Found here. Our comments in bold.
-------------
Regardless, there is no reason to write this way, especially for one who fancies himself a Bible teacher. Teachers explain, clarify, and impart information. A teacher who would impede that is known as a poor teacher.
And, the author has nearly 1200 words (minus quotes) in which to do this.
We will summarize: It's not enough to believe there's God. Further, it's not enough to believe accurate information about salvation. Saving faith is necessary, and that is a gift of God. That's all there is to this article, in terms of the author's stated objective. He adds little else, which leaves us wondering why he wrote the article at all.
Happily, the author actually quotes Scripture. This rather rare occurrence among these "Bible teachers" gladdens our hearts.
-----------------
It is no secret that the great deconstruction of evangelical Christianity has been underway for some time now. It’s hard to say when this deconstruction began or who is mostly responsible for initiating the project but at the end of the day, that really isn’t terribly important. After all, Christianity had its internal and external enemies from day one. What is important is that modern men who claim to be conservative Christians are clearly not.
The sine qua non (!!) of evangelicalism is the ancient gospel as set down in the pages of the sacred Scripture. Without the biblical gospel, there is no evangelicalism. In fact, without the ancient gospel, there is no Christianity. If you deny the ancient gospel, you are, ipso facto (!!) not evangelical and not Christian for that matter.
The biblical gospel, which is a supernatural gospel, has been eclipsed by and replaced with a completely natural and humanistic gospel. In some cases, the gospel has been replaced with rationalism. In other cases, the gospel has been wholly swallowed up by a new postmodern Christianity that looks nothing like historic Christianity in any sense of the word. In this latter case, the gospel has several definitions so that it can mean whatever modern men want it to mean. And since these are postmodern minds, the idea that these new definitions could be wrong is a foreign concept to their thinking. In fact, it seems to me the only definition of the gospel that could be wrong where these postmodern men are concerned is the biblical definition itself. Strange how that works but this is the self-defeating nature of postmodernism.
The intent of this short article (This is the fourth paragraph, and he's finally getting to his topic?)
It is no secret that the great deconstruction of evangelical Christianity has been underway for some time now. It’s hard to say when this deconstruction began or who is mostly responsible for initiating the project but at the end of the day, that really isn’t terribly important. After all, Christianity had its internal and external enemies from day one. What is important is that modern men who claim to be conservative Christians are clearly not.
The sine qua non (!!) of evangelicalism is the ancient gospel as set down in the pages of the sacred Scripture. Without the biblical gospel, there is no evangelicalism. In fact, without the ancient gospel, there is no Christianity. If you deny the ancient gospel, you are, ipso facto (!!) not evangelical and not Christian for that matter.
The biblical gospel, which is a supernatural gospel, has been eclipsed by and replaced with a completely natural and humanistic gospel. In some cases, the gospel has been replaced with rationalism. In other cases, the gospel has been wholly swallowed up by a new postmodern Christianity that looks nothing like historic Christianity in any sense of the word. In this latter case, the gospel has several definitions so that it can mean whatever modern men want it to mean. And since these are postmodern minds, the idea that these new definitions could be wrong is a foreign concept to their thinking. In fact, it seems to me the only definition of the gospel that could be wrong where these postmodern men are concerned is the biblical definition itself. Strange how that works but this is the self-defeating nature of postmodernism.
The intent of this short article (This is the fourth paragraph, and he's finally getting to his topic?)
is to explore the negative impact that postmodern thought (The author sort of explained postmodernism, but a typical reader would find himself ill-equipped to proceed with the article if the author's explanation was the only information he had.
But in actual fact, the author never discusses or even mentions postmodernism again.)
is having on the doctrine of Christian Soteriology. This is our cherished doctrine of salvation. (Sigh. The author obfuscates when he's supposed to be teaching. He didn't need to use the word "Soteriology" at all, because he defines it in his very next sentence. Let's fix it for him:
thedoctrine of Christian Soteriology. This is ourcherished doctrine of salvation.
Further, soteriology is not a doctrine, it is an area of theological study about the doctrine of salvation.
There is no need to intellectually posture to impress one's readers.)
Only when we turn our attention to the true source for true knowledge can we understand, confess, and believe the truth that sets us free. (We've already read ahead, but we were unable to ascertain what the author thinks that true source might be.)
This brings us to the question: what is true biblical faith? What is the kind of faith that saves? And this brings us to the Latin words that are the title of this article: Notitia, Assensus, and Fiducia.
Thoughts on the Present Position of Protestantism
(This subtitle promises a topic that never gets discussed.)
