Think Wink.

This is probably not going to be the last post in this series, because I want to address the idea of “divine rape” in God’s effectual call and irresistible grace. This fifth post is going to be on Predestination and Prayer. In Part 4, I argued that Calvinism does not hinder prayer, but that God ordained that his saving, effectual call of his election comes through our preaching of the gospel in 1 Thessalonians 1:4-5 and 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14; and this calling of his elect is the joy of the entire Triune God in Luke 10:21-22–Father, Son, Spirit. In Part 3 I argued that Calvinism does not give license to live however but that it gives the foundation and confidence to live the life of holiness we are called to live for (Hebrews 12:12-17; 2 Thessalonians 2:13-15; Ephesians 1:4; Philippians 2:12-13; 1 Corinthians 15:8-10). In Part 2, I argued that election is unconditional from Romans 9:11 and from 1 Corinthians 1:20-31 that Calvinism’s unconditional election and effectual call is designed to cut human pride out from under itself and give all glory and honor for salvation to God. In Part 1, I argued that many objections against Five-point Calvinism (TULIP) comes from people assuming it is the same as Hyper-Calvinism, it would be the same thing as assuming Arminianism is either Open Theism or Pelagianism; if this confusion would stop, many objections would cease, and so I tried to demonstrate the difference between the biblical Five-point and Hyper-Calvinism. So let us turn to Predestination and Prayer.

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Objections to Calvinism Part 1 of 5

Objections to Calvinism Part 7 of 5

My Comfort in Romans 9

Here is an interesting video filmed by a young Jew, Max Blumenthal. The eschatology promoted by the people interviewed in this video is troubling and gives just one of the many reasons I quit being a Dispensationist.

H/T: Ben Witherington III

What can I say?

Newspaper Eschatology

All of the Bible

In my previous post Objections to Calvinism Part 4 of 5, I took the reader to Luke 10:21-22 where Jesus responds to the report of the missionaries with this prayer,

21 In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will (or good pleasure). 22 All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”

In that post, I argued that unconditional election and effectual calling are two things that bring joy to the entire Godhead. Jesus and the Holy Spirit rejoice in this, and it is the Father’s good pleasure to do this. Election and effectual call is the the joy of God. God rejoices and delights to reveal himself through Christ to those whom he choses. It is his joy.

Now I want to go further with this idea. God rejoices when a person comes to salvation, when the elect are effectually called to faith. Jesus says in Luke 15:10, “Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Whose joy is Jesus referring to in heaven? It is not the angels’ joy because it is before them, not in them. Luke uses the Greek preposition enwpion to say that the joy is in the presence of the angels. I would argue that this joy is that of God’s. God is rejoicing over this sinner repenting–which is a gift of God (2 Timothy 2:24-26). God rejoices in the salvation of sinners. The angels share in this joy by virtue of being in his presence in heaven.

Now there is a difference between the angels and us: God has ordained to save sinners through the preaching of humans (Romans 10:13-17) where as angels do not preach the gospel through which God effectually calls sinners to faith and repentance. God brings about salvation through our efforts of preaching the gospel in evangelism and missions. Thus through our exercise of the preaching of the gospel God performs that which brings him joy: saving his elect. Therefore we are participating in that joy of God. We, thus, share in God’s joy. His joy in saving sinners becomes our joy as well. We have the joy of God in our preaching!

Thus as a Calvinist, I preach the gospel so that I may gain the joy of God, that I may enjoy the joy of God. Evangelism and sharing my faith unites me to an infinite joy that exists within the Trinity. I partake of that joy through my evangelistic outreach. I am not worried about trying to convince sinners to accept Christ as both Lord and Savior (I hear too much on the radio these days about Christ being Savior but never anything about him being Lord, cf. Romans 10:9-10, we confess Christ as Lord, not Savior). I am preaching and receiving the joy that I am participating in through that proclamation of the gospel.

Now apply this to missions in the remotest parts of the world, peoples who have never heard the gospel and if they have they are hostile to it and will kill you if you dare preach it. What can motivate you to stay there? Some people are indeed motivated by their lost condition. But this can be overwhelming, trying to combat this lostness that only God can defeat. But if there is joy, divine joy, in what the missionary is doing, oh how much easier it will be to remain focused, on task, and to persevere in this Great Commission. So to all of the missionaries out there, preaching the gospel to people who would have them killed for it, cling to the joy of God that is in the salvation of sinners. Let his joy sustain you in your darkest hours. Let his delight lift your burdened soul as it becomes your delight. God’s joy is one hundred thousand times brighter than any darkness Satan and this world can throw at you.

