Continuing Pastor Kennedy’s message, he explains that not only will Christian church members be taught the historic orthodoxy and the great “solas” of the Protestant Reformation, but they will also be taught the doctrines of grace. To not know what the doctrines of grace are is tragic, indeed. Do you know what the doctrines of grace are?
Well, let me make that clear. I have learned long ago that people remember precious little of what they hear and learn. Grace is defined, appropriately, as the free unmerited love and favor of God, the spring and source of all the benefits men receive from Him. And if by grace, then it is no more of works. It is the favorable influence of God; divine influence or the influence of the spirit, in renewing the heart and restraining from sin. The application of Christ's righteousness to the sinner.
Romans 3:22b-23 “For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”.
It is called the Doctrines of Grace for this reason: To whatever extent you deviate from any one of them, you deviate from grace, the pure unadulterated grace of God as taught in the Scripture. For example: “total depravity,” which means not that man is as bad as he could be, but that every aspect of mankind’s being has been corrupted and tainted with sin. Their mind, their understanding, their heart and affections, their will and volition are all corrupted. Isaiah 64:6 says, “We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and our sins sweep us away like the wind.” From the top of their head to the soles of their feet they are corrupt. Therefore, they are incapable of doing anything good in the sight of God, or even understanding. Not only do they have total sin, they also have total inability to understand or deal with spiritual things.
I Corinthians 2:14 “But the natural man (the unsaved man) receives not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned”.
Jesus taught us that the unregenerate man, the natural man, as they are called before their transforming “born again” conversion, has eyes and sees not spiritual things; they have ears and hears not; their mind is darkened and veiled; their heart is a hardened stone and is at enmity with God. Therefore, since the Will always does what the mind and the heart tell it to do, it will always reject Christ, because basically the unsaved man and woman hates God. They are at enmity with God. They will never, or hardly ever, admit that, but that is the truth. Once we deny total depravity and inability, we certainly put mankind in a condition where there is nothing they can do to gain their salvation.
This was the orthodoxy of the Church back from the very beginning when Augustine labored and fought with Pelagius. The question was: Is natural man born dead in sin? Are they born alive and well, or are they merely sick? If they are dead, they need God to resurrect them. If they are sick, they need a physician with whom they can cooperate. In that case, Jesus and they will save them. Glory be to “them”. Always, man and woman are trying to gain some part of their salvation. If they are well, all they need is a little instruction and they will stay in the way everlasting and will never fall into sin.
Ephesians 2:1-2 “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.”
But the Church from the very beginning adopted Augustinianism, that man is dead in sins and therefore he needs Christ to resurrect them. How many people today seem to think that unsaved mankind has some ability to cooperate in their salvation. Pastor Kennedy says that it is as if Jesus said to Lazarus, “Lazarus, if you will just come out of that tomb, I will make you alive.” And so Lazarus got up and walked out of the tomb as a dead man and then Jesus made him alive. If you believe that, you will believe a lot of popular false preaching of our time. But Jesus spoke the word. He said “Lazarus, come forth.” And that word, combined with the Holy Spirit, made him alive. His mind began to function, his heart began to beat, the blood began to course through his body. His ear began to function, he heard reverberations, and he said to himself, “It is the voice of my Beloved. I will arise and go unto Him.”
As the Westminister Confession says, we are made willing by His grace and quickened so that we can come to understand and respond to the Gospel.
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