Category Archives: Reformed Theology

Does Calvinism Make God a “Moral Monster”? – Why we need this discussion.

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Over at the White Horse Inn, a ministry with a weekly radio show and magazine, Michael Horten responds on the subject of perceptions about Calvinism in regard to predestination.  Michael Horten has responded to the often assumed “hyper-” views of Calvinism, as well as challenges to Arminian views.  Too frequently I feel we misunderstand, and therefore misrepresent, the view held by others within the faith.

There are views that I find difficult to understand how people see them that way, but I try not to judge peoples hearts based on them.  We seem to have lost the art of discussion without anger and judgement.  That is sad since we are called to think on and discuss our understanding of His commands pretty much all the time in what is probably one of my favorite passages from the Bible.

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” - (Deuteronomy 6:4-9 ESV)

Not being able to voice ones beliefs without fear of verbal assault is killing personal growth in theological understanding in our communities.  If we aren’t prepared to defend our position then we should be spurred to investigate it further.  Any increased study prayerfully undertaken should produce the blessing of further comfort and possible correction of previously misunderstood texts.  Now not everything we undertake to study is an overnight effort.  Sometimes the journey to arrive at what you fully believe on a specific topic is fraught with moments of disbelief and doubt in your own understanding, being willing to change your position is part of the maturity we all seek to achieve.

I pray we recover reasoned diligent discussion through debate, it is a tremendously beneficial skill that offers the reward of refining and sharpening our understanding of the Lords word. Understanding why someone is saying what they are saying frequently yields results that are closer to your own than you previously would have thought, and often spurs study which ultimately strengthens all involved.

My favorite portion of his post is below…

Reformed theology has maintained consistently that Scripture teaches God’s exhaustive sovereignty and human responsibility. God does not cause evil. In fact, God does not force anyone to do anything against his or her will. And yet, nothing lies outside of the wise, loving, good, and just plan “of him who works all things after the council of his own will” (Eph 1:11). That God’s sovereignty and human responsibility are true, no serious student of Scripture can deny. How they can be true is beyond our capacity to understand. As Calvin put the matter, following Luther, any attempt to unravel the mystery of predestination and human responsibilty beyond Scripture is a “seeking outside the way.” “Better to limp along this path,” says Calvin, “than to rush with all speed outside of it.”

via - Does Calvinism Make God a “Moral Monster”? – White Horse Inn Blog.

Great article on the Calvinist view of why we call for belief in the Gospel

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I had just been reading an article earlier this week that I felt tremendously mis-stated the views of “Calvinist” believers.  In particular it argues “God Sovereignty” in relation to why we pray for things, particularly in relation to our “Free will” and why our decision must exist outside the boundaries of God’s involvement. I suppose my characterization of his article may not be how he intended it, but it is how I perceived it.  In either case I felt his choice of photographic imagery in his second article took great pains to inflame the discussion.

In light of that article, if you want a pretty good short explanation of how I have come to believe God saved me check out the paragraph below, go read the not too long article (the link follows the paragraphs below) when you have time for a broader, fuller, short explanation.  Most likely you may have no idea whether your a Calvinist or Arminian, but see if the paragraph below changes your understanding of what a Calvinist would believe.

Eschewing theological labels for a moment, it is biblical and Christian to call people to believe in the gospel. This is, after all, how Jesus began his ministry: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” Mark 1:14-15. You dont have to know Greek to recognize the imperatives.

But we Calvinists love to quote Ephesians 2:8. “Faith is a gift from God!” we exclaim. “It doesnt originate in the person!”

The question is: When non-Christians do repent and believe the gospel, do they express faith in Christ? Or does God grant the gift of faith in Christ to men? Yes! Why? Scripture teaches that faith in Christ includes both an objective and a subjective aspect. This is not a contradiction. Rather, the two must be held in tension.

Objectively speaking, faith is a gift from God Eph. 2:8, although the “gift” is the whole work of salvation, not just the faith. Subjectively speaking, the person exercises faith in the gospel Eph. 1:13. This is why Paul thanks God the objective side for the Ephesians faith in the Lord the subjective side; Eph. 1:15-16.

