God's Sovereignty in Evangelism

 

[God's Sovereignty in Evangelism Proclaiming the Gospel Ministries] "Have you ever considered the nature of the people we are trying to reach with the Gospel? Jesse Barrington, pastor of Grace Life Church of Dallas, gave a biblical description of them in a recent message. It is no wonder the apostles asked Jesus, "Who then can be saved?" Only God can grant spiritual life to those who are dead in their sins. In a moment He brings them to life, transforms their hearts and grants them repentance and faith. This wonderful message of God's sovereign grace will give you great hope and encouragement as you proclaim the Gospel."

 

Response to comment [from a "Christian"]: "[Transforming hearts] False. The Bible does not teach this. In fact, this is a different gospel."

 

A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh [Ezek. 36:26].

"God says what He is going to do. A change is going to take place. “A new heart also will I give you”—they are going to be born again." McGee, J. V. (1997). Thru the Bible commentary (electronic ed.) (
Eze 36:26). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

"
Eze 36:26 — “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”

God does not want remodeled hearts, but brand new ones. He doesn’t want a reform in character, but a new spirit that loves to do His will. He wants transformation, not mere accommodation.

Answers to Life's Questions: How can I help to restore someone to fellowship with God?

EZEK. 36:16–38

The term “restore” is an interesting one. In ancient Greek, it means to set a broken bone back in place. In restoring someone we do not place bandages on small cuts, but instead we set broken spiritual bones. Therefore the work is often long and painful.

The steps to restoration are as follows:

Lead the person to recognize his failure. Help him see the nature of the problem and to call it by its right name: sin. As long as a person can rationalize his behavior, he will never accept responsibility for it.

Lead the person to acknowledge responsibility for his sin. Blaming others will do no good. Others may have been involved, but the person chose to sin—and claiming proper responsibility is essential to restoration.

Lead the fallen saint to repent. Pray that the Holy Spirit will convict the person to feel remorse, regret, and grief. Repentance means a change of mind leading to a change of conduct. Paul taught that our thinking must change first; then our actions will follow (
Rom. 12:2).

Lead the person to receive the message God wants to teach him. Sometimes a person is stubborn and resistant and reluctant to learn. But failure is unprofitable only when we refuse to learn from the experience. If we learn and grow, we have not utterly failed—we have taken the opportunity to learn more about ourselves and about our God.

Lead the sinful believer to respond to God’s chastisement with gratitude. The one leading might point out two helpful verses: “Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep Your word;” and, “It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes” (
Ps. 119:67, 71). Gently remind the person how wonderful it is that God loves us enough to chastise us and to mend us. God will never crush the one He loves so dearly.

The goal of all spiritual restoration is to help our sinning brothers and sisters “come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will” (
2 Tim. 2:26). What a joy is ours when we see God put a new heart and a new spirit in them, causing them to walk joyfully and willingly in His ways and to keep His commandments for their own good (Ezek. 36:26, 27)!

See the Life Principles Index for further study:

Brokenness is God’s requirement for maximum usefulness.
We learn more in our valley experiences than on our mountaintops." Stanley, C. F. (2005). The Charles F. Stanley life principles Bible: New King James Version (
Eze 36:26–38). Nashville, TN: Nelson Bibles.

 

[New heart] "Anti-Christ heresy, and a false gospel."

Proof please.

"
Eze 36:16–38 “You’ll also need a new heart.” God had driven Israel from its land because their sins had dishonored his name (36:16–19). Yet even in exile they continued to dishonor him (36:20). Therefore, not so much for their sake as for his own name’s sake, he will one day restore them to their land, give them a new heart, and put his spirit within them, enabling them to obey him (36:21–28; see exposition on Jer. 31:31–34).

While this promise will be fulfilled for the entire nation of Israel during the Millennium, its fulfillment is foreshadowed by the Spirit’s indwelling of all believers in Christ." Willmington, H. L. (1997). Willmington’s Bible handbook (420). Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

 

"...You made the false claim."

Proof please.

"
Eze 36:26, 27 The ritual of purification from sin would be empty and meaningless apart from true repentance and the regenerating and empowering work of the Holy Spirit on the inner spirit of individuals. God would not only restore the people physically to the land, but would restore them spiritually, by giving them a new heart and new spirit to help them follow Him and do His will. (11:19–20; 18:31; 37:14; 39:29; Jer. 31:31–34; Joel 2:28, 29; Acts 2:17, 18; Rom. 7:7–8:11; 2 Cor. 3:3–18; Heb. 8:6—10:39.)

Eze 36:28–30 you shall be My people: See vv. 1–15; 34:29. The purpose of the Mosaic covenant would finally be realized (Deut. 26:16–19; 29:13; 30:8). The Israelites would become a people dedicated to God’s ways.

Eze 36:31, 32 These verses restate the reasons for the planned restoration and renewal of God’s people. The restoration from the Exile would recover God’s glorious reputation among the nations and erase the guilt of the Israelite’s sin. This is all a product of God’s favor on the Israelites—even though they had done nothing to merit such mercy." Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1999). Nelson’s new illustrated Bible commentary (Eze 36:26–32). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers.

 

"Not one single verse you posted supports your theory."

 

Proof please.

We are saved by grace alone (
Eph 2:8-9), through faith alone (Eph 1:13; 2Ti 1:10), in Christ alone (Isa 45:21,22; 59:16; Ac 4:12). Roman Catholics deny this (Jude 1:11).

See:


No Idolatry and False Teaching

 

God's Sovereignty in Evangelism