Paul was neither "Calvinist" nor "Arminian"....Why should I be?
by
Bruce L Abercrombie, Pastor-Teacher
Living Vine Church
Pineville, NC
Reprinted by permission.
"It is conceivable that both Arminianism and Calvinism are wrong, but it is
wholly impossible for both to be right. The Bible offers no contradictions,
if one system is right, the other is wrong. There is no compromise possible."
Chafer, Systematic Theology 3:274
Tulip, Grass, or Truth: What saith the Scriptures?
The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the Word of our God stands forever."
~Isaiah 40.8
Interestingly...of those who belong to Christ, who
simply read, study, believe and accept the Bible as the final authority
instead of the philosophical speculations and theological implications
of Calvinism or Arminianism, it is the Calvinists who seem to reserve
the most scorn. To call oneself a "biblicist", instead of either a
Calvinist,or an Arminian,or even a Calvi-minian,; although that term is
particularly offensive to the adherents of both systems because it
correctly implies that they are both unbiblical in some respect, is
especially troubling to a Calvinist because of his adamant insistence
that one must be either a Calvinist or an Arminian.
Adapted from, "The Other Side of Calvinism" by Dr. Laurence M. Vance
TulIP
tulip - noun
1. a plant from the lily family bearing colorful, cup-shaped flowers.
2. the Reformed system of doctrine which exalts the God of heaven and earth for the salvation He gives to man.
Total depravity
Unconditional election
Limited atonement
Irresistible grace
Perseverance of the saints
GRASS
Grace based on God's foreknowledge
Resistable Grace
Atonement for ALL who believe
Sanctification by grace & works
Salvation can be lost
(Note: This would by definition be "probation" NOT biblical "salvation")
The grass withers and the flowers fall, but...
...the Word of our God stands forever."
Truth!
"Thy Word is Truth!" (John 17:17)
truth noun. pl. truths (trthz, trths)
1. Conformity to fact or actuality.
2. A statement proven to be or accepted as true.
3. Sincerity; integrity.
4. Fidelity to an original or standard.
5. a. Reality; actuality.
b. often Truth That which is considered to be the supreme
reality and to have the ultimate meaning and value of existence.
Source: The American Heritage Dictionary of the
English Language, Fourth Edition - Copyright 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Co.
"...the truth of Scripture lies, not between, but above the polarized
positions of "Augustine and Pelagius," "Luther and Erasmus," and "Calvin
and Arminius" ~ C. Gordon Olson
Tenacious Depravity exceeds the mitigated view of man's fall as defined by Calvinism
Resistable Grace is provided by God and assures His greatest glory
Unlimited atonement is most consistent with God's attributes of agape & mercy
True election is not inconsistent with God's omniscience
His Perserverance in the believer (Philippians 1:6)
* The word prevenient or preventing is from two Latin
words which mean to come before. Prevenient grace enables the sinner to
either accept or reject the gift of salvation provided through Christ.
The Biblical doctrine of prevenient grace simply refers to the grace of
God that goes before or precedes any movement of man toward God. Grace
flows from the Father's self-giving love for lost humanity (John
3:16-18), and is mediated through the active life and obedient death of
the Son. The Holy Spirit administers the finished work of the Son
through his convicting, converting, regenerating, and justifying work in
the hearts of repentant sinners (John 16:8-11).
Tenacious Depravity
...in contrast to Calvinism's "Total Depravity"
Biblically describes man's condition after the Fall. While Calvinism
goes to great lengths to emphasize man's "death*" in sin; it neglects to
consistently maintain how "alive" man is in his tenacious rebellion
against his Holy Creator, the Lord Jesus Christ, Himself.
(See Ephesians 2:1-5; Colossians 2:13; 1Timothy 5:6; Revelation 3:1;
Romans 8:6,13)
* "Dead" refers to the deadness of our spirit, which pervaded our entire
being and caused us to lose the function that enables us to contact God,
apart from any initiation on His part alone in grace towards fallen
man.
(See Genesis 2:16,17 cross Reference with: Genesis 3:8-10,16-17;21;4:1,3,8,19)
Questions worth pondering:
When was man "to die" as a result of sin?
Did man in fact "die" as God declared?
After "spiritual death" did man (Adam, Eve, Cain, and Abel) have
awareness of, hear, respond to, choose, obey and/or disobey God?
