that "they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand"
(Jn 10,28), and then again in the above passage, Mt 18,17, orders the
disobedient brother excluded from the congregation and treated like a Gentile
and a tax collector? This very crux gives us a clue to the solution of the
problem, and an explanation of the general misunderstanding of these matters.
As may be seen from the false doctrine of Predestination, we in the congregation
are always exceedingly generous when it is a matter of attributing honor and
importance to ourselves. This applies likewise to those denominations that like
to see themselves as the "New Israel" and deny God’s people of Israel any
expectation of salvation. All the prophecies that were made to Israel are thus
recast to refer to the congregation instead – though only in a positive sense.
All the judgments and punishments which await Israel too in the last days are
neatly swept under the carpet by advocates of this doctrine.
And in the same way the 144,000 who are sealed in Rev 7, of whom Scripture
states that there are 12,000 from each of the tribes of Israel – so they must be
Israelites – are reinterpreted and applied to the congregation free of charge,
with the assertion that these are "the full number of all those who have come
to believe". The woman in heaven too (Rev 12), with the crown of twelve stars,
who likewise stands for God’s people of Israel with its twelve tribes, is
reinterpreted as "the congregation of all time".
(See also Discourse 06: "The
144,000 who were sealed: Israelites, or the congregation of the Last Days?")
(See also Excursus 10: "The
woman in heaven.")
And the same thing happens with a number of other scriptural
statements that have no reference to the congregation – such as the 24 elders in
Rev 4,10 ff, the bride of the Lamb in Rev 21 (see also, in this connection, God’s
promise to Israel in Hosea 2:21-22) or the martyrs of the First Resurrection
(Rev 20,4) of whom Scripture tells us that they have been beheaded – put to
death – on account of their faith. But seeing that we are also told of these
martyrs that they will reign as priests and kings with Christ in the Millennial
Kingdom, this stirs ambitious thoughts in some denominations.
So that they see
themselves, Christian humility or not, as future "priests and kings" -
although none of them has ever in his life had the least difficulty about
practicing his faith, let alone been threatened with death for it. In the same
way, too, people have been anxious to spare the congregation the afflictions of
the Great Tribulation, and so – in spite of the quite plain statements of
Scripture on this point – have predated the Rapture to a time before the
Tribulation.
(See also Discourse 72: "Who
are the twenty-four elders in the Revelation of John?")
(See also Discourse 15: "Who
is the bride of the Lamb")
(See also Discourse 07: "The
Rapture and the First Resurrection: a single event?")
(See also Discourse 65: "Why
the Rapture is to be placed at the sixth seal, before the day of the wrath of God")
And so when it comes to the rebirth of the Christian, people
have judged here too in a spirit of generosity. A distinction between
re-engendering and rebirth – is this not a hair-splitting matter? This would
only confuse the brethren, and perhaps some of them would even think it
indecent, in view of this talk of "engendering". So let’s just call it
rebirth. That sounds a lot better right away. And for the certainty of
salvation, too, we need something we can hold onto. Ideally speaking, we want
eternal life right away and on the spot. And of course nothing is better suited
to this purpose than God’s supposed "preselection". This makes matters
immediately clear: you have the good on one side, and the bad on the other. And
what is more, you yourself can still determine that you belong to the good.
What has been overlooked here, and continues to be overlooked, is the justice
and omniscience of God. God does not relieve us human beings of responsibility
by taking the decision out of our hands. Each human being, in the course of his
life, must make the decision in person whether he accepts God’s offer of
salvation through the redeeming sacrifice of his Son or refuses to accept it.
And no matter how the decision now goes, it can still be reversed again – quite
freely! No one else, in the sight of God, is entitled to change this decision of
the individual – whether it is a matter of forcing a believer to fall away from
the faith, or of compelling an unbeliever to become a Christian.
Only the person
in question has the freedom that is required – which includes the freedom to
revise his own initial decision. When a converted Christian, however, later
decides to renounce his God again, he has no possibility of return. Anyone who
has been spiritually impregnated by the word of God, and so by the Holy Spirit,
and who then digs up the seed again and throws it as feed to the birds, has
deprived himself of eternal life. From this time on, his name is blotted out of
the Book of Life.
That God in his omniscience knows, right from the beginning of creation, the
final decision of every individual human being who has ever lived and who ever
will live, is a biblical fact; but for us human beings it has no relevance at
all. We see just what is in front of us, but what is going to happen in the next
moment remains hidden from us. So we cannot judge the final course of another
person’s faith either. We can and must only examine our own path before God,
and correct our course in case of need. And we have to keep at it, in other
words we must stand firm in faith in Our Lord.
