Why “Treasuring God, Experiencing Life?” – 06

What Is My Theological Perspective?

In this episode, I take a brief pause in the storytelling to explain something crucial: my theological foundation. If you’re going to keep listening to this series—or read anything I write—you deserve to know exactly what I believe about God, the Bible, sin, salvation, and whether salvation can ever be lost.

Why does this matter? Because every perspective you hear is rooted in some kind of theology. And if that foundation is off, the rest of the teaching can mislead—even if it sounds nice.

I walk through five foundational doctrines that shape my understanding of God and how He relates to us:

1. The Bible is fully inspired by God and without error.
2. God is sovereign over all things, including salvation.
3. Sin is more serious than most people realize—and it separates us from God.
4. Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.
5. True salvation cannot be lost—because God never wastes His investment in us.

This episode sets the tone for everything else in the series—and everything else I’ll publish.

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Transcript

My Theological Perspective

I’ve already mentioned the importance of being cautious about who to believe and who to avoid about truth, in general. But that’s especially critical when applied to Biblical truth. 

Another thing to find out about someone you’re considering as a potential source of helpful information is this: what is their theological perspective?  Their perspective serves as the foundation for all their beliefs. It’s wise to make sure that those people promote truths that are accurate representations of what the Bible actually teaches.

This was certainly true in the world before the internet. If you wanted to get a Christian book to help you learn about or understand a particular issue, it was important that you were able to trust that the author held solid, Bible-based beliefs. 

But this need to verify someone’s spiritual credibility is vastly more important today.

Now, anyone can “publish” their opinions on the internet. But just because someone has authored blog articles, website pages, podcasts, eBooks, or online courses doesn’t mean that what they have to say is actually true and valuable. 

If you start listening to people whose truth isn’t consistent with what the Bible teaches, your faith can become distorted. Ever so slowly, the truths and the understanding of God that you once held can be twisted into falsehoods by listening to people who promote false beliefs. And, gradually, you’ll start falling away from the true faith.

Again, please be careful who you listen to. And, as I’ve said before, this warning absolutely applies to me. In order for you to judge whether or not you believe me to be credible in the things I write about, the very first thing you should want to know is what my spiritual beliefs are.

Labeling My Perspective

The best summary statement I can make is that I hold a “reformed” perspective about the Bible. 

Using another label, people could accurately call me a Calvinist—though I don’t like that term. Actually, I strongly suspect that even John Calvin—whose teachings gave rise to that label—would also be disappointed to see how many people label themselves as Calvinists, rather than simply saying they’re “Biblicists” or some other term that associates their beliefs more directly with the Bible instead of him.

There are many potential Bible beliefs or doctrines that can be used to check the spiritual credibility of someone else.

I want to share a basic set of five, foundational issues which I think are essential for accurately identifying someone’s Biblical perspective. (In this case, to help you clearly know my theological perspective on these core issues of the Bible.)

1 - Scripture

The first foundational issue addresses the question, “What’s your view of the inspiration of the Bible?” Is the Bible considered as being without error, or are there some parts of the Bible that have been corrupted by errors?

My Understanding of Scripture

The Bible tells me that God’s Word is inspired—which actually means it was “God-breathed.”

God intentionally selected the authors He wanted to use to record His Word. He also intentionally directed those authors to think the very thoughts He wanted them to think, and to use the very words that He wanted them to use when they expressed His thoughts in writing.

2 Timothy 3:16–17

16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

Because the Bible is inspired by God, it’s without error as it was written in the original languages.

I personally extend this truth in this way. 

If God was so intent on communicating His truth to men that He sovereignly selected specific people and then sovereignly directed them to write down His specific thoughts using their words, then I believe He’s sovereignly guided the work of translating the Bible into all the languages it’s available in, so that it remains the infallible, eternal Word of God.

The passage quoted from 2 Timothy also says that all of God’s Word is profitable for enabling the children of God to progress from infancy to complete maturity. God oversees the dissemination of His Word, and He accomplishes exactly what He intends in the lives of the people who are exposed to His Word—in His unique timeframe for each person. And, according to Romans 8, it’s His predetermined plan to slowly-but-surely transform all His children into the image of Jesus.

