Depraved Morality
 

• All are morally depraved and are unable to reach the divine standard of God’s righteousness (Rom. 3:10-23; 5:12,17)

• All of men’s goodness are corrupted, impure and have fallen short of God’s glory (Isa. 64:6)

• Man needs the initiate and continuous working grace of God for salvation (Jn. 5:37, 6:44, 15:26, 16:8-12; Jd. 1, 24; 1 Pt. 1:5; 1 Jn. 5:18; Phil. 1:6)

• Even so, being created in the image of God; though with sin, man retained his ability and limited independence to either disbelieve & supress his knowing of God or acknowledge & appropriate God through a faithful & continuous repentance in Jesus (Gen. 1:27,28,29-30,2:16-17,19-20, 23, 3:8,10-13; Lev. 7:16, Rom.1:18-32; Ps. 34:18,51:17) 

• Gifting man with limited independence does not  challenge God’s supreme sovereignty but rather affirms it  (Ps. 139:7-16; 1 Sam. 16:7; 1 Chron. 28:9)

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Drawing of All

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• That God has one plan for all men and that God’s purposes for man is vast and intricate yet for the purpose of systematic ease we can classify them into 3 major headlines:

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1. Man to have a love relationship with God (Jn. 3:16)

2. God to reveal His eternal & divine person & character to His creation, particularly human kind. (Eph. 1)

3. That God receive the worship & reverence that is due His name & glory. (Deut. 6:4)

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• Man was not purposed to be a perfect & sinless being on his own but to be liberated & transformed from his mortal physical state through faithful obedience in God (and later in Jesus; NT)(Gen. 1:29,2:16,3:22; Rom. 8: 19-22, 3: 11-12, 16, 21-22, 10:13; Heb. 1:1-3; 1 Jn. 3:2; 2 Cor. 3:18; Gen. 1:26,31)

• God desires all men to be saved but did not predetermine all to be saved neither did He preordain some to be saved nor some for destruction as Classic Calvinism would believe. Salvation is available for all that place their faith in God through Jesus (1 Pet. 1:8-9; 2 Pet. 3:9; Jn. 3:16-18; Mk. 16:16; Eph. 2:8-9; Rom. 1:16,3:23-24,10:10; Acts 2:21,16:31).

• God has these desires & purposes manifested through general & specific revelations up to the last moment of all men’s mortal lives. God has done this without fail, continuous & consistent by various personal & impersonal, direct & indirect means that the drawing of God of all men is unmistakable, prominent & persistent enough to convict men into a surrender by faith, lead unto repentance and acceptance of the LORD as only God and Saviour. (Rom. 1:18-20,22, 10:9-11; Heb. 4:6-9; Jn. 6:44,12:32; 2 Pet. 3:9; Ez. 18:23, 33:11)

• And that denial or disbelief of this drawing gives no excuse for man and is accountable for the judgement & eternal punishment for his actions (Rom. 2:1-2,9-16; 2 Thess. 1:8-9)

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Death and Life for All

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• Because God has gifted all men with freedom and ability, and by God’s initiation, to either come unto faith in Him or in men’s depravity supress it in denial or disbelief; the atonement of Jesus’ death & resurrection is meant to be for all (Rom. 1:32, 2:5, 5:12)

• And because all men are recipients of God’s wrath through one man’s disbelief resulting in sin, so also the appeasement of God’s wrath by one man’s faith fulfilled in obedience-Jesus the Son of God that it should be for all who place their willing faith in Him evidenced by their repentant obedience. (Rom. 5:15-19, 6:16-20, 10:13-14; Acts 2:37-41)

• So as Christ lived, died & rose again; if man is to identify himself with God through Jesus, he should also willingly live by faith, die to sin and rise again unto newness & eternity of life that Christ has purchased (Rom. 6:2-14, 8:12)

• This faith is a consistent commitment of righteous-fruit bearing, by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:9,15,12:1-2; Gal. 5:22-25)

• Christ atoned for all the sins of the world and made justification available for all (Rom. 5:8,3:25,3:28)

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Dedicated Grace

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• Because God’s intention was to draw all men to Himself and He accomplished this through individuals & collectives of men in the OT (i.e. Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Joshua & Nation of Israel) who were foreshadows and ultimately by Christ in the NT that through Jesus, man and God can be reconciled once more (Gen. 9: 17,22:15-18, 42:38-45; Deut. 4:7-8; Jn.12:32; Is.60:3; Ex. 23:9; Deut. 20:10-12; 2 Cor. 5:18)

• Due to the nature & character of the desires & purposes and of the One who desired & purposed it, there is dedicated graciousness apportioned for all (Matt.5:45; Phil.1:3; Eph. 2:8; 2 Thess. 1:2-3, 1 Thess. 1:1-5)

• In God’s grace He has also dedicated to convict all men of their sins & according to His righteousness from the very beginning up to the very last day of man’s mortal life from the OT and in the NT (Ez. 33:11; Jonah; Jn. 3:19,15:26,16:8-11; Job 12:22,31:4; Heb. 1: 1-3,6-9)

