How to Do an Old Testament Word Study for a Key Term in a Verse Being Studied

 (The Examples Used Below are for the Hebrew Term ‘eved, Servant)

 

 

A. Determine what the word could mean by exploring the semantic range.

 

1. Find the Strong’s word number in reference works or in online sources or Bible software. Do not read the articles on the term yet. Just write down possible English nuances of the term. There are several ways to get the Strong’s number. Even if you know Hebrew, it will save you time to have this number. Here are some options for various tools you may be able to access.

 

$          One way to get the Strong’s number is to use Index to Brown, Drivers, and Briggs Hebrew Lexicon to find the BDB page number for your term of study. If your version of BDB has the Strong’s numbers added in the margin, you now have the number.

 

$          Look up a text that has the Hebrew term in your Hebrew English Interlinear as some of these will have the Strong’s number under each term.

 

$          The Complete Biblical Library has its own number under each word in the Bible section. Look it up in the dictionary section with their number. At the bottom of the article, it lists the resources which include the Strong’s number for the term.

 

$          In BibleWorks software, put your mouse on the English translation of the term you are studying in the NAS or NAU. In the pop-up window, the Strong’s number is inside the carrots <001 >. While here, write down the nuances listed in this pop-up window or the other sources above you used.

 

$          In E-Sword software (download for free) look up the verse in KJV+ or Hebrew OT+. The Strong’s number is beside the word.

 

$          In Logos Bible software, look up any verse that has the term. Right click on the English translation. The pop-up window will have the Strong’s number in it.

 

Now that you have this number, look up the English word in Strong’s Concordance and find the first verse you know that has the same Hebrew term being searched. It may be your verse of study. Verify that you have the right Hebrew term. The number will be to the right of the Hebrew term in Strong’s Concordance. You have already used the online tools, software, and books you have for the shortest route to get the Strong’s number for your term. Write it down in your word study notes. E.g., Strong’s 5650. If your sources provided page numbers for other tools, include them in your notes as well, with an abbreviation of the work’s title (e.g., T.W.O.T., 716).

 

2. Looks up this word number in the back of Young’s Concordance under the “Transliterated Hebrew” section and “The English Universal Subject Guide” and in the back of the NASB Concordance and or Strong’s Concordance Hebrew dictionary by the Strong’s number. Write the nuances listed from any of these tools you have under this section that are new. You can also look in Vines Expository Dictionary and Wilson’s Old Testament Word Studies for additional nuances, but don’t rely too heavily on these two tools as they have some weaknesses. Skim read Brown, Drivers, and Briggs (BDB) and Holiday’s Hebrew Lexicon for more nuances without carefully reading the definitions yet. This is the beginning of considering the semantic range of the Hebrew term, so you don’t want to be influenced by experts before you look at the biblical contexts with the nuances you collected and see which one is best for each verse.

 

[e.g., ‘eved, slave, servant, social inferior, bondsman, worshiper of God, messenger of God, Messiah, attendant, officer, government official, male servant, male slave, dependent, minister, advisor, political subject, military subordinate, military officer, vassal kings, tributary nations, officers of a king, ambassadors, soldiers of the army and officers.]

 

3. Use The Englishman’s Hebrew Concordance of the Old Testament or Bible software to search on the Hebrew term. Focus on the part of speech you are studying, as some software searches will include both the noun and verb forms (or participles, adverbs, or adjectives). Hebrew root terms are usually three consonants, and the vowel combinations change for the various parts of speech. This affects the computer searches results. Try to limit your word count and study to the same part of speech. If studying a noun, how many uses in the Old Testament are found in the noun form of this root? The nouns may be in a singular, plural, dual, construct or absolute forms. Include them all in your study. If studying a verb, how many times was it used as a verb? Write down the number of uses in your notes. Make a chart, including all the uses of the term in the Hebrew Bible or a smaller Scripture section (e.g., The Minor prophets). Using the nuances found in the tools above (often older English terms, so consider using the English terms modern synonyms for clarity). Next to the reference, include the best nuance based on the context of the paragraph the verse is found in as you read the text in one or two formal equivalence translations. Include the phrase or clause that this nuance is found in the text. You may look at two to five translations with online or Bible software and choose the best nuance for each verse. Chart it like this:

If you have a word that has numerous uses, this will need to be done quickly. You will need really sound reasons from the context to differ significantly from modern solid translations. You have your lists of nuances above, but there may be more nuances. There are some cases where the student will be justified in differing from the ASV, ESV, HCSB, NIV, NKJV or NASB because of the methods committee’s use in selecting the final gloss choice in their translation that the committee members are sworn to not share with the public. You are not concerned with copyright laws, differing from standard translations to make yours unique enough to sell or appeasing popular misconceptions. If the KJV or ASV had the best choice of nuance for a verse, use that one. Context is king and at this point you have avoided a strong influence from the Lexicons and word study articles. You have done your own work. After you have charted every use of the part of speech chosen (e.g., noun) of this term in the section selected, make a shorter list of all the nuances used. Under each of these nuances, list four to ten verses references that will provide samples of this shade of meaning. Include the phrase in which the term is found. Make the list like this:

1. Male servant (‘eved)

Gen 12:16 gave him sheep and oxen and donkeys and male servants and female servants and female donkeys . . .

Gen 24:35 given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male servants and female servants . . .                  

2. Government official, cabinet member (‘eved)

Gen 20:8 So Abimelech rose early in the morning and called all his government officials and told them all these things . . .

Gen 40:20 On the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, he made a feast for all his government officials . . .

4. Depending on the tools you can access, read the Complete Word Study Dictionary Old Testament Lexicon definition, BDB, T.W.O.T., Holliday, TLOT, HALOT closely. Summarize the content of these Lexicons for additional nuances and the semantic rage (domain) of the term with this additional information. Go back and correct any verses you now feel certain you chose the wrong gloss for from reading the context and applying the available nuances. Update your list of nuances as well. But don’t force the resources articles contents into a text. Context is still king and will limit the options of nuance choices. 

5. Consult scholarly but trustworthy commentaries. Find the first usage of the term in that Bible book and look at any more well know verses that include the term. The commentators tend to define important terms the first time they are used in a biblical book or in more well know verses or controversial ones that are often misinterpreted. They may cite scholarly articles that helped them reach their conclusions for a particular nuance. Because they are commenting on verses in your chart created in # 3 above, as well as your list of nuances with verse support, you may update your nuance choice now that you have the additional information. But this should be rare, as you applied your list of glosses from the sources above to the context of the paragraph and checked formal equivalent English translations for their choices before selecting yours. And because you will be extremely careful with the clause in the biblical text that you are using this study to help you exegete. It is not a big problem if you did not choose the best nuance for every verse as you work out the semantic range. In some verses several nuances will fit within the context and that is fine for our purposes. Summarize the information from the commentaries in your notes.

Next, the student should review remarks from scholars on the term in word study books, Bible encyclopedias, and Bible dictionaries. Some of these will be high-quality works. Thus, you should not ignore them. Summarize the information from these sources next. List the name of the source, then write a conclusion of their insights in a paragraph or two.                       

B. Consider the etymology of the term you are studying.

1. Look at etymological resources and note how they compare and differ from your study to this point. Options include Ernest Klein, A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Hebrew Language and Jeff Benner, The Ancient Hebrew Lexicon of the Bible. Write down the definitions and prepare a concluding paragraph from any insights acquired.

[‘eved, e.g., The basic concept is a person who is under the authority of someone else as that person’s legal property, employee, subject, or vassal; or someone who presents himself in humility when speaking to someone of importance or when praying to God.]

