God's Grace Makes Much Of God

If there is one thing I love, it is the grace of God. And this grace was supremely revealed at the cross of Christ, where He was slain for the sinful. When I think about my salvation, I always like to put it in its proper context in order to make much of the grace of God. Grace pictured incorrectly diminishes God and makes grace look cheap. So, I don't picture myself standing at the gates of Heaven begging God to let me in. Then, God finally calls my name and I come sprinting through the gates of Heaven breaking the golden ribbon that was conveniently placed there to add drama to my entrance. Upon entrance there is a set of bleachers, you know the kind you see at a little league game, with a group of angels raising signs saying, "You made it," "Go you." No I don't picture my salvation like that, as flattering as it is. I don't picture myself playing a game of hide and go seek with God, one where God is hiding under my kitchen counter and I conveniently walk in as he sneezes alerting me to his position. Then, as I creep up to the counter doors I throw them open yelling, "FOUND YOU." No, when it comes to salvation God is definitely not the one hiding. I don't think either picture even comes close to touching the true reality and depth of the grace of God in a sinner's conversion like me. I like to picture my salvation like this: God is standing at the door of Heaven saying "Whosoever will, may come." But I am deaf to that call because I am running toward Hell with all the strength I can muster up all the while indulging myself in sinful passion along the way. But God overflowing in grace grabs me, turns me around, calls to my dead heart, "ARISE," and displays His infinite glory and worth to me. That is the way I picture my salvation and you should too, because apart from the grace of God you were deaf to God. And apart from the grace of God you were dead to God. Those who understand the reality of their deafness and deadness will picture their salvation like this, because it makes much of the grace of God. When I get to Heaven I am going to blame God for getting me there, because the same grace that grabs me is the same grace that guides me home. And that is how grace makes much of God.

Romans 9:16

"So then it depends not on human will and exertion

but on God who has mercy."

Photo Credit: Carissa Gallo

An Update On Church Life

For those of you that don't know me, I'm not a big sports fan. I rarely crawl out from underneath my rock to see what's going on in that world. As such, it was February 4th, 2007, that we had our first church service. Later that day I found out that it was Super Bowl Sunday. Not exactly what you would call a great marketing idea. But then again, the cause of Christ is bigger than grown men fighting to move an oblong ball pumped with air down a green field. I have to admit though, it was an accident on my part, but one that I look back on with a smile. I often think, "How funny!" That was almost three years ago. Time flies!

Fourteen. That's the number of people that were present in our first service. Several of those people were dear brothers and sisters that were faithful members of their own churches that wanted to be there to encourage and support us our first Sunday. It was an exciting morning because none of us knew what to expect. We just knew that it'd be chaotic from time to time and that we'd have to make due with what we had. We also knew that the Lord would provide as He saw fit.

The first two years were rough. But then no one ever said ministry was easy. There were times when the only ones present were my wife, my daughter and yours truly. On those particular Sundays we'd have a short devotion and then go out to have breakfast and then I'd head to work a little earlier than normal. Those days were tough to rejoice in the Lord. There were a few times when I felt like calling it quits on the whole church-planting. I imagined that I'd take my family to an already established church that perhaps needed help with preaching. Then I'd grab the phone book and see that there weren't really any churches up here that held to a Calvinist/Reformed belief system. Because I know the grace teachings that flow from these beliefs, it troubled me that maybe only one or two churches in this whole desert area were like ours. So I put the phone book down, confessed my selfishness to God and then went right back to sermon preparation and evangelizing those whom God put in my path. This whole doubt thing with the phone book has happened on about five or six occassions.

The first two years were like a roller coaster. Many of the people that attended our church were from the dealership that I worked at. If you're not familiar with the car business, let me just say that the employment turnover is high. Not coincidentally, our church suffered the same turnover rate. It was always a bummer to lose someone because of schedule changes or relocations, but I still keep in contact with those dear brothers and they are growing strong in the Lord in their current locations. For that I praise God.

