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Back to the Gospel translates the book A Divine Tonic by puritan Thomas Watson. See chapters already translated:
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The third and final thing in the text, which I will briefly mention, is the basis and origin of our current vocation, in these terms: “According to your purpose?(Ephesians 1:11). Anselmo translates it as “according to his good, will. “Peter Isrtir reads it as “according to his decree. ” Purpose, or decree of God, is the source of our spiritual blessings. It is the engine of our vocation, justification, glorification. It is the highest link in the golden chain of salvation. What’s the reason one man is called and another man isn’t?It is by The Eternal Plan of God.
We must then attribute all the work of grace to the satisfaction of God’s will, God did not choose us because we were worthy, but in choosing us he made us worthy, proud men are willing to think much of themselves, to participate in Although many cry out for sacrilege in the church, yet they become guilty of even greater sacrilege by robbing God of their glory by putting the crown of salvation on their own heads. But we must summarize everything in God’s plan. The signs of salvation are in the saints, but the cause of salvation is in God.
If it is God’s plan that saves, then it is not free will. On the contrary, pelagians are strong defenders of free will. We are told that man has an innate power to perform his own conversion; but this text confuses them. Our call is “according to God’s plan. ” The scriptures eliminate free will at its root. Doesn’t it depend on who you want? (Romans 9:16). It all depends on God’s plan. When the prisoner is imprisoned, there is no possibility of salvation unless the king intends to save him. God’s plan is his true prerogative.
If it is God’s plan that saves, then it is not merit. Belarmino maintains that good deeds atone for sin and make man worthy of glory; But the text says that we are called according to God’s plan, and there is still a parallel passage in Scripture: “Who saved us and called us with a holy vocation, not according to our works, but according to your own purpose and grace?(2 Timothy 1. 9, ARC). There’s no merit. Our best works contain both imperfections and infections, and for that very reason, they are only invented sins. Therefore, if we are called and justified, it is God’s plan that makes everything happen.
Objection. But the papists use Scripture to defend merit: “By the way, the crown of righteousness is reserved for me, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me that day; and not only to me, but also to all who love his coming?(2 Timothy 4. 8) This is the strength of his argument: if God rewards our works fairly, then they have merit in salvation.
Answer: To this I answer: God rewards as a righteous judge, not according to the dignity of our works, but according to the dignity of Christ; God rewards us as a righteous judge, not because we deserve it, but because He promised us. God has two courts, a court of mercy and a court of justice: the Lord condemns before the court of justice the works he crowns in the court of mercy; therefore, the arm that sustains our salvation is God’s plan.
Again, if God’s plan is the source of happiness, then we are not saved by the prescience of faith. It’s absurd to think that something in us might have any influence on our choice. Some say that God foresees that such people would believe and thus chose them; so they make every salvation dependent on something in us. It turns out that God chooses us not by faith, but by faith. “As he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy” (Ephesians 1. 4), not because we are holy, but to be holy; we are chosen for holiness, not for it. What could God have foreseen in us but dirt and rebellion?If a man is to be saved, it is according to God’s plan.
Question: How do we know that God is destined to save us?
Maria Laying back: Thanks to an effective call, are you increasingly seeking to confirm your vocation and your choice?(2Pierre 1. 10). We secure our choice by ensuring our vocation. ” Has God chosen you from the beginning for salvation, for sanctification?(2 Thessalonians 2:13). By the current, we get to the source. If we find that the current of sanctification flows in our souls, so we can reach the source of choice. Even when a man cannot look up at the sky, he can still know that the moon is there when he sees it shining on the water. Similarly, although I cannot look at the secret of God’s plan, I can always know that I am chosen by contemplating the radiance of sanctifying grace in my soul. If a man finds the word of God transcribed and copied into his heart, he can certainly complete his choice.
Here is a powerful elixir of ineffable comfort for those who are called God. Your salvation rests on God’s plan; However, the firm foundation of God remains, which bears this seal: The Lord knows those who belong to Him. And more: is anyone who professes the name of the Lord far from injustice?(2 Timothy 2. 19). Our graces are imperfect, our comforts come and go, but the foundation of God remains firm. Those who are built upon this stone of God’s eternal purpose should not be afraid to stray; because neither the power of man nor the violence of temptation can ever overcome them.