A Beautiful Doctrine In some churches, it is a word that conjures up images of an angry and capricious God who acts arbitrarily to save some, but consigns most sinners, including deceased infants, to eternal Hell. For many professing Christians, it is the mother of all swear words. Let the pastor breathe it in the presence of the deacon board and he risks firing, fisticuffs or worse. A God who chooses is anti-American, anti-democracy. It bespeaks a long-faced, puritanical religion, a doctrinal novelty invented by a maniacal 16th-century minister whose progeny manufactured a theological “-ism” that has plunged countless souls into a godless eternity. In other churches, it is a cherished word that describes a beloved doctrine, one that bestows comfort and unshakable confidence that not one maverick molecule, not one rebel subatomic particle exists outside of God’s loving providential control, even in the matter of salvation. Want to start a lively convers...
I don’t like debating Christians. I’d rather emphasize our common faith and hope in Jesus (Eph. 4:2-5; John 17:20-23). However, there are erroneous doctrines that need to be corrected (or at least explored further) because they contradict the Gospel at its very foundation. One such doctrine is pejoratively called “easy-believism.” It is described as a faith that consists only in cognitive assent a simple mental acknowledgement of certain Gospel truths apart from repentance or a determination to follow the Savior. Favoring this doctrine, J.B. Hixson writes: Saving faith occurs when one believes in Jesus Christ as the Son of God who died and rose again to pay one’s personal penalty for sin and the one who gives eternal life to all who trust in Him and Him alone for it. ( Freely by His Grace , 145) In support, Hixson quotes Charles Ryrie: The issue is whether or not you believe that His death paid for all your sin and that by believing in Him you can have for...