Published in Spanish as What is Faith?, trans. Valentín Alpuche (San José,
divine nor in opposition to the grace of God, but in accordance with it. As we work out our salvation with fear and trembling (Phil. 2:12), we discover that "God is the one who produces in [us] both the will how to fulfill his good will" (v. 13). True faith fix your eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith genuine (Heb. 12:2).
1. J. Gresham Machen, What Is Faith? (New York: Macmillan, 1925), 203-4. Published in Spanish as What is Faith?, trans. Valentín Alpuche (San José, Costa Rica: Editorial Clir).
2.N. del T.: As the reader will notice, here an analysis is made of the definiciones de los términos "fe" y "creer" de acuerdo a los diccionarios más respected from the original English language. When consulting the word "faith" in the main dictionaries in Spanish (Dictionary of the Royal Academy Spanish and Espasa-Calpe Dictionary) we do not find the same emphasis on the commitment, nor any mention of loyalty or fidelity, nor any references to theological concepts (except for one allusion to the Catholic religion in the DRAE). Something similar happens with the verb 'creer', where its definitions point more to intellectual assent than to commitment and the loyalty (excluding any reference to trust in another person).
3.James Hope Moulton and George Milligan, The Vocabulary of the Greek Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1930), 660.
4.Hebrews 11:1 certainly affirms that at the heart of faith itself is find a security element. As we will see in chapter 10, faith Savior in Christ is the foundation of all security. The personal sense security becomes deeper and stronger with spiritual maturity, but the seed of security is present even at the beginning of saving faith.
5.Augustus H. Strong,Systematic Theology(Philadelphia: Judson, 1907), 837-38; Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Books) Challenge, 2005), 635-7.
Zane Hodges claims that I have 'seriously distorted the definitions of Berkhof (CL) protests that the 'assensus is not an 'emotional element'' but those are, after all, Berkhof's own words. Notice that
Strong, for example, defended an identical perspective and even Ryrie is in agreement. agreement (USTG). Referring to the 'emotional element', Strong and Berkhof they wanted to say that the assessments went beyond the consideration of the object of the faith in a disconnected and disinterested way. Berkhof wrote: 'When one embraces Christ by faith, doing so with a deep conviction of the truth and from the reality of the object of faith, feels that this faith satisfies in one's own life an important need, and is aware that there is an interest at stake absorbing, that is... the characteristic hallmark of the knowledge of faith "savior" (Berkhof, 637).
Juan Calvino defined assent as something that 'lies in the heart more that in the brain; more in affection than in understanding" and equated the agreement with the 'good affection'; see John Calvin, Institution of the Christian religion, trans. Cipriano de Valera (Rijswijk: Ed. Foundation of Reformed Literature, 1999), 413. 6.Strong, Systematic Theology, 338-39.
7.Berkhof, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Challenge Books, 2005) 636.
8.Benjamin B. Warfield, Biblical and Theological Studies (Philadelphia: Presbyterian & Reformed, 1968), 402-3.
9.Bob Wilkin, 'Tough Questions About Saving Faith', The Grace Evangelical Society News (June 1990), 1.
10.Ibid., 4.
11.Ryrie occasionally speaks of Christ as the object of faith, but defines Inevitably, it diminishes their teachings in a way that nullifies the whole matter. For example, when it says 'the object of faith or trust is the Lord' "Jesus Christ," immediately contradicts himself by saying that "the reason why we trust in him for his ability to forgive our sins and lead us to heaven" (USTG).
12.Charles C. Ryrie,Equilibrio en la vida cristiana, trad. José Flores Espinosa and R. Mer cedes de la Rosa (Grand Rapids, MI: Portavoz, 1996) 185.
13.Warfield, Biblical and Theological Studies, 379.
14.The fact that faith necessarily produces moral results can See in the cause-and-effect statements of John 8:36-47 (emphasis added):
So if the Son sets you free, you will be truly free. I know that you are descendants of Abraham; however, they seek to kill me because my word has no place in you. I speak of what I have seen being with the Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.
They responded and said to him: Our father is Abraham. Jesus said to them: Since they are children of Abraham, do the works of Abraham. But now they try to kill me, a man who has spoken to them the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do this! You do the works of your father.
Then they told him: We have not been born of sexual immorality. We have only one father, God.