So no one can snatch us out of the hand of the Lord, no one can separate us from
Jesus Christ, the Son of God – apart from ourselves. We have taken the
decision to believe in Jesus Christ ourselves, and in the same way we ourselves
can revoke this decision. In his justice, God leaves us complete freedom. And
just like the sheep that went astray in the parable, because it set off on
another path and separated itself from the flock, so we Christians too are
constantly at risk of letting go the hand of the Lord for one reason or another.
And as the Lord shows in Mt 18,15-17, in that case he will certainly come in
search of us – through conversations with the brethren or the whole
congregation. But as we have been able to see from the scriptural passages
quoted earlier, it repeatedly happens that we come upon brethren who just do not
want to return to the faith – for the very reason that they, like all of
us, have not yet been reborn but only re-engendered, and so have no guaranteed
ticket for eternity.
For it is impossible to renew again to repentance those who have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit and then have fallen away.
Hbr 6,4 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, 6,5 and have tasted the good word of God
and the powers of the age to come, 6,6 and then have fallen away, it
is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to
themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame. Heb 6, 4- 6;
(See also Discourse 83: "Is
the omniscience of God a contradiction of human free will?")
And this is just what preachers so often skirt over when quoting
Jn 10:27-30 and similar passages. Not out of malice, but because they often just
concentrate on what is going to "boost the numbers", in other words on what
their audience wants to hear. They teach what their hearers want to be told, but
leave out the most telling point of all. And this is what gives rise to these
mistaken doctrines – like Predestination, or rebirth in the Christian’s
lifetime or the certainty of salvation for ever and for all time. One would be
equally well justified in guaranteeing to a mother, just after she has
conceived, that her child will be born in perfect health and without
complications. Which would be quite nonsensical.
So according to Scripture there is no such a thing as rebirth while we are
alive, nor is there any certainty of salvation, though these doctrines are often
preached by the brethren. We are only certain of our salvation when we have
died, and we are only reborn when we are resurrected from the dead.
But it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved
Mt 10,22 "You will be hated by all because of
My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.
Mt 10,22;
But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.
Mt 24,12 "Because lawlessness is increased,
most people’s love will grow cold. 23,13 "But the one who endures
to the end, he will be saved. Mt 24,12-13;
If we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end.
Hbr 3,6 but Christ was faithful as a Son over His
house-whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the boast
of our hope firm until the end. Hbr 3,6;
He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death.
Rev 2,11 ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what
the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt by
the second death.’ Rev 2,11;
And this also resolves the contradiction between many of the
so-called born-again Christians and their behavior. They are not reborn, but
only re-engendered, and will continue in this phase of spiritual development
until the end of their lives. Consequently they may encounter problems with
their faith in the course of their lives, even going so far as to fall away from
it altogether. But because this doctrine of rebirth in a person’s lifetime has
been accepted uncritically, so that the fact has not been recognized that we
here have to do not with rebirth but with a re-engendering – along with all the
associated hazards and deficiencies – such brethren are then frequently
classified as hypocrites, superficial and nominal Christians and so on.
And
consequently they are ostracized, instead of getting into a serious talk with them and
admonishing them, in a spirit of love, and urging them to return to the faith.
If this does not yield any result, two or three brethren should repeat these
admonitions, and finally the whole congregation should pass judgment on the
matter. Only if all these efforts have proved unavailing should the person be
excluded from the congregation.
Now because for re-engendered Christians the same standards cannot be applied as
will hold good for people who have truly been reborn after their resurrection,
we need a biblical basis for orienting ourselves so as to be able to examine our
attitudes and the direction of our path in faith, and correct these if
necessary. And here the observations we find in MacArthur’s book, even if he
applies them to "reborn" Christians, are extremely helpful, and testify to a
profound knowledge of the situation as it is in the congregations today, as we
can see in the following extract.
Self-examination is as important today as it ever has been.
If statistics tell us that there are more than a billion Christians in the
world, we have to ask who has established criteria for determining this. At
all events these figures do not match what Jesus said about the broad way
and the narrow way. If we figure in a statistical survey as a born-again
Christian, that is not yet any kind of guarantee of our eternal destination.
In the congregation there are several different categories of persons who
are led astray. Of course these include the hypocrites who only make a show
of piety. Then there are the superficial, nominal Christians who only call
themselves Christians because they went to Sunday school as children and
made a "decision for Christ", but have not taken any further interest in
the difference that faith actually makes. Others again are heavily involved
in church functions; they know the facts of the gospel, but do not obey the
word of God. Perhaps they attend services because of the good feeling it
gives them, or because they hope to receive a blessing and to experience
healings, miracles and supernatural gifts. Perhaps they have committed to
the denomination, the congregation or the organization, but not to the word
of God. Some actually engage in the study of theology, but only out of
academic interest. But whatever the reasons may be, many – as Mt 7:22-23 tells
us – who have identified themselves with Christ and Christianity will be
turned away at the Last Judgment.
