2007 Banner of Truth Pastor’s Conference details

This year I’m planning to attend two new conferences. The first is the Sovereign Grace Ministries Leadership Conference in April and the other is the Banner of Truth pastors’ conference in May. I’ve heard about them but never seen them for myself. Lord willing, this spring I will attend them both.

As you may have guessed, one of the major reasons I am spending so much time in John Calvin these first months of 2007 is to prepare for the upcoming Banner of Truth Ministers’ Conference entitled “Set Apart for God.” The conference runs between May 29th and 31st on the campus of Messiah College in Grantham, PA. Speakers will include two of my favorites, Derek Thomas and Walt Chantry (Chantry wrote the excellent book, The Shadow of the Cross). I look forward to Dr. Thomas’ trio of presentations on holiness, especially as they relate to Calvin’s Institutes. It is encouraging to see emphasis on Calvin’s understanding of the Christian life (as I think he has much to offer here). Dr. Thomas wrote an excellent book on Calvin’s understanding of the book of Job which has recently become one of my favorites. We’ll look more at this book on Friday.

UPDATE 3/14: Walt Chantry will not be available to speak this year. Instead, Sinclair Ferguson will be taking his place.

But for more information on the pastors’ conference you can download the newly-released conference PDF here and you can register here. Should be a fun time. And from what I’m told, Friends of the Shepherd’s Scrapbook will get an exclusive tour of the Banner of Truth warehouse in Carlise, PA as an added bonus!

Humble Calvinism: (11) The Institutes > Proofs of Scripture’s authenticity (1.8)

Part 11: Proofs of Scripture’s authenticity (1.8)

As we travel through the Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin (1559 edition) I am amazed by its contemporary significance. We have much to learn and apply to our own churches and evangelism today.

Through our study, Calvin has recently reminded us that until and unless the Holy Spirit confirms Scripture’s authenticity in our hearts, we will not give our lives and our hopes over to its message. God does this by breaking through and confirming Scripture in our hearts directly, not by indirect proofs (we saw this last time).

Today we see that there are sufficient proofs of Scripture’s authenticity, but we must first have faith to comprehend them. So God must first give us the conviction that Scripture is truly from God before these proofs make sense. This is why Calvin can close the chapter with an evangelistic plea by writing, “those who wish to prove to unbelievers that Scripture is the Word of God are acting foolishly, for only by faith can this be known” (92). We can share the gospel message with any unbeliever, but until Scripture is seen as the place where “divine majesty lives and breathes,” any proofs of Scripture’s authenticity are unfruitful (80). We rest upon the Spirit to work this confirmation into other hearts.

So here is the clarification from the last chapter: There are inherent proofs within Scripture to prove its uniqueness. Most of this chapter is given to this theme. “What wonderful confirmation ensues when, with keener study, we ponder the economy of the divine wisdom, so well ordered and disposed; the completely heavenly character of its doctrine, savoring of nothing earthly; the beautiful agreement of all the parts with one another” (82).

For Calvin, the evidences of divine origin center around the conciseness of its content, its heavenly nature, that it was written by the least expected authors, it carries a consistent theme, and because its message predates all other existing theological systems.

But the proof is also seen in the unflattering accounts Moses writes of his own family. You have the embarrassment of Levi (Gen. 49:5-6) and his brother Aaron and sister Miriam (Num. 12:1). Was Moses speaking “from the feeling of his flesh, or that he is obedient to the command of the Holy Spirit?” (85). Such embarrassment is not published from a desire to elevate Moses’ fame.

Also, the content of Scripture is heavenly. There is a vision of the unseen realities. The prophets are “crammed with thoughts that could not be humanly conceived” (83). And these prophecies are filled with events that would not be fulfilled until after the death of the prophet himself (1.8.7).

But there is an “almost rude simplicity” of Scripture (82). It was written by men like Matthew, Mark, Luke, Peter and John – “all of them rude, uneducated men” (91). It was not ordained with the jewels of ornate eloquence, but its divine truths are communicated in simplicity. For Calvin, a man familiar with literature and philosophy, can say that in comparison the words of God “surpass all gifts and graces of human endeavor, breathe something divine” (82).

And there is Saul, a man filled with rage against the church who was converted as Paul and the writer of much of the New Testament. His change shows that “he was compelled by heavenly authority to affirm a doctrine that he had assailed” (91).

Calvin argues that Scripture’s age, the miracles of Scripture, the preservation of Scripture through eras in which books were commonly burned, and the blood of the martyrs all show Scripture to be more than another book. These arguments comprise the bulk of the chapter.

All of these “secondary aids” confirm scripture’s authenticity only after “the chief and highest testimony” of the Spirit (92). God must supernaturally convince us of Scripture’s authenticity before the secondary “aids” and “props” are convincing (92). So Calvin ends the chapter by warning us not to try and win converts by persuading them with philosophical evidences of Scripture’s authenticity. We must pray that the Spirit would break into the depravity and rebellion of sinners and give them a taste of Scripture’s sweetness. Then they can taste the evidences in Scripture for themselves.

There are proofs, no doubt. But Calvin reminds us to let these proofs follow the Spirit-wrought conviction!