Then Jesus said to them: If God were your father, you would love me; for I have come out and have I have come from God. I did not come by myself but he sent me. Why do they not understand what I say? Because they cannot hear my word. You they are of their father the devil, and want to satisfy the desires of their father. He was murderer from the beginning and it was not based on the truth because there is none. truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature because he is liar and father of lies. But to me, because I tell them the truth, they do not me screen. Who among you finds me guilty of sin? And if I speak the truth, Why don't you believe me? The one who is of God hears the words of God. For this reason, you do not listen to them, because they are not of God.
A key to this passage is verse 42: 'If God were the father of you would love me." The fact that they said they were children of God did not the became such, for their conduct and feelings reflected the truth spiritual.
Chapter 4
Cheap grace?
Cheap grace is grace considered as a commodity that must be liquidate.
...it is not the forgiveness of sins that separates us from sin. Cheap grace it is the grace we have for ourselves.
Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without repentance, baptism sin disciplina eclesiástica, la eucaristía sin confesión de los pecados, la absolución without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without following Christ, the
grace without a cross, grace without the living and incarnate Jesus Christ.
1 DIETRICH BONHOEFFER
Cheap grace. The same term is offensive.
"Why do you use that expression?" a friend asked me. "It doesn't seem like it." denigrate the grace of God. After all, it does not waste, it is absolutely Free! Isn't perfect free gift the very essence of grace?
But 'cheap grace' does not refer to the grace of God, but to a grace self-imparted or pseudo-grace: it is 'cheap' in terms of its value, but not in as for its cost; it is a bargain, with defects, faded, worn out by moths, second hand; a synthetic grace that recalls the indulgences that Rome sold in the time of Martin Luther. Cheap? The the cost is actually much higher than what the buyer might imagine if we take into account that this "grace" has no value.
The phrase 'cheap grace' was coined by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a pastor. German Lutheran detractor of Nazism. Although Bonhoeffer was hanged in 1945 by SS officers, their writings had already made an impact. Their the theological perspective was neo-orthodox and that is why evangelicals reject it with reason many of his teachings, but Bonhoeffer manifested himself with forcefulness against the secularization of the church when analyzing correctly the dangers of his frivolous attitude towards grace. If
we set aside Bonhoeffer's neo-orthodox teachings, we will do well in paying attention to his speech against cheap grace:
Cheap grace is grace as doctrine, as principle, as system, it is the forgiveness of sins considered as a universal truth, is the love of God
interpreted as the Christian idea of God. Whoever affirms it already possesses the forgiveness of
their sins. The Church of this doctrine of grace already partakes of this grace by its same doctrine. In this Church, the world finds a cheap veil to cover his sins, which he does not repent of and of which he does not wish to be freed. For this, Cheap grace is the denial of the living word of God, it is the denial of the incarnation of the Word of God.
Cheap grace is the justification of sin and not of the sinner. Since the gracia does everything on her own, things must remain as before. "All our works are vain." The world remains the world and we continue being sinners 'even when we live our best life.' That the Christian lives,
Well, like the world, may it resemble him in everything and may it not strive, under penalty of
to fall into the heresy of Enlightenment, to live under grace a life different from that which it is carried under sin . 2
Cheap grace continues to retain its worldly power of allure since that Bonhoeffer wrote these words and, in any case, the tendency to cheapen Grace has begun to make a place in the heart of Christianity. evangelical. The movement of the denial of lordship has marked the way towards the legitimization and institutionalization of cheap grace in the American fundamentalism. The teaching of the denial of lordship misinterprets and misapplies the biblical doctrine of grace and although praises the wonders of grace in speech, it is replacing the real object con una mala copia. Esta técnica engañosa ha confundido a muchos cristianos sincere.
The theology of the denial of lordship absolutely ignores the truth. Biblical that grace "[teaches us] to live wisely, justly, and "pious in the present age" (Titus 2:12). Instead, it presents it as a "supernatural white card", an unlimited pass with no commitment whatsoever ["amnesty","benevolence","indulgence","patience","charity","clemency"] immunity, approval, tolerance and self-assigned privilege, separated from any moral demand.
Super grace is rapidly becoming the biggest trend. popular within evangelical fashions and those who swear loyalty to a The lordship of Christ optional are at the forefront of this movement; they have begun to call even "theology of grace" their teachings and refer to themselves the same as "The movement of grace."
However, the 'grace' they speak of alters the position of the believers. without affecting his state: it is a grace that calls sinners to come to Christ, but does not invite them to submit to him. In fact, the theologians of denial of They affirm that grace seduces the sinner who believes must submit. to Christ, for the more a person submits, the more it is supposed that the grace is diminished (USTG). It is clear that this is not the grace of Titus 2:12.
No wonder Christians are confused! With so many teachings. contradictory and obviously anti-biblical that are gaining popularity, we could start to question the future of biblical Christianity.