1. Deceitful practices
2. Dubious practices
3. False promises
4. Sensual appeal
The Children of God cult used to urge
their followers to proselytize through "Flirty Fishing." Attractive
young ladies would lure naïve young men to their religious meetings with
the impression that punch and cookies was not the main dish afterward.
This is an extreme example of a sensual method. But is it so very
different from luring people to Christ through the hope of finding a
Christian husband or wife, or the promise of financial prosperity or
physical healing?
Jesus could get a crowd by handing out free fish
sandwiches, but He later chased them away by telling them, "Do not labor
for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to
everlasting life" (John 6:27). Missionaries warn of "Rice Christians,"
those who profess conversion in hopes of obtaining more of the
missionaries' supplies.
5. Trivialized pursuits
A free dinner for two awarded to the
visitation team with the most conversions will likely compromise the
message or the methods they use. One friend, who used to be with a
para-church organization, told how the pressure to share the Gospel with
others was so great he often only shared a brief watered-down word so
that he could list the person on his statistics sheet. Once he witnessed
to a potted plant and recorded "her" as "Fern"!
I am aware that Gospel blimps and placards with "John 3:16" at football games may
have a place in God's big world. I also remind myself of evangelist D.
L. Moody's words to someone who criticized his methods of evangelism. He
told him, "I like the way I'm doing it better than the way you're not
doing it!" But I question the effectiveness of methods that handle the
Good News flippantly. The Gospel deserves more than a game-show approach
if others are to take us and it seriously.
B. Positively Speaking
Paul disdains all unworthy tactics. Instead,
in 2 Cor 4:2 he states positively that he preaches "by manifestation of
the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of
God." The word "manifestation" is our word phanerow again.
Paul preached clearly, openly, and honestly even when discouraging
circumstances tempted him to get fast results. The result of his
ministry was that "every man's conscience"--whether saved or
unsaved--commended him for his honesty, and more importantly, so did
God.
I once overheard two seminary students discussing a
Scripture passage. One said, "I don't think that's what the passage is
saying." The other replied, "Yeah, but it'll preach!" Our standards must
be higher than "It'll preach." We must only say what God says and in
the way He would say it.
In a ministry of light, there is no room for
darkness. Paul reminds us that a dark, demonic veil blinds unbelievers
(vv 3-4). It is penetrated only by "the light of the gospel of the glory
of Christ." Dark motives and methods cannot penetrate or disperse the
darkness. That is why Paul says "we do not preach ourselves, but Christ
Jesus the Lord" (v 5). His preaching did not call attention to himself,
like the "super apostles" who were subverting his reputation in Corinth
(11:5). He lifted up Jesus Christ as the One who died for sins, rose
from the dead, and now reigns as Lord.
It is significant that Paul uses the word khryssh for "preach."
In the ancient world, one who proclaimed in this sense was called a khryx,
or "herald." A herald was someone sent by his master to proclaim in
public the master's message. He dared not change the announcement
because it was not his own. His responsibility was only to proclaim it
accurately. That is how Paul understood his Gospel ministry. He was
merely a servant proclaiming his Master's Good News. The herald should
be lost in his message. Only the Gospel of light dispels darkness and
brings new life. That's how Paul got saved (v 6), and that's how we get
saved.
The acid test of a true witness is what he does
when no one responds. It is a test of integrity. Skewed motives will
skew integrity by a compromise in the message or the methods of telling
the Good News.
At the end of my meeting with the Cambodian group,
I left them with an assurance of my love and my desire to see them come
to know the Lord Jesus as their Savior. Their last words to me came
through the translator in his rough English: They say, "Thank you for advertising
Jesus Christ to us." I doubt that any of those people even remember my
name today, but I trust some of them know Jesus Christ. We advertise Him.
It is a great privilege to be a herald of the
Gospel. But we must remember that the greatest thing about preaching the
Gospel is the Gospel, not the preacher!
II. A Clear Content
What does a person have to believe in to be saved?
I have heard everything from "Believe in God" and "the Ten
Commandments" (or "the Sermon on the Mount") to "Just believe that Jesus
loves you." What is the content of the Gospel and how can we articulate
it clearly?
