Justin Taylor pointed out this clip from a Charlie Brown cartoon. Really cool!
Deeper with God
Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him. - Job 13:15
The life of Job in the Bible was a testimony of God's providence, chastening, and steadfast love in the life of a man who feared Him, but was tested beyond measure. What God allowed Job to go through, seems out of line with His character- as a loving, holy, kind God who exercises holiness and righteousness. I don't understand why God works the way He does. The verse stated above is exactly that kind of perplexity that fills my mind with wonder and amazement. Though He slay me... yet will I trust Him, hope in Him, love Him.
Jeremiah 9:23-24 says: "Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things," declares the LORD.
There seems to be a depth that God allows His servants to suffer, that they continue to trust Him. To the unbelieving eye, this sort of relationship almost seems demented. Who would treat someone that way? In a sense, it seems as though God purposefully slays His servants, knowing that His grace will carry them through and they will be humbled, and cling to God more. God means to be glorified in our lives, for our eternal joy and to allow us to enter a relationship that is fulfilling. There seems to be a maturity that arises through trials that make no sense and cause the most intense suffering- pleading with God asking for His deliverance but He does not seem to deliver. The writer of Psalm 44 speaks of this turmoil:
8In God we have boasted all day long,
And we will give thanks to Your name forever. Selah.
9Yet You have rejected us and brought us to dishonor,
And do not go out with our armies.
10You cause us to turn back from the adversary;
And those who hate us have taken spoil for themselves.
11You give us as sheep to be eaten
And have scattered us among the nations.
Here he makes his argument to God. They have been faithful to Him, and loved Him, but why is not God acting on their behalf?
18Our heart has not turned back,
And our steps have not deviated from Your way,
19Yet You have crushed us in a place of jackals
And covered us with the shadow of death.
20If we had forgotten the name of our God
Or extended our hands to a strange god,
21Would not God find this out?
For He knows the secrets of the heart.
22But for Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.
At the end of the psalm, the writer places his hope in God's loving kindness and mercy. He knows that God will not be hidden forever and will one day deliver. This sort of faith can only be found in Christ Jesus, given to us by grace from God. The Christian struggles under the sculptors hand. Like Jacob struggled with God in the wilderness, so it seems that He wrestles with the sinner's heart. What love and commitment He has to continue to shower grace that we would know Him in His holiness and righteousness, and seek to flee sin, and hate that evil yet in our hearts. All for His glory- and commitment to His eternal plan to glorify Jesus Christ and make His name known to all nations.
Do not lose heart when you are tested by the fiery trial of your faith. It is not some strange thing, but is working for you an imperishable inheritance. Soli Deo Gloria.
The life of Job in the Bible was a testimony of God's providence, chastening, and steadfast love in the life of a man who feared Him, but was tested beyond measure. What God allowed Job to go through, seems out of line with His character- as a loving, holy, kind God who exercises holiness and righteousness. I don't understand why God works the way He does. The verse stated above is exactly that kind of perplexity that fills my mind with wonder and amazement. Though He slay me... yet will I trust Him, hope in Him, love Him.
Jeremiah 9:23-24 says: "Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things," declares the LORD.
There seems to be a depth that God allows His servants to suffer, that they continue to trust Him. To the unbelieving eye, this sort of relationship almost seems demented. Who would treat someone that way? In a sense, it seems as though God purposefully slays His servants, knowing that His grace will carry them through and they will be humbled, and cling to God more. God means to be glorified in our lives, for our eternal joy and to allow us to enter a relationship that is fulfilling. There seems to be a maturity that arises through trials that make no sense and cause the most intense suffering- pleading with God asking for His deliverance but He does not seem to deliver. The writer of Psalm 44 speaks of this turmoil:
8In God we have boasted all day long,
And we will give thanks to Your name forever. Selah.
9Yet You have rejected us and brought us to dishonor,
And do not go out with our armies.
10You cause us to turn back from the adversary;
And those who hate us have taken spoil for themselves.
11You give us as sheep to be eaten
And have scattered us among the nations.
Here he makes his argument to God. They have been faithful to Him, and loved Him, but why is not God acting on their behalf?
18Our heart has not turned back,
And our steps have not deviated from Your way,
19Yet You have crushed us in a place of jackals
And covered us with the shadow of death.
20If we had forgotten the name of our God
Or extended our hands to a strange god,
21Would not God find this out?
For He knows the secrets of the heart.
22But for Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.
At the end of the psalm, the writer places his hope in God's loving kindness and mercy. He knows that God will not be hidden forever and will one day deliver. This sort of faith can only be found in Christ Jesus, given to us by grace from God. The Christian struggles under the sculptors hand. Like Jacob struggled with God in the wilderness, so it seems that He wrestles with the sinner's heart. What love and commitment He has to continue to shower grace that we would know Him in His holiness and righteousness, and seek to flee sin, and hate that evil yet in our hearts. All for His glory- and commitment to His eternal plan to glorify Jesus Christ and make His name known to all nations.
Do not lose heart when you are tested by the fiery trial of your faith. It is not some strange thing, but is working for you an imperishable inheritance. Soli Deo Gloria.
