This is a paraphrase from his Romans 1-8 book, pp. 221-226:
THINGS THAT NEITHER PROVE NOR DISPROVE TRUE FAITH:
- Visible morality
- Intellectual knowledge of God's word
- Religious involvement
- Active ministry in Christ's name
- Conviction of sin and sense of guilt
- Assurance of salvation (because that depends on what the "assurance" is in)
- Experience of a past decision (if there is no evidence of Godly living since then)
- Love for God
- Repentance of, and hatred for, sin
- Genuine humility
- Devotion to God's glory
- Prayer
- Selfless love
- Separation from the world
- Spiritual growth
- Obedient living
2 comments:
This is very interesting and is making me think. I'm quite sure I'm not ready to debate MacArthur on these, but I keep going back that man looks on the outward appearance but God sees the heart. I wish my experience in Christian high school, Christian college, and Christian camp had a better record of seeing people who for years exhibited most if not all of the bottom list but now seem to be far, far from God. Thinking through this makes me appreciate that it is God, not me, who judges the heart.
Were not those people really exhibiting more of the first list? I think when he says "obedient living," he's not saying "be in church three services a week."
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