C. Consider synonyms and translations into other languages.

1. Look at Girdlestone’s synonyms book[1] for the Hebrew synonyms first and then look at the Greek ones given. Look in the Appendix of Hatch and Redpath[2] for the Hebrew/Aramaic Index of the Septuagint. Write down the Greek synonyms for the Hebrew term being studied from this resource. Study these Greek terms in the LXX by following these steps. How many Greek terms are used to translate the Hebrew term being studied? Write the number in your notes. Write down the Greek terms that are certain and not in [] or [[implausible]]. Look up these Greek terms in Liddell and Scott[3] and BDAG[4] to do the following: (a) make three charts for each Greek term listing the nuance, then author and the title of the book, then the date of use. (b) Make one chart for the Liddell and Scott’s non-biblical authors, one for LXX Old Testament canonical books and the last one for the apocryphal books (c) For charts two and three, look up each verse from Hatch and Redpath in an English Translation of the LXX (like Brenton’s work[5]) and write down the English gloss and Bible reference used for the Greek term being studied (d) Put nuances at the top of the row of the chart from left to right. Put the dates for each term in the left column going down from oldest to most recent.[6] (e) Summarize the semantic domain of each term for the Classical and Hellenistic periods. (f) Do a conclusion of all the summaries noting the combined semantic domains of all the Greek LXX equivalents and the development of the term. Discuss if there was a Greek term that the LXX authors used the most for the Hebrew term being studied and which nuance they used the least. Does anything in their choices reveal how they understood dominant nuances for the Hebrew term in their era? What is the semantic domain of the most used Greek terms in the LXX for the Hebrew term being studied? Do these supply any insights into ancient understandings of the range of meaning of the Hebrew term being studied in the 250 BC time-period? Was there any observable change (development, progression) in usage over time? Ask key questions concerning the evidence discovered: a) Is this term’s use in the LXX and the Apoc. extensive, occasional, or rare? b) What is the variety of nuances, first in the LXX and then the Apoc.? What conclusion can be drawn from the evidence in these two works? Summarize your findings.

Non-biblical Author’s (servant, Hebrew ‘eved) > (Greek) pais

       Liddell & Scott and BDAG: List word meanings, the author and date he wrote.

2. Look up the Greek LXX terms in Moulton and Geden[7] or a Bible software program and make a list of the references followed by an English phrase or clause that contain the New Testament nuances for the Greek term. Follow this by a brief explanation of the gloss chosen. Use a formal equivalence translation (ASV, NASB, NKJV), your own translation or a combination of both.

E.g., Make a list of the Greek New Testament uses of pais, doulos, oiketās, anthrōpos, douleia, douleuein, doulā, ergasia, therapeia, therapeuein, therapōn, estos enopion, oiketās, paidarion, padion, sebein, huparetās (servant, slave) and list the nuance in the biblical phrase, followed by an explanation from the context. Begin by listing the references and clauses for the term pais.

Matt 2:16 Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent and slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem . . .

This is male toddlers and babies two years old and less that lived near Bethlehem. They were dependents, descendants, and were under the authority of their parents.

Matt. 8:6 and saying, “Lord, my personal assistant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering great pain.”

This is a military Roman centurion’s favorite assistant, servant, or military leader.

The New Testament authors had the influence of the Hebrew Old Testament, the Aramaic versions and the Septuagint and the further development of the term in Greek literature and culture. What the student is attempting to determine here is to what extent the nuances from the Hebrew Bible are repeated in contexts by the New Testament authors. The term’s development at this stage may be much broader than the original Hebrew uses. Write down the nuances that continue into this future period that match the original Hebrew and LXX. Summarize these findings in some concluding remarks from the evidence reviewed without back reading later nuance development into the older usages of the term. The student is seeking clarity and continuity at this point in the study rather than how the term usage evolved. Just like there are fallacies in making too much of the etymology of a term (e.g., a butterfly must be a fly covered in butter) there are fallacies in back reading a modern nuance of a term into previous time periods (e.g., the 21^st century use of term ‘gay’ read back into an English hymn written in the 1600s). Our objective here is discovering the original author’s intentional meaning rather than the possible modern usages. Thus, focus your conclusion on the continuity aspect gained from observing the New Testament’s uses. 

3. After carefully considering the Septuagint Greek texts, look at English translations of the DSS and Syriac Peshitta for additional nuances. For a term that is often used in the Old Testament, the Hebrew should dominate your consideration. For terms with less than five uses, these other sources and languages may expand the semantic range of the term from later time periods and understanding and may be helpful when the current known nuances don’t match the context of the original clause. Only the Original Autographs are inspired and inerrant. Only when a translation captures the original author’s (both divine and human) intention in a paragraph in the new language does the translation hold full authority over the believer. Thus, these other sources are not inerrant or written by an Old Testament prophet, priest, or king or a New Testament apostle (e.g., Peter) or prophet (e.g., Mark, Luke) and only inspired when they are a true match for the original Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek text. These translations are from later time periods where word meanings have developed differently. Likewise, we do not know the original language ability of the translators and editors or of their theological biases. So, extreme care must be used here. After acquiring insight from these sources, remember, the English gloss chosen from studying these sources must make sense in the original Hebrew passage.

Step 3: Consider the biblical use of this term starting with the proximity in the book that the passage you are seeking to exegete is found. You will do from wider to narrower in that book and then go wider to other authors.

a. How does the author of the book use this term in this Bible book you are studying? How does he use it in the chapter of concern? How does he use it in the paragraph? How does he use it in the verse’s sentence(s) being studied?

            b. How does this same author use this term in other biblical books he has written?

c. How do different writers of books in this Testament (either Old or New) use this term in their writings? Consider the proposed dates of composition of the books as you observe the developments of the term in the biblical text. Antecedent passages may have an influence on later texts, especially when there is a clear illusion or quote. 

D. Check the expert produced word studies and summarize your final conclusions. 

1. Check theological dictionaries and other word study sources before making your final conclusions on the semantic range of the term and its best use in any one passage. This step must wait until all the above work has been done or the student’s objectivity will be compromised in the study. Are there nuances that should be included that were missed in the steps above? Are there sources these works cite that were missed that give additional insights into the Hebrew term? Are their nuances used in the steps above that none of the Theological Dictionaries include? Is there a good explanation for the omissions or addition from the biases of the contributors or editors rather than careful objective deduction from the ancient sources? Write down supportable new insights from these works. If these works and your study confirm you have added unsupportable English glosses or missed legitimate glosses that should be included or used the wrong gloss in the study above on any verse cited, go back and correct it. This is part of the learning process. However, the experts are not neutral or inerrant. Thus, it is fine to disagree when the student has significant evidence for their position from the word study steps above. CBL, TLOT, David Clines, VanGemeren, Kittel (search for comments on the Hebrew term by reviewing articles on the Greek synonyms).

2. Make a final list of nuances of the term and conclusions on the term and its use in individual passages.

3. Note doctrinal and devotional insights from the study of the term and its use in various biblical texts. 

4. Choose the best nuance for the Bible verse you are studying from the evidence discovered while doing this word study.

Works Consulted 

 

Belcher, Richard P. Sr., Doing an Effective Greek Word Study (Columbia, SC: Richbarry, 1985). 

Duvall, J. Scott and J. Daniel Hays, Grasping God’s Word: A Hands-on Approach to Reading, Interpreting, and Applying the Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2001). 

Stuart, Douglas, Old Testament Exegesis: A Handbook for Students and Pastors (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 2001) 3d ed.           

Wenzel, Charles, Greek III Class Notes, Columbia Bible College (Columbia, SC: Np, 1984). 

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^[1] Robert B. Girdlestone, Synonyms of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1983) reprint.

^[2] Edwin Hatch and Henry A. Redpath, A Concordance to the Septuagint (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1998) 2d ed.

