RFPA Blog News

Our Rejection of Conditions (2): A Survey of Creeds and Literature

We notice again the elements of conditional theology that the Protestant Reformed Churches and her sisters reject. First, grace is wider than election or the promise is general and for more than the elect; second, man is able to—and, therefore, must—do something (believe, obey, persevere, etc.) on which the covenant depends; and, third, the “something” (believing, repenting, obeying, persevering, etc.) that a man does is not given to him by grace or included in God’s promise, but is his contribution to salvation. Faith is not—and cannot be—a condition because it is the God-given and God-worked means by which God makes us partakers of salvation, and it is part of salvation itself. And in that sense—necessary means—the older Reformed writers used the term “condition.” Because of its ambiguity, many modern Reformed writers avoid the term, and because of its erroneous nature, we reject both the term and the theology behind it.

Our Rejection of Conditions (1): What Conditional Theology Is

The sinner who is the object of salvation (the one who is saved) is not the doer of salvation, that is, he does not save himself, he does not contribute to his salvation, and no part of God’s salvation depends on any activity that he performs, either by or without the grace of God. Of course, once God begins to save a sinner, he makes that sinner active and conscious, but the sinner’s activity, even his conscious activity (believing, repenting, etc.) is always only the fruit of God’s activity, or God’s saving work by the Spirit of Christ in him.

Preaching Repentance and Forgiveness (7): Repentance and Remission

Two concepts are included and, clearly there is a relationship between them. Quite simply, God forgives the sins of those who repent, or God forgives sinners when they repent. “I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin” (Ps. 32:5). “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, and he will abundantly pardon” (Isa. 55:7). “I send thee, to open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me” (Acts 26:17b-18). That should be enough—God forgives us when we repent—but to dispel confusion, we should explain the relationship further. 

Preaching Repentance and Forgiveness (6): Justification by Faith Alone

The Biblical Concept of Grace

Preaching Repentance and Forgiveness (5): Forgiveness and Justification Distinguished

Preaching Repentance and Forgiveness (4): Forgiveness of Sins

In the minds of some, forgiveness of sins is the same thing as justification by faith alone and, since we are justified by faith alone without works (and the same people often define repentance as a work), to connect the forgiveness of sins in any way with repentance jeopardizes the truth of justification by faith alone. Therefore, with due deference to the fundamental truth of justification by faith alone we proceed carefully.

Preaching Repentance and Forgiveness (3): Classifying Repentance (b)

Repentance is not faith and faith is not repentance. Faith is knowledge, confidence, trust, and assurance. Repentance is a change of mind. Nevertheless, faith and repentance are inseparably connected. Since we believe in Christ for salvation from sin, we necessarily repent of our sins at the same time. We cannot look to Christ in faith for salvation from sin while we hold to our sins. If we have true faith, we change our mind concerning our sins. Thus repentance and faith are two sides of the same coin: by faith we look to Christ and by repentance we look away from sin. Thus Paul summarizes his preaching in Ephesus in Acts 20:21: “Testifying both to the Jews and the Greeks repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Preaching Repentance and Forgiveness (2): Classifying Repentance (a)

Repentance is a change of mind, which leads to the turning from evil works. In addition, Heidelberg Catechism A 91 defines good works, and does not include repentance in that definition: “Only those which proceed from a true faith, are performed according to the law of God, and to his glory.” When we repent, we do not perform a work in obedience to the law of God. The law says, “Do” and “Do not.” If we say, as penitent sinners, “I now know that what I did was wrong (I have changed my mind about it—metanoia) and I am sorry (I regret it),” we do not by that do what the law requires. We simply express regret that we have not done what the law requires. The law is not satisfied with regret; it requires and demands obedience.

Preaching Repentance and Forgiveness (1): Repentance

God Producing Both the Will to Believe and the Act of Believing Also

"Incorporating us into the fellowship of his death and resurrection"

Fellowship into Christ’s death is for the Lord’s child the death of death, that is, the death of his spiritual and eternal death. It is the destruction of destruction; the corruption of corruption. And the resurrection? It calls out to this child, live the life!

Peter's Chastisement and Canons V: A Reminder

This series of blog posts was published from September 15, 2021 to October 11, 2021. It explains key sections of Canons Head V and applies them to the life and experience of Peter. We believe that our readers would profit from re-reading them. We include the links (hover and click on the blog titles) and a short excerpt from each blog post below.   1) Peter: Sinfully Deviating from the Guidance of Divine Grace When we sin, we must not say, “Oh,...

Avoiding All Lies and Deceit (3): Avoiding this Evil in the Church

Backbiting, slandering, rash judging, and falsifying a man’s words are the atmosphere in which bitterness against the office-bearers—the pastor because his sermons are not “up to snuff,” and the elders because they do not do anything about it—grows. And children who are present soak in that bitterness so that they, too, despise the pastor and the elders, which has a devastating effect upon their ability to receive the catechism instruction from their pastor. 

God is not glorified in that no matter how zealous for the truth the group appears to be. If the pastor has weaknesses and infirmities, the members must bear patiently with him. If they are serious weaknesses, the elders must address them in a proper way. Raising sects and mutiny in the church under the guise of defending the truth is never justified in a faithful Christian, but is the sinful way of schism.