The first two years were spiritually transforming. I continually reminded our congregation that a right preaching of the Scripture and administering of the ordinances were the marks of a true church. Regardless of how big or small we were, we were a legitate assembly of believers. The building, the programs, the size, the resources were irrelevant to whether or not we were a true church. I tried to stress the importance of faithfulness to God and not success by outwards standards or indicators. And let me tell you, that is a tough one to break. Sometimes numbers matter more to pastors than anything and that is a difficult thing to remove from one's thinking. God used John Piper's book, Brothers We Are Not Professionals, to play a huge role in reshaping my ministry understanding. I will say that numbers are not unimportant, but neither are they the ultimate indicator of the health and success of a church.

The first two years+ have been a big blessing. For ten years I was in full-time ministry and received a regular salary from my brothers and sisters in the church. Because our current church was/is just starting, I preach for free. I don't think I've ever enjoyed preaching so much. It's been the greatest blessing to be able to feed the flock of God without having to be a financial burden on them. The Lord has graciously provided for my family through secular employment.

Our time together has been a blessing because we've seen some unbelievers regenerated and come to faith in Christ. That has been the biggest blessing of all. I have long since moved away from decisional regeneration and have simply focused on sharing Scripture (publicly and privately) and letting God do the converting through His Word. I'm not so quick to ge a "decision" out of someone just so that I can say "We had one saved!" I'm genuinely more concerned to see someone truly born again by the Spirit, thus we have no altar calls or decision cards but rather a call to repentance and faith each and every week during the preaching of God's Word. There are no "just pray this prayer and you'll be saved" kind of stuff. There are biblical and theological reasons why I don't do this anymore; the main reason being that the biblical response to the gospel is "repent and believe" not anything else. This summer we baptized several that have confessed Christ as Lord and given evidence of regeneration. It was totally awesome.

Over the past couple of months, some interesting things have happened. We have about thirteen new people start attending. That's exciting because several are unsaved and we are praying for their conversion. It's also exciting to see believers (who were looking for a church) now growing in the grace and knowledge of Christ. We have some newer singles, seniors, married couples and children coming. What's great is that Christ has united us (those that are saved) regardless of ethnicity or age. What's great is that our unsaved visitors are being brought because of Christ. They know exactly why they are coming and what they should expect to hear. None are hoodwinked into thinking that they are coming to get entertained and then blind-sided with the gospel. There's no bait-and-switch. I love it. Just the reality of God and His Word.

A few weeks ago, another interesting thing happened. I became friends with a Pastor of a church that is about five miles away. Recently, I preached at this brother's church on a Sunday night. The reason I preached was because we are slowly (and I means slowly) talking about the possibility of merging our two churches. My new friend has been wanting to retire for some time and is seeking a replacement. Being the founding pastor of the church, he is the only pastor this church has ever known for 35 years. They're a small congregation--only about 40-50, but so are we...about 25-30.

Having never been a part of something like this, I have many questions and concerns. Ultimately, the glory of God is what I'm most concerned about. If our churches merge in a hastily fashion and factions forms, I do not want the gospel mocked in the community because of a church split. Secondly, I'm concerned for the members of both churches. If factions form and the church splits after a merger, I do not want the faith of any believer destroyed. So I'm very hesitant to go through with something like this. Yet I don't want fear to drive our decision...I want the glory of God to. And sometimes that is a risk worth taking.

My first criteria in deciding whether or not we merge is our theology. It's going to take some time to really see where they are. It's going to take some time for them to really see where we are. Hence, we are slowly setting up opportunities for me to preach at their location. I already mentioned that I preached there one Sunday night. Though the attendance was minimal, it was a wonderful opportunity to share God's Word which was received well.

