Kingdom of God

Election

In Ephesians 1:4, Paul informs “the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus”
that God had chosen them in Christ “before the foundation of the world”. Today, we can
quite safely assume that those who are in Christ have also been chosen. The Church, in
general, is in agreement on this, but on the question of ‘how’ God chooses the Church is
split roughly down the middle. One side believes that God chose some to be saved based
on His Foreknowledge of how they would respond to the gospel when it is preached to
them. To hold to this view is to believe that men, at least some men, has the ability to
respond and will respond favorably to the gospel message. This notion that some men can
respond to the gospel and receive it is contrary to a major doctrine of the Church known as
the DEPRAVITY OF MAN. This doctrine derives from the Augustinian concept of
original sin and it teaches that, as a consequence of the Fall of Man, every person born into
the world is enslaved to the service of sin and, apart from the efficacious or prevenient grace
of God, is utterly unable to choose to follow God or choose to accept salvation as it is
offered.

In the Westminster Confession the doctrine of Total Inability (another name for the
Depravity of Man) is stated as follows: -- "Man, by his fall into a state of sin, hath wholly
lost all ability of will to any spiritual good accompanying salvation; so as a natural man,
being altogether averse from good, and dead in sin, is not able, by his own strength, to
convert himself, or to prepare himself thereunto." Based on this condition of Man, it would
have been impossible for God to foresee that any one would receive the gospel when it was
preached to him. If anything, God would have foreseen that all would reject His gift of
salvation, as precious as it is.

Charles Spurgeon tells us why God could not have chosen someone for salvation because
He foreknew that he would respond positively.

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There shall be twenty beggars in the street, and I determine to give one of them a
shilling; but will any one say that I determined to give that one a shilling, that I
elected him to have the shilling, because I foresaw that he would have it? That
would be talking nonsense. In like manner to say that God elected men because he
foresaw they would have faith, which is salvation in the germ, would be too absurd
for us to listen to for a moment. Faith is the gift of God. Every virtue comes from
him. Therefore it cannot have caused him to elect men, because it is his gift.22

If that is the case, then what is the meaning of the FOREKNOWLEDGE OF GOD?
Warren Wiersbe23 says that:

Foreknowledge does not suggest that God merely knew ahead of time that we
would believe, and therefore He chose us. This would raise the question, “Who or
what made us decide for Christ?” and would take our salvation completely out of
God’s hands. In the Bible, to foreknow means “to set one’s love on a person or
persons in a personal way (see Jer 1:5).”

Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Dictionary24 explains that

God’s foreknowledge is much more than foresight. God does not know future events
and human actions because He foresees them; He knows them because He wills them to
happen. Thus God’s foreknowledge is an act of His will.

And according to A. W. Pink,

God’s “foreknowledge” is based upon His “purpose” or decree (see Ps. 2:7). God
foreknows what will be because He has decreed what shall be.

22
Sermon: Election (No. 41-42) Delivered on Sabbath Morning, September 2, 1855, by the REV. C. H.
Spurgeon at New Park Street Chapel, Southwark.
23
Wiersbe, W: Bible Exposition Commentary. 1989. Victor or Logos comments on Luke 22:14
24
Youngblood, R. F., Bruce, F. F., Harrison, R. K., & Thomas Nelson Publishers. Nelson's New Illustrated
Bible Dictionary

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God did not elect any sinner because He foresaw that he would believe, for the simple
but sufficient reason that no sinner ever does believe until God gives him faith; just as
no man sees until God gives him sight. Sight is God’s gift, seeing is the consequence of
my using His gift. So faith is God’s gift (Eph. 2:8, 9), believing is the consequence of
my using His gift. If it were true that God had elected certain ones to be saved because
in due time they would believe, then that would make believing a meritorious act, and in
that event the saved sinner would have ground for “boasting,” which Scripture
emphatically denies: Eph. 2:9.