Calvinistic meditations …

1. Faith precedes reason. Anselm (1033-1109) understood well that faith must come before true understanding. In the introduction to Proslogium, the editor summarizes Anselm’s view in this way: “The unbelievers … strive to understand because they do not believe; we, on the contrary, strive to understand because we believe. They and we have the same object in view; but inasmuch as they do not believe, they cannot arrive at their goal, which is to understand the dogma. The unbeliever will never understand. In religion, faith plays the part that experience usually plays in the understanding of the things of this world. The blind man cannot see the light, and therefore does not understand it; the deaf-mute, who has never perceived sound, cannot have a clear idea of sound. Similarly, not to believe means not to perceive, and not to perceive means not to understand.”

Faith is not unreasonable, but faith must come first before the evidence. It is surely hard to grasp in the realm of spiritual truth that confirmation comes before the proof, but that is how Calvin, Anselm and Scripture itself explains this reality. The Spirit must convince us first through His power and then the evidences begin to make sense. Until the Spirit works, there are not enough proofs to cause a faith that reveres and trusts God as the genuine author. Convincing others that Christianity is legitimate is not a process or a seminar, but a point in time when the Sovereign touches a dead heart and causes it to pulse. This is why Jesus can say, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given” (Matt. 13:11). The evangelist, apologist and preacher all center their messages around the gospel, waiting patiently for the life-giving blood to begin pulsing in others at the sovereign timing of God. More about this in a moment.

2. Our understanding of God and the Gospel are the fruit of His “gracious will.” Our understanding of the divine mysteries has everything to do with a Sovereign God (Matt. 11:25-26 see also Matt. 16:17; Mark 4:11; Luke 8:10; John 7:17; 1 Cor. 2:9-10, 14; 2 Cor. 4:4; Col. 1:26-27; 1 John 2:27). That we understand anything is merely from His “gracious will” to reveal them to us! What amazing grace, that sinners are given eternal wisdom! If we truly understand the message of the gospel, this fact alone should be a powerful means of humility in us. To truly grasp Calvinism is to be a very Humble Calvinist. All divine light comes from God’s gracious sovereignty.

3. The message is the method. Not only is the gospel the message of salvation, but it is also the “the power of God for salvation” (Rom. 1:16). The Old Testament prophets understood this, too. “Is not my word like fire, declares the LORD, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?” (Jer. 23:29). God’s Word is a living and active force, piercing and discerning our hearts (Heb. 4:12). But specifically, Paul understands the life-changing power in the message of the Cross. That is why Paul can say the gospel is “the power of God for salvation” (Rom. 1:16), that “faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Rom. 10:17), and that “the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Cor. 1:18). So it’s no wonder Paul fights for the clarity of the gospel (2 Cor. 10:4-5; Gal. 1:6-2:21). The clear and accurate gospel message of the Cross is where both the message and the Spirit’s effectual power to save sinners from hell reside!

So don’t try to change lives through gimmicks. The power of God is not introduced to sinners through props and proofs and philosophy and arguments and seeker-sensitive devices. Place your trust in God. He alone displays His power to awaken sinners through the message of the gospel! Talk about depravity, talk about sin, talk about the wrath of God coming upon all unrepentant sinners, talk of Christ who satisfied the wrath of God and Whose work is our only hope to substitute for our sin and unrighteousness! Seek to center everything about your ministry here on the Cross.

This one gospel is the only self-sustained, self-powered and self-authenticated message to awaken and transform sinners. What glorious freedom is there for the preacher and evangelist who understand Calvinism. Preach with power by preaching Christ and Him crucified (1 Cor. 1:23, 2:2)!

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Click here to access previous posts in the Humble Calvinism index.

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Sermon Notes: The Nature of Man (Anthropology)

Last night I had the honor of preaching/teaching at a youth gathering here near the Twin cities. The group is progressing through a study of systematic theology and I had the opportunity to teach on the nature of man (otherwise known as theological anthropology). I summarized anthropology in this way:

Purpose: We were created in the image of God – as humble dust and eternal spirit – to see God face-to-face.

In the message I traced out the nature of the dust (our bodies) and our need for resurrection. Then on to the image of God in the soul and how God restores this image through conversion, sanctification and glorification. The punch-line is this: God restores our image perfectly (in glorification) so we can once again see God’s glory face-to-face as Adam once did when God walked in the garden in the cool of the day.

Download …

1. The full lesson notes (PDF)
2. The lesson handout (PDF)

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Note to preachers: My biggest preaching challenges come in the context of preaching through systematic theology. In comparison to straight expositional preaching, I seem to amass a greater amount of content as various themes and threads are brought to light from Scripture (handouts like the ones above have become a critical part of preaching systematic theology).

As the systematic themes develop they begin to broaden and so the challenge in systematics is not stepping on the toes of other categories (at least not stepping too far on their toes). A study of the resurrection of the body really belongs in eschatology. The depravity of the soul belongs in harmartiology. The restoration process of the marred image of God believers go through belongs to soteriology and sanctification. But somehow anthropology really reaches out into all these categories.

It seems the demands of doctrinal content, limiting the category, focusing on the Cross, illustrating straight doctrine and keeping it all on a level accessible to a younger audience is a real trick. I seem to over-compensate the increased logos with increased pathos. It’s a fun challenge, but a challenge it remains.

