Welcome to Hank’s Place —
2 Corinthians 5:17, “…if anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” Furthermore, these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself – through Christ – and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ, Father — Son, reconciling the world to Himself, not counting our wrongdoings against us.…
Salvation is God at work! Crafted by the Father and Son, it is far too important, and too impossible, for man to play a part. Remember the covenant God made with Abraham in Genesis 15? A smoking oven and flaming torch passed between the split animal sacrifice while Abraham — slept. We believe the Good News — share it with others — but salvation is God’s business. Acts 16:31.
Within Protestantism there are two main theological positions: Arminianism – Baptists and Methodists and others; and Calvinism — Presbyterianism and others. Both from the 16th century. Jacobus Arminius I understand was a pretty good kid. And for him there was nothing much to repent of. He simply embraced Jesus as His savior. It was easy then to think that just as easily a person could walk away from Jesus and ‘lose’ their salvation. And need to get saved again – and again.
John Calvin on the other hand I understand was a rotten reprobate. When he got saved he saw it as a divine act of God overcoming all his rebellion. Out of his experience came doctrines of predestination and of God’s absolute sovereignty in the salvation of the human soul.
It’s no wonder their hugely different salvation experiences led to variances in theology. And extremes. Both agree it is a God thing, that we do not save ourselves. But can we lose it?
What do we believe at Hank’s Place? We believe Ephesians 2:5-8, Colossians 1:13, 2 Corinthians 5:17, and more. We’ve been made us alive together with Christ (by grace), raised up with Him, and seated with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, by grace. Christ has been placed in us, us placed in Christ. Translated out of darkness into the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. Transformed into new creations. When? When we put our trust, our faith, in Jesus as our Savior, and not ourselves.
If you slip up, mess up, will God un-translate you? Un-transform you? Toss you out of Christ? Christ leave you? My dear friend, you know the answer to that. Backslidden perhaps? Then remember who you really are. Stir up that faith within you, enter that throne room of grace (Heb 4:16) for mercy and grace to help — you are still His child. Throw off that entangling cloak of dark deeds today — and COME ALIVE!
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