Being Sure of Your Salvation: Part 3, The Subjective Evidence of Salvation

By Pastor Riley Fraas

In the last part of this series, I talked about Jesus Christ the Savior being the objective ground of assurance, that is, the believer’s foundational certainty of his or her eternal salvation.  The person who truly believes in Jesus Christ can never be lost because Jesus is his Savior, and Jesus is not a temporary, but an eternal Savior.  Jesus lives continually interceding for His own; and we can be confident that the Father always hears Him.  As a result, they can never be lost.  In this part I would like to talk about the subjective evidence of assurance, in other words, the evidence in the life of a believer that may be seen as proof that one is eternally saved from sin.

In Matthew 7:18, Jesus said,  “A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.”  Notice that Jesus is presenting the fruit of the tree as evidence of it being a good tree.  This is an analogy applying to Christians.  Those who believe in Christ, aka. Christians, who have been born anew and indwelt by the Holy Spirit, who are truly connected savingly to Christ by faith, cannot help but produce certain fruits in their lives.  A true Christian cannot fail to live in a way that pleases God any more than a good tree can fail to produce good fruit.  If the tree doesn’t produce good fruit, it’s proof that the tree is corrupt.  In the same way a person who is not living for God shows evidence that he or she is not a true believer in Jesus Christ.  Because of this, bearing spiritual fruit is an important aspect of being sure that one is saved.  One is not saved because of the way one lives—any more than good fruit is what makes a tree good inside—but the way in which one lives for God is evidence that one can point to of a true relationship with the Savior.  So one important way to be sure of one’s salvation is to examine one’s life for the distinguishing characteristics and behaviors which accompany salvation.

This is what Peter is talking about when he writes, “give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall” in 2 Peter 1:10.  The way to make sure that one has truly been called inwardly by the Holy Spirit, and that one is truly “elect” unto salvation as the apostle here terms it, is to give diligence to do “these things.”  But what are “these things”?  They have just been named in verses 5-8 of the same chapter:

And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;  And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.

 There are seven qualities or characteristics listed here which describe those who are truly saved forever:

Virtue – Termed “excellence” in some translations, this trait refers to fulfilling God’s purpose for your being.  When you are living a life in sync with God’s instructions and commandments in Holy Scripture, this is true manhood or womanhood, an evidence of salvation.

Knowledge – Knowing God by studying the Bible and hearing His word in church.  You can’t very well make a case that you have a saving relationship with Jesus Christ, if you’re not diligently seeking to know Him better in the way that He’s given us to learn about Him, can you?  That would be like me saying that I love my wife by not getting to know her.  It’s ridiculous.

Temperance – A sober, self-controlled life, free from slavish service to the lusts of the flesh and the temptations of the world is a fruit or evidence of salvation.

Patience – Patient perseverance in faith is a sign of salvation.  Faith in Christ that is here today, gone tomorrow is not a sign of salvation.  Continuing in faith and obedience to Christ, is.

Godliness – Having a God-ward orientation, living for Him, reflecting His character.

Brotherly Kindness – Being kind, gentle, and gracious to other believers in Christ is a sign of one who really has been saved by His grace.  If you’re not gracious to other Christians, have you really experienced God’s grace?  If you know the kindness of Jesus to you, you will also be especially kind to those for whom He shed His blood.

Charity (or love) – One who personally has firsthand knowledge of the love of Christ will be loving to others, whether they are Christian or non-Christian.  If not, it’s evidence that one doesn’t know that love.

Peter lists these traits or characteristics not only as something to look for to tell if you are eternally saved or not, but as something to cultivate in your life to gain that certainty and assurance that you are truly saved.  He goes on to say,

For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ

A label on a can of soup is not the source of ingredients.  The ingredients are put in before the label is ever glued on.  But, if you want to know what’s inside, you can look at the label.  In the same way, the lives of Christians offer the evidence or proof that they are eternally saved, in relationship with the Savior.  If you want to be certain of your salvation, therefore, it’s necessary to cultivate and reflect the kinds of characteristics and traits that come with salvation.  And we have the promise of God’s word, that if we do these things, we “shall never fall.”…Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:  For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.  2 Peter 1:10, 11

A Dialogue Between a Christian and a Postmodernist

Christian guy:  God has created all people, and they will be punished eternally for their sins in hell if they do not repent of their sin and believe in Jesus.  For example: x, y, and z behaviors are defined as sin by God.

Postmodern guy:  You’re such an intolerant bigot.  Why don’t you just worry about your own lifestyle?  Your telling people they are going to hell has to be worse than doing x, y, and z.

Christian guy:  You don’t sound very tolerant of me.

Postmodern guy:  What?  I don’t have to tolerate intolerant bigots like yourself!

Christian guy:  So you’re saying that tolerance is not always a good thing?

Postmodern guy:  Um, er…

Christian guy:  I agree.  When God says that he hates something, it is not good to tolerate it.  In fact, it is evil to tolerate what is evil.  “The fear of the LORD is to hate evil.”  Proverbs 3:15

Postmodern guy:  You’re such an intolerant bigot!

