Arguments for Calvinism: Is God Mighty to Save?

Introduction

To me, Calvinist beliefs are more biblically sound that Arminiest beliefs. However, I believe that while on an intellectual level we can sometimes question and argue about the pillars of Calvinism and God's sovereignty, we all actually believe (or want to believe) in an almighty, sovereign God. Careful inspection of our actions and reactions in our Christian lives reveals our underlying belief in God's sovereignty and his true power to save.

Take some time to examine your own life. What do you believe?

Is God is Mighty to Save?

My Saviour, He can move the mountains,
My God is Mighty to save,
He is Mighty to save.
Forever, Author of salvation,
He rose and conquered the grave,
Jesus conquered the grave.

What does it mean for God to be mighty to save? We sing it all the time, but what does it really mean? Arminiests believe that God is mighty to offer salvation, but he doesn't actually do the saving himself. You do the saving, because you are the one who is righteous enough to choose to accept the gift of salvation. This idea of self-determinism, branded by people as "free will" so you'll be sympathetic to it, is the belief that you are the cause of all of your actions and that God doesn't force you to make any decisions so he doesn't interfere with your self-determinism (which some people call free will). So your work of accepting the Gospel is solely of yourself and not of God, or else the barrier of your self-determinism is breached.

Imagine for a second, if this was true. What would prayer for the salvation of others be like? "Dear God, please help my friend Babu believe in you. Please send him secret messages in the clouds like in Bruce Almighty. I know that you aren't allowed to change his heart because that would be a breach of free will. But send people his way to share the gospel with him in a nice and friendly way. But I know that you can't control what people do, so I pray that you will send a secret message to the evangelists too. God, thank you for dying on the cross for me, that because I decided it best, I am saved. I pray that you will help Babu realize this too. Maybe you can draw a pros and cons list of salvation and secretly leave it on his table or something. Amen"

I realize that was sarcastic, but imagine for a second if God couldn't save anybody, but that he left that responsibility to humans. Oh my, what a disaster that would be. However, when we pray for the salvation of others, we pray with a faith that God can save his soul. This isn't the "free gift if you want it" saving, it's a salvation where God reaches down and grabs a hold of the person's life, causing him to change the way that he lives and put his faith in God. If we don't believe God can do this, there really is no point in praying. So whatever we profess to believe, when we pray, we put our faith and hope into a God that can change hearts, that can effectually call, that truly is mighty to save.

Let's further examine some of Hillsong's song lyrics:

So take me as You find me,
All my fears and failures,
Fill my life again.

What does Hillsong mean with these lyrics? What do you mean when you sing them? I see two possible options (which I will illustrate vividly with my skillful writing) : 1) God waiting with open arms as you decide to walk to him, dirty and all. 2) God finds a filthy, smelly, half-naked child crying quietly and despite all of the child's dirt, picks him up and takes him with Him (think Footprints). Keep in mind this is all with respect to salvation (not to the already saved, because i think these lyrics would mean something different in that case). What is your salvation story like? Which should you think of it as? Did you go to God or did God rescue you?

Ephesians 2:8-9: For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.

Romans 3:10-11

There is no one righteous, not even one;
there is no one who understands,
no one who seeks God.

Faith and grace both come from God. God loves you and He saved you. He knew your name before time began and said, "I'm going to save ______ from the evils of the world and from the sinfulness of his/her own heart". He saved us because while we couldn't save ourselves, while we didn't seek God, and "while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8)". We are saved not because of a decision we made, but a decision that God made!

Dear God,

We are in awe of your sovereignty. We are in awe of your power and might. We recognize our own helplessness and sinfulness. God, when we were dead, you breathed life into us; when we were filthy and dirty, you washed us clean. We thank you for invading time and space to rescue us from the horrors of our own soul. We come humbly, as none of this was due to our own righteousness or faith (because we have none). We thank you that you are the provider of all things, including grace, faith and life. Apart from you, we can do nothing. Thank you for your salvation by which we are saved. Continue to hold us in your hands and use us for your work.

Caleb

I should have another post coming on the implications his doctrine has on evangelism.

Stories to come:

Billy Graham's Alter Calls

Evangelism: Doing it right

The Great Injustice of Salvation

Romans 2: 14-15

(Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them.)

