Monthly Archives: March 2017

The Centerpiece of God’s Saving Purpose in the Universe

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sun1This excerpt is taken from Foundations of Grace by Steven Lawson

The doctrines of grace are a cohesive system of theology in which the sovereignty of God is clearly displayed in the salvation of elect sinners. Not only is God acknowledged to reign over all of human history, both micro and macro, but He is also seen to be sovereign in the dispensing of His saving grace. From Genesis to Revelation, God is emphatically represented in Scripture as being absolutely determinative in bestowing His mercy. He is shown as choosing before the foundation of the world those whom He will save and then, within time, bringing it to pass.

The Apostle Paul clearly announced God’s sovereign grace in man’s salvation. He wrote that, from eternity, God chose, willed, decided, and planned to save some sinners. To elect is to choose, and God chose who would be saved. Paul wrote: “For he says to Moses, ‘I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.’ So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy” (Rom. 9:15–16). “This is to say, God decides whom He will save in order to display His glory: “He chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will” (Eph. 1:4–5); “For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you” (1 Thess. 1:4); “God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth” (2 Thess. 2:13); God “saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began” (2 Tim. 1:9); and “Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect” (Titus 1:1).

The Apostle Peter and John taught precisely the same supreme authority of God in the salvation of His elect. Peter wrote: “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who are elect exiles of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia” (1 Peter 1:1); and “Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure” (2 Peter 1:10). The Apostle John wrote: “The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to rise from the bottomless pit and go to destruction. And the dwellers on the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast, because it was and is not and is to come” (Rev. 17:8).

In this system of theology, the glory of God is central. As every planet revolves around the blazing sun, every truth of sovereign grace rotates around this one fixed point—the glory of God. The unrivaled pre-eminence of God stands at the focal point of this theological universe. That God is to be the chief object of praise in the display of His grace is what energizes this solar system of truth. As the compass always points north, so the doctrines of grace constantly point upward toward the lofty heights of the glory of God.

What is God’s glory? The Bible speaks of God’s glory in two primary ways. First, there is the intrinsic glory of God, which is the sum total of all His divine perfections and attributes. It is who God is—His infinitely vast greatness. Glory in the Old Testament kabod originally meant “heaviness,” “importance,” or “significance.” It came to represent the stunning magnificence of certain objects, such as the blazing sun or the regal majesty displayed by a king. Hence, glory came to be used to describe the magnificent splendor and awesome radiance of God Himself revealed to man. In the New Testament, the word for “glory” is doxa, which means “an opinion” or “an estimate” of something. When used of someone’s reputation, it means “importance,” “greatness,” “renown,” or “significance.” God’s intrinsic glory is the revelation of the greatness of His divine attributes to His creatures. It involves God’s greatness and grandeur being manifested to sinners, especially in the salvation of man from sin. No one can add anything to God’s intrinsic glory. God is who He is, never diminishing, never increasing, forever the same, the sovereign Ruler, all-knowing, all-powerful, all-present, all-true, all-wise, loving, grace-giving, merciful, righteous, and wrathful. It is this intrinsic glory that God delights in making known to His creatures.

Second, the Bible also speaks of the ascribed glory of God, or the glory that is given to Him. Doxa also has to do with expressing praise to God based upon the revelation of His supreme majesty. The only rightful response to the display of God’s perfections must be to give Him glory. Man must bring the praise due His name. Man must give the worship that belongs exclusively to Him. The display of God’s intrinsic glory causes man to give ascribed glory to God. The more man beholds God’s intrinsic glory in salvation, the more man ascribes glory to God.

This, then, is the centerpiece of God’s saving purpose in the universe—the revelation and magnification of His own glory. This is what is at the very center of God’s being—the passionate pursuit of displaying His own glory for His own glory. This is what should be at the center of every human life—the promotion of the glory of God, that is, beholding and adoring His glory. This is what is primary in the salvation of every lost sinner—the revealing of the glory of God so that sinners might rejoice in the glory of God. No wonder Paul writes: “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen” (Rom. 11:36).

5 Reasons I’m a Calvinist

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fivepointArticle by Stephen Altrogge (original source cold-hearted person who only wants a select few people to get into heaven? An annoying guy who won’t stop rambling on about Romans 9? That awful, sterile, passionless church you used to go to?

I get it.

Calvinism doesn’t have a fantastic reputation, at least in some circles. Some people feel like it focuses more on theology than on loving people. Others have had really bad experiences with Calvinists. And some people think it runs counter to the beautiful free offer of grace found in the Bible.

But what if someone who is not a jerk (at least most of the time) could talk about Calvinism in a way that didn’t make you want to smash your computer?