Why Same-Sex Marriage Is Impossible

By Pastor Riley Fraas

Yesterday, for the first time in history, the President of the United States gave a personal opinion of his that people living in a homosexual lifestyle ought to be able to marry persons of the same sex. I found myself turning the TV off, to prevent my kids from hearing what he said.  (That was the first time I can say I felt the need to turn off the President to protect my kids’ ears.)  But the President is not alone. This view is gaining popularity in America. We would be blind to say it is not. The reasons that are most often given are many. Some see it as a civil rights issue, the equivalent of the change of old laws against interracial marriage from a few generations ago, when a longstanding injustice was overturned. Since “gay” men and “lesbian” women should have equal rights, it hardly seems equal to allow others to marry while they can’t, some will argue. Those who oppose changes to law to allow for such unions are accused of wanting to impose their values on others, or worse, labeled bigots or “haters”. I’m convinced that the mounting confusion has much to do with a misunderstanding of the complementary nature of men and women as God created them, right before instituting marriage.

Genesis 2:18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

God expresses in this passage that there was something incomplete in the life of the man, Adam, on day six of creation week.  He says it was “not good” than man should be alone.  These words indicate not that there was some mistake or imperfection in God’s creation of Adam, but that he had not yet finished the other half of what He had planned for the human race: woman.  God says that woman is to be created as a “helper suitable for him.” (NASB) In these words is expressed the complementary nature of man and woman.  Man and woman are in many ways alike.  We learn in Genesis chapter 1 that both were created in God’s image.  There is an essential equality between man and woman in worth, in their being composed of a body and an immortal soul, and in their reflection of God’s character in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness.  Yet they are not exactly the same.  They complement or complete one another in many ways: physical, mental, social, etc.  Equality does not imply that there is no difference between men and women.  Since the 1970’s, the feminist movement has sought to downplay or deny the differences and erase the distinctions between men and women by teaching that women ought to have exactly the same role as men in all spheres of human life.  In part, this was an understandable reaction to a long history of abuse by men of women.  But at its root, it denies the basic distinction that woman was created to be a “helper” to man and to complete was lacking, not to be a carbon copy! 

In this passage we find the root of the complementary nature of men and women.  The male and female sexes are created to match and supply one another’s weaknesses, where each other sex is lacking, in other words, to complement one another.  The obvious physical differences of men and women complement one another, and this points to deeper differences beyond just the physical.  Together, man and woman are a perfect “fit.”  Other passages of Scripture give more details about the precise relationship of men and women in their roles, as they are to be followed in the church and in the family. (1 Corinthians 14:34-35, 1 Timothy 2:11-15; Ephesians 5:22-28, Colossians 3:18)

The idea that members of the same sex can “marry” ignores the complementary nature of men and women. Two of the same cannot complement each other. A nut and a bolt are complementary. Two nuts or two bolts are not. Men and women are made to complement one another in many ways, physically, socially, mentally, and emotionally. That is the foundation for marriage as God instituted it. Two men or two women will never be able to marry each other in the true sense of the word. At its root, same sex marriage is impossible because two of the same sex do not complement one another as a man and woman do.

 (Some content of this post was adapted from a Bible study lesson I wrote on Genesis 2.–RF)

Being Sure of Your Salvation: part 2, The Principal Ground of Assurance

By Pastor Riley Fraas

Having established from Scripture the truth that Christians may be sure of their salvation, in this life, and without direct revelation from God, it now remains to be seen how this assurance is to be obtained.  The one who is really interested in knowing whether he is eternally saved will not be content with anything less but following God’s instructions for obtaining this blessed assurance.  The honest Christian has no interest in deceiving himself.  He doesn’t just want to soothe the conscience.  He wants to know the truth.  For him, ignorance is not bliss.  So he must follow the means that God has given to obtain full assurance of salvation.

The first, most principal ground, and root of the Christian’s absolute confidence in his or her own personal and eternal salvation is in the person and work of Jesus Christ Himself.  Though our sins are great, and our fears are many, yet Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God fully bore the wrath of God for sinners.  There is a way of salvation which God has given.  This way is in His Son Jesus Christ.  Jesus has promised that, All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. (John 6:37)  This verse and others like it make clear that the only true way of seeking salvation is in Jesus Christ the Son of God.  He is the objective ground of true assurance.  The one who seeks salvation in good works, reputation, religious observance, or any other gods or savior is barking up the wrong tree!  Salvation is only to be had in the way that God has provided, and this way is His Son Jesus Christ.  Secondly, we find in this verse that there is full assurance of salvation for all those who come to Him, who are given to Jesus by the Father.  For all those who are trusting in Jesus Christ alone for salvation from their sins, who are believing in Him, resting all their hopes on Him and not in themselves, or any other person or thing, as He is revealed in Scripture, there is absolutely no reason for them to doubt their salvation.   Now, a couple of further comments need to be made on this point:

1.       Eternal salvation is fully assured for believers in Christ, because He is a full Savior. 

Christ as the Savior of sinners lives forever.  The one who is saved in Him, is saved forever.  It is absolutely certain that he will be in no wise cast out.  Salvation is eternally secure for the believer in Jesus Christ, not because of any worth, value, or strength of faith in the believer, or just because of some law or principle which dictates that he can never be lost, but because Jesus Christ Himself continues as Savior.  He is ruling and reigning in the hearts of His people, and he will not allow one of his sheep to go astray to the point of being finally lost.  Though the sheep, left to his own abilities and loyalty, is by nature able to wander very far from the sheep pen to the point of being irrecoverably lost, yet the Good Shepherd will not allow the sheep to get to that point.  (Luke 15:4)  Though the sheep strays, he will still be found and brought back to the fold, like the one sheep for which the shepherd left the ninety-nine in Jesus’ parable.  The believer’s confidence and assurance is therefore eternal.  And it is not based on anything but the personal character of the Savior, Jesus Christ.  The moment one places saving faith in Jesus Christ and His atonement for sin on the cross, that person is fully saved forever and nothing is ever going to be able to change that, because no one can thwart the will of the Savior who keeps him in His loving care.  The idea that a true believer, born again by Christ’s Spirit, and given to Him of the Father may then lose his salvation at a future time is an affront to Jesus as the Savior of all those who come to God through Him.

2.        This means coming to Jesus as He is revealed in Scripture.

The one who comes to the wrong Jesus, does not come to the Savior.  For though there is only one Jesus Christ, yet there are many who remake Jesus to suit their own imagination.  Some like the harmless baby Jesus in the mangers at Christmas time, who never seems to grow up.  Others like the social-activist Jesus, or the greasy-grace Jesus.  The Jesus of Scripture is the eternal Son of God, who became man to save hopeless sinners.  He is God.  He is holy.  He is righteous.  He is compassionate.  He is the Lord of glory.  He lifts the downcast and demands the impossible.  The one who comes to Jesus as a sidekick, a buddy, a good luck charm or a life-accessory is not coming to the true Jesus as He is revealed in Scripture.  Those who would be saved by Him must study the Scriptures to ensure that they are trusting in the true Savior, and hear Him speak to them about who He is in a church where His word is preached faithfully.

3.       This principal ground and root of assurance is something that the believer will have to return to again and again, especially when fears and doubts abound. 

Christians in this life are being made perfect, but they are not perfect.  Their life is a pattern of a progressive growth in grace, being made more and more in conformity to the image of Jesus Christ.  They often stumble, occasionally so horribly that it’s hard to tell the difference between them and an unbeliever based on their lives.  At these moments they won’t get any certainty of their salvation by looking at their own lives.  Self-examination in a time like this will only drive them to despair.  They may even question their own faith.  I do not say that they don’t have faith, but when they think about their own faith, they have big doubts.  At times like this, their only assurance can come from meditating on Christ’s finished work:  that he fully satisfied the guilt of sin for all those who come to God through Him, and that He lives on forever to intercede for them.  This is the unshakeable foundation of salvation.  By meditating on these truths, the believer beset by sin and doubt will be able to regain a full assurance of salvation, not by looking inwardly, but by looking to Christ.

It is possible to be absolutely certain that one is saved forever.  The main root and ground, the unshakeable solidity of this assurance is in the person and work of Jesus Christ the Savior of sinners.  All other supports and evidences for salvation are based on this.  If one is to really know whether one is saved, one will have to use the means that God has provided to obtain that assurance, and the principal foundation is Christ Himself.  He alone is the objective ground of assurance of salvation for the believer.  In following articles of this series we will explore the subjective evidences of eternal salvation in the life of the believer, and the danger of false assurance.

The One Thing Required for Preaching to Work

We go through the unbelieving world 6 ½ days per week, bombarded with evil thoughts, suggestions, and images from friends, strangers, TV, billboards, salacious “news” articles on the internet, and advertisements that show up on our smartphones or tablet computers.  Then, once day a week, for a short period of time, we attend Church.  How often in the Church do the weekly exercises seem stale or futile in contrast to all of the evil influences that surround us daily?  How often does it become just a humdrum routine to go to Church every Sunday morning?  The rest of the week, you barely have time to think.  And when you plop yourself down in the pew or maybe a chair at church, it can be hard to draw your mind from the things on your mind from the upcoming week.  Did I remember to thaw the hamburgers?  Will the truck be fixed by tomorrow morning?  Will I have enough time to complete my assignment by Tuesday?  And besides these relatively harmless topics, there are thousands of fears, resentments, and bad thoughts going through our minds because of events or temptations that are lingering on our minds.  But, for the moment, you are in Church.  So what?  What could be so special about this comparatively small portion of your normal weekly routine?  Is it really that important?  What life-changing good could possibly be accomplished in this very short time?

Worship at Church includes several elements according to the Bible, all of which are vital to this regularly scheduled meeting of God with His people.  In particular, there is: prayer, praise, and the reading and the preaching of God’s word.  But the central part of worship that I would like to focus on right now is the preaching of the word in a sermon from Scripture.  A flawed human preacher gets up to give us a word from God.  His voice is frail.  He stymies a word or two.  He drags on for 25, 30, maybe 35 minutes.  The hearers are tired, and a bit uncomfortable in their seats.  Can it really make a difference in the life of the gathered body of individual Christian believers?  Yes!, because God has promised to use this humble sermon to build us up in our covenant relationship with Him.