The pastor and I have agreed that our churches should meet on Sunday, October 25th. That same morning I will be preaching to all and leading the entire assembly in a couple of spiritual songs. This meeting will serve to let their congregation know a little bit about our theology and will serve to help our church evaluate the second criteria of whether or not our churches should merge. Our second concern is brotherly and Christ-like love and submission (to each other and to the Word). If their church is not teachable, it would be a tough merge. If their church is turned inward and not receptive to others, it would be a tough merge. I don't imagine that is the case, but that morning will give us the chance to see if their church is characterized by glad submission to the Word and to other believers.

If things progress from here, I imagine that more preaching times will be scheduled and some sort of plan or map will be laid out for a smooth merge and transition from one pastor to the next. I have also talked with all of our church families and they are cautiously hopeful of the situation. My desires is that we be in complete unity when it comes time to make a decision either way. Either we merge, if the Lord wills...or we continue doing what we're doing, if the Lord wills. Either way, we will rejoice in our Lord for bringing two churches together or for allowing us to become friends with another local church.

Again, my biggest concern has to do with the theology aspect. The church that we're considering merging with is just like the church I grew up in. Having spent some time with the pastor, I am almost 100% sure I know what they believe. We even went to the same Bible collge. That may sound like a good thing, but I no longer hold to some of the beliefs I grew up with and learned in college. I am a former Calminian...part Arminian, part Calvinist. I sort of chose the things I like from both sets of theology. Now I am a fully convinced Calvinist. My fear is that if I come out and say "Calvinist" that the stereo-type of a Calvinist will cloud their thinking and prevent meaningful dialogue and progress. When most people who do not hold to Calvinism hear of a Calvinist they are automatically taken to the stereo-type of a Hyper-Calvinist, which is rank heresy. And they are often transported to the word "predestination" or "election" as if that is the only thing a Calvinist believes or is focused on. Truth be told, everyone Christian has to admit that both of these things are a reality because they are in God's Word. The only thing is whether a Christian wants to come out and actually say what these things really mean. So all Arminians and Calvinists belief in these doctrines...they just have different understandings of them.

When I left my former church in Los Angeles there were things that were said about me that had everything to do with Hyper-Calvinism and not Calvinism. I don't want that same faulty understanding to prevent any meaningful progress in a potential church merge. Therefore, I am going to avoid labels and instead focus on preaching the Word. I am not ashamed of what I believe or afraid to confess it, I just know how people responds to labels. My prayer is that the love of God in our church would shine forth brilliantly to show that we have a heart for God, for the church and for the lost.

Well, that is where we are in the history of God's redemption plan. I have on idea what the final results will be from our perspective. But somehow it will end in God being glorified.

Why The Arminian View Of Election Is Incompatible With Scripture

There are generally two views on the doctrine of election. One says that God looks down the corridor of time to see who would put faith in Him. With God's foreknowledge He is able to see who would believe in Him and it is those people whom God elects to salvation. As I understand it, this is the Arminian view of election. And it does a good job at preserving the will of man as the ultimate cause of our election and consequent salvation.

The other view of election says that there are no conditions on which God elects a sinner to salvation. Election is the perogative of God and God's choosing of people for salvation is based on His Sovereign gracious will. He chooses us first and we are the ones who respond to Him. This is the Calvinist view of election. This view upholds the will of God over that of man.

I believe that the Calvinist view is the one that is in line with Scripture and that the Arminian view leaves room for boasting in what man does. According to the Arminian view, election is then based on man's choosing God first, not grace.

Now if you will follow me on this line of thought, I will hopefully explain from one angle why the Arminian view is not compatible with the Scriptural view of election.

In 2 Peter 1:1, Peter writes to those who have "obtained a like precious faith." The word "obtained" means to receive by Divine allotment. In other words, faith is given to people at the discretion of God. To put it in other terms, faith is a gift of God. This is exactly what the Apostle Paul says in Ephesians 2:8-9. Faith is a gift of God so that there is no room for boasting in what man does. If you cannot come to grips with this idea (faith as a gift) then we will not be able to go any further in this line of reasoning. You must be convinced that faith is a gift. 2 Peter says it is. Scripture supports this idea elsewhere as we'll see shortly.

