Session 2: Voddie Baucham: Sola Gratia

my task assignment in this session is to address the issue of grace alone Sola gratia that we are saved by grace alone through faith alone and Christ alone that we start with the fact that our salvation is by grace alone let me give you a confessional basis for this and then we'll look at the the Roman Catholic response to the reformed position now the Roman Catholic response that I'm going to be addressing comes in the form of the Council of Trent the Council of Trent took place from the 6th to the 1540s the 1560s we're gonna look at session six of the Council of Trent around 1547 so let's put this in historical context the the the Reformation begins in earnest we say October 31st 1517 the Augsburg confession is published in 1531 that that's the Lutheran confession the reformed confessions start to come later in the early 17th century but the Lutheran's and the reformed and yes for those of you who are looking at me strangely there's a difference between reformed doctrine and Lutheran doctrine Lutheran doctrine is not reformed it's it's Lutheran so when we talk about the Reformation you know beginning with with with Luther in his action to understand that there's a process here that we go through and here's one of the reasons that this is so important because there there's a tendency when we talk about ourselves being along this continuum there there's a tendency for people who are not in reform camps not in reform circles to try to play this little semantic game right and they'll go well you're one of those reformed people this guy did this bad stuff are you saying that you it's crazy and I can I can tell when somebody wants to play that game right because they're a UH you Calvinists know Calvinists are you one of those Calvinists it's like well depends on how you define the term and Calvin baptize infants I don't you know and that kind of and I just kind of I kind of put that out there for and that really helps me to kind of gauge where people are coming from as I what Calvin baptize infants and I don't now if they sit there and they go yeah then that means if what they were going to try to do is they were gonna say you're a Calvinist I heard Calvin did this bad thing therefore I'm attaching you to that but the minute I say Calvin baptize infants and I don't they kind of go ah you just sort of divorced yourself from you being a Calvinist meaning you agree with Catholic on everything that Calvin ever said and did now I have to go get another strategy and come back to you right same thing with Luther you know if people people want to do this so you have to understand it when we talk about the Reformation we're talking about a continuum in this in this process and I'm gonna read from you we read for you from the second London Baptist confession I I'm a Baptist okay with with radical reformers we are man you know Reformation is going good everybody thought it was over we were like nah not yet yeah not yet got some other stuff we need to fix too right but the second line the best confession is is really important and our presbyterian brother and you know like to point out that you know we reformed Baptists you know we're 1689 guys right 1680 and I okay you really like to point out the fact that Westminster's 1647 but the 1689 is the second London Baptist confession the first one is 1646 which is before Westminster if I had a mic but the 1689 is it's important even in its structure 1689 also comes right after the Savoye declaration right the Savoy this is John Owen and the Congregationalists now Westminster Savoy and 1689 follow the same outline and so you have the same chapters you know we diverge they're good because the the 1689 add to chapter there on the gospel but it's it's written in the same format and where there can be you know agreement and unanimity we have that right within the confessions but there are differences between the confessions they're easier to see because it's all structured the same way this was not in an effort to copy one another this was in an effort to say we're all swimming in the same reform stream right that that's why these things are outlined this way it to say we're all swimming in the same reformed stream and this is incredibly important because swimming in the same reformed stream takes us all the way back not just to the earliest confessions but to the earliest Creed's and not just to the earliest Creed's but to the scriptures where you find treadle formations in the text of the New Testament right before even the earliest Creed's so ultimately what we're doing is we're we're tracking back to Sola scriptura by tracking back through history and identifying ourselves with those who historically have upheld the doctrines that we find in the scriptures okay now that's important because I'm going to read from something here that is confessing this doctrine of grace alone it's confessing this doctrine of grace alone after the Council of Trent but it's confessing the same doctrine that was understood before the Council of Trent so just just just so you know nobody comes up later you know excuse me but you know you read from the other sixteen I mean actually Trent was in fifty I know that okay I know that you know who you are y'all know him too right okay it's not just me okay all right chapter 11 paragraph 3 the second level in Baptist confession which would also be in in Westminster and Savoye Christ by his obedience and death did fully discharge the debt of all and did by the sacrifice of himself in the blood of his cross undergoing in their stead the penalty do unto them make a proper real and full satisfy action