Question for the preachers: Have you preached through systematic theology or a reformed catechism? What did you notice about the difference? Any help would be appreciated! – Tony

Amazingly ‘radical’ Grace in the life of John Newton

Hello everyone. I’m preparing to preach this weekend and don’t have the time for a new post so I’ve brought this recent one back. It was a little overshadowed due to my suprise on-line birthday party but it’s worthy bringing back to the front. These are some amazing thoughts of God’s ‘radical’ grace. See you on Monday! -Tony

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Amazingly ‘radical’ grace in the life of John Newton

We’ve been talking recently about the Gospel and ‘radical’ depravity. Much of the biblical message is radical. It’s radical that sinners need to be rescued from ourselves. That we cannot save ourselves and that God must invade our lives to save us from our ignorance is radical. We are helpless until He initiates our salvation. That too is radical. Well the most famous song in the world was written by a man who was radically saved from himself. This is his story…

“Although we all sing the hymn ‘Amazing Grace,’ it amazes few. Why? Because grace cannot amaze until we feel the judgment we deserve… This grace amazed John Newton [1725-1807]. This is why he wrote the hymn ‘Amazing Grace.’ Newton became a Christian in his late twenties. Prior to his conversion, he had been a slave trader in West Africa and was a godless, ruthless man.

For example, he kept a black slave as a mistress. When he caught her in a sexual relationship with a black man, he beat the man to death with his shovel only to find out later that he was her husband.

On the long voyages across the Atlantic, he and his mates raped the women being transported to their North American masters. Though many arrived pregnant with his seed, he was hard and indifferent to the fate of these women and their children.

This is why, after his conversion, Newton looked at the cross with amazement. There he saw grace – Christ suffering the agony of God’s wrath in his place, so that God could reward him with eternal life. The grace of God stunned him, and he never got over it.

Our sins may be different from those of John Newton, but God’s grace works the same way for us. When a Christian choral group changed the words in Newton’s hymn from ‘saved a wretch like me’ to ‘saved a person like me’ I knew that grace had sprouted wings and flown away. Grace appears most perfectly in the knowledge of our sin revealed at the cross. Only cross-centered Christians find grace amazing.”

- Wm. P. Farley, Outrageous Mercy: Rediscover the Radical Nature of Christianity (Baker: Grand Rapids, MI) 2004. Page 52.

Humble Calvinism: (10) The Institutes > The self-authenticated Word (1.7)

Part 10: The self-authenticated Word (1.7)

Sinners are in bad shape. We neglect as much of God’s glory as we can and the unmistakable evidence we do see is quickly suppressed and ignored. We want to live autonomously. We want to be independent from God, making our own decisions and choosing what we think is good for us. We are not merely ignorant of God, we are enemies of God (Rom. 5:10). We let our worldly, temporal appetites guide our lives and become enemies of the Cross in the process (Phil. 3:18-19). We are not ignorant biology students needing more information, we are sinners actively resisting truth and rebelling against God.

So when the Roman Catholic catechism of 1997 (π 154) teaches, “Trusting in God and cleaving to the truths he has revealed is contrary neither to human freedom nor to human reason” I can only shake my head. It contradicts both depraved bondage and a mind that suppresses truth like a boot suppresses an empty pop can.

The big question of the day is this: For the sinner to give the Word of God the full weight of her reverence and obedience, God must first burn these convictions supernaturally into her heart. For the Word of God to truly impact our lives, God must abduct us! He must convince us of the authenticity of His Word. He must convince us that His words are “sweeter than honey to my mouth” (Ps. 119:103). We must be given “the mind of Christ” (1 Cor. 2:16).

Once again, it goes back to the sovereign intervention of God. He alone can cause His elect to submit to the full authority of the Word by convincing them of the authenticity of the Word. This is exactly what God does.

The church and religious authority are insufficient (1.7.1-3)

The church does not have the authority to authenticate the Word. In Calvin’s day (and to our day), Roman Catholicism believed the authority of Scripture was authenticated via the authority of the papacy. This is impossible. According to Ephesians 2:20 the Word of God’s authority and authenticity preceded the church! No church ruler, pope, cardinal or pastors can authenticate the Word because the Word preceded the church.

In fact, no human authority can authenticate the Word. Calvin writes, “what will happen to the miserable conscience seeking firm assurance of the eternal life if all promises of it consist in and depend solely upon the judgment of men?” (75). It is absurd to think that the authenticity of Scripture rests upon council or decree.

Here’s the punch line: “Scripture exhibits fully as clear evidence of its own truth as white and black things do of their color, or sweet and bitter things do of their taste” (76). Scripture is self-authenticated!

Where “divine majesty lives and breathes” (1.7.4-5)

No sinner gives their life to the biblical God and the doctrines and truths contained in the Word until they are “persuaded beyond doubt that God is its Author” (78). And later, “For even if it wins reverence for itself by its own majesty, it seriously affects us only when it is sealed upon our hearts through the Spirit” (80). In other words, you can take the “Bible as Literature” course in college and be amazed at the literary styles and structure of the Bible and yet never be changed by the eternal truths contained within. God must sovereignly burn the authenticity of the Word into our hearts. He must authenticate in our own rebellious hearts that God is the Author. He must give us spiritual eyes and tongues to see and taste that God’s Word is what it claims.

Calvin references Isaiah 43:10: “’You are my witnesses,’ declares the LORD, ‘and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am He.’”

We must rest upon a divine power stronger than rational evidence and scientific proofs because even if the Word is authenticated by rationalism and proofs we will “ever waver among many doubts.” Rather, “those whom the Holy Spirit has inwardly taught truly rest upon Scripture, and that Scripture indeed is self-authenticated; hence, it is not right to subject it to proof and reasoning” (80). The authenticating power of the Spirit is “more excellent than all reason” (79).

