How Free is Free?

John Piper did an excellent (or, if you disagree, at least thought-provoking) job of articulating what is really at stake in this discussion: advocates of the "free will" of man are really out to establish the absolute autonomy of the creature.

Why "Wronger" Should Be a Word

Reading Charles Ryrie's Basic Theology in preparation for a Sunday school lesson, and came across a phrase that was so wrong that it begs a new, more intensive word: there's wrong, but then there is wronger. Now, I'm not knocking Ryrie or his book, as a whole. But this particular claim was pretty far off the beam:


"Historically, this consideration has been labeled the ordo salutis, or way of salvation, and it attempts to arrange in logical order (not temporal order) these activities involved in applying salvation to the individual. But like the question of the order of the decrees in lapsarianism, the ordo salutis in reality contributes little of substance."
- Charles Caldwell Ryrie, Basic Theology : A Popular Systemic Guide to Understanding Biblical Truth (Chicago, Ill.: Moody Press, 1999), 374.

Au contraire, mon ami. There is a universe of difference between a soteriology that begins with faith, and one that begins with regeneration. One is synergistic; one monergistic -- and that is two totally different gospels at the core. In fact, I would argue that the ordo salutis is one of the watershed issues of the whole debate!

Someone Missed the Memo

Hey! I thought Dispensationalism was invented in the early 1900s by men like Darby and Scofield. What is John Wesley doing talking about it?

Our Lord, secondly, declares that he which is least in the kingdom of God (in that kingdom which he came to set upon earth, and which the violent now began to take by force), is greater than he—not a greater prophet, as some have interpreted the word, for this is palpably false in fact; but greater in the grace of God and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, we cannot measure the privileges of real Christians, by those formerly given to the Jews. Their “ministration” (or dispensation) we allow “was glorious,” but ours “exceeds in glory.” So that whosoever would bring down the Christian dispensation to the Jewish standard, whosoever gleans up the examples of weakness recorded in the Law and the prophets, and thence infers that they who have “put on Christ” are endued with no greater strength, doth greatly err, neither “knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God.”
- Heritage of Great Evangelical Teaching : Featuring the Best of Martin Luther, John Wesley, Dwight L. Moody, C.H. Spurgeon and Others. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1996).

Whence our power?

“O, man! learn from the precept what you ought to do; learn from correction, that it is your own fault you have not the power; and learn in prayer, whence it is that you may receive the power.”

John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, II, v, 4.

What About "Good People"?

"If every soul is subject to such abominations as the apostle boldly declares, we surely see what would happen if the Lord were to permit human lust to wander according to its own inclination. No mad beast would rage as unrestrainedly; no river, however swift and violent, burst so madly into flood. In his elect the Lord cures these diseases in a way that we shall soon explain. Others he merely restrains by throwing a bridle over them only that they may not break loose, inasmuch as he foresees their control to be expedient to preserve all that is. Hence some are restrained by shame from breaking out into many kinds of foulness, others by the fear of the law-even though they do not, for the most part, hide their impurity. Still others, because they consider an honest manner of life profitable, in some measure aspire to it. Others rise above the common lot, in order by their excellence to keep the rest obedient to them. Thus God by his providence bridles perversity of nature, that it may not break forth into action; but he does not purge it within."

Calvin, Institutes, II,iii,3

Another FREE Resource

This morning I was thrilled to discover another free resource (HT:John Piper). Jonathan Edwards was one of the greatest theologians in American history as well as the greatest philosopher America has produced. Yale has made the complete works of Jonathan Edwards available to the public in a searchable online format. Be sure to bookmart this link and add it to your Bible Study Favorites!

Calvin on the Blessed Trinity

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Calvin had to face those who employed faux piety to denounce the Trinity by objecting to words not found in the Bible (a term, I like to point out to them, not found in the Scriptures).

"Now, although the heretics rail at the word 'person,' or certain squeamish men cry out against admitting a term fashioned by the human mind, they cannot shake our conviction that three are spoken of, each of which is entirely God, yet that there is not more than one God. What wickedness, then, it is to disapprove of words that explain nothing else than what is attested and sealed by Scripture!
". . . we ought to seek from Scripture a sure rule for both thinking and speaking, to which both the thoughts of our minds and the words of our mouths should be conformed. But what prevents us from explaining in clearer words those matters in Scripture which perplex and hinder our understanding, yet which conscientiously and faithfully serve the truth of Scripture itself, and are made use of sparingly and modestly and on due occasion? There are quite enough examples of this sort of thing. What is to be said, moreover, when it has been proved that the church is utterly compelled to make use of the words 'Trinity' and 'Persons'? If anyone, then, finds fault with the novelty of the words, does he not deserve to be judged as bearing the light of truth unworthily, since he is finding fault only with what renders the truth plain and clear?"
Institutes, 1.13.3