There’s another thing. Many believe that God has chosen everyone for salvation because He
does not wish that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. They, we
know, are referring to Second Peter 3:9. But if this verse is read in its context – something
that should always be done when interpreting Scripture – you will find that Peter was not
speaking about the community of believers at large (both Jew and Gentile) but about the
Jewish people (‘you’) specifically and exclusively. At the time of writing this epistle, the
Jews were being severely persecuted by the Roman Emperor. Many had died, and many
more will die in the weeks and months to come. In the light of this, the Jews were
wondering if God had abandoned them. To comfort them and so that they would not lose
hope, Peter wrote this epistle to tell the Jews that God will do as He had promised.

Finally, to be chosen, by definition, means ‘to be selected from many’. This naturally
implies that some would not be chosen. As unfair as it may seem for God to choose some
and not others, it is perfectly right for Him to do so. Here are some reasons why:

All have sinned. I would like to remind you that “all have sinned” and are therefore
deserving only of God’s wrath and condemnation in this life, and eternal
damnation. We are not deserving of God’s mercy, yet He chose to be merciful to
us. If God is unfair in choosing some for salvation but not all, then God is also
unfair in offering forgiveness to men but not to angels. Yet, no one has accused
God of being unfair on that account. But rather they are thankful that He has done

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that. So, let us be thankful for the mercy that we have been shown and live in a
manner that is worthy of our calling.

He is Lord. In Exodus 6:3, God discloses His name Adonai (the Lord) for the first
time. Before this, He was known to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as El-Shaddai,
but by His name Adonai He has not been know. Henceforth, the Lord begins to
demonstrate what it really means to be ‘the Lord’. As Adonai, the Lord, He
exercises His prerogative to be gracious to whom He will be gracious, and show
mercy to whom He will show mercy (Ex 33:19).

He is the Potter. Read Romans 9:20-21. Not only does God have the prerogative
to decide who will receive his mercy and grace, He also has the prerogative to
decide what becomes of each human being: whether they will be for “honorable
use” or “dishonorable” (2 Tim 2:20).

Purpose of Election

Having now understood HOW God foreknew and elected us, we must go on to ask WHY
has God elected us.

“What are you talking about? God elected us to be saved, right?” Well, yes but that’s not
all. To understand that God chose us only to be saved – meaning to go to heaven – is to
have a very shallow and narrow understanding of God’s wonderful plan for the Elect. As far
as God is concerned, there is something more important that for us to go to heaven.
Surprised? Read Romans 8:29 and you will see.

“For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his
Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.”

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Did you see the word ‘predestinate’ there? Well, don’t be intimidated by it. It simply means
to determine in advance or foreordain. (Don’t be intimidated by that too.) Basically, what
it means is that at the same time God chose you, He also decided on an objective, a goal for
you. So that they will be no confusion, I need to say that this is a goal God has set for
Himself. This is what He wants to accomplish in you so that in the end, when it has been
all said and done, God alone will get all the glory.

How will God accomplish what He has predestinated? By His Grace, of course. Sadly, we
have only begun to scratch the surface in our understanding of God’s grace. That “(God’s)
grace is unmerited favor” is about all we know about the Grace of God; but there’s
more…much more. According to Paul, it was the grace of God that he was who he was: an
apostle, a teacher, and a preacher of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And not only that; Paul also
acknowledges that it was the grace of God in him that has enabled him to do all that he has
done (1 Cor 15:10).

You can also call what God has predestinated a ‘destination’. A destination denotes there is
a journey to be embarked on and completed. The writer of the book of Hebrews describes
this journey in terms of a “race”: which we are to “run with endurance…looking to Jesus,
the founder and perfecter of our faith” (Heb 12:1). While speed and stamina are essential
in a physical race, faith is what will keep a Christian in this spiritual race. And to those who
finish the race, the Lord will say: “Well done, good and FAITH-ful one. Enter into the joy
of your Lord”.