A couple of questions arise at first glance...at least in my head. What is the definition of faith? And how is it given to us...how do we obtain it? Let's first put together a working defintion of faith.

Faith is "the conviction that God exists and is the creator and ruler of all things, the provider and bestower of eternal salvation through Christ. Faith is "a strong conviction or belief that Jesus is the Messiah, through whom we obtain eternal salvation in the kingdom of God." To put it another way: faith is absolute certainty that Christ is Who the Father has revealed Him to be and vice versa. Faith is also confidence in who the Spirit has revealed Father and Son to be through the Scriptures. Faith and trust are often used synomously. When we say that we have faith in Christ, we are saying that we trust Him because He has revealed Himself to be trustworthy. Did you get that last phrase? The reason we trust Christ is because He has revealed Himself to be worthy of trust or faith. Faith then must be instilled in a person as the object of faith proves itself to be worthy of trust. Faith is not blind trust. That is an unbiblical definition of faith. That is the world's definition of faith. No where does God ever call us to trust Him without knowing Him. He calls us to trust Him as He has shown Himself to be. That being said, Christ is faith worthy. We cannot know this about Him through general revelation alone. The Lord must deliberately and specifically reveal Himself so that we can see that He is worthy of faith and confidence. This in essence is how we obtain faith. When God reveals Himself, faith is given to us or instilled in us. That is why faith comes by hearing the Word of Christ. Christ speaks of Himself as all of Scripture does. When we hear of Christ we see His glorious nature and it's in seeing His nature that we see that we can trust Him for life and salvation...and so we trust Him. That is how God gives faith to us. We obtain it by special revelation...the Word of God.

As an example, I would say that I trust my wife because she has shown herself to be trustworthy. I don't blindly have faith and confidence in her. I trust her because I have seen her character. That is exactly how God calls us to trust in the Son. We trust what we've been shown. I believe this is the Biblical definition of faith.

Now even if the Arminian view of election was right...let's assume that it is for right now. Even if that view was correct, we're still left with the question: What specifically is man trusting about Christ? The answer: He's trusting that Christ is the righteous Savior that the Father sent and that the Spirit revealed. Both Arminian and Calvinist would agree. But we must take it a step further. How did the Arminian come to know that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior? How did the Arminian come to know that the Son was the Savior? Matthew 16:17 tells us that the Father reveals who Christ is. Matthew 11:27 tells us that it is the Son who reveals the Father and that the only ones who know the Father are the ones whom the Son chooses to reveal the Father. The Son elects or choose who gets to know the Father. The Father chooses or elects who gets to know the Son. If neither the Father or the Son choose to reveal the other then you cannot trust them in the way that leads to salvation. What exactly are you going to trust if they have not revealed themselves to you? You cannot obtain or receive faith if they choose to remain hidden to you.

Now if you're following where I'm going with this, and you adhere to the Arminian view of election, then you're forced to say that the only reason a person is elected to salvation is because they had faith in God. But you must add this next thought to your understanding of election. The reason that anyone would ever obtain faith in God, in Christ, is because God elected or chose to reveal Himself which is the means by which we are given faith. The Arminian is forced, at this point, to basically agree with the Calvinist. God chose us first, not the other way around.

So if God had to look down the corridor of time to see who'd choose Him, what He'd see first and foremost is that He chose to reveal Himself so that faith could be given to or instilled in sinners so that they'd choose Him. The Arminian view is just not compatible with Scripture. It is forced to ignore the means by which God gives a person faith. If you toss out that doctrine, then the Arminian may have a leg to stand on. But you can't toss out that doctrine. And you just can't stop with faith being put in Christ. You must go to the source of that faith. When you go to the source, you're brought back to the reality that God is the causation of our faith. And then you're forced to believe what we Calvinists believe. God chose us without any condition on our part. It was His Sovereign grace that led us to know Him. That knowledge of Him is what created faith in us which led to our trusting in Him for salvation.