What is grace?
Gratitude is a terribly misunderstood term and whose concise definition is notoriously difficult. Some of the most detailed theology books do not they do not offer any concise definition of the term, while someone has an acronym has been proposed (GRACE stands for God's Great Riches) Supplied by Christ in His Immense Love) which is not a bad way of to characterize grace, but it is not sufficient for a theological definition. One of the most accepted definitions of grace consists of four words: unmerited favor of God, something that A. W. Tozer explained a little better when to say that 'Grace is the goodwill of God that inclines Him to grant them benefits to those who do not deserve them. . 3 Berkhof is more specific: grace is 'the unmerited operation of Dios en el corazón del hombre, efectuada mediante la agencia del Espíritu Saint . 4 At the heart of the term grace is the idea of divine favor. The word Hebrew for 'grace' is 'chesed' (which is used for example in Genesis 6:8, 'Noah') hello grace in the eyes of the LORD") with which it is closely related to the verb chānan, which means "to show favor". In the New Testament, 'grace' is the translation of the Greek term charis, which refers to a algo agraciado o agradable, a un favor o gratitud; las ideas intrínsecas a su
meaning are favor, kindness, and goodwill.
Grace is all of that and more: it is not a simple undeserved favor, but the favor granted to sinners who deserve wrath. Showing favor to a stranger is a "undeserved favor", but doing good to enemies reflects even more the spirit of grace (Luke 6:27-36).
Grace is not a latent or abstract quality, but a dynamic principle. active and operative: 'For the saving grace of God has been manifested...' teaching us" (Titus 2:11, 12). It is not a form of ethereal blessing that remains inactive until we take it for ourselves, but it is the initiative sovereign grace of God for sinners (Eph. 1:5, 6). Grace is not a a one-time event in the Christian experience, for we are firm in it (Rom. 5:2), which directs and gives strength to all Christian life: ...it is good that the heart has been established in grace; not in foods (Heb. 13:9); Peter said that we should grow "in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Pet. 3:18).
Así que podríamos definir correctamente la gracia comola influencia libre and benevolent of a holy God who works sovereignly in the lives of the ignoble sinners.
Mercy is one of the attributes of God because granting grace is His nature: "he is merciful, compassionate, and just" (Ps. 112:4); "He is clement and compassionate, slow to anger, great in mercy and relents from punishment" (Joel 2:13); he is "the God of all grace" (1 Pet. 5:10) and his Son is full of grace and truth" (John 1:14); his Spirit is "the Spirit of grace" (Heb. 10:29). Berkhof observed: "Although sometimes we talk about grace as an inherent quality, is actually active communication of the divine blessings through the inner work of the Holy Spirit coming from the fullness of He who is 'full of grace and truth' . 5 Cáris appears in the Greek text one hundred and fifty-five times, one hundred of them only in the Pauline epistles. It is interesting that the term in it is never used as a reference to divine grace in any of the recorded words of Jesus, although grace permeated all his ministry and their teachings ("The blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are made clean") the clean, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor are proclaim the gospel", Matt. 11:5; "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest," Matt. 11:28.
Grace is a gift and God 'gives greater grace... gives grace to the humble' 6
Stage 4:6), "For from his fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace" (John 1:16). It is said that Christians must be "good administrators of the manifold grace of God" (1 Pet. 4:10), which does not it means that this has been made available to us: we are not its we do not control their operation, so we are subject to the grace, never the reverse.
Pablo frequently contrasts grace with the law (Rom. 4:16; 5:20; 6:14, 15; Gal. 2:21; 5:4), although he carefully affirmed that grace does not annul the moral demands of the law of God and that, on the contrary, justice is fulfilled. of the law (Rom. 6:14, 15). In a certain sense, grace is to the law what the miracles are to nature, as it rises above it and achieves what that she cannot do (cf. Rom. 8:3). Despite not nullifying the righteous demands of the law, which confirms and validates (Rom. 3:31), grace has its own law, which is higher and liberating: 'Because the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has delivered me from the law of sin and death" (Rom. 8:2; cf. Stg. 1:25). Fíjate que esta nueva ley nos emancipa tanto delpecadocomo About death, something that Paul was clear about: "What then shall we say?" Shall we remain in sin so that grace may abound? Absolutely not! Way! Because those of us who have died to sin, how shall we still live? in him?" (Rom. 6:1, 2). Grace reigns through righteousness (Rom. 5:21).