News Break: No one is righteous, not even one. No one can pass the "requirements of the law written on their hearts" test apart from Jesus Christ just because of how evil and depraved we are. No one is righteous, not even one. But this begs the question: Isn't it unfair that some never get to hear the Gospel? Isn't it unfair that some are effectually called and saved and others aren't?

Let's talk about God's justice. Is God just? Yes. Of course he is.

Why is it that God's actions doesn't always seem just? Where is the disconnect?

Scenario: Imagine a mass murderer: an evil dude that killed and murdered ruthlessly (unlike Boaz....LOL) for all his life, murdering over a dozen people in cold blood before finally getting caught and sent to jail for life (Yeap, we live in a country without capital punishment). In prison, he meets a minister, and God opens his heart to the Gospel. Is it just of God to save this mass murderer but not the people who the murderer killed? What if Hitler or Stalin were saved before they died? Where is God's justice there?

The truth is that each of us individually, in comparison with God and in God's eyes, are as evil and wretched as Hitler, Stalin, the 9/11 terrorists, Mao, child rapists, etc. John Piper describes our human nature as horrific, and until we realize this (as in Romans 1), we cannot learn to love the salvation of God.

We won't ever love the doctrine of the atonement until we feel rotten, filthy, ugly, bankrupt, rebellious, at enmity against God so that there's no hope for us whatsoever and we are deserving of the worst possible hackings to death.

So where is the injustice? The injustice is that God decided to save us! The injustice is our salvation!!! We all deserve death, but God decided to save us from the death. This is the injustice! Instead of asking, "Why does God leave some unsaved" the real question is "Why does God save at all?"

However, God is a just God, so his wrath was satisfied on Jesus, His only Son to justify the great injustice of salvation of the undeserving.

Until we realize how evil and deserving of death we are, we cannot grasp the gravity of salvation and truly the enormity of Jesus' sacrifice. Instead of shaking our fist at the sky, may we fall on our knees in humility and gratitude.

Father God,

You are holy and almighty. You are perfect and sovereign. Lord God, we are not worthy of you. We are evil and the state of our souls are horrific, dark and dead. Thank you for loving us. Thank you for saving us despite your just nature, that you released the worst of criminals and forgave the worst of sinners. Thank you for Jesus, for providing the sacrifice to be the subject of your wrath. God, I am not worthy of your salvation. I am not worthy of you. Thank you for saving me.

Humbly,

Caleb

Genesis 3: Clothing Optional

Note: Nothing in this post is meant to be sexual. Yeah, I know. When you have to say that, it can't end well. =P

Genesis 2:6-7

She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

After Adam and Eve commit original sin, they realize they are naked. Ever wonder why? Why are they ashamed of their bodies? It's not like they have anyone to compare their bodies to and realize they aren't as "gifted" as others. Its not like they haven't seen each other naked before.

In this post, I want to argue that in addition to Adam and Eve clothing themselves as a result of sin, God needed to clothe himself as well.

What is symbolic meaning of being naked? Being naked is the ultimate sign of intimacy; it shows the union two people have. What does it mean to need and wear clothes? In addition to keeping the junk in the trunk warm, it protects our privacy, so we aren't open to the world.

When Adam and Eve sinned, two relationships were broken: 1) their relationship with each other and 2) their relationship with God.

1) The scapegoating that goes on when questioned by God is an indication of the break in their union. What happened to "bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh? All of a sudden, the "one flesh" became two, as the perfect unity of their relationship was shattered. The realization of nakedness and the need for clothes represents their lost intimacy, the barriers put up between them.

2) I want to focus more on the break of relationship between God and man. Not only does man need to clothe himself from other men, but God needs to clothe Himself from man!

Genesis 3:8

Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden.

This might sound sacrilegious, but for some reason, reading "as [God] was walking in the garden in the cool of the day", I couldn't help but imagine God being naked (w/e that means), strutting around the garden, freely enjoying the fresh, cool air. That got me thinking: As nakedness is a motif in this passage, it wouldn't be completely absurd to consider the relation between clothing and nakedness and God himself.

Because of man's sin, God could no longer be intimate with man, as the union between God and man was severed. Man could no longer see God or be in his awesome presence because of man's sin and God's holiness. From the fall until the crucifixion, God is always "clothed" from his people. Through history, God's presence is indicated inside the ark and in the Holy of Holies, and God clothes himself with an obvious barrier between Himself and man, as only the high priest could enter the presence of God once a year.

