Canvas

As the clock strikes midnight
The bell tolls
And the curtain closed
Enter the dawn of a new day
Yet another chance at finding
A better way of existence
To become complete
To be more consistent...

But can the art say to the Maker
"Why have you made me this way?"
His ways are not my ways
Could it be that the imperfections
That I detect are indeed
A thing...of beauty?

Suited for the tapestry
Into which they have been placed
Bringing character through
Tension and grace
Every shadowed line of my face
Tells a story -
Subtle shades of mercy
That play off of the light

The canvas of my skin
Stretched and healed over time
To err is certainly human
But the salvation so sublime
While just over the horizon
To me remains the unknown
Providence paints away in every corner
Creating a masterpiece within my soul

(cf. Psalm 139:14; Romans 9:20-24; 2 Corinthians 4:7; Philippians 1:6)


Soli Deo Gloria,
Shon

Shake the Dust

Abraham answered and said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes.”

- (Genesis 18:27 ESV)

I am nothing more than dust…

Prone to feed my wanderlust

Made into a man from a collection of sand

But by the Lord’s mercy, now I am what I am

I am clean since I AM washed me in the blood of the Lamb

So, Here I stand; I can do no other

No, this is not a drill; I refuse to duck and cover

So you can go ahead; throw your stones, if you got ‘em

He’s the Chief Cornerstone, so I’m still gonna rock Him

I’m one of the elected…

A speck predestined to represent

After the order of Melchezidek -

A King with no precedent

A slave to the sentence

I’m the subject …He’s the Predicate

It’s in Him I trust, money

And not a bunch of dead presidents

Shake the dirt out of your pillow

Wake up your damned relatives

Because they’re sittin’ in a parlor room

With way too many elephants

They can’t see the light of day

Because the sun’s blocked out

And it won’t be much longer now

Before the rocks cry out…

With pachyderms, you better learn how to tell ‘em apart…

The difference between the back of the barn

Or the front of the Ark

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

 - (Ephesians 2:1-10 ESV)

Soli Deo Gloria,

Shon

Posted via email from THE CENTER (ROOM 116)

Middle Passage

From the Middle Passage to character assassination

To the assassination of leaders in a nation fueled by the hatred

Of lies propagated as truth; but at the root of it all was a sinister plan

To destroy the dignity of Man and lay waste to his beauty

Since the beginning, our adamic nature rejected divine legislature

Hating himself in the process by denouncing his most prominent feature

Self-made man hates the helping hand of another

So, inevitably, he can’t stand on his own two feet

So he’ll ride the backs of his brothers…

(Or what he calls, “others”)

And by that, we always mean “less than”, never “equal” or “greater”

Because to admit that would mean he’d have to give up some acres

Next thing you know, we’re down the road hundreds of years later

Hands and feet now unshackled, but hearts and minds remain in slavery

Fast forward …

Now our apathy toward our past has damned us to repeat it

Beat us down and left us in a coma

Only to wake up and find ourselves in a state of full-blown xenophobia

And everyone says, “Yay! Our president is black!”

But does it really matter when the state of the union is still whack?!

Think about this way:

They’ve had black leaders in Africa since way back

And over there, it’s still jacked up…seriously corrupt

(But we’ll save that for another discussion)

So what’s really the matter?

Our pockets got a little fatter

We got our seats back at the front of the bus

But, what does that really have to do with…us?

By us, I mean all of God’s people

Because our final destination leaves us all under one steeple…

Dr. King’s dream comes to fruition in Revelation 5 -

That’s why he knew he’d probably never get to see it in his lifetime

Anything less than that is a gross misinterpretation

As “We shall overcome” is reduced to bleak sensationalism

Sayin’, “YES WE CAN!” to “hope and change”

But without the true Agent of hope, everything remains the same

A dream deferred only dries up like a raisin in the sun

When we place our hope of its awakening

In something other than the Risen One

That’s why Phyllis Wheatley says that mercy brought her from a pagan land

And Jupiter Hammon took no issue with being another’s slave hand

They understood that captivity served a greater purpose

And they wouldn’t truly have freedom ‘til they reached the Kingdom of glory

The invisible hand of Providence makes all of the suffering relevant

Through the proclamation of the Gospel

Is where we see God’s truest benevolence

So I soldier on as a witness to posterity

As the witnesses who came before me who spoke with such boldness and sincerity

Emancipation through propitiation - blood bought freedom

The highest price that any could be paid with

Behind the dark and shameful past that we try to conceal

Is the mystery unfolding, just waiting for the glory to be revealed

God made flesh; crushed for our sins

Tending to our greatest need

To be freed from the master of death

And if the Son of Man has set you free

 Then you are free indeed

 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”
Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”
(John 8:31-38 ESV)