There are two extremes that must be avoided regarding grace: we have to avoid nullifying grace through legalism (Gal. 2:21) and corrupting it through libertinism (Jude 4).
Two kinds of grace
The theologians speak of common grace and special grace. Grace common is given to humanity in general, it is the grace that restricts the complete expression of sin and mitigates its destructive effects in the human society. Common grace imposes moral restrictions on people's behavior maintains the appearance of order in the human affairs impose a sense of what is right and wrong by through consciousness and civil government, allows men and women appreciate beauty and kindness, and bestow blessings of all kinds about all the peoples. God 'makes his sun rise on the evil and the good, and he makes to rain on the just and the unjust" (Matt. 5:45): that is the common grace.
Common grace is not redemptive, it does not forgive sin nor purify. Fishers. It does not renew the heart, does not stimulate faith, nor allows salvation. He can convince of sin and illuminate the soul with the truth of God, but the common grace on its own does not lead to eternal salvation because the the hearts of sinners are so firmly established against God Romans 3:10-18
The special grace, or rather saving grace, is the irresistible work of God who frees men and women from the punishment and power of sin, renewing their inner being and sanctifying the sinner through the work of the Holy Spirit. When the New Testament uses the term grace for it general is referring to the saving grace, just as I have done to it length of this book unless otherwise specified.
The saving grace reigns 'through righteousness for eternal life' (Rom. 5:21); the grace saves, sanctifies, and brings the soul to glory (Rom. 8:29, 30). Each stage the process of salvation is governed by sovereign grace. In fact, the the term 'grace' is often used in the New Testament as synonym of the complete process of salvation, particularly in the epistles Paul's (cf. 1 Cor. 1:4; 2 Cor. 6:1; Gal. 2:21). Paul saw redemption as so as a product so complete of the work of God's grace that many sometimes I used the word 'grace' as a general term to refer to the the totality of salvation. Grace encompasses all of salvation, from beginning to Finally, that is why it never stops until completing its work nor fails in what it does.
What we are really saying is that grace is effective, that is, grace will surely produce the expected results. The grace of God it is always effective, that is a truth that is rooted in the Scriptures and that it constituted an important theme within the teachings of Augustine of Hippo. The doctrine of effective grace is the foundation of soteriology. Reformed (the teaching about salvation) and Charles Hodge defined it 7 as "the omnipotent power of God."
The theology of the denial of lordship is fundamentally a denial. of effective grace, for it is safe to say that the "grace" described in its teachings can fulfill their purposes (and apparently often do not) Under the grace that denies lordship, there are key parts of the process. (among them regret, commitment, submission, and even holiness) that become optional aspects of the Christian experience and they leave it in the hands of the believer himself (cf. USTG). Although the faith of the believer
it could even have a abrupt ending, the grace that denies lordship it tells us that we should not assume that 'he or she had never been a believer of truth" (USTG). Well, what conclusion should we reach? Is it that saving grace is ineffective? It is the only reasonable conclusion to the what we can arrive at starting from the theology of the denial of lordship: "The divine miracle of salvation in our lives, achieved by grace through la fe sin obras, hace una generosaprovisiónpara toda esa vida de buenas works for which he created us, but does not guarantee that this will happen (CL, emphasis) added.)
We could legitimately characterize the controversy of denial of the lordship as a dispute around the efficacy of grace, since each the point of the discussion comes back to the same thing: Is it inevitable that the God's saving grace produce the desired effects? If all parts could reach a consensus on this question, the debate would remain solved.
Sovereign grace
With all of this, it is clear that God's sovereignty in salvation is it finds itself at the center of the debate on lordship. The irony is that the so-called "Movement of Grace" completely denies its essence: God is the one who accomplishes the complete work of the salvation of sinners; the redemption is entirely your work. God is fully sovereign in the exercise of his grace and is not subject to human will: 'For he says to Moses: I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion. de quien me compadezca.Por lo tanto, no depende del que quiere ni del que For he says to Moses, 'I will have mercy on whom I have mercy' (Rom. 9:15, 16).
Don't get me wrong: we didn't get stuck while all of this it happens, moreover, the saving grace does not compel people to believe in against their will, for that is not what irresistible grace means. The grace is not coercion, but by transforming the heart it makes the believer be completely willing to trust and obey.