A. Defining the Content
Most of our readers should not need a review
of the Gospel's content. It is laid out no more clearly than by Paul in 1
Cor 15. Paul reminds the Corinthians about the Gospel that he preached,
that they received, and by which they were saved (vv 1-2). The message
was the one Paul received personally from God (v 3; cf. Gal 1:11-12).
In vv 4-5 we find two great propositions of the Gospel and their supporting evidence.
We could diagram the verses like this:
Christ died for our sins
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1) First proposition
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according to the Scriptures
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a) Scriptural proof
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and was buried
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1b) Physical proof
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He arose
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2) Second proposition
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according to the Scriptures
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2a) Scriptural proof
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and was seen
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2b) Physical proof
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In summoning the evidence for his
propositions, Paul is arguing his case like any good lawyer (the possible
oxymoron noted!). A brief explanation of each of the statements follows:
Christ died for our sins
The concept of "Christ" may not have been entirely understood by the
Corinthian readers, but the meaning of "anointed" and His work of dying
for sins certainly points to a special divine messenger. That He died
for our sins implies that we are sinners in need of forgiveness. The
word "for" (hyper) conveys the idea of "on account of," i.e., to deal with our sins.
According to the Scriptures
The OT Scriptures pictured or predicted the suffering of God's Messiah (e.g.,
Ex 12; Lev 16; Ps 22, 110; Isa 52-55, especially 53:4-6).
And was buried
This statement functions as Jesus' death certificate. It reminds the reader of
the many eye-witnesses to His death, the best evidence which could be summoned.
Only dead men are buried. Christ's death was witnessed by multitudes,
including the soldier sent to break His legs. The grave and body were also
attended by Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus, and the women.
He arose
The second proposition attests to Christ's resurrection from the dead, which
implies that God accepted the sacrifice. A dead man cannot save anyone.
A Savior has to be alive. Only then can He offer and effect salvation.
According to the Scriptures
It is harder to find the resurrection of Christ in the OT. However it is
there not only explicitly (Eg., Ps 16:8-11; 110:1), but also implicitly.
When the suffering and death of the Messiah is discussed, this is often
followed by a declaration of His reign (cf Isa 53). The implication is
clearly that He rose from the dead.
And was seen
Paul lists those who were eye-witnesses. This included the apostles
(men of repute), a multitude of five hundred, and himself (vv 5-8).
B. Communicating the Content
Having reviewed the biblical content of the Gospel, what errors do Christians
commonly make in articulating its contents? The art here is discerning how much
to say. We can say too little or too much.
1. Saying too little
People can be told that God loves them, but certainly that is not enough to
save them. They can be convinced they are terrible sinners, but still not
know how to deal with that sin (cf. Acts 2:36-37). A persuasive speaker can
move people to some kind of response without them knowing exactly what they
are responding to. Evangelists know this. Some abuse this. Much so-called
"evangelism" is more hype than substance. No wonder there are so many false
professors in the church! They are the fodder that feeds the Lordship Salvation
teaching.
2. Saying too much
A witness is not the time to dump our
"smarties" on a bewildered unbeliever. There are at least two ways
Christians frequently do this.
A Bible survey
Too often we try to give too much biblical data.
If we start in Genesis, there's a good chance we will lose our audience
by Leviticus, the Bermuda Triangle of the Bible. How much Bible did Jesus
use with the woman at the well (John 4), or Paul with the Philippian jailer
(Acts 16)? We can tell people only what they need to know from the Bible
to be saved, unless circumstances require more explanation.
3
A crash course in Theology 101
I recently asked a missionary candidate with seminary training to tell me
how he explains the Gospel to someone. I expected a brief outline of his
main points. Instead, he took a deep breath and submerged into profound
meditation for a good part of a minute. When he surfaced, he began a
deep theological explanation of the sinfulness of man. I interrupted
him, because I feel I have endured my share of theology lectures.
Lessons in theology work best with Christians.
That is why Paul wrote the heavily theological Epistle to the Romans
to Christians. But in 1 Cor 15:1-6 he reminds the readers of what he
preached to them as non-Christians. Secular Sam does not need
to know the definition of justification in order to be justified.
He does not need to understand the Abrahamic covenant to become
a son of Abraham. Neither does he need to comprehend the ordo salutis
to be saved in that order. Melchizedek will be a fascinating study
for Sam--after he is saved.
Again, we appeal to Jesus' example in the Gospels.
Isn't it beautiful that God made the Gospel so simple that a child can
understand it? Yet it is so simple that millions miss it. Still, keep it simple!