Life Changing
Our church has just finished going through a mid-week Bible study on the doctrines of grace. It was an awesome time as we learned about what God has done to bring us to Himself.
As I reflect on what these doctrines mean I have to say that they have brought about dramatic changes in my life over the past several years. Here is the effect God has wrought in my life through these scriptural teachings.
1. God has put in me a stronger love for the people in our church.
2. God has put in me a stronger love for sinners to come to Christ.
3. God has removed the fear of evangelism and given me courage to witness to many people.
4. God has helped me to make my preaching God-centered.
5. God has caused me to be more discerning over my theological influences.
6. God has helped me to rejoice in Him much more than in my circumstances.
7. God has helped me to hate my sin more and more.
8. God has removed the professionalization of ministry from my mind. Oh, how wonderful it is to be free from this mentality.
9. God has elevated the work of Christ to greater heights so that His grace abounds all the more.
10. God is establishing me in the faith more and more.
I know that there are some who think that these doctrines results in withering churches, divisions, arguments, grouchy people, pride, lack of evangelism, lack of prayer, over-emphasis on the sovereignty of God to the exclusion of man's responsiblity to believe the gospel, but nothing could be further from the truth.
Though there are some who can take these Biblical truths to a level of unbiblical living, that is more attributed to our depraved logic rather than reasoning from teachings of Scripture. For instance, I had a gentleman say to me the other day, "Since God has elected people to salvation then it doesn't matter what we do. He's going to save His people, right?" His argument is the same one I hear people consistently bring to the table. This is NOT what Scripture teaches. That is a faulty logical conclusion that Scripture does not lead us to. I say this to say that a right understanding of these doctrines should lead to godly living for they are from the mind of God.
Pastor John Piper offered a list of ten effects that Calvinism should have on the believer. He states that if these ten things do not result in your life then either he has failed to teach them properly or the individual has a hard heart.
1. These truths make me stand in awe of God and lead me into the depth of true God-centered worship.
2. These truths help protect me from trifling with divine things.
3. These truths make me marvel at my own salvation.
4. These truths make me alert to man-centered substitutes that pose as good news.
5. These truths make me groan over the indescribable disease of our secular, God-belittling culture.
6. These truths make me confident that the work which God planned and began, he will finish – both globally and personally.
7. These truths make me see everything in the light of God's sovereign purposes – that from him and through him and to him are all things, to him be glory forever and ever.
8. These truths make me hopeful that God has the will, the right, and the power to answer prayer that people be changed.
9. These truths reminds me that evangelism is absolutely essential for people to come to Christ and be saved, and that there is great hope for success in leading people to faith, but that conversion is not finally dependent on me or limited by the hardness of the unbeliever.
10. These truths make me sure that God will triumph in the end.
Perhap you have your own list to contribute.
As I reflect on what these doctrines mean I have to say that they have brought about dramatic changes in my life over the past several years. Here is the effect God has wrought in my life through these scriptural teachings.
1. God has put in me a stronger love for the people in our church.
2. God has put in me a stronger love for sinners to come to Christ.
3. God has removed the fear of evangelism and given me courage to witness to many people.
4. God has helped me to make my preaching God-centered.
5. God has caused me to be more discerning over my theological influences.
6. God has helped me to rejoice in Him much more than in my circumstances.
7. God has helped me to hate my sin more and more.
8. God has removed the professionalization of ministry from my mind. Oh, how wonderful it is to be free from this mentality.
9. God has elevated the work of Christ to greater heights so that His grace abounds all the more.
10. God is establishing me in the faith more and more.
I know that there are some who think that these doctrines results in withering churches, divisions, arguments, grouchy people, pride, lack of evangelism, lack of prayer, over-emphasis on the sovereignty of God to the exclusion of man's responsiblity to believe the gospel, but nothing could be further from the truth.
Though there are some who can take these Biblical truths to a level of unbiblical living, that is more attributed to our depraved logic rather than reasoning from teachings of Scripture. For instance, I had a gentleman say to me the other day, "Since God has elected people to salvation then it doesn't matter what we do. He's going to save His people, right?" His argument is the same one I hear people consistently bring to the table. This is NOT what Scripture teaches. That is a faulty logical conclusion that Scripture does not lead us to. I say this to say that a right understanding of these doctrines should lead to godly living for they are from the mind of God.
Pastor John Piper offered a list of ten effects that Calvinism should have on the believer. He states that if these ten things do not result in your life then either he has failed to teach them properly or the individual has a hard heart.
1. These truths make me stand in awe of God and lead me into the depth of true God-centered worship.
2. These truths help protect me from trifling with divine things.
3. These truths make me marvel at my own salvation.
4. These truths make me alert to man-centered substitutes that pose as good news.
5. These truths make me groan over the indescribable disease of our secular, God-belittling culture.
6. These truths make me confident that the work which God planned and began, he will finish – both globally and personally.
7. These truths make me see everything in the light of God's sovereign purposes – that from him and through him and to him are all things, to him be glory forever and ever.
