Posted on 08/21/2008 1:45:32 PM PDT by Gamecock
Imagine, if you will, that you are a missionary. You have taken the classes you will need to get around in this new country. You know the common language well enough. You understand the customs and are confidant you won’t make a scene your first day on the ground. There has been very little progress made in this locale, and that is why you were sent. It is your first missionary assignment, and you hope that God will use you to do great things among the people.
You are in a high place. The top of a building, or maybe a helicopter. You look down and see an ocean of humanity. From your classwork, you know that the crowd below you is not one that will be conducive to the gospel. Perhaps the country already has an established religion. Maybe atheism is the state sponsored religion. Either way, the reports show that less than one percent of the population is Christian. You’re still wet behind the ears and all of your ideas of building a church and waiting for the people to pack in to hear your masterfully orchestrated messages are beginning to fizzle.
What do you do? You despair of even making a dent for the gospel, let alone sparking a revival!
This is a makeshift scenario that has been met by many missionaries in the past. If you allow for the details of the setting to be adjusted, I would guess that most missionaries have faced a situation where there seems to be so much work to be done among a people who are so tuned out to the gospel that it seems pointless. That is where theology must come in. You must make a stand somewhere, and that stand can be made on your efforts or on the power of God to transform the sinner.
This is where Calvinism meets evangelism. Many have said that the two are at odds with one another, but that is not so. Calvinism will change the way you evangelize, but it will not keep you from reaching out to the lost. What it does do is affect our message, our methods and our motivations.
A Calvinist will not tell the unregenerate man that God loves him and has a wonderful plan for his life. It is not our place to give any man a false sense of security through a narcissistic message, no matter how well the lost man responds to such a message. If it is true that the heart is deceitful above all things, the Calvinist cannot, in good conscience, preach a gospel that speaks only to a deceitful heart. It is not our place to declare anyone righteous to any degree before God. That is the work of the Holy Spirit, who convicts men of their sin and who drives them to the cross. This work is accomplished through the word of God, empowered by the spirit of God.
Our methods can take on similar forms as the world around us, and that is often to our discredit. But consider this, you won’t find many Calvinist bumper stickers on the road today. That is because we have seen too many examples of flash advertising that cheapens the name of Christ and because we have no desire to boast of our salvation. “Try Jesus” one sticker reads, as if Jesus offered test drives. “Wise men still seek Him” is another. Funny, I thought we had it on apostolic authority that nobody seeks after God. “God said it. I believe it. That settles it.” As if nothing is settled until you agree with what God said? The God of the Bible is replaced in the American psyche with an image of a detached Santa Claus, who really really really wants to give you a pony this Christmas. Assuming you’ve been good, of course.
Back up for a moment to the missionary example I gave earlier. A young missionary with high aspirations may wonder how he is supposed to reach all of these people. Why, they have supporters back home who expect results if their investment is to continue. You can look over the sea of faces and despair over how to go about winning this crowd to Christ or you can back up for a moment and remember that it is not your job to win anyone to Christ. Not a single person. When you go out into the field, your job is to preach the gospel to whoever will listen. That’s it. Sure, you may help in a hospital setting or some other pursuit, but your primary mission is to spread the gospel.
You will never know who is of the elect and who is not until God reveals them to you as new brothers and sisters in Christ, and you will rejoice all the more as a witness to a miracle no less incredible than the raising of Lazarus from the dead. And even if God grants you no converts, you can rest assured that God is using you to plant seeds. Another may come to water. But it is always God who gives the growth.
Calvinists are planters and waterers. We are not ones to try and take on the role of God by forcing growth where there is no growth. There are people who will accept the gospel and people who will reject the gospel. Whether the gospel is accepted or rejected, we strive for that gospel to be proclaimed in all of its truth. If we are to be messengers of the king, how can we be good and faithful servants if we do not proclaim the message we have been given?
Thanks for sharing that.
A prophet is never received in his own town.
Might I suspect a book by a < sarc> cold heartless Calvinist? < /sarc> (Sarcasm is not aimed at you)
Tim Keller wrote a book titled The Reason For God. It might help you with your discussions with friends and family. You can see him on Youtube going into the belly of the beast so to speak. He has given lectures at Stanford and the Google campus. I find the quite winsome and disarming towards the skeptic.
Nope.
Have a nice life.
"...Paul confronted Peter about his error of retreating from the Gentiles when the Judaizers showed up...."
What is a 'Judaizer'? A 'God-Fearer' one who sympathized, with and practiced as far as possible, the Law of Moses, yet, not having been born in any of the twelve tribes, remained an gentile nevertheless? And when Peter retreated from his stance re: these gentiles was not at the insistence of James and his followers who grudgingly admitted the validity of the God-Fearers, but only as auxiliary to, not bona fide members of God's chosen people?