to God's justice in their behalf now there are those who who take serious issue with that yet in as much as he was given by the Father for them and his obedience and satisfaction accepted in their stead and both freely not for anything in them their justification is only of free grace that both the exact justice and rich grace of God might be glorified in the justification of sinners amen hallelujah praise the Lord that's just good Christ alone amen grace alone listen to Trent and again Trent is responding to this this stream through which this statement comes session six Canon 11 if anyone says that men are justified either by the imputation of the righteousness of Christ alone or by the remission of sins alone to the exclusion of the grace and love that is poured forth in their hearts by the holy spirit and is inherent in them or even that the grace by which we are justified is only the favor of God let him be anathema session 6 Canon 24 if anyone says that the righteousness received is not preserved and also not increased before God by good works you increase your righteousness by your good works and you want to say but that those works are merely the fruits and signs of justification obtained but not a cause of its increase let him be anathema session 6 Canon 30 if anyone says that the guilt is remitted to every penitent sinner after the grace of justification has been received and that the depth of the debt of eternal punishment is so blotted out that there remains no debt of temporal punishment to be discharged either in this world or in the next in purgatory before the entrance to the kingdom of heaven can be opened let him be anathema now here's what's interesting we listen to that right we listen to to the the statements of the Canon the canons of the of Trent right and we go that's heretical that's the opposite of what we believe that's the opposite of what we confess let me say something to you it may be the opposite of what we confess but it's not the opposite of what we believe and what do I mean by that if you been a pastor for longer than 15 minutes you know exactly what I'm talking about because people who come and they say that you know they they just don't believe that God has forgiven them for something because they don't feel repentant enough or they don't believe that they're really saved because they're there are certain things that they they can't stop thinking about or they can't get past or because they're certain struggles that they keep having you see that's because we don't believe in salvation by grace alone we believe in salvation by grace alone and feeling sorry enough okay say Amen y'all say ouch we believe in salvation by grace alone and by not having to continue to struggle and fight with sin anymore because if I'm continuing to have to struggle in fight with sin I must not really be saved we believe that we have to add to the payment and we cannot and do not rest in the grace of God and the finished work of Jesus Christ listen to me to somebody somebody needs to be set free today amen and I'm not talking about it why do by the way why do you think that the charlatans have such a following why do you think that the people who are basically peddling listen you need to come to me and let me slap you on the forehead so that you can finally you know finally add that that last measure that you need in order to get over the hump why do you think so many people are running to them because we do not believe in salvation by grace alone I need to add something else and so we run to the charlatans or to the psychologists right because somebody's got to give me that extra measure because it's not finished it it's not done I haven't done enough I haven't cried enough I haven't whatever the case is and we don't continue to point ourselves back to Christ and his meritorious work we are saved by grace God's not looking for you to add anything we're saved by grace alone turn with me if you will the seasons chapter to the Ephesians chapter two put your finger there Ephesians chapter 2 put your finger in Ephesians chapter 2 and first let me give you this the book of Ephesians is divided into two halves okay the the two halves think about it this way the first half is about right believing the second half this is about right behaving right the the first half is indicative the second half imperatives indicative x' who we are in Christ what God has done on our behalf right to his own glory through the person and work of Christ that's the first half the second half is how we have been called empowered and equipped to live as a direct result of Christ's person and work so even the imperatives are rooted in the indigenous so in the second half of the book of Ephesians God is not saying I want you to gird up your loins and try real hard to do this in the second half he's saying listen I just showed you who you are what Christ has accomplished and what you have access to because of what Christ has accomplished therefore in the second half here is what you have been empowered and enabled and are being called to do as a direct result of who you are in Christ that that's the way that's the way this works by the way that's the way the whole New Testament works there are indicative zin they're imperatives if you don't do the imperatives just by sort of finding something in yourself in order to do it you do the imperatives because of the indicative because of who you are in Christ right so in the first half we have indicative and I believe that we have in the first half of Ephesians what I like to call these these arts indicative these three main indicative that really come to a crescendo