Pet Peeve

One of my pet peeves is when people claim that they are neither Calvinist nor Arminian. There is so much wrong with that statement that I don’t even know where to begin. First of all it assumes that two mutually exclusive claims can both be true. This is patently false. Believe in both/and propositions all you want, you and the semi truck cannot both cross the intersection at the same time without grave consequences. There is only truth and error. There is only life or death.

More importantly, this statement reveals a fundamental ignorance of what both sides actually represent. What baffles me about this is that the statement itself implies a knowledge of both sides and a fair amount of study.

Before going any further, I should perhaps clarify at least a few things about both sides so that my point becomes clear. First of all, the distinction between Calvinist and Arminian, although other things are logical consequents of the respective positions, is a distinction regarding the doctrine of salvation: i.e., How is one saved? Even without delineating what either side believes, it should be clear that this is an important issue. Doctrine is important. It does matter what you believe, especially when it come to the question of how one is saved.

The person who makes this claim is typically one who eschews theological terminology. This in itself is problematic. No one comes to the Bible without a set of presuppositions. When someone says, “It’s just me and my Bible,” that person is invincibly ignorant. How do you reason with someone who refuses admit their presuppositions.

Calvinists aver that all men are dead in sin, thus no one is capable or willing to repent and believe savingly in Christ unless God first enable them by regeneration. Salvation is of the Lord. One becomes a Christian, not by a decision for Christ, but because God has resurrected them from the death of sin and given them faith to trust in the imputed righteousness of Christ who died as an atonement for their sins. Since Christ actually died to save them, and since they did not earn their salvation by any works of righteousness (including repentance and faith), their salvation is eternally secure because Christ has promise to not lose any of those given Him of the Father. Arminians place great emphasis on man’s supposed free-will. Further they affirm that one becomes a Christian by choosing, of their own uncompelled free-will, to believe in Christ. Moreover they believe that Christ’s death, rather than actually paying for their sins, makes it possible for God to forgive them. As a result, any lapse in Christian character endangers one’s salvation.

They difference is night and day. I am a Calvinist – unashamedly so. I am infuriated however when someone makes the ignorant remark that I follow a man rather than Christ. After all, didn’t Paul warn the Corinthians of saying they followed Apollos or Paul? The reason that is an ignorant statement is because Paul and Apollos were NOT teaching differing schemes of doctrine. Had Apollos been teaching salvation by works, Paul would’ve called him a heretic that the Corinthians needed to avoid like the plague. The issue at Corinth was not different theological parties represented by different teachers. The issue was petty, immature, schismatic sectarianism with no regard to actual doctrine.

Arminianism is always concerned that unless a person is saved as a result of a conscious free-will decision, then he has no incentive to live a holy life. Not only is this patently false, but it impugns the wisdom of God. If salvation is a regeneration – a real translation from the kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of His dear Son – then it will produce a change in character. We needn’t bother ourselves with taking things into our own hands to make sure they get done properly. God is entirely capable. In fact Jude tells us, “Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen” (Jude 24-25).

But there is another thing that this statement ignores. There are no other options. You either think you are saved solely by the sovereign power and choice of God or you think you play some part in the decision. There is no third option. That is why I said earlier that there is only life and death. A living person is not a corpse, nor is a corpse living. There are no shades of existence between the two options. Simply put, any attempt to ride the fence places one squarely in Arminianism.

What a Sermon!

The following quote is from a sermon by Bishop Horsley (1733 – 1806). It is a sermon on the Hypostatic Union, that is, the union of two natures in the one Person of Christ the God-Man.

I am dumbfounded whenever I read this paragraph! It is thick and heavy theology. It speaks volumes to me about the calibre of Horsley's congregation to hear material like this on a regular basis. Oh, for theologically profound sermons again!

