When is a Calvinist not a Calvinist?

When his theology and teaching are man-centered.

Calvinists believe that fallen, sinful, rebellious men and women (and children) are unwilling and unable to repent of their sin and to come in faith to Christ. We Calvinists believe that for someone to respond properly to the gospel God must first send forth an effectual call that gives the sinner both the willingness and ability to repent and believe.

Furthermore, the Calvinist believes that after a person is regenerated and converted to Christ, he is still totally dependent upon God’s work in him “both to will and to do of God’s good pleasure” – to live as a God-centered, Christ-exalting, Spirit-dependent and obedient Christian who reflects Christ in his life. In short, we confess with Paul, “By the grace of God I am what I am” (1 Cor.15:10).

The gospel of God’s saving grace through Jesus Christ is good news about what God does for sinners and in sinners and through sinners who are totally unable to do those things themselves. The Bible is all about this wonderful Savior and His saving work which alone can bring us to God and enable us to follow Christ in newness of life. In this new life we are “enabled more and more to die unto sin, and live unto righteousness” (Westminster Shorter Catechism, Question 35).

With such a God-centered theology and Christ-centered message, why would anyone descend to man-centered preaching and teaching? Such a ministry will be neither saving nor sanctifying (unless God is pleased to overrule it, of course).

What do I mean by “man-centered preaching?” I do not mean that the preacher does not know the Lord or desire to preach Christ. I do not mean (necessarily) that he is a heretic or a deceiver. I simply mean that in his ministry the Bible is approached in a very un-Calvinistic way. Such a ministry uses the Bible as a book of principles to be implemented and examples to be imitated. In the name of “practical Christianity” or “application in preaching” we are told that God blessed certain people because of what they did and if we do the same thing He will bless us. In fact, some go as far as saying (or at least implying) that we are not being blessed because we are not implementing the right principles or following the right examples. Then comes the guilt-trip to try to get us to do more.

As has been said in other posts (see http://jotzandtittlez.blogspot.com/2011/04/bible-what-its-all-about-1.html), the Bible is about God’s saving work through Christ, not about man’s self-saving or self-sanctifying work through the use of principles and examples. Even as a believer, I am still in need of salvation from the remaining darkness in my mind, the remaining perversion in my affections, and the remaining rebellion in my will. There is no quick fix to remaining corruption except suicide (which I am NOT advocating, of course). No amount of surrender, consecration, imitation, mystical expereinces or down home advice can deliver me from the sinning that my Savior alone can save me from. And that salvation does not come from considering what everyone else in Scripture did, but what God alone can do and does for His people. See Him in the Bible and preach Him in the pulpit. 

Born Again

    Being born again…by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. 

(1 Peter 1:23)

In verse 22 the apostle Peter was inspired by the Holy Spirit to command us to do something that is truly impossible to man: “love one another with a pure heart fervently.” Fallen, self-centered man is unable and unwilling to love others in the same way he loves himself. He cannot deny his sinful nature because he is a slave to sin. Therefore he cannot love others in a way that is acceptable to God. Fallen man cannot stop being self-centered.

However, Peter is telling believers to love one another fervently. Why can he tell believers to do something that unbelievers cannot do? He gives the reason in verse 23: “Being born again.” What happens to make us able to act against our fallen nature? Peter calls it the new birth. This phrase is also used in other places in the New Testament to describe the change that God makes in someone to save him.

In John chapter 3 Jesus tells Nicodemus about the new birth. Jesus says that Nicodemus does not believe in Jesus because he has not yet received new life through the new birth. (John 3.3, 5, 11-12). Peter tells us that we were “begotten again unto a lively hope” (1.Pt.1.3). Because we have been given new life in Christ we have a hope and expectation that is very real and certain. Those who are still dead in sin have no hope and are without God in this world. In the epistle of James we are told that we were “begat…of the word of truth”. (Jas.1.18) This verse points to the same fact Peter brings out in our verse above. God gave us new life through His Word.

