I have a post planned in which I will urge you to listen to preaching by my pastor, Mark Minnick. One of the major reasons you should listen to him, especially if you’re training for the ministry, is that he is aware of the theological currents swirling about, and they inform his exegesis.
He spoke strongly on Sunday morning against the following view (without ever naming names; that’s not his way):
No act of obedience, preceding or following faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, such as commitment to obey, sorrow for sin, turning from one’s sin, baptism or submission to the Lordship of Christ, may be added to, or considered part of, faith as a condition for receiving everlasting life (Rom 4:5; Gal 2:16; Titus 3:5). This saving transaction between God and the sinner is simply the giving and receiving of a free gift (Eph 2:8-9; John 4:10 ; Rev 22:17).
[From Affirmations of Belief of the Grace Evangelical Society]
This may seem remarkable: Mark Minnick denies that salvation is a free gift? No, he simply argued cogently from Scripture—he was preaching from Mat 19’s account of the rich young ruler—that repentance is necessary to salvation. He showed that this is not salvation by works. But, as I told a young black woman in a run-down apartment complex just hours later, Jesus demands access to every room in your heart.
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