8. These truths make me hopeful that God has the will, the right, and the power to answer prayer that people be changed.
9. These truths reminds me that evangelism is absolutely essential for people to come to Christ and be saved, and that there is great hope for success in leading people to faith, but that conversion is not finally dependent on me or limited by the hardness of the unbeliever.
10. These truths make me sure that God will triumph in the end.
Perhap you have your own list to contribute.
conversion.
2 Corinthians 5:17
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come."
When a person is born anew and experiences repentance, his attitude about Jesus changes. Jesus himself becomes the central focus and supreme value of life. Before the new birth happens and repentance occures, a hundred other things seem more important and more attractive: health, family, job, friends..." "But when God gives the radical change of new birth and repentance, Jesus himself becomes our supreme treasure."
-John Piper, What Jesus Demands From The World
If I would have read this two years ago, I would have simply agreed and said "Yeah, of course." It wasn't until God regenerated my heart to submit to Christ as master that I truely understood what this verse meant, and therefore, the words that Piper writes hit home. The self-made fake/plastic/wax fruits have now been replaced by Holy Spirit wrought genuine/juice-filled/ripe fruits that are alien to my own exertion.
the cost
Luke 9:23-24
"And He was saying to them all, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it."
" Jesus, I my cross have taken, All to leave and follow Thee. Destitute, despised, forsaken, Thou from hence my all shall be. Perish every fond ambition, All I’ve sought or hoped or known. Yet how rich is my condition! God and heaven are still my own."
"Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken" (1st verse)
Henry Lyte. (1793-1847)
the house of God
Psalm 69:9
"zeal for your house consumes me,
and the insults of those who insult you fall on me."
During the week, I just long to be back in church. I long to see my church family. My heart aches.
matlock+columbo+a seinfeld character+theology=
This rad r.c. sproul teaching session on double imputation. I wish i could have been there...
High Crimes...High Stakes
I’m not letting the sun set down on my anger . NOPE! I’m staying up all night and planning my revenge.
Well….that’s not really how it should go.
Ministry is exhausting. Pouring your life into other people is often tiresome, confusing, and painful. They don’t always do what they say, they’re stubborn, and on occasion make an uncalled backhanded comment. That’s because people are sinful. My friends are sinful. My family is sinful. Yes…even my brothers and sisters in Christ have an old sin nature. And what makes it worse is that …I myself am sinful.
Hurting each other (physically, emotionally, and spiritually) is inevitable due to sin. Christians are by definition forgiven sinners. That’s why one of the most Christ like thing we as humans can do is to forgive each other.
In fact this is a command;
But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your transgressions. Mark 11:26
As a Christian, forgiveness should be "easier" because it came at such a high price
Holding grudges against people is detrimental to the fellowship of the body. On top of that, holding grudges quenches the Spirit and is harmful to your sanctification.
Calculating what you will and will not tolerate is exhausting. Your mind is always occupied by the sinful thoughts, you start rationalizing your sin, and it sets its presence in your heart. Overtime your heart condition will shape you negatively as a person and rob you of the joy you have in Christ Jesus.
The more time you spend being bitter towards someone the more ground you will yield to the fruit of hate, anger, and strife which in time will shape you as a person.
slaves!
δούλος ο. (doulos)
Often times translated "servants" or "bondservants" but more accurately translated "slaves".
In fact John MacArthur says that there are 6 greek words for "servant", however "doulos" is not one of them. "Doulos" ALWAYS means "slave".
Here is what Johnny Mac says about what it meant to be a slave:
"Now if you don’t grasp that idea of slavery and a lot of us, we miss it because it’s been hidden from our English text, it’s hard for us to really understand the essence of what it is to be a Christian. You are a slave of Jesus Christ. You are owned. You have been purchased by His blood, Acts 20. You have been bought, not with silver and gold, but with...what?...1 Peter 1:18 and 19, the precious blood of Jesus Christ. You have been purchased, Revelation 5:9. You have no independent rights. Slaves had no rights. Slaves owned nothing. They could not own their own property. In the eyes of the law they were not citizens, they could hold no public office. They were completely under the discretion and the provision and the protection and the care and the abuse in an earthly sense of their owner."
This is what it all came down to in my life. Submitting to Christ's rule of my life. I am enslaved. I was enabled to submit to Him by his effectual grace... and it is by grace that I rejoice at being His slave. I live to be his slave! It is my JOY!
I long to hear the words of Matthew 25:21: "Well done good and faithful.... SLAVE."
The Doctrine Of Election - Part 1
By A.W. Pink
1. Introduction
Election is a foundational doctrine. In the past, many of the ablest teachers were accustomed to commence their systematic theology with a presentation of the attributes of God, and then a contemplation of His eternal decrees; and it is our studied conviction, after perusing the writings of many of our moderns, that the method followed by their predecessors cannot be improved upon. God existed before man, and His eternal purpose long antedated His works in time. "Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world" (#Ac 15:18). The divine councils went before creation. As a builder draws his plans before he begins to build, so the great Architect predestinated everything before a single creature was called into existence. Nor has God kept this a secret locked in His own bosom; it has pleased Him to make known in His Word the everlasting counsels of His grace, His design in the same, and the grand end He has in view.
