I sometimes meet people who claim to have been saved under an Arminian preacher and without any knowledge of the gospel of grace. One thing I notice in each one, they are always defensive and argumentative although no one is questioning their conversion. This defensiveness, I believe, arises from a lack of assurance and confidence in the matter of their salvation. Assurance that will always be absent when a false refuge is relied on. I also wonder why anyone would defend or cling to an experience so contrary to the scriptures. Let me explain what I mean. The Bible says that it "pleased God through the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe." We have in this statement, the message which is the foolishness of preaching the cross; the method, the foolishness of proclaiming through a human instrument this vital message; and the foolishness of the way by which that which is given of God is received, by believing. All of these are "foolishness" to fallen, unregenerate man. But all these things are absolutely essential and inseparably joined together and ordained of God concerning the salvation of His elect. The reason they are such is because salvation is first of all for the glory of God. He has determined to get glory in the means as well as the end. The issue is not what God "can do" but what He has done and what He has said He would do. Unbelief is often evidenced by men and women talking about what God "can do" and in charging us with "limiting God" rather than believing what God has said He's done and will do. The apostle Paul is not declaring what God can do but what He has said that He does. He saves His people through the preaching of Christ and Him crucified and the revealing work of the Holy Spirit. Think for a moment on some of the ramifications of claiming salvation through a false prophet's ministry and apart from the true gospel of grace. God says through the apostle, (Rom 10:13-15) "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. {14} How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? {15} And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!" This passage plainly teaches that all who call upon the Lord Jesus Christ shall be saved. But he makes it clear that none can call upon "him in whom they have not believed." Then he follows this line of God-given reason, how can a person believe on one of whom they've not heard? How can they hear without a preacher? How can anyone preach to them the gospel of Christ except God send them? Now the problem with such professions as above mentioned is this: They claim to have believed on one that they knew nothing about! This is merely experience, reformation or deception, not faith in Christ. The true Christ who is the object of God-given faith is revealed in the "word of truth." Not apart from it or before it but by it! Paul said in another place, "I know whom I have believed." This is knowledge of the Person of Christ who is distinguished from "anti-Christ" by His glorious, sacrificial and successful work. The jesus set forth by Armininians in his trying, begging, and ineffectual character, making salvation possible for all and not yet accomplishing it for any apart from their added work and will is not the Jesus that Paul preached! He is totally different! Faith in him will not save the sinner. True faith which is the gift of God will not believe on such an impostor. But even more foolish and blasphemous is the notion that the God of Truth, Holiness and Justice "sent" a false prophet to these people, sent him with a lie and then saved them through these ungodly means. To imply such is to cast the most awful reproach on God's character and purpose. All who believe such will be constantly defending such a thing instead of believing on Christ now! As one old preacher said, It becomes "a point of rebellion" before God with them and unless they repent of such notions and bow and believe on Christ as He's revealed to be in the gospel of His free and sovereign grace, they will perish. Then, invariably, someone will say this, "Well God can save by just using His word." To this I say, show me one instance in the New Testament where He bypassed the method described by Paul in Romans 10. In Paul's own conversion God used the preaching of Stephen and Annanias. Both confronted this religious Saul of Tarsus with the truths of God's sovereignty and electing grace in Christ. The Ethiopian eunuch is another example. He had the scriptures, he was reading Isaiah 53 when Philip came near him. If he could be saved with just the word and without the preacher why didn't God save him. He was in the middle of the desert! Why did he reply to Philip's question the way he did? "Understandest thou what thou readest? And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth. And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?" Now it would be much easier to say to such folks, "Well you believed on Jesus and had a great experience and so all is well." But we know that we cannot "speak peace" to any apart from the true Christ who made peace through the blood of His cross. God commands us, "Examine yourselves whether ye be in THE FAITH!" Not, examines yourselves to see if you believe. It's not just believing but who you believe on and what you have in the one you believe on. Some resort back to a simplistic identifying with the man born blind in John 9 saying, "one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind now I see." The problem is, rather than justifying their situation, this condemns it. This man had experienced a physical healing but he did not know Christ spiritually. Later, when the Jews cast him out, Christ came again to him and this is what John records: (John 9:35-38) "Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God? He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee. And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him." One thing I'm sure of, if you take something from an individual that they do not value in any way or count on, they have no problem. But if you try to take something that they value and rely on in some way they will be very defensive. Old experiences, reformations and professions in religion will never save the soul or bring comfort, assurance and peace to the heart. Those who trust in such are always found out by the preaching of the true gospel of grace and imagine they are being attacked or questioned by those sent of God to preach His truth. The scriptures say it well, "the wicked flee when no man pursueth." Let us preach and proclaim, as those sent of God, the gospel of God's free and sovereign grace as Paul preached it to the people at Ephesus. He declares:
(Eph 1:3-7) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: {4} According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: {5} Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, {6} To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. {7} In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
It is through God's sending his servants to preach this particular Lord Jesus Christ, this distinguishing grace, this preordained purpose of grace in God's Son, this successful and free redemption and this God-exalting message that God saves His elect, chosen ones. They believe on Him when they hear of Him as He is and in what He's done. It is said of all God's sheep as it is said of the Ephesians concerning the true Christ: "In whom ye trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise." (vs. 13) They trusted a person, a "whom," but it was after they heard the word of truth, the body of truth concerning how God had saved them through the blood and the imputed righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ's sheep "hear his voice" and "not the voice of a stranger." Such is the true faith of God's elect!