The aim of gospel preaching - Gery Schmidt

"The third subject we shall consider is the aim of gospel preaching. And we will look at the two questions asked in the introduction. First, is the aim of gospel preaching to call upon the unregenerate to perform certain duties by which they are to be regenerated, and thus be saved? Though this is undoubtedly the prevailing view among such who profess to be Christians, the Scriptures declare emphatically that this is not the purpose or end of gospel preaching. First, the signification and extent of grace prove that the aim of gospel preaching cannot be to induce the unregenerate to perform salvation-meriting duties. The signification of grace teaches us that the divine favor is an unmeritable favor, wherein man is discovered to be, on account of his sinful nature, unworthy, incapable of earning, and undesiring of saving grace. The extent of grace instructs us that every component of salvation, from beginning to end, is grounded in the unmerited favor of God, and thus includes such things as repentance and faith.

A new law based on easier terms (or duties) - Gery Schmidt

"...the Mosaic Law demonstrates that duty has no place in the matter of salvation. The apostle Paul speaks of the Law as a tutor (Gal. 3:24), and with respect to our theme, the Law instructs us on two critical points. First, it illustrates the total depravity of man. When we take a panoramic view of the Old Testament history of Israel, the Sinaitic covenant witnesses time and time again the sinfulness of the Israelites. From the time they came up out of Egypt, to the time of their exile, and upon their return from captivity, the depravity of the Israelites is always made manifest in the light of the Law. But this very manifestation of the Israelites' depravity was in fact one reason why God gave the Law unto Israel. In Romans 5:20 Paul writes that "the Law came in that the transgression might increase." Now the Law which God gave to Moses was both perfect and holy, and it represented a duty-ridden system. Well what was the outcome when this duty-ridden system was given unto Israel? It only exposed their depravity in that not one soul was able to keep the Law perfectly. The Law made manifest man's natural enmity toward God, and consequently, the transgressions of the Israelites only increased, precisely as God had intended. And the grand lesson here is that the Law, in exposing man's depravity, points him away from himself, and away from the performance of duties.


Secondly, the Law illustrates the absolute necessity of grace in salvation. In Gal 3:24 Paul writes that "the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, that we may be justified by faith." We just saw how the Law exposes man's depravity, and that it points sinners away from both themselves and the performance of duties. The apostle Paul notes that this very Law directs sinners unto Jesus Christ. It is Christ alone, the God-man, who was able to both keep the Law and offer himself up as a propitiatory sacrifice in the stead of his elect. In demonstrating both man's depravity and inability to save himself, the Law shows forth the absolute necessity of God's grace, and thus points to Christ who alone is the all-sufficient Saviour of his people. The Law does not point sinners away from one set of duties only to direct them to another set of duties.


Neonomianism, however, actually propounds just such a view. This heresy posits that the gospel is a new law based on easier terms (or duties). But such a view misunderstands the purpose of the law, and destroys the very truth that salvation is all of grace. For in replacing one set of duties with another set of duties (the duties of repenting, believing, etc.), one still ends up with salvation by works, the very thing the Mosaic Law intended to direct sinners away from. Further, since the Law only exposes man's depravity, so that transgressions only increase, and points him unto Christ, how can the introduction of a new law, based on supposedly easier terms, possibly improve the situation for the unregenerate? The Law however, points sinners to Christ, and not to duties of any sort. And thus it reveals that duty has no place in the matter of salvation." -Gery Schmidt

The heretical doctrine of salvation of works - Gery Schmidt

"...the concept of duty represents the very essence of all man-made religions. All religions, excepting the true one of the Bible, teach in one form or another that salvation is grounded in works. And works are nothing more than the performance of stated duties. At the center of any works system is man and not God. The emphasis is on what man has the ability to do, and not on his inability. Professing Christians who propound that the unregenerate have the ability to perform certain duties by which they might be saved are, notwithstanding their claims to the contrary, proclaiming the heretical doctrine of salvation of works. Their emphasis is on man and his supposed ability, and not on God and his efficacious grace. To speak of such things as repentance and faith as duties of the unregenerate is to make them into works. And such a procedure represents a blasphemous contradiction to the Scriptures which declare that salvation is of grace and not of works. This being the case, duty can never have any part in the matter of salvation." - Gery Schmidt