When a building is in course of construction onlookers are often at a loss to perceive the reason for many of the details. As yet, they discern no order or design; everything appears to be in confusion. But if they could carefully scan the builder’s "plan" and visualize the finished production, much that had puzzled would become clear to them. It is the same with the outworking of God’s eternal purpose. Unless we are acquainted with His eternal decrees, history remains an insoluble enigma. God is not working at random: the gospel has been sent forth on no uncertain mission: the final outcome in the conflict between good and evil has not been left indeterminate; how many are to be saved or lost depends not on the will of the creature. Everything was infallibly determined and immutably fixed by God from the beginning, and all that happens in time is but the accomplishment of what was ordained in eternity.
The grand truth of election, then, takes us back to the beginning of all things. It antedated the entrance of sin into the universe, the fall of man, the advent of Christ, and the proclamation of the gospel. A right understanding of it, especially in its relation to the everlasting covenant, is absolutely essential if we are to be preserved from fundamental error. If the foundation itself be faulty, then the building erected on it cannot be sound; and if we err in our conceptions of this basic truth, then just in proportion as we do so will our grasp of all other truth be inaccurate. God’s dealings with Jew and Gentile, His object in sending His Son into this world, His design by the gospel, yea, the whole of His providential dealings, cannot be seen in their proper perspective till they are viewed in the light of His eternal election. This will become the more evident as we proceed.
It is a difficult doctrine, and this in three respects. First, in the understanding of it. Unless we are privileged to sit under the ministry of some Spirit-taught servant of God, who presents the truth to us systematically, great pains and diligence are called for in the searching of the Scriptures, so that we may collect and tabulate their scattered statements on this subject. It has not pleased the Holy Spirit to give us one complete and orderly setting forth of the doctrine of election, but instead "here a little, there a little"-in typical history, in psalm and prophecy, in the great prayer of Christ (#Joh 17), in the epistles of the apostles. Second, in the acceptation of it. This presents a much greater difficulty, for when the mind perceives what the Scriptures reveal thereon, the heart is loath to receive such an humbling and flesh-withering truth. How earnestly we need to pray for God to subdue our enmity against Him and our prejudice against His truth. Third, in the proclamation of it. No novice is competent to present this subject in its scriptural perspective and proportions.
But notwithstanding, these difficulties should not discourage, still less deter us, from an honest and serious effort to understand and heartily receive all that God has been pleased to reveal thereon. Difficulties are designed to humble us, to exercise us, to make us feel our need of wisdom from on high. It is not easy to arrive at a clear and adequate grasp of any of the great doctrines of Holy Writ, and God never intended it should be so. Truth has to be "bought" (#Pro 23:23) : alas that so few are willing to pay the price-devote to the prayerful study of the Word the time wasted on newspapers or idle recreations. These difficulties are not insurmountable, for the Spirit has been given to God’s people to guide them into all truth. Equally so for the minister of the Word: an humble waiting upon God, coupled with a diligent effort to be a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, will in due time fit him to expound this truth to the glory of God and the blessing of his hearers.
It is an important doctrine, as is evident from various considerations. Perhaps we can express most impressively the momentousness of this truth by pointing out that apart from eternal election there had never been any Jesus Christ, and therefore, no divine gospel; for if God had never chosen a people unto salvation, He had never sent His Son; and if He had sent no Saviour, none had ever been saved. Thus, the gospel itself originated in this vital matter of election. "But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation" (#2Th 2:13). And why are we "bound to give thanks"? Because election is the root of all blessings, the spring of every mercy that the soul receives. If election be taken away, everything is taken away, for those who have any spiritual blessing are they who have all spiritual blessings "according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world" (#Eph 1:3,4).
It was well said by Calvin, "We shall never be clearly convinced, as we ought to be, that our salvation flows from the fountain of God’s free mercy, till we are acquainted with His eternal election, which illustrates the grace of God by this comparison; that He adopts not all promiscuously to the hope of salvation, but He gives to some what He refuses to others. Ignorance of this principle evidently detracts from the divine glory, and diminishes real humility-If, then, we need to be recalled to the origin of election, to prove that we obtain salvation from no other source than the mere good pleasure of God, then they who desire to extinguish this principle, do all they can to obscure what ought to be magnificently and loudly celebrated."
It is a blessed doctrine, for election is the spring of all blessings. This is made unmistakably clear by (#Eph 1:3,4). First, the Holy Spirit declares that the saints have been blessed with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies in Christ. Then He proceeds to show why and how they were so blessed: it is according as God hath chosen us in Christ before the foundation of the world. Election in Christ, therefore, precedes being blessed with all spiritual blessings, for we are blessed with them only as being in Him, and we are only in Him as chosen in Him. We see, then, what a grand and glorious truth this is, for all our hopes and prospects belong to it. Election, though distinct and personal, is not, as is sometimes carelessly stated, a mere abstract choice of persons unto eternal salvation, irrespective of union with their Covenant-Head, but a choice of them in Christ. It therefore implies every other blessing, and all other blessings are given only through it and in accordance with it.
