# Sermons on Justification From Eternity



## JM (Jan 20, 2011)

I've never ever heard a sermon on this subject...until today. I mean sure, I've read some...but never heard one preached before. The Pastor even quotes Witsius.

Justification From Eternity


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## Pergamum (Jan 20, 2011)

God ordained to justify the elect from all eternity; but actually justified them at an appointed time. 

Eternal justification is a serious error and is one of the hallmarks of hyper-calvinism.


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## saintandsinner77 (Jan 20, 2011)

Justification definitely a point in time-

Luke.18
[14] I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

Romans 5
[9] Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.


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## BertMulder (Jan 20, 2011)

*What's Wrong with Hyper-Calvinism? *​_We continue here our examination of hyper-Calvinism in answer to the question posed in the last issue: "What is hyper-Calvinism? How would you define it?" _
_In that last issue we said that hyper-Calvinism is NOT the denial that God well-meaningly offers salvation to all who hear the gospel, showing a love for all and a desire to save everyone. It IS the denial that the command of the gospel to repent and believe must be preached to all without exception. _
_The heart of hyper-Calvinism, therefore, is a rejection of so-called "duty faith" and "duty repentance," i.e., that it is the solemn duty and obligation of all who hear the gospel to repent and believe. Hyper-Calvinism concludes that because men are lost in sin and are unable of themselves to repent and believe, it is a mistake to command them to do so. Such a command would imply that they are able to repent and believe. _
_The hyper-Calvinist, then, makes the same mistake as the Arminians and free-willists, only he draws a different conclusion. Both think that to command or demand repentance and faith of dead sinners must imply that such sinners are not dead and have in themselves the ability to repent and believe. The free-willist says, then: "To command must imply ability, therefore, men have the ability." The hyper-Calvinist says: "To command must imply ability, therefore we will not command any but the elect." _
_This means that while a true hyper-Calvinist will preach the "facts" of the gospel to all who will hear (and insist that he is preaching the gospel), he will not command a "mixed" audience to repent and believe. Those commands, he thinks, should be preached only to those who show evidence of being "sensible sinners," that is, sinners who have come under conviction by the work of the Holy Spirit. _
_We reject these notions for various reasons. First, it is difficult to imagine how anyone, without divine inspiration, can ever be sure that he is preaching only to "sensible sinners" in order confidently to bring the command of the gospel. In reality, therefore, the command of the gospel will seldom, if ever, be heard in hyper-Calvinist preaching. _
_Second, hyper-Calvinism turns the command to repent and believe into a command to continue to repent and believe or to persevere in repenting and believing. So-called "sensible sinners," the only ones who may be called to repent and believe are those who have already begun to do so by the secret operations of the Holy Spirit. The faith called for, in that case, is not saving faith in the truest and deepest sense of the word, i.e., faith that brings a person into communion with Christ, justifies him and gives him salvation, but only faith as it continues to manifest itself in its fruits of assurance and hope. _
_It is in this connection that true hyper-Calvinists usually teach that person is justified completely in eternity and that justification by faith involves only the assurance of justification. Thus the faith called for in the gospel does not in fact justify us before God, but only assures of a justification that has already taken place. _
_It is in this connection also that hyper-Calvinists are also accused, and rightly, of a certain antinomianism (anti-lawism or anti-commandism) regarding faith. They do not take seriously the command to repent and believe, exactly because the call to faith is for them only the call to be assured of one's faith. It is on these grounds that we emphatically repudiate hyper-Calvinism. _
_Rev. Ron Hanko _

Marks of True Church; Signs of the Gospel; HyperCalvinism

---------- Post added at 09:06 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:04 PM ----------

_While we do not believe that God's people are actually justified in eternity, we do believe that there is a very close relationship between election and justification. They are justified by faith, not by election. Nevertheless, their justification cannot be separated from their election. 
First, having chosen them to be His own, God also decreed to justify them and them only. He not only decreed that they should be holy, but that they should be without blame (Eph. 1:4), which is nothing more nor less than the decree of their justification. 
Second, insofar as they are chosen in Christ according to God's eternal love, He also saw in eternity them as justified and without guilt. Only having foreseen them without sin, could God set His love upon them. And in giving them to Christ in eternity, God gave them to Him as those whom He eternally saw without sin. 
Numbers 23:21 is especially important here. The same past-tense language is used, "He hath not seen iniquity in Jacob," that is used in Romans 9:13, "Jacob have I loved." This language has always been understood by those who believe in sovereign grace to refer to God's eternal decrees. 
Numbers 23:21 is the answer to Balak and Balaam's attempts to curse God's people. Though Christ had not yet come, nor the blood of atonement been shed, God's people could not be cursed because of what God had foreseen in eternity. 
It is in this sense that we are willing to speak of eternal justification, or better, of justification from eternity. Indeed, we believe it is of the utmost importance to emphasize this eternal background to justification. 
To separate justification from God's eternal decree of election, is to end up with a justification that is available to all, if only they will believe, i.e., a conditional justification that in some way depends on the sinner's response to the gospel. That is not the free, gracious justification of which Scripture speaks. 
Third, it is according to the decree of election, therefore, that justification is made available in the death of Jesus for the elect, and for them only. And, according to that same decree of election, they and they only are given the gift of faith by which that justification becomes their own. 
There is no justification or righteousness possible for the non-elect. No forgiveness is available for them. What does not exist, either according to God's decree or the cross be Christ, cannot be offered to them without doing violence to Scripture's teaching concerning the truthfulness and unchangeableness of God. 
Such a close connection there is between election and justification, that we know our election by way of our justification. Experiencing through faith the forgiveness of sins, we also know that we have this forgiveness from Him who "hath not seen iniquity in Jacob" nor "perverseness in Israel." 
Praise be to His Name who sovereignly justifies His people. Rev. Ronald Hanko _

Justification; the Call of the Gospel; Supralapsarianism


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## JM (Jan 20, 2011)

I understand this is a controversial topic but I posted it as a FYI kinda post. It was the first sermon on the subject that I've heard.


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## MW (Jan 20, 2011)

BertMulder said:


> Marks of True Church; Signs of the Gospel; HyperCalvinism


 
This is a very good repudiation of hyper Calvinism.


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## JM (Jan 20, 2011)

I didn't hear a "denial that the command of the gospel to repent and believe must be preached to all without exception." Guess the sermon passes the test? If it doesn't, we can lock or delete the thread.

j


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## JM (Jan 21, 2011)

Thanks Josh, I'll have a listen to the sermon.


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## baron (Jan 21, 2011)

JM said:


> I didn't hear a "denial that the command of the gospel to repent and believe must be preached to all without exception."



I hear this in Hyper-Dispensationalism. That the command of repent and believe is only for the Jews. Gentiles only need to believe, they do not need to repent.


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