Calvinism and Limited Atonement

The term “limited atonement” is the most controversial point of all five points of Calvinism. Christians have difficulty with the idea that Christ’s death is efficacious only for the elect. Most Christ followers would say that Christ died for everybody. John Piper clarifies it this way, “For if Christ died for all men in the same way then he did not purchase regenerating grace for those who are saved. They must regenerate themselves and bring themselves to faith. Then and only then do they become partakers of the benefits of the cross. In other words if you believe that Christ died for all men in the same way, then the benefits of the cross cannot include the mercy by which we are brought to faith, because then all men would be brought to faith, but they aren't. But if the mercy by which we are brought to faith (irresistible grace) is not part of what Christ purchased on the cross, then we are left to save ourselves from the bondage of sin, the hardness of heart, the blindness of corruption, and the wrath of God.”

It seems obvious that if God has called someone then He is not to weak to make certain that they are brought to faith in Christ. If we say that God chose everyone then according to Romans 8:29-30 everyone should be saved; “because those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; and those he called, he also justified; and those he justified, he also glorified. (NET).”

The other argument I have heard is that Christ died for all men and the sin of all men is forgiven. If that is true than all men will go to Heaven (universalism) but we know that is not the case. Christ’s death covers only the believing church.

Begin your research with the Piper article referred to above. Most importantly allow yourself to be uncomfortable. The Bible must be the ultimate word on what is true not our belief or level of comfort with a principle.

Sustaining Grace

The sky was the table and somebody had spilled milk across it. The bright fullness of the moon lit up a streak of white clouds against a dark blue sky. I sat in my car and admired the view. If God could order that then certainly He could order my little universe.

The wife and I are processing the way that God orders our lives. Going through a rough patch some weeks ago we were led to John Piper’s sermon on “sustaining grace.” The takeaway is that God allows distress but orders it that He might get the glory;

“Not grace to bar what is not bliss, nor flight from all distress but this,The grace to order our troubles and pain, And then in the darkness is there to sustain.”

God allows and orders all my circumstances. This is a biblical world view that I wish I’d understood much earlier. . He is still sovereign and in His omniscience fits together all the workings of my frail life into the plan of the universe. This doesn’t make it understandable to me but it does make it bearable; “It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers…Lift up your eyes on high and see who has created these stars, The One who leads forth their host by number, He calls them all by name, Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power, Not one of them is missing.”

The hand of fate will spill milk on my table—that’s a given. Some seasons the spill is larger than I can handle; more oil spill than milk spill. The one who knows the stars by name has already placed the cleanup crew in place. In the darkness, in the process, He sustains and holds together til I reach that vantage point where I can appreciate His handiwork

Mental Disorder

We may be one little step from going off the deep end. When I was working in disability I had a patient that was unable to hold down a job because he spent hours in the bathroom washing his body. On his way to work he would stop his car believing that he’d hit somebody. He spent hours searching under and around his car for the body before continuing to work ultimately arriving late on a daily basis. I have an alarm clock that I check two or three times in the morning before I leave for work. There are days I’m certain that I left the door unlocked when I didn’t.

I could easily live like Howard Hughes. It would be easy to become a recluse; to try and shut down to avoid the anxiety producing pressures that bear down on me day to day. Certainly having Hughes’ paycheck would help too or else I’d have to leave the house once in a while to purchase milk and peanut butter. There is a gene for depression that runs amok in my family. Truly though God has allowed me to enjoy the positives in life and laugh on even my worst days.

Mental normalcy is something I take for granted. I have my share of maladies but stable emotions and mental acuity are things I don’t think about much. Today I’m giving thanks for a brain that functions normally with chemicals and emotions that line up accordingly--- something to think about when I check the alarm clock tomorrow morning.

Calvinism and Unconditional Election

Unconditional Election means that God chose to save us based solely on His own choice apart from any action or condition on our part. In our muddied thinking we believe that there was some goodness or inkling of altruism that motivated God to choose us. As discussed previously in the post on total depravity there was never anything in us that would cause God to elect us based on our merit. 

In wrestling with this concept most make the assumption that God knew that we would choose Him beforehand which is why He predestined us to salvation. This would mean that God is not ultimately sovereign in what He does. His decision would be a reaction to our choosing rather than God making the initial choice. Ephesians 1:4 indicates that God “chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him.” Before time began God chose; the deliberate action is with God not with us. In response to this incorrect understanding Sproul writes,

“On the basis of this prior knowledge of those who will meet the condition for salvation—that is, expressing faith or belief in Christ—He elects to save them. This is conditional election, which means that God distributes His electing grace on the basis of some foreseen condition that human beings meet themselves.”