“Neither of the two natures was absorbed in the other, but both remained in themselves perfect, notwithstanding the union of the two in one person, the Divine Word, to which the humanity was united, was not, as some ancient heretics imagined, instead of a soul to inform the body of the man; for this could not have been without a diminution of the divinity, which upon this supposition must have become obnoxious to all the perturbations of the human soul, - to the passions of grief, fear, anger, pity, joy, hope, and disappointment, - to all which our Lord without sin was liable. The human nature in our Lord was complete in both its parts, consisting of a body and a rational soul. The rational soul of our Lord’s human nature was a distinct thing from the principle of divinity to which it was united; and being so distinct, like the souls of other men, it owed the right use of its faculties, in the exercise of them upon religious subjects, and its uncorrupted rectitude of will, to the influence of the Holy Spirit of God. Jesus indeed ‘was anointed with this holy oil above His fellows,’ inasmuch as the intercourse was uninterrupted, - the illumination by infinite degrees more full, and the consent and submission, on the part of the man, more perfect than in any of the sons of Adam; insomuch that He alone of all the human race, by the strength and light imparted from above, was exempt from sin, and rendered superior to temptation. To Him the Spirit was given not by measure. The unmeasured infusion of the Spirit into the Redeemer’s soul was NOT THE MEANS, BUT THE EFFECT, of its union to the second person of the Godhead. A union of which this had been the means had differed only in degree from that which is, in some degree, the privilege of every believer, - which, in an eminent degree, was the privilege of the apostles, who, by the visible descent of the Holy Ghost upon them on the day of Pentecost, were, in some sort, like the Lord, anointed with the unction from on high. But in Him the natures were united, and the uninterrupted perfect commerce of His human soul with the Divine Spirit was the effect and privilege of that mysterious conjunction.”

Christ's Pre-Incarnate Glory

Then I was beside Him, as a master workman; and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him. Proverbs 8:30

The notes below may look suspiciously like a sermon outline. They essentially are. I have preached this message and I have read other sermons on the same passage. The notes below are distilled from John Flavel’s sermon on this passage. He did a better job than anyone else I’ve come across, certainly better than I ever did, (until now!).

The Holy Spirit describes the state of Christ before his incarnation with two delights,

(1.) The Father and Son delighted one in another without communicating that their joy to any other, for no creature did then exist.

(2.) They delighted in the work of salvation, though not yet extant, verse 31.

My present subject is the mutual delights of the Father and Son; which are in the text.

1. The glorious condition of the pre-incarnate Son of God, described by the person with whom his fellowship was, "Then was I by him," or with him; so with him as never was any, an expression of the greatest dearness and intimacy in the world; as if he should say, wrapped up in the very soul of his Father.

2. This fellowship is illustrated by a metaphor. The Hebrew sometimes rendered a cunning workman. "For all things were made by him." Others render it nourish; and so Christ is here compared to a charming child, sporting before its Father. The Hebrew root which our translation renders "rejoicing before him," signifies to laugh or play; so that, as parents delight to see their children sporting before them, so did the Father delight in beholding the darling of his bosom.

3. This delight is amplified by its perpetuity: "I was day by day his delight.” The delights of the Father and Son in one other was not interrupted for a moment.

Doctrine: The condition of Jesus Christ before his incarnation, was a state of the highest and most unspeakable delight and pleasure, in the enjoyment of his Father.

Now to sketch out this unspeakable blessedness, I consider it three ways: negatively, positively, and comparatively.

1. Negatively, by removing from it all abasement and sorrow which incarnation brought him under: as,

First, He was not then abased to the condition of a creature.

Secondly, Christ was not under the law.

Thirdly, He was not liable to any of the sorrowful effects of being human. As,

(1.) He was unacquainted with grief;

(2.) He was never pinched with poverty and wants while he continued in that bosom.

(3.) He never underwent reproach and shame in that bosom.

(4.) He was never offended with an impure suggestion or temptation of the Devil.

(5.) He was never sensible of pains and tortures in soul or body.

(6.) There were no hidings of his Father from him.

(7.) There were never any impressions of his Fathers wrath upon him.

(8.) Lastly, There was no death, to which he was subject, in that bosom.

2. Let us consider it positively, what it was, and guess by some particular considerations at the glory of it; as,

(1.) We cannot but conceive it to be a state of matchless happiness, if we consider the persons enjoying and delighting in each other: he was with God, John 1: 1. God is the fountain and center of all joys: Psalm 16:11, "In thy presence is fullness of joy." To be wrapped up in the soul and bosom of all delights, as Christ was had to be a state beyond comprehension.

(2.) Or if we consider the intimacy and oneness of those great persons with one another: the nearer the union, the sweeter the communion. Jesus Christ was not only near and dear to God, but one with him. “I and my Father are one," John 10: 30, one in nature, will, love and delight.

(3.) Consider again the purity of that delight with which the blessed Father and Son embraced each other; the best creature delights one in another, are mixed, debased, and allayed; if there be something ravishing and engaging, there is also something cloying and distasting. The purer any delight, the more excellent.

(4.) Consider the constancy of this delight; it was from everlasting; it never suffered one moment's interruption. The overflowing fountain of God's delight and love never stopped its course, never ebbed; but as he speaks in the text, "I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him."