What does new birth and new life have to do with loving others? Since fallen man cannot act against his fallen nature, he needs a new nature if he is going to obey God. His fallen nature does not want to deny itself and love others. So, man needs a new life to do new things. What was impossible to fallen man becomes possible to the regenerated man. The Holy Spirit gives us a new nature that wants to obey God. He also gives us grace to do what our new nature wants. In this way we are ready, with the continued help of the Holy Spirit, to do what was impossible before.

Peter tells us that God uses His Word in giving us new life. How does He do it? That is a mystery. All believers can testify to the fact that God revealed Himself to them through His word. We can all say that God continues to bless His Word to us for our spiritual health. Exactly how He does it, we do not know. Peter calls God’s Word a “seed” in this verse. The seed is hidden in the ground when it sprouts forth. No one sees it until the plant comes up out of the ground. God’s Word is put into the heart when it gives new life. No one sees that either, but the life that springs forth is visible to all. The difference between God’s seed and plant seeds is this: God’s seed never fails to bring forth life. Farmers would love to have seeds like that! We do.

Have you been born again?

A More Sure Word

We have also a more sure word of prophecy…(2 Peter 1:19)

As death stares the apostle Peter in the face he tells the readers of his epistle that he is happy to be able to remind them of certain truths. He feels it his duty to help them think about the basic truths of the Gospel so they can pay closer attention to them after he is gone. As he explains these truths it is important for Peter to remind his readers that what he tells them is not just a fairy tale but the report of an eyewitness who saw the glory of Christ. He reminds them that he saw this glory when the Lord Jesus was transfigured on the mountain. He also heard the voice of God speaking directly to him in special revelation.

Despite having heard something by direct revelation from God, Peter says that there is a word that is “more sure”. How is it "more sure"? Is it possible that what Peter heard on the mountain was wrong? Of course not. It was God Himself who spoke. Then how can something be surer? Peter wants his readers to “take heed” or pay close attention to this word that is surer. He goes on to describe this word as a “prophecy of scripture” and talks about how the scriptures were written. In other words, he is contrasting this written word with the spoken testimony of those who had been eyewitnesses of the majesty of Christ. What Peter is comparing is the experience of the apostles and the writings of the apostles. The experiences of the apostles may be very true, but these experiences are not what we are to “pay heed” to. What Peter tells us to pay attention to is the written Word of God.

How can the written Word of God be surer than the experiences of the apostles? It is "more sure" because it has been inspired by God. The only way we can know the experiences of the apostles is from the written Word of God itself. This alone should tell us which is surer. Moreover, there is no guarantee that the experiences of the apostles are infallible. In the gospels we read of many experiences the apostles had that show us just how little they understood of Christ. If we had nothing but their experiences we would know as little as they did! Furthermore, the Lord Jesus promised that they should learn more about Him after the Holy Spirit had come. They were inspired to write these things in their epistles, which are part of the Word of God.

In some countries people are used to the electricity being cut off without warning. It is therefore common that they can go right to the place where they keep the candles without hitting anything in the dark. They have trained themselves by repetition to be able to go right to the light. Are we like that with the Bible? We live in a dark world. Many are calling us to believe their experiences and teachings. How do we respond when we are told about some unusual experience or some “new” truth? Are we able to go right to the light to see if what they say is true? God help us to train ourselves to do that, for…

We have a more sure word.

True Blessing - 2

Blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it." (Lk.11.27-28)

True blessing is related to hearing and obeying God as He has revealed Himself in His Word. The woman mentioned in our text was hearing the Lord Jesus as He spoke God's Word. She heard God Himself speak it! She had a priceless opportunity to learn about God because He was standing right there in front of her. Yet, for her, it seemed to be no more than an exciting experience. Therefore, Jesus corrects her and shows her the path to true blessing.

The Lord was not telling this woman anything new. The Psalmist had written about this long before anyone had heard Jesus speak. "Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord. Blessed are they that keep his testimonies " (Ps. 119.1-2). "Blessed is the man...(whose) delight is in the law of the Lord" (Ps.1.1-3). The path to true blessing was revealed long ago and Jesus was simply repeating it to this woman.

