Beng at Call it Grace has just discovered Francis Turretin and provided some good quotations from the real Francis Turretin on the duty that men have to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ (link).
-TurretinFan
Thursday, July 09, 2009
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I have recently found myself stuck on one verse in Ephesians:
Eph 2:3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
Reading the linked article and the quotations of our dearly departed yet living Saint, Francis Turrentin, I am seeing this broaden.
I would put over three more verses to note to broaden the idea, one other in Ephesians and two from Romans to put over what seems to be missed, hotly debated and reducing some to accuse others of "being of the devil" when clearly they are not. There are predestined Saints and there are others among the "lost" of the whole of mankind who are "only" reprobates, agents of Satan. By the way, accusing someone of being of the devil is not going to go unnoticed by Him Who died for them! Be careful who you accuse of being of the devil then?
By way of this focus, broadening the understanding of the verse, I confess I use to pray for all men the same. Now I realize I have erred.
Why? Well consider the scrutiny with which Paul prays specifically here:
Eph 1:15 For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints,
Now, when you consider what the Holy Ghost is putting over through the Apostle to the hearer, you should be able to conclude why Turrentin uses the word "duty" to which the writer of the article focuses with these two verses from Romans:
Rom 1:5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations,
and
Rom 16:26 but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith--
I use to think and so do "obedience". Now I don't.
Why?
Well again, taking Turrentin's lead from those quotes in the linked article, no one has any saving ability within to obey God let alone "believe" He exists.
I was without God and did not know Him even when I knew Him. I knew Him by way of the laws of nature. That doesn't preclude knowing Him the way the Apostle Paul or Francis Turrentin teach about "knowing God".
It's a gift. And that revelation is never taught by any human reasoning, theological or philosophical in nature. No, no way, no how. Not until God brings about Faith, Hope and Love in the sinner, making them alive, conjoined too and reanimated in Christ, there simply will be no Spirit of Grace whereby access is gained to the Father as Paul makes plain here:
Eph 2:18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.
Eph 2:19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,
Eph 2:20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone,
Eph 2:21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.
Eph 2:22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
It indeed is a gracious duty to obey Him!
May the Name of the Lord be raised over His enemies heads, that they may scatter, cowards all, fretting and trembling before the Angry Presence of Our God Who manifests Himself through and in Christ Jesus Our Lord and His body, the fullness of Him Who fills all in all!
Amen!
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