By not resting in proofs and human reasoning, the authority and authenticity of Scripture rest upon something higher and stronger. “We seek no proofs, no marks of genuineness upon which our judgment may lean; but we subject our judgment and wit to it as to a thing far beyond any guesswork” (80). When the Holy Spirit confirms Scripture in our hearts “we feel that the undoubted power of his divine majesty lives and breathes there. By this power we are drawn and inflamed, knowingly and willingly, to obey him, yet also most vitally and more effectively than by mere human willing or knowing!” (80).

In summary, Calvin teaches us that Scripture is self-authenticated (Gk. autopiston). Its authenticity rests in the truth that Scripture is where God’s “divine majesty lives and breathes” (80). And every sinner God chooses to invade, abduct, and transform will experience the burning authenticity of the Spirit.

This does not mean there are no proofs and reasons for the authenticity of Scripture. There are, and Calvin will give us many to ponder in the next chapter. But proofs are not enough to convince spiritually dead enemies of God. Humble Calvinism teaches it that if I am going to understand God and obey His Word, He must invade my heart and burn a conviction of its truth into my heart.

Calvinistic meditations …

1. Watch your evangelism. How do we prove the authority and authenticity of God’s Word to sinners? We don’t. This truth will radically impact our evangelism. As you probably know, there is a tremendous pressure in our church culture to use rational proofs and arguments to “convince” sinners of the truth of Scripture. If this is your evangelistic strategy, you and your audience will always be haunted by the next ‘proofs’ and ‘arguments’ of the opposing views. Christianity is a call for sinners to believe in eternal things. There is no proof. How do you prove the perfect righteousness and resurrection to one who wants scientific data? As A.W. Tozer once said, “To seek proof is to admit doubt, and to obtain proof is to render faith superfluous” (Knowledge of the Holy, p. 19). Press sinners to embrace mystery, preach the gospel and let God take the responsibility of burning this truth upon sinner’s hearts. Your main concern is with presenting biblical truth accurately. The gospel – not proofs or rationalism – is the power of God to save depraved sinners (Rom 1:16).

2. Remember the depravity of our hearts. Churches that attempt to convince sinners of the truth with rationalism have fundamentally misunderstood our depravity so clearly stated in Romans and Ephesians. We need to ever remind ourselves of the state of the sinful human heart. Evidence can demand a verdict from sinners suppressing the truth in unrighteousness, but such verdict will never come (Rom. 1:18).

3. Expect rejection. Some preachers hide behind rationalism and human wisdom to avoid being rejected by sinners. Rejection and acceptance is not your responsibility – preaching the whole counsel of God is! If your audience is split over the gospel – some see it as the power of God and some see the gospel as foolishness – you are probably doing something right (1 Cor. 1:18-2:16). Keep boasting in the Cross! Some sinners will rest their hopes in signs and wonders alone, and they will never have signs or wonders enough. Some will want wisdom and proof and they will always waiver and struggle. But we are called to “preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor. 1:23-25). If we are running from rejection we will mold church methods with fatal flaws and replace the gospel with something less foolish.

“For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Cor. 2:11-14).

So when you speak to other sinners, speak the truth in love. Pray that God would give them spiritual eyes to see that the “undoubted power of His divine majesty lives and breathes” in the Word. Oh, how it burns!

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Click here to access previous posts in the Humble Calvinism index.

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The scope of Calvin’s impact

The scope of Calvin’s impact

“Islam’s triumphant global march was halted by the sudden appearance of the freedom fostered by biblical Christianity in the sixteenth century in Western Europe. This occurred particularly as a result of Calvin’s, not Luther’s, insistence on the church’s freedom from the state and the state’s freedom from the church that in turn also eventually produced disciplined capitalism, science and technology, and economic prosperity. In yet another way, then – in the political freedom the Western nations enjoy now over against what would have possibly been military subjection to an Islamic theocracy – we here in the West are indebted to the providentially-arranged thought and activity of John Calvin.”

- Robert L. Reymond, John Calvin: His Life and Influence (Christian Focus: Great Britain) 2004. Page 143.

book photo © 2007 Tony Reinke, The Shepherd’s Scrapbook

Title: John Calvin: His Life and Influence
Author: Robert L. Reymond
Boards: paper
Pages: 152
Binding: glue
Paper: good
Topical index: yes
Scriptural index: no (unnecessary)
Text: perfect type
Publisher: Christian Focus
Year: 2004
Price USD: $12.99/$9.99 at Monergism
ISBNs: 1857929667, 9781857929669

Humble Calvinism: (9) The Institutes > Clinging to a thread (1.6)

Part 9: Clinging to a thread (1.6)

With the help of microchips and electrical pulses, scientists are confident that the blind will one day see again. In our study of God, we now come to the reality that God confronts our spiritual blindness with His own advancements.

As we’ve seen in our series on Humble Calvinism, God’s glory is displayed in the universe for all to see with the hopes that we will honor and thank Him (Rom. 1:21). We don’t. We’re blind and we suppress Him to preserve our sinfulness (Rom. 1:18). The revelation God shines in the natural world is loud and bold but because of our sinful ignorance and suppression of this truth, it calls out “in vain” (73). Our hardened hearts miss the point. We need more than brighter colors, louder sounds or more complex genetic structures in creation. We need God to reveal Himself in a new way. We need new revelation.

God must speak more directly of Himself. For Calvin, Scripture is a “better help,” a “special gift,” the “pure knowledge of Himself,” and a “more direct and more certain mark whereby he is to be recognized” (69-70). Scripture is a bold solution directed at the blindness due to our depravity.