• This grace is never less than or greater than the grace a man would need to come to faith and repentance to God, it is all equal according to God’s omniscience & omnipotence. (Lev. 19:33-34; Deut.10:17; Prov. 22:2; Rom. 3:23,10:12-13; Heb. 4:13,11:39-40; 1 Jn. 3:20; Ps. 44:21,147:5)

• This grace is sufficient to draw all, keep all, without voiding man’s gift of limited independence, without God being unjust & unloving (Heb. 3:8,12:2; Ex. 8:32; Rom.1:16; Rev.3:20-21; 1 Jn. 1:9,4:8, Phil.1:6; Jd.1:1,24; Ps.25:8-14,37:28)
   

Diligence of the Saints

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• That the true marking of a beloved brethren is a consistent life of being led by the Spirit. He is indwelt, influenced and immersed in deeper growth and maturity by God for Holy living and church service. (Rom 6:17-18,22; 1 Cor. 12:12-31; Gal. 5:16-18,22-26)

• The Spirit of God is the cause of the saint’s diligence but his diligence is not the means to his salvation. Just like our initial sincere coming into faith, it is God who draws us and continues to keep us by leading us (Jn.6:44,45,12:32,15:1-5,16:8; Acts 16:14; Lk. 24:45; Rom.5:22-25)

• Anyone by observation who is not bearing fruit as anticipated from Spirit-indwelt Christians could be for 3 plausible reasons (Mt.7:16-24):
  
  1. False brethren – They mean to destroy the church or its testimony (i.e. divisive factions, arguments, false doctrines etc.) (1 Jn 2:18-19; Mt. 7:15)
  2. Fleshly converts – They only think they are converted. They are most of the time new “believers” who have yet to fully understand the Gospel and be indwelt by the Holy Spirit. They are called “Carnal Christians” while they are on earth but when judgement comes they will only be judged as carnal men and not as Christians (Mt.13:4; 1 Cor. 3:1-3; Heb. 6:1-5,5:11-14; Acts 13:13; 1 Cor. 5:13,6:9; Eph. 5:5; 1 John; Rev.21:8)
  3. Forfeited brethren – True brothers in Christ who have received the taste of God’s Spirit but due to trials, worries, persecutions & temptations, have given up & made a willful decision to turn away from God (Mt.13: 5-7, Heb. 6:4-12; 2 Tim. 4:10)
  
  Note: That only the “Forfeited brethren” have tasted the Spirit but the certainty of the indwelling of the Spirit can only be fully known by God Himself and that discernment by observation remains an honest assumption based on the standards of Christian assurance from the Word of God (Cf. 1 Cor. 4:5)
   

• Because the mortal life of man only ends when its appointed day comes, so God’s calling of all men is continuous, that as long as the word “Today” applies to anyone there remains a chance given by God in His grace to draw you back in union with Him to confess your faith in Him (Heb. 4:4-16,9:27; Jm. 4:13-15; 1 Cor. 5:5; Eph. 2:4-7; 1 Tim. 1:12-16; Rom. 2:4; 1 Cor. 2: 15-16,5:3,12,6:1-5; Rev. 3:19)

• The doctrine of the Diligence of the Saints teach that only those who have the Spirit of God –evidenced by the fruit of the Holy Spirit in the saint’s life, including his enduring, hopeful continuance & diligence- are the ones who finish the race and receive the promised inheritance, the crown of life. That the security of the believer pertains to God’s faithfulness in keeping His word regarding the safekeeping of our full salvation inheritance, that there is always grace for all who come to repentance, particularly to those who live by faith; based on His promises and conditions. (Ez. 18:21-32; Jer. 18:8; Heb. 4:1-3,11,6:15,10:26-29; Rev. 2:7,10,17,25-26,3:11-12,21; 2 Tim. 4:7; 1 Cor. 9:24-27; Mt. 24:13; 1 Jn.ch.1-5; 2 Jn. 1:8; Rom. 1:17, 8:13-14; Jude; 1 Peter)
   

Note: Through a historical-grammatical panoramic view of the Bible, the doctrine of “Eternal Security”& “Sealing of the Holy Spirit” also known as “Once Saved Always Saved” should be taught and understood in the light of God’s unchangeable character and word (Cf. Heb. 3-6) and that the condition of our salvation is faith in God’s grace (Cf. Rom. 4:3) That at the point where a Christian turns away from his profession, he also forfeits the “Eternal Security” that has been purchased through Christ’s death on the Cross. Just like a shepherd brands his cattle, we are “sealed” or “marked” by the Holy Spirit therefore God will not miss us when He comes or when He gives us our inheritance. He will not lose us in His atonement and in glorifying us with & in Him. It is important to understand that the word “Security” pertains to God’s faithful character towards first & foremost Himself, that when we deny Him, He will deny us. And if we lack faith in Him, He remains faithful because He can not deny Himself, therefore a holy and righteous judgement awaits and is not overridden by His great love (Cf. 2 Tim. 2:11-13)