REVISITING CHRIST’S MESSAGE TO TODAY’S EVANGELICALS

Part III: Christ’s Appraisal Of Evangelicals As Two, Offensive, Judging Factions

B. Christ’s Evaluation Of Evangelicals Detailed

2. Christ’s Exposure Of The Factions’ Errant Beliefs Behind Their Errant Judgments

d. The Errant Views On The Spirit’s Conviction And Their Harmful Effects

(Revelation 3:14, 17b[d])

 

I.               Introduction

A.    Having critiqued the errant judgments of today’s two evangelical Calvinist and Arminian factions, Christ detailed how they arrived at this troubling state by the influence of their respective errant BELIEFS!

B.    In Rev. 3:14, 17b[d], Christ exposed errant views on the Spirit’s convicting work and their harmful effects:

II.            The Errant Views On The Spirit’s Conviction And Their Harmful Effects, Rev. 3:14, 17b[d].

A.    In Rev. 3:17b in the Greek text, the words “wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, naked” are inter-related, for they are linked by 4 conjunctions (U. B. S. Grk. N. T., 1966, p. 845; A. T. Robertson, A Gr. of the Grk. N. T., p. 777).

B.    Significantly, Calvinist theologian Loraine Boettner (The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination, p. 59) noted that Calvinism’s five points of belief are “not isolated and independent doctrines, but are . . . inter-related . . .”

C.    In viewing these five adjectives in order, we see Christ critiqued the five points of Calvinism in order AND their opposing views in Arminianism, with insight on the harmful effects each view has had on believers:

1.      Calvinism’s fourth point is “Irresistible Grace,” the view that the Holy Spirit makes the elect become spiritually insightful and convicted of sin so that they irresistibly trust in Christ, and that this spiritual insight increases over time by means of God’s predestination, Ibid., p. 162-181, especially p. 171-172.

2.      Arminians hold that the unsaved by the Holy Spirit’s insightful conviction may or may not trust in Jesus, and if they believe, they contribute faith to be saved and retain their salvation and insight if their faith does not fail (Bettenson, Doc. of the Chr. Ch., 2nd ed., p. 377f; Chaf./Walv., Maj. Bib. Th., 1974, p. 220ff).

3.      However, Christ critiqued both views on the Holy Spirit’s convicting work and their harmful effects:

                         a.  Christ said that the Laodiceans were fourth “blind” (from the Greek word tuphlos; Ibid., U. B. S. Grk. N. T.), and (i) its solution in Rev. 3:18 NIV (and the Greek text, Ibid.) was to apply Christ’s poultice to their eyes that they might see.  (ii) Elsewhere in Scripture, only in John 9:1-41 did Christ apply a poultice to a blind man’s eyes that first gave him physical sight and later led to his spiritual insight that Jesus was “the son of man” [John 9:35 in the Greek, Ibid.], Who in Daniel 7:13-14 is God!  Enlightened, the man trusted in Christ as God and was saved (cf. John 20:31), (iii) so, “blind” in Rev. 3:17 is a lack of spiritual insight!

                         b.  Thus, “blind” in Rev. 3:17 critiques both Calvinist and Arminian views of the Holy Spirit’s convicting ministry: (i) Calvinism holds that the Holy Spirit irresistibly makes the elect be permanently spiritually insightful of God’s truth, but the Laodiceans were saved as seen in Christ’s readiness to discipline them as God’s true sons (Rev. 3:19 with Heb. 12:6-8) while they were also “blind”!  Accordingly, there is no “irresistible grace”!  (ii) Arminians hold that the Holy Spirit causes the unsaved to discern their need for salvation so they can contribute faith to God to exist as saved, but the Laodiceans who were truly saved (since Christ was ready to discipline them as God’s true sons, Rev. 3:19; Heb. 12:6-8) were “blind,” so by existing as saved without spiritual insight, they were saved by God ALONE!  (iii) In summation, the Holy Spirit convicts an unsaved person so that he can either accept the Holy Spirit’s revelation of God’s truth in Christ or reject it (John 16:8-11), and if the unsaved believes in Christ, God  ALONE saves him!

                         c.  Both factions’ views have led to spiritual blindness in believers: (i) The Calvinist’s belief that he gains spiritual insight by “irresistible grace” has led him to hold that spiritual insight is sustained in his walk by predestination, so he does not rely on the Holy Spirit for insight, what leaves him “blind”!  (ii) The Arminian’s belief that he exists as saved only if he discerns God’s truth errs, for the Laodiceans were saved while “blind,” so the Arminian has gone “blind” by relying on faith instead of the Holy Spirit.

 

Lesson: (1) Calvinists have erred in holding that the Holy Spirit convicts the elect so that they irresistibly WILL trust in Christ, and (2) Arminians have erred in holding that spiritual insight MUST reside in believers who are STILL saved.  (3) Rather, the Holy Spirit graciously convicts the unsaved WORLD so that ANYONE can author faith in Christ (John 1:9; 16:8-11; Rev. 22:17), BUT the Holy Spirit illumines ONLY those BELIEVERS who RELY by FAITH on HIM for spiritual insight IN their Christian WALK! 

 

Application: May we rely on God the Holy Spirit at ALL TIMES for ALL of our SPIRITUAL INSIGHT needs!