Calvin will not address our need for Scripture to understand the way of salvation until later. Here he says, merely to see God as the Creator of the universe, we need Scripture! Even though creation screams the glory of God every day through landscapes, microscopes and telescopes we need Scripture to tell us that God is the One who “founded and governs the universe” (70).

It would be accurate to subtitle Scripture “The Working of God in the Created Order for Dummies.” Merely the need for Scripture reminds us that we sinners just don’t get the point. The need for the bible reveals our ‘radical’ depravity. We walk blind in broad daylight.

Question. Has anyone ever tapped your head with their knuckles when you didn’t get something? Now pick up your bible and smack yourself on the forehead. In love, that’s what it was made for. We should have first seen God through His creation and pursued Him. We don’t.

So by giving us His special, more specific Word (the bible) and opening its meaning to our hearts, God gives sinners the precious gift of sight! This revelation through His Word now renders faith “unambiguous forever” and “superior to all opinion” (71). His Word opens the eyes of the blind to Himself. Through Scripture we can see again. Through Scripture we are given the content of faith that no human opinion can shake!

Even here, piety is central to Calvin. We understand God rightly in the Word only when we “reverently embrace” what God reveals of Himself because “all right knowledge of God is born of obedience” (72). Again and again, Calvin protects us from the idea that knowledge of God is gained just like knowledge of biology. Genuine piety (otherwise known as ‘reverence’) is central to understanding God. We must come to Scripture to learn about God in fearfulness, not flippancy. God says we must come to Him as one who is “humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at My word” (Isa. 66:2). How does a rebel sinner come to this place? God must subdue him. We’ll talk more about this amazing work of God in the coming weeks.

There are other reasons we must have special revelation from God in His Word. Our hard hearts (even regenerated hearts!) are naturally inclined to forget God, slide towards errors and create our own empty religions. Calvin writes, “how slippery is the fall of the human mind into forgetfulness of God, how great the tendency to every kind of error, how great the lust to fashion constantly new and artificial religions” (72). Scripture protects us from these errors because it elevates truth beyond our “depraved judgment” and into the “rule of eternal truth” (73).

When you add our depravity and blindness together with the gift of the truth we make one conclusion: We must always be pressing closer to Scripture as our guide. We must walk by faith and not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7). Scripture must be the computer chip and electrical pulses to override our spiritual blindness. Calvin illustrates the concept like this,

“If we turn aside from the Word … though we may strive with strenuous haste, yet, since we have got off the track, we shall never reach the goal. For we should so reason that the splendor of the divine countenance [or God’s presence], which even the apostle calls ‘unapproachable,’ is for us like an inexplicable labyrinth unless we are conducted into it by the thread of the Word; so that it is better to limp along this path than to dash with all speed outside it” (73).

The path to the presence of God is an “inexplicable labyrinth.” There are so many winding staircases and hallways, and millions of choices that will lead away from God’s presence. There is a way that seems right to a man but it’s the way of death (Pro. 14:12). So we must walk by faith and not by sight, opinion or feeling. In effect our sinful ignorance hides Him. Yet along the path God has stretched a thread. Some will chase their own opinions or hastily run into all error, but the Christian slowly limps along the path, following the thread of the Word through this stairway, over this bridge, now down these stairs and around through a narrow doorway off to the side and through another tunnel.

As soon as we take our hand off this “thread” we are lost. Calvin closes this chapter with John 4:1-45 where Jesus meets the Samaritan woman at a rest stop. Samaria itself was a bad place because of its theological heresies. The Samaritans built their religion off only the first five books of the Old Testament. This reductionism was dangerous. So dangerous, Jesus did not hesitate in telling the Samaritan woman she worshipped in “ignorance” (v. 22). Her church was worthless.

Calvin writes that when sinners begin “seeking God without the Word” they naturally “stagger about in vanity and error” (74). The Samaritans had taken their hands off the Word, were blind and now lost in the labyrinth.

So everyone who has a bible can see the spiritual realities clearly? Well, no. Before sinners put their entire trust in the message of the bible, they must first be convinced Scripture is the ‘real deal.’ So how do we convince other blind, truth-suppressing sinners to leave their own religious opinions and cling to the bible as God’s one revelation of Himself? Rational proofs? Arguments? Debates? What we will see next time is perhaps the most stunning truth I’ve ever learned from Calvin…

Calvinistic meditations …

1. Nothing cautions us of our own spiritual blindness more than Humble Calvinism. We miss God in creation every day! So how can we become prideful in our knowledge of Scripture? Why would I ever think that running a church or preaching a sermon without clinging to Scripture will lead through the labyrinth? How can we let go of the thread and think human opinion will guide the way? Scripture reminds us to be cautious of our own hearts because they are naturally inclined towards errors and false religions. The thread of God’s Word leads the way, but it also prevents empty speculation and the impulse to find a better route. (Occasionally you may find it helpful to smack yourself in the forehead with a bible to be reminded of this.)

2. Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman reminds us to beware of theological reductionism. Theological reductionism is one of the most rampant problems in contemporary Christianity. It’s not merely that gross errors abound. Many churches believe in the Trinity and seven-day Creationism and the importance of Jesus. Theological reductionism concerned with what is missing, of churches building their theology and methods off only part of Scripture. So churches now will call people to come to Jesus but not talk about sin and hell and guilt to drive them His way. People get saved from something other than God’s wrath. Other churches will talk about Jesus but not the substitutionary atonement whereby He bears my wrath and I get the grace. Both are common examples of contemporary theological reductionism. Jesus reminds the Samaritan woman that even to build a church upon part of the truth is to take both hands off the thread. So it’s no surprise that churches who struggle with theological reductionism will not place a high priority on lengthy expositions through Scripture nor doctrinal precision.

