In Eager Anticipation: Free Will, Missions, Full Atonement, Prayer: 4 Tenets this Calvinist Holds.
This is a post from my good friend Andy Shurson. A good read for all my Calvinist friends and for those struggling with issues on free will, missions, atonement, and prayer. It is not a treatise, but provides enough food for thought.
It is posted here unabridged:
Free Will, Missions, Full Atonement, Prayer: 4 Tenets this Calvinist Holds.I have been a Calvinist for about seven years now. I have had many discussions and a few arguments over the matter. I became a Calvinist after reading John Piper; I remained a Calvinist because of reading Jonathan Edwards.. Calvinism however seems to be a bad word and I would simply like to confess my faith in tenets (no, not tenants, I do not rent these beliefs) that are often considered (by some) to be un-Calvinist: free will, missions, full atonement, and the power of prayer.
Free Will- I make choices, every day. To argue that I do not would be in and of itself a faculty of my will, choosing to argue. I believe that every person is free to make choices, including the choice to follow God. Scripture speaks to human responsibility for our actions and our choices. I do also believe in predestination, which is an outworking of God’s sovereignty. One might ask, how can you believe in both? I believe we make choices based on the options available to me, I order waffles not pancakes at Waffle House because pancakes are not an option. God is sovereign over options and the beauty of options; I chose to follow Christ because he was revealed to me in all of his beauty. If it were a question of if I would choose a steak from Ruth’s Chris or a hamburger from McDonalds (price not being an issue), I will always choose the steak because it is more delicious. When Christ is truly revealed there is no other choice to be made. The beauty is this that the Son humbled himself and took on human flesh bore the sins of the world in the place of our punishment that we could take on his righteousness.
Missions- The modern missions movement, Hudson Taylor going to China, William Carey to India and many others, came out of Calvinist churches. They believed that spreading the Gospel is a clear command of God. Certainly God has the power to save any that he chooses; however this does not mean that God does not use people as instruments. God’s sovereignty does not only extend to the person being saved it includes missionaries, preachers, evangelists, and any that carry out the mission of God. God in his sovereignty can choose to use my words to bring about the salvation of another person, and that is a privilege and a joy to be a vessel for the Lord Almighty.
Full Atonement- I purposefully left out the words limited and unlimited because those are aspects of the same concept. I believe in both of them. In one sense the atonement is unlimited, Christ’s death is sufficient to save every person who has ever or will ever live. The death was a substitution and it can be a substitute for all. However it is not a substitute for all, it is clear that not all people believe in Christ; take a look at the New Atheists if you have any doubt. So it is limited in its efficiency, it is only efficient for those who come to faith in Christ, not those who reject God and in many cases hate God (would a loving God really bring to heaven someone who hated him?).
Power of Prayer- I am asked to pray several times a day, many times for people who are deathly ill. I willingly offer prayers to God in hope that they will be answered. The reason I pray is the same reason that I share my faith. I believe that God uses prayers as instruments of his will. In God’s will he can use my prayer to bring about healing. Sovereignty does not exclude the abilities and words of people; it embraces and uses them to bring about God’s sovereign plan.
Source: shurson
For the same reason it was also imperative that he who was to become our Redeemer be true God and true man. It was his task to swallow up death. Who but the Life could do this? It was his task to conquer sin. Who but very Righteousness could do this? It was his task to rout the powers of world and air. Who but a power higher than world or air could do this? Now where does life or righteousness or lordship and authority of heaven lie but with God alone? Therefore our most merciful God, when he willed that we be redeemed, made himself our Redeemer in the person of his only begotten Son.
The second requirement of our reconciliation with God was this: that man, who by his disobedience had become lost should by way of remedy counter it with obedience, satisfy God’s judgment and pay the penalties for sin. Accordingly, our Lord came forth as true man and took the person and the name of Adam in order to take Adam’s place in obeying the Father, to present our flesh as the price of satisfaction to God’s righteous judgment and in the same flesh to pay the penalty that we had deserved. In short since neither as God alone could he feel death, nor as man alone could he overcome it, he couple human nature with divine that to atone for sin he might submit the weakness of the one to death and that wrestling with death by the power of the other nature he might win victory for us” (Calvin, Institutes 2.12.3)
Justification by Theology
by: Dustin Neeley (Acts 29 Pastor)
Our enemy has many weapons in his arsenal.
In ancient times, Satan deceived God’s people to prize their knowledge of the Scriptures more than the One behind them. Today, he lures God’s people to fall more in love with their theological system than their Savior—a particular danger for our tribe.
To be clear, I am for careful study, theological reflection, and sound doctrinal teaching throughout the church. But let me also caution us in defining ourselves by what we believe—not in a historically “confessional” sense, but in an I’m better than you because I’m Reformed and you’re not sense.
How we know this is happening:
- If there is a disagreement, we defend Calvinism before we seek unity in the Gospel.
- When asked to describe our theology, we define ourselves as a Calvinist more quickly than as a Christian.
- And perhaps the worst of all…when our hearts are more captivated by the points of TULIP than with the person and work of Jesus.
We know this is wrong and damaging, so why do we do it?
One word: Pride.
I believe this manifests itself in two ways:
All of us want to be known for something.
Serial killers for their killing, athletes for their athletics, and theologians for their theology. When we perceive ourselves as anything of any degree, we feel that we have a right to be known to that degree. When we aren’t, we fight to make sure we are not overlooked.
We like thinking we have God and the Bible figured out and captured in a tidy little system.
It makes us feel strong and in control. But there isn’t a single person writing or reading this post who is right about everything we believe. It is impossible to capture everything about God in any theological system.
We would be well-served to know and live these truths in humility. You see it. You feel it. You, like me, want to change. What do we do?
1. Repent of our theological idolatry.
While theology is a great thing, it is not an ultimate thing. It is a means to an end to know God and make him known. In what ways have you made it an ultimate thing? Confess them to God. Claim gospel promises. Ask God to help you not make a means an end.
2. Believe the gospel is enough.
We are justified in our theology, not by our theology. Pray, study, be faithful; but at the end of the day, rest in the fact that it is Jesus’ blood that covers our sins, not how doctrinally savvy we are. Occasionally, take a break from the “big ideas” and go back to the simple gospel truths of Scripture to encourage your heart in who Jesus is, what he has done for us, and who we are in him.
3. Be on guard in the future.
1 Cor. 8:1 tells us that knowledge puffs up but love builds up. Those of us who are more theologically minded need to keep this verse close at hand, especially when we study. We need to consistently engage the humility of Christ seen in Philippians 2 to keep us balanced. If we don’t, we may be in danger of becoming just another angry theologian with a big brain and a small heart.
How are you justifying yourself by your theology?