3. Consider it comparatively, and this state still yet appear more glorious, comparing it with either the choicest delights that one creature takes in another, or that God takes in the creature, or that the creatures take in God: measure these immense delights, between the Father and his Son, by either of these lines, and you shall find them infinitely short: For,

(1.) Though the delights that creatures take in each other, be sometimes a great delight; such as Jacob's delight in Benjamin, or Jonathan in David, yet all this is but creature-delight, and can in no particular equal the delights between the Father and the Son.

(2.) Or if you compare it with the delight that God takes in the creatures, it is confessed that God takes great delight in some creatures. "The Lord takes pleasure in his saints, he rejoices over them with singing! And resteth in his love," Zeph. 3: 17. But yet there is a great difference between his delight in creatures, and his delights in Christ; for all his delight in the saints is secondary, and for Christ's sake; but his delights in Christ are primary, and for his own sake: we are accepted in the beloved, Eph, 1: 6, he is beloved, and accepted for himself.

(3.) Compare it with the delights that the best of creatures take in God, and Christ, and it must be confessed that is a choice delight, and a transcendent love, with which they love and delight in him. Our love to God (at the best) is still imperfect; that is the burden and constant complaint of saints, but this is perfect; ours is inconstant, up and down, ebbing and flowing, but this is constant.

Inferences:

Inference 1. What an astonishing act of love was this, for the Father to give the darling of his soul for poor sinners! "God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son." Which of us would deliver a child, the child of our delights, an only child, to death for the greatest inheritance in the world? What parent can endure parting with such a child? When Hagar was taking her last leave (as she thought) of Ishmael, Gen. 21:16, the text says, "she went and sat over against him, a good way off: for she said, ‘Let me not see the death of the child.’ And she sat over-against him, and lifted up her voice, and wept:" though she was not the best mother, yet she could not give up the child. What a hole has the death of some children made in the hearts of some parents! Yet surely, never did any child lie so close to a parent's heart, as Christ did to his Father's; and yet he willingly parts with him, though his only one, to death, a cursed death, for sinners, for the worst of sinners. If the Father had not loved you, he had never parted with such a Son for you.

Inference 2. Be forever astonished at the love of Jesus Christ to poor sinners; that ever he should consent to leave such a bosom, and the ineffable delights that were there, for such poor worms as we are. Jesus Christ who was embraced in that bosom after another manner than ever you were acquainted with, freely left it, and laid down the glory and riches he enjoyed there, for your sakes; and as the Father loved him; even so (believers) has he loved you, John 17: 22. What manner of love is this! Who ever loved as Christ loves? Who ever denied himself for Christ, as Christ denied himself for us?

Inference 3. Hence we are informed that interest in Jesus Christ is the true way to all spiritual preferment in heaven. Do you covet to be in the heart, in the favor and delight of God? Get interest in Jesus Christ, and you shall presently be there. What Israel said of the children of his beloved Joseph, “Thy children are my children,’ the same God says of all the dear children of Christ. You see among men how persons rise in this world as they are befriended; preferment goes by favor: So it is in heaven, persons are preferred according to their interest in the beloved, Eph. 1: 9. Christ is the great favorite in heaven: his image upon your souls and his name in your prayers, makes both accepted with God.

Inference 4. You see how infinitely the Father delights in him, how he ravishes the heart of God; and shall he not ravish our hearts? Why do you lavish away your precious affections upon vanity: None but Christ is worthy of them: when you spend your precious affections upon other objects, what is it but to dig for dross with a golden shovel? He that left God's bosom for you deserves yours.

Inference 5. If Christ be the beloved darling of the Father's soul, think what a grievous and insufferable thing it is to the heart of God, to see his dear Son despised and rejected by sinners. What a dismal word is that; 1 Cor. 16:22. "If any man love not our Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha," (i.e.) let the great curse of God lie upon that man till the Lord come.

An Exhortation:

1. To saints: If Christ was content to forsake and leave this bosom of love for your sakes; then,

(1.) Be you ready to forsake and leave all the comforts on earth for Christ: Moses left all the glory of Egypt. Peter and the other Apostles left all. But what have we to leave for Christ in comparison of what he left for us? Christ is the highest pattern of self-denial in the world.

(2.) Let this confirm your faith in prayer: If he intercede with the Father for you, then never doubt of audience and acceptance with him; surely you shall be accepted. Christ was never denied any thing that he asked. The Father hears him always; though you are not worthy, Christ is, and he lives to make intercession for you, Heb. 7: 25.

(3.) Let this encourage thy heart, O saint, in a dying hour, and not only make you patient in death, but in a holy manner impatient till you be gone; for your soul is going to that bosom of love from whence Christ came? John 17: 24. "Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am."