So what is it that God wants to accomplish in us? He wants us to be conformed to the

Spurgeon writes, “Man was originally made in the image of God, but by sin he has defaced
that image, and now we who are born into this world are fashioned, not in the heavenly
image of God, but in the earthy image of the fallen Adam. The Lord in boundless grace has
resolved that a company whom no man can number, called here “many brethren,” shall be
restored to his image, in the particular form in which his Eternal Son displays it. To this

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end Jesus Christ came into the world and bore our image, that we, through his grace,
might bear his image. He became a partaker of our infirmities and sicknesses that we might
be partakers of the divine nature in all its excellence and purity.”

As you can see, God did not choose us just so that we might receive salvation and go to
heaven. That, if you will, is one of the fringe benefits and not the main thing. But because
many Christians have missed this, they remain mostly unchanged, untransformed, and un-
renewed throughout their lives. On the one hand, they talk about growing in Christ-
likeness but, on the other hand, they resign themselves to the lie that no one will be perfect
in this lifetime. If they were right, that no one will be perfect in this lifetime, why then did
Jesus say, “Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matt 5:48). Is He telling us to
do something that is impossible to acheive? “Let God be true and every man a liar” (Rom
3:4). The truth is: “He chose us in him before the foundation of the world to be (like His
Son) holy and blameless in his presence” (Eph 1:4).

Our conformity to the image of Christ takes place at a number of ways. First, we are
conformed to His image in terms of our nature. Christ’s nature was divine. What that
means we will not pry into here, suffice to say that Christ was not made divine but was
“begotten of the Father” (John 1:14). We too, the Bible says, have been begotten “unto a
lively hope” (1 Pet 1:3). To be begotten is something more than to be made: this is a more
personal work of God; and that which is begotten is in closer affinity to Himself than that
which is only created. Our first birth gave us humanity; our second birth allies us with
Deity.

If we stopped here in talking about being begotten of God, then we have missed the most
significant implication and application of this truth. Why is it important to God that we be
like Christ in His nature? Is it just so that we could be called sons of God? Or is there
something more? Indeed, there is a lot more than just being called sons of God. In his
epistle, John wrote many things about those who are born of God. He said that they do
not keep on sinning (3:9); they have love for others (4:7); they believe that Jesus is the
Christ and loves the Father (5:1); they overcome the world (5:4); and are not touched by

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the devil (5:18). That is a tall order, and I am sure no man, as carnal as it comes, will be
able to come close to fulfilling it. That’s why we need the Grace of God.

Our conformity to Christ also takes place in our relationship. God has declared that He will
be a father to us, and that we will be His sons and daughters. As surely as Jesus is a son, so
surely are we, for the same Spirit bears witness to both. As it is written, “And because you
are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’”
(Galatians 4:6).

When Jesus came into the world as God's Son, He was not left without attesting proofs.
His first public appearance, when he came to the waters of baptism, was signaled by a voice
out of the excellent glory, which said, "this is my beloved Son," and the descending Spirit,
like a dove, rested upon him. So is it also with us. The voice of God in the Word has
testified to us our Heavenly Father's dove; and the Holy Spirit has borne witness with our
spirits that we are the children of God.

Finally, we are to be conformed to the image of Christ in our experience. What was Christ’s
experience with regards to the Father? “Although he was a son, he learned obedience
through what he suffered” (Hebrews 5:8). If you and I are to be conformed to the image
of the firstborn, though we may expect from God much fatherly love, we may also reckon
that it will show itself in parental discipline. Hebrews 12:8 says, “If you are left without
discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons;”
but, if you are true sons, like the firstborn, the rod will make you wise, and sometimes you
will have to say, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" “For the Lord disciplines
the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives. It is for discipline that you have
to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not
discipline?” (Heb 12:5, 6). If we are predestinated to be conformed to the image of his son,
the Lord has predestinated us to much tribulation, and through it shall we inherit the
kingdom.

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In addition to this, Jesus said, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you
that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask
the Father in my name, he may give it to you” (John 15:16).