1 Thessalonians 2:13 when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.

God says that His word preached works effectually in believers.  But do we believe this?  I am convinced that much of the ineffectiveness of preaching in our day is due to a lack of faith in God to work through it to make it effectual.  This lack of faith is found on the part of the preachers and the hearers.  How often do we approach God’s word preached in giddy expectation, not of what the preacher’s talents can achieve, but of what God will do for us through it?  How often can be said of our preaching and hearing, what was said of Jesus’ own countrymen, that, He did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief? (Matthew 13:58)  God will work through preaching, but He requires that we have faith.

Faith is a trusting in God to use the preaching of His word to convince people that they are hopeless sinners under God’s wrath and curse for their sins.  It believes that truly born again Christians hearing the word will be strengthened in the “inner man,” built up in greater faith, holiness, love for Christ and one another.  By faith, we believe that God will send His Spirit in to the hearts of the hearers to make them able and willing to hear, receive, believe, and do His will.  Faith inspires the preacher to preach with bold confidence that God’s word will not return void, fearless as to what reaction he might get from some people.  Faith provokes churchgoers to await a word for God with eager expectation with ears itching not for entertainment value or  a quick completion of worship ceremonies, but for the sincere meat of God’s word which will nourish them.  Are we going to hear in faith?  This is the type of hearing that God has promised to bless.

God blesses His word when it is both preached and heard with expectant faith.

Is Holiness Necessary for Salvation?

by Pastor Riley Fraas

Is Holiness necessary for salvation? The Bible says so:

holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord. Hebrews 12:14

But what does it mean, and why is it necessary?

Holiness is a setting a part for the use of God, a resignation to Him and from anything that is not pleasing to Him. Holiness extends to every part of human life, implying a pervasive faith, obedient submission, and continual honoring toward God in all of ones life. It necessarily requires a separation from the sinful world, not by living in seclusion or not making contact with unholy people, but by an utter personal rejection of the sins that pervade the world around us including everything which is not in accordance with God’s will as recorded in the Holy Bible.   

Holiness does not mean perfection, for no one is perfect in this life. It does mean a resolve, resolution, and effort to believe in, obey, and honor God in all of life as his will is shown to us in the Holy Bible. The one who is seeking holiness will not be content with compromising God’s instructions for living. He will do his utmost to keep all of God’s commandments in thought, word, and action, praying on his knees continually asking for God to assist him in his effort to obey.

Holiness is not a way of earning acceptance with God. All human beings have already violated God’s law.  Therefore they are utterly without hope of pleasing Him by their own effort. Yet, by His grace, many rotten sinners come to Him. And when they come to Him, they come to be holy, for He is holy. When we say that holiness is necessary for salvation, it does not mean that God accepts us for our holiness. It only means that all those who will one day go to heaven are made holy in this life.

Holiness is required of those who come to Jesus Christ to be saved, because He is holy. Let’s say there is someone who comes to Jesus without wanting to be holy. He wants to be saved from the eternal flames of hell, so he walks down an isle and prays a prayer. In the meantime he intends to keep practicing his favorite sins. He doesn’t really think he needs to give them up; and deep down, he loves them. He lives in them. Perhaps he has heard a preacher say that he will be saved: that he is eternally secure because he made a decision for Jesus. But has he really come to Jesus, or is it just a figment of his imagination? There are many men named Jesus in the world, especially in Spanish-speaking countries. Just coming to “Jesus” isn’t enough. It has to be Jesus the Savior of whom the Bible testifies! Just forming ones own idea of who Jesus is won’t do, either. The one who comes to Jesus the Savior comes to Him as He is described in the Bible, or he doesn’t come to Him at all. Jesus is the Holy God. He is entirely other, separate, and apart from the sin of this world. That is:  He is holy. He is entirely untainted by sin. In fact, he never sinned. This is why He is the Savior of sinners. The one who comes to Him, must come to holiness, for Jesus is holy. Otherwise, that person has not come to the real Jesus.

Here is what holiness looks like:

1. Hearing and reading the Scriptures to know what pleases God.

You honestly can’t pretend to want to please God if you won’t make the effort to know what pleases Him, can you? Hearing is when you listen to the Scriptures preached in Church. Reading is reading your Bible. These are both equally important.

2. Praying to the Father in Jesus’ name.

Prayer is one of the great means God has provided for us to become holy. He answers prayer that is according to His will. One prime example of this is prayers for holiness.  When we pray for holiness, it engages our minds and our wills toward it as a goal, and puts our faith in the God who makes the unholy holy.

3. Worshiping God among His people.

The solemn worship of God in His Church is not just a formality or a nice option that can be done without. It’s your weekly chance to meet with the God whom you desire to please. This meeting pleases Him. If you don’t love these meetings, you don’t love Him.

3. Loving others.

Those who love God from the heart will also love other human beings, because they are made in His image. They will especially love others who are on the road of holiness because of their common connection to the Savior.

The one who comes to Jesus must come to holiness, because Jesus is holy. The one who doesn’t want to be holy, doesn’t want Jesus.