2. To sinners: Whatever you are, or have been; whatever guilt you lie under; embrace Christ, who is freely offered to you, and you shall be as dear to God as the holiest and most eminent believer in the world: but if you still continue to despise and neglect such a Savior, sorer wrath is treasured up for you than other sinners. O that these discoveries of Christ may never come to such a fatal issue with any of your souls, in whose eyes his glory has been this day opened!

This Is Not What I Expected

I again saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift, and the battle is not to the strong, and neither is bread to the wise, nor wealth to the discerning, nor favor to men of ability; for time and chance overtake them all. Ecclesiastes 9:11

I have always enjoyed the irony this verse details. It really demonstrates man’s weakness and God’s sovereignty.

Note how Solomon describes observation: I again saw under the sun. This is something he has seen repeatedly. There are two sides to his observation: negative and positive. The negative particulars he sees are:

1. The race is not to the swift

2. Nor the battle to the strong

3. Nor the bread to the wise

4. Nor wealth to the discerning

5. Nor favor to men of ability

The positive observation is: But time and chance overtake them all.

By “time,” Solomon means that God has allotted a certain time to every purpose and action. By “chance,” he simply means occurrence. The same Hebrew word (פֶּגַע) appears in 1 Kings 5:4 and is rendered occurrence. Solomon is not advocating “chance” in the sense of luck or fortune. Thomas Manton writes, “The success is such as the counsel of God has foreordained, yet to us it seems to be a mere chance. Things casual to us are counsels to Him.” It may be chance to men, but it is providence to God who “works all things after the counsel of His will.” Nor is Solomon being Epicurean or atheistic when he says, “time and chance overtake them all.” This remark is prefixed to his observations about the vanity of worldly things.

Sometimes it turns out that those who are most fitted, prepared and diligent are frustrated of that which they so earnestly intended and hoped for.

We all know of well qualified people who are overlooked. We all know stories of great athletes tripping at the last second. We all know of otherwise intelligent people doing something stupid. I read a story about Einstein running his boat aground with the excuse that he must’ve been thinking about something else.

The best of God’s servants often provoke Him to disappoint them because they place too much confidence in themselves. To say and do, or to make a thing to be, is the act and name of God and He will not share His glory with another. Lam. 3:37 - Who is there who speaks and it comes to pass, unless the Lord has commanded it?

This teaches us:

1. The nothingness of the creature and the all-sufficiency of God.

This is a great spiritual lesson. We are all nothing when compared to God, indeed, less than nothing. He alone is I AM. Excluding God, we really are nothing. He not only made us, but He holds us in existence both physically and spiritually. In opposition to God, we might as well be nothing. “All they that were incensed against thee shall be shall be as nothing” Isaiah 49:11

2. It establishes our dependence on God. Rom 4:17, 18.

3. It is intended to show us that without God, all is futility. We should not rely on our skills and talents.

In the lottery of human affairs we should look after surer comforts than those which earth has to offer. We should seek God in all our plans regarding our future. What good are our efforts without God? (Prov. 16:13) When we have done our duty, we can quietly refer the success to God. The wisest and best men must not expect to always be happy, but should prepare themselves for adverse circumstances.

We must beware of self-confidence. “The battle is the Lord’s.” He sometimes delights to thwart us to maintain His right when we rely too much upon our own strength.

4. It prevents discouragement for those who are perhaps less talented. “LORD, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many or with them that have no power” (2 Chron. 14:11). God frequently passes over the wise and powerful and gets Himself the most glory by protecting the weak.

In conclusion, let us bear all things that befall us as from the wise hand of the Lord’s providence and encourage ourselves in His sufficiency in all obstacles and difficulties.

What God Cannot Do

God Cannot

1. Lie - Hebrews 6:18
2. Endure iniquity Isaiah - 1:13
3. Dwell with evil - Psalm 5:4
4. Be silent in the face of immanent disaster of His wayward people - Jeremiah 4:19
5. Look on evil - Habakkuk 1:13
6. Be pleased by those controlled by the sinful nature - Romans 8:8
7. Deny Himself - 2 Timothy 2:13
8. Be tempted by evil - James 1:13

These are moral inabilities, not physical inabilities. They are glorious incapacities.

There does not fall under the scope of God's omnipotence anything that implies a contradiction. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica I QXXV, art. 4.

All things are possible with God, but intrinsic impossibilities are not things. Circles squares are not only intrinsically impossible, they are nonentities: nonsense.