The gut reaction we have to this is that it’s not fair. Though life isn’t fair we want our God to be fair. Sproul explains this way, “If God chooses sovereignly to bestow His grace on some sinners and withhold His grace from other sinners, is there any violation of justice in this? Do those who do not receive this gift receive something they do not deserve? Of course not. If God allows these sinners to perish, is He treating them unjustly? Of course not. One group receives grace; the other receives justice. No one receives injustice. Paul anticipates this protest: “Is there injustice on God’s part?” (Romans 9:14 and following) He answers it with the most emphatic response he can muster. I prefer the translation, “God forbid” (v. 14b). Then he goes on to amplify this response: “For he says to Moses, ‘I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion’” (v. 15). Here the Apostle is reminding his reader of what Moses declared centuries before; namely, that it is God’s divine right to execute clemency when and where He desires. He says from the beginning, “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy.” It is not on those who meet some conditions, but on those whom He is pleased to bestow the benefit.”

I find great assurance in the principle of Unconditional Election. Since God chose me apart from my works then my works will not undo that choosing. Since He predestined me to adoption my sonship is irrevocable. As His calling is from “before the foundation of the world,” I rest in his choice of me (apart from anything in myself) and in the eternality of the decision. “Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies;…For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Stay tuned Thursday when I discuss Limited Atonement.

The Scent Of A Flower Not Found

  For they are not the thing itself; they are only the scent of a flower we have not found, the echo of a tune we have not heard, news from a country we have never yet visited. – CS Lewis, 1942, The Weight of Glory

Perhaps that is why Pinterest is such a big hit. Pictures call to us of places we long to be and of dreams we hope to achieve. The lyrics from Cloverton’s song “Take me into the mystery, gently lift me with Your grace
Make the chaos a chorus, with Yourself come fill this place” speak of the deep longing we have for ‘the country we have never yet visited.’

Art in all it’s forms is a reflection of Beauty Himself. I grew up listening to classical music. I can get lost listening to a great piece of music until I am caught up beyond the music into a place of beauty that the music hints at. An Ansel Adams picture will have the same affect.

For myself my soul resounds when my body is face to face with vibrant music. My soul sings and my eyes delight in photos which catch a hint of the beauty of creation; nature or human. Ultimately they stoke the fire that to easily goes out in me. I am reminded that there is a tune I have not heard, a country I have not visited, a face I have not seen.

Calvinism and Total Depravity

“Whether we call ourselves Calvinists hardly matters; what matters is that we should understand the gospel biblically. But that, we think, does in fact mean understanding it as historic Calvinism does….”-J.I. Packer

What follows is a shallow look at the first of the main five points of Calvinism, or Reformed theology, as spelled out in the acrostic TULIP. As this is an extensive topic there are some caveats that need to be addressed. Most Reformed theologians agree with R.C. Sproul that, “it would be a serious mistake to understand the essence of Reformed theology simply in light of these five doctrines—the Reformed faith involves many other elements of theological and ecclesiastical confession. However, these are the five controversial points of Reformed theology, and they are the ones that are popularly seen as distinctive to this particular confession.” Each topic demands serious thought and investigation so I will link to a number of sites for additional information. Finally it is important to note that some godly men disagree with the basic tenets of Reformed theology. I stand with Packer in believing that if we understand the gospel we understand it as historic Calvinism does.

I just finished a twenty minute discussion with my wife whom (so far) disagrees with me on this subject. She has a good head on her shoulders and thinks well through theology (which is one reason I married her). This is a difficult subject to understand. It is as difficult a subject for me to lay out in a short blog post. The reason I do so is not to create complete understanding but to raise the issue so that readers are challenged to wrestle with the theology.

The T in the acrostic stands for “Total Depravity.” Sproul defines it this way,

“So the idea of total in total depravity doesn’t mean that all human beings are as wicked as they can possibly be. It means that the fall was so serious that it affects the whole person. The fallenness that captures and grips our human nature affects our bodies; that’s why we become ill and die. It affects our minds and our thinking; we still have the capacity to think, but the Bible says the mind has become darkened and weakened. The will of man is no longer in its pristine state of moral power. The will, according to the New Testament, is now in bondage. We are enslaved to the evil impulses and desires of our hearts. The body, the mind, the will, the spirit—indeed, the whole person—have been infected by the power of sin.”

I best understand this in light of Romans 3:10 and following: “There is none righteous, not even one; There is none who understands, There is none who seeks for God; All have turned aside, together they have become useless; There is none who does good, There is not even one.” “Their throat is an open grave, With their tongues they keep deceiving,” “The poison of asps is under their lips”; “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness”; “Their feet are swift to shed blood, Destruction and misery are in their paths.”

That’s God taking about me. That’s God talking about all mankind. Horne writes, “The unrenewed man cannot even begin to discern the truth of divine things. It is not simply that he will not; he cannot. When we inquire as to why he cannot, we discover that it is not because of a faulty functioning of the powers of logical reasoning as such but rather because of a failure to reckon with all pertinent data---data made available only by the work of the Holy Spirit.”