Why Our World Cannot Be Explained Without the Trinity

by Pastor Riley Fraas

Human philosophy is at a loss when it comes to explaining the world we live in.  As human beings, we experience both unity and diversity in our world.  Unity is observed in what we all have in common as humans: in common dreams, hopes, fears, struggles.  Our brains tend to follow similar patterns of logic.  We can read a news report about a person from an entirely different culture, who speaks a different language, and sense a commonality with that person.  We can even empathize with her if her parents have been ruthlessly murdered in cold blood, or be happy for her if she wins a prize.  This commonality bespeaks an underlying unity to mankind.  There is an underlying unity between human beings, and this also allows for communication from one person to another.  The English language, for example, works as a way for me to convey the ideas I am now expressing because there is enough unity among human beings that we can assign common definitions to words and convey meaning to one another.  I can type in a way that the reader can understand, and this points to an essential unity in human existence.  Although English is only one of many human languages, any human can learn English with enough practice. This unity between human beings is also seen in many ways in the world around us, like when a bird helps pick insects from a rhino, an act of mutual cooperation which benefits both, and when ants communicate with each other to alert the colony of an approaching green lizard.  Diversity is seen in the multiplicity of all that exists in our world.  The many stars in their own different solar systems, the diversity of lifeforms on earth from infectious bacteria to wrinkled Grey Elephants, and the diversity of human races, languages, and individual opinions are all manifestations of diversity in our world.  What are we to make of the fact that the world is unified and that it is diverse at the same time?

Human philosophy, which tries to make sense of the universe around us, has attempted to explain, account for, or understand how our world can be both unified and diverse, as shown in the examples described.  After all, if the world were only unity, how could we have so many different dog species, or flavors of barbecue sauce?  If it were only diversity, we could not even have a discussion because there would be no common understandings of words or their meanings.  How are we to make sense of all this?  As human beings we see diversity all around us in the world we inhabit, but we have an intuitive sense of an underlying unity which is behind it all. The great Greek philosopher of the ancient world, Plato, tried different methods of thinking in attempts to explain the unity and diversity in the world. But each time he failed, because the diversity that we experience in the world around us would not give him any clues as to where the perceived unity has its foundation. Modern thinking has not been able to get any farther in solving the problem of the unity and diversity in the universe than Plato did. If only the material world exists, and the supernatural is a fiction, as some today would say, then where does the underlying unity, that we perceive intuitively, come from? Universal laws of human behavior, the laws of physics, laws of grammar, etc. point to a unity underlying them all. The modern thinker just can’t explain this other than just to shrug and say it must exist somehowⁱ.

The riddle of the unity and diversity in our world is only solvable by the Christian doctrine of the Holy Trinity. Since the Creator of the Universe is a Trinity, that is, one God in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, from all eternity, He is the root of the unity and diversity that exists in our world. Since our world is a reflection of Him, and He is one God in three Persons, therefore it is easy to see how our world can exhibit such unity and diversity at the same time. Conceptions of God like that of Islam, which teaches that God is only one person, not three, cannot account for the wide diversity in the world that we experience. How could such a diverse world be created by a monolithic god? Materialism, which takes all its cues from the physical world around us, cannot explain the unity which under-girds us. Only the Bible with its teaching of a God who is One in Three can make sense of the world that we live in. And although we cannot fully understand the Trinity, yet we can see that the unity of essence and diversity of persons in God is the root of the unity and diversity that we experience here below.

i  I am indebted in my thinking on this topic to the published works of Conelius Van Til, 1885-1987.

The Bible Proven to Be God’s Word by Its Own Evidence

The Bible Proven to Be God’s Word by Its Own Evidence

by Pastor Riley Fraas

Christians believe the truths presented in Holy Scripture.  When asked to provide evidence of the truths we believe, we point to Scripture.  This is correct and natural for those who are convinced that the Bible is the very Word of God.  But for those who remain unconvinced, it’s not very convincing.  A question remains: Can it be known, or even proven, that the Bible is God’s Word?  Certainly if someone were to hand me a medical prescription for me to fill and take, I’d want to know that it actually came from the doctor who supposedly gave it.  So likewise it is normal for someone unfamiliar or unconvinced of the Bible’s truth claims to ask whether it can be proven that God is its Author.

Some Christians would respond by pointing to statements and quotations from the Bible that it is God’s fully-inspired word, such as that found in 2 Timothy 3:16a, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God,”  There’s nothing wrong with this method of reasoning for those who are already convinced that the Bible is God’s word; but to the unbeliever, it smacks of circular reasoning.  The Bible whose divine authorship is to be proven makes claims that are not unique.  Other books also claim to be from God (i. e. the Hindu Vedas, the Qur’an, the Book of Mormon, etc.)  In this case the disputant is using the Bible’s own claim to prove the truth of its claim.  Since there are other books which claim to be from God, the claim that the Bible is from God may not simply be taken at face value.  (Plus, it is quite a high claim for any book to make, isn’t it?)  While it’s important to the question at hand for us to understand that the Bible claims to be God’s Word, more evidence is required to add credibility to that claim beyond just the bare claim itself.  We don’t believe that a book is from God just because it says so.