Among Evangelical Christians, ‘fruit’ is taken to mean souls saved. This interpretation
seems to fit nicely into this verse since it is desirable that the souls that have been saved
through the preaching of the gospel remain in the Lord and are not lost to the world again
over time. I do not wish to dispute this view since saving souls is a good thing. But, having
said that, I believe that we should interpret Scripture only with Scripture. And Scripture
says that the fruit God expects to be produced in a Christian is the “fruit of the Spirit”,
which are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-
control (Gal 5:22, 23). It is vital that this fruit “remain” because it is a sign that we are still
abiding in Christ, a pre-condition for good spiritual health.

Why is the doctrine of Election important?

Assurance of God’s Providence

Loraine Boettner, in her book The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination, wrote:

The Christian who has this doctrine in his heart knows that he is following a heaven-
directed course; that his course has been foreordained for him personally; and that it is a
good course. He does not yet understand all of the details, but even amid adversities he
can look forward confident of the future, knowing that his eternal destiny is fixed and
forever blessed, and that nothing can possibly rob him of this priceless treasure. He
realizes that after he has finished the course here he shall look back over it and see that
every single event in it was designed of God for a particular purpose, and that he will be
thankful for having been led through those particular experiences. Once convinced of
these truths, he knows that the day is surely coming when to all those who grieve or

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persecute him he shall be able to say, as did Joseph to his brothers, "As for you, ye
meant evil against me, but God meant it for good."

It is a source of security and courage

Loraine continues to write, saying,

"It is the doctrine of a particular providence," says Rice, "that gives to the righteous a
feeling of security in the midst of danger; that gives them assurance that the path of duty
is the path of safety and of prosperity; and that encourages them to the practice of
virtue, even when it exposes them to the greatest reproach and persecution. How often,
when clouds and darkness seem to gather over them, do they rejoice in the assurance
given by their Saviour, 'I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.'" (God Sovereign and
Man Free, p. 46). The sense of security which this doctrine gives to the struggling saint
results from the assurance that he is not committed to his own power, or rather
weakness, but into the sure hands of the Almighty Father,—that over him is the banner
of love and underneath are the everlasting arms. He realizes that even the Devil and
wicked men, regardless of whatever tumults they may cause, are not only restrained of
God but are compelled to do His pleasure. Elisha, lonely and forgotten, counted those
who were with him more than those who were against him, because he saw the chariots
and horsemen of the Lord moving in the clouds. The disciples, knowing that their
names were written in heaven, were prepared to endure persecutions, and on one
occasion we read that after being beaten and reviled "they departed from the presence of
the council rejoicing that they were accounted worthy to suffer dishonor for the Name,"
Acts 5:41

Protection against pride

It is so important for every Christian to properly understand the doctrine of Election

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other way around. It is easy for Christians to slip into the belief that it was they who
believed and made the decision to receive Christ. Yes, they believed and made a decision.
But could they have done it if God had not called them or the Spirit sanctified them? No
way. Ephesians 2:8 and 9 categorically states that “IT IS NOT YOUR OWN DOING, IT
IS A GIFT OF GOD; NOT A RESULT OF WORKS, SO THAT NO ONE MAY
BOAST.” Even the faith that is needed to believe came from Christ who is the “author and
finisher of our faith” (Heb 12:2). There is nothing in us that can make us believe.
Everything in us, on the other hand, will cause us to go away from God. Before we knew
Christ, we were not merely sinners; we were “enemies of God” (Rom 5:10).

A proper understanding of the doctrine of Election will prevent us from becoming proud.
It will keep us from saying things like: “Why can’t they believe like I did?” And it will make
us mindful that a person’s salvation totally depends on God’s election, and not how good or
bad he has been. Not one, no matter how good he has lived his life, merits salvation from
God. “All have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23).

Calling

After God has made up His mind to choose you, He then predestined you to be like His
Son. Having done that, He CALLS you. The Call of God comprises two parts: the
‘Outward’ and ‘Inward’ Call.

The ‘Outward’ Call is typically made through the preaching of the gospel. You can say that
the Outward Call is a Universal Call because it goes forth from the heart of God to every
ear. Yet, as we see in Luke 14:16-18, not all will come; and by not coming they incur
God’s wrath. Of these, He declares, “none of those men who were invited shall taste my
banquet” (Luke 14:24). The Parable of the Sower that Jesus told also confirms the
universality of the call: The gospel message, represented by the ‘seed’, is preached to every

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heart (the different kinds of ground). Nevertheless, only when the gospel has fallen on
‘fertile’ hearts will it bear any fruit.