Here we must take note of the fact that preaching, prophecy, miracles or the
expulsion of evil spirits, even under the mantle of orthodoxy, is no proof
of actual salvation. God can act through unconverted human beings, and in
fact frequently does so. He made use of Balaam, who had not been born again
(Num 23:5) – and even of Balaam’s ass! Caiaphas, the impure high priest,
prophesied the death of Christ for the whole people (Jn 11:51-52). Through
the power of Satan mighty deeds may be accomplished, either in actual fact
or by illusion. The Egyptian magicians could actually imitate the miracles
that Moses performed. The wicked sons of Sceva in Acts 19 really drove out
evil spirits. Matthew 24:24 warns us of false Christs and false prophets who
will arise with signs and wonders. Satan can do some quite astonishing
things, and he will do all he can to get a person to believe that he is
saved.
Miracles, prophecies and mighty deeds are not the same thing as a holy life;
and without sanctification no one will see the Lord (Hbr 12:14). God wants
us to be a reflection of his essence: "… like the Holy One who called
you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written,
‘YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY’" (1Pet 1:15-16). "Therefore you
are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Mt 5:48). Because
God is holy, those too in whom He acts will become holier all the time.
Because God is perfect, those in whom He dwells will move more and more in
the direction of his perfection. If we have come to a standstill or gone off
at a tangent, then it is time to examine ourselves.
(This extract has been taken from the book "Lampen ohne Öl" ["The
Gospel According to Jesus"] by John F. MacArthur, published by Verlag CLV
– Christliche Literatur-Verbreitung e.V. [CLV Publishing House for the
Dissemination of Christian Literature], Bielefeld).
The above description of Christians led astray in the
congregations is absolutely correct, and is a true picture of the situation
which brethren who are true to the Bible have lamented repeatedly. One of the
reasons for this situation is the lack of interest in the word of God. The older
generation is often spiritually sluggish, and not really interested in the
statements we find in Scripture. And so neither are they prepared to go into
these matters in more detail and put their new insights into practice in their
life of faith. They have made themselves comfortable and, as they think, secure
with their current views, and do not want to have any call to revise them.
The younger generation on the other hand want, as is usually the case, to leave
the well-worn paths of their elders, but their journey often goes in the wrong
direction. Biblical study, prayer and new insights acquired on this basis are
things they reject; they prefer song, celebration and entertainment, without too
many demands being made on the thinking faculty. And so this kind of ‘easy
listening’ event, like "Celebrate Jesus", "Christival" and the "Jesus
Marches", has a large following. This inclination to ill-advised campaigning
is then also used in some congregations to "liberate" urban districts, or
even entire cities, from evil spirits. These people have still not realized that
the real enemy is not outside and around us, but is at work within us, in our
soul and our spirit – and he has plenty of latitude for action when we occupy
ourselves with external matters.
But presumably this is how it has to be, for how could true Christianity – the
body of Christ and the temple of God – suddenly become a mainstream mass
movement, when Our Lord tells us after all:
For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.
Mt 7,13 "Enter through the narrow gate; for
the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are
many who enter through it. 7,14 "For the gate is small and the way is
narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it. Mt 7,13-14;
Strive to enter through the narrow door
Lk 13,24 "Strive to enter through the
narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.
Lk 13,24;
MacArthur’s indication of the fact that preaching, prophesying
and the working of miracles are no proof of true salvation can readily be
confirmed – not least on the evidence of the examples adduced. You will find all
this in the congregations. But you will not find any reborn Christians. As the
Lord tells us in Mt 19:28, rebirth takes place only when human beings are
resurrected from the dead, and not during their lifetime.
And this now alters the entire picture. In the case of spiritual rebirth one
presupposes from the moment of its occurrence – correctly – a complete change of
personality in both a physical and a spiritual sense. The person who is born of
the spirit is like the wind, he comes and goes as he wishes and we do not know
where he comes from or where he is going to (Jn 3,8). But according to
scriptural tradition, the only case of such behavior that we know of is that of
Our Lord Jesus Christ after his resurrection. Among the living brethren there
has never yet been one who has been reborn, and so there are no Christians among
them either whose behavior is completely without fault.
Quite to the contrary, every Christian, and that means absolutely every single
one, has some kind of "shadow side". Whether it has to do with money, with
avarice and greed, with dishonesty, lying, cheating, gossip and backbiting,
alcohol and other addictions such as drugs and smoking, sexual proclivities like
homosexuality or even pedophilia, arrogance, overblown egotism, unbridled
ambition, tendencies to spiritualism and idol-worship or whatever it may be. But
all the same, we can present all such matters to the Lord in prayer, ask him to
forgive us, to help us in turning away from evil and to preserve us from such
temptations in future. In some cases perhaps the Lord will not free us from our
tendencies altogether, so that we may be reminded that it was not in our own
strength that we have overcome them. But he will give us the strength to
withstand them and keep them within bounds.