at the end of each of the first three chapters and when we get to the second half what we're doing is we're sort of building on these these are indicative we won't get to the second half today but again we're in Chapter two but I want you to see these three main indicative so building into chapter one and look at verse 22 and you almost want to read that whole chapter but we just no way we do that today verse 22 and he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church which is his body the fullness of him who fills all in all so that this miss first like arch indicative of the book of Ephesians that comes here it took her Shindo chapter 1 is Christ's headship over his church Christ's headship over his church all right so there gonna be some hymn is some imperatives in the second half of the book some things that were called - that have to do with the fact that Christ is head over his church the second arch indicative we find at the end of chapter 2 look at verse 19 so then you are no longer strangers and aliens but you are fellow citizens with the Saints and members of the household of God built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone in whom the whole structure being joined together grows into a holy temple in the Lord in him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the spirit so it arts indicative number one is Christ's headship over his church Christ's headship over his body number two is unity in Christ's body unity in Christ body and I'll give you one example of how this works first half helping you to interpret second half in the second half one of the most misinterpreted verses in all the Bible comes there in in chapter number 5 yeah in Chapter number five go with me to chapter five real quick I'm sorry for said why don't ya chapter 4 and look at verse 30 start in verse 29 let no corrupting talk them out of your mouths but only such as is good for building up as fits the occasion that it may give grace to those who hear and do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption what on earth does that mean don't grieve the Holy Spirit I mean how many of the interpretations of that have we heard I mean you know turn off your cellphone's so that you don't grieve the spirit you know during worship don't bring crying babies into the sanctuary so that you don't grieve the spirit don't do this don't do so that you don't grieve the spirit what what on earth does that mean well go back and look at it again look at what's going on let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths is corrupting literally acidic talk right talk that's like acid that burns through and corrodes but only such this is good for building up it fits the occasion so that may give grace to those who hear don't tear down but build up and then he says don't grieve the Holy Spirit well how would tearing down versus building up grieve the Holy Spirit well according to arts and dick ative number two the spirit is doing what in the body building the body us as members of the body together huh as a temple for Christ so if I'm using acidic and corrosive words to tear down a piece of the superstructure that the Spirit is building I'm grieving him right and dick it is in the first half help you to interpret imperatives in the second half got it all right now let's look at the third one the third one go to chapter 3 the game verse 20 now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think according to the power at work within us to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever amen so number one Christ's headship over his body number two unity and Christ's body and number three the glory that the body gives to its head those are the three overarching indicative in the first half of the book of Ephesians that that really give rise to a proper understanding of the book as a whole so what's happening in Chapter two what is the state of unregenerate man in Chapter two I'll give you these three things and then we'll look at the text number one he's under the wrong headship this letter is all about Christ's headship over his body in Chapter two we find the Fallen man is under the wrong headship number two instead of unity with Christ's body he's an enemy of Christ and number three instead of the glory that the body gives to its head he is actually pursuing his own desire and glories and glory but with that in mind let's look at the text chapter 2 beginning in verse 1 it is absolutely imperative we're gonna understand that were saved by grace alone if we're gonna understand that this has nothing to do with our merit we've got to understand the our fallen nature and and that's our problem we don't understand our fallen nature that was Rome's problem Rome was rooted in Pelagianism rooted in the idea that fallen man somehow reserved some ability some goodness to reason his way and to reach toward God that that that somehow there was some measure of that that was left didn't believe in total the prayer he kept to verse one and you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked you were dead you were dead not almost dead not like dead not kind of dead you were dead you were dead you were dead not not this is not you know this is not the Princess Bride you ain't not only mostly dead right and if you don't know that reference you might not be spiritual enough you were dead enough already with you know you were you're like a drowning man who was going down for the last time and you know God through the life I know you know that no you weren't drowning you were drowned you were dead I'm not a doctor I don't play one on TV I don't have medical training but I know a