III. A Clear Condition
Just when I had talked myself into the benefit of
becoming involved with my community's ministerial alliance, they decided
to launch a community-wide evangelistic survey. A smorgasbord
subcommittee of pastors designed the evangelistic tract that would be
handed out door to door. To be thorough, I guess, the tract covered all
the bases. It spoke of believing in Jesus as Savior (Amen!), but went on
to tell the poor chap at the door (who was probably dying to get back
to his television ASAP) that he must confess his sins, call on the
name of the Lord, open the door of his heart, receive Jesus as Savior
and Lord, and let Him take control of the throne of his life.
It's not that all of this language is unbiblical (though most of it is),
but it is so confusing. Since the alliance would not let our
church use different literature, I had to drop out of my first foray into
cooperative evangelism. The reverends were miffed. Maybe I will check in
on them again in a year or so when they calm down.
We will save ink by affirming to our readers that the only condition of
salvation is "faith alone in Christ alone." But this is where much Gospel
telling takes a space-walk. Let's review some language commonly used to
explain the condition of salvation.
Ask Jesus into your heart
Not that the heart is not universally understood as the very essence of
our being and person. But the issue of trust in Jesus as the One who died
in our place is hardly communicated. And wouldn't this be confusing to a
child who thinks concretely instead of abstractly?
As a mother drove with her young daughter in the
car, she was explaining what it meant to have Jesus in her heart. The
little girl leaned over and put her ear to her mother's chest. "I'm
listening to Jesus in your heart," said the daughter. "What did you
hear?" asked Mom. The little girl replied, "Sounds like He's making
coffee to me!" 4
Give your heart (or life) to God
A Halloween Gospel tract designed for children to leave at homes when
Trick or Treating ends, "Well, thanks again for the treat, but the best
treat for me would be for you to give your heart to Jesus."5
How appropriate this could be for Halloween! A child might imagine this
as a gruesome display for the local haunted house. Again, picture the
scene conveyed to a naïve child. When asked to give his heart to God,
one child broke into sobs saying, "If I give my heart to God, how am I
going to live?"6 The issue in salvation
is not what we give to Him anyway, but what He gives to us.
Eternal life is Christ's life in us (1 John 5:11).
Invite Christ into your life
His is certainly a courteous approach, but we must remember that it is the
Lord who does the inviting. Another form of this is the admonition to
"open the door of your heart," based on Rev 3:20. Though I used to use
this verse a lot, I now see that it was written to the Laodicean church
as a whole and was more of an invitation for fellowship than salvation.
Again, after you get a child to stop wondering where the knob on the
door of his heart is, you have really told him nothing about what it
means to believe in Christ. Adults are not helped either.
Receive Christ as your Savior
This one I hesitate to criticize, and even find myself using it sometimes,
though I try to avoid it. There is some biblical support for the
idea of receiving Christ--John 1:11-12 and Col 2:6. Both uses are in the
past tense, pointing to the result of faith, however. Receiving Christ
is what happens when we believe and He comes to live in us.
7 Accept Christ is similar,
but not used for faith in Christ in the NT.
Make Christ Lord and Savior
Spare the effort. No person can do this. The Bible says God the Father
"has made this Jesus . . . both Lord and Christ" (Acts
2:36). Of course Jesus is Lord! But He is Lord whether we accept Him as
such or not.
Make Christ Lord of your life
This is Lordship Salvation when used as a condition for salvation. Lordship
decisions are decisions for Christian obedience made by believers in the
light of transforming grace (Titus 2:11-12), not something done to merit
that grace (Titus 3:4-7). Sometimes we hear "If He is not Lord of all,
He is not Lord at all." Would somebody please tell me what this saying
means?
Put Jesus on the throne of your life
In other words, give Him control of all areas of your life. Has anyone
accomplished this? It is a commendable admonition for a believer, but
again teaches Lordship Salvation if it is made a condition for
salvation. It is better to deal with this issue after a person
understands the issue of faith in Christ for salvation. I know, however,
that some people believe in Christ as Savior and surrender to Him as
Lord simultaneously. They inherently understand that if Christ saves us,
He also deserves to rule us and both decisions appear as one. Still,
the issues are distinct.