We are re-engendered of imperishable seed, through the living word of God (1Pet
1,23). So one of the very first signs of a re-engendered Christian is that he
nourishes himself from this imperishable seed, the word of God, on a daily
basis, by studying and familiarizing himself with Scripture. Someone who only
picks up the Bible on Sundays, like many Catholics, is actually on a spiritual
hunger strike, which in the last resort will end with spiritual death, just as
much as a conscious sin that has not been forgiven. Nor is it enough here to
focus on externalities and learn a few consoling scriptural verses by heart. It
is the content of the statements we find in Scripture that we must study and
understand.
And not just a few isolated verses, but the entire context, along
with the parallel passages. Only this kind of overview can make it possible for
us to understand the statements of Scripture connectedly, and so, step by step,
arrive at a thorough grounding in biblical knowledge. So if we want a
characteristic feature by which true Christians may be recognized, then it is
knowledge and understanding of the Bible above all that is the sign of a
re-engendered Christian. As a well-known proverb says, "Either this book keeps
us away from the devil, or the devil keeps us away from this book."
But just as in the case of biological procreation no guarantee can be given of
the healthy development of the child, so too spiritual re-engendering offers no
assurance of eternal salvation. In all scriptural passages where eternal life is
promised, we find at least one precondition, either explicitly or implicitly:
faith in the Lord Jesus. This means on the one hand faith in the divinity of Our
Lord. But then too, faith that he was sent by the Father and that he and the
Father are one. And it further includes faith in the vicarious sacrifice of Our
Lord for our sins, in his resurrection and in his future Second Coming. All this
and more is implied by this condition of faith in the Lord Jesus.
So an easy "Say Yes to Jesus" is not enough. We must put it all into
practice in our lives in order to demonstrate that our faith is real. We will
not always succeed, nor will we succeed from one day to the next, but we must
keep on working at it continually. And just as an expecting mother who has any
sense at all gives up smoking and alcohol, and adopts a diet that will give her
unborn child the best possible conditions for its development, so we too, as
re-engendered Christians, should avoid everything that could divert us onto the
wrong path and have a negative effect on the development of our life of faith.
And when Our Lord says to us in Jn 10,28:
I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.
Jn 10,27 "My sheep hear My voice, and I
know them, and they follow Me; 10,28 and I give eternal life to them, and
they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. 10,29
"My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is
able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 10,30 "I and the Father are
one." Jn 10,27-30;
we are not to see this – for the reasons stated above – as an
instant guarantee of eternal life. Before we have the right to make this promise
our own, we need to undertake – here above all – a serious self-examination:
o Do we really belong to the sheep of the Lord?
Have we accepted Jesus Christ as Our Lord and God?
Do we submit to him in our desires and our deeds?
Do we talk to him in prayer, with our gratitude and requests?
o Do we hear (and listen to) his voice?
Do we study his word – the Bible – daily?
Do we let the Holy Spirit act in us, and do we listen to him?
Do we pass on our understanding of the faith to others, and proclaim the gospel?
o Do we follow the Lord?
Do we aim to remain on the right path?
Do we examine our attitudes on an ongoing basis, and correct them when we detect
faults?
Do we ask the Lord for forgiveness when we go astray?
And even if we find that we fulfill all these conditions, we
must still be aware that this promise will only apply if we keep it all up right
through to the end of our lives, and remain steadfast in the faith. It is the
same as with a child: only when the pregnancy and the birth have gone through
without complications can the mother rejoice at having given birth to a healthy
newborn child.
When a person has once been born, he may have all kinds of problems
in the course of his life – up to and including his dying a
premature death. But it makes no difference whether he dies as soon
as he is born, or lives to the age of 90 or more, one thing no one
can ever take away from him – the fact that he has been a human
being. In the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne Mt 19,28 And Jesus said to them,
"Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the
regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne,
you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of
Israel. Mt 19,28; This is the true, the one and only spiritual
rebirth: the resurrection from the dead. |
Then I read your latest Discourse with interest. I am always
astonished by your far-ranging expositions. You repeatedly give me occasion
to reconsider the various questions, to correct my views or sometimes to
find confirmation of my own beliefs. With this Discourse, I too come to the
conclusion that it would be more accurate if we were to speak of
re-engendering rather than rebirth. But for me, speaking as a mother, this
brings up some quite practical questions. None of our children (and no human
being in the world) has contributed anything to its engendering or has been
able to decide whether it wanted to live or not. We have none of us been
able to care for ourselves in the prenatal state. Each of us was dependent
on the care of his or her mother, or on external factors. Now my female
logic again comes to bear, and no doubt you will smile at it, but I think
that we are wholly and completely dependent on the mercy of God. Recently it
has seemed that I keep hitting upon passages in the Bible where in the last
resort it is God who plays the active role. We (or I) often overestimate our
capacities and possibilities in relation to God. If he did not have mercy, I
would not have a chance. Realizing this, I feel enormous gratitude. But I am
firmly convinced that it is only the Lord who is responsible for my coming
safely to the goal.
