The principle of deposit analogies

1. The analogy to evangelism. In the ancient world they had a system of banking similar to what we have today. There were two types. One was related to the heathen temples. All heathen temples were places where you could deposit money and the priests also acted as bank tellers. In the second system, great merchant systems of the ancient world also acted as bankers and you could carry a letter of credit from Rome to almost any part of the empire and receive cash. In this way commerce was carried on within the confines of the Roman empire. Therefore the word “deposit” was quite a prominent word and was used very extensively.

Our first deposit is found in an analogy to evangelism. It is found in Acts 17:2,3. The deposit of doctrine this time is the gospel. The analogy is used for anyone who evangelises on a personal basis — sometimes, and perhaps mistakenly, called witnessing. The word “witness” as used in the scripture really refers to the principle of testifying in a courtroom and presenting truth. Therefore it is used more for the function of the pastor-teacher in the scriptures than for any other particular function. Consequently witnessing is really a misnomer. It should be personal evangelism, mass evangelism; but whatever type of evangelism is actually being used there is the sense in which the true concept of evangelism is to make a deposit of the gospel in the soul of another person or persons gathered together. When you make a deposit of the gospel it is God the Holy Spirit who actually does the work of making that gospel reality and bringing about the decision.

2. The next analogy is directed toward both salvation and eternal security — 2 Timothy 1:12, “ … to preserve my deposit against that day.” Faith in Christ at salvation is the deposit. When we respond to the deposit of the gospel in our souls in a positive way we believe in Christ. Believing in Christ becomes the second deposit. This faith deposit is a total dependence upon the essence of God regarding salvation. Hence, the principle of eternal security emerges from this.

The approach to eternal security, then, comes into view and there are ten legitimate approaches found in the scripture:

a) The positional approach of Romans 8:38,39. At the moment of salvation we enter into union with Christ, and we never get out.

b) The logical approach of Romans 8:32. This means that when you approach the cross you have the fact that God has provided the most at this point, and when you believe in Christ and become saved you have received at that point the most. The question arises, what more can God provide for you? The answer is much more than the most — Romans 5. That “much more than the most” includes eternal security.

c) The metaphorical approach called the anthropomorphism of God’s hand — John 10:28; Psalm 37:24.

d) The reversionistic approach — 2 Timothy 2:12,13. “If we are unfaithful [reversionistic, under the influence of evil] he remains faithful ...”

e) The family approach — John 1:12; Galatians 3:26. At the moment we believe in Christ we enter into the family of God. We are born into God’s family and once we are born into a family there is nothing we can do about it, we are there forever. The analogy is carried over into the spiritual realm.

f) The inheritance approach — 1 Peter 1:4,5. We have an inheritance which includes the fact that we are secure forever.

g) The divine essence approach — 2 Peter 3:9, which describes the Lord as not willing that any should perish but that all should come to a change of mind. Repentance is used to describe that. This passages emphasises the sovereignty of God in eternal security. Jude 24 emphasises the omnipotence of God in eternal security, He has the power to keep us saved forever.

h) The body approach — 1 Corinthians 12. All of us are pictured as members of a body. Christ is the head and we are the members. The differentiation of the members is based upon the concept of spiritual gifts. In Colossians 1:18 compared to 1 Corinthians 12:21 one of the great principles that is made is that the head, Jesus Christ, cannot say to any member of the body, I don’t need you. No matter how insignificant any member of the body may be there can never be such a statement from our Lord.

i) The royal family approach — 2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13; 4:30. This is the sealing of the Holy Spirit. The purpose of the sealing of the Holy Spirit at salvation is to guarantee eternal security.

j) The Greek tense approach, using the imperfect tense of swzw in Ephesians 2:8,9. The corrected and more expanded translation should read: “For by grace you have been saved in the past, with the result that you keep on being saved forever through faith...”

3. The third deposit is actually related to the analogy to the function of GAP — Matthew 13:24, “… he deposited another parable with them, saying...” In other words, Jesus Christ in teaching the disciples was actually making a deposit. The same thing is found in 1 Timothy 1:18; 6:20; 2 Timothy 1:14. The guarding of this deposit includes the continuation of the function of GAP or the perpetuation of the supergrace status in phase two. The guarding of this deposit means the avoidance of reversionism and the influence of evil. In the mechanics of GAP every positive believer, therefore, has his own right pastor who communicates doctrine to him. As this doctrine is communicated it is deposited, and the believer’s guardianship of the deposit means perpetuation of GAP.

4. The training of other pastors — 2 Timothy 2:1,2. Both the recognition of the gift of pastor-teacher and the preparation for using the gift are related to the function of GAP under the strict academic discipline of the local church.

5. The faith-rest technique during any type of adversity — 1 Peter 4:19. There are some principles involved in this analogy that are very important. For example, there is no suffering for the believer in eternity — Revelation 21:4.

a) The devil’s world is unfair to the believer.

b) While the reversionistic believer is sometimes blessed by the devil as the ruler of this world this is a point of disgrace and failure. It is disgraceful to be blessed by Satan as a believer.

c) To be blessed by the devil is to be under maximum influence of evil in the soul.

d) This is pseudo maturity and the devil’s answer to supergrace.

e) The believer’s soul is the battleground for the angelic conflict.

f) Consequently the ore positive a believer is toward doctrine the more pressure from Satan.

g) This means that the supergrace believer sometimes endures maximum pressure from cosmos diabolicus.

h) This requires maximum use of the deposit of doctrine in the soul.

i) The faith-rest technique transfers doctrine from the soul to the adversities of life.

j) In the maximum use of the faith-rest technique believers in undeserved suffering [i.e. according to the will of God] must deposit their souls with the Lord Jesus Christ who is a faithful creator, who has provided living grace, supergrace, dying grace, and surpassing grace.

k) By depositing the soul with the Lord in time of maximum suffering and pressure the supergrace believer glorifies God in the production of divine good.

l) This divine good so produced under suffering will receive maximum reward in eternity.

m) Here, then, is the application of doctrine under pressure, that maximum use of the faith-rest technique which provides blessing in living, blessing in dying, blessing forever.

n) This is a specific application to that principle enucleated in the following verses: Psalm 55:22 — “Cast what has been given to you [pressure, adversity, difficulty, trial, etc.] on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never allow the righteous [supergrace believer under pressure] to be shaken.” 1 Peter 5:5-7; 4:19.