This applies to the person sharing their faith with random people down the street. Share the gospel with these lost people. Your joy will be complete because it is a perfect and infinite joy that you receive: the joy that is shared by the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Stand on the corner and when people mock or ridicule you, savor the gospel call that God will issue through your preaching, for you will be rewarded beyond measure.

This applies to those witnessing to friends and family. Friends may look down upon you for your faith. Family may laugh and ridicule you and your Lord. But having his joy is ten thousand times greater than the acceptance of friends and family. Preach to them the gospel and let Christ’s joy sustain you as you face the mockery and are shamed.

Let God’s joy be your joy. Preach the gospel and share in that divine joy.

Luke 15 and Lostness

Another look into euaggelion

Reflections on the Pastor

Today I want to discuss the next objection on my list, Election and Evangelism. Let me review the series so far. In the first post, I tried to distinguish historic, five-point Calvinism from hyper-Calvinism. In the second post, I showed that election in a Reformed soteriology is not a source of pride and arrogance, but is a humbling action of God that reveals his glory, from Romans 9:11 and 1 Corinthians 1:20-31. In the third post, I argued that election does not diminish our pursuit of obedience and holiness, but rather grounds our pursuit and gives us confidence that we will be obedience.

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Objections to Calvinism Part 1 of 5

Objections to Calvinism Part 7 of 5

My Comfort in Romans 9

Here is an amazing poem that places the correct emphasis on eschatology that dispensationalism often misses: let us be loving people and caring for our poor and leave the return of Christ to the Father. I heartily recommend this poem to you.

Are God’s glory and love at odds with each other?

Thoughts in Light of 9/11

God’s Glory and BW3

So yesterday in the mail I received my two books that I ordered from the big DesiringGod online sale: God’s Passion for His Glory and What Jesus Demands from the World. I am very eager to get to Edwards’s The End For Which God Created The World that is published alongside Piper’s comments on the work. I am running through Piper’s introduction to get to Jonathan Edwards’s work. However, I find myself incredibly blessed by Piper’s words. His assessment of modern Christianity through Os Guinness and David Wells and Western Christianity being unable to think doctrinally anymore because it has become so pragmatic and dominated by false signs of success. This is really confirmed by the SBC’s unwillingness to update its membership to show many members have left the organization via death or attending another denomination. I was captivated by the brief biography of Edwards and I really want to read Iain Murray’s biography, Jonathan Edwards: A New Biography. Right now I am in the third and final chapter of Piper’s introduction and Piper’s own personal interaction with Edwards in an autobiographical format. He is about to go to Germany having read Edwards’s An Unpublished Essay on the Trinity and Freedom of the Will. I am looking forward getting my pen and paper out and digging through Edwards’s answer to what is the ultimate end for God creating the universe.

Jesus and AD 70

John 3:16 Part 2

Positional and Progressive Holiness

I am moving ahead full steam in my series on “Objections to Calvinism.” The next three posts in this series will deal with objections that I have personally encountered, mostly at Theology for the Masses. In my previous post, I examined the objection that election is a source for pride. I argued that a person cannot truly understand Unconditional Election as the Bible describes it and yet become prideful and arrogant because of this election of God. It is unbiblical and defeats the reason why God elects unconditionally, namely to destroy human pride and declare the glory of God in Jesus Christ. So I am actually not going to go in the order I originally said I was going to go. I want to spend more time meditating on what I want to say about prayer. Today, I wish to examine the fourth objection that I listed, Predestination and Living a Holy Life.

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Objections to Calvinism Part 1 of 5

Objections to Calvinism Part 7 of 5

My Comfort in Romans 9

Do yourself a favor if you like video games, Star Wars, or both, go to this page at Yahoo and watch this trailer of the new Star Wars game due out next year, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. It appears that Darth Vader had an apprentice who knew how to use the force unlike anyone we have seen yet, including Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. This blows away even the KOTOR series–which I am hoping to hear something about a KOTOR III in the future. Enjoy.

Star Wars: Legacy of the Force: Inferno

Star Wars: TFU

What to do?

The first objection that I want to tackle in my series on “Objections to Calvinism” is that of Election and Pride. Now this is not an objection that has personally been raised to me. No one has actually said to me, “I am not a Calvinist because it makes you prideful and arrogant.” But I have heard of people raising that issue with others and so I’d like to tackle this issue first before getting into some objections that have been raised to me personally.

Read more

Objections to Calvinism Part 1 of 5

Objections to Calvinism Part 7 of 5

My Comfort in Romans 9

At the Southern Baptist Convention, Voddie Baucham preached an incredible sermon on the need of repentance within the SBC. I really recommend this sermon, not just to Southern Baptists, but to all because his six of his seven points of repentance are not problems that exist in just the SBC but can and do exist in all denominations of Christendom. The link to the sermon is here.

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