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

e. The Errant Views Of Salvation Security And Their Harmful Effects

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

 

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[e], Christ noted the factions’ errant beliefs on salvation security and their harmful effects:

II.            The Errant Views Of Salvation Security And Their Harmful Effects, Revelation 3:14, 17b[e].

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), and similarly, Calvinism’s five points are also inter-related (Loraine Boettner, The Ref. Doc. of Pred., p. 59).

B.    These five words critique Calvinism’s five points in order with the Arminian views and their harmful effects:

1.      Calvinism’s fifth point, the “Perseverance of the Saints,” asserts that God predestines the saved elect to persevere in faith and in godly works, thereby giving them eternal salvation security, Ibid., p. 182-201.

2.      Arminians hold that one stays securely saved IF his faith and godly works persist, but IF they FAIL, he loses his salvation, Bettenson, ed., Doc. of Chr. Ch., 2nd ed., p. 378f; Chaf./Wal., Maj. Bib. Thm., p. 220ff.

3.      However, Christ critiqued both Calvinist and Arminian views on salvation security (as follows):

                         a.  The Laodiceans were fifth “naked” (Rev. 3:17), from the Greek word gumnos (Ibid., U. B. S. Grk. N. T.), and the Rev. 3:18 solution was to put on white clothes from Christ that their nakedness might not be seen.

                         b.  Elsewhere in Scripture, only in Rev. 16:15 are believers relatedly to keep their clothes lest their nakedness be seen (M. & G., Con. to the Grk. Test., p. 179), what alludes to a sentry’s duty to stay awake lest he be punished by having his clothes taken away so that he must walk about naked and disgraced (Ryrie St. Bib., KJV, 1994, ftn. to Lk. 16:16).  Applying this insight to the Rev. 16:15 context, God will call Tribulation era believers to persevere in godliness by watching for Christ’s return [Lk. 12:35-48] instead of yielding to demonic deception to join antichrist and end up resisting Christ’s rescue of His people at His return!

                         c.  Thus, “naked” in Rev. 3:17 refers to the failure of believers to persevere in godliness by yielding to demonic deception that leads them to end up resisting God’s rescue of His people in some way.  (The Matthew 13 sower, weeds, mustard seed and leaven parables also imply the demonic nature of this deceit!)

                         d.  This insight critiques both Calvinist and Arminian views on salvation security and their harmful effects:

                                       i.           Calvinists have yielded to demonic deception by way of Augustine’s Neo-Platonism that borders on Plato’s pantheism (that the universe is God), so that man’s will (to author faith) is an extension of God’s will.  This outlook has led Calvinists to fail to persevere since they do not rely on God but on predestination to persevere! (Warfield, Calv. & Aug., 1974, p. 375, 378, 395-396; G. Carruth, ed. in chief, The Vol. Lib., 1994, v. 22, p. 2025-2026; Ibid., W. Walker, His. of the Chr. Ch., 1959, p. 98, 163f) Calvinists thus end up resisting God’s rescue of believers from a lack of assurance of salvation if they fail to persevere in godliness, inhibiting their spiritual maturity! 

                                     ii.           Arminians have yielded to demonic deception by way of Pelagius’ Stoic bias that man (like God) can attain virtue by faith that helps save himself.  This outlook has led Arminians to trust in a futile faith versus God so as to fail to persevere in godliness! (Ibid., Walker, p. 168) Arminians thus end up resisting God’s rescue of believers from a lack of a sense of security in their salvation status if their faith fails, inhibiting their spiritual maturity!

                                   iii.           However, SCRIPTURE teaches that a believer is assuredly saved when he first trusts in Christ (1 John 5:13), and at that instant, he is sealed with the Holy Spirit to keep him unconditionally saved (Eph. 1:13-14).  If he then relies on the Spirit, he perseveres in a godly walk (Rom. 8:3-4)!

 

Lesson: Yielding to pagan ideas under demonic deception, Calvinists and Arminians have held to errant views on the assurance of salvation and on salvation security that afflict believers instead of holding to Scripture’s truths!

 

Application: May we hold to Scripture’s truths on the assurance of salvation, on unconditional salvation security and on persevering in a godly walk by relying on the Holy Spirit.