^[3] Henry George Liddell and Robert Scott, An Intermediate Greek English Lexicon (London: Oxford, 1945) 7th ed.

^[4] Walter Bauer, F. Wilbur Gingrich, William F. Arndt and Frederick W. Danker, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago, 1979) 2nd ed.

^[5] Sir Lancelot C. L. Brenton, The Septuagint with Apocrypha: Greek and English (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1992) reprint.

^[6] For tips on Liddell and Scott, see Richard P. Belcher, Sr., Doing an Effective Greek Word Study (Columbia, SC: Richbarry, 1985).

^[7] W. F. Moulton and A. S. Geden, A Concordance to the Greek New Testament (London: T&T Clark, 2002) rev., 6th ed.

Christian Giving and the New Testament

 New Covenant Principles of Giving

See David A. Croteau, ed. Perspectives on Tithing: Four views (Nashville: B& H Publishing), 2011. See the section David Croteau, “The Post-Tithing View: Giving in the New Covenant.”

NT Giving Considered

● All-inclusive (every believer, no exceptions)

● The Foundations of giving

○ Relationship and love driven

        ○ Grace driven     

        ○ Stewardship and faith driven (everything belongs to God, what are His priorities?) 

●     The Motivations for giving 

         ○ Gratitude to and reverential love for God 

         ○ A desire to bless others 

         ○ Love and mercy for the needy and the lost 

         ○ An obvious need of another believer 

● The Manner for giving (How) 

         ○ Regularly (chose weekly to monthly)     

         ○ Intentionally (planned) 

         ○ Generously (not hoarding or stingy) 

         ○ Cheerfully and voluntarily (with a pleasant attitude, not begrudgingly) 

● The Mission's base of giving 

         ○ How seriously do we take the Great Commission and biblical stewardship? There are a number of American Christians who have capped their lifestyle at a certain level, made a regular commitment to their local church, and anything else God blesses them with goes to foreign missions, primarily to the 10-40 window where the most isolated from the gospel live. 

         ○ Joshua Project: Global Summary: An overview of the people groups of the world 

 - People Groups:17,446 Unreached Groups:7,425, Unreached Groups:42.6% 

 - 2023 Earth's Population:7.93 Billion 

The population in Unreached areas (mainly the10-40 window): 3.37 Billion 

The percentage of the population among the Unreached (no Christians, no church, no Bible, no tracts, no Christian radio, TV, etc.): 42.5% 

         ○ Missionary professor Harvie Conn’s book, Bible Studies on World Evangelization and the Simple Lifestyle was never a big seller and went out of print fast. He asked American Christians to cap their lifestyle and sacrifice for foreign missions. The book, Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream by David Platt tells how a whole Baptist church did this by heart-based giving. 

● The amount of giving 

         ○ Income-based (proportional) 

         ○ Heart-based 

         ○ Sacrificial at times, but always generous 

         ○ Voluntary 

         ○ It is to be an amount set by each family after asking God for wisdom, applying principle of stewardship and considering God's priorities. This amount will change in various seasons of life. Ask: How can we be the best steward’s possible to please our God, who is Lord and Savior? What you treasure reveals what is in your heart. Your credit card statement and checking account statement reveal what you really love the most. 

Old Covenant Giving

Giving in the Old Testament was a little different. There were mandatory Old Covenant agricultural contributions that were part of the ceremonial law to be brought each year to the temple complex. When the farmers gave Yahweh one of every 10 domestic animals and 10 percent of their grain, wine, vegetables, olive oil and fruit—it showed stewardship. To refuse to obey was robbing God. The moral law says, “Do not steal.” Taking and possessing property that belongs to another without their permission is stealing. So, in Malachi chapter 3, the people ask their famous ‘How’ question. How do we rob You, God? In what way? Prove that we are robbers! God answers: ‘By not making the payments of the tenths and the contributions.’ The ‘contributions’ or ‘offerings’ included voluntary gifts of grain, along with the peace and sin offerings. Charles Feinberg notes it also included the mandatory first fruit offering. The first fruits were no less that 1/60th of a farmer’s grain, wine, and olive oil. The contributions also included the meat portions that the priests would lift up before the brazen altar or move from side to side before the altar, symbolically dedicating it to the LORD. These portions were food for the priest and his family. So, the offerings or contributions is one of the two areas the farmers in Israel were withholding from the temple complex. The other area in which they were withholding of that which was required to be brought to the temple during the feast of Israel was the tithes. Why is it plural? Because there were three. 

● The Levitical tithe. This was 10% of vegetables, fruits, grains or their final products like wine and olive oil along with 1 out of every 10 animals. This was an annual Levitical tithe from the farmers in Israel to the temple. The Levites would give 10% of these tithes to remain at the temple complex and they shared this best part with the Priests. But they could also consume some of it themselves while at the temple. The landless people in Israel did not pay tithes, which included widows, orphans, immigrants, poverty stricken, slaves and priests. 

● The Feast or Festival tithe. This was an annual tithe of the produce of the land brought with the farmer’s family and split for at least the three mandatory feasts, but could be split for 5 feasts each year. They would eat this 2nd tithe in Jerusalem at the feasts and share this with the Levites. This was besides the Levitical tithe. The men went to Jerusalem each year for the 3 required feasts with their families and brought their contributions, burnt offerings, sin offerings, and peace offerings along with their Levitical tithes and just enough food and funds for the complete journey. The offerings exceeded the three tithes.

● The Poor or Charity tithe. They stored this tithe in the local city to provide food for the local Levites and Priests not on temple duty and the community widows, orphans, poor, and immigrants. Thus, it was not carried to Jerusalem. They paid it every 3 years instead of annually.

 

Thus, an Israeli farmer’s family paid 23 1/3% of the land production besides the first fruits 1/60th contributions, along with voluntary gifts. The farmers, along with any other man in Israel, would also take part in the burn offerings, the sin offerings, the peace offerings, the grain offerings that went with theses three, and the restitution offering when they cheated someone in the land. So, a farmer who was concerned about his sin and meeting his three tithes or land taxes and additional contributions would have easily been contributing between 25% and 30% of the produce of the land each year if he gave no free-will offerings at all.

How Important is the Great Commission?

 1. Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." (Jn. 20:21 NIV) 

2. Then Jesus came up and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matt. 28:18 NET)

3. And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” (Mk. 16:15 NKJV)

4. And He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and rise again from the dead the third day; 47 and that repentance for forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, (ethnoi, ethnic groups) beginning from Jerusalem.48 You are witnesses of these things.” (Lk. 24:46-48 NASB)

5. “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the farthest parts of the earth.” (Acts 1:8 NET)

If my Doctor told me I had five weeks to live and I met with you once a week before my departure from the land of the living. This is what I said during those five meetings. Week 1. Will you take care of my dog? Week 2. Please take care of my pup. Week 3. I am depending on you to provide for Buddy. Week 4. Make sure my dog is okay. Week 5. I need you to look after my dog. After my departure, what is most important to me? It is not waxing my old car. It is not weeding my flower bed. It is the dog. Get him and get to work if you love me. 

What is most important to Jesus? In the forty days between the resurrection and the ascension, Jesus commissions His Apostles (the foundation stones of the church) five times to reach every ethnic group with the gospel and biblical truth. These verses include commands for the church and the Christian. Nothing is more important. Even willfully unbelieving Thomas went to India with the gospel and died from the spear of a Hindu Priest. Pray, give, go or send. Give your time, talents, treasures and truth accordingly. 

Since about 166,324 people will die each day in 2023 and their everlasting destiny is set and unchangeable, we have some priorities and choices to review. We have no excuse for poor stewardship and excessive waste on ourselves rather than sending people, translators and resources into the 10-40 window---the darkest place on the earth. Only one out of every 10 foreign missionaries serve in this region. It takes about 15 years to translate the Bible into these remaining languages.