Why is it that even though the gospel is preached to all, only some will respond and receive
it? The answer is found in John 6:44 and 65: No one can come to Jesus unless he has been
chosen and drawn by the Father. The Father draws the sinner toward His Son by means of
the ‘Effectual’ or ‘Inward Call’.

The Effectual or ‘Inward’ Call is the act of God the Father speaking through the human
proclamation of the gospel, in which He summons people to Himself in such a way that
they irresistibly respond in saving faith. From the perspective of the sinner, it is as if he is
hearing a sermon within a sermon; one preached by the human vessel that enters through
his ears, and the other by the Spirit of God directly to his spirit. But long before a sinner
hears the preaching of the gospel, the “sanctifying work of the Spirit” has already begun in
him. Both Paul and Peter wrote about it in their epistles, 2 Thessalonians 2:13 and 1 Peter
1:2 respectively. It is the work of the Spirit to prepare the heart of the sinner to receive the
‘seed’ of God’s Word.

It is abundantly evident that the believers in the city of Thessalonica received the Outward
as well as the Inward Call. The Outward Call was issued by Paul through his preaching of
the gospel. But it was the Inward Call, the drawing by the Father that enabled them to
receive the gospel “in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit” (1 Thes 1:6). But more
than the way they received the gospel was the fruit they bore within a short time. “You
became examples,” Paul writes, “to all in Macedonia and Achaia who believe. From you the
word of the Lord has sounded forth, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every
place. Your faith toward God has gone out, so that we do not need to say anything” (verse
7-8). Based on this, there was no doubt in Paul’s mind about their election by God (verse
4).

Paul’s experience in Ephesus, however, was the contrary to what he experienced in

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about the kingdom of God” (Acts 19:8). But “some became stubborn and continued in
unbelief, speaking evil of the Way before the congregation” (verse 9). According to John
3:18, these have been “condemned already”.

Which comes first: the Inward Call or the Outward Call? I believe that since God has
chosen us from before the foundation of the world, He would have began to call us from as
early as when we were in our mother’s womb, as He did with Jeremiah. “Now the word of
the LORD came to me, saying, ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before
you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations’” (Jer 1:4, 5).

In the thirteenth chapter of Acts, we read that as the result of Paul’s preaching “as many
(Gentiles) as had been appointed to eternal life believed” (verse 48). This is a verse I have
not heard (or read) anyone quote when teaching or preaching on the Election of God.
Paul’s preaching, which was the Outward Call, evoked the right response from those whom
God had chosen.

Truth be told, there are many in the world who have received and responded to the
Outward Call only. They know nothing of the Inward Call; that is, God had not drawn
them to Christ. They have come to Christ on their own probably as a result of being moved
by the passionate plea of the preacher. They, like Jesus said, were ‘called’ but not ‘chosen’.
Inevitably, they will fall away after some time, as many did in the days of John the
revelator. About those who had fallen away, John had this to say:

“They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they
would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that
they all are not of us” (1 John 2:19).

What about those who have not had the gospel message preached to them? As far as Paul
was concerned, they are without excuse “for what can be known about God is plain to
them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal
power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world,

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in the things that have been made” (Rom 1:19, 20). So no one can say to God, when He is
seated on the Great White Throne, “You cannot condemn me because You sent no one to
preach the gospel to me.” In response, God will say, “But I have been personally preaching
the gospel to you through all that I have made. Haven’t you been listening?”

“Tell me: Is my name in the Book of Life? Am I one of those who are ordained unto
eternal life, or am I to be left to follow my own lusts and passions, and to destroy my own
soul?” The answer, my friend, is in the Book, but the Book cannot be opened. But although
God has not published the page on which the actual names of the redeemed are written, the
page of that contains the character of the redeemed have been proclaimed to us. It is not by
their names that the redeemed will be known, but by their character “for those whom he
foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he
might be the firstborn among many brothers.”

