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pdf - Protestant Reformed Churches in America

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that, but man has a corrupt nature(p. 24).Cheeseman rej ects the notionthat fallen man has a freewill. He writes that "man'swilllike every other part of him, i~depraved, and <strong>in</strong> bondage tos<strong>in</strong>"(p. 25). Thus man's will "is·The salvation of man,therefore. is not a cooperativeeffort between God and man; itis rather God's work. Every<strong>Reformed</strong> believer will appreciatethis emphasis <strong>in</strong> this book.Cheeseman writes (p. 32):It is evident, then, that. farfrom the Lord Jesus Christwait<strong>in</strong>g patiently and impotentlyat the door of our lifefor us to make up our m<strong>in</strong>dsto let him <strong>in</strong>, if left to our'free-will' we would be foreverlost and no-one wouldbe saved. Yet God, <strong>in</strong> Hismercy deliver....·. saves, s<strong>in</strong>nersfrom that death, by draw<strong>in</strong>gthem to Himself. This is thework of the Holy Spirit. theLord and Giver of Life, awork ofirresb;tible grace, aneffectualcall, by which a manembraces the salvation Christhas won for him and by whichhe is truly born aga<strong>in</strong> of theSpirit of God. 'No one cancome to Me' (because of hishardness of heart. and s<strong>in</strong>fulunwill<strong>in</strong>gness) 'unless theFather who sent Me drawshim' (John 6:44).Later this exclamation'free' only to s<strong>in</strong>" (p. 25). He po<strong>in</strong>t is added to the above ­recommends Luther's Bondage "The doctr<strong>in</strong>es of irresistibleofthe Will on the question (p. ~race and.of God's uncondi­52). tlOnal electIon destroy free will"(p. 41).The work po<strong>in</strong>ts out thatGod demands repentance andfaith <strong>in</strong> Christ, but "repentanceand faith are gifts of God andtheyfollo'w, but do not precede,the new birth" (p. 35).The next crucial doctr<strong>in</strong>eof concern is the atonement ofChrist on the cross, or to bemore specific, for whom didChrist die? About this, too,Cheeseman affirms the biblical(and thus <strong>Reformed</strong>) position.He writes, "I hold that the atonementdescribed <strong>in</strong> Scripture isparticular - the Lord JesusChrist died specifically for theelect, as theirrepresentative andsubstitute. to secure their salvation:'He adds, "Christ died forHis church, and not for the s<strong>in</strong>sof each and every <strong>in</strong>dividuar'(p. 72).Cheeseman does not waver<strong>in</strong> this crucial po<strong>in</strong>t. The84 PRTJ

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