Increasing In God's Favor: What's the Bible Say?
Well, it appears that good ol' Joel is out with yet another uplifting, encouraging book to scratch the itching ear (2 Timothy 4:3). Its title - It's Your Time: Activate Your Faith, Accomplish Your Dreams, and Increase in God's Favor.Now, without even having to crack open the book, the front cover alone should bring a moment's (or two) pause.
Here's my questions - focusing on the line, "and increase in God's favor," what is the scriptural answer, response to this assertion? What does the Bible say about God's favor and our ability to "increase" His favor toward us (Christians and/or non-Christians)?
And if you've read the book, I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on it (doctrinally/theologically grounded, preferably).
posted by TSHusker @ 11/13/2009 02:06:00 PM
2 comments
2 Comments:
Last week I was reading from my book "Holiness by Grace" by Bryan Chapell and immediately after some time in those pages I visited a store where Joel Osteen's book was prominently displayed with a cover describing how it blatantly contradicts the gospel of grace and thus the contents of my book. If we could earn or increase in favor with God through our works then grace would not be grace.
Unmerited grace and our practice of being ambassadors of the God of grace is what distinguishes the earnest Christian from world's religious folks. Once we move into thinking that our works earn us some rank in a sort of heirarchy of the church we are giving a nod to the pharisees (who were constant recipients of Christ's strongest criticisms) and consequently blending into the landscape of all the other world religions trying to earn their way to a god or utopia of their imaginings.
Considering the arminian claims he earned favor with God by choosing grace, it is no wonder that a variety of legalistic denominations, sectarian in nature (i.e. Seventh Day Adventist) as well as a vast number of cults came on the heels of Arminian evangelism about two centuries ago.
"Increasing in God's favor"? If we have been redeemed, is not Christ enough for us to be in right standing with God? The idea that we can increase God's favor toward us is to make the cross of Christ of none effect.
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