Brunhilde Bollmeyer brunhilde.bollmeyer@gmx.de
The last statement here – ‘But I am firmly convinced that it
is only the Lord who is responsible for my coming safely to the goal’ -
testifies to an admirable trust in God. Also the remark ‘If he did not have
mercy, I would not have a chance’ is one that every Christian of sound belief
would completely agree with. Unfortunately, however, in such statements and
confessions of faith the background is often obscured. The questions only begin
when we analyze the foundations for a conviction of this nature.
This is because from the point of view of ‘predestination’ (an arbitrary
selection of people by God, to eternal life or eternal damnation) – a view which
forms the basis of the above comments – the reason why God is responsible for
some people’s ‘safely reaching the goal’ is the elitist position of these
brethren as the ‘elect’ of God. They think that they have been chosen by God
out of all human beings before the beginning of creation and predestined to
eternal life, quite arbitrarily and without any action on their part, while the
rest of humanity – and of the Christian community!! – has been condemned to
eternal damnation, again for no reason whatever. They then also see this as God’s
mercy to them..
(See also Discourse 69: "Predestination
and the chosen")
And so it also forms part of the convictions of the advocates of
this doctrine of predestination that they do not have to contribute anything to
their salvation themselves – because on the basis of God’s election they have
already fulfilled all the conditions for eternal life. But even if the logic of
this conclusion is in itself perfectly correct, the foundation on which it is
based is in no way convincing..
So the advocates of this doctrine draw the further conclusion that the
individual does not have to decide for Christ in his life, even that he is not
able to decide at all, because God has already decided before he could.
According to this view, on the one hand you have those people whom God has
selected and who are preordained to eternal life, and then you have the rest of
humanity, who have not been selected by God and so are marked down for eternal
damnation. And neither group has any possibility left to it of doing anything in
their lives to change this situation. ‘Wheat remains wheat, and tares remain
tares’, as an advocate of this form of belief not long ago wrote at this
discussion forum, with reference to Mt 13,29.
And this view that the individual does not have to decide for or against God in
his lifetime, because God – before the beginning of creation, without any reason
and without any action on the part of the individuals concerned – has decided
for certain people, then naturally leads on to the conviction (correct as seen
from this point of view) that is expressed here: ‘But I think that we are
wholly and completely dependent on the mercy of God.’
This statement points, admittedly, to the perfectly correct fact that we are
completely and utterly dependent on the mercy of our God; but it does not say
why and how God has mercy on us. From the point of view of predestination, the
view is that God has mercy on his ‘elect’ before the beginning of creation
in an arbitrary act of will, preordaining them to eternal life as if they were
puppets.
But in actual fact the mercy of God was granted to us once and for all
in the death of his Son for our sins on the cross, almost two thousand years
ago. And we are able to avail ourselves of this in our prayers, and daily ask
for mercy and God’s forgiveness of our sins. According to Scripture this mercy
of God applies to all human beings who are prepared to decide for Christ and
accept his redeeming sacrifice for their sins.
The view taken by advocates of predestination, which sees only certain selected
people as saved and thinks the ‘elect’ do not have to do anything further to
contribute to their salvation, because it is always God who plays the active
role, is in blatant contradiction of what we find stated in the Bible. Scripture
excludes not a single human person from the possibility of salvation, but leaves
every individual the free decision whether to accept this offer of God’s or to
refuse it.
God desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
1Tim 2,3 This is good and acceptable in the sight
of God our Savior, 2,4 who desires all men to be saved and to
come to the knowledge of the truth. 2,5 For there is one God, and one
mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 2,6 who gave Himself as
a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time. 1Tim 2, 3- 6;
Even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men.
Rom 5, 18 So then as through one transgression
there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of
righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. Rom
5,18;
And so then, too, the first part of the above reply from Brunhilde
Bollmeyer boils down to the assertion that ‘None of our children (and no
human being in the world) has contributed anything to its engendering or has
been able to decide whether it wanted to live or not’, with an implicit glance
at the postulate of predestination – that individuals are unable to decide
either for or against God, seeing that it is only God’s selection that confers
salvation. This argument with reference to the comparison that had been made in
the above discourse between spiritual engendering and biological/physical
engendering, is in itself thoroughly accurate and logically based: if there
indeed is a certain parallelism here, then it would have to agree not just
through to the end, but also right from the beginning.
