Tag Archives: Salvation

Apr 19 2010

The Sovereignty of God and the Free Will of Man


I suppose it would be somewhat accurate to describe me in regard to my Christian theology as a Reformed Restorationist. I walk in lock step with those who love the ideals of the founders of the Restoration Movement. Their plea for the unity of all believers, for Bible preaching, for a more pure and primitive way of worship, are each ideals I heartedly embrace.

At the same time I cannot deny those clear passages in Scripture that teach the foreknowledge of God, election, and predestination. When I read those passages I have two choices. I can honestly try to understand them in light of the whole of God’s revelation in the Bible, or I can just conveniently read right over them without much thought and no comment and pretend they are not there. The second choice is the one most of my Restoration Movement friends evidently choose to employ.

I, long ago, came to the conclusion that God’s choice and man’s responsibility are both equally true at the same time and without any contradiction. In my view, the fact that God chooses is undeniable, he has a track record of doing just that very thing. And, at the same time, those chosen, those predetermined by God, each had to choose to obey his will.

The Sovereignty of God and the free will of man is dramatically and clearly seen in story of the death of Jesus. The following is what Peter said in the very first gospel sermon after Pentecost. It was powerful truth, so much so that 3,000 were “cut to the heart” by what they heard and “those who received his word were baptized”.

Peter’s truth claim #1

“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know—this Jesus,… YOU CRUCIFIED AND KILLED BY THE HANDS OF LAWLESS MEN.”

Peter’s truth claim #2

“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know ,this Jesus, DELIVERED UP ACCORDING TO THE DEFINITE PLAN AND FOREKNOWLEDGE OF GOD.”

Now here is the passage quoted exactly as it is written:

“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know—this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.” (Acts 2:22-24)

One perspective is that wicked men, by their own volition executed an innocent man. That is absolutely true! They acted by their own free will. They were not robots or puppets on a string, they were a “lawless” mob doing what sinners do.

The companion perspective is that these lawless men were doing exactly what God had planned. It is clear from this passage that God not only had foreknowledge, but it was his “definite” plan.

Just a few verses later we see the same seemingly opposite truths standing side by side once more. Peter is finishing his sermon and he says:

“For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom THE LORD OUR GOD CALLS TO HIMSELF.”

Then almost immediately he gives the opposite perspective by saying:

“And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “SAVE YOURSELVES  from this crooked generation.” So THOSE WHO RECEIVED HIS WORD WERE BAPTIZED, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.”

It is true that God calls people to himself and it is also true that those who are called (chosen) must themselves choose their fate. Both are true and stand side by side over and over again in the Bible.

Once more in the book of Acts we read these same truths. This time the preachers are Paul and Barnabus at Antioch. After they preached, the Bible says this was the response:

“And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and AS MANY AS WERE APPOINTED TO ETERNAL LIFE…BELIEVED.” (Acts 13:48)

You see, both components are there. God appointed some to eternal life and those who were appointed (chosen) had to put their trust in Jesus.

God’s choosing, his predetermination, never invalidates the free choice of man. I think almost every person who studies the Bible will agree that not everyone will be finally saved. In my view, those who are saved are the elect, those whom God has sovereignly chosen. But, while that is true, every last one of them (excepting infants and those mentally impaired) must repent and put their faith in Jesus to be saved.

Perhaps those of us who lean more toward the Reformed side of the equation should not be so quick to criticize the teaching of our free will brothers. And, our free will brothers should perhaps be more thoughtful before writing off the Reformed position.

When properly understood, I believe that maybe Calvin and Arminius were twins. Most of what both men taught is true. Neither was infallible, neither had a monopoly on God’s truth but both were good men who saw the redemptive purposes of God from different vantage points. And, I and my dear brothers who emphasize one view of truth over another, follow in their steps today.

If you missed Edward Fudge’s article I posted previously on this subject, I heartedly recommend it. You can read it here or here.

The glad tidings of the gospel are to be told to every person and “Whosoever will” can still come to the Lord. That truth I affirm with all my heart.

Agape’

Royce


Apr 2 2010

Jesus is not dead!


What is the big deal about Easter?

That he (Jesus) was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. (1 Corinthians 15:4-8)

The big deal is, Jesus is alive! He is in heaven. And, He is coming back. Yep, the same Jesus his followers had seen and touched, shared meals with, and heard make promises went up into the clouds as they watched. And, this promise was given by two messengers from God.

“Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:11)

The truth that again and again got the Apostles in hot water with the church crowd was that Jesus had indeed risen from the dead. The bodily resurrection of Jesus is the bedrock of the Christian faith. Paul said it this way.

Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead,how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. (1 Corinthians 15:12-19)

Make no mistake, everything depends on the factual account of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead!

If Jesus was not raised from the dead there is no hope for any of us.

What appeal does dying and staying dead in a grave have to you? It has none to me either. If Jesus was not raised, we will not be raised, and after all, the goal is to live eternally.

If Jesus was not raised from the dead there is no Christianity!

Paul says it like this, If Christ has not been raised from the dead his “preaching is vain and your faith is vain“. And, “Your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.”

The cross and its significance is very important but if Jesus’ death was the end of the story He would be no different than any other man who died for his faith.

HE IS ALIVE! CELEBRATE!

This Sunday Christians around the world will celebrate and remember an empty tomb and a risen Saviour. It is His life everlasting that we celebrate. His life is our life if we are in Him.

WILL YOU LIVE FOREVER? EVEN AFTER YOU DIE AND ARE BURIED, WILL YOU LIVE AGAIN?

There are many, many promises that you can, or that you will. One I really like is this one.

“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.’ (Romans 8:11)

Easter is the believer’s celebration of everlasting life. It is the acknowledgement that death has been defeated, that sin will finally be eradicated, and once again Peace will rule in an eternal kingdom.

He Himself is our blessed hope, and our blessed certainty! Happy Easter to you.

Agape’

Royce


Mar 29 2010

What Calvinism and Arminianism Have In Common


Lost in a thicket of Arminian and Calvinist debate,
we sometimes lose sight of the grand truths
we hold in common…

By Edward Fudge

What does it mean that Jesus died for all? The question is beguilingly simple. You would not know from the face of it that the question has been at the center of a heated and sometimes vociferous debate. For almost two thousand years, Christians have struggled to understand the effect of Jesus’ death and the scope of its saving power. With the publication in recent months of a number of books by evangelicals on the fate of the unevangelized, larger questions about the scope of the Atonement are gaining renewed currency. Does “all” refer to individual human beings, or nationalities and peoples, or just the elect?Within the Reformation mainstream, two contending viewpoints have emerged, which observers often label Calvinist (after John Calvin), on the one hand, and Arminian (after Jacob Arminius, an early Dutch opponent of Calvin) or Wesleyan (after John Wesley), on the other. On the Calvinist side of the debate, you have Augustine, Calvin, and their followers. They argue (with varying degrees of explicitness and forcefulness) that the “all” refers to the elect: Christ died to save only those whom the Father had predestined to eternal life.

On the Arminian side, represented also by Wesley, believers argue that Christ in his atonement intended to make salvation available to everyone. It is faith (or, in some versions, obedience) that makes the saving work complete. The debate includes a host of related questions. What are we to make of this preposition “for”? If Jesus died “for” every human ever born, can anyone finally be lost? Does a yes to that question mean Christ’s death was somehow ineffective? And just who are these “elect”? Does this scriptural term refer to an indeterminate and nameless mass of people (as Arminians would tend to argue), or does it describe specific individuals with faces (as Calvinists would suggest)? Do we speak of Jesus’ death making salvation possible for all people, or, as the traditional query phrases it, does a “particular” atonement necessarily exclude those who are not saved?

The question is also sometimes phrased in terms of those who have never heard of Jesus. Will they all be lost? If so, why? Because they never heard — or for some other reason? Does Scripture allow (or even encourage) one to conclude that, based on Jesus’ atonement, God might finally save still others who in life never knew what Jesus had done on their behalf?

For those who take Scripture seriously, these distinctions represent more than abstract theories. These “theories” express convictions. And they may collide with the convictions of other Christians — people as sincere and informed and committed as we are. When concern for people and for theological integrity seem to clash, the anguish only increases. Sometimes people from the different camps lose sight of their brothers or sisters in the doctrinal thicket.

I was trained through graduate school in the Arminian viewpoint as expressed by the Churches of Christ. Later, I studied under Calvinists at Covenant Theological Seminary in Saint Louis, Missouri. These queries thus reflect the honest uncertainties of one who has been the lone Arminian in a classroom of Calvinists and a suspected Calvinist in a fellowship where that term is no compliment. Today, some 20 years downstream, I am certain that neither “side” has the whole truth in its pocket and that no human analysis can fully contain or explain what God accomplished for sinners in Jesus of Nazareth.

