May 1997 New Horizons

The Late Afternoon Workers

by Thomas E. Tyson

Going to heaven. Is that something folks achieve one way or the other, the only question being how? Anyone holding that view must face two rather significant problems. First, it just doesn't work that way. The person who asks, "What do I have to do to become a Christian?" does enjoy a clear biblical precedent—remember the Philippian jailer (Acts 16:30)—but that kind of humble candor is not always in evidence. There are also those questioners who take the rich young ruler (Matt. 19:16) as their model. They, too, will go away sad (vs. 22). You see, heaven is not a reward for being one of "the goodies." A second problem is this: there are those who "go for it" anyway. But when they do, they find no confidence that their ultimate destiny will indeed be the celestial kingdom. That's because there's nothing in the Bible offering them such assurance, no witness of the Holy Spirit with their spirits, and no fruit in their lives evidencing God's work within them. The First and the Last Jesus ... Read more

The Doctrines of Grace

by Charles Wingard

The theological outlook of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church is often described as "Reformed." Reformed churches endeavor to lay before men and women the full biblical truth concerning the holiness of God and the terrible sinfulness of humanity. Between God and humanity there is a chasm that humans cannot bridge. For there to be reconciliation between God and sinners, God must save. The truths of Scripture that highlight the activity of God in the salvation of sinners are often called "the doctrines of grace." Let's look at five of them: 1. Sinners are spiritually dead Sinners are not spiritually sick, but dead. They cannot understand the things of God (1 Cor. 2:14), nor hear the word of Christ (John 8:43), nor see the kingdom of God (John 3:3), nor come to Jesus (John 6:44), nor submit to the law of God (Rom. 8:7). (See Ernest C. Reisinger, Today's Evangelism [Phillipsburg, N.J.: Craig Press, 1982], pp. 97-98.) Paul sums up the natural spiritual condition of every person when he writes, "You ... Read more