Calvinism and The True Gospel

When I was first introduced to the Doctrines of Grace, I was utterly shaken to the core. Everything I had held to be true as a Christian seemed to be unraveling around me. It was as though I had been walking on a frozen lake and the ice was cracking all around me. I wrote a letter to the man who introduced me to the majestic beauty of these precious truths, in that letter I wrote the following words:

No one else knows how it was that I came to embrace the Doctrines of Grace quite like you do. As you can testify, the lights just turned on, one minute I was arguing with you and the next minute I was on the same side of the fence. Looking back on that experience, it is obvious that the whole worldview or paradigm I had held up to that point was utterly shattered. The majestic mountains of the Doctrines of Grace had fallen on the barren hills of Arminianism. I was a Calvinist plain and simple. Full of enough fire to burn anyone past the point of no return! God is gracious to us in our ignorance. What I hold now, as I see it, is the growth of that new worldview to its fullest meaning. The majestic mountains of the Doctrines of Grace have come into full color as it were. I am truly reformed to the depths of my being.

I believe with all my heart that God is the one who gets the glory in our salvation from first to last. This is what originally brought me to my knees, not in front of the doctrine of men, but in front of the doctrine of God. Our God is a sovereign ruler. He does as He pleases. This brings me to the point of my post: I am reading through J.I. Packer's introduction to the book, "The Death of Death in the Death of Christ," by John Owen. Packer in his opening essay sets forth so much about the doctrines of grace in so little words that I had to post some of what I have learned from him!

Consider this: there are two gospels which Packer refers to in his essay; the old gospel (which embraced calvinism, which was faithful to the word of God) and the new gospel (which embraces arminianism, which as Packer says so eloquently, "Part of the Biblical gospel is now preached as if it were the whole of that gospel; and a half truth masquerading as the whole truth becomes a complete untruth.) As you read this, ask yourself which you really believe, the old gospel or the new and which one is truer to Scripture:

• The Old gospel's first concern is to always give glory to God. But in the new gospel the center of reference is man. (pp.2)



• Where the Arminian says: "I owe my election to my faith," the Calvinist says: "I owe my faith to my election." (pp. 7)



• "One makes salvation depend on the work of God (calvinism), the other on the work of man(arminianism)."(pp.4)



• "One regards faith as part of God's gift (calvinism) the other as man's own contribution to salvation." (pp.4)



• "One gives all glory of saving believers to God (calvinism), the other divides the praise between God...and man (arminianism)." (pp.4)
  

Every generation of the church is faced with its own unique struggles and challenges. Part of the challenge of this day and age is the apostasy from the true gospel. There is way too much man and not near enough God. Most Christians will confess that they believe in the sovereignty of God, however, probe deeper and you will learn what they truly mean. Ask them, where did their faith come from?

I will close with a few more quotations from Packer's essay:

A true ransom for the elect:

"Christ did not win a hypothetical salvation for hypothetical believers, a mere possibility of salvation for any who might possibly believe, but a real salvation for His own chosen people. His precious blood really does "save us all"; the intended effects of His self-offering do in fact follow, just because the cross was what it was. Its saving power does not depend on faith Being added to it; its saving power is such that faith flows from it." (pp.10)

The failure of "unlimited atonement."

"The true evangelical evaluation of the claim that Christ died for every man, even those who parish...so far from magnifying the love and grace of God, this claim dishonours both it and Him, for it reduces God's love to an impotent wish and turns the whole economy of "saving" grace, so-called (saving is really a misnomer on this view), into a monumental divine failure." (pp.12)

A proper definition of Calvinism:

"In the first place, Calvinism is something much broader than the "five points" indicate. Calvinism is a whole world view, stemming from a clear vision of God as the whole world's Maker and King. Calvinism is the consistent endeavour to acknowledge the Creator as the Lord, working all things after the council of His will. Calvinism is a theocentric way of thinking about all of life under the direction and control of God's own Word. Calvinism, in other words, is the theology of the Bible viewed from the perspective of the Bible-the God centered outlook which sees the Creator as the source, and means, and end, of everything that is, both in nature and in grace. Calvinism is thus theism (belief in God as the ground of all things), religion (dependence upon God as the giver for all things) and evangelicalism (trust in God through Christ for all things), all in their purest and most highly developed form. And calvinism is a unified philosophy of history which sees the whole diversity of processes and events that take place in God's world as no more, and no less, than the outworking of His great preordained plan for His creatures and His church. The five points assert no more than that God is sovereign in saving the individual, but Calvinism, as such, is concerned with the much broader assertion that He is sovereign everywhere." (pp.5)

