Sword & Trowel 2015: Issue 1
are scores of texts which present the more orthodox Calvinistic order of salvation. Think of the order inher- ent in Isaiah 55.7 – ‘Let the wicked forsake his way…and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him.’ There is a defi - nite order in texts such as this. God promises – if you will do this, I the Lord will do that; if you will repent, I will save and receive you. All these texts – and the Bible is simply full of them – say that there is something for the sinner to do before the fruit of regeneration is fi nally evident, the soul is birthed, the sinner is con- sciously Christ’s, and the new nature is manifested in him.
The will inclined
‘Turn ye unto me, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will turn unto you’ (Zechariah 1.3). ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest’ (Matthew 11.28). The great 17th-century confessions speak of the call, or regeneration, that awakens and convicts, but the writers of those confessions wrote extensive- ly of conscious conviction, most often over a little time, and of possible struggles before repentance and faith, and fi nally of the conscious new birth. Their regeneration was part of a process rather than an instantane- ous, all-embracing event. Of course, we should not view this in an Arminian way, as though our unregenerate free will may choose to believe in Christ. Salvation must start with an invisible regenerating work, but this does not instantly reveal spiritual new life, for it is God’s will to open the mind, incline the will and
give an overpowering sense of need and conviction, causing the sinner to be consciously moved, persuaded and convinced by the Gospel word. If you have been appointed minis- ters – dispensers and persuaders – of the Gospel, do not merely wave the fl ag and announce the basic facts. Represent the heart of God with love and longing, to persuade, reason and appeal to souls. You have the entire Bible before you. Learn and develop the craft. Read other preachers and see how they go about it. Utter not just the bones of the matter, but ‘wrestle with souls’, that God may use you. Never forget that persuade, reason, exhort, dispute and mightily convince are all biblical words used
to describe apostolic preaching. Adapted from a lecture at the 2015 Tabernacle School of Theology.
2015 School of Theology DVDs Audio and video recordings of 2015
School of Theology are available for free download from the Tabernacle’s website. Higher quality recordings on DVD and CD can be purchased from Tabernacle Bookshop at low-cost ministry prices. See
www.TabernacleBookshop.org for details.
Regeneration and Gospel Persuasion
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