Romans 8:29

29 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren

The way this happens is that His Word is empowered and administered by the Holy Spirit, Who works out God’s intended purposes in people as they read or hear His Word.

A final thing to mention is that the content of the Bible—being inspired by the One True God—is absolutely consistent with itself. There are no inconsistencies in the Bible, precisely because the Source of the Bible is one Person, God—Who’s never going to contradict Himself. All Bible teachings fit together into a coherent system of beliefs, which have been revealed to us by God Himself.

Why The Issue Of Scripture Is Important

Those who believe there are errors in the Bible demonstrate that they don’t consider themselves to be under the ultimate authority of God and His Word. They actually believe they have a higher authority than God and that they’re capable of determining which passages in the Bible are true and which are false.

Those who truly believe in the inerrancy and inspiration of God’s Word also demonstrate their understanding that God and His Word hold the position of supreme authority over their life. Which is exactly as it should be. And, which is the position I subscribe to.

Potential Problems From Someone’s Perspective About Scripture

Because the Bible truly presents a unified system of truth, an error in someone’s interpretation for any one truth will, of necessity, introduce errors in other, related truths.

Let me provide a few examples.

Anytime you hear someone say something like, “Well, this passage addresses an issue that was unique to the culture of the time, and it doesn’t apply to our times now”… be careful. Anytime you hear someone say something like, “Well this passage is best understood as a metaphor, what it really means is…” … be careful. Anytime you hear someone say something like, “The word in the original Greek/Hebrew was [insert a Greek of Hebrew word here], and it really means [insert an English or other language translated word here]”… be careful!

It’s important to understand that the better, Protestant-oriented Bible translations we have today represent the work of large teams of experts in Biblical languages. These teams might be anywhere from 10-20 people. Or more.

The experts on those teams don’t just know how to translate individual words from Greek or Hebrew into English (or any other language). They also have in-depth understanding of the nuances of the original words. They also have in-depth understandings about the grammatical constructs (or rules) and the cultural practices that were in use in the times that individual Bible books were written. They prayerfully worked as a team to bring about the most accurate translation they could. (And I believe that God was sovereignly overseeing and guiding their translation work.)

Trust the word selection, the sentence composition, and the translation notes of the expert Bible translators… more than someone who may have looked up someone else’s commentary about a particular word or verse and who tries to pose as an expert in Biblical languages.

This absolutely applies to pastors and teachers at local churches. If they try to teach by substituting some other word(s) for the specific words you read in your Bible, ask them how they know that their words are more accurate than the one(s) the Bible translators used. Don’t be afraid to check into someone true credentials for teaching the things they teach.

Again, you’re responsible before God for who you choose to listen to. So, be careful.

2 - Who Is God

The second foundational issue addresses the question, “Who is God?” The Bible uses a large number of individual attributes to describe God’s nature and character. The one area about God that I think is most effective for revealing the accuracy of someone’s perspective of Him is how they speak of the extent of His rule and authority over men. This attribute of God is referred to as His “sovereignty.” 

Sovereignty means “absolute, highest rule.” God has the ultimate authority, since He is God. He never needs to ask anyone else’s permission for Him to do anything.

My Understanding Of Sovereignty

My understanding from God’s Word is that He’s sovereign even to the point of having determined His eternal purposes and plans—before He created the heavens and the earth (Ephesians 1:3-14, but in particular verse 4).

Ephesians 1:4

4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love

His sovereignty is also illustrated in Romans 8:29–30, which was partially quoted above and which reveals a progression of God’s independent decisions and actions:

Romans 8:29

29 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; 30 and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.

1) He selected those who would be saved.

2) At His proper time for each individual, He “calls” them to Jesus.

3) The calling also involves God giving those individuals the gift of faith in order for them to believe in Jesus (see also Ephesians 2:8).