If you have been influenced by creeping Universalism, please re-read Romans 10, Acts 4:12 and John 14: 1-27. Jesus is the only way to heaven. Only those who hear, believe, and call on the name of the Lord are saved. There is no other name and no other way. If we don't go, they will remain lost. Liberalism and Universalism are heresies and you need to avoid them more than you avoid radiation and airborne asbestos.

“I want to challenge you to submit your life decisions to Jesus’ Great Commission command.” Mark Dever, Understanding the Great Commission, (Nashville: B&H, 2016), 47.

Greek word kosmos often translated "world" in the New Testament

 Nuances of kosmos 

1a. The inhabited earth (with a focus on humans without distinction and their                            regions of habitation)

1b. The parts of the earth that are inhabited by civilized humans (Greek or Roman                                 Empire) [peoples and locations]

2. The orderly designed universe (including the creation of the physical earth, sky and all                    the galaxies in outer space)

3. Earthly physical possessions (often the temporary contrasted with the everlasting or            spiritual things)

4a. Mankind–all ethnic groups (Beings with reason above the level of mere animals)

4b. Believers, saved humans, the elect ones or saved Gentiles

4c. Jews and Gentiles (as grouped together as one people)

4d. The general public or out in public view, or out in the open, usually involves crowds

4e. A large group of men or the majority of men [John 12:19]

5. The unsaved beings and evil systems (humans and angels)—the reprobate, profane, depraved, including pagan Gentiles, wicked society, the kingdom of darkness, hostile individuals and systems to God’s kingdom

6. The physical earth (the planet on which we dwell including land, water and living               animals)

7. Totality and sum total of organized things

8. Orderly arrangement, adorning or decorating that involves intelligent design to                make something more attractive

The final results of steps 1-5 in this word study results in the inclusion of thirteen separate nuances for the 187[NU] (or 188M) uses of kosmos in the Greek New Testament. Even if a person would argue to reduce the number of nuances to the more popular eight possibilities, certain facts remain. To claim that every use of kosmos includes rocks, trees, lettuce, snakes and crocodiles is contrary to the facts. Likewise, to assume that in every context in which kosmos is used it includes every human conceived from Adam to the last human conception cannot be supported by careful research. Moreover, to include the fallen angels as part of the komos in some of its New Testament uses is a very serious theological error.

For the complete word study, see:

(15) GREEK WORD STUDY: KOSMOS | Ted D Manby - Academia.edu 

Melanie Jackson's Testimony

 

Melanie Jackson's Testimony

My name is Melanie Jackson. When I was in the hospital after my diagnosis of glioblastoma (brain cancer), I started waking up every night with a strong feeling like I needed to write down my testimony of how Jesus Christ radically changed my life and why I have peace with this brain cancer diagnosis.

It is my heart's desire that my friends and family know how good God is and how He can change people despite their past. God didn't just now become important to me, but my faith in Him began when I was 16 years old. I truly believe that God uses our circumstances to help us see our need for Him if we will simply open our eyes.

My story is that I grew up in a very non-traditional family. I was raised by my grandparents, who still had 3 of their own children living at home at that time. My parents got married right out of high school but were divorced after a short marriage — not long after I was born. My guess is that neither my mother nor my father was obviously ready to raise a child, so, basically, my grandparents took me in so I would not end up elsewhere.

I know my presence had to have been a very difficult, stressful situation for my grandparents, which caused extra stress in their marriage and in their home. I can remember as a child asking God why I couldn't have a home life like most of my friends had. The older I got, the more I realized how odd my life really was, and my heart became very hardened, hateful, bitter, and resentful toward others. I often felt like a burden and unwanted although my grandmother did what she could to try to make me not feel that way.

As a young teenager, I began spending as much time away from home as I could in search of love and acceptance in the things the world has to offer. However, all of the temporary moments of fun always left me feeling empty. Unfortunately, nothing I tried could ever fill the void I had in my life. One good, consistent thing for me was that my grandmother always sent us to church on Sundays. So, growing up, I knew that God had created me to know Him, but because of my sin, was separated from Him. also knew that God had sent Jesus to this earth to pay the price for my sin. He died on the cross, was buried, and rose from the dead so that I could be made right with Him and be forgiven of my sin if I would accept His forgiveness.

As a teenager, although I believed these things were true, it was far from my mind. Instead, I continued searching for hope and love in things other than God. I knew the life I was living was not pleasing to God, but I wasn't quite ready to turn away from it. I didn't like the person I was becoming, but at the same time, I didn't care or feel like I had hope to change. However, the summer after I turned 16 years old, I went to a church camp. There, I got to know some of the male Christian counselors. Honestly, at first, I was only interested in talking to them because they were cute! But, wow, there was something different about them They really loved Jesus and they seemed so genuinely joyful. One guy in particular was always smiling, especially when he was singing during worship time. So, one day I asked him, "Why do you always have a smile on your face?" To my surprise, he told me it was because God had changed his life, and that Jesus made him happy. His answer shocked me, and I wanted to know more.

It was at this camp that I really began to understand, for the first time, that God loved me, despite all the bad things I had done. I learned that I didn't have to clean up my life first to receive His love, that He loved me just as I was, and that He wanted me to be His child, even though I knew I didn't deserve it. Finally, I understood that God proved His love for me by sending His Son, Jesus, to die on a cross in my place & to take the punishment that I deserved for my sinful disobedience. I finally comprehended that accepting Jesus as my Lord and Savior ensured that, when I die, I can spend eternity with Him. I learned that the Bible tells me in Romans 5:8 that "God demonstrates His own love for us, in that While We Were Sinners, Christ died for us." He died for us knowing how we would reject Him and how we would continue to turn our back on Him. In addition, I also learned that 1 John 1:9 tells me that "if I would confess my sins, He is faithful & just to forgive me of my sins and cleanse me from all unrighteousness." He would forgive me and make me clean from the filth and garbage in my life and He would give me eternal life if I would humble myself before Him and admit I was a sinner in need of His forgiveness.

I wanted the joy and peace that I had seen in the lives of those counselors. I wanted the forgiveness that they talked about, and I wanted my life to be different. So, the last night of the camp, I made the decision to surrender my heart and life to Jesus Christ. I prayed a simple prayer and asked Jesus to forgive me for my sins, to take control of my life and to make me into the person that He wanted me to be. It was more than just saying certain words in a prayer. I was making a commitment to God that from that day forward my life was His, that I would follow Him and that I would love Him and His plan for me.

My change happened when I placed my trust in Christ to forgive me for my sins which separated me from God. I knew there was nothing I could do to earn acceptance from God. It was only through Jesus' death on the cross that I could be forgiven. I know many people that have prayed prayers of forgiveness before, but for some, it was just words. Their life remained unchanged. Christianity is not about saying a quick prayer that will hopefully keep you out of hell. Instead, it is about having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, loving Him with your life, and allowing Him to change you because we cannot change ourselves.

In August of 1987, I became a Christian, and my life has never been the same. I came home from the camp, and my circumstances and my home life hadn't changed at all. However, God had changed the course of my life because He had changed me. He had changed my heart. I knew I was different because my attitude and thoughts slowly began to change. God slowly turned my anger and hate into love and compassion toward my family. Over time, God also took the bitterness and resentment that I had in my heart, and He helped me forgive and care about others. I know that only God could have done that difference.

After camp, I was determined to quit doing all the bad things I knew I shouldn't do, but at that time, I really didn't know how to grow in my relationship with Christ. In college is where God began to reveal the emotional baggage that I had which I needed to address in order to move forward and grow spiritually. By getting involved in a Bible study, praying, attending a good Bible-believing church, learning from different pastors and other godly people, I have grown in my knowledge of who God is. However, my growth has been more than knowledge, I have grown in my relationship with Him. He is not only my Lord and Savior, He is my daddy. Jesus is my life. I know that he created me to know Him and to make Him known to those around me.

