Interesting little note on a personal experience I had last week:
My daughter get's out of Sunday School class and as we're headed out of the Church, she ask's me what the rapture is and if I would buy her the "Left Behind" series? she's 13 and she reads a lot. - as a side note, yes I realize what's in the Left Behind series; but for right now, it's better then nothing - Anyway, so I quickly thought about what she said they had discussed and this was all spurred on by the recent talk about the world ending.
So I asked her, "So what did the teacher say about who would be saved?" She told me that the teacher told everyone that "well if you want to be saved, you have to be a good person."
I quickly responded to my daughter and asked her; "well do you believe that?" Which of course puzzled her and being as she knows me and that I usually use a question to start a dialog, she slowly said... "ummmm no?"
So anyway, I started to talk to her and said, how do you know if your good enough to go to heaven? Then again, I shared the Gospel with her and she understood what I was saying and agreed with me. She realized that no matter how hard she tried; she would never be able to lead a sinless life and that she would never be reconciled to a Holy and Just God based on her own goodness.
She then the next day told me that she was listening to a Christian song and it was all about how we should be a good person; and she told me that she understood exactly what I meant and that she didn't agree with the song. Praise be to God.
Anyway I thought this was a pretty good example of a "free will" mindset. People who are not called, just can't understand and or accept "Justification by faith alone apart from any work of the Law."
Arminians believe that faith comes by works. Salvation is given to those who obey the law and believe and or have a personal relationship with Jesus. "If I believe in Jesus and I'm a good person, then I have true faith and will be saved."
But that just isn't the Gospel; because if you use the Law to be Justified, then you are in unbelief and your faith is just empty religion. You have just as much chance of being saved as the Buddhist or Hindu; because your doing exactly what they're doing.
The Apostle Paul exclaims to us that - I'm paraphrasing - "If anyone could gain eternal life through their self-righteousness it was me! I was a Pharisee of Pharisee's; I obeyed the Law so well everyday, I made Zen Buddhist's look sloppy! But I account that as NOTHING! It was worthless! Because, even I wasn't even close to being righteous enough; because one has to be perfectly righteous and there has only be one person and there will only ever be one person who has ever been able to do that."
I have spent many years trying to lead that kind of faith and it just doesn't work because there's just absolutely no assurance in it. It is not freedom it is bondage. Also when one starts to read and learn and try to understand the Bible; one starts to see that God's Word/Scripture makes absolute no sense in that light.
Anyway... just some thought.
.... p.s. I'm not a theologian; I've read many Reformed authors and preachers, but I'm still not able to articulate everything perfectly, so please understand that I might have said something questionable, in which case, please feel free to correct me.
I'm still learning.
Dave