This path is identified as hearing and obeying the Word of God. Many people heard the Lord Jesus teach when He was on the earth. He told them that the wise person would hear His words and live by them (Mt.7.24-27). However, after Jesus ascended to heaven, how could anyone "hear" Jesus words? The obvious answer is that His apostles were moved by the Holy Spirit to write them down. As with the prophets of the Old Testament, these men were directed by the Holy Spirit to write down the very words of Jesus, as well as to give an inspired explanation of what He did. Their writings are the final part of the whole "Word of God" that Jesus is talking about in these verses. Therefore, even though we are not able to hear the Lord Jesus teach, as this woman heard Him, we can "hear" His words, the Word of God, in the pages of the Bible. In “hearing and keeping” the words of the Bible we will find that God is faithful to bless us and enable us to obey Him.

For this reason, it is of the utmost importance to read and study the Bible on a regular basis. The purpose of this little blog is to help you do that. I believe that what God says is true. The path to true blessing is “hearing and observing” His Word, as the Lord Jesus said. Unless we are hearing and keeping His word daily, we will not know true blessing. We may have wonderful experiences of God’s love and forgiveness and be helped to do “great” things, but unless we are hearing and keeping God’s Word, then the blessings we receive will be few and far between. God may need to “bless” us with discipline (for example, hard situations or temptations we cannot overcome) to show us our real need of regular “hearing” Him in His Word. We can live like beggars at our Father’s door or we can live inside at the table He has spread before us in His Word. The choice is ours.

Do you want to be truly blessed?

True Blessing – 1

Blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it." (Lk.11.27-28)

The teaching and miracles of the Lord Jesus were a cause of amazement to many people. They had never heard nor seen such great things before. More than once the gospel writers tell us that the people were amazed and astonished at the things Jesus did. On the occasion recorded in the verses above one woman was so overcome by her surprise that she cried out from the midst of the crowd while Jesus was teaching. She could not control her emotion. Her surprise at what Jesus was doing and saying made her cry out in amazement.

The woman's words tell us what she was thinking at the time. She blessed the woman who had brought Jesus into the world because she was glad to be hearing Jesus teach and to be watching Him do wonderful miracles. To this woman it was a glorious experience to be where Jesus was doing wonderful things. It was marvelous to her to hear Him silence the scribes and Pharisees by His words. She blessed the one who gave the world this amazing Person.

The Lord Jesus gave her a surprising answer. She expressed some degree of praise to Him but He does not seem to accept it. In fact, He contradicts the woman's statement, saying that she had a wrong perspective on things. It is certainly true that the Lord Jesus is an amazing person and that His teachings and miracles are glorious. However, simply seeing His works and hearing His teaching is not true blessing. Indeed, there were thousands who heard and saw what this woman did but who were never truly "blessed."

What then, does Jesus say true blessing is? "Blessed are they that hear the Word of God, and keep it." True blessing is something related to the Word of God. It is not merely an experience of happiness, surprise or any other emotion. Such emotional experiences are temporary and unpredictable. They come and go and we cannot depend upon them. If true blessing is only an emotional experience, then most of the time it is quite impossible to be truly blessed. Most of the day we are busy with our jobs, our children, our schoolwork or other responsibilities and cannot stop to think about our happiness. On the contrary, if a person is always thinking about his happiness, he will not be blessed at all. Furthermore, he will be unable to have any useful role for God in this world. He will be so busy with himself that he will not have time for God or man.

If you were asked what true blessing was, what would you say? Would you talk about wonderful experiences of God’s help in trouble? Would you mention God’s provision of some great need in your life? Would you think of wonderful experiences of God’s love and forgiveness after falling into sin? These things are blessings indeed. But how many of us would answer this woman as Jesus did? How many of us would think that true blessing was being enabled to understand and obey the Word of God. That is what Jesus thinks it is. Do you?

Blessing!

Only One Source

“Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life.” (John 6:68)

The Lord Jesus said some things that were hard for His followers to understand and accept. In John, chapter six, He spoke about eating His flesh and drinking His blood. He obviously did not mean that His followers would become cannibals who would eat His body. He was speaking about eternal life and faith in Him as the Savior. But when people misunderstood His words they stopped following Him. When they stopped following Him they cut themselves off from the only source of life and truth. As Peter said, Jesus alone has “the words of eternal life.”

