Good Little Calviminians

I've been involved in some good discussions lately about theology. The conclusion that has been reached in most of those discussions is that there are very few "pure" Calvinists or Arminians.

Most of us are "Calviminians" - with beliefs that reflect some of both and all of neither.

Not too long ago I put together the 5 Points of Calviminianism to serve as a starting point for discussing what I believe. I offer it here, with no claim to originality of thought...

The 5 Points of "Calviminianism"

1. Total Depravity...and Free Will
Man is totally depraved, spiritually dead and blind, and unable to find his way to God by his own efforts. God must initiate the work of repentance. Man is a sinner who has the free will to either cooperate with God's Spirit and be regenerated, or resist God's grace and perish. God wants everyone to be saved, but will only save those who call out to Him.

Romans 3:10-11 "There is none righteous, not even one. There is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God."

2 Peter 3:9 "The Lord is . . . not wishing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance."

Romans 10:13 "Whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved."

2. Conditional Election
God's election is based on His foreknowledge. He chooses everyone whom He knew would, of their own free will, respond to the gospel and choose Christ. God knows ahead of time who will want to be saved, so he chooses them based on that foreknowledge

1 Peter 1:1-2 ". . . who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father . . ."

3. Unlimited Atonement
When Christ died on the cross, He shed His blood for everyone. He paid a provisional price for all but guaranteed it for none. Jesus died for everyone, but only those who come to Him in faith will receive His salvation.

1 John 2:2 "He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the whole world."

4. Resistible Grace
Saving grace can be resisted because God won't overrule man's free will. Man is born again when he believes and receives God's grace. Although God offers His grace to everyone, many people will refuse it.

John 3:18 "He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already . . ."

Matthew 22:14 "For many are called, but few are chosen."

5. Perseverance of the Saints
God preserves the elect so they persevere to the end, so no chosen person will ever be lost.

John 10:28 "And I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of My hand."

("Eternal" and "never perish" means than no genuine child of God can lose his salvation.)

Walk

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. Ephesians 2:10 (NASB)

Right after one of the most familiar verses in the Bible (y'know "saved by grace through faith"...) is this little gem. Several thoughts come to mind...

We are created in Christ for good works and not by good works. In other forums I've expressed this idea by saying we don't do in order to be, we do because we are. This is more than just word-play. We can exhaust ourselves trying to do things for God, hoping that we can earn a little love and acceptance. Or we can rest in the fact that we are already loved and accepted - as much as we could ever be - and let that motivate us to serve with joy and gladness.

God prepared the works ahead of time. Dare I say it? He created us for a "purpose"! Omniscient and eternal God knew all about us - personality, appearance, relationship style - and prepared good works for us ahead of time that would teach us, stretch us, and fulfill our purpose in this life.

We "walk" in the good works. Stay with me on this... When God looked for language to describe the outworking of the good works in our lives, He used a word that described one of the most natural things we do: He chose walking. If I want a book that's on a shelf on the other side of my study, I don't say, "O.K. what did they teach me in that 'Walking in 7 Easy Steps' class? Do I have on the right shoes? Now, I stand up and extend my right leg before setting it down 14 to 16 inches in front of..." Instead, I get up and go get what I need, without thinking about it.

ATTENTION: LIFE APPLICATION POINT APPROACHING>>>

Too many believers approach "good works" with a "saving the world" mentality - Our good works must be bold, risky, and exciting. But I think good works - the kind we can walk in naturally - might also be things like loving our spouse and kids, showing kindness to a neighbor or stranger. In other words, every time we treat another person with respect and dignity, and extend the same helping hand we would want extended to us in similar circumstances, we are walking in good works.

Unedited

When I was a kid, our old Quasar would receive 3 TV stations - two and a half really, because one of them was only on part of the time. There were a lot of movies on "regular" TV back then - Hollywood blockbusters would be shown on Saturday nights, Sunday nights, and usually a weekday evening as well.

When a movie came on there would often be a graphic superimposed on the screen for a moment that said "Edited for television". I asked my dad what that meant, and he explained that some parts of the movie were cut out to make it suitable for television or to fit a time slot.

I felt cheated! I wanted to see the entire movie, not just the parts some censor or clock-watcher thought were "appropriate."

Have we "edited" God? We cut out the parts of Him we feel might not be suitable for the audience - "No thanks, Lord, we really don't go for that around here..." We try to contain Him by controlling the time frame in which He is allowed to work. We reduce Him from the omnipotent creator, healer, and deliverer to a doctrinal set of more predictable actions.

And we feel cheated - because our tame, sterile, manageable God is not the God of the Bible.

I once heard Jack Taylor say that what we need is "Jesus, on the scene, unedited."

We don't need a life-sized God - we need God as big as we can get Him.

Too Good Not to Share

Some gems found stashed among things people have passed along...

Signs of Life (kudos to the author, who is unknown to me...)

1. Breath: Just inhale, then exhale and hold your breath .... Breathing is essential for life. It is interesting that in Scripture that the word for "spirit" is interchangeable with the word for "breath". There must the work of the Holy Spirit within a church for there to be life.

2. Movement: Living things move. We generally say that if there is no movement visible in a thing that it is dead. A church also needs to be going somewhere. A church needs a sense of direction.

3. Sensitivity: If a thing is unresponsive to touch (feeling) it is often considered dead. A church also must be sensitive to the feelings those in the body and sensitive to the urging of the Holy Spirit.

4. Intake: If we don’t eat or have intake, we will soon die. The church must also feed upon the Word of God. The baby Believers are to drink the milk, and the mature ones are to eat the meat.

5. Refuse: Where there is life, there is also waste or byproducts. Removal of waste is essential both the physical body and to the church. Life in Christ is always new.

6. Purpose: When people lose purpose, death soon follows. Young people without purpose begin to look at suicide. Older people without purpose just give up and die. A church must also have a sense of purpose.

7. Growth: It is only natural that a living being grows. A lack of growth in a church is an indication of death. However, growth in a church is an indication of life. Sometime, a church must go through a death experience before it can experience new life and growth.

8. Reproduction: Reproduction is not only a sign of life, it is also an indication of fulfillment. A church will not find fulfillment until it begins to see its member multiply - Believers leading others to Christ.

And a keeper from James Ryle...

“Healthy things grow. Growing things change. Change challenges us. Challenges cause us to trust God. Trust leads to obedience. Obedience makes us healthy. And healthy things grow.”

Fellowship Precedes Mission

The revival speaker said the sons of Jacob were first sons, then brothers, then a nation, and then tribes. The fellowship, or in this case family, seems to precede the mission, or function.

Christians will quickly and enthusiastically come together for mission - to complete a project or task. This unity is usually short-lived, and too frequently it is questionable whether it is of any lasting value.

Is that because we have not built and experienced the fellowship which must precede the mission?

In Mark 3:14, we are told that Jesus "appointed twelve, so that they would be with Him [fellowship] and that He could send them out to preach [mission]..."

Jesus called His disciples to "be with Him". Yes, He called the fishermen with the promise that He would teach them to fish for men, but He did not commission them [call them into "co - mission" with himself] until three and a half years and a death, burial, and resurrection later.