The inmost truth which the doctrine expressed was that the spoken Word becomes power and life solely by the work of the Holy Spirit, and that we should trust the Holy Spirit and await its coming. (Wow, what a mess of a sentence. Again, let's fix it:
The inmost truth which the doctrine expressed was that the spoken Word becomes power and life solely by the work of the Holy Spirit, and that we should trust the Holy Spirit and await its coming. (Wow, what a mess of a sentence. Again, let's fix it:
The basic truth of the doctrine of salvation is that only the Holy Spirit makes the word of God powerful and life-giving, so we should trust the Holy Spirit to do this.
Hopefully we will not be forced to interpret everything the author writes.)
But at the same time, this belief of the Church, as Notitia, Assensus, and Fiducia,—that is to say, as intellectual perception, intellectual assent, and complete trust,—was expected to become, in an absolutely uniform manner, the personal possession of each individual, and no one was to nourish himself on aught but the Word, of which Theologia Sacra (!!) was only the elaborated form. (Ugh. This is getting more difficult. Here goes:
The Church believes that each person must come to faith individually through understanding, agreement, and faith. There is only one faith, coming only from the sacred teachings.
There. It actually makes sense now.)
In reformed theology, there are three components involved in saving faith: the Latin terms notitia, assensus, fiducia refer respectively to intellectual perception, intellectual assent, and finally, the trust that applies the grace of God given in the gospel. (Yes, yes. The author repeats himself, adding little new information.
In reformed theology, there are three components involved in saving faith: the Latin terms notitia, assensus, fiducia refer respectively to intellectual perception, intellectual assent, and finally, the trust that applies the grace of God given in the gospel. (Yes, yes. The author repeats himself, adding little new information.
Notice the arcane nature of this. "Reformed theology" feels the need to make "saving faith" into components, three to be exact. Why do we need to know this? Unknown. What is the purpose? Not stated. How should it change our thinking, in that our lives might be turned toward holiness, service, worship, or generosity? It doesn't.)
Intellectual Perception
What is meant by intellectual perception? What is the difference between intellectual perception and intellectual assent? Intellectual perception or notitia refers to getting the facts of the gospel right. (Salvation is a process of the intellect? Did the author forget his previous statement regarding the Holy Spirit?)
Romans 1 tells us that all men know some facts about God. This knowledge of God through general revelation exists in all human beings. While this knowledge is sufficient for culpability, it is not sufficient for salvation. Man needs accurate knowledge of the content of the gospel. Many modern American Christians have a basic working knowledge of the content of the gospel. Let’s look at 1 Cor. 15:1-3
1 Corinthians 15:3–4 — 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
This text contains the essential ingredients of the gospel, without which, man cannot be saved. (Well, no. Paul was summarizing what he taught to the Corinthian church, so it is not the "essential ingredients" of the Gospel. Paul taught beyond this brief recap, however, including other crucial elements like conviction [1Th. 1:5], repentance [Ro. 2:4], and a call to faith [Ga. 2:16].)
1 Corinthians 15:3–4 — 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
This text contains the essential ingredients of the gospel, without which, man cannot be saved. (Well, no. Paul was summarizing what he taught to the Corinthian church, so it is not the "essential ingredients" of the Gospel. Paul taught beyond this brief recap, however, including other crucial elements like conviction [1Th. 1:5], repentance [Ro. 2:4], and a call to faith [Ga. 2:16].)
First, Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. Second, He was buried. And finally, He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures. This is the gospel. (No, it's not. It lacks essential elements.)
Knowing this does not save you. (Well, of course. Possessing information without implementing it is futile. Suddenly the author gets basic on us.)
But not knowing it means you cannot be saved. (Is this really true, that someone cannot be saved apart from intellectual possession of this information?)
This is echoed in Rom 10:17
Romans 10:17 — 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.
Saving faith begins with the hearing of the facts about the gospel. (Ah, so one must hear the facts about the Gospel. Which suggests to us that an evangelist can simply recite a list of facts and someone gets saved.
Romans 10:17 — 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.
Saving faith begins with the hearing of the facts about the gospel. (Ah, so one must hear the facts about the Gospel. Which suggests to us that an evangelist can simply recite a list of facts and someone gets saved.
But in actual fact, Paul does not tell us that faith comes from hearing of the facts about the gospel. The author misrepresents it. We can read it for ourselves. Faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. There are two elements:
- Where does faith come from? Hearing
- What is the vehicle of hearing? the word of Christ
So what is the word of Christ?
He. 1:3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.