Duties in order to be saved - Gery Schmidt

"Are grace and duty compatible in the matter of salvation? From what we have seen concerning both the signification and extent of grace, we must answer this question negatively. Indeed, the very existence of grace forever excludes duty from the matter of salvation. The following three points will establish the veracity of this. First, the Scriptures declare that salvation is of grace and not of works (Eph. 2:8,9). But does this fact entail that all works are excluded in the matter of salvation? From what we learned concerning the extent of grace, wherein we saw that every component of salvation from beginning to end is the result of unmerited divine favor, it is clear that any and every sort of work which might be contemplated can have absolutely no place in the scheme of salvation. Therefore, it is impossible for anyone to argue that salvation is wholly of grace, only to insist in the same breath that sinners must perform certain duties in order to be saved.


For example, when professing Christians insist that things like repentance, faith, and prayer are duties the unregenerate ought to perform in order to be saved, such a view represents a denial that salvation is of grace. Repentance, faith, and prayer are in such a scheme removed from the process of salvation (and thus from the realm of grace), and are denuded of their status as gifts of grace. They are made into salvation meriting duties which the unregenerate can perform at any given time, should they desire to exercise their powerful free will. Such a view not only forms the very quintessence of Arminianism, but is even held by many who pretend to believe the doctrines of grace. But such a view ultimately represents nothing more than the dogma of salvation by works. The Scriptures evince that repentance, faith, and prayer are gifts of grace, and not the products of unregenerate effort. And thus the Scriptural truth that salvation is of grace and not of works condemns as absolutely heretical any attempt to manufacture a work or duty out of such things which God's word relegates solely to the realm of grace." -Gery Schmidt

Upon whom does the unmerited favor of God terminate? - Gery Schmidt

"We move on to consider another aspect of grace, namely, its objects. Upon whom does the unmerited favor of God terminate? Does every single human being represent an object of God's grace? The Scriptures answer this question negatively. God's word clearly delineates that none but the elect are the objects of the grace of God. In Matt. 1:21 the purpose of the incarnation was to "save his people from their sins." In John 10:10 the Lord declares that he "lays down his life for the sheep," and not for the goats. In John 17:9 the Lord prays not for everyone in the world, but only for those who had been given to him. These are but three examples of many which clearly demonstrate that the grace of God is restricted to the elect. Were it true that every human being was the object of divine grace, such distinctions as "his people," sheep," and "those whom you have given me" would be pointless. The distinction "his people" implies there are such who are not Christ's sheep (Mt. 25:32,33; John 10:26). Such who are "given to Christ" implies there are those who are not given to Christ.


And the argument based on such words as "all" and "world" do not make every soul the object of divine grace. Does the "whole world" of 1 John 5:19 include the apostle John and all other Christians? Does the "world" of John 12:19 include the Pharisees who used the term? Does the term "all" in Luke 21:17 have reference to fellow Christians? The answer to each of these questions is an obvious no. Why then do professing Christians force an unwarranted universal concept upon the words "world" and "all" in such texts as John 3:16, 1 John 2:2, and 2 Cor. 5:15? The very idea that these texts prove every human being is the object of God's favor is contradicted throughout the Scriptures (in addition to those listed above) by such limiting and qualifying terms as "many," "the children of God,' and "the elect" (see Mk. 10:45; John 11:52; Rom. 8:33).


Further, contextual considerations show that the "world" referred to in John 3:16 and 1 John 2:2 designates God's non-Jewish elect scattered throughout the nations (Rev. 5:9), while the "all" of 2 Cor. 5:15 refers to the all who live no longer for themselves, but for Christ. And these can only be the elect. Indeed, the very doctrine of election, which is grounded in, and proceeds from God's grace, demonstrates that grace knows no other objects but the elect. This very distinctive presupposes the existence of such who are non-elect. And certainly, reprobation is not a matter of grace but justice, and hence, the reprobate cannot be the objects of grace. And such a fact will figure prominently when we come to consider the aim of gospel preaching." - Gery Schmidt

To deny that saving faith is of grace - Gery Schmidt

"...to ground any part of salvation in something other than the grace of God is to deny salvation is wholly of grace. Consider the following two examples. For someone to maintain that election is grounded upon foreseen merit is to deny election is of grace. Or, if someone argues that the act of saving faith is the work of the unregenerate, by which salvation is procured, is again to deny that saving faith is of grace. And yet, do not a great many professing Christians believe and argue in this very manner, all the while contending that salvation is all of grace?" - Gery Schmidt