"...Paul said he was sent to the Jews with the Gospel..."
By 'gospel' do you mean Paul was sent 'to the Jews' to proclaim the fulfillment of Daniel's prophecy? To all the Jews?
lol. I’m not sure I’ve “mellowed.” Perhaps I’ve gotten more patient because I’ve been around here long enough to see quite a few Arminians become Calvinists, by the grace of God alone. 8~)
Sure it does. And thank God it does because it makes life so much more joyful to know mercy is truly unmerited, and we are saved by grace and not debt.
Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. " -- Romans 5:8-10"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Saved while we were still enemies, still sinners.
Read Ephesians 1. Our salvation is all part of God's grand purpose in creating in the first place.
"Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father." -- John 6:65
The first great awakening was brought about by a squinty eyed Calvinist reading Sinners in the hands of an angry God in a squeaky monotone voice by candle light.
The second great awakening, which called for manipulating people through new excitements resulted in Mormonism and other cults and huge swathes of burnt over areas that have never recovered.
AMEN!
"God giveth the increase."
Amen and amen. When that truth finally became real to me. a huge burden was lifted off of my shoulders resulting in opening a praise to His glory that I never felt was possible. And I saw the same thing happen with my kids. Hallelujah, all praise and glory to the Lamb!
Then why do you believe and your neighbor doesn't?
Why? Are you smarter? More pious? Quicker-witted?
What's the difference between you and your neighbor?
Eventually, people will wonder why good things seem to work out for you, or why you don't succumb to the bad times.
Then you can smile and tell them the reason.
That’s a stupid question. The answer is because I made the decision.
I've been attending a PCA church lately, actually. But I doubt I'll turn Calvinist any time soon. Deo volento. >.>
The “error” is according to that which is actually true. For example, if I think Paul was an African-American and taught this, according to what is actually true, I am wrong. However, I might still be a believer.
Your next statements puzzle me a little. The Judaizers were Jewish men (yes, bona fide blood members of God’s physically chosen people, the Jews), who followed Paul around telling folks that Jesus was fine, but there was more to the Gospel than just trusting Jesus to forgive your sins. They taught you now had the “equipment” to really obey the Law of Moses and thereby insure your salvation. This confusion of the Gospel became a great source of irritaion to Paul. Read the entire letter to the Galations and listen to how angry Paul is that such men would attempt to water down the message.
“Even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned.” Do I read that, “Go to hell”? Sure, this is language intended to shake them up. But, the message is the same. There is one message about Jesus being adequate without cermonial additions.
And what I meant is that Paul recognized that Peter, while sadly mistaken about his pulling back, was still a “sent one” (apostle) to the Jews to tell them that their Messiah had come. As far as Daniel’s prophecy points toward this, yes, Peter was sent to all Jews to tell them about Jesus. And, oddly, Peter was the first one who really saw the breaking down of the barrier between the Jews and Gentiles (Acts 10:9ff).
**The answer is because I made the decision.**
Why?
Or do you often make descisions without thinking them through?
ie: “I bought a house because I made the decision to”
So you were smarter than the unbeliever who didn’t make the decision? Or was it just dumb luck?
Wonderful news. I haven't heard any of our PCA brothers and sisters complaining.
My only complaint is that there isn't one closer to our house. I envy you and hope you find it to be a good match.
And as far as calling yourself a Calvinist, it takes some time to shake the perception of stodginess and antiquity off the label. But once it's gone, you feel liberated. It's just so joyful and solid. God's in His heaven and we have been redeemed by grace alone through faith alone in His perfect Son alone. The best is yet to be.
In most PCA churches, you only have to be able to subscribe to the Confession of Faith if you serve as an ordained officer. (Some extend that to other leadership positions and to adult Sunday School teachers).
I would recommend that you read through the Westminster Confession of Faith and its scripture proofs. (Do a keyword search to see the series posted by Alex Murphy). That’s the OPC version, but it is substantially similar to the PCA version.
And, remember, Calvin himself would probably have had to have taken some exceptions to the WCF.
I used the keyword WCF to mark each entry, although you may find it easier to use this post to locate all the threads.
I regret having done so a long time ago.
Wesley also told Hervey imputed righteousness is imputed nonsense.
We’ve all fallen for modern evangelistic techniques my friend.
It dawned on my wife just the other day that you shouldn’t tell someone that they can have a personal relationship with Christ.
Everyone has a personal relationship with Jesus. Some are with Christ as savior, some as a Jesus the wrathful judge.
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