AP

We have seen in previous AP articles that sin has affected every part of all of us to render us totally incapable of doing anything to get back into a living relationship with the Living God our Creator, or of even wanting to do so. Therefore, God the Father in his amazing grace, because of his great love and mercy has taken the initiative and ‘called out’ (elected) a people for himself, not because of any prior goodness, or even potentially goodness, on their part, but simply, unconditionally, out of his love for them.  In order to save them from their sin, in his supreme act of expressing this love, he sent his Beloved Son to live among them and then to die sacrificially in their place, the Just for the unjust, so that his own perfect justice was satisfied and their sin was fully atoned for. 

“Before the throne of God above I have a strong, a perfect plea: a Great High Priest, whose name is ‘Love’, who ever lives and pleads for me.  My name is written on his hands, my name is hidden in his heart; I know, that while in heaven he stands, no power can force me to depart.  When Satan tempts me to despair and tells me of the guilt within, upward I look, and see him there who put an end to all my sin.  Because the sinless Saviour died, my sinful soul is counted free, for God, the Just, is satisfied to look on him, and pardon me.  Behold him there: the Risen Lamb, my perfect, sinless Righteousness, the great unchangeable ‘I AM’, the King of Glory and of Grace.  One with my Lord, I cannot die, my soul is purchased by his blood, my life is safe with Christ on high, with Christ, my Saviour and my God.  (Charitie Lees de Chenez)

So we have seen how the First Person of the Trinity has chosen all those who belong to him, and how the Second Person of the Trinity has died to bring us to God, it remains therefore to be seen how the Third Person of the Trinity carries out his function in the awesome Plan of Salvation.

It is the function of the Holy Spirit to close the deal: to bring all those whom the Father has chosen, and for whom the Son has died, to put their trust in him by faith.  In other words, the grace that planned my salvation in the Father’s heart, and the love that the Son showed in dying for my sin in order to save me, the Holy Spirit irresistibly applies to me personally, and then works within me to ensure that I remain in Christ, that I persevere, to the very end. These are the last two of the Five Points.

When I first acknowledged Jesus as my Saviour in my late teens, no one could convince that it wasn’t entirely my decision to trust Jesus, and only my responsibility to remain true to him throughout my life.  However, the more I reflected on the teaching of the Bible and the implications of its message, the more I realised that the whole thing was the work of God’s grace from start to finish.  He caused me to be born again; he took me to the foot of the cross to look up to my dying Saviour and live, and to the empty tomb to see my Risen Lord and follow him to Galilee and hear him say “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” 

In my early days as a Christian, one of my favourite hymns was all about the Holy Spirit, and contained the verses, “He came in tongues of living flame to teach, convince, subdue; unseen as rushing wind he came, as viewless too. … … And every virtue we possess, and every victory won, and every thought of holiness, are his alone.  Spirit of purity and grace, our failing strength renew; and make our hearts a worthier place to welcome you” (Henriette Auber); and one of my favourite Bible verses that played a significant part in moving me to become a pastor was Philippians 2:12-13 – “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed – not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence – continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.”

Why can I rely on God to keep me to the end?  Because when I was “dead in my trespasses and sins” it was God the Father took the initiative and unconditionally elected me for himself, it was God the Son who came and died to save me from my sin and bring me to my Heavenly Father, and it is God the Holy Spirit who convicted me of sin and enabled me to trust in Jesus as my Saviour and who will enable me to persevere.  And because the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are One God  in Three Persons there is absolute, unbreakable, perfect harmony among all their separate functions. 

The Greek verb to ‘save’ occurs in three different tenses throughout the New Testament and by so doing it assures me that ‘I have been saved’ (Perfect Tense – Justification), that ‘I am being saved’ (Present Tense – Sanctification), and that ‘I will be saved’ (Future Tense – Glorification).  All praise and glory to God alone.  I cannot express how grateful I am to those in the past who have fought (and died) in defence of the Reformed Faith which is so clearly expressed in the Five Points of Calvinism coming out of the Canons of the Synod of Dort, and for those who stood firm on the ‘Five Solas’ of the Protestant Reformation: Sola Scriptura, Solus Christus, Sola Fide, Sola Gratia, Soli Deo Gloria.

– Bruce Christian