But then, Jesus invaded history and decided to reconcile man and God, to reunite man with God. When Jesus breathed his last on the cross, the curtain in the temple separating God from man was ripped from top to bottom...God was taking off his clothes, inviting us to once again be intimate with Him. Sin was defeated; the effect of the fall was reversed; we are united once again with God.

God is taking off his clothes for you, inviting you to become united with him once again. God is willing to be naked for you; are you willing to be naked, to humble yourself and come to terms with who you are, for God?

What does it mean to be naked for God?

Well, I haven't really thought about it. We'll see.... ;)

Psalms: My Reaction

I've been journeying through Psalms recently, reading one a day as a devotional. Here are some of my reactions.

1) When I'm in the most need, God provides a Psalm for me!

True, it might just be a coincidence, but it's pretty awesome how God uses chance to take care of me. Psalm 25 came at absolutely the right time...more on that later.

2) Some Psalms are hard for me to relate to.

David seems to be perpetually chased by evil people that want to kill him, and obviously cries out to God for help. Unfortunately (or actually, very fortunately), I don't have this same problem. Psalm 35 illustrates my point:

¹ Contend, O LORD, with those who contend with me;
fight against those who fight against me.

⁴ May those who seek my life
be disgraced and put to shame;
may those who plot my ruin
be turned back in dismay.

⁷ Since they hid their net for me without cause
and without cause dug a pit for me,

⁸ may ruin overtake them by surprise—
may the net they hid entangle them,
may they fall into the pit, to their ruin.

Poor David. But how am I supposed to relate to that? I don't dream of waking up to "CONTEND O LORD WITH THOSE WHO CONTEND AGAINST ME" along with my morning coffee and pizza (yeah! thats what I had for breakfast today!).

Also, I have a difficult time relating to the passages in which David calls himself righteous and blameless, and goes on talking about stuff from there. I am too far from perfect even now to be calling myself righteous. I recognize that we have been made righteous through Christ, but my life of sin convicts my conscience otherwise. Take Psalm 26:1 :

¹ Vindicate me, O LORD,
for I have led a blameless life;
I have trusted in the LORD
without wavering.

If I said that out loud, I would be lying! However, these passages do motivate me to become more and more like Christ, to live a blameless life. Christ came and died for me to have the opportunity to live blamelessly, and to not try is to spit on his grave (well it doesn't really matter because he's alive anyway...that was a poor metaphor <- that rhymes. its unfortunate that it really wasn't a metaphor but more like an idiom, but "poor idiom" doesn't sound as cool as "poor metaphor").

3) I LOVE Psalm 25

This Psalm came at the right time, when I was struggling to trust God with my future (as I always am). I just read and reread the first, second and third verses.

¹ To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul;

² in you I trust, O my God.

³ No one whose hope is in you
will ever be put to shame,

Also, this is one of the few passages in which David knows that God is on his side but recognizes his own sinfulness as well. He asks God to be merciful and "remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways" and "according to your love remember me, for you are good, O Lord." David seems to be in the posture of repentance and hope for God's grace. Sometimes other Psalms seem to indicate that David asks of God based on his righteousness, but this Psalm proclaims that he himself is sinful but he is faithful in God's love for him. And that is why I love this Psalm.

Dear Jesus,

Thank you for your servant David who was faithful to you and provides a good example for me. Thank you for your Word, from which I can feed everyday. Thank you for being loving and caring, that you hear all my prayers lifted to you. Thank you for providing for me. To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul; in you I trust, O my God.

Deep Confidence, Deep Humility (Gn2, Mt1, Rm1)

I listened to John Piper's message on Unconditional Election tonight. My conclusion: I need to know God more deeply in a more personal way.

And so begins my journey through Scriptures and prayer. I took a shower after the message (well, I went downstairs to watch TV, but my mom was watching some lame TV show, so THEN I took a shower). I think well in the shower. I think as Christians, we have a hard time accepting who God is. This sounds kinda strange, but I the questions that kept nagging at me such as "If God truly elects those to be saved, why doesn't he elect everyone?" Though I believe in my head the pillars of Calvinism, there is a disconnect in my emotions.