Since faith is both objective and subjective, we are right, as Calvinists, to call unbelievers to put their faith in Jesus.

Hyper-Calvinists inappropriately overemphasize the objective aspect of faith. Therefore, they have a hard time calling people to put their trust in Jesus. Arminians, on the other hand, inappropriately overemphasize the subjective aspect of faith, as ultimately the responsibility of the individual.

Calvinism, and more importantly the Bible, appropriately emphasizes both, which is why we can must! call unbelievers to put their faith in Christ, and mean it.

via How to Call for a Gospel Response Like a Calvinist – The Gospel Coalition Blog.

The Expository Genius of John Calvin

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The Expository Genius of John CalvinThe Expository Genius of John Calvin by Steven J. Lawson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed it, the author has another book out called the foundations of grace I also enjoyed. So far he is 2 for 2, check this one out if your interested in hearing about how John Calvin preached, and interacted with his community of believers in the church. Actually done in the manner of helping others preach and teach, it changed my mind on how I delivered the information in my classes. Presenting the material not on a 5th grade level, but also not on a college level, but rather at the clearest most understandable level. Letting the word of God speak rather than trying to make it “relevant”, the word of God already is.

Kindle read aloud ability + Foundations of grace = great experience.

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I have a decent drive each day and for quite some time have use audible books to make productive use of the time.  It has turned out to be a blessing from the viewpoint of getting to read (hear) quite a few books.  I had been going through at least 2 books a month, but missed the ability to actually read the books as well when not driving.

I have had a kindle for some time and never thought listening to a book with the voices that are available I was reading was really possible.  Insert mental thought of computerized robot voice reading with horrible pauses and mispronunciations of most if not all multi-syllabic words.  My experience does not resemble the prior description, surprisingly other than abbreviations it does a fabulous job with albeit a computerized voice. I have become quite used to it’s tone, it now seems very usable, and I get to read the book between trips.

So I am 2/3rds of the way through the book “Foundations of grace“, I will do a more complete review when I am done, but have a quote from the book below that I really found spot on.  If you ever wondered where they get the “Doctrines of Grace” from the bible this is a wonderful book.  The first of five books by Steven Lawson, the book starts in Genesis with Abraham and reviews the doctrines via scripture throughout the entire bible by reviewing men through the apostle John in Revelation.  (For a good review from the discerningreader.com click here)

“It would be virtually impossible to read the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John and come to any other conclusion. As shocking as it may sound, Jesus Christ was a Calvinist. While the teaching ministry of our Lord Jesus preceded that of John Calvin by fifteen hundred years, Christ clearly taught the same doctrines of grace as did the Genevan Reformer. In this sense, Christ did teach Calvinism, but not because our Lord received these magnificent truths from Calvin. To the contrary, Calvin received them from the One who came from the Father—Jesus Christ. The truths of sovereign grace originated in the inscrutable mind and will of God, not man. They were conceived in glory, not Geneva. They were birthed in eternity past, not sixteenth century Europe.”

Lawson, Steven J. (2011). Foundations of Grace (Long Line of Godly Men) (p. 241). Reformation Trust Publishing. Kindle Edition.

These are not “new testament” or “old testament” opinions from a theologian trying to convince you one way or the other, scripture is referenced throughout and you can and should check the author on each entry.  Sure I realize the book is friendly to the tenets that are traditionally referred to as calvinism today, but if you have no idea what I am referring to this is a good book to find out.  I come from a Church of Christ background and can say it has taken me over a year to work through what I believed, but I praise our sovereign Lord he blessed me by changing my understanding.  I am still working out my own salvation with fear and trembling (Phil 2:12) and this book has been very good about showing the quantity and breadth of these biblical truths in the scripture throughout the entire bible.

If you think you would enjoy listening to books while you drive, but don’t want to give up the ability to annotate and actually read, the $114 Kindle is a great way to read books you with great flexibility.  Sure it isn’t dramatically read, but it really does seem to get more “normal” each day, and the quote from above shows the added ability to refer back later as you would in any book.  In this case this quote was copied from the Kindle app on my mac, even though I ”highlighted” the excerpt on my Kindle itself when arriving at work from the listening session.