Another approach is to seek to prove the truth of the Bible through evidence from external sources such as history or empirical science.  Can we use other disciplines to prove that the Bible is true?  While there is much in this world that corroborates the truths of Scripture, the person who looks for positive certainty that the Bible is from God based on sources of evidence outside the Bible itself will be searching in vain, (and quite possibly for a long time.)  You cannot prove without a doubt that the Bible is God’s Word by historic testimonies or by scientific observation of nature.  The Church has historically held that the Bible is God’s word, and this is a weighty testimony.  There are remarkable prophecies in Scripture whose fulfillment is recorded in secular history.  There are also insights on nature found in Scripture which scientists did not discover in their fields until many centuries later.  Yet these things alone are not able to prove that every word of the Bible comes from God.  Although these points may support the Bible’s claims, and they are quite impressive, they do not in themselves rise to the level of positive evidence that God gave the Bible in every word and detail.  Without more evidence, these points amount to little more than inexplicable phenomena.  The objective enquirer who takes note of these proofs will simply not have an explanation for them.

What we need is the actual stamp or signature of God in the Scriptures themselves to prove that He authored them.  It’s not enough for a book to claim to be from God.  His signature must be verifiable.  Like a raised seal on a birth certificate, or a doctor’s signature on a prescription slip, the features of the Bible itself hold the key to proving the authenticity of its claim to be God’s word.  If you are reading this and you would like to examine the evidence I will point to, you will have to pick up the Bible and read it.  I will not be adding a lot of specific Scripture citations because I would like to discourage the reader from simply picking out the verses I might cite and then leaving it at that.  If I gave a lot of proof texts, the reader might be tempted to just look them up, which is exactly what I would like to avoid.  Think of me as a tour guide in a great botanical garden.  I will point out the things to look at, but I won’t lift them up for you or touch them.  You have to look carefully for yourself.  The evidence that God wrote the Bible, and not merely humans, is in there for you to see, in the Bible.  The more you read of it, the more clearly you will be able to see the marks or features that I will describe which point to divine and not human authorship.  An investigator who is looking for clues must carefully examine all the available evidence to fully appreciate their direction, weight, and import.  Just so, the more one reads and understands the Bible, the more clear the evidences of divine authorship will appear.  I would recommend reading through all sixty-six books of the Bible at least once, and preferably more, in one or more of the popularly accepted English translations (KJV, NKJV, ESV, NASB) for the skeptical reader of this article who would like to examine the Bible’s claim to be God’s word.

Argument: The Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments (66 received books known as the Holy Bible) are the Word of the Creator to mankind, the special way that He has chosen to reveal Himself to us.  Although penned by many human authors, and bearing the particular marks, genius, style, and language of each individual author, who sometimes may have made use of preexisting sources, these men of God were so directed by the Spirit of God that every word of the final product is His true word.  These books have been kept pure and preserved entire throughout all ages by God’s particular providence.

Disclaimer: There is evidence that the Bible is God’s infallible word.  This evidence is in the Bible and nowhere else.  I am not presenting the evidence that the Bible is God’s Word, but merely pointing to it.  In order to see the evidence, the reader will have to pick up the Bible and read for himself.  For the purpose of seeing the objective evidence of the Bible’s divine authorship, many of the bestselling Bible versions in the English language today are sufficiently accurate.  This does not mean that everyone who reads this will be convinced.  In order for someone to be convinced that the Bible is God’s word and what it teaches is true, it is absolutely required that the Spirit of God witness to his heart to persuade him that it is the very word of God.  I do not hope to persuade anyone who reads this post, if the Spirit of God does not intervene in that person’s heart.  The objective evidence is there, but because man is by nature committed to deny and oppose it, he will subjectively disbelieve it every time unless God opens the eyes and heart.

The Bible’s marks, signs, signatures, and evidences of authorship by God are the following:

1.    The simple majesty and sublimity of the Bible is unmatched in merely human literature.

The wisdom, profundity, brevity, natural eloquence, pointedness, clarity, freshness, boldness, and wonder of the Scriptures, given for the most part in everyday human language, is far beyond what any human author could achieve without divine inspiration.  Other books may claim to be what the Bible is in this regard, but they fall far short upon impartial examination.

2.    The Bible is free from error and taint of evil.

The Bible is free from error and contradiction in every point and statement that it makes.  No one has ever proven that a contradiction exists in the Scriptures, or successfully disproven any statement of historical or scientific fact found in the Bible.

The Bible has had a profound impact on western civilization and literature: not just among Christians.  Other books are full of monstrous immorality and injustice, especially those published in nations where the Bible has never been a widespread influence.  In contrast, the Bible presents a pure morality from God Himself.  The morality of the Bible resonates deep inside the reader, because it comes from his Creator.  The purity of the ethics or morals of the Scriptures and those of the Christians who believed their truths have historically been one of the great draws to Christianity, especially when pagan cultures have first come in contact with them.

3.    Every part of the Bible penned by dozens of authors over a period greater than 2400 years reveals the same God, the same human condition, and the same plan of salvation.

The Bible is not one book.  It is one collection of books.  It is truly remarkable that around 40 human authors writing the sixty-six books of the Bible in three languages over a period of at least 2400 years could find such agreement on doctrines such as God, Sin, and salvation through the Messiah.  The congruence or overall development of the central themes of the Bible over this period of time and this range of authors and dates of writing is something that would be humanly impossible.  There is in fact no other collection of books approaching anything close to this remarkable, miraculous feat.  No such extensive body of human literature has such agreement, or even has central themes that can be clearly discerned.  And that’s if we ignore the diversity of the centuries and locations in which it was written, to which there is no other match in known literature.