I truly believe that God allowed me to grow up the way I did so that I would eventually recognize my need for Him. If I would have had the perfect life, then I may not have desired anything different, or I may have thought I was doing pretty good on my own and didn't need God in my life. So, I am thankful that God put me in a situation that helped me see my desperate need for Him.

Two of my favorite verses are Ephesians 2:8-9 because they really sum up God's salvation that He offers to everyone. They say, "For it is by grace that you have been saved, through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is a gift of God, not by works so that no one can boast." We are saved by accepting God's free gift of salvation by faith (placing trust in Jesus) — not based on anything we have worked for or earned.

Since I have trusted Christ to save me from my sins, I know without a doubt that He has forgiven me and has given me eternal life in heaven when I die. God alone has numbered my days — not cancer (Psalm 39:4). God is in complete control of my diagnosis and of how long I have on this earth. None of us is guaranteed tomorrow. I often think about people who die in car accidents every day. No one knows how long we will live on earth, so we must be ready to go at any time. Of course, I don't want to die any time soon because I still have a lot of things I want to do. However, God has given me a peace that only He can. I know His timing is perfect as He has proven that fact over and over, and I don't have to know what His timing is. He is trustworthy.

Regardless of my cancer situation, I am not afraid to die because I know I will be with Jesus in Heaven when I do. We continue to pray for healing, but as Philippians 1:21 indicates, "For me to live is Christ, to die is gain." I am confident in that truth.

Melanie Jackson

Written in June 2021. She entered Heaven in August 2022.

Psalm 103: Yahweh is Great, Compassionate, and Full of Covenant Love

 The author of this psalm is King David. This psalm is classified as a Hymn (individual thanksgiving). The next psalm, Psalm 104 appears to be patterned as an accompanying song to this one. Both of these are hymns to be sung in worship by the choirs David established for the tabernacle and later temple worship on Mt. Moriah in Jerusalem. Both psalms begin and end with the phrase, “Bless the LORD, O my soul.” Likewise, both the prophets Jeremiah and Isaiah allude to this psalm in their books. God’s hesed, covenant love is wonderful.

   I. Personal Praise for Yahweh (vs. 1–2)

      A. David praise God with his entire being, soul, inmost being—all that is within me

           represents the whole human being in worship

      B. The Holy name David is blessing is Yahweh, which recalls His attributes and acts

Therefore tell the Israelites: I am Yahweh, and I will deliver you from the forced labor of the Egyptians and free you from slavery to them. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and great acts of judgment. (Exod 6:6 HCSB)

      C. David calls on his mind to remember what God has done for him

           1. Pride can cause us to forget God’s blessings given to us

           2. An entitlement spirit, envy, and covetousness can lead us to focus on what other have

      D. Praise is the verbal response of awe for God and His mighty acts

      E. David lists some of these blessings as part of the congregation in corporate worship

 II. Corporate praise for Yahweh’s goodness to His covenant people (vs. 3–5)

      A. The blessings of entering into a covenant relationship with Yahweh include:

            1. Forgiveness of sins, removing the consequence and power of sin in our life

            2. Removal of chastisements for sin after repentance, healing is parallel to forgiveness

            3. He redeems and ransoms us, which prevents judgment in hell

            4. He crowns us with covenant love and infinite mercy, rewards instead of punishment

            5. He satisfies godly desires and renews strength, restores the blessing of the covenant to 

                those who obey Him

      B. A sinful person who enters a covenant relationship with God experiences freedom, divine 

          favor, restoration to the status of an “heir”

III. Yahweh is merciful to real believers who are weak in themselves (vs. 6–14)

      A. Yahweh works righteousness and justice in His kingdom, salvation & deliverance

      B. He delivers His people from evil and oppression

      C. Yahweh revealed His ways and deeds through Moses to Israel and us

      D. Yahweh revealed His glory and His grace to Moses

Then the LORD passed in front of him and proclaimed: Yahweh-- Yahweh is a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in faithful love and truth, 7 maintaining faithful love to a thousand generations, forgiving wrongdoing, rebellion, and sin. But He will not leave the guilty unpunished, bringing the consequences of the fathers' wrongdoing on the children and grandchildren to the third and fourth generation. 8 Moses immediately bowed down to the ground and worshiped. (Exod 34:6–8 HCSB)

       E. God’s grace was revealed in the Mosaic Covenant (Gen 43:29; Exod 33:19, 34:6; Num 6:25;                    2 Kings 13:23; 2 Chr 30:9; Neh 9:17, 31; Ps 86:15, 103:8, 111:4, 116:5, 145:8; Isa 30:18-19;                  Jer 3:2; Joel 2:13, Amos 5:15; Jonah 4:2) and before it

      F. Yahweh is merciful, patient, bestowing grace and great love hesed on His people

      G. God’s forgiveness is for a real believer who genuinely repents—full removal of sin penalty

      H. The promises are to those who fear, reverence, love, serve, and worship God

       I. How do you spot a God-fearing person? Jesus is their greatest treasure, and first priority in 

          their lives. His Bride, the local church has its rightful place in their lives. Like Zacchaeus,                        Jesus is Lord of their treasure and time. In gratitude they obey His moral law to display their                  gratitude for salvation, deliverance from sins power and penalty (Luke 19:8).

       J. God adopts those who embrace the Messiah by faith and who repent, He is our Father

       K. God knows the frailty of His children and deals with the repentant with compassion

 

IV. Life on earth is short, but Yahweh’s covenant love for His worshipers is forever (vs. 15–19)

      A. Man’s life on earth is brief, so knowing God early is essential

      B. God’s covenant love for those who fear, worship, reverence Him is everlasting

      C. The Mosaic covenant had a special blessing for believer’s children

      D. Those who fear God keep His covenant and obey His moral precepts

      E. Yahweh is sovereign over everything and everyone

 V. Universal and Personal Praise for Yahweh (vs. 20–22)

      A. All angelic and created beings should praise Yahweh 

      B. All of creation should praise Yahweh

      C. All believers should praise Yahweh privately and corporately

Praise, my soul, the King of heaven; Praise him for his grace and favor

to his feet thy tribute bring;         to our fathers in distress;

ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven,         praise him still the same for ever,

evermore his praises sing:         slow to chide and swift to bless:

Alleluia, alleluia!                 Alleluia, alleluia!

Praise the everlasting King.         Glorious in his faithfulness.

Father-like, he tends and spares us; Angels, help us to adore him;

well our feeble frame he knows;         ye behold him face to face;

in his hand he gently bears us,         sun and moon, bow down before him,

rescues us from all our foes.         dwellers all in time and space.

Alleluia, alleluia!                 Alleluia, alleluia!

Widely yet his mercy flows.         Praise with us the God of grace.

Words by: Henry Francis Lyte in 1834 

Lessons to live by:

• God is to be praised. Make sure you are one who fears, respects, and loves God.

• Trust and obey, for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus.

• Your check book, credit card statement, and calendar reveal if you fear and love God or if you love pleasure, money, or only love yourself

• Like it or not, the Bible teaches God is sovereign over all people and things.

• Are you tired of your sin and want forgiveness and freedom? Come to Jesus and He will give you rest from your struggles and guilt

• Be willing to die for Jesus, take up your electric chair, and follow Him in obedience

CARNAL SECURITY VS. ETERNAL SECURITY as Seen in the Lordship Debate

Introduction

 
    In 1991, an evangelical theologian and seminary professor wrote some startling statements in a devotional magazine.