The Bible makes it clear that all aspects of grace are sovereign work. of God, who knows beforehand and orders in advance the chosen ones (Rom. 8:29), calls the sinner to himself (Rom. 8:30), brings the soul of this to Christ (John 6:44), achieves the new birth (John 1:13; James 1:18),
grants repentance (Acts 11:18) and faith (Rom. 12:3; Acts 18:27) justifies the believer (Rom. 3:24; 8:30), sanctifies the redeemed (Eph. 2:10) and finally glorifies him (Rom. 8:30) At no stage of this process 8 Grace is distorted by human errors, depending on merits. humans or is subject to human efforts. 'And those whom he predestined, to these he also called; and those whom he called, he also justified; and those whom He justified; these he also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare even His own... his own Son but delivered him up for us all, how will he not also give us "freely also with him all things?" (Rom. 8:30-32, emphasis) added). That's the charm.
Many people struggle with the concept of sovereign grace, but if God if he were not sovereign in the exercise of his grace, then it would not be what It must be. If their purposes depended on some self-generated response from or of human merits, then he himself would not be sovereign and salvation it wouldn't fully be his work either. If that were the case, the redeemed they would have something to boast about, and grace would no longer be grace (Rom. 3:27; Ephesians 2:9
Moreover, due to human depravity, there is nothing in a sinner. fallen and failed who desires God or is able to respond in faith. Paul wrote: "There is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. Everyone is they have set apart, to one were made useless; there is no one who does good, there is none not even one. Their throat is an open grave; they deceive with their tongue. There is snake venom under their lips" (Rom. 3:11-13). Notice the metaphors related to death, which is the state of all those who are in sin. As we will see shortly, the Bible teaches that sinful humanity she is dead in her trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1), 'without Christ, separated from the citizenship of Israel and strangers to the covenants of the promise, being without hope and without God in the world" (v. 12). There is no escape from this such a desperate situation, except for the sovereign intervention of grace savior of God.
By grace you are saved
The classic text on salvation by grace is Ephesians 2:8, 9: "For by grace are saved through faith; and this is not from you for it is a gift of
God. Not by works, so that no one may boast. Let's consider these verses in their context and let us try to better understand the way in which the The Bible describes salvation by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
In Ephesians 1, Paul's main point was the sovereignty of God to save. by the grace to the chosen ones: he wrote that God chose us (v. 4), us predestinó (v. 5), garantizó nuestra adopción (v. 5), nos dio su gracia (v. 6), he redeemed us (v. 7), he forgave us (v. 7), he covered us with the riches of his grace (v. 8), made known to us his will (v. 9), obtained an inheritance for we (v. 11), saved us (v. 13) and sealed us with his Spirit (vv. 13, 14); in few words, "He has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places" (v. 3). All this was the work of His sovereign grace, done not because there was something good in us, but simply "according to the goodwill of his will" (v. 5; cf. v. 9) and "according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will" (v. 11).
Here, in the first ten verses of Ephesians 2, Paul develops the process of the salvation of our past life:
As for you, you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which they walked at another time according to the course of this world and to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience. another time we all lived among them in the passions of our flesh, doing the will of the flesh and of the mind; and by nature we were children of , like the others. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in transgressions, gave us life together with Christ. By grace you are saved! And together with Christ Jesus, we he resurrected and made us sit in heavenly places to show in the ages forthcoming the superabundant riches of his grace, by his goodness towards us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of you are then a gift from God. It is not by works, so that no one may boast. Because we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works that God prepared beforehand for us to walk in them.
Pablo's only concern in these verses is the work of God. save us, because there is no human work that can be considered part of the process of salvation (vv. 8, 9). This passage describes our past, present and future as Christians (what we were, vv. 1-3; what we are, vv. 4-6, 8, 9; and what we will be, vv. 7, 10), and can be read as a treatise on the salvation of lordship. The apostle mentions six characteristics of salvation: it is salvation from sin (vv. 1-3), out of love (v. 4), to give life (v. 5), for the
glory of God (vv. 6, 7), through faith (vv. 8, 9) and for good works (v. 10).
We are saved from sin. Paul writes: "As for you, you were dead in their trespasses and sins, in which they once walked according to the course of this world and to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience. Once all we live among them in the passions of our flesh, doing the the will of the flesh and of the mind; and by nature we were children of wrath, as "the others" (2:1-3). Perhaps this is the briefest possible description of the complete depravity and lost condition of humanity in sin.
Since we were born in sin, we were born for death 'because the wages of "The wages of sin is death" (Rom. 6:23). People do not die spiritually because of because of their sins, but rather they are "sinners by nature" (v. 3) and, therefore, thus, born without spiritual life. Being dead to God we were dead to the truth, justice, peace, happiness, and all other good things, without more capacity to respond to God than a corpse would have.
