Steps in the Life of Grace (3)

Rev. J.M.D. de Heer, Middleburg, the Netherlands

In several articles we have considered the steps in the life of grace. We saw that of old this topic has been taught both in and outside of our denomination. This shows that there is a communal basis for further discussion of this topic. That is both good and necessary, especially since this subject, unfortunately, also generates confusing discussions. There are times when sharp critical comments are made which are not appropriate when dealing with such a tender matter. We would like to point out some of these critical remarks in this final article so that we may help both young people and older ones who may find it difficult to respond when they come in contact with such criticism.

Criticsm about the preaching of the steps in grace can be found in discussion forums on the Internet. As an aside, I am amazed that Reformed young people and older ones spend thousands, yes, many thousands of hours reacting to other people’s postings. Reaction stumbles over reaction. People are busy until late in the evening and into the night to critique and dissect specific subjects. I am sometimes of the opinion that if all of those hours would be spent in the quiet personal searching of the Bible, the confessional documents, and good books, how much of a blessing this could be.

Tearing Apart

The sharpest criticism which I came across is that the preaching of the steps of grace tears apart the work of Christ. This is a serious accusation. Is it true? According to our estimation it is not.

There is a unity in the mediatorial work of Christ, both in its merits and its application. The Mediator, however, had not completed His mediatorial work upon earth in a single deed. He had traveled a way of humiliation. There were a greater number of steps in His humiliation, whereupon the steps of His exaltation followed. The ascension followed the resurrection. Pentecost did not come before Good Friday.

When preaching about the steps of grace, serious consideration is given to the order of Christ’s mediatorial work. There is a process of advancement in the knowledge by faith of the Mediator. Certainly, it is true that fruit can flow forth from the ascension for even the smallest one in grace (Psalm 68:18), but that is quite different from the knowledge by faith of Christ’s ascension, whereof the Lord Jesus instructed His disciples in John 14 through 16.

Justification

The preaching of the steps of grace also minimizes the doctrine of the justification of the sinner. Justification, I have read, is placed at the “end of a long, long way.” If I am not mistaken, this criticism combines two separate matters. On the one hand, there is that (true) faith that is of a justifying nature. Faith is the bond which is laid between Christ and a lost sinner by God’s Spirit. Every true believer receives grace, atonement, and justification before God, through Christ. Every exercise of faith, therefore, even the smallest, justifies a sinner before God.

That does not mean, however, that every exercise of faith is the same as the conscious knowledge by faith of the acquittal from guilt and punishment by the Supreme Judge. When Saul lay on the ground groaning and supplicating while on his way to Damascus, he could not yet say, “Therefore being justified by faith” (Romans 5:1a). Yet, there was faith whereby he, for the first time, fell on the side of God and begged of Him that he may know His will.

Spiritualizing

Another criticism concerns the so-called “spiritualizing” of histories out of the Old Testament. We are, for example, convinced of the fact that in the history of Jacob there is instruction about the continuance of spiritual life. In his book, Bethel and Peniel, Rev. A. Moerkerken has clearly explained that. In Bethel, he writes, Jacob received a revelation of Christ while at Peniel he experienced the conscious forgiveness of his guilt and the saving of his soul. They were two matters in the life of Jacob which were separated by twenty years.

A similar explanation of the history of Jacob also generated opposition. In De Waarheidsvriend (a Christian periodical) Rev. I Exalto, a Reformed minister, has written a cutting review of the book Life of Grace and Covenant of Grace1 by Rev. A. Moerkerken. He wrote, “And considering that this spiritualizing forms a substantial part of this book, it lacks, therefore, any foundation.” I also came across a remark on the Internet indicating that experiences from today are “projected” upon the biographies of biblical persons.

I have the feeling that here are two opinions which counter each other and really do not see eye to eye. There is the one person who sets himself to a careful explanation of the Bible and, thereby, follows carefully the rules of exegesis, while the other person calls this manner of explanation of Scripture the insertion of his own meaning or ideas.

Should we, therefore, ignore the spiritual lessons in the Old Testament histories as a result of this criticism? Not according to my opinion, but we should draw a lesson from the criticism. No harm can come from that. When we speak about the spiritual life of holy ones, the saints in God’s Word, then that must always be the fruit of a very careful exegesis, or explanation, of Scripture, in which there is always a danger of placing our own thoughts and ideas. We should earnestly keep in mind that it is only the Holy Spirit which leads into all truth and that our understanding is darkened and our heart deceitful. It should always be what the Lord says, not what I will that is written there, that should resound in the exegesis of Scripture.

Restraint

I came across another criticism. The preaching of the steps in grace would place a restraint upon the increase in the knowledge of Christ and the assurance of faith.

This criticism is not new. Rev. J. Van Haaren wrote in De Saambinder of March 10, 1983, about the marks of spiritual life in the different steps in spiritual life. “There are,” he remarked, “quite a few people who do not wish to know anything about this type of preaching. Such preaching would cast a person back upon himself.”

How should we answer this criticism? The command for self-examination is scriptural (Zephaniah 2:1; 2 Corinthians 13:5). However, this command does not mean that a person begins to sum up what he has received in spiritual life and how far he is advanced upon the way of life. The scriptural command for self-examination should always be directed so that the sinner may seek and find the certainty of his life in Christ.

In light of this it is so beneficial that the steps in the life of grace are preached so that the hearers may hear what they are missing. There is so much to be found in Christ, but what do I know of it personally?

Misunderstanding

Finally, he who lets himself be influenced by the criticism of the preaching of the steps in grace comes to stand before a stubborn misunderstanding. It is a misunderstanding that, at the same time, contains a warning. The steps in grace are presented as a ladder whereby the sinner climbs ever higher. Well, if this is suggested, then we are totally wrong. There is increase in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, but it is so that the increase will see to it that the sinner becomes ever smaller in himself. Afflicted and poor, the Lord calls them in Zephaniah 3:12. Prostrate in the dust before the Lord—that is the highest step in the life of grace (Romans 7:24&25). That is how the work of a Triune God shines and glitters most brightly. Is this also true in your life?

1Genadeleven en genadeverbond

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