(all quotes were taken from J.I. Packer's Introductory Essay, in The Death of Death, by John Owen)

The Glory of the Cross- Sovereign Grace Ministries

There is but One Living and True God

The Westminster Confession of Faith- Chapter Two

1.) There is but one living and true God, who is infinite in being and perfection, a most pure spirit, invisible, without body, parts, or passions, immutable, immense, eternal, incomprehensible, almighty, most wise, most holy, most free, most absolute, working all things according to the council of His own immutable and most righteous will, for His own glory; most loving, gracious, merciful, long suffering, abundant in goodness and truth, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin; the rewarder of them that diligently seek Him; and withal most just and terrible in His judgements; hating all sin, and who will by no means clear the guilty.
2.) God hath all, life, glory, goodness, blessedness, in and of Himself; and is alone in and unto himself all-sufficient, not standing in need of any creatures which He hath made, not deriving any glory from them, but only manifesting His own glory, in, by, unto, and upon them: he is alone the fountain of all being, of whom, through whom, and to whom are all things; and has most sovereign dominion over them, to do by them, for them, or upon them, whatsoever himself pleaseth. In his sight all things are open and manifest; his knowledge is infinite, infallible, and independent upon the creature, so as nothing is to him contingent or uncertain. He is most holy in all his counsels, in all his works, and in all his commands. To him is due from angels and men, and every other creature, whatsoever worship, service, or obedience, he is pleased to require of them.

3) In the unity of the Godhead there be three persons, of one substance, power and eternity; God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The Father is of none, neither begotten nor proceeding; the Son is eternally begotten of the Father; the Holy Ghost eternally proceeding from the Father and the Son.

I would like to point out a few things from the above doctrine:
The writers of the Westminster Catechism were saturated in their bibles. People don't write things like this who are not in their bibles. As we read this section of the catechism we aren't faced with someone's "opinion" or the "politically correct" conception of the day; as we read these paragraphs we are faced with the revelation of scripture.

Mankind, if he is left to himself, cannot come to the properly knowledge of the one true and living God. Two things are essential in arriving at a proper understanding of who God is, scripture and grace. It is essential to be in the Word of God everyday reading, studying, and memorizing. This is where we learn and this is where we are corrected. Secondly, the grace of God is what brings us to a saving grace and keeps us persevering to the end.

It is also important to know that God is all sufficient and the source of all being. As the one who created all things, the one who sustains the world and upholds all things by the word of His power; does not have any need to reason with man concerning His existence or authority. He reveals Himself in Genesis 1:1 very simply and very plainly, "In the Beginning God...". There is a profound sense of presupposition from the revelation set forth in the Bible. God does reveal Himself through nature, yet we cannot "see" Him because of our sin.

The Bible reveals God as one in three, yet three in one (the Trinity). As we read the New Testament this revelation is brought to bear upon the Old Testament, which revealed the truth that Yaweh is but one God. When reading and interpreting the Bible it is important to know the entire teaching of scripture and not just that of the Old or New Testaments. In the history of the church there have been numerous instances where people denied the teaching of Scripture concerning God and his character or being. These people did not hold a proper scriptural conception of who God is. Arianism for instance is a heresy that denies Jesus Christ is God. Jehovah's Witnesses would be an example of modern day Arians.

It doesn't take long to learn of a person's conception of who God is. Listen to the way they pray listen to the way they talk. Ask yourself, where is God in their life? Do some personal reflection and ask yourself where is God in your life? How aware of this God are you? In your personal prayers and family worship do you see an awe and reverence? Holy fear should characterize those people who know the true and living God.

God's Plan and Purpose to reach the Nations

Dr. Virgil Olson spoke last night at the Wednesday Night connection for adults. His topic was "God's Plan and Purpose For the Nations." Dr. Olson is 92 years old! It was a real blessing to listen to this seasoned saint. This was the fourth of seventeen lectures in a series entitled, "Growing a heart for the Nations."