This wonderful song gives us a snapshot of what I'm trying to say.

I KNOW WHOM I HAVE BELIEVED
I know not why God’s wondrous grace
To me He hath made known
Nor why unworthy, Christ in love,
Redeemed me for His own

CHORUS
But I know whom I have believed
And am persuaded that He is able
To keep that which I’ve committed
Unto Him against that day

I know not how this saving faith
To me He did impart
Nor how believing in His Word
Wrought peace within my heart

I know now how the Spirit moves,
Convincing men of sin
Revealing Jesus through the Word,
Creating faith in Him



God bless you my friends. The doctrines of grace are much better than the doctrines of wage. ;-)

Life Changing

Our church has just finished going through a mid-week Bible study on the doctrines of grace. It was an awesome time as we learned about what God has done to bring us to Himself.

As I reflect on what these doctrines mean I have to say that they have brought about dramatic changes in my life over the past several years. Here is the effect God has wrought in my life through these scriptural teachings.

1. God has put in me a stronger love for the people in our church.
2. God has put in me a stronger love for sinners to come to Christ.
3. God has removed the fear of evangelism and given me courage to witness to many people.
4. God has helped me to make my preaching God-centered.
5. God has caused me to be more discerning over my theological influences.
6. God has helped me to rejoice in Him much more than in my circumstances.
7. God has helped me to hate my sin more and more.
8. God has removed the professionalization of ministry from my mind. Oh, how wonderful it is to be free from this mentality.
9. God has elevated the work of Christ to greater heights so that His grace abounds all the more.
10. God is establishing me in the faith more and more.

I know that there are some who think that these doctrines results in withering churches, divisions, arguments, grouchy people, pride, lack of evangelism, lack of prayer, over-emphasis on the sovereignty of God to the exclusion of man's responsiblity to believe the gospel, but nothing could be further from the truth.

Though there are some who can take these Biblical truths to a level of unbiblical living, that is more attributed to our depraved logic rather than reasoning from teachings of Scripture. For instance, I had a gentleman say to me the other day, "Since God has elected people to salvation then it doesn't matter what we do. He's going to save His people, right?" His argument is the same one I hear people consistently bring to the table. This is NOT what Scripture teaches. That is a faulty logical conclusion that Scripture does not lead us to. I say this to say that a right understanding of these doctrines should lead to godly living for they are from the mind of God.

Pastor John Piper offered a list of ten effects that Calvinism should have on the believer. He states that if these ten things do not result in your life then either he has failed to teach them properly or the individual has a hard heart.

1. These truths make me stand in awe of God and lead me into the depth of true God-centered worship.
2. These truths help protect me from trifling with divine things.
3. These truths make me marvel at my own salvation.
4. These truths make me alert to man-centered substitutes that pose as good news.
5. These truths make me groan over the indescribable disease of our secular, God-belittling culture.
6. These truths make me confident that the work which God planned and began, he will finish – both globally and personally.
7. These truths make me see everything in the light of God's sovereign purposes – that from him and through him and to him are all things, to him be glory forever and ever.
8. These truths make me hopeful that God has the will, the right, and the power to answer prayer that people be changed.
9. These truths reminds me that evangelism is absolutely essential for people to come to Christ and be saved, and that there is great hope for success in leading people to faith, but that conversion is not finally dependent on me or limited by the hardness of the unbeliever.
10. These truths make me sure that God will triumph in the end.

Perhap you have your own list to contribute.

A Wonderful Surprise

The first time I was confronted with the Doctrines of Grace I hated them! How cruel God seemed to me if these things were true. How dare my "free will" be infringed upon. Yes, God chose me for salvation, but that was only because I first chose Him. That was my Arminian view and it destested the doctrines that I have now come to love.

As a matter of fact, almost everyone that I have talked to that believes the doctrines of grace has at some point resisted them. But them someone lovingly helped them press into the Scriptures that they might see these truths for themselves and then finally come to understand what they mean. How detestable are these truths until the Lord enlightens our minds and causes us to love them--for they reveal the nature of God. And how can a child of God not love his Father's nature?