We have talked about God’s Election and Calling of a person so far. It would be good if we
could test what I have said to see if it is true or not. The way I propose to do this is to use
the nation of Israel in the Old Testament as a test case. I will attempt to superimpose what
I have just taught on Election and Calling to the Biblical story of Israel, from Haran to
Mount Sinai. Allow me to qualify by saying that even if the results show that what I have
taught is true, it isn’t because the Bible supports me, but that what I have taught comes
from the Bible.

The reason I pick the city of Haran as the starting point is because that was where the Lord
appeared to Abraham and spoke these famous words to him:

“Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I
will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make
your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and
him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be
blessed.” Genesis 12:1-3

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In these words contain both the Election and Predestination of the nation of Israel. Israel
was the seed (descendants) of Abraham, and so in choosing Abraham God also chose
Israel. Having chosen Israel, God predestinates Israel to be a blessing to all the families of
the earth.

We fast-forward over four hundred years and God is delivering His people from bondage
in Egypt. On the morning after they had eaten the Passover meal, the children of Israel
went out of Egypt. Many days later, they find themselves camped at the foot of Mount
Horeb (another name for Mount Sinai). There, God (through Moses) said to the people,

Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall
be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye
shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. (Ex 19:5, 6)

At the same time, God disclosed to the people the laws He wants them to obey. In
response, the people said, “All the words which the Lord has said we will do” (Ex 24:3).
They said it again in verse 7. With this, Moses offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace
offerings of oxen to the Lord. He then took the blood and sprinkled it on the people as a
way to seal the covenant they have just made with the Lord.

What would you say this is? This is not Election, because God had chosen Israel more than
four hundred years earlier. This isn’t Predestination either because God had stated His
purpose for choosing Israel. What, then, is this?

This, my friend, is the making of a covenant; an essential but much neglected aspect of our
relationship with God. First, God chose Israel; He then expressed what He had chosen
them for. And now that He has Israel’s attention (by delivering them from bondage), He
lays down the terms of the covenant. “If you will obey My voice and keep My covenant…”
At this point of time, Israel, having been set free, was absolutely free to choose between
accepting God’s terms, or rejecting them. By accepting the terms of the covenant Israel was

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committing itself to keep all of God’s commandment. But if Israel rejects them, it would be
like the other nations, free to do as it pleases.

This is the part that the Church has lost sight of. This is, if you will, the missing link in the
way we do evangelism. Our form of evangelism typically begins with the preaching of the
Word, as it should. After all, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.
When the Word has been preached, eager to see immediate results, we ask for a response
from our audience. It could be either a simple show of hands from those who wish to
receive Jesus as their Savior, or a bolder step of coming to the ‘altar’. At the altar, the ‘deal’
is closed by getting the repentant sinner to say a prayer that would invite Jesus to be His
Lord and Savior. But almost nothing is mentioned about keeping His commandments;
nothing is said about being totally obedient to Him. The new convert starts his new life
with the understanding that he has been set free, which he is; but only from sin. He is not
free to do as he pleases for he is not his own, he has been purchased with a price and
belongs to Christ. How many new believers, I wonder, understand that at the moment of
their conversion? For that matter, how many of us, those who have been in the faith a
longer time, know that God is waiting for us to agree to His terms, and that without this
agreement our journey with Him cannot commence. In the words of prophet Amos, “Can
two walk together, except they be agreed?” (Amos 3:3). This is one of the reasons why
Christians, in general, feel that they can pick and choose the commandments they will obey
and those they will not obey.

And, if I may add, Galatians 4:24 says that the Law is “our tutor to bring us unto to Christ
that we might be justified by faith”. That being so, what should make out of those,
especially Gentile believers, who came to Christ without the Law? Doing so would be like
getting a degree without actually attending the course and doing the work and taking the
exam. The degree is an illegitimate one, just like the faith that is not based on God’s Word
(Law).

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