Introduction
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 fallen wills. Using the disciplines of
Philosophy and
Theology
to investigate matters of
Biblical Origins and
Biblical Grace and Faith,
I explore how God's
free grace, through His sovereign work of
regeneration, liberates us from our moral dilemma, affecting
the way that we think, make decisions, and ultimately the way that we live our lives as a result of our new identity in Jesus Christ.
We find ourselves in this modern age of secular humanistic reasoning, where the
Theory of Evolution, via pseudoscience, is taught
and presented as scientific fact in our academic and educational institutions and media, without any alternative
Creation Science
views being offered. Our culture has been saturated with the idea that there is no God to be accountable to, that sovereignly created
and governs over the universe. The result of these deceptive teachings elevates mankind to the highest degree of being and authority,
while at the same time, reducing mankind to nothing more than a cosmic accident with no real value in the cosmos whatsoever. The
Theory of Evolution, with its inherent exclusion of God and proclaimed accidental randomness of life, leaves us cold, helpless,
and hopeless, wondering why we even exist at all. I hope to demonstrate, philosophically at least, not only that God exists, but that
He must exist—necessarily! I also hope to demonstrate that God has a profound interest in human affairs as well as a divine sovereign
plan for mankind that makes it possible for us to have great hope and joy in the outcome of our mysterious existence.
Modern Christian Church Theology
Unfortunately, I see secular humanistic reasoning permeating and affecting even Christian churches in their theology and subsequent teachings
and preaching. There are Christians who believe that
theistic evolution is a valid theology that attempts to combine evolution
with creation, not understanding that the two are mutually exclusive, opposing philosophies that cannot coexist. There are also many
well-meaning 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 on God's mercy and grace alone regarding the salvation
process. (
Romans 9:16) I believe that
secular humanistic reasoning is partly to blame for some of the worldly, self-sufficient views being taught in the modern Christian churches,
with their emphasis on the philosophy of a "moral free will" still intact in mankind. (Semi-Pelagianism) Until the severity
of man's fall is taught and understood, there will be continued confusion in the Christian Church regarding man's moral dilemma in his
inherent inabilities of free moral choice, and therefore in his subsequent and utter dependency upon God's grace alone!
Faith is not Natural—It is Supernatural
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 God 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 (
Romans
3:11) and considers such matters as foolishness! (
1
Corinthians 2:14) True love for God and the
willingness and capacity to practice spiritual righteousness are
not natural attributes of the default fallen human condition and nature. We are all inherently governed by the
sinful nature
from the time of our conception! (
Psalm 51:5)
Therefore, God's purpose, power, and actions, transcendent to man's
desire or effort, are necessary for replacing our
sinful
nature with a
new holy nature that is capable of the proper faith required for salvation. (
Ezekiel
36:26,27) It is only in this regenerated
new spiritual nature that God sovereignly enables us to willingly respond
to the Gospel and relate to Him on a spiritual and personal level.
Critical Questions and Biblical Investigations
My investigations are centered around these critical questions:
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 think that this is important for a few reasons; If only one of these
views is true, 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 we could all agree that God would not purposefully obscure or oppress such an important truth in 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. However, depending on which view is held, the subsequent behavior
of a person, the 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 Biblical Scriptures clearly demonstrate 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, through
the ministry of the Holy Spirit, graciously regenerates a person to spiritual life, spiritual faith becomes the natural attribute of
this conversion, not the means to it.
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. (
Philippians
2:13) God is responsible for the measure of faith given to us. (
Romans
12:3) Therefore, it is evident that we could not have developed the faith required for salvation all by ourselves without
His divine intervention through 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
Timothy 2:5)
God's Graciousness
I hope to demonstrate that without the graciousness of God's work of regeneration, which enlightens and liberates our enslaved minds
and hearts, we can do nothing righteous on our own, including exercising saving faith in His Son, Christ Jesus. According to Jesus, it
is He who chooses and appoints us so that we can bear lasting fruit. (
John
15:16) May God receive all of the honor and glory for His unprecedented graciousness through His redemptive work of sovereign
election, and may we be humbled to a state of utter dependence and loving worship toward our Lord as a result, that could never be possible
without the power and regenerative ministerial work of God's Holy Spirit.
It is my sincere hope and desire that your visit here will be an encouragement and inspiration along your personal journey as we think
and reason together regarding the truth claims found in Biblical Scripture.
—John Anning