It came as a wonderful surprise to me the other day when I found out that an administrator and my professor from my first year in Bible College (1991) converted to the Doctrines of Grace. I was shocked and esctatic! I am not alone is coming to these glorious truths! Here was a godly and extremely intelligent man who, by God's grace, came to believe what is commonly called Calvinism. God gave rise to another reformer. And don't you just love it! I do! Here is his bio from Sermonaudio.com. (Give a listen to some of his sermons on church history.)

Pastor Jeff Massey had been a pastor for eight years, when he came to a full conviction of the Doctrines of Grace. He left his Denomination in 1995 to become part of the Reformed Baptist movement. He joined Sovereign Grace Baptist Church , and was ordained as an Elder in 1999. He is married to Melissa, and they have three children, Justis (23), Jeremy (20) and Joseph (18). Pastor Jeff is continuing his education as a full-time student at Westminster Seminary California and the Institute of Reformed Baptist Studies in Escondido. It is his goal to obtain an M.Div degree. At SGBC, Pastor Jeff regularly teaches Adult Sunday School during the regular year and Church History classes in the summer. His primary focus is on teaching, and pastoral oversight.

There are little reformers rising all around and I get all goose-pimply thinking about it. It seems to me that God is causing a revival to take place amongst His people. A modern reformation seems to be on the prowl and only the Lord knows the impact this will have on the world.

In our church we have spent Monday and Tuesday nights going through a series of lessons on these doctrines. There are twenty-something year-olds spending two hours on a weeknight in my home listening and desiring to know more of God and His grace. That puts a grin on my face that won't go away. God's people are hungry for doctrine and as a result they are growing in holiness as the come to see their Savior clearly in the Word.

This post might seem like a ramble and I'm sure it is. I just wanted to say that I'm wonderfully suprised at what God is doing. Young and old are being drawn away from a pragmatic, program-driven, self-help, pyschology preaching churches. God is putting them under shepherds who will teach the Word in unadulterated fashion. God is bringing us back to know what it truly means to be saved by His grace!

If you are hostile to the Doctrines of Grace/Calvinism, I lovingly urge you to dive into them to see what they are really about. If you rightly understand them, your evangelism will soar through the roof, your worship of God will be uncontainable, your desire for the Word will intensify, holiness will increase, fellowship will come more naturally and God will be glorified through it all.

The Cambridge Declaration

April 20, 1996

Evangelical churches today are increasingly dominated by the spirit of this age rather than by the Spirit of Christ. As evangelicals, we call ourselves to repent of this sin and to recover the historic Christian faith.

In the course of history words change. In our day this has happened to the word "evangelical." In the past it served as a bond of unity between Christians from a wide diversity of church traditions. Historic evangelicalism was confessional. It embraced the essential truths of Christianity as those were defined by the great ecumenical councils of the church. In addition, evangelicals also shared a common heritage in the "solas" of the sixteenth century Protestant Reformation.

Today the light of the Reformation has been significantly dimmed. The consequence is that the word "evangelical" has become so inclusive as to have lost its meaning. We face the peril of losing the unity it has taken centuries to achieve. Because of this crisis and because of our love of Christ, his gospel and his church, we endeavor to assert anew our commitment to the central truths of the Reformation and of historic evangelicalism. These truths we affirm not because of their role in our traditions, but because we believe that they are central to the Bible.

Sola Scriptura: The Erosion of Authority

Scripture alone is the inerrant rule of the church's life, but the evangelical church today has separated Scripture from its authoritative function. In practice, the church is guided, far too often, by the culture. Therapeutic technique, marketing strategies, and the beat of the entertainment world often have far more to say about what the church wants, how it functions and what it offers, than does the Word of God. Pastors have neglected their rightful oversight of worship, including the doctrinal content of the music. As biblical authority has been abandoned in practice, as its truths have faded from Christian consciousness, and as its doctrines have lost their saliency, the church has been increasingly emptied of its integrity, moral authority and direction.