One afternoon, at the beginning of my ministry in the Church of Grace Church), I heard some intense knocks on the door of my office. Upon opening it I came across a little boy without breath and crying, who with a voice Filled with panic, she asked: 'Are you the pastor?'. When I said yes, I ... he replied: "Hurry up! Please, come with me." It was obvious that he was something very bad is happening, so I ran with him to his house, which is I found myself half a block from the church on the other side of the street.
The child's mother, who was crying uncontrollably inside, said: "My baby is dead! My baby is dead!" It quickly took me to a room, where the lifeless body of a small baby lay in the bed who had evidently passed away while sleeping. The body appeared bluish. and it was already cold to the touch, and despite the fact that the mother had been making desperate attempts to revive him, nothing more could be done: the child had deceased, there were no vital signs. The mother was gently holding her small body, I kissed it, gently touched its face, spoke to it and cried for him, but the boy did not respond. A team of paramedics arrived and tried make the boy breathe again, but it was too late and nothing he did helped effect. There was no response, because there was no life left and not even the powerful the love of that broken mother could provoke any reaction.
Spiritual death is exactly the same: unregenerated sinners do not they have a life with which to respond to the spiritual stimulus, so not
there is no love, no pleas or spiritual truths that can provoke a reaction. The people separated from God are ungrateful dead, zombies spiritual or undead beings incapable of understanding the gravity of their situation. They lack life, although they fake it very well as if they had it, but It is not so: they are dead even while they live (cf. 1 Tim. 5:6).
Before being saved, every Christian was precisely in the same situation. situation; none of us reacted to God or his truth because we were "dead in [our] trespasses and sins" (Eph. 2:1), "dead in "crimes" (v. 5). The "crimes and sins" referred to here are not a reference to specific acts, but a description of the sphere of the existence of the person separated from God, from the realm in which they live fishermen. It is the eternal night of the living dead and its inhabitants are absolutely depraved.
Total depravity does not mean that the lifestyle of all people manifest the same level of corruption and evil as the sinners always act with all the possible evil, if not, humanity is corrupt in every way: the unredeemed are depraved in their minds, hearts, wills, emotions, and physical bodies, so they are absolutely incapable to do anything but sin; even when they can develop actions humanitarian, philanthropic or religious, they do it for their own glory, not the of God (cf. 1 Cor. 10:31). Sinners do not always sin in the ways more grotesque, but they can do nothing to please God or earn your favor since sin has stained all aspects of your being. This is the meaning of spiritual death.
There may be a hundred corpses in the morgue in a hundred phases. of different decomposition, but all will be equally dead. The deprivation, like death, manifests itself in different ways; without embargo, just as there can be no different degrees of death intensity, depravity will always be absolute. Not all people are they show as bad as they could be, but all are equally dead in their sins.
How do people behave in this state of spiritual death? They walk "according to the course of this world and to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience" (Eph. 2:2). Satan is 'the prince of the power of the air' who rules over the realm of sin and death ("this world") in which those who have not been move.
redeemed. It is a field in which many apparently compete different religions, moral systems, and patterns of behavior, but In reality, everything is under the control and dominion of the devil: 'The the whole world is under the evil one" (1 John 5:19).
Therefore, those who have not been redeemed (whether they realize it or not) have a common lord, "the prince of the power of the air." Satan is the arkōn, the "prince of this world" who will reign until he is cast out by the Lord Those who live in that kingdom of sin and death do so under his domain, they share their nature, they are conspirators in their rebellion against God and they naturally respond to his authority. They are on the same wavelength. spiritual wave. Jesus even refers to the devil as the father of those who live under his lordship (John 8:44).
Notice that those who have not been saved are 'by nature... children of wrath.' (Eph. 2:3), so not all people are 'children of God' as algunos dicen. Los que no han recibido la salvación por medio de Jesucristo they are enemies of God (Rom. 5:10; 8:7; Jas. 4:4), not only "children of "disobedience" but consequently "children of wrath" (that is, objects of the eternal condemnation of God.
Paul's purpose in Ephesians 2:3 is not to show the way in which they live. people without salvation even though their teaching on that is valuable, who remembers the believers how they lived before: "In another time we all live among them in our passions of our flesh, doing the will of the flesh and of the mind; and by nature we were children of wrath, like the others" (v. 3, emphasis added). The kingdom of sin and of Death is a past experience for believers: we were hope, subjected to the world, to the flesh and to the devil (vv. 2, 3); we walked as children of disobedience (v. 2); we were dead in trespasses and sins Now all that is in the past.