4.    The whole Bible glorifies God and humbles man in ways that no other literature does.  This is not the way people choose to write.  It is a mark of its divine authorship. 

There is a saying that history is written by the victors.  No people writes a history the way the Bible is written.  The Scriptures, penned by exclusively Hebrew authors, present a strikingly unfavorable view of the Hebrew people.  They are portrayed as stubborn, disobedient, ungrateful, and foolish.  Other literature before the age of academic criticism is what amounts to hagiography, or hero-worship.  Even modern histories, though making an effort to appear critical and avoid hagiography, are slanted toward the bias of their author.  But in the Bible, even those who may be viewed as the Heroes of Scripture are portrayed with glaring flaws, like the patriarch Judah who unknowingly committed incest when he intended to hire a prostitute, King David who committed adultery and murdered to cover it up, or Solomon whose many foreign wives enticed him to commit rank idol-worship.  God gets all of the glory and the Hebrew people, Kings, or prominent figures get none.  The idea that the Hebrews wrote these books without God’s inspiration is preposterous.

No one writes about the human race the way the Bible does.  The Bible presents man as completely unable to do any good thing apart from a sovereign change of his heart wrought by the power of God as a miracle upon the soul.  The Bible is utterly unflattering to all humankind and exalts God alone.  Its revealed way of salvation by God’s grace alone through Christ for the very people who have earned eternal punishment for themselves by their hatred of Him and their evil deeds, is something that no human being ever could or would dream of.  Human literature is flattering to the human nature and character.  But in the Bible, God gets all of the credit for everything that is truly good, and man gets absolutely none, which proves that God is the Author and not merely man.

5.    The Bible alone describes the true condition of man, and prescribes a remedy suitable to him. 

No other book of philosophy, religion, or science accurately describes the state of man.  Human beings have a natural knowledge of what is right and wrong.  They show this every day in many ways, especially by judging the actions of others.  But why is it that they can’t live up to the same standard that they think of as normative?  How do we explain the depths of evil that man is capable of, evidenced by countless examples in history and from everyday life, while man at the same time is capable of such beauty and sparks of goodness that occasionally flicker?  Why is death so painful, even though it is so universal?  We all know these things to be true from our experience of ourselves, others around us, and society as a whole.  But how to account for them, we know not.  The Bible gives the answer to the human problem.  It explains why man has such good potential, but at the same time fails so miserably to live up to it.  It explains why man has a sense of what is right, and loves to judge others, but cannot live up to his own standard.  It explains why death still hurts so much, even though it is a fact of nature as we now experience it.

No other book so accurately explains the human condition and then gives a remedy so suitable to it.  It explains that God created man good, but that he fell by his own choice, and received death as punishment for his disobedience to his Creator.  It explains, furthermore, that the Creator became man, and lived a perfect life, to take the punishment that man deserves for his disobedience.  Every human religion, book, philosophy, or way of life describes how humans may make efforts to better themselves to escape or at least lessen the effects of injustice and/or death.  But the Bible reveals a plan whereby the God and Maker of the Universe became man to reconcile man with his Creator.  This describes the only remedy suitable to the human condition.  Such a description of the human condition, with a perfectly suitable remedy, can only come by divine revelation.

6.    Those who believe the Holy Scriptures find comfort and support to faith unmatched by any other book.

For those who believe, the Scriptures provide such supreme joy and comfort that it is unequalled by any other book.  Now, admittedly, this evidence will not be of much use to those who do not yet believe the Scriptures.  For them, they will have the opposite effect.  A gracious prince offers clemency to those who are his sworn enemies, who would not lift a finger in submission to him even to save their lives.  To these enemies, his offer does not have a sweet smell of life.  It stinks of the death they know they will earn by their obstinacy, because they are dead set against accepting his kind offer.  They will frown at the gracious offer of clemency instead of smiling, because it only increases their guilt for remaining in their rebellion.  The same is true with those who read the Scriptures.  Those who are able and willing by grace to submit to God and believe in His Son Jesus Christ revealed in the Scriptures will find solace for their souls and peace that passes understanding in its sublime truths and blessed promises.  Those whose hearts are yet hardened against God will find in the pages of the Bible only more promises that they will reject, more evidence to support God’s just sentence against them.  For them it is not comforting, but frightening.

Like I said in the disclaimer above, you won’t believe anything I’ve written above unless the Spirit has opened your eyes to see clearly.  The objective evidence is there, but the average human reader is looking at it through classes tinted by his own commitment to rebellion against the God of the Bible.  That’s where the subjective element comes in.  In order to overcome this rebellion, a sovereign work to change the human nature is required.  My hope is that some reading this will experience this change of heart and mind.

Now, if you’re reading this telling yourself, “I’m not convinced,” then I’m not surprised!  That’s why I said it would take a work of the Spirit in order for you to acknowledge the evidence.  That doesn’t mean it’s not there, it just means that the average reader is not willing to receive it.  In conclusion, I would like to cite the magisterial Westminster Larger Catechism as a clear and concise statement of the evidence I have tried to explain above:

Q. 4. How doth it appear that the Scriptures are of the Word of God?

A. The Scriptures manifest themselves to be the Word of God, by their majesty and purity; by the consent of all the parts, and the scope of the whole, which is to give all glory to God; by their light and power to convince and convert sinners, to comfort and build up believers unto salvation: but the Spirit of God bearing witness by and with the Scriptures in the heart of man, is alone able fully to persuade it that they are the very word of God¹.