That’s what I’m going to try to do in this post. I want to explain why I’m a Calvinist, why it brings me great joy, and why I think it’s profoundly biblical. If at the end you disagree with me, that’s okay. We can still be BFS (best friends sometimes).

I can’t answer all your objections in this post. I’m not intending to turn this into a furious, spittle-flying debate. Think of this as a pleasant conversation over a craft beer (or coffee if you’re a Baptist).

WHAT IS A CALVINIST?

Before we dive off the deep end, I should take a minute to define what I mean by Calvinism. A simple definition is this:

Calvinism is a series of doctrines that describes the state of humanity apart from God, how God saves people, and how God will ultimately bring those people to Glory.

A common acronym used to remember the doctrines of Calvinism is:

T – Total Depravity
U – Unconditional Election
L – Limited Atonement
I – Irresistible Grace
P – Perseverance of the Saints

I don’t like some of the phrases in the acronym and I think they can be confusing but it’s what most people use.

BECAUSE IT’S ALL OVER THE BIBLE

I am not a Calvinist because of John Calvin. In fact, if John Calvin never existed I would still be a Calvinist (except it wouldn’t be called “Calvinism”). I don’t have man-crush on Calvin, nor do I think he’s the greatest person since Jesus. I won’t name any of my kids “Calvin”.

Calvin simply took some biblical ideas and organized them. Actually, I prefer the term “Doctrines of Grace” rather than Calvinism. It better describes the doctrines. Plus it takes the focus off John Calvin who, just like everyone else, had some great strengths and wicked weaknesses.

I believe in the doctrines of grace because they run throughout the entire Bible, like a golden thread from Genesis to Revelation. In the Old Testament, we see that God unconditionally chose Israel to be his people.

Deuteronomy 7:6-7 says:

For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples…

This theme, of God choosing a people for himself, comes up again and again, both in the Old Testament and the New Testament. God clearly chose Israel to be his people, and that choice was not based on anything they had done. It was an unconditional choice.

In 1 Peter 2:9-10, Peter uses this same language to reflect the way God continues to choose those who will be his people:

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

This language is used repeatedly throughout the Bible. God chose a people for himself, not because of anything in them but because of his good, profound, wise purposes. Apart from God’s choice, we would never choose him, He always acts upon us first. Because God chooses us, he will also preserve us to the end (Philippians 1:8, Jude 24).

BECAUSE GOD GETS ALL THE GLORY

One thing that is abundantly clear in the Bible is that God is intent on getting all glory for himself. He absolutely will not allow anyone else to take credit for what he alone has accomplished.

God called the people of Israel for his glory alone. As Isaiah 43:6-7 (and many other verses) says:

I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Do not withhold; bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.

We see this same thing again in Ephesians 1:5-6 speaking of God’s New Covenant people:

In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

God does all the choosing, he does all the saving, and he gets all the glory. I did not choose God, therefore I get zero credit for saving myself. He did it all and he gets all the praise, glory, and honor.

BECAUSE IT EXPLAINS ME AND THE WORLD SO WELL

When I look at myself and look at the world, I see people who are totally depraved. Totally depraved does not mean completely depraved.

Someone who is completely depraved does all evil all the time. Total depravity means that every facet of our being – our thinking, our actions, our bodies, our motives – have been distorted by sin.

As it says so clearly in Romans 3:12:

None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.

I’m certainly not righteous. It takes me about two seconds to figure that out. And the more experience I have with people, the more I realize that no one is righteous. Every person and every thing is totally distorted by the presence of sin in the world.

I’m not a Calvinist because of my experience, but my experience certainly confirms what I see scattered broadly through the Bible. This world we live in is a damnable, wicked place.

BECAUSE I KNOW I COULDN’T HAVE CHOSEN GOD

Given what I know about the darkness in my own heart, I could not and would not have ever chosen God of my own initiative. It just wouldn’t have happened. I’m too stubborn. Too self-righteous. Too self-reliant. I’ve got a heart of stone. Continue reading →

Psalm 91 and the Word of Faith

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Pastor Elly Achok Olare has become a very precious friend of mine in recent months. He and I share a very similar background in that we both were at one time pastors in the word of faith movement. I was recently asked a question about Psalm 91 and its proper interpretation and poised the same question to Pastor Elly who serves in Mumias, Kenya, Africa, asking for his thoughts on the matter. Here is his reply:

Hello there, I was just asked this: One of the most important verses that the word of faith movement refers to is Psalm 91 which they feel gives them authority over the devil. For example, the verses on trampling over the scorpion, the adder and the lion. They will refer to this verse as God giving them authority over Satan, and if they see that Satan is causing ill health, death, etc., then they see it as they have power over Satan rightfully given by God in this verse. How would you answer that? just wondering what sort of answer you would give for this question?