And here I must conclude, to my chagrin, that it seems I did not go into this
aspect with sufficient thoroughness, as my interpretation of this point
evidently did not stick in the mind of the reader. But the concern that I might
smile at this female logic is completely unfounded, particularly in connection
with this theme. Quite the reverse – recently a female visitor to Immanuel.at
wrote me, with reference to the present Discourse, that ‘Mistaken
interpretations of Scripture like this one (‘birth’ from water = baptism
rather than physical birth – FH) have only come about because in all these
centuries only men have interpreted the Bible, and no man has ever yet given
birth to a child’ (see above). But in order to make up for this neglect, I
would like here to repeat my original statements and explain them in somewhat
greater detail.
I took as my starting point the view that we are re-engendered (and not
reborn) as a result of our conversion, and that our life of faith, up to the
time of our death, is to be seen as a spiritual ‘pregnancy’, so concluding:
" (…)- in actual fact we have only been
re-engendered, and still have the whole spiritual ‘pregnancy’ (our further
life of faith until our death and resurrection, which is then the real rebirth),
with all the problems and difficulties that may arise, ahead of us.. "
At his or her conversion – or spiritual impregnation by the Word
of God – it follows, then, that the individual is comparable with a mother at
the time of physical conception. Just as the mother, after her physical
impregnation, carries the child in her womb, so the person who has been
spiritually impregnated by the Word of God carries the spiritual ‘seed’ in
his spirit.
And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is he who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit.
Mt 13,18 "Hear then the parable of the sower. The
seed is the word of God. 13,19 "When anyone hears the word of the
kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what
has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the
road. 13,20 "The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the
man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 13,21 yet he has no
firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution
arises because of the word, immediately he falls away. 13,22 "And the one
on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and
the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it
becomes unfruitful. 13,23 "And the one on whom seed was sown on the good
soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears
fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some
thirty." Mt 13,18-23;
This spiritual seed is the germ of that spiritual body in which
the human individual will be spiritually born in the resurrection – the true
rebirth, that is to say. As noted earlier, for the whole of our life of faith we
are thus in a condition of ‘spiritual pregnancy’, and are responsible for
the safekeeping of the spiritual fruit we bear. This spiritual fruit in our
spirit is that which was re-engendered at the time of our conversion. Coupled
with this, and a sign of it, is the bringing forth of fruit, the spreading of
the seed – the gospel – and the conversion of others to faith in Jesus Christ:
thirtyfold, sixtyfold or a hundredfold.
It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.
1Cor 15,42 So also is the resurrection of the dead.
It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body; 15,43 it is
sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in
power; 15.44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If
there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.1Cor 15,42-44
But the decision to be impregnated is one that we – as
physically existing human beings – have taken, just as a potential mother makes
the decision to let herself be impregnated. People who were spiritually
impregnated without their own consent – as postulated by predestination – would
be comparable with mothers who were made pregnant without the consent of their
will, or raped in other words. Although with human beings this is sadly a common
and regrettable fact, we can assume that God does no violence whatsoever to
human beings, but leaves them complete freedom to decide for themselves whether
they will confess this God or not.
Your above article (Discourse 85, FH), which I have
just read, gave me some moments of enlightenment. You confirm my previously
held view of rebirth being preceded by an insemination through the gift of
the Holy Spirit, and my skepticism of the increasing inflation and conceit
of being born again (each of the recent American Presidents, for example,
has claimed to be born again). The consistent follow-up to insemination
would be the spiritual maturing of the fruit conceived in the inner spirit
of the unconverted person, not your postponement of rebirth till after
death.
(…)The error of the Calvinists, is in their view of rebirth (the criteria
of which, just as with all others who lay claim to it for themselves, as far
as I can see, do not conform to the NT), so that people think much too early
on, and without any of the necessary conditions (battle of faith, etc.) that
they have been reborn.
But even after having reached the Kingdom of God, according to the Apostles
you need to have complete sanctification in order to be entitled to a part
in the heavenly calling (raising from the dead / gathering in the skies).
Only then could a person be counted among the elect, but this – to say it
once more – means that per se and today, without the Apostles, no
one can know of any one of our fellow human beings whether he or she is, any
more than whether he or she is damned. So we must as far as possible leave
it entirely to the decision and judgment of God! (…)
TK
Thank you for your visit to Immanuel.at and for your commentary.
Yes, your view is quite correct: one of the errors of the Calvinists has to do
with their view of rebirth. But mainly it was Luther’s mistranslation of Rom
8,29, which was gratefully adopted by Calvin and which resulted in the doctrine
of the "election" of human beings – some to eternal life and the
rest to eternal damnation – by a purely arbitrary act of God, without any
contribution from the individual person.
The correct translation of Rom 8,29 is as follows (NAS, Darby, King James):
Rom 8,29 For those whom He foreknew,
He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He
would be the firstborn among many brethren; Rom 8,28-29;
But Luther translated it like this:
Rom 8,29 For those whom He chose, He
also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would
be the firstborn among many brethren; Rom 8,28-29;
The original text states that God in eternity
"foreknew". So if God in eternity "foreknew" these people,
in the sense of "recognizing them beforehand" he must have been
looking for them. But in order to look for a person, it is absolutely essential
to have a search criterion associated with the person in question. And this
means that it could not be a purely arbitrary selection by God, but must have
been based on the actions of every individual human being in the course of his
or her life.