few things about dead people and one thing I know is that dead people don't reach for things you don't have to go to medical school for that I'm a man dead people you die in your sleep you are not going to reach over and turn off the alarm in the morning you were dead in your trespasses and sins dead to any goodness dead to any righteousness dead dead to God in which you once walked following the course of this world if you're not dead to that following the Prince of the power of the air the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh carrying out the desires of the body and the mind and we're by nature children of Wrath like the rest of mankind but God being rich in mercy because of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead in our trespasses made us alive together with Christ by grace you have been saved and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus for by grace you have been saved through faith and this is not of your own doing it is a gift of God not as a result of works so that no one may boast there it is dead dead I wants to understand the radical nature of our depravity and then the comprehensive nature of our Redemption because you can't understand one without the other three things here we see the world and the flesh and the devil first the world we were following the course of the world was all we knew it was the air that we breathe was everything the people use the illustration often because it fits so well but the illustration of the make the matrix right I mean what it what a what a what a poignant cultural example of what we're talking about here you say that and everybody kind of yes you have a picture in your mind with this reality and for Christians for it when you are on the other side of this thing you just kind of go catch yes that stick to the red pant at the red rail and my eyes were opened and and I saw anybody come to faith later in life and then go back to a reunion and see people who are still stuck where you were God by His grace sometimes gives us moments like that where we understand that we lived in this environment and were like these people who simply can not see it's just it's it's like it's not even there and you feel like a ghost as it were because you're here trying to say to these people listen you're in darkness you're lost I used to be where you are I know there is another way there is another side open your eyes and they look at you like you're crazy the world was all you knew it's like Aristotle's ain't in question does a fish know that he's wet not until you take him out of the water he has no concept of it because it's it's all he knows it's everything and so it wasn't just that you were sinful you you were a sinful individual a fallen the individual under the federal headship of Adam living in a world that catered to all that that meant and it was all that you had and all that you knew and if you're outside of Christ that's still where you are it's all that you have and all that you know you don't even know that you don't know the devil following the Prince of the power of the air the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience and so we're in the midst of this world that's all we know it's all there in love it's it's it's our everything and we don't even know that anything else exists and there is a power who is at work in us in the midst of this world making sure that this world is all we know making sure that the scales remain on our eyes making sure that we have a complete aversion to all things spiritual and beyond that making sure that we have a substitute that makes us feel secure even in the midst of our lostness isn't it amazing but even in our lostness we believe that we're righteous isn't it amazing that the people who wear the rainbow flag number one there in the world and completely ignorant to the fact that that's a symbol of God's judgment of the whole world and promise not to do it the same way again right there's number one world but number two the devil is at work in the sons of disobedience why because they wear the rainbow flag and if you don't respond to it the right way they come down with the law and judgment because you are being unrighteous they believe that they are righteous and they walk around with the flag on looking at people's eyes just waiting and daring somebody not to respond the right way so that they can look back at you and say I am righteous and you are not because I'm tolerant and you are not the devil smooth y'all because if you didn't believe that you were righteous when someone came to you with a message of righteousness it might shake you awake but if you believe that you are righteous and if you believe that the intolerant bigots are the ones who are unrighteous somebody says something to you of the Bible and immediately you have a triggered response mechanism that says ah these are the evil people that I've been warned about how sinister is that so we have the world we have the devil and then beyond that the flesh in the passions of our flesh carrying out the desires of the body and of the mind our flesh wants and yearns for sin for all things unrighteous this is this is us our flesh because we are fallen yearns for not God Amen we yearn for not God what do you want everything just not God what do you want I have appetites and God has given me those appetites and I want to satisfy the appetites that God has given me but I want to satisfy the appetites without God I want food and drink without restriction without God I want sex and physical pleasure without restriction without God I want worship without God I want religion but without God do you