Dear friend and fellow combatant in the faith once and for all time delivered to the saints’

Pastor John, you have put before me a question whose difficulty is only matched by it’s huge importance to our faith and churchmanship. I shall not pretend to have answers to that question which would even start to satisfy a curious mind. However, as you have placed a demand on me so I shall happily contribute my two cents on the matter. As I read the question, I recalled Luther’s appreciation for the aptitude and succinctness of his opponent Erasmus in “identifying the real issue, the matter upon which the debate turns”. In a real sense the question that was posed to you and which you now share with us is such a one in the whole matter of the Word of Faith/prosperity Gospel heresy.

Allow me dear friend to observe two quick points before I attempt my response.

First; I believe that for those already schooled in the foundational doctrines of Grace, having known Christ aright, and been taught of God, the explanation which shall proceed is the “bread of children”. It will be nothing more than a tying of loose ends, and a confirmation of those things which the Holy Spirit has already testified to in the heart. To borrow the words of scripture “a savor of life unto life”. However seeing how diametrically opposed this soul destroying system of the Word of faith or prosperity Gospel; so called, is to the Gospel of God’s Grace in the face of Jesus Christ, it will take a little more than explanation to wrestle such an enslaved mind to submission to the true doctrine of Christ.

The second point I would beg your indulgence upon is to wonder at the strange,albeit wonderful providence of God, in that when I happened upon this question of yours, it was during a short break during our Wisdom Training Center diploma class lectures. Would you believe what the subject was? PENTECOSTALISM, CHARISMATICS AND WORD OF FAITH THEOLOGIES, being part of our course module on cults and religions of the world. I thought that was a strange providence. I had my students engage with this question and therefore in a subtle way, their own contributions will also show in this response.

FIRST THINGS FIRST: OUR EXEGETICAL TAKE ON PSALMS 91

As with all heresies the first mistake is always incurred at the point of hermaneutics. The tendency is to ‘copy & paste’ texts of scripture from the written pages straight to application in our own lives, experience and expectations. However as we read and re-read this passage,we could not escape the subtle yet compelling feeling, that we were looking at one of those special texts. The language employed is too grand, too pure and altogether too exalted to attach primarily and directly to any ordinary human being-even if that human being is a believer in Christ.

This Psalm as with many others, is very Christological. Its application has to pass through the ‘sieve of Christ’, and the redemptive motif which burdens the Old Testament.

In my view, a failure to grasp this will derail any attempt at making sense of the Psalm. The word of Faith movement is a utilitarian system and we expect that they shall latch onto such texts to vindicate their un-biblical presuppositions.

It is noteworthy that at the temptation of our Lord in Luke 4:1-4, Satan appeals to some texts in this passage-verses 11 and 12 in particular,and applies directly to our Lord. Note the words of the tempter “if you are the Son of God”, as If to say “give proof of it in fulfilling this psalm. The tempter knew that the Son of God was the subject of that particular Psalm, it anticipated him and so as if to verify that He is The Son of God he tempts Him in this way. In the second place, observe that Our Lord does not rebuke Satan for applying this psalm to Him,He only rebutted thus “It also written…” We must observe in passing that the tempter here in the Lucan account dangles before our Lord exactly what the word of faith dangles to millions today, material gain and self aggrandisement. It was the same trap set for our first parents-lust of the flesh and a pursuit of materialism. The Lord would not be drawn in and in this, He unlike the first Adam, overcame the tempter.

This Son of God is the figure who dwells in the secret place of the most high. He is the one who is presently and for all eternity sitting at the right hand of majesty on high – Acts 7:56. Jesus Christ is one who staked His legitimate claim to that inner sanctum of glory, when he prayed thus “give me the glory which I had with you from the beginning” – John 17:5

It is this Lord whom the Father will “when He calls upon me,and I will answer Him”, the Psalm paints a further picture, “I will be with Him in trouble; I will deliver Him and honor him” – 91:15. Perhaps these are glorious foretastes of the humiliation and subsequent exaltation of our Lord – Philippians 2:6-11. Surely it is He who in the days of His flesh offered prayers and supplications with “strong crying and tears”, to He who was able to save Him” and was heard ” – Hebrews 5:7.

It is only about him might the words appropriately and legitimately apply when the psalm says “He holds fast to my love” – 91:14 and “I will set him on high, because he hath known my name”. Continue reading →