Revenge of The Shadow

Today I'm hoping to write a little about other things, perhaps things of a more spiritual nature that have been going on the last few months. There is so much though that I'm afraid I won't remember the half of it.

      A few weeks ago I became an official member of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America, though I've felt like I've been a part of the congregation here for some time now. This was rather special to me because now I feel like I belong (officially) to a group of believers and under the authority and supervision of very godly men who strive to follow Christ and set an example. I feel as though this last semester and a half has been a very growing time for me, instead of mere head knowledge I think that quite a bit more heart knowledge has been applied, for which I am very grateful for. Each Sunday night a few of us have been traveling about an hour away to have a Bible study in the evenings at the W's house, which has been very enjoyable. I really appreciate being able to take the entire day off from school and just worshiping and studying spiritual things on that day, Sunday is a time I always look forward to.

J. Nathan and myself have been getting to know each other better. I told him recently (so I suppose it's okay to repeat it) that when I first saw him I kind of thought of him as a bit "nerdy" and it was odd that he wanted to sit next to me all the time in the service. Now that I've gotten to know him better however, it's been a blessing to be able to discuss things with him. He really does have a heart for reaching people and being a public testimony for Christ. Both of us have seen much growth over the last year or so and I am grateful now for his friendship. He sometimes drops by when I'm not expecting it but I look forward to it now and every once in a while, when I hear a car drive up I glance out the window to see if it is him. I enjoy our discussions together very much, we are much of the same mind I believe. He'll never beat me at Tetris. Never.

Recently he's had a burden to reach out to some people of the "Free Grace" belief, which essentially is Arminism under a different name. J has been sharing some e-mails recently with a young man that he has been discussing this subject with. I've read the discussion and honestly it's very hard to understand where this young man stands exactly because he contradicts himself every other sentence it seems (and his sentences are extremely choppy with legions of misspelled words and horrible punctuation) but the main problem is that he is not open to anything except what he already believes. He makes a claim for example, that Ephesians 2:10 that this "sanctification" referred to here is entirely up to the individual to choose, he may or may not be sanctified, he may continue as a carnal Christian, he may deny the faith but since he has already "said the prayer" then he is saved for all eternity. Obviously the passage will no support this but he's not interested in giving evidence but ends everything with "let's stop arguing and just grow in grace bro." It has to be very frustrating for J and I think he's decided to just leave it in the hands of the Lord now, since to go any further against such stubbornness is pointless.

Let me make sure I do clarify what my belief is and what I definitely believe the Scriptures support: that yes, once a person is saved he can never lose his salvation, but that saving is a saving FROM sin, and saving UNTO good works (verse noted above). One cannot have the Holy Spirit indwelling and still live in love with your sin, it becomes abhorrent to you. What is the meaning of the "New Birth" of the "New Man" of "dying to sin" if there is absolutely no change in your life? Obviously I cannot know a person's soul but there is such a thing as a false person, or someone who deceives their self into thinking they are saved. I agree, once saved, always saved, but that salvation must be a true believing, and a true belief manifests itself in fruits. You cannot truly believe that you are saved from your sins, that Jesus Christ died in your place and still go on living a life of complete rebellion to him.

So that's just one thing that I've shared with J over the last few months, I admire the way he handled it, with firmness and very sound, logical arguments, yet in all humility. I can learn from that because while I tend to be very logical and can completely pick apart someone's standing, perhaps sometimes I er.... enjoy it too much. We seem to sharpen each other and I have really appreciated and been thankful for that.

There have also been a few instances where I've been able to talk to some people on campus and through the Internet and been able to share that way, which has been helpful for me as well. I pray that the Lord would be able to use me in some way as a tool to bring reformation to the world, which surely is in desperate need of it.

I intended to write more but I'm going to have to cut it short tonight.