Please know that I do not
get into a discussion such as this from the pulpit because it gets too deep
into theological and doctrinal weeds.
And more importantly, I
do not reach toward a Calvinistic approach to the idea of belief. Rather, I
propose a whole different theological animal altogether.
The basic prompter for
this discussion is the verse John 3:16…
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (NIV).
Please note that is does not say “whoever chooses to believe. My
position is that we, as humans, do not reach out beyond ourselves and willfully
grasp salvation as if we, by doing so, can, in effect, save ourselves. Rather,
we arrive at belief as a result of an “Aha” moment of discovery that we already
are under the condition of salvation.
Perhaps referencing John Wesley’s Aldersgate experience may be helpful.
In the evening I went very unwillingly to a society in
Aldersgate Street, where one was reading [Martin] Luther's preface to the
Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the
change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart
strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation;
and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and
saved me from the law of sin and death. (From the journal of
John Wesley May 24, 1738)
Nowhere do
we get the idea that John was willfully reaching toward this assurance. It was,
for John, a discovery of a condition pre-existing, enabled by the Holy Spirit or
preaching, or other prevenient graces.
I think
much the same regarding John 3:16.
Also, I
think this may impact how we witness or evangelize.
The
approach to get people to “choose to believe” too often results in folk having
an inaccurate understanding of faith such that when things go badly in their
lives, they “choose” not to believe any longer.
However,
by the witness of those of us who are mature and long in the faith, by the enabling
of the Holy Spirit, folk will experience a discovery of salvation thereby
having their hearts “strangely warmed”. This assurance, beyond their capability to seize, will be much more
convincing to them precisely because it was initiated by Christ, rather than
themselves.
Before the
discovery we live a life “condemned already” to experiencing a lack of assurance
and salvation.
After discovery of salvation, we then will indeed have a choice to make…
Our choice
is whether or not to follow Jesus, to have Jesus as Lord, to attend to his
teachings, to forgive others, to love those that hate us.
Yes,
following Jesus, and being faithful to his teachings, is a choice to make.
I propose
that people make that choice only as a matter of irresistible gratitude and conviction
of conscience, having discovered that Christ first loved and saved us.
I close
with this affirmation from Revelation 5…
13 Then I heard every
creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and
all that is in them, saying:
“To him who sits on the throne and to
the Lamb
be
praise and honor and glory and power,
for ever and ever!”
