Quote:
Originally Posted by Amazing Grace  Quote:
Originally Posted by armourbearer Unbelievers ought to think about and deeply consider the endearing qualities of Jesus Christ as an all-sufficient Saviour. This is not forbidden them until they "discover" a gift of faith in their souls. Their very thinking on Christ might be the means whereby the gift of faith is given.
Further, when assurance for a believer cannot be obtained by means of self-examination, it becomes necessary to turn the heart directly towards Christ as if one were an unbeliever; and here the process is the same as above. Christ is meditated upon in the various aspects of His redemptive work in order to work the heart into an acquiescence in Him. | But they cannot. Oughts are never thoughts that bring peace to the person. Noone has ever thought of Christ as a savior who has not been regenerated by Grace of the Spirit of God. IT is forbidden in the sense they have no ability to do this in an unregenerate state. It is foolishness to them... | AG,
But we preach and encourage unbelievers to look to Christ and consider him as an all-Sufficient Savior, for we do not know the point of regeneration. Is it not the Spirit using the preached Word of God about the finished work of Jesus Christ that regenerates an unbeliever's heart? We do not encourage unbelievers to sit in a service as if they were in a vacuum where their minds are just blank and not thinking at all. And we certainly do not encourage them to think about acts of fornication or acts of greed while Christ is being preached. We encourage them to look to Christ for we know not when the Spirit will take away the blinders and allow them to see Him for who He is.
You're right in that the qualities of Jesus Christ as an all-Sufficient Savior are foolishness to the unbeliever until their hearts are quickened, but I'd rather an unbeliever read Paul's Epistle to the Romans as opposed to reading Playboy magazine.
__________________
Ryan Barnhart - Pastor of OGBC
Husband to a beautiful wife, Father to two beautiful girls
"But by the grace of God I am what I am." I Corinthians 15:10
"I confess to you, that if I can but live and die serving the Lord Jesus, it will make no difference to me whether I am eaten by Cannibals or by worms. And in the Great Day my Resurrection body will rise as fair as yours in the likeness of our risen Redeemer." - John Paton
Last edited by Barnpreacher; 02-29-2008 at 09:15 PM.
|