Martin Luther on Free-will

Free-will is plainly a divine term, and can be applicable to none but the divine Majesty only: for He alone “doth, (as the Psalm sings) what He will in Heaven and earth.” (Ps. cxxxv. 6.) Whereas, if it be ascribed unto men, it is not more properly ascribed, than the divinity of God Himself would be ascribed unto them: which would be the greatest of all sacrilege. Wherefore, it becomes Theologians to refrain from the use of this term altogether, whenever they wish to speak of human ability, and to leave it to be applied to God only. And moreover, to take this same term out of the mouths and speech of men; and thus to assert, as it were, for their God, that which belongs to His own sacred and holy Name. But if they must, whether or no, give some power to men, let them teach, that it is to be called by some other term than “Free-will”; especially since we know and clearly see, that the people are miserably deceived and seduced by that term, taking and understanding it to signify something far different from that which Theologians mean and understand by it, in their discussions. For the term, “Free-will,” is by far too grand, copious, and full: by which, the people imagine is signified (as the force and nature of the term requires) that power, which can freely turn itself as it will, and such a power as is under the influence of, and subject to no one. Whereas, if they knew that it was quite otherwise, and that by that term scarcely the least spark or degree of power was signified, and that, utterly ineffective of itself, being the servant and bond-slave of the devil, it would not be at all surprising if they should stone us as mockers and deceivers, who said one thing and meant something quite different; nay, who left it uncertain and unintelligible what we meant. For “he who speaks sophistically (the wise man saith) is hated,” and especially if he does so in things pertaining to godliness, where eternal salvation is at stake.

Martin Luther, Bondage of the Will, Sect. XXVI

Talking Like a Charismatic

I have a small request to make of people who claimed to be Reformed: Stop using Charismatic lingo. I constantly encounter people who, while they abhor Pentecostalism, use the same ridiculous expressions.

I grew up as a dyed-in-the-wool Arminian, a Pentecostal, who was also an adherent of post-trib premillennialism. I have since become a thoroughly convinced adherent of Reformed theology. By Reformed, I do not mean simply the so-called “Five Points.” I mean the whole worldview that Reformed theology has traditionally always entailed.

As my doubts about my inherited theological system grew, I would ask questions. I cannot count the times that the person of whom I had inquired appealed to a mystical experience as the great clinching assurance of his doctrinal stance. “The Lord just really showed me that this is what the Bible teaches about the end-times.”

Now, Pentecostals believe this is the norm; therefore I can’t fault them for answering me with such weak-kneed responses. But I am alarmed at the number of Calvinists who use such language.

I am astounded at the number of people who claim to be Reformed that have been infected by Pentecostal jargon. You hear it all the time. “The Lord told me…;” “God has been showing me…;” “I just sense that…;” “I really sense in my spirit that…;” “I really feel an anointing on…” - This is unacceptable. Much of it is the result of our Reformed leaders and spokespersons’ unwillingness to confront the errors of Pentecostalism, or their lack of certainty about their own Cessationist position. By refusing to refute the error of Continuism, many Calvinists are left in the dark about the validity of the Charismatics’ experiences. And because we aren’t warned clearly enough, we started to assimilate their ways of expressing ourselves.

I am Reformed, which, among other things, means that I believe in Covenant Theology. I am a Cessationist, a paedobaptist and an amillennialist. But I wouldn’t dream of appealing to some mystical experience as my source of assurance of the veracity of any of these doctrinal positions. I have never had the Spirit tell me, “Calvinism is true.”

If you are Reformed; if you believe in the sufficiency of Scripture; if you disbelieve in Pentecostalism, then please, do me a favor: Stop talking like a Charismatic.

Defining Cessationism

I will not venture to speak for every Cessationist in the world, but I can at least assume that on the whole, the gifts we/they affirm as having ceased are the revelatory sign gifts. I say that because in my discussions with Continusists I frequently encounter this mistaken notion that the Cessationist position denies the continued existence of any and all spiritual gifts. This is simply false. I have never heard a Cessationist claim that the gifts of administration, marriage, celibacy, giving, etc., have all ceased. If anyone holds this position, I will say with all the Christian charity that I can muster that he or she is a brick shy of a load.

