Isaiah looks forward to the future. He says that there will be blessing
from the Lord. He looks forward to a time of "joy and singing." He says
that it will be a night of "the glory of the Lord" (Isaiah 35:2). Isaiah
brings Good News to the people - "He will save you" (Isaiah 35:4). This
is the Good News: "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners" (1
Timothy 1:15). Those who are saved by the Lord are described by Isaiah
as "the redeemed." Once we are "redeemed" or saved by the Lord, we are
called to "walk in the Holy Way" (Isaiah 35:8-9). Isaiah's prophecy
speaks to us of being saved by the Lord. It speaks of walking with the
Lord. It speaks of being with the Lord forevermore. This is the great
message of Isaiah 35:10. This is "unending joy." There will be no more
"sorrow." This is the completion of our salvation.
A response to a comment by G. R. Osborne on Berkouwer’s understanding of the doctrine of final perseverance
In his contribution to Clark Pinnock (editor), Grace Unlimited (1975), G. R. Osborne states that Berkouwer, in Faith and Perseverance, pp. 9-10, “speaks of the time less ness of the doctrine of final perseverance, founded on ‘the richness and abidingness of salvation” (p. 188, emphasis mine). This single-sentence comment on Berkouwer’s view hardly gives a fair indication of the type of thinking found in Chapter 1 of Berkouwer’s Faith and Perseverance - “Time li ness and Relevance” (pp. 9-14, emphasis mine). Berkouwer insists that “the living preaching of the Scriptures, which offer no metaphysical and theoretical views about … ‘permanency’ as an independent theme in itself, does nothing to encourage ‘a continuity which is … opposed in any way to the living nature of faith” (p. 13). Berkouwer stresses that “The perseverance of the saints is not primarily a theoretical problem but a confession of faith” (p. 14) and that “The perseverance of the saints is unbreakably connected wi...
Comments
Post a Comment