For a paperback book in outline form which addresses over 150 difficult verses that Arminians use against Sovereign Grace, check out: Problem Texts for Sovereign Grace: Rooting Arminianism Out of Every Verse.
For a master copy of the outline, click here:
Problem Texts for Sovereign Grace
30. Luk 18:42
A. "And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee." (Luk 18:42)
B. Was Jesus saying that this man was saved eternally from his sins and was given eternally life by his faith?
i. Obviously not.
ii. Calling on the Lord (Luk 18:38) is a work, and eternal salvation is not of works (Tit 3:5) (see section II,7,A,i).
iii. Furthermore, the man called Jesus "Lord", (Luk 18:41), and one must already have the Holy Ghost to do such (1Co 12:3).
iv. The man had faith in Christ to heal him and those who have faith in Christ are born of God (1Jo 5:1).
v. Therefore the man was already born of God before Jesus pronounced that his faith had saved him.
C. So if this man's faith didn't save him eternally, what was the salvation his faith caused?
i. There's no need to speculate - the passage plainly states what the man was saved from: physical blindness (Luk 18:41-43).
ii. In a similar situation, Jesus said to a leper that his faith had "made thee whole" (Luk 17:19).
a. Whole adj. - I. In good condition, sound. 1. a. Of a person or an animal, the body, limbs, skin: Uninjured, unwounded, unhurt; (contextually) recovered from injury or a wound; 3. a. In good health; free from disease; healthy, ‘well’; (contextually) restored to health, recovered from disease, ‘well again’.
b. Save v. - 1. trans. To deliver or rescue from peril or hurt; to make safe, put in safety. 7. †a. To heal, cure, restore to health. Obs. b. Later only as a specific use of sense 1: To rescue from a sickness which threatens to prove mortal; = to save the life of.
iii. The blind man was saved or made whole from blindness.
iv. This is a case where whosoever calleth upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (Rom 10:13).
v. There are many things a man can be saved from by calling upon the name of the Lord (Psa 107:28; Mat 8:25; Mat 14:30).
vi. Blindness is one of them.
vii. The Lord is good to all who call upon Him (Lam 3:25; Psa 145:18).
31. Luk 19:9-10
A. "And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. 10) For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." (Luk 19:9-10)
B. Did Zacchaeus get eternal life that day by seeking Jesus?
C. When Jesus came to the tree where Zacchaeus was, He looked up and called him by name and told him to come down because He must abide at his house that day (Luk 19:5).
i. Jesus calleth His own sheep by name (Joh 10:3).
ii. Jesus knows His sheep (Joh 10:14,27).
iii. The Lord knoweth them that are His (2Ti 2:19).
iv. When Jesus called Zacchaeus by name, having never seen him before, He showed that Zacchaeus was already one of His own sheep.
v. Since Jesus knew Zacchaeus before having met him, He therefore foreknew him (1Pe 1:2), which shows that Zacchaeus was one of God's elect.
vi. God answers before His children call (Isa 65:24).
D. Zacchaeus received Jesus joyfully (Luk 19:6).
i. God meets such people (Isa 64:4-5).
ii. Those who receive Jesus are (not get) born of God (Joh 1:12-13).
iii. Zacchaeus was born of God.
E. Zacchaeus called Jesus Lord (Luk 19:8).
i. Those who do so do it by the Holy Ghost (1Co 12:3).
ii. It is not revealed to them by flesh and blood, but by God (Mat 16:16-17).
F. Zacchaeus brought forth works meet for repentance (Luk 19:8).
i. A tree is known by its fruit (Mat 12:33,35).
ii. Zacchaeus was showing himself to be a good man with a new heart.
G. Salvation came to Zacchaeus' house that day (Luk 19:9).
i. The salvation that came to Zacchaeus' house that day was not eternal salvation, as it has already been proven that he was one of Jesus' elect sheep who was born again.
ii. This salvation was therefore temporal in nature.
iii. Zacchaeus was a son of Abraham (Luk 19:9).
a. He was not just the seed of Abraham, but a son of Abraham (Rom 9:7-8).
b. He was one who was of faith, and was therefore a child of Abraham (Gal 3:7).
c. Like Abraham, Zacchaeus was justified (shown to be righteous) by his faith and works (Jam 2:21-23) (see section II,9,C).
iv. Zacchaeus was saved from continuing to live a life of sin, including defrauding people, and was saved to a life of rest in Christ.
H. Jesus came to seek and save His lost sheep (Mat 18:11-13 c/w Eze 34:11-16), one of whom was Zacchaeus (Luk 19:10).
For a master copy of the outline, click here:
Problem Texts for Sovereign Grace
