Brandan Kraft led the discussion on the doctrine of Justification from Eternity


...

As a person who is known as a high grace predestinarian, the most common accusation I face is the lie that my high grace friends and I are anti-evangelical. This charge is slanderous and a complete mischaracterization of me. Those who often fling this accusation against me often have not taken the time to dialog with me about my beliefs or offer to sit down and study the topic of evangelism with me or my other high grace friends. It seems they are content to cast reproach upon us from their lofty “evangelical” position of authority as pastors, “missionaries”, and other unbiblical “leadership positions.”

What is the basis for these attacks? I propose that it all stems from an unbiblical understanding of evangelism. Today, evangelism is equated with “soul winning” and an elaborate “plan of salvation.” Modern “evangelists” believe that they have a duty to get men converted to Christianity. When this form of proselytizing is merged with a perverted form of calvinistic theology, the result is a form of Arminianism.

I do not intend to deal with the vast majority of religionists such as the southern baptist free willers, the pentecostals, or most “evangelicals.” These are out and out pelagian; and history, as well as scripture has clearly condemned these movements as anti-christ. I intend to deal with the true Arminians of today and they are usually known as “reformed evangelicals” or “evangelical calvinists”. Their religion is no less blasphemous and flesh pleasing than that of their pelagian brothers. The only difference is they hope to deceptively hide their satanic practices with “sovereign grace” language. Harsh words? Absolutely! I have nothing but contempt for the “evangelism tactics” of conditional calvinists.
...

God’s love to His precious elect did not begin in time. It did not begin with any event. It does not depend on the conversion of the elect person to the Gospel but upon God’s pleasure in His crucified, buried, and resurrected Son.

Can you get your mind around this simple concept? God never ever had any disposition toward His people except Love! It’s eternal. It’s everlasting. It’s Foundational. It’s unconditional! All of God’s acts of kindness flow from this great Love.

Election is a fruit of God’s love. Adoption is a fruit of God’s love. Justification is a fruit of God’s love. Sanctification, Regeneration, Faith and Assurance, Perseverence, Resurrection, Glorification and all of salvation all flow from this immeasurable love!

It has been reasoned by many religionists that God hates his people until they are converted in time. This is a blasphemous teaching right up there with the teaching of “common grace” and may be even worse. Oh how horrible to think of such things! Did Jesus actually hate His people when He hung on the cross? No of course not! That was the ultimate act of love and to suggest otherwise is to profane and curse Christ. ...

Is the Bible a mystery? Are doctrines such as heaven, hell, God’s omniscience and immutability, eternity, God's Predetermining of all things, the Trinity, and imputation of sin and righteousness to be considered as mysteries? It is considered humble to suggest that these things are mysteries and cannot be understood. But I contend that such a claim is pure arrogance and very dangerous! Just because a person cannot comprehend the propositions set forth by Scripture does not at all mean the Lord has not revealed understanding to someone else. It is prideful to suggest that men cannot comprehend what you cannot!

So what exactly is a mystery? As with anything, we must go to the Scriptures for understanding.

Mk 4:11, (KJV), And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables:

Rom 11:25, (KJV), For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in.

1 Cor 2:7, (KJV), But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:

...

While studying the imputed righteousness of Christ, I found a way in my mind to merge the NCT / lutheran view of the law with tradtional reformed covenant theology. Basically, I have redefined the covenant of works and classified Sinai exclusively as a covenant of works while retaining a covenant of grace which NCT denies. Below are my comparisons between CT NCT, and MCT. Dr. Richard Bacon, a covenant theologian who has written many books and even coauthored a book with Gary Crampton was kind enough to comment on my thoughts. Included in this comparison is a dialogue which we shared.
...