    If, ten years ago, you had told me that I would live to see literate evangelicals, some with doctorates and a seminary teaching record, arguing for the reality of and eternal salvation, divinely guaranteed, that may have in it no repentance, no discipleship, no behavioral change, no practical acknowledgment of Christ as Lord of one’s life, and no perseverance in faith, then I would have told you that you were out of your mind.[1]    

Shock over this new trend, however, has not been the reaction of all.  Some evangelicals consider this topic to be of small importance and just a disagreement over the definitions of a few words.  Other Christians on both sides of this issue have realized that “the very nature of the gospel itself is at stake.”[2]  What message are we to proclaim and how should we share it?  One Christian has said, “To evangelize is for the whole people to present the whole gospel to the whole person.  Our goal is not just decisions, but disciples and a faithful witness that glorifies God.  We do all we can to avoid premature birth and deformed children, trusting God to bring his “full-term” children into the kingdom.”[3]  Is such a view correct or just the position of a ‘Judaizer’?  The answer to this question will be touched on in this study.  However, the primary task in this study will be to explore how the different sides of the lordship controversy explain the biblical doctrine of assurance of salvation.  It is this student’s contention that the Bible teaches that genuine repentance and a real faith are divine gifts exercised by a sinner before he or she is justified, and that the biblical assurance that follows has as its basis: the promises of God made alive by the Holy Spirit, the inner testimony of the Holy Spirit to his or her spirit, and the current possession of attitudes and actions that are corresponding to the fruits of the Spirit and the commands of God.


The Lordship Salvation Debate

    Many in the Southern Baptist Convention are not aware of how strongly the lordship debate has raged, especially among Baptists of the more conservative ilk in the north.  The author of this paper was invited as a guest to a debate in April of 1995 over Lordship Salvation at Practical Bible College in Johnson City, New York.  Dr. Tony Badger, the theology professor at that institution, was debating a local pastor named Bruce Parker.  Pastor Parker was a graduate of Master’s Seminary in California of which John MacArthur is president.  Dr. Badger was a graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary where Dr. Zane Hodges formerly taught.  The debate was opened by Dr. Badger stressing how important the issue was by reading Galatians 1:6-10.  He declared unequivocally and, unfortunately, without any visible remorse that John MacArthur and any in the audience or in the country who taught lordship salvation were guilty of the Galatian heresy -- of adding works to the gospel.  He then read again the text, “Let them be accursed.”  Later on in the debate he made the remark that “John MacArthur even reads works of Covenant theologians.”  At this statement the Bible college students behind me hissed.[4]  I soon realized that I was among future pastors who had been taught that those who believed as I did were heretics and accursed.  On the other hand, I had been fervently preaching of the need for sinners to receive the whole Christ of the Bible as both Lord and Savior and to receive Him on His terms of repentance and faith. Therefore, I could not claim exemption from personal zeal on this issue.  
 

    Nevertheless, as I reflect on that debate, my heart is saddened that some students are graduating from that school either confused over the content of the gospel or embracing a partial gospel.  Furthermore, they may produce false converts and be issuing false assurance to make-believers who are in desperate need of further evangelization.  Let me be clear that I am not saying that those who hold to Dr. Badger’s view are heretics, nor should these men be hated or verbally abused.  Nevertheless, if my position is correct, then the Church I love is being damaged as people receive assurance before conversion and membership before salvation.[5]  This mixing of light and darkness and this progressive weakening of Christ’s bride should move our hearts with sadness to prayerful concern.[6]

Historical Considerations

    As a beginning point in considering the issue at hand, it will be helpful to let some of those who represent the other side of this debate speak for themselves.  This position that will be described has been known by such names or labels as Antinomian, Sandemanian, non-lordship salvation, and free grace theology.  Church historians and theologians tell us that this debate surfaced long before our day in Scotland in the ministries of Archibald McLean, John Glass, and his son-in-law, Robert Sandeman, around 1800.[7] These three are very important figures in the formation of the group first known as Scotch Baptists in Scotland.  The English Baptist theologian and missionary statesman, Andrew Fuller, reluctantly took up his pen against this movement (he was a pastor and president of the Particular Baptist Society for the Propagation of the Gospel among the Heathen, that sent and supported William Carey). Concerning Fuller’s article written in 1810, entitled “Strictures on Sandemainism in Twelve Letters to a Friend,”[8] one British scholar wrote, “it is generally agreed that Fuller more or less demolished Sandemainism in those twelve letters.”[9] These letters are biblical, fair, and show well-reasoned orthodox theology in its finest form.  They deserve to read and studied by every Baptist.
 

    According to Andrew Fuller, McLean and Robert Sandeman liked to use the phrases “simple truth” and “simple belief.”[10]  Sandeman taught that justifying faith is “the bare belief of the bare truth; by which definition he intends, as it would seem, to exclude from it every thing pertaining to the will and the affections, except as effects produced by it.”[11] 

   Likewise, Sandeman had written, “Everyone who obtains a just notion of the  person and work of Christ, or whose notion corresponds to what is testified of him, is justified, and finds peace with God simply by that notion.”[12]  The mind in the saving transaction is totally passive and does not actively receive this new truth or embrace it in any way.[13]  His position is sufficiently clear.

    The denomination that Sandeman founded in England disappeared after a few short years.  But, did his teachings effect American Baptists’, especially in the South?  Yes, profoundly, through one of Sandeman’s students Alexander Campbell.  Years ago, this author traveled in the state of Tennessee.  I noticed a huge number of large Disciples of Christ or Christian church’s (Campbellites), often with a small Southern Baptist church nearby.  This phenomenon exists in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Missouri which in the 1800's were the frontier states.  Baptist church historian H. Leon McBeth explains this situation:

    Another influential spokesman against missions was Alexander Campbell (1788-1866).  Though he was a Baptist for only seventeen years, 1813 -1830, Campbell had a great impact on the denomination . . .He attacked mission societies, Bible societies, associations, confessions of faith, use of the title reverend, and many other things he considered nonbiblical . . .Eventually the “Reformers” almost wrecked the Baptist denomination in the West, sowing seeds of discord wherever they appeared . . . Hundreds of Baptist churches left the denomination to line up with Campbell’s “Reformers,” who after 1830 formed a new denomination known as Disciples of Christ or Church of Christ.  Historians estimate, for example, that fully half the Baptist churches of Kentucky switched to the new Disciples movement.[14]

   Where did this former Presbyterian minister get these divisive views he so vigorously spread in the frontier states? 

   Alexander spent a year at the University of Glasgow, where he absorbed elements of Scottish philosophy, along with the strict biblicism of men like Greville Ewing, John Glas, and Robert Sandeman.  From these sources young Campbell developed rationalistic views of faith, insistence upon every Sunday communion, distaste for confessions of faith, and belief in baptismal remission of sins . . . In time, several areas of disagreement between Campbell and the Baptists came into focus.  First, on the nature of saving faith, Campbell had absorbed the rationalism of Scottish realism.  To him simply to believe, in the most rationalistic sense of that term, that Jesus is the Christ was sufficient for salvation.  Campbell taught that “faith is only a historical belief of the facts stated in the Bible.”  Thus he would settle for what some have called “head belief,” or “mental assent.”  The Baptists, on the other hand, felt that biblical faith should include an element of personal trust or life surrender to Christ.  This “heart faith” sometimes led to emotional expressions at conversion.  Campbell once snapped his fingers and said, “I would not give that much for the conversion of a person who weeps.”  He taught that “the belief of one fact, . . .is all that is requisite as far as faith goes, to salvation.  The belief of one fact, and submission to one institution, expressive of it {baptism[15]}, is all that is required.”  That one historical fact, said Campbell, is “that Jesus, the Nazarene, is the Messiah.”[16]

  
   This is even a more minimized gospel than Sandeman appeared to have taught.  Sandeman gospel at times included an idea of Christ’s person and work, however, he did often qualify this in his writings to seem to indicate that just a bare idea of his Messiahship was sufficient.  His student Campbell reduced it to his earthly personage.  We will probably not know for certain if Sandeman’s classes were narrower than his writings.  Nevertheless, as is often the case, doctrinal error gets worse with each new generation rather than better.[17]  It was Campbell’s spread of many doctrinal errors that caused such losses to the Baptist Churches in the South and provided such a fertile ground for Landmarkism to grow and flourish.

