05.04 - Chapter 27 - The Work of Salvation
Chapter 27 THE WORK OF SALVATION The Word and Salvation In the process of salvation the Holy Spirit is pleased to used means to convey the truth to the heart of the sinner. Sometimes the reading of the Word is sufficient. More often the Lord is pleased to use the preaching of the Word as an effectual means of convincing and converting sinners and of building them up in holiness and comfort through faith unto salvation. In the fourth century AD there was born in Africa a man who would change the world. The natural product of a Christian mother and a pagan father, he tried to find peace in his troubled heart. At first, he tried to find peace in pleasure. He did what he wanted to do morally thereby breaking the holy commandments of God. Next, he tried to find peace in the pagan religion of Manichaeism. Then he tried logic and education. It was all to no avail. His soul was as restless as the sea until one day in a garden he heard the voice of a child at play saying, "Take and read; take and read." An impression was made upon his mind that he should read the Scriptures. And so it was, in the garden of his friend Alypsius, that Augustine picked up a Bible, opened it at random to Romans 13:13-14 and read these words: "Let us walk honestly, as in theday; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness [i.e. sexual promiscuity and sensuality], not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts. thereof" Peace finally came to Augustine’s soul and he said to a friend, "I have been regenerated." That is the way God works. The Effect of Common Grace A large part of the Christian community believes that Common Grace is sufficient to enable any sinner to do that which will either merit salvation, or at least secure larger degrees of grace, which, if duly improved upon, will result in salvation. Tragically, this view of Common Grace puts the efficiency of salvation primarily in the hands of man so that it cannot be said that salvation is wholly of the Lord. That will not do. God is a jealous God. He will not share His glory with anyone. He will not share the glory of salvation with man. A flawed view of Common Grace diminishes the need for Christ and robs God of His glory. "No man is entitled to a feast of forgiveness and a banquet of pardoning mercy who thinks he deserves them. Those who know they don’t deserve them are the only one who will ever have them." (Bob Jones, Sr.) When I stand before Thy throne, Dressed in beauty not my own; When I see Thee as Thou art, Love Thee with unsinning heart, Then, dear Lord, shall I fully know-- Not till then--how much I owe. An alternative view to a system of salvation by good works is to realize that that Common Grace has limitations. Common Grace is only sufficient to convince individuals of sin and of their need of redemption and to render men inexcusable for sin and unbelief. Common Grace is designed to cast all hope upon the crucified Christ.
Lets not conscience make you linger, Nor of fitness fondly dream;
All the fitness He requireth, Is to feel your need of Him.
♦ Romans 1:20 “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:”
♦ Romans 2:1 “Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.”
♦ Acts 14:17 “Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us ain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.” The Resistance of the Heart to Common Grace
While Common Grace is designed by God to awaken and incite the sinner to better things it can be resisted. Sin lures unwary souls from the path of righteousness. Though the Holy Spirit warns and entreats, they grieve Him and drive Him away.
♦ Acts 7:51 “Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.”
♦ 2 Timothy 3:8 “Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.”