It’s important to note that John Calvin wrote the Institutes to complement his extensive expositional studies through the bible. Look to the commentaries if you want the specific details on Calvin’s systematic conclusions. Letting the full range of Scripture determine your beliefs is an excellent model for all Christians and pastors. Summarize your faith but be ready to defend its Scriptural basis as well.
Bottom line: We must never rest ourselves in vague talk about church, Jesus and Heaven lest we likewise worship in “ignorance.” Don’t be convinced a church is truly Christian just because they use the same words and terms as the bible. Search out their gospel, their savior and their hell. And if you are a pastor, make it your top aim to always be pushing yourself and your church as deep into Scripture as God allows.

3. Prepare for a long road of biblical growth. God’s special revelation is lengthy and filled with many details. God clearly did not intend it to be read in a weekend. It will take your entire lifetime and hundreds of sermons to work through. Humble Calvinism is a call to life-long, patient growth. Put both hands on the thread of Scripture. You won’t run fast, but you’ll walk securely. Resist the temptation to live faster than you can hold on to Scripture. If books encourage you to grow your church without slowly disclosing the whole counsel of God, you can be certain its author, having lost the thread, now runs ignorantly through the dark caves.

Never! Never! Never, let go of the thread! It’s your only hope into the presence of God!

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Click here to access previous posts in the Humble Calvinism index.

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Journaling … A Day in the Life of a Humble Calvinist

Journaling > A Day in the Life of a Humble Calvinist

Calvinism is big. It’s a worldview that embraces God’s sovereignty over every event in world history. God is over the shifting of political powers, the immigration of people, the establishment of cultures, natural calamities, and even down to the fact that you are reading this right now. By nature, Calvinism is concerned with everything because God is concerned with everything. So how can we allow the biblical theology of Calvinism and the Cross to penetrate our daily living so that dry, stoic, intellectual Calvinism becomes living and breathing Humble Calvinism?

Well, one of my dear friends has helped me see what this looks like. Tom Fluharty is an incredible artist. His talents are phenomenal. But even more phenomenal is God’s grace that allows him to focus his mind, will and affections on Gospel in his daily devotional times. I get to read some of these journal articles that he sends my way on occasion. I wanted to share a recent journal entry.

We’ve been talking recently about God’s abduction. Sinners like us don’t want God. We all naturally turn away from Him, fail to do anything to glorify Him, and thus we all become worthless to Him (Rom. 3:12). God must abduct us! He must chose for us something better than we’ve chosen for ourselves. This thought caught the attention and affections of Tom in his recent journal entry. This is what he wrote,

Kidnapped 1.20.07

I was abducted, snatched from a street corner one drunken Summer night. Snatched from the kingdom of darkness and immediately translated to the kingdom of the Most High King. A radical abduction that instantly changes or transforms the heart. Rather it’s a heart transplant by the great heavenly heart surgeon. Won over not wooed. Not an invitation, an abduction. Life came down on 8th st 5th Ave N.Y.C. The glory of God came to Greenwich Village to fill a wretched man, turning him into a lover of God. Deal no more with unreality. You poor soul wallowing in unfulfilling lust and drunkenness. Glory has comes. I have seen a great light. I have beheld His glory. Thank you Lord. I am now the temple of the radical living God. Thank you Lord for the past 22 1/2 years!

“Won over not wooed. Not an invitation, an abduction.” That thought flows from a radical, Humble Calvinism. Tom encourages me through his example. Our communion with God should be saturated with the Cross, saturated with an awareness of our depravity, the personal election of God, God’s strength to uphold us and the glory of God’s sovereign majesty! This is a reminder that Humble Calvinism should transform every area of my life, and even show itself in my journal entries. We build off theology. But let’s not stop by saying “Isn’t it amazing that God elects sinners?” Let’s move beyond this and say, “Isn’t it amazing that God elected such a sinner as I when I was … ?” Humble Calvinism must penetrate our hearts and reveal itself in how we worship the Sovereign Lord and this will show itself in our daily journals.

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UPDATE: I wrote this post Sunday morning only to find out that Tom and his precious family were invited over for the surprise birthday bash my wife pulled off that afternoon. Well, he shows up with a present. It was obvious that it was a painting he was giving me (that alone was and amazing). I open it to find one of my favorite paintings published on the cover of the Weekly Standard called Master & Commander.

I’m not really a political guy myself, more drawn to the phenomenal character and detail of the painting (like Condi’s pearl necklace). Because of these factors, this magazine cover sat above my desk for several months in Omaha — long before I ever met Tom. To know Tom and now to have the actual painting are both amazing gifts. You can see the painting here and you can read more about how he drew it here. But if you’re a friend, you can see it in person, featured at the Tony Reinke Museum of Art in Bloomington, MN. An amazing birthday gift from a very gracious man. Thank you Tom!

[You can watch Tom integrate art, Humble Calvinism and an amazing Cross-centered life here at his blog Amazed by Grace!]

Happy Birthday, Tony!

TSS has been hacked!

This Sunday, January 21st, 25 years after the above picture (5 candles), Tony is celebrating another birthday. (Sorry, this homeschooling mom couldn’t resist a math lesson.) We thank God for His amazing grace in Tony’s life — grace that equips him to use each year to the greater glory of God. His love and care for our family, his burden for this blog, and his love for the local church brings honor to the Father Who created him and Who has graciously given him another birthday.