Rightly understood there is nothing so calculated to impart comfort and courage, strength and security, as a heart-apprehension of this truth. To be assured that I am one of the high favorites of Heaven imparts the confidence that God most certainly will supply my every need and make all things work together for my good. The knowledge that God has predestinated me unto eternal glory supplies an absolute guarantee that no efforts of Satan can possibly bring about my destruction, for if the great God be for me, who can be against me! It brings great peace to the preacher, for he now discovers that God has not sent him forth to draw a bow at a venture, but that His Word shall accomplish that which He pleases, and shall prosper whereto He sends it (#Is 55:11). And what encouragement it should afford the awakened sinner. As he learns that election is solely a matter of divine grace, hope is kindled in his heart: as he discovers, that election singled out some of the vilest of the vile to be the monuments of divine mercy, why should he despair!
It is a distasteful doctrine. One had naturally thought that a truth so God-honoring, Christ-exalting, and so blessed, had been cordially espoused by all professing Christians who had had it clearly presented to them. In view of the fact that the terms "predestinated," "elect," and "chosen," occur so frequently in the Word, one would surely conclude that all who claim to accept the Scriptures as divinely inspired would receive with implicit faith this grand truth, referring the act itself -as becometh sinful and ignorant creatures so to do- unto the sovereign good pleasure of God. But such is far, very far from being the actual case. No doctrine is so detested by proud human nature as this one, which make nothing of the creature and everything of the Creator; yea, at no other point is the enmity of the carnal mind so blatantly and hotly evident.
We commenced our addresses in Australia by saying, "I am going to speak tonight on one of the most hated doctrines of the Bible, namely, that of God’s sovereign election." Since then we have encircled this globe, and come into more or less close contact with thousands of people belonging to many denominations, and thousands more of professing Christians attached to none, and today the only change we would make in that statement is, that while the truth of eternal punishment is the one most objectionable to non-professors, that of God’s sovereign election is the truth most loathed and reviled by the majority of those claiming to be believers. Let it be plainly announced that salvation originated not in the will of man, but in the will of God (see #Joh 1:13; Ro 9:16), that were it not so none would or could be saved-for as the result of the fall man has lost all desire and will unto that which is good (#Joh 5:40; Ro 3:11) -and that even the elect themselves have to be made willing (#Ps 110:3), and loud will be the cries of indignation raised against such teaching.
It is at this point the issue is drawn. Merit-mongers will not allow the supremacy of the divine will and the impotency unto good of the human will, consequently they who are the most bitter in denouncing election by the sovereign pleasure of God, are the warmest in crying up the freewill of fallen man. In the decrees of the council of Trent-wherein the Papacy definitely defined her position on the leading points raised by the Reformers, and which Rome has never rescinded-occurs the following: "If any one should affirm that since the fall of Adam man’s free will is lost, let him be accursed." It was for their faithful adherence to the truth of election, with all that it involves, that Bradford and hundreds of others were burned at the stake by the agents of the pope. Unspeakably sad is it to see so many professing Protestants agree with the mother of harlots in this fundamental error.
But whatever aversion men may now have to this blessed truth, they will be compelled to hear it in the last day, hear it as the voice of final, unalterable, and eternal decision. When death and hades, the sea and dry land, shall give up the dead, then shall the Book of Life-the register in which was recorded from before the foundation of the world the whole election of grace-be opened in the presence of angels and demons, in the presence of the saved and of the lost, and that voice shall sound to the highest arches of Heaven, to the lowest depths of hell, to the uttermost bound of the universe: "And whosoever was not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire" (#Re 20:15). Thus, this truth which is hated by the non-elect above all others, is the one that shall ring in the ears of the lost as they enter their eternal doom! Ah, my reader, the reason why people do not receive and duly prize the truth of election, is because they do not feel their due need of it.
It is a separating doctrine. The preaching of the sovereignty of God, as exercised by Him in foreordaining the eternal destiny of each of His creatures, serves as an effectual flail to divide the chaff from the wheat. "He that is of God heareth God’s words" (#Joh 8:47) : yes, no matter how contrary they may be to his ideas. It is one of the marks of the regenerate that they set to their seal that God is true. Nor do they pick and choose, as will religious hypocrites: once they perceive a truth is clearly taught in the Word, even though it be utterly opposed to their own reason and inclinations, they humbly bow to it and implicitly receive it, and would do so though not another person in whole world believed it. But it is far otherwise with the unregenerate. As the apostle declares, "They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error" (#1Jo 4:5,6).
We know of nothing so devisive between the sheep and the goats as a faithful exposition of this doctrine. If a servant of God accepts some new charge, and he wishes to ascertain which of his people desire the pure milk of the Word, and which prefer the Devil’s substitutes, let him deliver a series of sermons on this subject, and it will quickly be the means of "taking forth the precious from the vile" (#Jer 15:19). It was thus in the experience of the Divine Preacher: when Christ announced "no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father," we are told, "from that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him" (#Joh 6:65,66) ! True it is that by no means all who intellectually receive "Calvinism" as a philosophy or theology, give evidence (in their daily lives) of regeneration; yet equally true is it that those who continue to cavil against and steadfastly refuse any part of the truth, are not entitled to be regarded as Christians.