Yet we can speak truthfully even when not exhaustively. Convinced that evangelicals of all stripes share more than they generally realize, I propose the following seven couplets as a modest attempt at bridge building. Of course, this is only a step. But perhaps we can at least survey the terrain, establish some boundaries, and drive a few stakes. Doing so is surely better than defending our doctrinal turf while firing volleys of proof texts at each other.

Couplet 1:

– Every accountable person deserves to be lost.
– No accountable person deserves to be saved.

On this point Scripture is transparently clear: “All …are under the power of sin…that…the whole world may be held accountable to God” (Rom. 3:9, 19). “[A]ll have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23).God requires absolute obedience, and not one of us has presented it. The mystery is not that some are finally lost but that any are finally saved. Every person finally lost will receive justice, whereas every person finally saved will receive mercy grounded only in its giver (Rom 1:18-20, 32; 2:5; 3:4-8).

There are important differences between Augustine and Pelagius, between Calvin and Arminius, between Whitefield and Wesley. But this is not one of them. Every careful Calvinist insists that God deserves no blame for the fate of the lost. Every careful Arminian affirms that God deserves all glory for the salvation of the redeemed. Stressing each of the two points in the couplet can help us minimize needless misunderstanding, define genuine differences with sharper clarity, and cultivate a fraternal climate in which to study jointly the Word of God.

Couplet 2:

– God takes no pleasure in the final destruction of any.
– God finds pleasure in the salvation of every person who is saved.

God finds no joy in the death of any sinner. “Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, says the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live?” he asks rhetorically in Ezekiel 18:23 (see also Eze. 18:32; 33:11). He is not vengeful or vindictive. The Creator dues not delight in the destruction of any person he has made, not even his enemies. He desires “all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:4). Whoever is finally lost will not see God smiling as a result. Indeed, the Son of God says, there is celebration in heaven over every sinner who repents (Luke 15:7,10).

Couplet 3:

– No one can come to Jesus unless the Father draws him or her.
– Every person whom the Father has given to Jesus will come.

These statements did not originate with Calvin, Augustine, or even the apostle Paul, but with Jesus himself (John 6:37, 44). The assurance that God is in control should stimulate courage rather than contention; it should inspire hope and not harangues. To know that God has a plan and a people emboldens us to proclaim the gospel to every person we meet (Acts 18 : 9-10) . What God initiated in eternity he will consummate in his own good time (Eph. 1:1-14; Rom. 8:28-31).If we recoil at the prospect of divine sovereignty, as though God’s gracious choice of some requires his unilateral rejection of others (a notion sometimes described as “double predestination”), we may rejoice that Scripture here is “splendidly illogical,” to borrow a phrase from biblical commentator A. M. Hunter. For, as Hunter notes, “the opposite of election is not predestination to destruction; it is unbelief a self-incurred thing.” Many Calvinists urge the same point. Instead of charging them with “doublespeak,” Arminians should welcome the unexpected common ground and rejoice. Until one claims to know everything personally, there is room to tolerate paradox in others. The hallmark of a Christian is not logic, but love. The proclamation of God-who-acts-to-save is as old as Exodus and as relevant as next Sunday’s sermon in our day of positive-attitude platitudes and self-help schemes. It ignites holy boldness even as it smites our pride. That God is sovereign means that none can come to Jesus — despite our clever phrases, latest methods, and polished salesmanship — unless the Father draws him or her. At the same time, it assures us that every person the Father has given to Jesus will come — without exception, and despite our own faulty choices and often bumbling work. If prophets are mute, donkeys can speak. If disciples remain silent, the stones can cry out. If the church should prove unfaithful or disobedient, God’s plan still will see its intended end.

Couplet 4:

– The ultimate basis of condemnation is the lost person’s own works.
– The ultimate basis of salvation is the work of Jesus.

Calvinists and Arminians already agree that every person finally saved will enjoy salvation only because of what God did in Jesus. “No one comes to the Father,” said Jesus, “but by me” (John 14:6). “There is salvation in no one else” (Acts 4:12). All who “receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness” will do so “through the one man Jesus Christ” (Rom 5:17) . It is his “act of righteousness” alone that “leads to acquittal and life” (Rom 5: 18).These truths apply equally to those who lived before Jesus and to those who lived after, to Jew as well as to Gentile, to those who hear the gospel and to those who do not. None will be saved except on the basis of the atonement Jesus has made. Salvation will be conclusively “to the praise of [God’s] glory (Eph 1:6, 12, 14). The mere presence of each redeemed human will attest throughout eternity to the “immeasurable riches of his grace” (Eph 2:7). On the other hand, all who ultimately perish in hell will do so despite the fact that Jesus died for sinners and despite the fact that he receives everyone who truly wishes to come.