Although we used to be like the rest of humanity, by the grace of God we are no longer like that. As a result of his saving work in our lives we are —now and forever— redeemed. We have been delivered from death spiritual, sin, the separation from God, disobedience, control demonic, lust and divine judgment (vv. 1-3). That is what grace achieves. savior.
Salvation is by love
But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, gave us life together with Christ" (vv. 4, 5). The mercy of God is "rich," immeasurable, superabundant, generous, unlimited. There are those who struggle with the concept of the sovereign grace of God and they believe it is unjust that He chooses some and not others. Hello everyone, but that is exactly the opposite of correct thinking. The truth is that we all deserve hell, but God in His grace chooses. to save some; no one would be saved if it weren't for His sovereign grace. What preventing sinners from reconciling with God is not a deficiency in the mercy or grace on the side of the equation corresponding to God, but sin is a problem. Rebellion and rejection are they are found in the nature of every sinner.
The two words "but God" affirm that the initiative to save is entirely yours. As He is rich in mercy towards us, and because of of the great love with which he loved us, intervened and provided a way through grace so that we may return to him.
God is intrinsically kind, merciful, and loving; love is something so integral to its nature that the apostle John wrote: 'God is love' (1 Jn. It is in His love that He reaches out His hand to sinful human beings. impoverished, condemned and spiritually dead, in order to bless them with all spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ (Eph. 1:3).
God not only loves enough to forgive, but He loved us so much who delivered His Son to die just for those who had "For God so loved the world that he gave his Son" only begotten so that everyone who believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life eternal" (John 3:16); "No one has greater love than this: to lay down one's life for his friends" (John 15:13). The love of God for those who do not they deserve to make salvation possible and fill it with their mercy: is the epitome of sovereign grace.
Salvation is for life
Even when we were dead in sins, [God] gave us life together with Christ" (Eph. 2:5). The transaction of salvation begins in the moment when God gives spiritual life to a dead person; the first movement does it. Jesus said: 'No one can come to me unless the
"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them" (John 6:44). Of course! People without salvation are dead and are incapable of any spiritual activity, that's why we do not have the ability to respond to God in faith until he wake up.
When sinners are saved, they stop being separated from the life of God and they are spiritually alive thanks to the divinely forged miracle of the union with Christ. For the first time they become sensitive to God, something to which that Paul calls "newness of life" (Rom. 6:4). Now they understand the truth. spiritual and desire spiritual things (1 Cor. 2:10-16), become participants in the divine nature (2 Pet. 1:4) and can seek the things spiritual things (the things above) instead of the things of the earth (Col. 3:2).
This new life is "with Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2:6), who is our life. "we will live with him" (Rom. 6:8) in the likeness of his resurrection (6:5). Our new life is actually His life lived in us (Gal. 2:20), which is absolutely different from our previous life and the supreme manifestation of God's sovereign grace.
Salvation is for the glory of God
[God] together with Christ Jesus, raised us up and made us sit in the heavenly places to show in the ages to come the surpassing riches of His grace, by His goodness towards us in Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2:6, 7). Salvation has a defined purpose: that we may enjoy and show his glory, making known the riches of his grace (cf. Rom. 9:23).
Our new citizenship is in heaven (Phil. 3:20), therefore God gives us raises us up with Christ and seats us with him in the heavenly places. No longer we belong to the present world nor to its sphere of sinfulness and rebellion because we have been rescued from spiritual death and its consequences of our sins. That is pure grace.
Notice that the apostle describes celestial life as if it had already been. completely achieved. Although we are still not in full possession of everything that God has for us in Christ, we live in His dominion, thus as before we lived in the kingdom of sin and death. "Places "Celestiales" clearly implies the complete sense of God's dominion and is an expression that cannot be read in a way that makes its lordship something Optional. To dwell in the heavenly domain means to enjoy communion.
completing with God and dwelling in that realm is what allows us to enjoy your protection, your daily provision, and all the blessings of your favor. However, no one lives there who still walks according to the paths. of this world and of the prince of the power of the air, under the control of spirit that now works in the children of disobedience. We are no longer 'children of but "children of God" (John 1:12; 1 John 3:1) and citizens of heaven (Eph. 2:19. Just as we were subject to the prince of the power of the air in the ancient kingdom of sin and death (v. 2), thus we follow a new Lord in this new kingdom; just as "by nature we were children of wrath" (v. 3) and "children of "disobedience" (v. 2), so now "He has made us alive together with Christ" by nature (v. 5, 6).
