Section 4.1. 21-29 The Institutes

This post is for a friend. He/she knows what its about, but all my other friends, who read this blog, will not harm themselves by reading it as well.

Not only does the Lord through forgiveness of sins receive and adopt us once for all into the church, but through the same means he preserves and protects us there. For what would be the point of providing a pardon for us that was destined to be of no use? Every godly man is his own witness that the Lord's mercy, if it were granted only once, would be void and illusory, since each is quite aware throughout his life of the many infirmities that need God's mercy. And clearly not in vain does God promise this grace especially to those of his own household; not in vain does he order the same message of reconciliation daily to be brought to them. So, carrying, as we do, the traces of sin around with us throughout life, unless we are sustained by the Lord's constant grace in forgiving our sins, we shall scarcely abide one moment in the church. But the Lord has called his children to eternal salvation. Therefore, they ought to ponder that there is pardon ever ready for their sins. Consequently, we must firmly believe that by God's generosity, mediated by Christ's merit, through the sanctification of the Spirit, sins have been and are daily pardoned to us who have been received and engrafted into the body of the church

We good ol' boy Amuricun religious kinda-folk sure have a hard time with the first sentence in this quote. Why us Baptists jus' know we's goona go to heaven without havin' to think about all that adopted into the church kinda stuff. We be "borned agin," and that's all thar is to it. Period.

Except, "...the Lord through forgiveness of sins receive and adopt us once for all into the church." Dadgum it all. How's a feller s'posed to have any peace 'bout being saved and all, ifn he ain't in charge of his'n own salvation? What's this adopted into the church stuff? Does this feller mean I have to ask forgiveness every day of my life? That there's crazy talk. Ain't it?  I thought I was "once saved always saved" no matter what.

Well for a Baptist this does sound kind of like the Catholics, or the Epicopalians, or maybe even the Anglicans. But, then again...

"...by God's generosity, mediated by Christ's merit, through the sanctification of the Spirit, sins have been and are daily pardoned to us who have been received and engrafted into the body of the church."

...it sure does sound a lot like what the Bible teaches.

[Hat tip to Doug Wilson at Blog and Mablog for this one.]