Monday is for Discussion
“A nominal Christian is content with proving the way of salvation by a crucified Redeemer. But the true Christian loves it, delights in it, glories in it, and shudders at the very thought of glorying in anything else. … Let all your joys flow from the contemplation of his cross.”
—Charles Simeon
Quoted in
The Roots of Endurance, John Piper
Questions:
- True or false?
- Why?
- If true, how would our evaluation of a person’s conversion change?
ChosenRebel's Blog 
The tack Piper takes and the sources he choose amaze me. FALSE!! Being named after Christ the Savior is centered on the crucified (and risen) Redeemer. The measuring stick Simeon uses says that none of us may be a true Christian. We are all plagued by doubt, lack of love, our own glory, and we are prone to seek our self-interest. But Christ has given us repentance and forgiveness. Grace is FREE! If the statement were true I would have to consign all, including myself and every Christian I have ever met, to eternal condemnation.
Reformational but not Reformed
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Pastor Spotts,
Thanks for your visit and comment. The quote is from a Piper book but the content is all Charles Simeon.
I’m not sure you are giving Simeon a fair hearing here. His own life (Charles Simeon) was marked by deep seasons of doubt and melencholy. I don’t think Simeon is saying that doubt is inconsistent with salvation but that a soul enraptured with the cross and free grace offered there is the soul that is eventually drawn out of mere intellectual assent and nominal faith in propositions to a substantive and transformative faith that delights in the freedom of God’s grace..
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