Salvation is of the Lord.
Zion's Advocate, Vol. 40, No. 6, June 1901.
Jonah said, "Salvation is of the Lord." He learned this important truth in a strange school, and it is only in the school of personal experience that any one can truly learn what was taught to Jonah in the depths of his distresses. Now since salvation is of the Lord, if he desires the salvation of all the human family, as the Arminians teach, then all will be saved. For it is evident that if he desires the salvation of all, and all are not saved, salvation is not of him. Again, if he is trying to save all and all are not saved, then salvation is not of him. For if salvation is of him, he will save all he tries (or purposes) to save. If he actually wants to save any that are not finally saved, then salvation is not of him. These propositions are self-evident. No one can believe that salvation is of him and believe that he wants to save all, and is trying to save all, and yet all will not be saved. Those who believe that he wants to save all, and is trying to save all, and yet all will not be saved, do not believe that salvation is of him.To say that God has provided for the salvation of all, and yet all will not be saved, does not remove the difficulty. For if the salvation is not as universal as the provision, then the provision is at fault. To say that God has made a provision for the salvation of all, and yet all will not be saved by it, is to say that he is incompetent to carry out the plan he has undertaken, which reduces him to the level of finite beings.
To admit that God is all-wise and all-powerful, and say that he has provided for the salvation of all, and yet all will not be saved, is inconsistent. If he is all-wise would he make a provision that he knew would fail to accomplish what he desired it to accomplish? All know he would not.
But Arminianism is a cunning fox. If he is driven from one hole he darts into another. It is of no avail, however, for he can be pursued to the end of every hole into which he darts. It is argued that salvation is of the Lord, for he saves all that will let him save them. Let us examine this proposition. It implies that some, at least, are opposed to being saved by him. Now in order to save them it is necessary to overcome this opposition. This is one of the things from which they must be saved if they are ever saved. "The carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." Romans 8:7. A carnal mind is one that is not spiritual. Those who have not the Spirit of God in them are in the flesh, and have carnal minds. Such minds are enmity against God. This enmity must be removed in order to their salvation. But enmity cannot remove itself. It must be removed by the saving power as the first step in the work of salvation. If God had proposed to save those only who would let him save them, then no carnal mind could be saved, for such a mind is enmity against God. But God removes the enmity of those whom he saves, for he says that he will give them a new heart, and a new spirit he will put within them; that he will take away the stony heart out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, and that he will put his Spirit within them and cause them to walk in his statutes. Ezekiel 36: 26, 27. This removes the enmity. Their hatred is turned into love. If he desires to save all, and does this for all, all will be saved.
The theory that God wills the salvation of all the human race supposes a struggle between Satan and the Lord. At the beginning of this supposed conflict there were only two, and they were both on the Lord's side. The Lord then had the advantage of Satan. After many centuries had elapsed, the whole race except eight were so wicked that God sent a flood to drown them. Satan had succeeded in winning all to his side except one family.
The struggle was then renewed with the Lord having the advantage again, all living persons being on the Lord's side. About forty centuries this last contest has been going on, and what is the result? Suppose we candidly look at the situation as it is now. The Universal Dictionary of the English Language says that the population of the world in 1891 was 1,479,729,000. The same standard authority gives 420,000,000 as the number of Christians. This includes all the inhabitants of christian countries. The number of Christians in the world today, then, is considerably below one-third of the population of the world. Not more than one-third of these belong to a church, including all the churches, Roman Catholics and all others. So not more than one-ninth of the people in the world make a profession of christianity, including all the babies that are in the pedo-baptist churches. In the face of these facts will it do to say, even from the Arminian standpoint, that God is doing all he can to save all? If he is, is it not evident that the devil is much stronger than he is?
But they say God intends to save all he can through the instrumentality of the gospel. But the gospel has not been preached to one-half the inhabitants of the world, even if we call all gospel that is preached under that name, and not more than one-third of the people that hear the gospel preached are saved, even if we admit that all that belong to the churches are saved. Those who have not heard it more than one-half the inhabitants of the world are lost without any chance, and the advocates of this system say that God would be unjust if he were to damn any without giving them a chance to be saved. As not more than one-third of those who hear the gospel are saved by it, admitting that the members of the churches are all saved, it fails to defeat Satan even where it is preached. Now if God has undertaken to save all he can by means of preaching, the devil has the advantage of him in the contest, and God has adopted a plan that he knew would fail to accomplish what he intended it should.
It is said that salvation is of the Lord, but that he proposes to save sinners only on the performance of stipulated conditions. To render this system at all plausible and just, it is necessary that the conditions be such that all can obey them, and that they be proposed to all so they can understand just what they are. It would surely be unjust in God to propose conditions of salvation that any could not comply with, or to fail to provide for all to hear and understand the conditions. We cannot conceive of a plan that would be more unjust than to propose to save sinners upon conditions that any of them could not perform, or of which any of them are ignorant. But no conditions have ever been preached by any Arminian preacher that al sinners can comply with, or that all sinners are made acquainted with. All that cannot comply with the conditions are damned for not doing what they cannot do, and all that never learn the conditions are damned without having any chance to comply with them. The system of conditionalism is, therefore, unreasonable and unjust.