The supreme purpose of God in our salvation is to exalt his grace. sovereign "to show in the ages to come the exceeding riches of his grace, by his goodness towards us in Christ" (v. 7), so that our loving Father glorifies himself even while he blesses us: his grace is the central axis of his glory. From the very first moment of salvation. until 'the ages to come' we will never stop benefiting from his grace and of His goodness towards us, since it will never end thank you because human efforts take control . 9
Salvation is through faith
"Porque por gracia son salvos por medio de la fe; y esto no de ustedes pues It is the gift of God. Not by works, so that no one can boast" (2:8, 9). Faith is our response, not the cause of salvation; even faith is 'not of us
Some of the defenders of the denial of the lordship oppose this. interpretation , indicating that "faith" (pistis) is feminine while "this" 10 (this) is neutral, so grammatically that pronoun does not have a clear antecedent and does not refer to the noun "faith", but rather to the (understood) act of believing, or possibly to salvation as a whole.
One way or another, the meaning is unavoidable: faith is a gift from God. His grace, a truth that Jesus directly affirmed: 'No one can come to me' unless it has been granted to him by the Father" (John 6:65). He also says that faith is a divine gift in Acts 3:16 ('And the faith that is awakened
for Jesus has given this complete healing in the presence of all of you in Philippians 1:29 ("For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ, not) not only the privilege of believing in him but also the privilege of suffering for his cause and in 2 Peter 1:1 ('Simon Peter, servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have') achieved a faith equally precious as ours) . 11 "Not by works" does not mean contrasting faith with repentance, the commitment or restraint. In fact, the issue at stake is not so simple. like faith against circumcision or faith against baptism, for what is contrasted is grace divinely with human merits.
Human efforts cannot produce salvation; we are saved. only by grace and by faith solely in Christ. When we renounce any hope that is not faith in Christ and His complete work on our behalf, we are working by the faith that God provides in His grace. To believe is, therefore, the first action of a resurrected spiritual corpse; is the new man who he experiences his first breath. As faith is infallible, man spiritual continues to breathe.
Evidently, if salvation occurs entirely by the grace of God it cannot be the result of human work and efforts have nothing What to see with obtaining it or keeping it (cf. Rom. 3:20; Gal. 2:16); no one should to boast as if he had done something to earn it (cf. Rom. 3:27; 4:5; 1 Cor. 1:31).
We cannot stop now, however, because there is another point. crucial in Pablo's line of reasoning, which is the main thesis to which has been pointing.
Salvation is for good deeds
For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do the good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them (2:10). This is a verse that the theology of the denial of lordship does not can you finish explaining, that's why several of your books have simply been ignored. Verses 8 and 9 seem to easily fit into the system of the denial of the lordship, but without verse 10 we do not have the picture complete of what Paul is saying about our salvation.
We cannot emphasize enough that the works play no role at all. in the attainment of salvation, but good works do have a lot
What to see, live the salvation. No good work can earn it for us. salvation, but true salvation results in many good things works, which are not necessary to become a disciple, although they are the necessary marks of every true disciple. After all, God has arranged that we walk in them.
Note that before we can do any good work for the Lord, he does his good work in us. By the grace of God, we come to be "his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works." the same grace that gave us life in Christ and raised us with him equips us so that we may do the good works for which He has saved us.
You can also notice that God is the one who "prepared" these good works and that we do not receive credit for them. Even our good works (to the that in the previous chapter we referred to as 'works of faith' are works of His. grace (so it would also be appropriate to call them "works of grace"). These works are the evidence that corroborates true salvation and, like the other aspects of divine salvation are the result of sovereign grace God.
Good deeds and just attitudes are intrinsic to our being. as Christians and come from the very nature of those who live in the heavenly kingdom. Just as those who do not have salvation are sinners for nature, just as the redeemed are just by nature. Paul said to the Corinthians, that the abundant grace of God provided sufficiency. superabundant that equipped them "for every good work" (2 Cor. 9:8), and told him to Tito that Christ "gave himself for us to redeem us from all iniquity and purify for himself a people that is his own, zealous for good deeds works' (Titus 2:14, emphasis added).
Remember that the fundamental message of Paul here is not evangelistic, well, he is writing to believers, many of whom had come to Christ several years ago. What is proposed is not to tell them how to be saved, without reminding them how they were saved so that they could see how they. wait for grace to work in the lives of the redeemed. The phrase 'we are the creation of God is the key to this entire passage.
The Greek term for 'creation' espōiema, from which the word derives. Poem: our lives are like a sonnet written by God, a work of art literary. God has created us from eternity to be conformed to the image of His Son (Rom. 8:29). We all continue to be imperfect, works