The Modern “Free Grace” Proponents

    Another teacher, who, according to some, has arisen in the shadow of Robert Sandeman, is Zane Hodges.  Dr. Hodges has written, “Repentance is not essential to the gospel message.  In no sense is repentance related to saving faith.”[18]  “To ‘believe’ unto salvation is to believe the facts of the gospel.”[19] “‘Trusting Jesus’ means believing the ‘saving facts’ about Him.”[20]  “Those who add any suggestion of commitment [to believing the facts] have departed from the New Testament idea of salvation.”[21]  “Spiritual fruit is not guaranteed in the Christian life.”[22]  “If people are sure they believe, their faith must be genuine.”[23]  Thus, one may see some common ideas in theses quotes from these two men from different eras of history.

    Also, consider these quotations from Dr. R.T. Kendall.  “One need only see the Sin Bearer once to be saved.”[24] 

    Whoever once truly believes that Jesus was raised from the dead, and confesses that Jesus is Lord, will go to heaven when he dies.  But I will not stop there.  Such a person will go to heaven when he dies no matter what work (or lack of work) may accompany such faith.[25]

 
    Another person who holds to the free grace view is Dr. Charles Ryrie.  He has written, “Repentance is a change of mind about Christ.”[26]  “No turning from sin is required for salvation.”[27]  “Faith might not last.  A true Christian can completely cease believing.”[28]  Furthermore, “saving faith is simply being convinced or giving credence to the truth of the gospel.”[29]  Though Dr. Ryrie is milder than Dr. Hodges in some points, they  both stand as proponents of the free grace position.[30] One last person to consider is R.B. Thieme, Jr.   He has written, “Yet believers who become agnostics are still saved, they are still born again.  You can even become an atheist, but if you once accepted Christ as Savior, you cannot lose your salvation, even though you deny God.”[31]  Of course many other contemporary writers could also be cited.[32] 

    Therefore, as the careful student views the above quotations, he can see a common position emerging from these writers.  If one assents with the mind to the “bare belief of the bare truth” [33] or simply “believe[s] the facts of the gospel . . . taking God at His Word,”[34] this person is saved.  Furthermore, he is guaranteed 100% assurance of his salvation 100% of the time and is told that to ever doubt it would be a sin.[35] Thus, the free grace teachers offer an eternal salvation and continual assurance to those who meet the requirement of assenting to the death and resurrection of Christ at one moment in their lives. Is this position correct according to the Word of God?  To evaluate these statements we will examine the free grace teachers’ preferred gospel account to see if there are elements that go beyond mere consenting to the designated facts.  Does the gospel of John actually teach that saving faith is nothing more than mentally acknowledging the death and resurrection of a person named Jesus?  I propose to demonstrate that the free grace gospel is correct in what it affirms, but is sadly lacking in what it omits.


New Testament Theology

    In studying the gospel of John, a careful student will see the need to start at the end.  This is because John gives us his purpose for writing this book in John 20:30-32.  This purpose-statement can be turned into four questions.  These questions should be asked and answers should be sought in each chapter of John’s gospel.  The questions are: 1) Who is Jesus?  2) What does it mean to believe in Jesus?  3) What does unbelief look and act like?  4) What does it mean to have life?  John masterfully uses the contrasts between belief and unbelief in almost every chapter so that his readers will receive a clear picture of what saving faith is and is NOT.  If this gospel is explored observantly, it will display that the concept of “simple faith” expressed above is not the gospel according to John.

    How does John answer the question -- what does it means to believe in Jesus?  To believe is to: receive Jesus (1:12), come to Jesus (1:39), be following Jesus (1:40, 43), be believing IN Jesus (2:11), be believing in the name [whole person of Christ in all His offices and attributes](3:18), be doing the truth (3:21), be honoring Jesus (5:23), be surrendering to Jesus’ mastery (9:37), and be worshiping Jesus (9:37) (to list just a few).[36]  The study in contrast of what unbelief looks and acts like has been skillfully set forth by this apostle in almost every chapter.  For example he portrays the following unbelievers alongside genuine believers: mankind as a whole (1:10), the Jewish nation (1:11), the temple leaders (2:18-20), false believers (2:23-25), the people of Galilee (4:43-55), the Jewish leaders who witnessed miraculous evidence (5:10, 16-18), scripture-reading lost men (5:38), the proud (5:44), unconverted entertainment seekers (6:24-5), a Satan-filled make-believer (6:70), and the Pharisees (7:32, 49, 52).[37]  Just a casual study of John reveals that this apostle would not accept the view that “bare belief of the bare facts” or “to believe the facts of the gospel” describes the salvation transaction or saving faith.  There are other excellent works available that carefully show what Jesus’ gospel was in the synoptic gospels[38] and what the gospel included that was taught by the apostles in the epistles.[39]  Furthermore, John also penned these following words. “No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God” (1 John 3:9, NIV). Thus, it appears that the Apostle John is at odds with this modern view of faith and salvation.

    Furthermore, even though John does not use any of the Greek words for repentance except for (strepo) in John 12:40 quoting Isa 6:10 where the main Hebrew word for repentance Shuv is used and is translated as strepo by John, it cannot be proven that the concept of repentance is missing in his gospel or that he would affirm consenting to a few facts as the essence of saving faith.  Moreover, one of the reoccurring synonyms for faith is the word “receive.”  What does it mean to receive the Lord Christ?  Elabon, ἔλαβον (Jn. 1:12 BGT)}[aorist active indicative](1:12) is from the root word lambano, λαμβανω that is used in John 1:12; 5:43; and 13:20. This term means to “take hold of, grasp, seize, receive, get, or obtain.”[40]  It is used in both the Septuagint and the New Testament for “men taking wives” (Gen. 6:2 and Luke 20:28)[41] and it can be a very intimate word.[42]  Beck translates this word in 1:12 as “welcome” and Arndt says its use in this verse is to “receive someone in sense of recognizing his authority.”[43]  A modern word that is close to the concept conveyed by elabon[44] is ‘embrace.’ John uses this word (elabon) in contrast with the rejection Christ received by the world and by the Jewish nation.  Those to whom God gives birth embrace His Son rather than reject Him.  Thus, we can understand that John would not merely be content with someone saying, “Yeah, that’s true,” to two facts about Jesus and calling that mental action salvation.  John says that the people who are continually believing upon His name, the ones who are children of God, are the same ones who at one point in the past (aorist) embraced the Lord Jesus Christ.  Jesus is a living person, the God-Man.  Therefore, please note that in John 1:12, it is not the facts about Jesus that are embraced but a person -- Jesus Himself.  This event of receiving Christ is either prior to or concurrent with believing upon His name (His Person and offices, not two facts about Him). To merely believe some facts is what the demons do in James 2:18-20; and as Pastor Albert N. Martin has correctly said, “If you have a demon’s faith, then you shall go to a demon’s Hell.”  Thus, part of saving faith is embracing the Jesus of the Bible Himself as Prophet, Priest, and King, and as the God-Man Who is the Lord (Sovereign Divine Master) and Christ (Acts 2:36-39).

