Theological term
Presumption
2 sermons · All terms
Ask FGBC #61: Conviction of Sin Before or After Regeneration?
The question of whether conviction of sin precedes or follows faith is examined through the lens of the ordo salutis. Conviction of sin necessarily precedes faith because without it the sinner would see no need for Christ, yet Scripture nowhere prescribes a fixed period of misery as a prerequisite for receiving the gift of faith. Conversion is the divine bestowal of the graces of faith and repentance together, not a staged sequence in which the sinner must accumulate sufficient guilt before God acts. The call of the gospel is not prolonged self-examination but immediate flight to Christ, and the doctrine of presumption that keeps sinners in unnecessary bondage is a Catholic, not Protestant, imposition on the gospel promise.
Judges 20
Judges 20 records the civil war in which eleven tribes of Israel assembled against Benjamin to avenge the rape and murder of the Levite's concubine at Gibeah. The chapter raises a theologically pressing question: why did God command Israel to battle yet permit two devastating defeats before granting victory in the third engagement? This study expounds three movements in the chapter — the Levite's report, Israel's decision, and the three-stage military action — and draws out lessons concerning the unity of God's people, the wickedness of false solidarity, the proper use of the means of grace, and the mystery of divine providence, which does not guarantee that the path of obedience will be free of suffering.