4) Those He calls (and who receive His gift of faith in Jesus), He also justifies, meaning He judicially declares them righteous and sees them as though they never sinned.

5) Those He justifies, He also glorifies so that they literally become like Jesus in their character, thoughts, and actions.

God asks no one’s permission to do any of these things. He needs no one’s help to do these things. He did—and does—as He pleases. And… all that pleases Him is based on His gracious goodness.

Why The Issue Of God’s Sovereignty Is Important

A proper perspective of God’s ultimate, sovereign authority over all His creation inherently includes a proper recognition of God as being the Source of all life.

Since Adam and Eve’s temptation in the Garden of Eden, there’s been an ongoing spiritual battle for where people look to find life. And there’s always—only—been two choices: God or the world. 

If someone refuses to recognize God’s ultimate authority, that person is also someone who’s going to frequently look to the world for life. And as such, that person is someone who will exert an influence on others to do the same.

Again, be careful who you listen to.

3 - Sin

The third foundational issue addresses the question, “Who is man?” And the critical thing to listen for is how someone speaks about the issue of sin.

MY UNDERSTANDING OF SIN

The best way to describe my understanding of sin is to share a number of verses from the book of Romans:

Romans 3:10, 23

10 as it is written, “There is none righteous, not even one;’

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God

Romans 6:23

23 For the wages of sin is death,

Romans 3:20

20 because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight;

Here’s a summary of what these verses say about sin (and righteousness):

No one is righteous before God.

All (people) have sinned.

The result of sin is both physical and eternal death.

There’s nothing we can do—in terms of works—that would be a suitable payment for the penalty of our sin and that would justify us before God.

It’s impossible to fully appreciate the true horror of man’s sin apart from understanding it within the context of God’s holy righteousness. The Bible is also clear that God hates sin because of the horrible stain it’s inflicted on all His creation—which He had initially declared to be “very good.” (Genesis 1:31)

And, as the passages from Romans indicate, it’s only within the context of God’s righteousness that we can appreciate how hopeless man’s condition truly is. All men face a sure physical and eternal death, and an eternal separation from God.he 

The Bible is clear, there’s nothing we can do to prevent that from happening—apart from placing our faith in Jesus as the Savior, Who died as the payment for our sin.

Why The Issue Of Sin Is Important

One of the better tests of someone’s perspective of the Bible is what they believe about the extent and the consequences of man’s sin. Anyone who tries to “downplay” or “whitewash” the issue of man’s sin is also going to be someone who misleads in many other critical areas of Biblical truth.

It’s likely that they’re also going to erroneously offer other “solutions” for man’s sin, rather than the one God designed from before the creation of the world: Jesus the Messiah.

Again, be careful who you listen to.

4 - Salvation

The fourth foundational issue addresses the question, “How a person can be saved?” How is it that man can atone for his sin and come into an eternal relationship with God?

It’s important to note that the response to this issue must be consistent with the responses to the prior issues of the inspiration of the Bible, God’s sovereignty and the extent and consequences of man’s sin.

My Understanding Of Salvation

One correct, Biblical answer is that a person is saved “by grace through faith” (Ephesians 2:8). Another correct answer is “by believing in Jesus as the Savior Who died for the forgiveness of our sin” (John 3:16).

Ephesians 2:8

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;

JOhn 3:16

16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

From Genesis through Revelation, salvation comes from God, by grace, through His efforts on our behalf. 

Salvation doesn’t start with us trying to find God, rather, it starts with God “finding” us and drawing us to Jesus and then giving us the gift of faith so that we can believe. It doesn’t start with us doing good works so God will accept us based on our efforts to do/be good. It starts with Jesus not only being good, but living a perfectly sinless life, and then willingly becoming the substitutionary sacrifice for our sin.

The essence of any correct answer about how we can be saved is that our salvation is the work of God alone. It’s based on grace alone. It’s through faith alone, believing in the death of Jesus on our behalf. We contribute nothing of merit or value.