Continuists, listen: We do not believe that all the spiritual gifts enumerated in Scripture no longer exist or function in the Church, nor do we believe that God cannot and/or does not ever heal people who are sick when we pray for them. What we assert is this: All of the gifts that were revelatory in nature, those have ceased. They must have ceased at the close of the canon otherwise we would still be receiving revelation from God in addition to the Scriptures. Prophetic utterances which claim to be direct communications from God, messages in tongues, with their corresponding interpretations – these have ceased. There is simply no way to affirm that Scripture is complete, that the canon is closed, that the Bible is sufficient and is the only rule for doctrine and practice, and yet believe that there are continuing in the Church gifts which are revelatory in nature.

When we pray for someone who is sick, and God heals that person, there is no doctrine affixed to this event. There are no great doctrinal or theological conclusions to be drawn apart from noting that God has shown His loving-kindness. Hence it is not a revelatory event. And for that matter, neither is it a spiritual gift.

It seems that Continuists just can’t quite appreciate how great a gift Scripture is. Let me go on record and say that it would not be better to live in the days of the Apostles when miracles, tongues, and prophecy were the norm. Why? We would not have a complete Bible. We would be living with less than the full revelation God has given us in His Word. Peter himself tells us that his experience with Christ on the Mount of Transfiguration was not and is not as certain and firm as the words of the prophets, i.e., the Scriptures (2 Peter 1:16-19).

Calvin on Galatians 3:15-18

In order to take God at His word, we must strive against all our deep-rooted wickedness. For our natures are so prone to unbelief, that unless we struggle against the sin that ensnares us, we will never trust or cherish in our hearts a single word that God has uttered. This is why each one of us needs to be aware of what we are by nature when we come to be instructed in the Word of God. The, knowing that we are full of rebellion and doubt, we must forsake all of this, asking God to touch our hearts in such a way that they heed what they hear. Indeed, it is the office of the Holy Spirit to take the truth and seal it within our hearts; for although it is true in and of itself, we do not believe it until it is confirmed by the Holy Spirit from on high. Indeed, if we were naturally inclined to believe in God, there would be no need for the Holy Spirit to work within in. He is the true seal by which God sets us apart, and through whom he engraves and imprints in our hearts what we otherwise would never have believed (2 Cor. 1:22; Eph. 1:13).

Notice Paul uses two terms here: he says that no one can 'disannul' or reverse what has been agreed amongst men in a legitimate and valid manner, but he also says that no one can 'add' anything. For even if we were not in the least rebellious, our hearts are so restless that we would make additions to the Word of God, being unable to keep to it in its simplicity. Here, then, are two sinful tendencies that are to be found in all of us if we only examined ourselves as we are, without self-flattery. Firstly, we cannot fully resolve within ourselves honestly and unreservedly to say 'Amen!' to what God has declared nor to accept His promises, nor be fearful of His threatenings. Men always hide behind excuses; we need not go too far to find plentiful examples of this, for as I have said, the tendency is within each one of us! Secondly, though we may render to God His due honor by believing His Word to be true and without error, yet we have a desire to add to it.

This is exemplified in Popery! Why is there such confusion and such a multiplicity of ways of worshipping God? Why are there so many abuses and false practices? It is because men have not submitted to the commandments of God, but instead, have added to them, creating a confused mass of rituals devised in their own minds. Papists strive to serve God, but in what manner? Each of them has his own form of devotion, accompanied by an infinite amount of tomfoolery! They tell us that it has all been appointed by the church, whereas we know it has all been concocted by men! Why should this be? Has not God revealed to us what is pleasing to Him? He tells us that His law is perfect, and that we need no other rule of life. He also informs us that He prefers obedience to all the sacrifices in the world (1 Sam. 15:22; Hos. 6:6; Matt. 9:13; 12:7). The law was designed to bridle man so that he would not presume to add ideas and opinions of his own. God has indeed spoken, yet we add a hundred things which He has not commanded and strictly ordained, and exalt in its place such vain and frivolous nonsense, which not only is of no value in God's sight, but is an abomination. He disapproves of and, indeed, despises anything that man has introduced.