Rather than adapting Christian faith to satisfy the felt needs of consumers, we must proclaim the law as the only measure of true righteousness and the gospel as the only announcement of saving truth. Biblical truth is indispensable to the church's understanding, nurture and discipline.

Scripture must take us beyond our perceived needs to our real needs and liberate us from seeing ourselves through the seductive images, cliches, promises and priorities of mass culture. It is only in the light of God's truth that we understand ourselves aright and see God's provision for our need. The Bible, therefore, must be taught and preached in the church. Sermons must be expositions of the Bible and its teachings, not expressions of the preacher's opinions or the ideas of the age. We must settle for nothing less than what God has given.

The work of the Holy Spirit in personal experience cannot be disengaged from Scripture. The Spirit does not speak in ways that are independent of Scripture. Apart from Scripture we would never have known of God's grace in Christ. The biblical Word, rather than spiritual experience, is the test of truth.

Thesis One: Sola Scriptura
We reaffirm the inerrant Scripture to be the sole source of written divine revelation,which alone can bind the conscience. The Bible alone teaches all that is necessary for our salvation from sin and is the standard by which all Christian behavior must be measured.

We deny that any creed, council or individual may bind a Christian's conscience, that the Holy Spirit speaks independently of or contrary to what is set forth in the Bible, or that personal spiritual experience can ever be a vehicle of revelation.

Solus Christus: The Erosion of Christ-Centered Faith

As evangelical faith becomes secularized, its interests have been blurred with those of the culture. The result is a loss of absolute values, permissive individualism, and a substitution of wholeness for holiness, recovery for repentance, intuition for truth, feeling for belief, chance for providence, and immediate gratification for enduring hope. Christ and his cross have moved from the center of our vision.

Thesis Two: Solus Christus
We reaffirm that our salvation is accomplished by the mediatorial work of the historical Christ alone. His sinless life and substitutionary atonement alone are sufficient for our justification and reconciliation to the Father.

We deny that the gospel is preached if Christ's substitutionary work is not declared and faith in Christ and his work is not solicited.

Sola Gratia: The Erosion of The Gospel

Unwarranted confidence in human ability is a product of fallen human nature. This false confidence now fills the evangelical world; from the self-esteem gospel, to the health and wealth gospel, from those who have transformed the gospel into a product to be sold and sinners into consumers who want to buy, to others who treat Christian faith as being true simply because it works. This silences the doctrine of justification regardless of the official commitments of our churches.

God's grace in Christ is not merely necessary but is the sole efficient cause of salvation. We confess that human beings are born spiritually dead and are incapable even of cooperating with regenerating grace.

Thesis Three: Sola Gratia
We reaffirm that in salvation we are rescued from God's wrath by his grace alone. It is the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit that brings us to Christ by releasing us from our bondage to sin and raising us from spiritual death to spiritual life.

We deny that salvation is in any sense a human work. Human methods, techniques or strategies by themselves cannot accomplish this transformation. Faith is not produced by our unregenerated human nature.

Sola Fide: The Erosion of The Chief Article

Justification is by grace alone through faith alone because of Christ alone. This is the article by which the church stands or falls. Today this article is often ignored, distorted or sometimes even denied by leaders, scholars and pastors who claim to be evangelical. Although fallen human nature has always recoiled from recognizing its need for Christ's imputed righteousness, modernity greatly fuels the fires of this discontent with the biblical Gospel. We have allowed this discontent to dictate the nature of our ministry and what it is we are preaching.

Many in the church growth movement believe that sociological understanding of those in the pew is as important to the success of the gospel as is the biblical truth which is proclaimed. As a result, theological convictions are frequently divorced from the work of the ministry. The marketing orientation in many churches takes this even further, erasing the distinction between the biblical Word and the world, robbing Christ's cross of its offense, and reducing Christian faith to the principles and methods which bring success to secular corporations.

