My Response to a Quote from J.I. Packer

Recently, my daughter posted the below-listed quote from J.I. Packer on Facebook. I saw it, and 'liked' the post, but didn't comment on it. Later on that night, I started thinking about it moreso, and saw the Calvinism in it. I must have gotten sidetracked with something else, becuase I left it alone. I should've addressed it, but for some dumb reason, I didn't. No excuse, I know, but that's the truth.

In any case, my Uncle saw it and shot me a brief email letting me know he was concerned because the quote says something different than what the bible says. I thanked him for the heads up, as I ALWAYS want to know when my theology is incorrect. This caused me to revisit the quote and write up a response to it that I believe would be biblically correct; but before I could get it posted, my daughter deleted her post. So I'm putting my thoughts up as a blog post. My thoughts don't necessarily flow smoothly as I'm far from a polished writer, but I think this is pretty important.

Here it is...

"The saving power of the cross does not depend on faith being added to it; its saving power is such that faith flows from it." - J. I. Packer

I should’ve commented on this, and for whatever reason, it slipped my mind. I’m sorry for that. That was really dumb on my part.

In past conversations with some of my Calvinist brothers, they take the position that there is no such thing as free will, and as such, we have no choice in the matter of being saved. They go on to say that if we have the ability to choose to accept or reject Jesus’ free gift, we are contributing something to our own salvation. I strongly disagree with this way of thinking, as it isn’t completely thinking the issues through. Once you take the time to really think it through, in light of the numerous examples evidenced in God’s word of different people making the choice to do God's will, you’ll see that the Calvinist's position is not correct.

I believe that Calvinists don’t understand that Jesus died for the sins for ALL of mankind, but rather only the elect. The bible says the opposite. John 3:16 says that “God so loved THE WORLD”, not just the elect. Hebrews 10:10 says Jesus died “once for ALL”, not just for the elect. Jesus provided salvation for ALL of mankind. He even provided salvation for those who have gone/will go to Hell. Does this mean that all are saved? Not at all! As I just said, some have already gone to Hell and many more are on their way.

The actual act of salvation itself was provided 100% by Jesus paying the price for our sins, in our place. This was the work that satisfied the justice required of by God the Father (Rom.3:35, 1John2:2, 1John4:10). However, Jesus death on the cross isn’t what saves us, otherwise we would ALL be saved because Jesus died “once for ALL” (Heb.10:10), and it is His will that all men be saved (1 Tim.2:3-4). Jesus death on the cross for our sins is what allows ALL people the opportunity to be saved. Does that mean our choice to accept Jesus’ gift of salvation is something we add to the salvation process? No way! Salvation is of the Lord. Our choice to accept Jesus' free gift isn't what satisfied the Father. We can’t do anything to satisfy the justice of God the Father. The price being paid, by Jesus our Messiah, is what satisfied Him, and ONLY Jesus could pay that price. As a result of Jesus satisfying the Father (providing salvation) we now have the opportunity to make a choice to accept His payment in full or to reject it.

So that being said, let’s get on to J.I. Packer’s quote. He said, "The saving power of the cross does not depend on faith being added to it...” This wording is correct, as our faith isn't what was required to satisfy the Father, but the quote doesn't make that point clearly. I think it would have better been stated that the saving power of the cross is the fact that Jesus death on the cross was the act that satisfied the justice required for transgression of the Law (sin), not by our faith.

J.I. Packer goes on to say, “...its saving power is such that faith flows from it." This wording is really tricky and the more I read it, the more I don’t like it as it suggests that we can be saved apart from faith. That would mean we could be saved without having come to the knowledge that are lost if we don't choose to accept the fact that Jesus has already paid our fine in full. I know that the bible says that faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Rom.10:17). I know that our actions show what we believe. So here’s what I can say about faith. When I was going through Hebrews last year the Holy Spirit opened my eyes a little bit more in chapter 11. This is the “Hall of Faith” chapter. It talks about how the OT heroes showed their faith. Put into my own words, these heroes believed that God would keep His word, and because of that, they did what God told them to do (they did the will of God).

I would say that God tells mankind that He wants us ALL to be saved (John3:17) and to come to the knowledge of the truth (1Tim.2:4). Jesus is the Way, ‘the Truth’, and the Life (John14:6). God wants us to come to the knowledge of Jesus as our Saviour. God wants mankind to know that just as Moses lifted up the serpent [on the staff] in the wilderness, so must Jesus be lifted up [on the cross], so that whosoever believes in Him [Jesus], shall not perish, but have everlasting life (John3:14-15). If we believe that God knows the end from the beginning (Isa.46:10) and therefore; He gains nothing by lying to us (not that He could lie – Titus 1:2); then He must be telling us the truth! This is what it means to come to the truth.

Kent Hovind said, “What you believe, will determine how you act.” Hebrews 11 shows examples of this. Therefore, if we believe the truth about who Jesus is, and who sent Him, and why He was sent; as an act of faith, we will do what God tells us to do. And God tells us that if we will confess with our mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in our heart that God raised Him from the dead, we will be saved. The question is, do we really believe it? If we really do, it will show in the way we live our lives. “What we believe, will determine how we act.”