without knowing it, it is far more strange that anyone who bases his faith on the firm foundation of God's word could ever be an Arminian. The Scripture verses are too numerous to mention.
But some may be puzzled at the doctrine of perseverance and think that it ascribes too much will power to frail humanity. Such an objection rests on a misunderstanding. The Confession says, "This perseverance of the saints depends not upon their own free will, but upon the immutability of the decree of election, flowing from the free and unchangeable love of God the Father; upon the efficacy of the merit and intercession of Jesus Christ; the abiding of the Spirit and of the seed of God within them; and the nature of the covenant of grace; from all which ariseth also the certainty and infallibility thereof."
What should be particularly noted in this section is how the doctrine of perseverance fits in with all the other doctrines. God is not irrational or insane. What he says hangs together; it forms a logical system. Election, total depravity, effectual calling, sovereign grace, and perseverance are mutually consistent. God does not contradict himself. But Arminian saints do. They may be grand old men, loved by all who know them. But not until the message of the Bible persuades them of God's sovereign, unchangeable love, can they really sing
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I'll never, no, never, no, never forsake.
ANGLERS
( By the Editor of The Testament For Fishers of Men)
Lesson No. 96
Bottlenecks
There are a number of bottlenecks in personal evangelism. T do not find this word "bottleneck" in my unabridged dictionary; it is one of the more modern crop of coined words which have gotten into our vocabulary. Like the word "grassroots" for instance, "nuclear-fission" and feminine names for tornadoes. If I were asked to give a definition of "bottleneck" as I understand it, I would say it is "the contracted sole outlet of a container which greatly restricts outflow or inflow of the contents." A bottleneck is much like a "road block" (another modern term) because it almost closes the highway and stops traffic—at least slows it down greatly.
The church has bottlenecks. I do not think it is too harsh to say that most pastors stand behind their pulpits on Sunday mornings and preach to rows and rows of bottlenecks, and as a rule the further back they sit the smaller are the necks and the tighter the stoppers. They may be well dressed, sing with open hymnbook, put folding money in the plate, but they are "bottled in bond" just the same, and the bonds are indifference, timidity—and in many cases, unconfessed sin—secret sin.
The Christian concept of service is "pouring out"—the emptying of self on behalf of lost sinners for Christ's sake. Our Bible teaches us that we are temples designed for the occupancy of the Holy Spirit. When one is filled with the Spirit the outflow is irrepressible and inevitable. It is the mighty power of God. It must break out to bless others; it cannot be confined. So a real born again Christian, after all, is not a bottleneck at all. The bottlenecks are those who have not received the Spirit, because that neck refuses to admit Him. The "stopper" is a combination of interests which have not given way to the entrance of the Spirit: social practices and engagements, business absorption, secret sin and personal associations which form an effective road block to the entrance of the Holy Spirit. These are regarded in the world as good citizens; but they may be bottlenecks in the kindgdom of God.
Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalms 139:23,24.