Dr. Olson took us through a brief snapshot of church history and missions. Here is a summary of his Lecture:

• Introduction- To have a heart for the nations we must understand God's plan and purpose for the nations. It is interesting to see how God appeared to Abraham and spoke to him regarding His plan, "Through you all the nations (gr. ethne) will be blessed." As we move on we see Isaiah's words to Israel, they were to be, "A light to the nations ("ethne"). In the New Testament, as we read of Jesus' lineage, we see that Jesus had Canaanite, Hittite, and Moabite blood. As doctor Olson pointed out, "Jesus not only shed His blood for the nations, He shared His blood for the nations." After making atonement for sins, He commissioned the Apostles to make disciples of the nations (ethne). The plan and purpose of God is to reach the nations for His glory.



• Stage 1- The Roman empire is penetrated with the gospel. Paul spoke of the gospel, "that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven," and "All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing." The gospel spread from England to India during the first 500 years of the church. Many were saved and many took the gospel to the heathen. During this period, it also became important to define much of the scriptural teaching in the form of creeds and confessions in order to guard the church from heresy and false doctrines.



• Stage 2- God used the Roman Catholic Church in order to Christianize Europe- A.D. 500-1500. When the Roman Empire began to fall, the church and the authority within the church was there to fill the void. By the grace of God, Europe was spared from invasions from Muslims and Vikings. Dr. Olson pointed out, "The church at the close of this period was the dominate force in Europe. God appears to use earthly vessels to expand his plan and purposes. Except for dedicated missionaries, the church was pretty much led by politically driven leaders. God uses imperfect vessels, to fulfill his plan and purpose. As Fredrick Faber 140 years ago wrote: 'There's a wideness in God's mercy like the wideness of the sea; There's a kindness in His justice which is more than liberty. For the love of God is broader than the measure of man's mind; and the heart of the Eternal is most wonderfully kind.'"



• Stage 3- Revival through Reformation and Pietism- 1500-1800. The period of the reformation is an interesting study of providence! When the protestant reformation took place it was at the perfect time. As Dr. Olson so wisely pointed out, "God in His plan and purpose puts all the major actors on the world stage to converge, the political, economic, research, science and religious." All these aspects were prime for a theological reformation and a breaking loose of the gospel into the hearts of the "common" people. The doctrines of Sola Fide, faith alone; Sola Scriptura, scripture alone; and the priesthood of believers were all main doctrines which were recovered during the reformation. Though the reformation wasn't missions minded per-se, it gave the theology for future missionaries to go in the truth and power of the gospel. Moravian missions was one strong movement during this time (at some point in the future I will post an in depth article on the Moravian missions movement and its effect on the world and certain individuals).



• Stage 4- 1800-1850- Many missionaries took the gospel during this period of history. Hudson Taylor founded the China Inland Mission, Adoniram Judson, Baptist Society, William Carey went to India, Cameron Townsend, and many others. There was also a rise of Third World Missions during this stage of history.



• Stage 5- God's plan- Revival of Frontier Movement-1850-2008. Ralph Winter and USCWM and WCIU in 1977. Also the identification of people groups has contributed vastly to the global spreading of the gospel.



• Stage 6- God's plan and promise for the future- 2008 on. Haggai 2:6, "I will shake the nations, so that the treasures of the nations will come in." We have a hope that we rest on- Our mission will be successful because God has promised so! As it is written in the gospel of Matthew, "The Gospel of the Kingdom with be preached to all nations (ethne) and then the end will come."

Father in heaven,

I pray Lord that you would birth in me a desire to see the nations come to you. Open my eyes to see as you see. To love the nations as you love them. They are yours Lord. Your gospel is so beautiful and the work of your Son is perfect. Forgive me for hording this treasured possession. May it be that from this moment on you bring forth from my heart, from my soul, from the depth of me Lord, a passion to take this treasure to the nations. I am a clay pot Lord and your gospel is treasure! Thank you that you have chosen me and that I bear your truth. Let me find boldness Lord, Let me find hope in your Spirit and calling. For everyone who reads this with their eyes Lord, I ask that you would bless them with this same passion and zeal. Fill them with your fire and send them out Lord. In the Name above all names I pray- Amen.

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The Desiring God National Conference

I had the privilege this past weekend to attend the 2008 Desiring God National Conference. As is always the case, I was blessed and happy to be there. The best summary on the conference that I have found so far has been on the Desiring God website and on Justin Taylor's blog, "Between Two Worlds."

I was challenged to grow in maturity, to seek holiness in my speech, to continue making melody in my heart to the Lord, to speak graceful words, to think of life as a story which I have a role as a main character, and to turn away from hypocrisy to the true faith found only in the Lord Jesus.

I look forward to meditating more on these profound truths as life continues and putting the word of God into practice in my everyday life.