Confess your sins
To a priest? How many sins? What about ones that are overlooked, forgotten,
unintentional, or by omission? This is confusing. Of course, we must all
acknowledge that we are sinners before God, and we confess this to Him
when we agree with Him that we are.8
We are saved from something, and that is our sin. But the above statement
implies our problem is specific individual acts rather than our sinful position or
nature. God wants to cure the cause, not the symptoms.
Repent of your sins
Sometimes less sensitively stated as "Turn or burn!" If by this it is
meant that we must turn from every individual sin in our lives, then
salvation and assurance would be impossible. Repentance in the NT speaks
of an inner change of attitude and heart, not an outer change in conduct.
Changed conduct is the expected result of true repentance, but we should not
confuse the root with the fruit. As we come to faith we may change our
minds about a number of things, for example, our sinful status before
God, our need for salvation, or our opinion of who Christ is.
Pray this prayer
I have a pamphlet entitled "God's Anointed Soul-Winning Plan" in which
the author is explaining how to present the Gospel. The wording he suggests
ends like this:
What I'm going to do toward closing our talk is to say a prayer. And as I say
this prayer you can repeat it softly and He'll come into your heart--but you
have to REALLY MEAN it or the prayer won't work.
Before we pray the prayer I want to say this, this prayer we are about to pray
is a special prayer. Do you need to pray this prayer EVERY DAY to go to
heaven, or just ONCE to go to heaven? (emphasis his). 9
I am not making this up. Believe me, you don't want to see the prayer.
We should not give someone the impression that they can be saved by a ritual
such as prayer. It is better to tell them that they must believe in Christ,
and they can tell Him through prayer that they want the gift of eternal
life or that they are thankful for what He has done.
Not all of the above conditions are totally void
of all truth. The point is that they are often misleading or confusing.
Why not be as biblical as possible in our communication of the condition
for salvation? In the Gospel of John the verb believe is used
ninety-eight times as the condition for salvation. We should take the
hint, especially when the Holy Spirit had John tip us off that he wrote
his book in order to bring people to faith in Christ (John 20:31). We
don't find any of the above language there. 10
IV. A Clear Invitation
A minister acquaintance told me an almost
humorous story of his conversion. When he was a totally pagan,
long-haired bartender and bouncer, he attended a revival and went
forward at the evangelist's invitation. When he got to the front, the
host pastor met him and asked, "Do you come to make a profession of
faith in Christ?" Bill looked confused. The pastor asked several times.
Bill finally said, "Look, I don't know what you're talking about. I just
want Jesus." He told me if it had not been for the evangelist's clarity
in the sermon, he would not have found Christ up front with the pastor.
As one of my seminary professors, Howard Hendricks, was fond of saying,
"A mist in the pulpit is a fog in the pew."
A clear telling of the Gospel can easily become unclear when the invitation
is given. Whether it is an invitation in a one-on-one encounter or a public
invitation by a preacher, there are certain things that will keep it clear.
Let's look at some of the common invitations and comment on each.
Come forward
The invitation to come down the church aisle is used
by many preachers, though criticized by others--sometimes rightly so.
11 It has
only been around since the 1800's. Some people will quickly respond to
such a public expression, and others would rather go through an IRS
audit before they would stand up in front of a crowd. In spite of 18
verses of "Just As I Am," they are singing to themselves,
"I Shall Not Be Moved"!
Walking the aisle is not harmful if the person clearly understands the issue.
We probably all know someone who came to faith in this way. But people should
never be led to believe that they must walk an aisle in order to be
saved--even if the preacher's ego is at stake. They should be encouraged
to walk an aisle if they want to talk to someone about their salvation or if they
want to make a public statement that they have trusted in Jesus Christ as Savior
during the meeting.
Bow your heads and close your eyes
Bow your heads and close your eyes (Not, Close your heads and bow your eyes,
as one hapless preacher stated it!). Why must Christians always get
saved with their eyes closed? In a séance opening the eyes might break
the spell, but in a Gospel confrontation faith can appear with eyes wide
open. Funny, but Jesus was always opening peoples' eyes! On the
serious side, closed eyes and bowed heads can create a safe,
confidential, and prayerful environment for those who may want to
respond publicly.
Raise your hand
Again, we must avoid implying that a physical act is necessary.
However, raising a hand is less threatening to a person than walking an aisle.
