The World's Ruined: John Owen - The Redemptive Bottom Line

Monday, October 12, 2015

John Owen - The Redemptive Bottom Line - The Blood of Christ

"The sum of all is,--The death and blood-shedding of Jesus Christ hath wrought, and doth effectually procure, for all those that are concerned in it, eternal redemption, consisting in grace here and glory hereafter...

"The main foundation of all the confidence and assurance whereof in this life we may be made partakers (which amounts to "joy unspeakable, and full of glory") ariseth from this strict connection of the oblation and intercession of Jesus Christ;---that by the one he hath procured all good things for us, and by the other he will procure them to be actually bestowed, whereby he doth never leave our sins, but follows them into every court, until they be fully pardoned and clearly expiated, Heb. 9: 26. He will never leave us until he hath saved to the uttermost them that come unto God by him."

John Owen, The Death of Death in the Death of Christ

2 comments:

MarkOctober 13, 2015 at 5:31 AM
John Owen "For there is a faith whereby we are justified, which he who has shall be assuredly saved, which purifies the heart and works by love. And there is a faith or believing, which does nothing of all this; which he who has, and has no more, is not justified, nor can be saved"

The death of of Christ not only entitles the elect to justification (even before they are justified) but also entitles the elect to conversion. The controversy today is about the nature of conversion. Some argue that, since regeneration is before faith, this means that faith is really works and obedence to the law. they say, you can and you will, and if you don't, you don't have saving faith no matter what the object of your faith. Some argue that, since Christ's death purchased faith for the elect, this makes it not a problem to call faith a condition, so that the work of the Holy Spirit in us becomes the real atonement.

Even before they believe the gospel, the elect are entitled (because of Christ’s death) to the converting work of the Holy Spirit. Christ bought both the forgiveness of sins and the legal application of the legal satisfaction God needs to forgive and continue to be just and holy.

What does the application of Christ’s deaath mean? First, it means that
God joins the elect to the death (not only the reward of the death, but the death itself, which is Christ's righteousness) . Before Christ's death, God imputed that death to some of the elect. After the death , God continues to impute the death to the elect..

There is a difference between Chrisst's death and God's imputation of that death to the elect. . . There is a difference between the federal union of all the elect in Christ before the beginning of the world and the legal union of the elect with Christ's death when they are justified. Romans 6 is the bottom line because Christ's death is what we must glory in. Whatever John Owen wrote or did not wrote, I agree with him about that.

http://www.sermonindex.net/modules/articles/index.php?view=article&aid=13580
ReplyDelete
Replies
MarkOctober 13, 2015 at 9:53 AM
John Owen---"That a person regenerate, by the assistance of the Spirit and grace of God, may keep the commandments of God, in yielding to him, in answer to them, that sincere obedience which in Jesus Christ, according to the tenor of the covenant of grace, is required; yea, it is to him an easy and pleasant thing so to do.”
“ There is a twofold right to the kingdom of heaven, – a right of desert, according to the tenor of the covenant of works, and a right of promise, according to the tenor of the covenant of grace. I say, then, that is not lawful, – that is, it is not the way, rule, and tenor of the gospel – that we should do or keep the commandments, so that doing or keeping should be the cause procuring and obtaining an original right, as to the rise and constitution of it, or a right of desert, to eternal life….4. As a means appointed of God, as the way wherein we ought to walk, for the coming to and obtaining of the inheritance so fully purchased and freely given, for the evidencing of the right given us thereto by the blood of Christ, and giving actual admission to the enjoyment of the purchase, and to testify our free acceptation with God and adoption on that account, so we ought to do and keep the commandments, – that is, walk in holiness, without which none shall see God. This is all that is intended, Rev. xxii. 14. Christ speaks not there to unbelievers, showing what they must do to be justified and saved, but to redeemed, justified, and sanctified ones, showing them their way of admission and the means of it to the remaining privileges of the purchased made by his blood.”

https://books.google.com/books?id=zX4yAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA568&lpg=PA568&dq=There+is+a+twofold+right+to+the+kingdom+of+heaven,+%E2%80%93+a+right+of+desert,+according+to+the+tenor+of+the+covenant+of+works,+and+a+right+of+promise,+according+to+the+tenor+of+the+covenant+of+grace.+I+say,+then,+that+is+not+lawful&source=bl&ots=NuPmqgs65g&sig=bHYCvhtRPDi3-L4B4I15PQgLivA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CCEQ6AEwAWoVChMI5qiYg_S_yAIVTDM-Ch1MNwsf#v=onepage&q=There%20is%20a%20twofold%20right%20to%20the%20kingdom%20of%20heaven%2C%20%E2%80%93%20a%20right%20of%20desert%2C%20according%20to%20the%20tenor%20of%20the%20covenant%20of%20works%2C%20and%20a%20right%20of%20promise%2C%20according%20to%20the%20tenor%20of%20the%20covenant%20of%20grace.%20I%20say%2C%20then%2C%20that%20is%20not%20lawful&f=false
ReplyDelete
Replies

Add comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

The Mere Mercy of God

This calling of Abram is a signal instance of the gratuitous mercy of God. Had Abram been beforehand with God by any merit of works? Had Abram come to him, or conciliated his favour? Nay, we must ever recall to mind that he was plunged in the filth of idolatry; and God freely stretches forth his hand to bring back the wanderer. He deigns to open his sacred mouth, that he may show to one, deceived by Satan's wiles, the way of salvation.

But this is done designedly, in order that the manifestation of the grace of God might become the more conspicuous in his person. For he is an example of the vocation of us all; for in him we perceive, that, by the mere mercy of God, those things that are not are raised from nothing, in order that they may begin to be something.

-John Calvin, Genesis, (Banner of Truth), p. 343

"Nor the faith also does not shut out the justice of our good works, necessarily to be done afterwards of duty towards GOD (for we are most bounden to serve GOD, in doing good deeds, commanded by him in his holy Scripture, all the days of our life): But it excludes them, so that we may not do them to this intent, to be made good by doing of them. For all the good works that we can do, be imperfect, and therefore not able to deserve our justification: but our justification doth come freely by the mere mercy of God..." (Thomas Cranmer - Homily of Justification)

Justification-Sanctification/Law-Gospel

In short, I affirm, that not by our own merit but by faith alone, are both our persons and works justified; and that the justification of works depends on the justification of the person, as the effect on the cause. (John Calvin, Acts of the Council of Trent with the Antidote)

The law guides, directs, commands, all things that are against the interest and rule of sin. It judgeth and condemneth both the things that promote it and the persons that do them; it frightens and terrifies the consciences of those who are under its dominion. But if you shall say unto it, “What then shall we do? this tyrant, this enemy, is too hard for us. What aid and assistance against it will you afford unto us? what power will you communicate unto its destruction?” Here the law is utterly silent, or says that nothing of this nature is committed unto it of God: nay, the strength it hath it gives unto sin for the condemnation of the sinner: “The strength of sin is the law.” But the gospel, or the grace of it, is the means and instrument of God for the communication of internal spiritual strength unto believers. By it do they receive supplies of the Spirit or aids of grace for the subduing of sin and the destruction of its dominion… (John Owen, A Treatise of the Dominion of Sin and Grace)