notice that lost men are still incredibly religious because there are desires and yearnings that God has put within us and our flesh has to have those things but our flesh wants without God so here I am in my flesh with desires for the pleasures that God has given but I want them without God and the world has created an environment where I can satisfy those appetites without God and the adversary who is at work in the sons of disobedience is constantly coddling me caressing me assuring me of his love and his undying devotion to me so that I remain satisfied in my world feeding my flesh without God that is fallen man you are not basically good and just need a little nudge you are a zombie you're the walking dead with no idea why you have this unquenchable craving for dead flesh this is fallen man and it's only when you understand man this way and the fall this way that you understand why salvation must be by grace alone because what could you possibly have within you to deal with world flesh devil what's going to open your eyes what's gonna cause your flesh to crave something other than this but God okay so my time is basically gone let's do this when we understand that the nature total depravity look now we see the comprehensive nature of our Redemption we're redeemed from death to life this is regeneration where he made us alive together with Christ being rich in mercy because of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead in our trespasses made us alive together with Christ by grace you have been saved we're dead so we first we have to be made alive amen dead men don't reach for things dead men don't respond to things dead men don't listen to things if they listen to him they can't hear them why cuz they're dead so we have to be made alive and that's exactly what the text says God does he makes us alive amen the sovereign God of the universe breathes life into dead men like the valley of dry bones he makes us alive from the course of this world to heavenly places verse 6 he raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus think about this language where are you you're you're here in this world you're dead Christ opens your eyes makes you alive and then raises you out of this world and seeks you in heavenly places that's just good y'all Ephesians 1:3 blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ for us blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places if he's chapter 1 verse 2021 he raised him from the dead and seated him at the right hand in the heavenly places far above all rule and authority and power and Dominion above every name that is named not only in this age but also in the age to come that's where we are people chapter 3 verse 10 so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities where in the heavenly places do you see the pattern chapter 6 in chapter 6 spiritual warfare he doesn't give us chapter 6 so that we are a freight of demons where is Christ heavenly places where does he rule and reign heavenly places where does this church show his glory and his power heavenly places now chapter 6 verse 12 for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against the rulers against the authorities against the cosmic powers over this present darkness against the spiritual forces of evil where in the heavenly places where Christ rules where he reigns where I'm seated with him and where the church shows his glory that means they lose we win [Applause] from the presence of the prince of the power of the air to the presence of the Prince of Peace and finally from glorifying and gratifying our own desires to glorifying God look it to eight to ten for by grace you have been saved through faith this not of your own doing it is a gift of God not as a result of works so that no one may boast for we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them do you understand that this is a complete transfer of Allegiance but this changes everything and it has to be by grace because where does it start with dead men being made alive grace alone can account for that period period my time is gone but listen to this you're here today and you wrestle and struggle with your salvation may I suggest something may I suggest that you're looking at the wrong thing may I suggest that you wrestle and struggle with your salvation because you're looking at yourself instead of looking at Christ what when I look to me and I start asking questions like am i repentant enough am i sorry enough am i knowledgeable enough am i holy enough am i changed enough am i righteous enough the answer to those questions are only and always no so if that's where I'm spending my time I am always going to come away saying if I'm not enough and my salvation is based on enough I'm in trouble but if the question is is Christ enough is he holy enough is he righteous enough was his death payment enough is his intercession enough is he good enough as he Savior enough is he glorious enough is he majestic enough the question comes to Christ and the answer is only and always yes he's enough he's enough stop looking at the wrong thing stop stop because it's only by the grace of God through the person and work of Jesus Christ that you could ever be made enough enough it's enough His grace alone is enough

Channel: Wrath and Grace

Views: 7,016

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords: Columbus GA, voddie bauchum, Soli deo gloria, wretched radio, john macarthur, reformed theology, hga, grace to you, sola scriptura, scripture alone, sola fide, sola gratia, theology, solus christus, reformation

Id: aproURsZGKw

Length: 46min 2sec (2762 seconds)

Published: Tue Nov 07 2017