The simple answer is that God in his omniscience, already before the foundation
of the world, has sought out and recognized those human beings who during their
lifetime will decide for him and for his Son Jesus Christ. The names of these
people have been written by God in the "Book of Life" (Rev 3:5.13:8.21:27),
though according to Scripture they can be blotted out from it again (Ps 69:29).
(See also Discourse 100: "Johannes
Calvin: True and False Predestination.")
So much for Predestination as taught by Calvin. But when I now
consider your view of rebirth, where you write, with reference to the brethren
in the Christian congregations, that
"people think much too early on, and without any
of the necessary conditions (battle of faith, etc.) that they have been reborn.
But even after having reached the Kingdom of God, according to the Apostles you
need to have complete sanctification in order to be entitled to a part in the
heavenly calling (raising from the dead / gathering in the skies). Only then
could a person be counted among the elect (…)"
- here I detect a different and opposed kind of the the above incorrect
interpretation, whereby rebirth is dogmatically stated to be a "performance"
by the Christian believer, which has to be accomplished "first" if the
latter is to be "elected".
But as the Bible tells us (see the table below), spiritual rebirth has
nothing to do with a human being’s own performance – any more than does the
first, biological birth. As our Lord tells us in Mt 19:28 below, rebirth
(regeneration) is the resurrection of all human beings at the end of the world.
So it is a system-immanent event in the eternal existence of the human being -
of every human being. The assessment of what the individual life has
achieved will only happen thereafter, at the Last Judgment, when the Lord will
be seated on his throne of glory.
Biblical rebirth.Jn 3,7 "Do not be amazed that I said to
you, ‘You must be born again.’ 3,8 "The wind blows
where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes
from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.
" Jn 3,7-8; The Greek word which is translated in most Bibles as
"reborn" is anagegennemenoi (1Pet 1:3,23) or gegennetai
(Jn 1:13, 1Jn 2:29, 3:9, 4:7, 5:1,4,18) for "born of God". But
seeing that Ancient Greek makes no distinction between "born"
and "begotten", the translation "rebegotten" or
"begotten by God" is equally correct. For in the case of those who have once been been enlightened and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance. Hebr 6,4 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, 6,5 and
have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6,6
and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again
to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the
Son of God and put Him to open shame. Hebr 6,4-6; |
Although I have tried in the Discourse above to explain these
connections in detail and to demonstrate their truth in the light of the Bible,
it appears that I have not succeeded in convincing some critics of the
correctness of my interpretation. So I will try once again here to summarize
these biblical facts – this time briefly and succinctly – and the
conclusions that necessarily follow from them.
Of course it may well be that it is just the amount of reading they have to get
through that deters many readers – and they then plead as an excuse that they
"can’t get their heads around it". This is, of course, also the
reason why so many people seem to be "unable" to understand the Bible:
the simple truth is that they are too lazy to read the whole Bible attentively
"with heart and mind".
The eternal existence of every human being.Every individual human being who leaves the amniotic sac
of his or her mother alive in being physically born – who is "born of
water" (amniotic fluid), that is to say (Jn 3:5) – receives a human
spirit (1Cor 2:11) from God (Jn 4:24) with eternal existence (Mt 25:46).
In the first, temporal and earthly part of their existence – in their
life, human beings have the possibility of deciding, in complete freedom,
without any compulsion and with the help of the spirit given them by God (Gen 2:7; 6:3),
whether or not they will give this God, the creator of all life, their
complete trust and entire love. God will give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. Rom 8,11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised
Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead
will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in
you.. Rom 8,11; In the Resurrection (Rom 6:4-5),
the "rebirth
from the spirit" (Mt 19:28; 1Pet 3:18; Jn 3:7), human beings are
again given a body (Mt 22:30; Jn 3:8; Rom 8:10-11), similar to that of
the Son of God after his resurrection (Jn 20:26-27). If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 1Cor 15,42 So also is the resurrection
of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable
body; 15,43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it
is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 15,44 it is sown a natural
body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is
also a spiritual body. 15,45 So also it is written, "The first MAN,
Adam, became a living soul." (Gen 2,7) The last Adam became a
life‒giving spirit. 15,46 However, the spiritual is not first,
but the natural; then the spiritual. 15,46 However, the spiritual is not first,
but the natural; then the spiritual. 15,47 The first man is from the earth,
earthy; the second man is from heaven. 15,48 As is the earthy, so also are
those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly.
15,49 Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image
of the heavenly. 1Cor 15,42-49; With this body the human being
will then stand at the Last Judgment
before the Son of God, who has been given the task by God (Jn 5:22, 26-27)
of judging every human being on the basis of their earthly deeds and their
decision for or against God while still alive (Rom 2:16). The Son of God said: "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.