Conditionalists differ about the conditions of salvation. As they differ, some of them would be wrong, even if salvation were conditional, and all of them would be liable to be wrong. So on their own system some of them will fail to comply with the proper conditions, and all of them will be liable to failure. They all believe in the preaching of the gospel being a means in the regeneration of sinners, but they are not agreed about what the gospel is since they do not agree in what they preach. Some of them do not preach the gospel, then, and it may be that none of them do. If the gospel were a means in the regeneration of sinners, that which is not gospel would not be effectual as a means. We are so glad that salvation is not of Arminians, for if it were there would be but one certainty about it, it would be certain to fail. In fact we are glad that salvation is not of any mortal or combination of thereof. We are glad that it is of the Lord entirely of him. We will begin at the beginning, and discover that the plan of salvation, the appointment and arrangement of all that pertains to it, is of the Lord.
The matter was all contrived by him before the world was, without assistance, without advice, without opposition. The great architecture of the temple of mercy was planned by him when there was none to aid. The fathomless wells of love, out of which springs of salvation gush forth, existed before the visible, tangible universe was made. Thus it is declared that the hidden wisdom proclaimed by the gospel was ordained of God before the world unto the glory of his people. I. Cor. 2:7. In speaking of this manifold wisdom of God the apostle says that it is "according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord." Ephesians 3:11. The salvation and calling of his people is "not according to their works, but according to his own purpose and grace given them in Christ before the world began." II. Timothy 1:9.
Salvation is also of the Lord in the execution of it. All the debt was paid by him who died on the cross. By this means he obtained eternal redemption for all his chosen ones, and then entered into the holy place for them. Hebrews 9:12. Alone he lived in holy obedience to the law, and alone he died to satisfy its demands. "I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me." Isaiah 63:3. "And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold: therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me; and my fury, it upheld me." Isaiah 63:5.
Salvation is of the Lord in the application of it in the regeneration of his people. This is called a creation (Ephesians 2:10), and a resurrection (Ephesians 2:1; Romans 6:11; Colossians 2:3), both of which are performed by the Lord alone, without the aid of the one created or raised, or the aid of any other. Christ declared that no man could come to him unless drawn by the Father. He also said that all the Father gave him should come to him. John 6:37 and 44. By this we learn that the Father draws all to Christ that he gave to him, and Christ said he would never cast any of them out. How successful this is! It cannot fail, for it is of the Lord. He will not be disappointed in the result, for "known unto him are all his works from the beginning of the world." Acts 15:18. His foreknown, predestinated and called people belong to every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation. Revelations 5:9. This company will be innumerable. Revelations 7:14. Of them Jesus, the captain of their salvation, will say, "Behold I and the children which God hath given me." Hebrews 2:13. What a contrast there is between this successful work taught by the Bible, and the system advocated by the Arminians the plan we have discovered to be such a failure! They teach that God wills to save and tries to save a great many more than will be saved. The Bible teaches that he "will do all his pleasure" (Isaiah 46:10), that he "is in one mind, and what his soul desireth, even that he doeth" (Job 23:13).
They teach a plan that disgraces God by ascribing success to Satan. The Bible teaches that Satan himself will be destroyed with his servants and allies, while all the ransomed church of God will be saved to sin no more. They teach that God, being dependent upon means and instrumentalities, will fail to reach half of the human race, and that he will not save more than one-third of the people on whom he tries his means. The Bible teaches that "he doeth according to his will in the armies of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth" (Daniel 4:35), and that the dead hear his voice, and all that hear live (John 5:25).
Arminians teach that God is unjust if he does not give all a chance to be saved, and at the same time they advocate a conditional plan that more than half of the human family have no chance to be saved by, having never heard of the conditions by which sinners are saved. The Bible teaches that "God is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he." Deuteronomy 32:4. Arminians teach that God is striving to save all sinners, wooing and beseeching them to accept the terms of salvation and be saved before it is everlastingly too late! The Bible teaches that the sinner is a "strong man armed," that he "keepeth his palace and his goods are in peace; but when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armor wherein he trusted." Luke 11:21, 22. Arminians teach that the corrupt tree, the sinner, is required to bring forth good fruit in order to become a good tree. The Bible teaches that a "corrupt tree cannot bring forth good fruit," that it must first be made good. Matthew 7:18 and 12:33.
In these and many other ways the popular teaching of the world is in plain and unmistakable contradiction to the teaching of God's word. But salvation is of the Lord. This is complete deliverance from sin, and a triumphant admittance into a glorified state above. The work is no experiment no mere effort or trial. It is not hinged upon contingencies; it is not left to the unreliable promises or weak efforts of mortals; it depends not on the amount of money used or the number of "missionaries" employed; it is not the result of the work of societies, boards, conventions, associations, or leagues; it is not produced by the eloquence of "divines," or the influence of natural environments. Without assistance, and in spite of the opposition of men and devils, the Lord saves saves all whom he foreknew and predestinated to be conformed to the image of his own beloved Son. Deny it, who will? Disprove it, who can? It is God that justifies all his elect. Who is he that condemns any of them? Christ died for them, and is at the right hand of God making intercession for them. Nothing shall ever separate them from his love. See Romans 8:33-39. The Spirit quickens them, and makes continual intercession for them with unutterable groanings. All the Trinity is engaged in the work of their salvation, and all heaven is concerned in the result! It cannot fail. IT CANNOT FAIL!!
Salvation is only of God,
To him all the praises are due;
Ye saints spread his honors abroad,
Who finished salvation for you.
Soon shall we behold him again,
Forever to sound his dear name;
To sing the sweet song of his love,
Salvation's of God and the Lamb!
J. R. D.
Copyright c. 2005. All rights reserved. The Primitive Baptist Library.