It is a neglected doctrine. Though occupying so prominent a place in the Word of God, it is today but little preached, and still less understood. Of course, it is not to be expected that the "higher critics" and their blinded dupes should preach that which makes nothing of man; but even among those who wish to be looked up to as "orthodox" and "evangelical," there are scarcely any who give this grand truth a real place in either their pulpit ministrations or their writings. In some cases this is due to ignorance: not having been taught it in the seminary, and certainly not in the "Bible Institutes," they have never perceived its great importance and value. But in too many cases it is a desire to be popular with their hearers which muzzles their mouths. Nevertheless, neither ignorance, prejudice, nor enmity can do away with the doctrine itself, or lessen its vital momentousness.
In bringing to a close these introductory remarks, let it be pointed out that this blessed doctrine needs to be handled reverently. It is not a subject to be reasoned about and speculated upon, but approached in a spirit of holy awe and devotion. It is to be handled soberly, "When thou art in disputation, engaged upon a just quarrel to vindicate the truth of God from heresy and distortion, look into thy heart, set a watch on thy lips, beware of wild fire in thy zeal" (E. Reynolds, 1648). Nevertheless, this truth is to be dealt with uncompromisingly, and plainly, irrespective of the fear or favor of man, confidently leaving all "results" in the hand of God. May it be graciously granted us to write in a manner pleasing to God, and you to receive whatever is from Himself.
1. Introduction
Election is a foundational doctrine. In the past, many of the ablest teachers were accustomed to commence their systematic theology with a presentation of the attributes of God, and then a contemplation of His eternal decrees; and it is our studied conviction, after perusing the writings of many of our moderns, that the method followed by their predecessors cannot be improved upon. God existed before man, and His eternal purpose long antedated His works in time. "Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world" (#Ac 15:18). The divine councils went before creation. As a builder draws his plans before he begins to build, so the great Architect predestinated everything before a single creature was called into existence. Nor has God kept this a secret locked in His own bosom; it has pleased Him to make known in His Word the everlasting counsels of His grace, His design in the same, and the grand end He has in view.
When a building is in course of construction onlookers are often at a loss to perceive the reason for many of the details. As yet, they discern no order or design; everything appears to be in confusion. But if they could carefully scan the builder’s "plan" and visualize the finished production, much that had puzzled would become clear to them. It is the same with the outworking of God’s eternal purpose. Unless we are acquainted with His eternal decrees, history remains an insoluble enigma. God is not working at random: the gospel has been sent forth on no uncertain mission: the final outcome in the conflict between good and evil has not been left indeterminate; how many are to be saved or lost depends not on the will of the creature. Everything was infallibly determined and immutably fixed by God from the beginning, and all that happens in time is but the accomplishment of what was ordained in eternity.
The grand truth of election, then, takes us back to the beginning of all things. It antedated the entrance of sin into the universe, the fall of man, the advent of Christ, and the proclamation of the gospel. A right understanding of it, especially in its relation to the everlasting covenant, is absolutely essential if we are to be preserved from fundamental error. If the foundation itself be faulty, then the building erected on it cannot be sound; and if we err in our conceptions of this basic truth, then just in proportion as we do so will our grasp of all other truth be inaccurate. God’s dealings with Jew and Gentile, His object in sending His Son into this world, His design by the gospel, yea, the whole of His providential dealings, cannot be seen in their proper perspective till they are viewed in the light of His eternal election. This will become the more evident as we proceed.
It is a difficult doctrine, and this in three respects. First, in the understanding of it. Unless we are privileged to sit under the ministry of some Spirit-taught servant of God, who presents the truth to us systematically, great pains and diligence are called for in the searching of the Scriptures, so that we may collect and tabulate their scattered statements on this subject. It has not pleased the Holy Spirit to give us one complete and orderly setting forth of the doctrine of election, but instead "here a little, there a little"-in typical history, in psalm and prophecy, in the great prayer of Christ (#Joh 17), in the epistles of the apostles. Second, in the acceptation of it. This presents a much greater difficulty, for when the mind perceives what the Scriptures reveal thereon, the heart is loath to receive such an humbling and flesh-withering truth. How earnestly we need to pray for God to subdue our enmity against Him and our prejudice against His truth. Third, in the proclamation of it. No novice is competent to present this subject in its scriptural perspective and proportions.
But notwithstanding, these difficulties should not discourage, still less deter us, from an honest and serious effort to understand and heartily receive all that God has been pleased to reveal thereon. Difficulties are designed to humble us, to exercise us, to make us feel our need of wisdom from on high. It is not easy to arrive at a clear and adequate grasp of any of the great doctrines of Holy Writ, and God never intended it should be so. Truth has to be "bought" (#Pro 23:23) : alas that so few are willing to pay the price-devote to the prayerful study of the Word the time wasted on newspapers or idle recreations. These difficulties are not insurmountable, for the Spirit has been given to God’s people to guide them into all truth. Equally so for the minister of the Word: an humble waiting upon God, coupled with a diligent effort to be a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, will in due time fit him to expound this truth to the glory of God and the blessing of his hearers.