The word is a person, who sustains the universe by speaking. So let's put it together. The avenue of hearing is the living word, Jesus, and from hearing that living word, the word of life [1Jn. 1:1], comes faith.
The facts of the Gospel does not save anyone. The living word does.)
But hearing the gospel is not sufficient for saving faith to exist. One has to look no further than Israel in Jesus’ day to see that these people heard the gospel from the lips of God Himself and still did not possess saving faith. (Quite true. We will now see what is the author's remedy.)
False gospels do not produce true converts. Only the true gospel can produce true converts. Perhaps this explains why our churches are filled with so many false converts. (Where did this come from? It seems unrelated to the matter at hand.)
Intellectual Assent
What is meant by intellectual assent? Assent is a bit closer in terms of connections. A person might say that they understand that Jesus was a prophet and even a good man but they reject the idea that He was the Messiah. Nicodemus is a good example of intellectual assent or assensus.
John 3:2 — 2 this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”
Nicodemus had examined the teachings and life of Christ and had drawn the right conclusion about him as far as it goes. He was a man sent from God, and God was with Him. But this was not enough for saving faith. (Indeed. So, what did Jesus tell him? "You must be born again." [Jn. 3:7] We might ask the author, were these five words of Jesus, the word Himself, sufficient for Nicodemus to be saved?)
Think about James’ discussion regarding true faith and the demons. The demons know God and yet, even though they could assent to the fact that Jesus was the Messiah, they lacked saving faith. (??? What? Demons can be saved?
Let's actually quote James:
Ja. 2:19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that — and shudder.
No, the demons do not assent to Jesus' messiahship. They simply believe there is "one God.")
There are millions of Evangelical church members across this nation and the entire world who possess the facts of the gospel and who claim a certain connection with the gospel but their faith is not a saving faith. They embrace Christ outwardly as the Messiah and Savior of the world. They embrace much of Christian morality. They embrace several historic Christian traditions and rituals. But they still lack the one thing that is necessary for salvation: genuine trust in the work and person of Christ. Possessing intellectual knowledge and intellectual assent concerning the gospel is not sufficient for salvation. (Maybe the author is finally setting us up to explain the supernatural element of salvation, which does not depend on the acquisition, acceptance, and belief in the facts. Hint: He's not.)
There are millions of Evangelical church members across this nation and the entire world who possess the facts of the gospel and who claim a certain connection with the gospel but their faith is not a saving faith. They embrace Christ outwardly as the Messiah and Savior of the world. They embrace much of Christian morality. They embrace several historic Christian traditions and rituals. But they still lack the one thing that is necessary for salvation: genuine trust in the work and person of Christ. Possessing intellectual knowledge and intellectual assent concerning the gospel is not sufficient for salvation. (Maybe the author is finally setting us up to explain the supernatural element of salvation, which does not depend on the acquisition, acceptance, and belief in the facts. Hint: He's not.)
True Faith
Men may know the facts about the gospel. They may even intellectually assent to the truth of the gospel. They may go to church, get baptized, join a Sunday school class, become a member of a church, and even read the Bible on occasion. But this does not mean they possess a genuine trust in the person and work of Christ.
Hebrews 11:6 — 6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.
Without genuine trust, one cannot please God. And unless one can please God, one cannot be saved. Faith is the third component of genuine salvation. But faith only comes by hearing the word of God.
Romans 10:17 — 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.
This is true saving faith. This faith is a gift of God given by the Holy Spirit through the preaching of the cross. (Ah, finally. So there is some supernatural operation by which we receive faith. This, the crucial part of the author's Notitia, Assensus, and Fiducia equation is finally articulated, but the explanation ends right here. This is all he has to say about it.
It seems that the author gives great credence to the mind, but Paul contradicts him. 1Co. 2:4-5:
My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5 so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.
Now, perhaps this isn't true about the author. But again, this is the crucial part of his presentation, and he has the opportunity to explain. But he doesn't.)
Ephesians 2:8 — 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
In summary, three things are absolutely necessary for true conversion: we must know the facts of the gospel. This means we must hear it. Second, we must assent to these facts of the gospel. There must be a connection between us and these facts. These facts should move us to a specific end. Finally, we must trust in the gospel. That is to say, we must trust the good news we see in the person and work of Jesus Christ. What is the evidence that someone actually has saving faith then?
1 John 3:10 — 10 By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.
(The author told us he was going to explore the negative impact that postmodern thought is having on the doctrine of Christian Soteriology. We surely missed it, because after the long introduction and a discussion of his view of salvation, he never mentions postmodern thought again.)
No comments:
Post a Comment