street theology 17 - the gospel according to southern baptist seminary

[theearstohear]

The doctrinal error that I am underscoring with ST17 is unlimited atonement (UA). If Christ died for all men and not all men are eternally saved then Jesus Christ did not get the job done. But the bible's testimony is that "by one offering he hath PERFECTED FOREVER them that are sanctified." (Heb 10:14) UA is unable to accommodate this precept and should be rejected along with any "gospel" that promotes it. Men are given eternal life by God alone, prior to good works or faith. (Tit 3:5)

[BT3701]

Question - What must a regenerated man do to be saved?

Answer from Acts 16:30-31 - Sirs, what must I do to be saved?

And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved

[theearstohear]

@BT3701 Welcome back. As we previously discussed, regeneration precedes faith and imparts eternal life. It follows that faith is a fruit of the eternal salvation already imparted. Thus the exercise of faith had precisely nothing to do with any man obtaining eternal life. What I've tried to underscore in this video is that SBS has an unbiblical view of the atonement which destroys the efficacy of the cross work of Christ and relegates the gospel to a well-meant offer - both of which are wrong

[BT3701]

@theearstohear As in our previous discussions you continue to hold to the position that regeneration imparts eternal life, whereas I believe regeneration imparts spiritual life, and spiritual life is that which enables man to repent, believe and receive eternal life. The life that is monergistically given when one is regenerated differs from eternal life which one receives through the synergistic act of believing, which finds agreement with Acts 16:30-31.

[theearstohear]

@BT3701 Good to hear from you, I hope you are well. That is an accurate assessment of the doctrinal point upon which we disagree. I would state it this way: I believe that regeneration imparts eternal life. You believe that regeneration imparts "spiritual life" which is distinct from eternal life. In your view, eternal life is only obtained by the synergistic exercise of faith subsequent to the impartation of spiritual life in regeneration. Did I say that correctly?

[BT3701]

@theearstohear That would be correct - When the Phillipian jailer asked Paul and Silas, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved", Paul and Silas didn't rebuke the jailer and say, man there is nothing you must do, rather they told him plainly that he must believe and he would be saved. The order found here is belief precedes salvation. However in your view you're saying salvation comes before belief which disagrees with Acts 16:30-31

[theearstohear]

@BT3701 To say that "believe... and thou shalt be saved" means that believing is the cause and eternal life is the effect, is a logical fallacy. By that line of reasoning, if Paul had said, "Speak... and thou shalt be a man," one would likewise assert that speaking makes one a man. The truth is that this statement is merely saying that evidentiary fruit makes manifest the preexisting truth.

[BT3701]

@theearstohear Thanks but I must stick with the Scripture which clearly states - "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved" "whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Acts 16:30-31; Romans 10:9-10;13. Each time belief precedes salvation. Therefore, I'll believe what the Bible says on the matter.

[theearstohear]

@BT3701 The bible also clearly states, "He who is of God heareth God's words. Ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God." (John 8:47)

[BT3701]

@theearstohear

Question

So how does that negate Scripture which clearly states, believe and you shall be saved?

Answer

It doesn't.

[theearstohear]

@BT3701 To say that "it doesn't" negate your position is not the same thing as providing a case for your position. If you have one, I'd like to hear it. Take I John 5:1 - which comes first in that verse, belief or regeneration?

[BT3701]

@theearstohear In 1 John 5:1 there is no mention of salvation whereas in Rom 10:9-10 & Acts 16:30-31 which you ignore and have been unable to refute clearly disagree with you.

[theearstohear]

@BT3701 Acts 16 and Romans 10 are talking about fruits, not roots. If you see "no mention of salvation" in I John 5:1, I wonder what else you might not be seeing. Be that as it may, until you understand that there is no difference between spiritual and eternal life, you will not understand salvation by grace. If the exercise of faith is required for eternal life, and the exercise of faith is synergistic, then salvation is synergistic, and salvation is not by sovereign grace.

[BT3701]

@theearstohear Which word in 1 John 5:1 is synonymous with salvation? Secondly, the events leading up to actual salvation begin with the monergistic act of regeneration, which then lead to the synergistic act of believing (unless you think that God believes for you). Therefore salvation is both monergistic as well as synergistic. And lastly since no man can save himself, God indeed is sovereign. I personally believe your hyper-Calvinism has disabled you from understanding that.

[theearstohear]

@BT3701 "Born of God" = "regeneration" = "salvation" per Titus 3:5.

[BT3701]

@theearstohear

I believe your hyper-Calvinism is clouding your understanding of Scripture.

[theearstohear]

@BT3701 Is that because I believe that being "born of God" is the same as regeneration? What Calvinist, Arminian or even Roman Catholic would deny that? Is it because I believe that regeneration is equated with salvation in Titus 3:5? That is the plain meaning of that text. If the combination of those two truths is what makes one a hyper-Calvinist, then I certainly am one.

[theearstohear]

@BT3701  Your clarifying admission that eternal salvation is both monergistic and synergistic is an insightful glimpse into the logical underpinnings of your theology. I appreciate your candor.

[BT3701]

@theearstohear You yourself stated that an exercise of faith is synergistic, yet in typical hyper-Calvinist fashion you deny that faith plays a role in becoming saved,

[theearstohear]

@BT3701 Correct, the exercise of faith is synergistic, but no synergistic act of faith is involved in the new birth which precedes faith in time and imparts eternal life. It is very true that faith is an element of our salvation in the sense that we walk by faith. It is not, however, involved in how we got the life and the legs to "walk" in the first place. We can no more participate in our new birth than Adam could in his creation.

[BT3701]

@theearstohear You and I both agree - we are passive in regeneration (being born again) That's not the issue. Secondly we both agree the exercise of faith is synergistic in nature. The problem is when you say a person is saved before his exercise of faith, which disagrees with Rom 10;9-10; Acts 16:30-31; John 20:31