This website is in honor of our Sovereign Lord, who graciously orchestrates the release of those who, without His gracious
intervention, are prisoners of their own wills. Investigating matters of
Biblical Origins and
Biblical
Faith, by way of scriptures, using some disciplines of
Theology and
Philosophy,
I explore how God's sovereign work of
free grace and
rebirth effects the way that we think, the way that we make
decisions, and ultimately, the way that we live our lives as a result of who we are and what we believe.
There are many well-meaning modern Christian churches that I believe have erroneously dismissed or minimized the sovereign free grace
of God in their doctrinal teachings and preaching by emphasizing more on man's desires and efforts rather than in God's mercy and grace
alone regarding the salvation process. (
Romans 9:16)
Even though being
"willing" by "
faith" to make a personal decision to receive Christ as Savior
is a critical and necessary component of the salvation process, it seems obvious to me that something else very necessary is occurring
from a spiritual dimension as a prerequisite for anyone to be
willing to do so, beyond what is inherently natural or even
possible for the
unregenerate "natural man". The problem is that an
unregenerate "
natural
man" does not seek God, (
Rom 3:11)
and considers such matters as foolishness! (
1 Corinthians
2:14) True love for God and the
willingness and capacity to practice true spiritual righteousness is not a
natural attribute of the default fallen human condition and nature. We are all inherently governed by the
"sinful nature"
at birth! Therefore, God's purpose, power, and actions, transcendent to man's desires and abilities, are necessary for replacing our
sinful nature with a
new holy nature that is capable of the proper faith required for salvation. It is only in this
new spiritual nature with the indwelling Holy Spirit that God enables us to relate to Him spiritually and personally.
My investigations are centered around these critical question's;
Does man's faith enable God's grace? — Or, does
God's grace enable man's faith? - Or can both be true, or both be false? I believe that this is important for several
reasons. If only one of these views is truth, then they are dramatically opposed to one another! If both views are true, then circular
logic is involved, leading to an interesting, but rather perplexing and unresolvable paradox of reason. Even though this would not
be a violation of any philosophical laws of reason, it would minimize God's grace and man's faith to something meaningless, since each
would depend on the other to be viable. If neither is true, then we would be at the mercy of yet another paradox that would make one
wonder if a path to salvation is possible at all.
I think that most Christian scholars and thinkers would agree that God would not purposefully obscure or oppress such an important
truth in such unresolvable paradoxes. If the
truth sets us free, then there must be some truth here that can be clearly understood.
So for most Christians, only one of these views will be embraced at the very core of their doctrinal belief. Depending on which view
is held, the subsequent behavior of a person, style of evangelism, and opinions on the doctrines of biblical grace will most certainly
be very different! In this modern church age of Arminian apologetics, the most popular view held is the first; that man's faith is
ultimately what influences and enables God's graciousness toward mankind. I would like to apply some rational and objective scrutiny
to this doctrine. To the contrary, I believe the scriptures clearly demonstrates that it is God's sovereign and gracious free gift
of supernaturally installed faith through regeneration of man's spirit, that is the reason that mankind is enabled to exercise true
saving faith at all. When God graciously regenerates a person to spiritual life with the indwelling Holy Spirit, spiritual faith becomes
the natural attribute of this conversion!
There is strong Biblical support suggesting that being
willing to receive Christ by faith, is the result of God's supernatural
work of
regeneration in us, rather than the human vehicle of independent
will-power. (
Phil
2:13) If God is responsible for the measure of faith given to us, (
Rom
12:3), then it is evident that we could not have developed the faith required for salvation all by ourselves without
His divine intervention by way of His sovereign guidance and amazing grace. According to scripture, we are evidently incapable of coming
to Christ by faith unless God has enabled us to do so. (
John
6:44,
John 6:65)
Because of this, my convictions have
compelled me to research some basic groundwork in the doctrine of
Biblical grace and how it relates to
Biblical faith.
God's amazing grace is our hope, our confidence, and our comfort and is available ONLY through His Son Jesus Christ. (
Acts
4:12) (
1 Tim 2:5)
I hope to demonstrate that without the graciousness of God's work of regeneration, which enlightens and frees our enslaved minds and
hearts, we can do nothing righteous on our own, including exercising saving faith in His Son, Christ Jesus. For it is God who chooses
and appoints us so that we are able to bear lasting fruit. (
John
15:16) May God receive all of the honor and glory for His unprecedented graciousness and may we be humbled to a state
of utter dependence and loving worship toward our Lord a result; Free to truly love and exercise graciousness toward one another, that
could have never been possible without the power and regenerative work of God's Holy Spirit in us.
It is my sincere hope and desire that your visit here will be an encouragement and inspiration along your personal journey.
— John Anning