We love you, Tony!

Happy Birthday!

Psalm 9:1-2: “I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart; I will recount all of Your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and exult in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.”

(post a comment for Tony here)

 

Humble Calvinism: (8) The Institutes > Radical depravity and an inner-body experience (1.5)

Part 8: ‘Radical’ depravity (1.5)

Calvin has already covered two important points: First, the wisdom of God is displayed for all to see (like in lightening storm) and second, sinners naturally suppress this truth for the sake of preserving their own sinful lifestyles. But he wants to cover these themes one more time before moving on to the importance of Scripture. So chapter five is a lengthy clarification.

1. All see the wisdom of God

It doesn’t matter if you are a renowned scholar in the natural sciences, astronomy, or medicine, or if you are skilled in the arts or a simple “unlearned stupid folk,” no one can “open their eyes without being compelled to see him” (52). And later, “there is no spot in the universe wherein you cannot discern at least some sparks of his glory” (52). And still later he broadens the language to say “there is no one to whom the Lord does not abundantly show his wisdom” (53).

Taking his cue from Psalm 104, the wisdom of God is “abundantly” displayed throughout the heavens for all to see. The ordering of the universe – and especially the things we take for granted – is a lesson in God’s wisdom.

But Calvin goes beyond the natural order. Using Psalm 107, Calvin understood that God reveals His sovereignty over the world in His relationship to us. He helps the troubled and humbles the proud. That God interacts with His creatures is unmistakable and obvious for all to see. He raises up the needy (Ps. 113:7) and confounds the wisdom of the world (1 Cor. 1:20; 3:19; Job 5:13).

Whether we are looking to the lightning storm, listening to the deafening power of a waterfall, looking at a satellite image of the earth, watching our hands work meticulously; or as we see God’s providence in caring for the needy and humbling the proud, all display God’s wisdom.

2. God’s wisdom in our bodies

Specifically, Calvin is blown away by the “articulation, symmetry, beauty and use” of the human body (54). To understand the wisdom of God, we don’t need an out-of-body experience. It’s right here.

Our own mouths, eyes and even our “toenails” display the wisdom of God (“toenail” is Calvin’s own word!). And what about dreams and the subconscious mind, ever working even when our bodies are asleep? What wondrous divine wisdom that as our bodies lay silent our souls are fully engaged! Look down at the hand scrolling through this blog post. You can command this hand from your brain and instantaneously your hand will move. Now fix your eye on the period at the end of this sentence. Amazing! What complexity is there in our bodies, even in voluntarily moving or stopping our eyes and hands. We should be amazed by God’s wisdom simply in the composition of our complex bodies.

Calvin builds from Acts 17:26-28 where he understands that even a blind man can search and find evidences of God when he says, “there is no need to go outside ourselves to comprehend God” (54). We descend into our composition to see God’s wisdom. This is not saving revelation, but it’s certainly enough to cause us to humble ourselves, seek and thank Him!

That sinners look for more evidences of God’s existence is proof of our sinful stupidity. We’ve missed it! “For the Lord manifests himself by his powers, the force of which we feel within ourselves and the benefits which we enjoy … we ought more to adore than meticulously to search out” (62). God’s wisdom was right there all along, woven into you.

That God’s revelation is right under our noses makes us even more guilty of not ‘finding’ Him. In his commentary he writes, “For God hath not darkly shadowed his glory in the creation of the world, but he hath everywhere engraven such manifest marks, that even blind men may know them by groping. Whence we gather that men are not only blind but blockish, when, being helped by such excellent testimonies, they profit nothing.” We are not blind, we are sinfully hard.

3. Sinfully guilty

Although we walk around showered in the wisdom of God, we repel this wisdom by our own sinfulness. This is one of the most heartbreaking truths of Scripture. “Yet after we rashly grasp a conception of some sort of divinity, straightaway we fall back into the ravening or evil imaginings of our flesh, and corrupt by our vanity the pure truth of God. In one respect we are indeed unalike, because each one of us privately forges his own particular error; yet we are very much alike in that, one and all, we forsake the one true God for prodigious trifles. Not only the common folk and dull-witted men, but also the most excellent and those otherwise endowed with keen discernment, are infected with this disease” (64).

For Calvin, the tendency of philosophy to birth man-made mental gods is a perfect illustration of the smartest men living with the disease of atheism. The longer philosophers contemplate God, the further away from Him they end up, until they have twisted and extinguished Him into nothing but a figment and a dream. We are all ravaged by this theological ‘disease.’

So where do we end up when our sin-filled search for God is not governed by divine revelation? We universally – scientist, artist and “stupid folk” – end up with a twisted, ignorant, demonic, futile, empty shadow of worship (1 Cor. 10:20, Eph. 2:12-13, Rom. 1:21, John 4:22).

Thus the wisdom of God in nature speaks to depraved sinners in vain. Without God breaking into our ‘disease’-laden interpretation of reality, we suffocate God’s wisdom with our foolishness.

And our blindness is our guilt. We exchange the knowledge of God for our own sin and thereby become God’s enemies (Rom. 1:18-32; 5:6-11). And Calvin has shown conclusively that (apart from the Cross) none are excluded from this condemnation. That includes you and me.

But there is hope. God is sovereign and His Word and Spirit are set to work. In the next two chapters Calvin will confront us with some of the most profound theology our little minds can hold. New and unstoppable wisdom is about to break into our deafness!