Calvin on Scripture

"Just as old or bleary-eyed men and those with weak vision, if you thrust before them a most beautiful volume, even if they recognize it to be some sort of writing, yet can scarcely construe two words, but with the aid of spectacles will begin to read distinctly; so Scripture, gathering up the otherwise confused knowledge of God in our minds, having dispersed our dullness, clearly shows us the true God. This, therefore, is a special gift, where God, to instruct the church, not merely uses mute teachers but also opens His own most hallowed lips. Not only does He teach the elect to look upon a god, but also shows Himself as the God upon whom they are to look. He has from the beginning maintained this plan for His Church, so that besides these common proofs He also put forth His Word, which is a more direct and more certain mark whereby He is to be recognized." Institutes, 1.6.1

Your OTHER Reading Plan for 2009

With 2009 being the 500th birthday of John Calvin, I thought it would be a great idea to read through the Institutes again. Lo and behold, Princeton has obliged with an online plan to read through this masterpiece systematically in one year. Here's the link to the program. I would particularly recommend this to those who have bought into any of the silly caricatures of Calvinism that are circulating today. If Dave Hunt had actually, um, read Calvin's Institutes beyond searching for quotes that could be yanked out of context, What Love is This would never have been written.

Here's a sample from today's reading. How relevant is this?

"For ungodly men have so far prevailed that Christ's truth, even if it is not driven away scattered and destroyed, still lies hidden, buried and inglorious. The poor little church has either been wasted with cruel slaughter or banished into exile, or so overwhelmed by threats and fears that it dare not even open its mouth. And yet, with their usual rage and madness, the ungodly continue to batter a wall already toppling and to complete the ruin toward which they have been striving. Meanwhile no one comes forward to defend the church against such furies. But any who wish to appear as greatly favoring truth feel that they should pardon the error and imprudence of ignorant men. For so speak moderate men, calling error and imprudence what they know is the most certain truth of God; calling untutored men those whose intelligence was not so despicable to Christ as to prevent him for bestowing upon them the mysteries of his heavenly wisdom! So ashamed are they all of the gospel!"

Happy reading!

Real, Old-School Calvinism

Teaching through 1 & 2 Thessalonians & found this insight by Warren Wiersbe. It's amazing how verse-by-verse, expository preaching will keep you in balance.

"But election and evangelism go together. The person who says, 'God will save those He wants to save and He doesn’t need my help!' understands neither election nor evangelism. In the Bible, election always involves responsibility. God chose Israel and made them an elect nation so that they might witness to the Gentiles.
"In the same way, God has chosen the church that we might be witnesses today. The fact that we are God’s elect people does not excuse us from the task of evangelism. On the contrary, the doctrine of election is one of the greatest encouragements to evangelism."

Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, "An Exposition of the New Testament Comprising the Entire 'BE' Series"--Jkt. (Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books, 1996, c1989), 1 Th 1:8.

Behold the God-Man!

If you've never read J. C. Philpot (1802-1869), here is a sample to whet your appetite:

"We must never, even in thought, separate the human nature of our adorable Redeemer from his divine. Even when his sacred body lay in the grave, and was thus for a small space of time severed from his pure and holy soul by death and the tomb, there was no separation of the two natures, for his human soul, after he had once become incarnate in the womb of the Virgin, never was parted from his Deity, but went into paradise in indissoluble union with it. It is a fundamental article of our most holy faith that the human nature of the Lord Jesus Christ had no existence independent of his divine. In the Virgin's womb, in the lowly manger, in the lonely wilderness, on the holy mount of transfiguration, in the gloomy garden of Gethsemane, in Pilate's judgment hall, on the cross, and in the tomb, Jesus was still Immanuel, God with us. And so ineffably close and intimate is the conjunction of the human nature with the divine, that the actings of each nature, though separable, cannot and must not be separated from each other. Thus, the human hands of Jesus broke the seven loaves and the fish; but it was God-man who multiplied them so as to feed therewith four thousand men, besides women and children. The human feet of Jesus walked on the sea of Galilee; but it was the Son of God who walked on the waves to the ship. The human lips of Jesus uttered those words which are "spirit and life" (John 6:63), but it was the Son of the living God who spoke them (John 6:69). The human hands and feet of Jesus were nailed to the cross; but the blood shed by them was indeed divine, for all the virtue and validity of Deity were stamped upon it (Acts 20:28)."

- J. C. Philpot, Daily Words for Zion's Wayfarers (Joseph Kreifels).