Couplet 5:

– Salvation occurred objectively two thousand years ago in Jesus’ work.
– Salvation occurs subjectively as each person believes the gospel.

Jesus himself announced that he came “to save” the lost (Luke 19:10; John 12:47; 1 Tim 1:15). He accomplished his stated assignment and triumphantly proclaimed from the cross “It is finished” (John 19:30; Heb. 1:3). God scrutinized what Jesus had done and was satisfied (as foreshadowed in Isa. 53:11). Then, to confirm the mission accomplished, God raised Jesus from the dead (Rom 4:25). After he had made purification for sins, Jesus took his place at God’s right hand (Heb 1:3; 10:11-14). If we preach that Jesus’ death was the payment for our sins, we may also proclaim that his resurrection was God’s paid-in-full receipt.All this occurred in the historical experience of Jesus, our substitute and Savior. God reconciled the world to himself in Jesus’ fleshly body (Col 1:19-22; 2 Cor 5:18-19). Salvation is not a theoretical possibility but a _fait accompli_. It is “the good news of [our] salvation” (Eph 1:13). We may speak of this finished aspect of Christ’s work as “objective” salvation. It happened once for all, outside us but for us, in the personal life and death of Jesus of Nazareth almost two thousand years ago.

On the other hand, every person who enjoys salvation in this life does so by a response of faith to God’s gracious call. Whatever the case in the age to come, no one can enjoy salvation now apart from hearing and believing the gospel. We may speak of this present participation in Christ’s work as “subjective” salvation.

Just as President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation and, by the stroke of his executive pen, freed every slave in the Confederate States effective January 1 , 1863, so Jesus, by his perfect act, effectively saved every human being who finally will enjoy eternal life. Yet just as no slave empirically enjoyed the benefits of Lincoln’s act until she or he heard and believed the good news of emancipation, so no redeemed sinner experientially enjoys Christ’s redemptive blessings now except through hearing and believing the gospel (1 Cor 1:18). Until women and men learn the good news of their salvation, they continue to live as if nothing has happened. They remain as they were — without hope, not knowing God, unaware of his forgiveness and favor. The gospel ministry is for the sake of such individuals, that they may obtain salvation in every sense, subjectively as well as objectively (2 Tim. 2: 10). Like Paul at Corinth, we need to declare the good news fearlessly and without ceasing, so long as God’s patience indicates that he still has others who do not know they have been reconciled in his Son (Acts 18:9-10; 2 Cor. 5:18-19; 2 Pet. 3:9).

Couplet 6:

– Every person finally lost will have knowingly rejected God’s goodness.
– Every person finally saved will have accepted God’s goodness as it was known to him or her.

Scripture speaks of some who perish “for lack of knowledge” or “by believing a lie” (Hos 4:6; 2 Thess. 2:8-10) This “knowledge” is relational as well as cognitive; it is not only intellectual but also moral and spiritual. Whoever rejects this “knowledge” does so by conscious choice and inevitably courts condemnation (John 3:19). Yet, because God is so just, and because Jesus’ saving work is so extensive and so powerful, the apostle Paul confidently affirms that only those who consciously reject God’s light will finally be lost (Rom 5:13-14, 18-21).Not all who are finally lost will have rejected the gospel, at least not in this life. But even those will have consciously rejected knowledge of God in some form, whether in nature (Acts 14:17; Rom 1:19-25), conscience (Rom 2:15-16), or divine revelation (John 5:45-47). God’s judgment of condemnation will be manifestly just in every case (Rom. 2:5-12).

On the other hand, Scripture indicates that all those finally saved will have welcomed in a spirit of faith the light of God they had. “God is one,” Paul writes, “and he will justify the circumcised on the ground of their faith and the uncircumcised because of their faith” (Rom 3:30). Abraham is the prime example of one who was justified by faith though neither Christian nor Jew, and with limited gospel understanding as well (Rom 4:9-22). Jesus had in mind those who hear when he said: “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:15-16).

Couplet 7:

– No person is better for not hearing the gospel. – No person is injured by hearing the gospel.