¹The Westminster Larger Catechism (1647) is the longer and more expansive of the two catechisms produced by the Westminster Assembly of divines (or theologians), a Church body meeting at Westminster Abbey, London, over the course of six years, made up of over 150 men chosen from among the most godly ministers and elders from both the Presbyterian and Congregational churches in England, with eminent representatives from Scotland and the French churches.  This catechism is one of the most scripturally-accurate and detailed teaching formulas from the history of the Christian Church,–still held in high regard today by the Presbyterian and Congregational churches among others.–RF

Book Review: Augustine of Hippo by Simonetta Carr

A Review of Augustine of Hippo by Simonetta Carr

A Christian biography for children

By Pastor Riley Fraas

Carr, Simonetta. Augustine of Hippo. (Grand Rapids: Reformation Heritage Books. 2009)

Children’s books from Story Bibles and Bible stories, to other kinds of books, offer to children a first taste of fruitful Christian reading which will lead to a lifetime of blessing by reading solid Christian literature.  After books which teach them about the Bible and its story of redemption, I believe this book will be quite edifying for children of Christian families.  Second to knowledge of the Scriptures, a knowledge of the history of the Christian Church is the best help to godliness for Christians and guard against falling into error.  And one of the most beneficial types of books on Church History is biographies of great Christians from history.  Well-written Christian biographies enthrall the reader and inspire to greater faith and love to God.  Simonetta Carr brings to life for children one of the true giants in the halls of Church history in her book, Augustine of Hippo.  (This book is one of a series by the publisher featuring biographies of important Christian leaders, Church fathers, Reformers, and theologians called Christian Biographies for Young Readers.)

The book is attractive, with colorfully -drawn and brightly-printed illustrations throughout in a large “coffee table” size that facilitates parents reading it to their children.   We have “trial tested” this book in our home and the kids could not get enough of it.  We will have read through it several times before our family outgrows it.  I am sure of it.  This book would be great to read with your children or grand-children.

Augustine was a bishop (overseer), theologian, and preacher of the gospel in a dusty two-bit town called Hippo in North Africa in the late 4^th and early 5^th centuries A. D.  This was a formative period in the Church.  Christianity had become established by Roman law after long periods of persecution, and the liberty given to the Church allowed for free course in preaching and transmission and copying of the Scriptures.  This freedom led to great advances in theology, preaching, and the availability of the Bible.  There were also important controversies at this time which helped to clarify for the Christian Church what the Scriptures teach:  their most basic doctrines.  Such controversies gave to Church an opportunity to study the Scriptures more carefully on the topics in question and get a more thorough understanding of what Christians had always believed.  The 4^th century birthed the landmark Nicene Creed, which clarified Christian belief on the doctrines of the Deity of Christ and the Trinity.  Because of the tremendous influence of towering figures like Augustine, this period of Church history is known as the patristic age, meaning: age of the fathers of the Church.

Augustine was a man who came to Christ later in life, after a mischievous youth and dabbles with a mystery cult that was popular in his day.  The tender story of Monica, his faithfully-praying Christian mother, is a gripping part of his life story recounted in the book.  Her prayers being answered, Augustine would be converted to the true Christian faith, and would later go on to serve God as a bishop, pastor, preacher, and theologian.  Through his preaching and writing he would become without a doubt the most influential figure in the history of the western Church.  Hailed as a great saint and Church father still today by the Roman Catholic Church, his writings on Scripture were immensely influential in the life and ministry of key Protestant Reformers of the 16^th century like Martin Luther and John Calvin, (through whose ministry the Church was brought back into conformity with the Holy Scriptures after a long period of decline.)  Augustine’s influence and language is still keenly felt by the Church today.  He is especially known for his contributions to the Christian Church’s understanding of the doctrines of Original Sin (the natural and innate sinfulness inherited by every human being from the sin of Adam our ancestor) and the supremacy of God’s grace in bringing the sinner to life in Christ.

In Simonetta Carr’s book, readers will be gripped by the story of Augustine’s wrestling with the Bible before he came to the faith, his prayerful and beloved mother, his conversion experience, his reluctant ordination to the gospel ministry, his response to the sacking and ransacking of Rome by Germanic barbarians, his wrestling with the doctrines of sin and God’s sovereignty, and the debates and controversies that he waged to defend the truth of the Scriptures against various errors and movements that arose while he served as bishop of Hippo.  As a way of introducing a taste of Church History to children, this book will inspire in its readers an appreciation for the ancient heritage of our common faith as Christians and praise for the God who has directed and protected His Church through all ages of Church history.

And parents or grand-parents will definitely benefit from this book, too!  My advice to parents, grand-parents, and children is: Tolle Lege!  (Latin translated: pick up and read!)

Eminent Congregational Christians: Gordon Hall, Passionate Early American Missionary to India

Gordon Hall: Passionate Early American Missionary to India