It is an important doctrine, as is evident from various considerations. Perhaps we can express most impressively the momentousness of this truth by pointing out that apart from eternal election there had never been any Jesus Christ, and therefore, no divine gospel; for if God had never chosen a people unto salvation, He had never sent His Son; and if He had sent no Saviour, none had ever been saved. Thus, the gospel itself originated in this vital matter of election. "But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation" (#2Th 2:13). And why are we "bound to give thanks"? Because election is the root of all blessings, the spring of every mercy that the soul receives. If election be taken away, everything is taken away, for those who have any spiritual blessing are they who have all spiritual blessings "according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world" (#Eph 1:3,4).
It was well said by Calvin, "We shall never be clearly convinced, as we ought to be, that our salvation flows from the fountain of God’s free mercy, till we are acquainted with His eternal election, which illustrates the grace of God by this comparison; that He adopts not all promiscuously to the hope of salvation, but He gives to some what He refuses to others. Ignorance of this principle evidently detracts from the divine glory, and diminishes real humility-If, then, we need to be recalled to the origin of election, to prove that we obtain salvation from no other source than the mere good pleasure of God, then they who desire to extinguish this principle, do all they can to obscure what ought to be magnificently and loudly celebrated."
It is a blessed doctrine, for election is the spring of all blessings. This is made unmistakably clear by (#Eph 1:3,4). First, the Holy Spirit declares that the saints have been blessed with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies in Christ. Then He proceeds to show why and how they were so blessed: it is according as God hath chosen us in Christ before the foundation of the world. Election in Christ, therefore, precedes being blessed with all spiritual blessings, for we are blessed with them only as being in Him, and we are only in Him as chosen in Him. We see, then, what a grand and glorious truth this is, for all our hopes and prospects belong to it. Election, though distinct and personal, is not, as is sometimes carelessly stated, a mere abstract choice of persons unto eternal salvation, irrespective of union with their Covenant-Head, but a choice of them in Christ. It therefore implies every other blessing, and all other blessings are given only through it and in accordance with it.
Rightly understood there is nothing so calculated to impart comfort and courage, strength and security, as a heart-apprehension of this truth. To be assured that I am one of the high favorites of Heaven imparts the confidence that God most certainly will supply my every need and make all things work together for my good. The knowledge that God has predestinated me unto eternal glory supplies an absolute guarantee that no efforts of Satan can possibly bring about my destruction, for if the great God be for me, who can be against me! It brings great peace to the preacher, for he now discovers that God has not sent him forth to draw a bow at a venture, but that His Word shall accomplish that which He pleases, and shall prosper whereto He sends it (#Is 55:11). And what encouragement it should afford the awakened sinner. As he learns that election is solely a matter of divine grace, hope is kindled in his heart: as he discovers, that election singled out some of the vilest of the vile to be the monuments of divine mercy, why should he despair!
It is a distasteful doctrine. One had naturally thought that a truth so God-honoring, Christ-exalting, and so blessed, had been cordially espoused by all professing Christians who had had it clearly presented to them. In view of the fact that the terms "predestinated," "elect," and "chosen," occur so frequently in the Word, one would surely conclude that all who claim to accept the Scriptures as divinely inspired would receive with implicit faith this grand truth, referring the act itself -as becometh sinful and ignorant creatures so to do- unto the sovereign good pleasure of God. But such is far, very far from being the actual case. No doctrine is so detested by proud human nature as this one, which make nothing of the creature and everything of the Creator; yea, at no other point is the enmity of the carnal mind so blatantly and hotly evident.
We commenced our addresses in Australia by saying, "I am going to speak tonight on one of the most hated doctrines of the Bible, namely, that of God’s sovereign election." Since then we have encircled this globe, and come into more or less close contact with thousands of people belonging to many denominations, and thousands more of professing Christians attached to none, and today the only change we would make in that statement is, that while the truth of eternal punishment is the one most objectionable to non-professors, that of God’s sovereign election is the truth most loathed and reviled by the majority of those claiming to be believers. Let it be plainly announced that salvation originated not in the will of man, but in the will of God (see #Joh 1:13; Ro 9:16), that were it not so none would or could be saved-for as the result of the fall man has lost all desire and will unto that which is good (#Joh 5:40; Ro 3:11) -and that even the elect themselves have to be made willing (#Ps 110:3), and loud will be the cries of indignation raised against such teaching.
It is at this point the issue is drawn. Merit-mongers will not allow the supremacy of the divine will and the impotency unto good of the human will, consequently they who are the most bitter in denouncing election by the sovereign pleasure of God, are the warmest in crying up the freewill of fallen man. In the decrees of the council of Trent-wherein the Papacy definitely defined her position on the leading points raised by the Reformers, and which Rome has never rescinded-occurs the following: "If any one should affirm that since the fall of Adam man’s free will is lost, let him be accursed." It was for their faithful adherence to the truth of election, with all that it involves, that Bradford and hundreds of others were burned at the stake by the agents of the pope. Unspeakably sad is it to see so many professing Protestants agree with the mother of harlots in this fundamental error.