The fact that men seek to worship God according to their own tastes, reveals the lust and excessive pride which has always been part of human nature. Such worship flies in the face of Holy Scripture. For God tells us that the chief sacrifice He demands is for us to cast ourselves upon Him, presenting to Him our requests. After all, He has provided a way for us to come to Him personally and with complete liberty - for He has given us the Lord Jesus Christ as our Advocate. But men would have us call upon dead saints in order to obtain favor with God; they are supposed to be interceding for us as our patrons and advocates! The same applies to other doctrines. God has directed us to pray for one another, but they tell us we must pray for the poor souls in purgatory! And who has commanded this? Men believe this to be a good idea, and notice that what man has commanded is swiftly obeyed! How audacious! God has ordained the sacraments in order to confirm His promises to us, as pledges of His abundant mercy, and to strengthen our weak faith. We have baptism, whereby God declares that we are washed and cleansed from all our sinful stains by the blood shed by His only Son. Now He accepts us as members of His body and we may join His church. But the Papists are not content with such simplicity: they prefer ornaments and candles, and other such nonsense: it is enough to horrify us! And where does all this spring from but devil-inspired audacity? To think that God has established and set down all that is pleasing and fitting in His sight, which we cannot gainsay, and here we are refusing to accept it! But as I have said, the lust of man us such that when it is stirred, he must relentlessly add, mix, change, obscure and confuse.

Sign-Worship

Imagine you are on a trip to the Grand Canyon. All along the highway you have seen distance markers informing you of how many miles are left. You have driven for hours and crossed numerous states. You, your wife and kids have reminded each other for hours of how amazing it is going to be to finally see in person this great wonder of the natural world.

At the last road marker before arriving, you are surprised to see a large crowd standing around the sign, touching it, looking at it from all angles and taking pictures with it. You pull over to get a better look at this strange behavior.

Slowly, it begins to dawn on you: These people aren’t going to the Grand Canyon at all; they are here to see the sign! You try reasoning with a few of them, only to be ridiculed as a skeptic. You explain repeatedly that the sign is not the attraction, but merely a pointer toward it. This doesn’t seem to help. It merely irritates the crowd, which seems to be continuously growing larger.

Your wife nudges you with her elbow and points discreetly at some tables a few yards from the sign. These tables contain all sorts of products promoting the sign. There are books: fiction and non-fiction; there are music CDs and DVDs. There are T-shirts, audio and video sets of lectures, there are knick-knacks and a host of other items all celebrating the wonder, beauty and greatness of the Sign.

Sound strange? This is exactly what Pentecostalism is and does. Pentecostalism looks to the signs and not to the things signified. This is why I find it alarming when people who claim to be Reformed start defending continuism.

In a response to a previous post on this subject, someone commented that maybe I was throwing out the baby with the bath water by my Cessationism. Cessationism is not throwing out the baby with the bath water. In fact, I would assert that Pentecostalism is throwing out the baby and keeping the bath water.

Getting back to my illustration above, “Tongues” was a sign gift. You don’t need to take my word for it. Jesus Himself called Tongues a sign. Mark 16:17, Jesus said, “These signs...” (This word is sometimes translated “miracle”). “These signs [these sign miracles] shall follow them that believe.” And part of the text says, “In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues.” It is a sign miracle. Then Paul says in 1Corinthians 14:22: “Tongues are for a sign.” They are deliberately given as sign miracles. Hebrews 2:3 says “How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation?” This wonderful text raises the question: How will we escape what? How will we escape the wrath of God? How will we escape the just reward of our sins if we neglect so great salvation? Now look at the rest of the passage “so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him.” How was it confirmed? “...signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost.” So right here the author is telling us that even before the apostolic age comes to a close you have someone looking back saying, “We got this message first from the lips of those who heard the Savior. The Lord confirmed the message by signs and wonders.” They are already looking back on a time when there were signs and wonders in abundance, but the purpose of them was to authenticate the message and the messenger.

The opponents of Jesus’ ministry were sign-seekers. That fact alone should be warning enough to us. Plus, it is evident that Jesus never performed a miracle in response to a challenge. Miracles and signs accompanied the ministries of those who were instrumental is communicating to the Church God’s final Word: Scripture. The itch for signs and wonder is a denial of Sola Scriptura, despite what any of its advocates claim.