Calvinistic meditations …

1. The perfect knowledge of God is our goal! Our remaining atheistic tendencies (or ‘disease’) cause believers to look forward to a time when we will see God perfectly. Alluding to John 17:3, Calvin began this chapter by writing, “The final goal of the blessed life … rests in the knowledge of God” (51). Enjoying pleasure perfectly has everything to do with knowing God perfectly! And someday, though now we see dimly as in a reflection, our eyes will soon be filled with the untainted knowledge of God. What we ran from (the knowledge of God) will be our great and eternal delight!

2. There is nothing more sobering than our ‘radical’ depravity. We live scattered lives running towards sin and away from God. To even say the words “God does not exist” requires millions of brain cells, electrical reactions and muscle movements to produce, all of which display divine wisdom! We substitute God’s holiness for the off chance that it’s all coincidence.

There is a 100-percent chance our world was created by One with a Master plan (and we know it!). But in sin we cling to the 0-percent chance that everything came from nothing, and the even more unlikely and absurd idea that all of life originated from non-life.

We may not be full-throttled atheists, but we are all guilty of atheism. We are all theologically ignorant of God, turning our backs on Him (Rom. 3:10-12). Although we all continue in religion, we have become futile in our thinking and our foolish hearts are further darkened (Rom. 1:21). Only under this steeping pile of ignorance can we foster the courage to live in autonomy. We would rather worship our bodies (by clothing, weight loss, fitness, intelligence) the natural world (through astronomy, medicine, science, outdoors) and art (paintings, movies, music) than the One who made our bodies, the whole natural world and all our artistic senses! It is further evidence that as sinners “we grow increasingly dull” and the testimonies of God “flow away without profiting us” (63).

It’s hard to even contemplate the next point, but it’s true: It is for the sinful neglect of God (not for a lack of Election or Predestination) that sinners are justly condemned to hell forever. We deserve judgment for our ignorance and blindness. We are guilty.

And so this ‘radical’ depravity is a fitting Calvinistic title for us all. We become ‘radically’ blind to God and ‘radically’ given to sinfulness and self-righteousness. It’s no surprise that sinners are saved only through ‘radical’ repentance (Luke 18:9-14). And our ‘radical’ sin and just condemnation being removed by the perfect sacrifice of Christ becomes ‘radical’ grace!

But our church culture defines sinners as broken people who need healing not depraved sinners who are hopeless. According to the bible, “to be a sinner is not merely to be morally imperfect or to be unable to achieve one’s full potential without God. It is rather a description of human beings in an utterly ruined state, a state from which we are unable to deliver ourselves and in which we might all have been left to perish, and justly so” (Boice and Ryken, Doctrines of Grace, p. 72).

You will not read of this ‘radical depravity’ in N.T. Wright, John Eldredge, Joel Osteen, Rick Warren or most pop-Christian books. No matter how cool the cover looks, depravity doesn’t sell. But Calvin reminds us that this ‘radical’ truth about sin must be central to everything else. ‘Radical’ depravity must rest heavily upon us. It must weigh heavily in our churches, our friendships, our blogs, our evangelism and our sermons. I am convinced that Calvin presses us on this topic early and repeatedly in the Institutes because unless and until we comprehend our utter helplessness under our own sin, we will never understand God and His ‘radical’ grace. We will find grace “helpful,” but not truly amazing!

3. Our only hope is a God who overcomes our wills and invades our ignorance. Sinners, bound to their sinfulness, have no free will. The deception of our hearts is a bottomless pit of wickedness (Jer. 17:9). I cannot change my skin color, a leopard cannot change the color of its spots and a sinner cannot replace this ‘radical’ depravity (Jer. 13:23).

We cannot choose God. In fact, our problem is more that we would never want to choose Him on our own! He must choose us (John 15:16). As Dr. D. Clair Davis wrote, “The Lord doesn’t talk about your sin so you’ll think you’re trash. He talks about it just because you’re not. He talks about it because he made you in His own image, with an infinitely higher and brighter plan for you than the one you chose for yourself” (The Practical Calvinist, p. 28). God must come and invade the plan we have chosen for ourselves!

I close with Spurgeon’s personal account of this ‘radical’ grace: “There is a power in God’s gospel beyond all description. Once, I, like Mazeppa, bound on the wild horse of my lust, bound hand and foot, incapable of resistance, was galloping on with hell’s wolves behind me, howling for my body and my soul, as their just and lawful prey. There came a mighty hand which stopped that wild horse, cut my bands, set me down, and brought me into liberty… There was a time when I lived in the strong old castle of my sins, and rested in my works. There came a trumpeter to the door, and bade me open it. I with anger chided him from the porch, and said he never should enter. There came a pleasant person, with loving countenance; his hands were marked with scars, where nails were driven, and his feet had nail-prints too; he lifted up his cross, using it as a hammer. At the first blow the gate of my prejudice shook. At the second it trembled more. At the third down it fell, and in he came, and he said, ‘Arise, and stand upon thy feet, for I have loved thee with an everlasting love.’ A thing of power! Ah, the gospel is a thing of power. I have felt it here, in this heart. I have the witness of the Spirit within, and know it is a thing of might, because it has conquered me. It has bowed me down.” (C.H. Spurgeon, Christ Crucified, sermon #7-8)

We have all chosen to turn away from God (Rom. 3:12). O, how God must save us from ourselves, our own wills, our own desires, our own pursuits! In our ‘radical’ depravity, God must “conquer” us. Lord, let this ‘radical’ message weigh heavily upon us as we pursue Humble Calvinism.

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