I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever;
that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know
Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you." Jn 14,15-17; In the light of this, the well known evangelist and preacher Wilhelm
Busch said to his hearers, "You don’t need to accept the message I am giving
you. You can choose not to convert to Jesus. But just be aware that this means you
are choosing hell! You have complete freedom – it’s your choice!" (People who are unable to believe) (See also Discourse 22: "Is
there such a thing as the immortality of the soul?") For all those who would like to have it short and
modern: |
The Biblical Trinity and some other specifics of the biblical Christian faithUnlike all other religions in the world, biblical Christianity is not
a religion. It is a relation. A relationship with – or
connection to – God, as our Father in Heaven. That is why our Lord
Jesus Christ told us: Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. Mt 23,9 9 "Do not call anyone on earth your
father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. Mt 23,9; So, in biblical Christianity, we do not call anyone on earth
our Father – the one and only Almighty God in heaven is our Father. In fact
God created not only us but all human beings, with Adam and Eve, our archaic parents, and is
therefore the father of us all. But very few people want to know anything
about this. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. Jn 4,23 "But an hour is coming, and now
is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth;
for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. 4,24 "God is
spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
Jn 4,23-24; And as Paul also confirms to us in his first letter to the
Corinthians, God’s Spirit dwells in us if we are God’s children. Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 1Cor 3,16 Do you not know that you
are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
3,17 If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the
temple of God is holy, and that is what you are. 1Cor 3,16-17; So this is a very similar connection to the one the Son of
God had with the Father during his mission on earth: Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? Jn 14,10 Do you not believe that I am in the
Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to
you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding
in Me does His works. 14,11 Believe Me that I
am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of
the works themselves. Jn 14,10-11; Finally, the Lord Jesus himself also tells us that the one
who loves him will be recognized by the fact that he will keep the word of
his Lord. And therefore the Father will love him, and both Father and Son
will come and make their abode with him (in his spirit). If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. Jn 14,22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him,
"Lord, what then has happened that You are going to disclose Yourself to
us and not to the world?" 14,23 Jesus answered and said to him, "If
anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We
will come to him and make Our abode with him. 14,24 "He who does not
love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine,
but the Father’s who sent Me. 14,25 "These things I have spoken to you
while abiding with you. 14,26 "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the
Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to
your remembrance all that I said to you. Jn 14,22-26; So, let us summarize: Paul tells us above, in 1Cor 3,16,
that the Holy Spirit dwells in us if we are children of God. The Lord Jesus
tells us above, in Jn 14,23, that the Father and the Son will come to us and
abide with us if we love the Son. Thus we have united Father, Son and Holy
Spirit in our spirit! It is therefore obvious that it is in the nature of spiritual beings to integrate
themselves both in the spirit of a human being, as well as in other spiritual beings. In their spiritual
form, they are non-material and can merge into each other, as when we empty one glass of
water into another on the material plane, and the two both waters become one (trinity). However, the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands; Acts 7,48 "However, the Most High does not
dwell in houses made by human hands; as the prophet says (Isa 66,1-2):
7,49 Heaven is my throne, and earth is the footstool of my feet; what
kind of house will you build for me?’ says the Lord; – Or what place
is there for my repose? 7,50 Was it not my hand which made all these
things?" Acts 7,48-50; In the biblical Christian faith, therefore, there is no rite, no liturgy, no
"masses", no priests, bishops, cardinals, popes or anything else like that.
Biblical Christian believers themselves are God’s temple and in their spirit
have immediate and direct connection with their heavenly Father. For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, "I will dwell in them and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people." 2Cor 6,14 Do not be bound together
with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness,
or what fellowship has light with darkness? 6,15 Or what harmony has
Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?
6,16 Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? And it is also this spirit of the children of God who will
live after the resurrection as a spiritual being in the eternal dimension
with our Father in heaven, after he has walked the path that our Lord Jesus
Christ has already gone before us as the first fruits (1Cor 15:20-28). But you, when you pray, go into your inner room and pray to your Father who is in secret. Mt 6,5 "When you pray, you are not to be
like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and
on the street corners (or on the "Wailing Wall"! / FH) so that they
may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.
6,6 "But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door
and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees
what is done in secret will reward you. 6,7 "And when you are praying, do
not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that
they will be heard for their many words. 6,8 "So do not be like them;
for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. Mt 6,5-8; |
(See also Discourse 1072: "The
Last Judgment.")
To finish, here is a little story on this theme. Two twins have
been begotten and are growing in their mother’s womb. Says one twin to the
other: I’m looking forward to our birth, then we will get to see the world.
Says the other twin: You’ve got it completely wrong. We were born a long time
ago, and what you see all around us, that is our world.