It may give the preacher more opportunity to identify those who are interested in
salvation. In fact, I ask people to raise their hands in my invitation,
because I want to follow-up with them. I will often tell them something
like this:
You don't have to bow your head or raise your hand to be saved. You can believe in
Jesus Christ with your eyes wide open while you are looking at me. I would just like
to know that you have placed your faith in Christ as your Savior or that you want to
know more about that. The only way I can know who you are, so I can speak with you
later in private, is if you raise your hand. I really would like to talk to you about it.
Sign a card
This is also non-threatening to many people, even though a few may have fearful
visions of a three-person Evangelism Explosion team ambling up their
sidewalk later in the week. It is often wise to ask this only if all
the people present at the meeting fill out cards. This makes people
feel less conspicuous. A card could include these categories to check:
* I have trusted in Jesus Christ as my Savior today.
* I want more information about knowing Jesus Christ as Savior.
* I want to know for certain that I have eternal life.
* I want to speak to someone about my salvation.
Pray a prayer
An invitation involving prayer can
be handled correctly. The Gospel teller must be careful to make the
issue faith. When inviting people to Christ, I explain how it is that
Christ saves us through faith, make sure they understand the issues,
then ask, "Do you believe this?" If they say "Yes," I say, "Then why
don't you thank Him right now in prayer for dying for you and for giving
you eternal life?"
It may not be possible to validate a public
invitation from the Scriptures. But then we could not validate Gospel
tracts and evangelism training classes either. Sharing the Good News
implies an invitation to believe, and giving a clear invitation may help
many to actually do it. The main point in relation to the invitation is
that in no way do we want a person to get faith mixed up with works. If
we have told someone that salvation is a free gift, then we must be
consistent and not demand any action as a condition. In fact, when
someone decides to respond to any kind of invitation, it seems logical
that he or she is already trusting in Christ and just desires to express
it somehow. An invitation gives people an opportunity to tell others
about their faith, something they should be doing the rest of their
lives. Such an expression can help affirm them in their faith.
Conclusion
Clear communication is an art. When it comes to
telling the Gospel it is an art worth refining. We must work to tell the
Gospel as clearly as possible. Not always will we succeed. But isn't it
a wonderful fact of life that God can still use us in spite of the
misplaced approaches and methods that we use? We know, however, that He
can accomplish more through us according to how clear and biblical our
message and our methods are. And that means that we are clear in our
motives, in our Gospel content, in our statement of the condition for
salvation, and in our invitation to believe. Given all that is at stake,
we want to share the Good News as clearly as possible in a way that is
pleasing to God, not just convenient to men.
We give the last word to the Bible:
But as we have been approved by God
to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men,
but God who tests our hearts. First Thessalonians 2:4.
1. F. F. Bruce, The Epistle to the Ephesians and
Colossians, in The New International Commentary on the New Testament
(Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1957), 298.
2. Theological Dictionary of the New Testament,
Abridged in one volume by Geoffrey W. Bromiley, eds. Gerhard Kittel and
Gerhard Friedrich (Grand Rapids: Wm B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1985),
1244-45.
3. Having said all that, we state an important
caveat: It does no good to talk about concepts like sin unless our
audience has an idea of what it means. We must be careful not to assume
too much biblical background for our audience. Paul started his witness
with creation in Athens (Acts 17). When in a remote African fishing
village, I also found it necessary to begin my witness with the account
of creation and the fall of man. Our society is growing increasingly
secular and will need more and more explanation, but usually we give too
much anyway.
4. James Dobson told this story on his March 1, 1994 broadcast.
5. "Thanks for the Treat," Faith, Prayer,and Tract League (Grand Rapids).
6. Larry Moyer, "Guiding Children to Trust Christ," Moody Monthly, December 1987, 42.
7. Note how the immediate context of each passage refers to faith as the condition of salvation.
8. The word translated "confess" is homologew which
means "to speak the same thing," thus "to agree with (some person with
reference to something)". See Kenneth S. Wuest, Wuest's Word Studies
from the Greek New Testament, 3 vols. (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans
Publishing Co., 1944-55), 1:177-78.
9. Larry Beckmann, "God's Anointed Soul-Winning Plan," Baldwin Park, CA: n.p. 1982.
10. Except, as noted above, the mention of receiving Christ in 1:11-12.
11. See my review of Jim Ehrhard's article in the periodical review section of this issue.
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