We aren't comfortable with who God is supposed to be because we don't recognize who we are ourselves. I began my Bible reading of the night with Genesis 2, Matthew 1, and Romans 1 (I just finished Acts and decided to read a chapter from the OT, the Gospels, and the Epistles...and I had read Genesis 1 yesterday). It's interesting that all three of these passages describes the beginning of someone. Genesis 2 obviously describes the creation of Adam and Eve, Matthew 1 is the narrative of Jesus' birth (how fitting, now that Christmas is almost here!), and Romans 1:18-32 describes all of mankind.

So, who are we?

We are loved by God: Yeah, yeah this is obvious, and it's everywhere in the Bible. But when I was meditating on Genesis 2, I realized that God so loved Adam that he realized that "Hey! The dude needs a woman!" [Btw, it is also not good for Caleb to be alone. Feel free to help him find a "suitable helper" ;) ] God knows about our needs and will take care of them. Most importantly, we are created in the image of God. This gives me a reason to be deeply confident about who I am. God is my creator and He loves me.

We are wretched, without any hope save the grace of Jesus Christ our Lord: I think this is what us Christians most often conveniently forget. It is impossible to fully appreciate and understand grace without first understanding the evil and wretchedness and depravity of our own hearts. I encourage everyone to read Romans 1:18-32. This is a description of us, human beings. In the passage, "God gave [men] over" to various things. If God lets us have our way, we have no hope of escaping sin. This is the idea behind "Total Depravity": that before God drew us to him, we had no hope of salvation. If God did not save us, we would be stuck in sin.

We are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; we invent ways of doing evil; we disobey our parents; we are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Although we know God's righteous decree that only those who do such things deserve death, we not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

I think that when we start wrapping our heads around how evil we really are and how helpless and dead we really are without Christ, there is nothing left to do but fall down at His feet in praise and thanksgiving. There is no (or at least less) room for questioning his plan of salvation or the extent of his grace. Romans 9:20 : "For who are you, O [evil, gossiping, God-hating, insolent, arrogant...] man, to talk back to God?" Recognizing my own depravity leads me to be deeply humbled because of who I am.

The story doesn't end here though (thank God)...

Jesus came to earth to save us specifically: In Matthew 1, the angel told Mary that Jesus "will save his people from their sins." His people. Jesus got peeps. And that is me. And that is you. Jesus didn't come to earth to set up a "Free Salvation Giveaway stand" that whoever decides to stop at his proxe station and take a look might leave with everlasting life. Jesus came intentionally for his people, for his sheep. When God sent his son, he really meant to save me, to save you. John Piper said in his message, "God really means to purchase by the atonement the conversion of a definite, limited group of people from all people who don't deserve the grace." That makes me grateful for his personal salvation of me. When I was spiritually dead and without any hope of life, Jesus died for me...for me!

So am I an image bearer of God or a weak, evil, God-hating individual apart from God? Yes. It's this salvation that reconciles the two sides, giving me a reason to be deeply confident and deeply humble in who I am in relation to Jesus.

From Tim Keller's Reason for God that we read in Sunday School last summer:

“The Christian gospel is that I am so flawed that Jesus had to died for me, yet I am so loved and valued that Jesus was glad to die for me. This leads to deep humility and deep confidence at the same time. It undermines both swaggering and sniveling. I cannot feel superior to anyone, and yet I have nothing to prove to anyone. I do not think more of myself nor less of myself. Instead, I think of myself less.”

Heavenly Father,

You are perfect and holy. You are all-knowing and had a plan and a purpose from before time began. You are awesome. You are powerful. Thank you for loving me, a sinner. Thank you for reaching down from your throne in heaven and coming down to earth to save me, me! Lord Jesus, I have done nothing to deserve your grace. I am a sinner, and I'm the worst kind of sinner. I lust, hate, hurt, disobey. There is nothing good in me apart from you. Lord Jesus, I was dead before you breathed life into me, nothing more than mere dust. Thank you Jesus. Help me understand your grace more deeply, more correctly as I struggle to understand the mysteries of your Gospel. Draw me nearer to you. Help me understand the magnitude of your love and grace that gave me life.

Thank you, Jesus, thank you.