Why The Issue Of Salvation Is Important

It’s absolutely wrong to think we can “earn” our way into an eternal relationship with God. Numerous passages and illustrations in God’s Word speak of this impossibility. So, anyone who teaches we can go to heaven by adherence to a set of moral principles is actually not a Christian. Therefore, anything they teach should be suspect.

However, anyone who says we need to believe in Jesus and we also need to do anything else—in order for us to secure an eternal relationship with God—is just as surely not a Christian. Jesus plus anything else indicates that His work on the cross wasn’t enough to appease God’s wrath towards us. (See Ephesians 2:8 which is only one of a very large body of scripture that clearly teach it’s the work of Jesus alone that secures our forgiveness and redemption and salvation.)

Again, be careful who you listen to.

5 - Security

The fifth foundational issue addresses the question, “Can a true Christian lose his salvation?” Even if someone addresses the issue of salvation in a way that sounds correct, you need to also understand what they believe about the issue of eternal security for true believers.

My Understanding Of Eternal Security

My very direct answer to the question above is absolutely not! If someone’s truly saved, then they absolutely cannot lose their salvation.*

The essence of the correct answer is that God took the sole responsibility for starting our faith by giving it to us as a gift, and He also maintains the sole responsibility for keeping our faith until the end. 

1 PETER 1:3–5

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

God caused us to be born again to a living hope. It was His work to bring us into His family and it’s His intention to provide an inheritance that’s reserved in heaven for us. And He promises to protect (or keep) us through His power until the end.

Think about what it would mean if someone could “lose” their salvation. It would mean that God—Who made His Son die for them, and Who then placed His Holy Spirit inside them as a down payment for their eternity with Him in heaven—completely wasted the cost He paid in the death of Jesus in providing their salvation.

That’s not the God of the Bible! He never wastes His investment in us.

This answer is also consistent with all the prior issues: God is sovereign in selecting those He will save. He planned for Jesus to be the Messiah from before the foundation of the world. Our sin prevents us from ever working our way to God’s acceptance of us. Jesus died in our place, so that by faith alone—trusting in His substitutionary death for us we can enter into an eternal relationship with Him. And since our salvation is not because of our work—but because of the work of Jesus—we can have the assurance of knowing we’ve received eternal life.

*NOTE: A very Biblical and often true explanation for how it can be that people who “seem” to be Christians can abandon their faith or “lose” their salvation is just that. They may have seemed to be Christians, but by their abandoning their faith they proved they were never truly saved. (See 1 John 1:19)

Why The Issue Of Eternal Security Is Important

The way someone addresses this issue is actually a “truer,” more accurate test of their understanding of salvation than any direct response they might have for how someone can be saved. It’s easy for someone to say, “Oh, sure we need to believe in Jesus.” 

But then they might also add, “But, we must also obey the commandments.” Or, “We must be baptized.” Or, “We must join this particular church.” Or any of hundreds of other “essential” elements they adhere to. “Or else we can lose our salvation!”

But, the belief that we can do—or not do—something that causes us to lose our salvation reduces Jesus from being sent as the Savior of the world to being sent as the helper of the world. Which is a horribly, demeaning way to think of Jesus. And it’s an absolute denial of God’s sovereignty.

But God is sovereign.

He’s the One Who reaches into our lives, draws us to Jesus, gives us the faith to believe in Jesus, redeems us, forgives us, adopts us, and seals us with the Holy Spirit as a guarantee of Him completing His predestined plan for us becoming conformed to the image of Jesus. He’s the One Who works to glorify His children.

So, it’s totally inconsistent to understand that there’s something we can do or not do which would override His sovereignty and prevent Him from completing His intended purposes in our lives. And, it’s also just plain foolish.

This is another illustration of there being a systematic nature to all Bible doctrines. They’re all interconnected, and any error in one automatically interjects errors in others.

My Commitment To God... And To You

To the best of my knowledge and abilities, every comment and explanation that appears in this study series, on any of the pages on my websites, and within any future instructional materials I create, will be consistent with my theological perspective as represented in these five core issues.