    Another key section for us to consider is the tenth chapter of John concerning the Shepherd and His sheep.  Jesus tells us how to spot His sheep amidst the goats.  “My sheep are continually hearing My voice [present tense] and I am knowing them, and they are continually following Me” (10:26-27).[46]  The true sheep hear and follow the Shepherd’s voice because they have “turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God” (1 Thes. 1:9).[46]  Thus, it appears that John’s gospel does not affirm that saving faith is merely consenting to several facts about a person named Jesus.

    Now that consideration has been given to the position of some of the free grace teachers and an examination of the gospel of John has been made in that light, it may be helpful to ponder if Andrew Fuller has stood alone against this movement or if other gifted orthodox Christian men have stood with him.  The thirty-seven Baptist pastors who prepared the 1689 London Confession of Faith preceded Andrew Fuller in time, yet they stood with him in doctrine.  The thousands of Baptist churches that adopted this confession also stand with Fuller.  Both the London and Philadelphia confession states,     
 

    The grace of faith by which the elect are enabled to believe to the saving of their souls is the work of the Spirit in their hearts. . . .The principal acts of saving faith relate in the first instance to Christ as the believer accepts, receives and rests upon Him alone for justification, sanctification, and eternal life. . . .The repentance that leads on to salvation is a gospel grace by means of which a person who is caused by the Holy Spirit to feel the manifold evils of sin is also caused by faith in Christ to humble himself on account of sin.[47]

Dr. Bailey E. Smith reminds us of the position of two other men from our heritage.  

    The nineteenth-century Baptist theologian John Dagg said: “The blessing of forgiveness is bestowed upon all who truly repent of their sins . . . God, in the gospel, commands all men everywhere to repent . . . Repentance and faith are twin graces, proceeding from the same Holy Spirit, and wrought in the same heart; and, although they may be contemplated separately, they exist together, and the promise of forgiveness belongs to either of them.”

    Another nineteenth-century Baptist theologian, James P. Boyce, said, “Christian repentance . . . involves a change in the outward life because such  change is a result of the change of inward opinions.”  He goes on to note that true repentance involves an intellectual and spiritual perception of sin, a sorrow for it, a deep regret, and an earnest turning to God for help and deliverance.[48]

 

Dr. Herschel H. Hobbs has written in The Baptist Faith and Message:

    Regeneration, or the new birth, is a work of God’s grace whereby believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus.  It is a change of heart wrought by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  Repentance and faith are inseparable experiences of grace.  Repentance is a genuine turning from sin toward God.  Faith is the acceptance of Jesus Christ and commitment of the entire personality to Him as Lord and Saviour.[49]

   Andrew Fuller has not stood alone. This author has many clear quotations from the writings of Charles Spurgeon, John Broadus, Basel Manley, Jr., Patrick Hues Mell, and Millard Erickson[50] that display that Fuller has a host of others[51] standing with him on the gospel of Christ and its proper appropriation.[52]

    The issues that have been explored thus far lay a foundation for an inspection of two extreme views on the believer’s security.  One view is that of the Antinomian.  This position has been labeled by some as carnal security.  The person who for one moment gives credence to the two facts about Jesus can thus after  that moment believe what he wants and behave as he wills.  The most he can lose are a few rewards.  The phrase, “Once saved, always saved,” is often used by the antinomians to mean salvation in the terms of the free grace gospel seen above.[53]  The other extreme view is Arminianism.  This view is correct in what it affirms; namely, “without holiness no one will see the Lord” (Heb. 12:14) and “the soul that sins will die” (Ezek.18:4).  However, this view is incorrect in what it denies; namely, the eternal security and the perseverance of those “elected unto holiness” (Eph. 1:3-11).

    Each extreme view has focused on one aspect of the truth so strongly that the counterbalancing truth is ignored.  However, biblical truth is often in tension or even paradoxical.  Dr. Millard Erickson has accurately written, “The truth here, as in so many matters, lies somewhere between the two poles.”[54]  Thus, the truth includes the strengths of both of these extremes. The Bible teaches that those who are secure are the same ones God has determined ahead of time that they will become like Christ in many areas of living while they are on this earth (Rom. 8:28-30; Eph. 1:3-5).  These will imperfectly, but actually, produce visible fruit and pursue holiness (Matt.13:8; Eph. 2:8-10; Phil. 1:6; Heb. 12:14).  This view has been known historically as the perseverance view.

    For this view to be correct, it must be based on the Bible.  The focus of this author will again be on the writings of the Apostle John to discern if there is biblical support for this view.  Just as the gospel of John was written so that we would know what saving faith was really like, I John was written so that we could know we are saved by passing a series of tests.  The following verse is often quoted out of context and has not been very carefully examined by the many who use it.  

These things {tauta, ταυτα} I wrote to all of you, the ones continually believing on the name of the Son of God, in order that [hina,  ἵνα of purpose] you all may know with certainty that you all have everlasting life, and that you all may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God” (1 John 5:13).

To ignore the implications of the first word tauta is to most assuredly misinterpret this verse and overlook the purpose[55] and structure[56] of John’s letter.

    Let us ask three questions about this verse: (1) To whom is John writing?  “Unto you that believe.”  (2) What is his purpose for writing?  “That ye may know . . . ” (assurance).  (3) How are they to know?  By “these things” that he has written.  Not by going back to the Gospel; he wrote that for a different reason, namely, that men might believe and have life through Christ . . . Well, what are these things that he has written in his little Epistle?  We might call “these things” the birth marks of the second birth, or tests of eternal life.  And they all have to do with Christian character and conduct, and are evidences of being born again.[57]

In his book, Saved Without a Doubt, John MacArthur lists eleven tests from the book of I John which refers to the “these things” of I John 5:13.[58]  According to the Apostle John, if one passes these tests {tauta}, he can be sure of his salvation.[59]

    Another biblical book that was written to destroy carnal security and to prevent apostasy is the book of Hebrews.  This book has been seen by some scholars as a single sermon with the application being the six strong-warning passages.  These warnings are designed to remove all carnal security from those who have stopped short of saving faith and to warn believers of the seriousness and the consequences of sin.    

    The Bible has been designed by the Holy Spirit to be able to function as a medicine chest.  A student of the Bible can take a weak and struggling Christian to Romans 8 to view his eternal security and to John 10 to see that his perseverance is a sure thing because of God’s presence in the equation.  Likewise, this student can take another individual who is being controlled by a sinful practice to the warnings of Hebrews and 1 John.[60]  Furthermore, one who may be trapped in performance Christianity and is legalistically seeking to earn God’s love can be guided to Romans 4 and Galatians 1-3.  These passages that the free grace teachers emphasize provide a wonderful balm for those ensnared in legalism.  However, to seek to give assurance to a person setting his heart on deep rebellion against God and His law is like giving a mega dose of sugar pills to a diabetic.  Medicine it may be, but it is applied to the wrong patient and to the wrong disease.        
 

Conclusion

    The truth lies between these the two extremes of legalism and antinomianism.  It is true that one does not need to seek to earn his salvation or to be in constant fear of losing it.  God will complete what He truly begins.  However, only time will tell which trees were truly planted by Him and which trees belong to the enemy. It is also true that real believers produce fruit and grow in Christ’s likeness.  To deny either of these truths is a serious error.  Like Judas and Demas of old, make-believers over time will display themselves.  The show cannot go on forever.[61]  Moreover, the Bible teaches that genuine repentance[62] and a real faith are divine gifts exercised by a sinner before he is justified.  The biblical assurance that follows an authentic conversion has as its basis: the promises of God made alive by the Holy Spirit, the inner testimony of the Holy Spirit to the believer’s spirit, and the current possession of attitudes and actions that are corresponding to the fruits of the Spirit and the commands of God.