Sometimes people mistakenly assume, upon learning that Jesus’ work saved all who are finally saved whether they hear the gospel or not, that those who never hear are somehow better as a result. That inference is neither necessary nor proper.The ultimate rejection of God is in the rejection of the light of the gospel. For that reason, whoever willfully rejects Jesus incurs the greatest guilt (Heb 10:26-31). It does not follow, however, that those who gladly receive God’s dimmer rays before they learn of Jesus will reject the brightest light when it appears. Each heart remains the same regardless of the degree of light to which it is exposed (Luke 16:30-31; Rev 22:11). We may be sure that no person who rejects the gospel and is lost would have been saved if only that one had remained ignorant of Jesus. It is inconceivable that anyone who cries “yes” to God from the hopeless darkness will suddenly shout a defiant “no” when the bright light of the cross and the empty tomb burst finally into view.

Common ground

These seven couplets come short, of course, of providing a third alternative to Arminianism and Calvinism, although with cultivation by brighter minds they might furnish seeds for a biblical “via media”. Even so, they can serve a useful purpose. For they stake off common ground — to the surprise, at times, of participants all around — marking a safe and neutral area large enough for both groups to stand while growing together in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. After 450 years of constant controversy, perhaps that is no small step.

_____________________________________

It is my hope that there is indeed common ground as Brother Edward Fudge presents these convincing statements. Surely, those who have of a certainty experienced the love and mercy of God in salvation should be able to accept those in love who disagree on the finer points of theology and doctrine but who also are trusting only the claims of the good news about Jesus who died for our sins according to the Scriptures, was buried, and was raised from the dead according to the Scriptures. I submit that there is no room for name calling, condemning, and treating as infidels those with whom we disagree.

It seems clear to me that both Calvinists and Arminians work toward and expect the same outcome, that every person might hear the gospel invitation and come to faith in Christ and be saved. I cannot imagine a Christian who desires anything different.

Let us contribute to making Christ and His work for sinners known and not our petty, selfish, and often ill-informed differences.

Agape’

Royce

Mar 21 2010

Christianity is Christ


“Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.”
( 2 Peter 1:1-4)

Unique among all of the world’s religions, Christianity alone rests solely upon what God has done for sinful people. Every other belief system is in one way or another about how people can gain favor with their god, appease him, or do some acts to convince him that he should be less harsh in punishment than he would otherwise have been.

What is already Done?

The great Apostle Peter addressed his second letter to those people “Who have obtained a faith with equal standing with ours “by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ”. Christians have not been set right with God based on what they have done or will do but because of what Jesus has already done. It is his righteousness that makes sinners whole and clean.

Christ’s representative death is not unlike Adam’s representative transgression. In the same way that by Adam’s disobedience sin and death began its reign, by the obedience of Jesus many are made righteous. (Romans 5:19) Sinners are justified as a free gift based wholly upon the merit of Jesus and not their own. (Romans 3:24)

Our salvation was completely accomplished when Jesus offered himself for our sins, by himself, one time for all people, one time for all time, and sat down, finished with His redemptive work. When we became Christians we only appropriated for ourselves what was already fully accomplished for us. Faith in Christ Jesus and ensuing obedience to his will is in no way meritorious. God gives, we only receive.

What now?

Since we have been “set right” or justified, reconciled to God, what do we do now? Listen to the Apostle’s words. “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence.”

I don’t claim to know everything you and I need to live like who we are and whose we are, but I do know that whatever those things are they are given to us in the person and provision and in the power of Jesus. “All things…” covers “all things” doesn’t it?

Jesus is our life  (Colossians 3:4)

He is our righteousness  (1 Corinthians 1:30)

Jesus is our peace  (Ephesians 2:14)

He is our wisdom  (1 Corinthians 1:24)

He is our blessed hope  (Titus 2:13)

While we now wait for He who is the “blessed hope” and who is our blessed certainty, we are now to live out His life in our flesh.  Through our knowledge of Jesus and our continual surrender to His Lordship, with the help of the Holy Spirit we are becoming more like Him in daily living.

What’s next?

Again, Peter’s words are instructive and encouraging. “through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature”.

By knowing him we have been called to glory and excellence. We have been given great promises of a here and now and a future glory. We are heirs and joint heirs with him, we are promised immortality, a body like His body, one perfectly fitted for both the earth’s atmosphere and the heavenlies.

In view of these blessed truths is it any wonder that the Apostle Paul would say:

“I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge— even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” (I Corinthians 1:4-9)

Wow! “You are not lacking in spiritual gifts, you will be sustained in the end, you will be guiltless in the day of judgment! Why? God is faithful!

I say again, Christianity is Christ! Depend only upon Him. He is quite enough.

Agape’

Royce