Understanding Salvation: Grace, Prayer, and Sanctification

I think the simple answer to it is that the way in which we come to know our election is through faith in Christ. We must never try to bypass Jesus Christ because for example, as Paul says in Ephesians 1, we are chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world. [00:03:22]

When you come to Christ, there is a kind of confidence that you find in Christ that He has embraced you, and that you are his. Then I think another thing that's obviously true is that if you have really been born again, then new family characteristics begin to display themselves in your life. [00:03:53]

I think pastorally one must always recognize that in some of these areas people do not have the paradigms to be able immediately to take in what scripture teaches, and sometimes they have been taught in a way that's contrary to the doctrines of grace. [00:05:09]

We pray because among other things, our prayers are part of the instrumentation God has planned in order that He would fulfill His purposes. This is really, when you think about it, it's a really wonderfully gracious thing that God has the power to do things without us, without our prayers, without our intercession. [00:12:12]

The sign would be that the presence of faith and hope and love. Faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, trusting in him. Hope, remember how Peter speaks in I Peter about the hope that is given to us in Jesus Christ. The third and most obvious one would be a love for Jesus Christ that produces first of all a love for his people, and then a love for those who don't know him. [00:14:04]

We fulfill all the responsibilities that God has given to us in his word as we trust in Jesus Christ and seek the help of the Holy Spirit to fulfill that. There's an integrated relationship, but we are never in a position where we can say, “Oh, that was the Holy Spirit,” and “Oh, that was me,” because what we do is always the fruit of the spirit of the working in us. [00:49:42]

I think that the best place to go for a one sentence answer to that is Philippians 2:12-13 where Paul urges the Christians to work out their salvation, which is not working up their salvation, but working out the salvation that God has already worked in. [00:49:06]

I think the answer to that has got to be, first of all, that we see a new generation of ministers who love and trust Christ, and who expound his word, who love his people. One of the things I think obviously we very much would like to see is God raising up more and more ministers who have evangelistic gifts in communicating the gospel in the present age. [00:38:23]

I think one of the things that has always burdened me is that in the life of the church it's the prayerlessness of the church that stands out most of all. Also, I think another challenge in the church is this, that in the Western world, especially in the Western world, life is becoming tremendously dysfunctional. Families are becoming tremendously dysfunctional. [00:40:55]

I think it's true that people, many people say just obedience to the law is legalistic because actually what they are irritated by is the notion that anybody would tell them what to do. But if you are Christian, Jesus tells you what to do. He says if you love me, keep my commandments. So faith in Christ produces love for Christ. [00:17:09]

I think the third thing, however, that I might say is the one thing that the doctrine of election does is underline that we are utterly helpless, and we need God to save us. I think it's true that people sing about that, and yet when you ask them about it they say, “No, I don't really believe that.” [00:31:12]

I think a very helpful thing to do is to show them what Jesus Himself believed. A good illustration of that in one of the more difficult doctrines, the doctrine of election, is I find to take people to Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus evangelistic invitation, come to me all you who are weary and heave laden. [00:06:14]