Being Totally depraved I could not make any decision for God or towards God in my own goodness. I was all evil, totally depraved, wholly fallen. Only God acting on me and drawing me could cause me to move toward Him. That is the basis for Unconditional Election which I will discuss in Sunday’s post.

Verses to consider: Ephesians 1:4,5: “just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will…”

Contemplating Growing Older

My hair is the proof that time takes its toll. I see the elderly at work many of whom wrestle with serious physical ailments. Once a customer told me that turning sixty he noticed a severe slowing. I don’t see that happening.

Some fifty-year olds look eighty while some eighty-year olds look fifty. Anecdotally I’ve noticed that those that workout manage to keep some aging signs at bay. Still it is difficult to escape the lines on the face and the gray in the hair.

I never really gave any of this much consideration til turning 50. Being less than five years from Carrow’s senior dinner eligibility has made me look twice at ‘old age.’ I’ve suffered infirmities since childhood. God has sustained me through a number of body injuries. So I will laugh, enjoy the wife of my middle years, dote on the daughter and maintain some semblance of exercise. Those are in my control. Winter will set in slowly. My hope is for slow frost not avalanche.

Ready For The Afterlife

  
It is the worst of all connections. I refer to the internal wiring that connects a current experience to an experience in the past that causes rage. Specifically my work environment is less than positive taking place in an environment that is not supportive with a boss that is ego-centered and accusatory. Yesterday I found myself viscerally reacting to his criticism in a way that made no immediate sense. It only made sense if what I was reacting to was something else such as a past event.

While it does some good to ruminate on possible childhood connections this satisfies only part of the picture. The reality is still that I have to deal with my emotions and my thinking in the present. I’m doing a lot of praying; asking for forgiveness and asking for wisdom. The positive is that it’s keeping me crying out.

Through these difficult circumstances and annoying little trials I find ultimately it helps to seek ministry to others and not focus so much on self. Beyond that it helps if I continuously sing songs to God especially songs focusing on Heaven my home. These things all seem to help through these days of trial. When my life is on cruise control it’s easy to get attached down here. When I’m struggling with multi-faceted trials I can sing, “I’m ready for the afterlife.”

At The Pool Of Bethesda

The sick man answered Him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, another steps down before me."  John 5:7

We too are waiting for the stirring up of the water. We cry to Jesus to put us into the pool. For we too have no one else. We have leaned on other people but they have let us down before the healing waters. We tried resting on our accomplishments but they cracked and shattered without granting us legitimate support. Beginning to realize our hopelessness we stare at the water as it begins to move.

Christ’s image is seen in the water. As we grow closer it is obscured by our own reflection. We know what we should do but in our own flesh we find it impossible. So we cry again for God to carry us to the pool.

We have lived in our own infirmity for so long. Seeing the beauty of Him who is most beautiful stuns us. We can not understand how we can be healed or safe when we have been sick so long. The water stirs and we are paralyzed and unable to move.

“Do you wish to get well,” He asks. Why would He ask us that? Doesn’t He know we are broken? “This wretched body will not make it to the water,” we say again. Still He forces the issue and requests, nay, commands us to, “Get up.”

We are at a crossroads. If we could get up then we would have no need for the water. Yet He commands with authority that stirs the hope within. Giving answer to a will stronger than our own we rise to our feet. Startled we realize what has happened.

We seek the presence of God. We jump for joy. We know not who this man was only that He said to walk and by God we did.

The water moves again and a voice cries to be carried to the pool. A hand reaches out to touch them. “I once was as you were,” he says.

God Is Confusing And Able

The commute today was sandwiched between songs about the God that is able and the God that is confusing. That is ever the tension. It is made worse in this clay body and this plastic world. We know who God is but we know too who we are---and what we are not. We view our trial and know what we want. God doesn’t always solve it, doesn’t always act, doesn’t always answer. We cry out because we know God can but wonder if He will.

There are always those Pollyanna people that point out that God granted Job more children and returned wealth and property. He still grieved the loss of his firstborn. The restoration doesn’t supplant the staggering loss. Job lays his hand on his mouth. He professes, “I know that you can do all things, And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted…”

“I don’t know what you’re doing but I know you,” is the refrain to the second song. Life is confusing. Knowing that God is able is what distresses us more. He is able so why won’t He act as we think He should? We cast our clay selves back onto God. With Job we admit that His ways are far above our understanding. With the Psalmist we have to get the right view; “When I pondered to understand this, it was troublesome in my sight until I came into the sanctuary of God.” God is able, God is holy, God is sovereign. We rest in who He is and that allows us to hope in what He does---or doesn’t---do.