Dr Paul Allen

The Westminster Confession of Faith insists that Christians may be “certainly assured that they are in the state of grace” (18:1) and goes on to assert that this “infallible assurance of faith ” is “founded upon” three considerations: “the divine truth of the promises of salvation” “the inward evidence of those graces unto which these promises are made” “the testimony of the Spirit of adoption witnessing with our spirits that we are children of God ” (18:2). The possibility of “certain” and “infallible” assurance is set against the backdrop of medieval and post-Reformation Roman Catholic views that paralyzed the church with an “assurance” that was at best “conjectural” (wishful thinking), based as it was on rigorous participation in a sacramental treadmill. Few epitomized the contrast more starkly than Cardinal Bellarmine (1542–1621), the personal theologian to Pope Clement VIII and ablest leader of the Counter-Reformation, who called the Protestant doctrine of assuranc

The exhortation to "abide" has been frequently misunderstood, as though it were a special, mystical, and indefinable experience. But Jesus makes clear that it actually involves a number of concrete realities. First, union with our Lord depends on His grace . Of course we are actively and personally united to Christ by faith (John 14:12). But faith itself is rooted in the activity of God. It is the Father who, as the divine Gardener, has grafted us into Christ. It is Christ, by His Word, who has cleansed us to fit us for union with Himself (15:3). All is sovereign, all is of grace. Second, union with Christ means being obedient to Him . Abiding involves our response to the teaching of Jesus: "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you …" (John 15:7a). Paul echoes this idea in Colossians 3:16, where he writes, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly," a statement closely related to his parallel exhortation in Ephesians 5:18: "be filled with

English: Icon of Jesus Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Union with Christ is one of the central theological principles of the Christian faith . Its pervasive presence in the New Testament typically is indicated by the word  in , a simple preposition with profound implications. Believers often are said to be in Christ : "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation" (2 Cor.  5:17 ). Sometimes this phrase passes by so rapidly that we may hardly notice, as in Paul's opening address to "the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi " (Phil. 1:1). But even such passing expressions are grounded in the deep spiritual truth of our faith-union with Jesus Christ. The reason we are called "saints in Christ" is because our true and ultimate identity is found in Him: "you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Gal.  3:28 ). On other occasions, the Bible teaches the reciprocal principle that Jesus Christ is in the believer: "It is no longer I who

As   Christians , we find complete sufficiency   in Christ   and His provisions for our needs. There’s no such thing as an incomplete or deficient Christian. Our Savior’s divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness. Human wisdom offers nothing to augment that. Every Christian receives all he or she needs at the moment of salvation. Each one must grow and mature, but no necessary resource is missing. There’s no need to search for something more. When Jesus completed His redemptive work on Calvary, He cried out triumphantly, “It is finished” ( John  Image via  Wikipedia 19:30 ). The saving work was fulfilled, completed. Nothing was omitted. And all who are recipients of that salvation are granted everything pertaining to life and godliness through the true knowledge of  Christ  (2 Pet. 1:3). In Him we have wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption (1 Cor. 1:30). His grace is sufficient for every situation (2 Cor. 12:9). We are bles

The Resurrection of Christ (Kinnaird Resurrection) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “He who glories, let him glory in the LORD” (1 Cor. 1:31). The first chapter of 1 Corinthians concludes with a reminder of who you are in Christ and the benefits you have received by His grace alone. “Your conversion or saving union with Christ is not due to yourselves,” Hodge wrote. “He so dispenses His grace as to make men see with regard to others, and to acknowledge with regard to themselves, that the fact that they are in Christ, or true Christians , is due to Him and not themselves.” The saving knowledge of Cod and of divine things that Christians possess comes from the Logos, the Revealer of all truth. They have not gained wisdom on their own, but it is a gift of God . In the same way, they are justified not by their own righteousness but by the righteousness of Christ, earned by His life of obedience and death. Because of Christ’s righteousness, there is no condemnation to those that ar

William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905) - The Flagellation of Our Lord Jesus Christ (1880) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) The Christian life is lived in the context of mystical union with Christ . This union finds its initial origin in eternity . Our salvation is from the foundation of the world, resting in the grace of God 's sovereign election. Paul indicates this in Ephesians 1:3-6. "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ , who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ , just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved." It is in the Beloved that our redemption is found. From eternity, God considers the elect to be in Christ. Before our m

From Kevin DeYoung 's forthcoming book, The Hole in Our Holiness: Filling the Gap between Gospel Passion and the Pursuit of Godliness (Crossway; August 31, 2012), page 123: We must always remember that in seeking after holiness we are not so much seeking after a thing as we are seeking a person. The blessings of the gospel — election, justification, sanctification , glorification, and all the rest — have been deposited in no other treasury but Christ .  We don’t just want holiness. We want the Holy One in whom we have been counted holy and are now being made holy. To run hard after holiness is another way of running hard after God. Just as a once-for-all, objective justification leads to a slow-growth, subjective sanctification, so our unchanging union with Christ leads to an ever-increasing communion with Christ. Related articles An Interview with John Piper (challies.com) Twelve Propositions on Sanctification (challies.com) What Sanctification Is and Is Not (ch

StJohnsAshfield StainedGlass Baptism (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Sanctification as “an inward spiritual work which the Lord Jesus Christ works in a person by the Holy Ghost , when He calls him to be a true believer.” There are twelve propositions concerning  sanctification . It is a result of your union with Christ . “The branch which bears no fruit is no living branch of the vine. The faith which has not a sanctifying influence on the character is no better than the faith of devils.” It is a necessary consequence of your regeneration . “Where there is no sanctification there is no regeneration.” It is the only certain evidence that you have been indwelt by the Holy Spirit . “The seal that the Spirit stamps on Christ ’s people is sanctification.” It is the only sure mark that you have been elected by God . “Elect men and women may be known and distinguished by holy lives.” It is a reality that will always be visible . Your “sanctification will be something felt and seen, t

Icon of Jesus Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery” (v. 1)   —  Galatians 5:1 With his argument that the people of God were slaves to sin and death under the old covenant concluded (Gal. 3:21–29; 4:1–7, 21–31), Paul in today’s passage begins to transition to his exhortations regarding the Christian life in Galatians 5 and 6. The whole point of the new covenant, he says, is to provide liberation through the work of Jesus for those formerly under the curse of sin (3:10–14): “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery” (5:1). This encapsulation of Galatians’ entire message highlights the interplay of the indicative and the imperative in sanctification (growth in holiness). God does not command His people to possess certain qualities before He recognizes those qualities in them; rather, He declares that we are something