tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600758195894789352.post6797210271814105229..comments2023-09-25T03:25:59.169-05:00Comments on Tom Farr: A Review of For Calvinism by Michael HortonTom Farrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00506444949351811102noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600758195894789352.post-34781610783050388112011-11-17T22:40:23.703-06:002011-11-17T22:40:23.703-06:00Great question. If you're in a relationship wi...Great question. If you're in a relationship with someone and you betray them in a way that ends the relationship, can you do anything to fix it and undo your betrayal? Can you make the person you betrayed forgive you? Clearly, you hold no power in the relationship whatsoever. The ball is completely in the other person's court. They can forgive you or not forgive you, and there's nothing you can do to move their decision either way. It's completely their decision to make alone. Let's say this person extends forgiveness to you and an opportunity for a reestablished relationship as if the betrayal never happened. This is their gift to you, freely offered. By offering it, they are absorbing the betrayal so that they are paying for your betrayal rather than you. When gift is given, and salvation is described in the Bible as a gift, there is a giver and receiver relationship. By giving you the gift of reconciliation, the person you betrayed is also giving you the opportunity to accept or reject the gift. If you reject it, reconciliation doesn't happen even though it was genuinely offered. Ifyou accept it, reconciliation happens, but did you cause it? We've already established that you hold no power. If forgiveness isn't offered, there's nothing you can do to make it happen. If you accept, can you make the person you've betrayed keep their end of the offer? No, they still hold the control over their offer of forgiveness. <br /><br />God has declared salvation as a gift in Romans 6:23, and John 1:12 describes our receiver relationship. By believing, do we save ourselves? No, because we're not in control. We're not making God do anything. God is under no obligation to me to save me because I choose to believe in him. Faith would be completely irrelevant if God hadn't declared it as the condition of our receiving his free gift of salvation. So Christ alone saves. In this way, Christ alone is responsible for our salvation, and unbelievers are completely responsible for their condemnation. Hell is tragic because the people living there had their sins paid for and reconciliation offered, but they didn't accept the gift.Tom Farrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00506444949351811102noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600758195894789352.post-39734116155622462052011-11-17T21:55:42.402-06:002011-11-17T21:55:42.402-06:00Did not Christ die and pay for all the sins (past,...Did not Christ die and pay for all the sins (past, present and furutre)? Wasn't it complete? Didn't his death pay for the sin of disbelief? <br /><br />How do you reconcile these two statements:<br /><br />1.- Salvation is applied to me because I placed my faith in him=I saved myself by having faith so God can't help but save me.<br /><br />2.- Christ alone saves=I'm unable to save myself because Christ ALONE saves.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10730324881938395277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600758195894789352.post-63585236434121038012011-11-15T15:01:24.219-06:002011-11-15T15:01:24.219-06:00Thanks for the comment. I hold to the
singular red...Thanks for the comment. I hold to the<br />singular redemption view of the atonement as outlined by Ken Keathely in his book SALVATION AND SOVEREIGNTY. Christ's death provided salvation for all, but its benefits are only applied to those who place their faith in him. For those who don't the atonement stands in condemnation of their rejection. Unbelievers are condemned in Scripture for their rejection of Christ, which means they were rejecting something that was genuinely offered to them. 2 Peter 2:1 is a clear example of Christ's atonement intended for the false teachers, but its benefits not applied due to their unbelief. Belief would change all that, yet it would be Christ alone who saved.Tom Farrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00506444949351811102noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5600758195894789352.post-68441837325336720482011-11-15T11:02:18.406-06:002011-11-15T11:02:18.406-06:00Logically, every Christian who believes in hell li...Logically, every Christian who believes in hell limits the atonement of Christ - they just do it in different ways:<br />One view limits the power of the atonement: Christ didn't really save anyone, he just made it possible for them to be saved.<br />The other view limits the extent of the atonement: Christ secured the salvation of his bride, a multitude that no man can number.<br />So, bottom line, does Christ love His bride any differently than he loves lost humanity?<br />Does a husband love his wife no differently than every other woman in the world?TCThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12431430400310128793noreply@blogger.com