A Wonderful Surprise

The first time I was confronted with the Doctrines of Grace I hated them! How cruel God seemed to me if these things were true. How dare my "free will" be infringed upon. Yes, God chose me for salvation, but that was only because I first chose Him. That was my Arminian view and it destested the doctrines that I have now come to love.

As a matter of fact, almost everyone that I have talked to that believes the doctrines of grace has at some point resisted them. But them someone lovingly helped them press into the Scriptures that they might see these truths for themselves and then finally come to understand what they mean. How detestable are these truths until the Lord enlightens our minds and causes us to love them--for they reveal the nature of God. And how can a child of God not love his Father's nature?

It came as a wonderful surprise to me the other day when I found out that an administrator and my professor from my first year in Bible College (1991) converted to the Doctrines of Grace. I was shocked and esctatic! I am not alone is coming to these glorious truths! Here was a godly and extremely intelligent man who, by God's grace, came to believe what is commonly called Calvinism. God gave rise to another reformer. And don't you just love it! I do! Here is his bio from Sermonaudio.com. (Give a listen to some of his sermons on church history.)

Pastor Jeff Massey had been a pastor for eight years, when he came to a full conviction of the Doctrines of Grace. He left his Denomination in 1995 to become part of the Reformed Baptist movement. He joined Sovereign Grace Baptist Church , and was ordained as an Elder in 1999. He is married to Melissa, and they have three children, Justis (23), Jeremy (20) and Joseph (18). Pastor Jeff is continuing his education as a full-time student at Westminster Seminary California and the Institute of Reformed Baptist Studies in Escondido. It is his goal to obtain an M.Div degree. At SGBC, Pastor Jeff regularly teaches Adult Sunday School during the regular year and Church History classes in the summer. His primary focus is on teaching, and pastoral oversight.

There are little reformers rising all around and I get all goose-pimply thinking about it. It seems to me that God is causing a revival to take place amongst His people. A modern reformation seems to be on the prowl and only the Lord knows the impact this will have on the world.

In our church we have spent Monday and Tuesday nights going through a series of lessons on these doctrines. There are twenty-something year-olds spending two hours on a weeknight in my home listening and desiring to know more of God and His grace. That puts a grin on my face that won't go away. God's people are hungry for doctrine and as a result they are growing in holiness as the come to see their Savior clearly in the Word.

This post might seem like a ramble and I'm sure it is. I just wanted to say that I'm wonderfully suprised at what God is doing. Young and old are being drawn away from a pragmatic, program-driven, self-help, pyschology preaching churches. God is putting them under shepherds who will teach the Word in unadulterated fashion. God is bringing us back to know what it truly means to be saved by His grace!

If you are hostile to the Doctrines of Grace/Calvinism, I lovingly urge you to dive into them to see what they are really about. If you rightly understand them, your evangelism will soar through the roof, your worship of God will be uncontainable, your desire for the Word will intensify, holiness will increase, fellowship will come more naturally and God will be glorified through it all.