While the theology of the cross may be believed, these movements are actually emptying it of its meaning. There is no gospel except that of Christ's substitution in our place whereby God imputed to him our sin and imputed to us his righteousness. Because he bore our judgment, we now walk in his grace as those who are forever pardoned, accepted and adopted as God's children. There is no basis for our acceptance before God except in Christ's saving work, not in our patriotism, churchly devotion or moral decency. The gospel declares what God has done for us in Christ. It is not about what we can do to reach him.

Thesis Four: Sola Fide
We reaffirm that justification is by grace alone through faith alone because of Christ alone. In justification Christ's righteousness is imputed to us as the only possible satisfaction of God's perfect justice.

We deny that justification rests on any merit to be found in us, or upon the grounds of an infusion of Christ's righteousness in us, or that an institution claiming to be a church that denies or condemns sola fide can be recognized as a legitimate church.


Soli Deo Gloria: The Erosion of God-Centered Worship

Wherever in the church biblical authority has been lost, Christ has been displaced, the gospel has been distorted, or faith has been perverted, it has always been for one reason: our interests have displaced God's and we are doing his work in our way. The loss of God's centrality in the life of today's church is common and lamentable. It is this loss that allows us to transform worship into entertainment, gospel preaching into marketing, believing into technique, being good into feeling good about ourselves, and faithfulness into being successful. As a result, God, Christ and the Bible have come to mean too little to us and rest too inconsequentially upon us.

God does not exist to satisfy human ambitions, cravings, the appetite for consumption, or our own private spiritual interests. We must focus on God in our worship, rather than the satisfaction of our personal needs. God is sovereign in worship; we are not. Our concern must be for God's kingdom, not our own empires, popularity or success.

Thesis Five: Soli Deo Gloria
We reaffirm that because salvation is of God and has been accomplished by God, it is for God's glory and that we must glorify him always. We must live our entire lives before the face of God, under the authority of God and for his glory alone.

We deny that we can properly glorify God if our worship is confused with entertainment, if we neglect either Law or Gospel in our preaching, or if self-improvement, self-esteem or self-fulfillment are allowed to become alternatives to the gospel.

A Call To Repentance & Reformation

The faithfulness of the evangelical church in the past contrasts sharply with its unfaithfulness in the present. Earlier in this century, evangelical churches sustained a remarkable missionary endeavor, and built many religious institutions to serve the cause of biblical truth and Christ's kingdom. That was a time when Christian behavior and expectations were markedly different from those in the culture. Today they often are not. The evangelical world today is losing its biblical fidelity, moral compass and missionary zeal.

We repent of our worldliness. We have been influenced by the "gospels" of our secular culture, which are no gospels. We have weakened the church by our own lack of serious repentance, our blindness to the sins in ourselves which we see so clearly in others, and our inexcusable failure to adequately tell others about God's saving work in Jesus Christ.

We also earnestly call back erring professing evangelicals who have deviated from God's Word in the matters discussed in this Declaration. This includes those who declare that there is hope of eternal life apart from explicit faith in Jesus Christ, who claim that those who reject Christ in this life will be annihilated rather than endure the just judgment of God through eternal suffering, or who claim that evangelicals and Roman Catholics are one in Jesus Christ even where the biblical doctrine of justification is not believed.

The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals asks all Christians to give consideration to implementing this Declaration in the church's worship, ministry, policies, life and evangelism.

For Christ's sake. Amen.

Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals Executive Council (1996)

Dr. John Armstrong
The Rev. Alistair Begg
Dr. James M. Boice
Dr. W. Robert Godfrey
Dr. John D. Hannah
Dr. Michael S. Horton
Mrs. Rosemary Jensen
Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr.
Dr. Robert M. Norris
Dr. R.C. Sproul
Dr. Gene Edward Veith
Dr. David Wells
Dr. Luder Whitlock
Dr. J.A.O. Preus, III