The Word of God has for us a unique place and performs a unique function as the only existing revelation of God’s mind and will. Scripture is the only revelation of the mind and will of God available to us. It is only in and through scripture that we have any knowledge of or union with Christ, who is the image of the invisible God. In the days of His flesh the disciples had no understanding of Jesus, or faith in Him apart from His spoken word. In the same way we are wholly dependent upon their witness, which was anticipated and foreshadowed in the Old Testament, and was recorded in the New.

Without scripture we have no knowledge, faith, or fellowship with Him who is the brightness of the Father’s glory and the image of His being. We are as destitute of the Word of life as the disciples would have been if Jesus had not revealed Himself through His spoken word. We would be deprived not only of the knowledge, faith, and fellowship of the Son, but also of the knowledge and fellowship of the Father and the Spirit. Our dependence on scripture is total. We depend upon the message of scripture for every doctrine of our faith, for the redemptive truth that illumines our minds, and for every hope against the needs of time and eternity.

Scripture is absolutely unique. It is unique because it is the only way we come into relationship with God and enjoy His gracious redemption. We have no encounter with God, with Christ, or with the Holy Spirit in terms of saving and redeeming grace apart from scripture. It is the only revelation to us of God’s redemptive will.

Why do people seek to know God from other sources? Some imagine they can know God through their feelings and experiences. God can be experienced and felt, but how are you to know it is God that you are feeling? We human beings were made to experience God but how can we know what we are experiencing is God? People imagine that if it makes them feel good or happy it must be God. But sin makes the sinner feel good. Is sin God? Obviously not. The fact that people do not like what Jesus says does not mean that they can find God somewhere else. God can only be found in the revelation of Jesus Christ in the Holy Scriptures. Do not think you can find Him anywhere else.

To whom do you go?

All About Jesus

And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. (Luke 24:27)

Have you ever wished you could study something with one of the truly great teachers? Think of how much you could learn from someone who was a master in his field. This is very often how people learn trades and skills. Universities like to boast about how many professors they have on their staff. The best person to learn something from is often the expert. When we read about Jesus walking with the two men on the road to Emmaus, we can very easily wish that we had been there with them. Their hearts burned as He expounded the scriptures to them. What an enlightening experience for those two men! But, in spite of what Jesus taught them, they still did not recognize Him until it pleased Him to reveal Himself to them at the meal table. No matter what we learn from the Bible, we still need the Lord to enlighten our eyes by His Spirit in order to know Him.

Nevertheless, the Lord thought it important that He teach those men about Himself. He gave them a great lesson from the scriptures so they might understand Him and His work. They would not know Him without the scriptures. He started at the very beginning and went through the Old Testament to teach them about Himself. Even though He was God and could have given them new revelation on the spot, He chose to use what He had already inspired through Moses and the prophets to teach them about Himself. Those great old books were the textbook for His lesson. Why? The scriptures, Jesus said in another place, “testify of me.” (John 5:39) The whole Bible is about the Lord Jesus. He is in every book.

The Old Testament seems to be a book of long stories and instructions to priests. However, since God was working to bring salvation even from the moment Adam sinned, the book is really about what God does to save sinners. It is about salvation. In the beginning we see the need for salvation as Adam sinned and all men became sinners in him (see also Rom.5.12-21). Then the rest of the Old Testament is the preparation of salvation as God reveals Himself to the nation of Israel and teaches them about the coming Savior. The New Testament begins with the accomplishing of salvation in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Then, the book of Acts tells about the proclamation of salvation and the epistles give us the explanation of salvation. Finally we read about the consummation of salvation in the book of the Revelation.

Since Jesus Christ is the Savior, He is the subject of each part of the scriptures.  “They testify of Me,” He said. As we read the Bible we will definitely get information about history and how God helped the nation of Israel. However, the story behind it all is what God did to prepare and accomplish our salvation through Jesus Christ. When you read the Bible, look for Jesus. Something about Him and His salvation is on every page.

“That I may know Him” (Phil.3.10)