But whatever aversion men may now have to this blessed truth, they will be compelled to hear it in the last day, hear it as the voice of final, unalterable, and eternal decision. When death and hades, the sea and dry land, shall give up the dead, then shall the Book of Life-the register in which was recorded from before the foundation of the world the whole election of grace-be opened in the presence of angels and demons, in the presence of the saved and of the lost, and that voice shall sound to the highest arches of Heaven, to the lowest depths of hell, to the uttermost bound of the universe: "And whosoever was not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire" (#Re 20:15). Thus, this truth which is hated by the non-elect above all others, is the one that shall ring in the ears of the lost as they enter their eternal doom! Ah, my reader, the reason why people do not receive and duly prize the truth of election, is because they do not feel their due need of it.
It is a separating doctrine. The preaching of the sovereignty of God, as exercised by Him in foreordaining the eternal destiny of each of His creatures, serves as an effectual flail to divide the chaff from the wheat. "He that is of God heareth God’s words" (#Joh 8:47) : yes, no matter how contrary they may be to his ideas. It is one of the marks of the regenerate that they set to their seal that God is true. Nor do they pick and choose, as will religious hypocrites: once they perceive a truth is clearly taught in the Word, even though it be utterly opposed to their own reason and inclinations, they humbly bow to it and implicitly receive it, and would do so though not another person in whole world believed it. But it is far otherwise with the unregenerate. As the apostle declares, "They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error" (#1Jo 4:5,6).
We know of nothing so devisive between the sheep and the goats as a faithful exposition of this doctrine. If a servant of God accepts some new charge, and he wishes to ascertain which of his people desire the pure milk of the Word, and which prefer the Devil’s substitutes, let him deliver a series of sermons on this subject, and it will quickly be the means of "taking forth the precious from the vile" (#Jer 15:19). It was thus in the experience of the Divine Preacher: when Christ announced "no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father," we are told, "from that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him" (#Joh 6:65,66) ! True it is that by no means all who intellectually receive "Calvinism" as a philosophy or theology, give evidence (in their daily lives) of regeneration; yet equally true is it that those who continue to cavil against and steadfastly refuse any part of the truth, are not entitled to be regarded as Christians.
It is a neglected doctrine. Though occupying so prominent a place in the Word of God, it is today but little preached, and still less understood. Of course, it is not to be expected that the "higher critics" and their blinded dupes should preach that which makes nothing of man; but even among those who wish to be looked up to as "orthodox" and "evangelical," there are scarcely any who give this grand truth a real place in either their pulpit ministrations or their writings. In some cases this is due to ignorance: not having been taught it in the seminary, and certainly not in the "Bible Institutes," they have never perceived its great importance and value. But in too many cases it is a desire to be popular with their hearers which muzzles their mouths. Nevertheless, neither ignorance, prejudice, nor enmity can do away with the doctrine itself, or lessen its vital momentousness.
In bringing to a close these introductory remarks, let it be pointed out that this blessed doctrine needs to be handled reverently. It is not a subject to be reasoned about and speculated upon, but approached in a spirit of holy awe and devotion. It is to be handled soberly, "When thou art in disputation, engaged upon a just quarrel to vindicate the truth of God from heresy and distortion, look into thy heart, set a watch on thy lips, beware of wild fire in thy zeal" (E. Reynolds, 1648). Nevertheless, this truth is to be dealt with uncompromisingly, and plainly, irrespective of the fear or favor of man, confidently leaving all "results" in the hand of God. May it be graciously granted us to write in a manner pleasing to God, and you to receive whatever is from Himself.
T4G08
Registration Confirmation
The following person has been successfully registered for Together for the Gospel 2008 with the options and fees noted:
* Joey Mejia (Student Rate $99.00)
All charges will appear from our processor VeriSign or from Sovereign Grace Ministries. Payment summary information is listed below.
If you have any questions, please email us at registration@T4G.org.
We look forward to seeing you at the conference!
You can download the MP3's of the conference for free at the Sovereign Grace Ministries Website
what is talia?
"a collective that encourages one another to be
knowing, understanding, embracing, speaking, and living the gospel."
knowing, understanding, embracing, speaking, and living the gospel."
I Recommend You Read...
It's encouraging.
It's informing.
It's inexpensive.
It's a quick read at only 76 pages.
precious scripture.
Proverbs 2:1-5
My son, if you receive my words
and treasure up my commandments with you,
making your ear attentive to wisdom
and inclining your heart to understanding;
yes, if you call out for insight
and raise your voice for understanding,
if you seek it like silver
and search for it as for hidden treasures,
then you will understand the fear of the LORD
and find the knowledge of God.
It would probably be best to not even make a comment about that verse. It's so powerful. However, I do want to say something in regards to "inclining your heart to understanding." Too often I read flippantly through scripture, even sharing scripture, without laboring over the dissection and in depth study of the passage. Recently, while studying passages in my Hermeneutics class, I have been humbled at how little I know scriptural background and context. God's word is precious, and I need to be "rightly dividing the Word of truth." (2 Timothy 2:16) When I search passionately for the truths of scripture then I will find the knowledge of God and I will fear him more. (Prov. 2:5) Remember what happened to Moses, Daniel, Ezekial, and Isaiah when they came to a better knowledge of God?