 And they sang a new song, saying,
 “Worthy are you to take the scroll
  and to open its seals,
 for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
 from every tribe and language and people and nation,
 and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
 and they shall reign on the earth.”
(Revelation 5:9-10 ESV)



Soli Deo Gloria,
 Shon

Posted via email from THE CENTER (ROOM 116)

The Quick and the Dead: Further Up and In on Mercy and Reprobation

And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God's decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them. – Romans 1: 28-32 ESV






“Will is to grace as the horse is to the rider.” -St. Augustine of Hippo


As hard of a topic as this is to discuss, it is something that needs to be taken seriously. Some may see such writings as an unnecessary attempt to divide the Body of Christ over issues that don’t really matter; it’s indirect on the life of the Christian, so what’s the point, right?

The point is that if it is important enough to be mentioned in Scripture—plainly laid out in Scripture—then it is definitely worth finding out. This is, in fact, one of the biggest crimes of the modern day Church; we at times don’t take the Word of God seriously enough on certain issues because it offends our sensibilities. When it comes to certain doctrines that get in the way of our own notions and fancies, we immediately dismiss them as gross misinterpretation by the one who presents the argument. Particularly in Western Culture, where the “Manifest Destiny”, “Captain Can-Do”, “Free-to-do-what-I-want” attitude is so prevalent, it is no wonder why so many have a problem with the idea of a Sovereign God who Predestines. This doctrine cuts the legs right out from underneath all preconceived notions of liberty. The idea that God chooses us without us having any say so in the matter seems to the conscience of the American Christian mind to be, well, tyrannical. But as we will see as we take a deeper look at this issue, it is an improper view of ourselves and God that bring about the faulty understanding of what the true implications of this doctrine really are.


Logical Inference within the Text

As I stated in my earlier article, the doctrines of election and reprobation are clearly taught in Scripture (Old and New Testaments). However, there still seems to be room for controversy. In my argument against Dr. Caner’s theological construct of “Whosoever Will”, I mainly used scripture passages dealing with a more general election, as spoken by Christ himself. Unfortunately, for some, this did not seem to suffice. Many who read those passages still insist on the claims that these statements made by Jesus do not necessarily correlate with Romans 9. But, this is simply faulty logic on their part. For example, the question that Christ poses to his disciples (“Have I not chosen you twelve, yet one of you is a devil?”) clearly infers that whatever the other eleven had, Judas did not. When Christ called, did he come? Yes. But did he come for the right reason? No. Judas was clearly guided by a different motive than his colleagues (this becomes apparent further along into the Gospels).


What’s New is Old

To really get a handle on this issue, it is important to look back and see that the idea of election and reprobation is not a New Testament (NT) invention. I won’t spend much time on the verses that are used in the Romans 9 passage, but I would like to go back to the beginning to see where we can first see it presented—the Old Testament.


The LORD God said to the serpent,

"Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.
I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel." –Genesis 3:14-15 ESV

[In this text, a logical inference has to be made. One would be hard pressed to believe that what is being discussed here is a mutual hatred for each other held by snakes and humans. The serpent here is the acting embodiment of Satan. Therefore, it would be prudent for one to conclude that the enmity between the offspring is between the people who will be saved by God (the elect) and those who will not be (the reprobate). Without a proper understanding of this verse, any other discussion on the idea of election and reprobation breaks down. It should be noted that throughout the early chapters of Genesis, the themes of election and reprobation are represented equally.]


The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. So the LORD said, "I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth—men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air—for I am grieved that I have made them." But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. –Genesis 6:5-8 ESV

[It is evident from the passage that God has granted to Noah something that is not privy to the others. He finds favor with Noah and his family, not based on merit, but by sovereign election.]


Hard Sayings for Soft Hearts

There were some Bible passages that were intentionally left out of the original blog (in order to invoke discussion). I also have a tendency to hold some things back for the sake of time and brevity. However, due to recent comments and correspondence that I’ve had with individuals, I realize that this is a seriously hard nut to crack. Here are some of the absolute, unabashed sayings on the “darker side” of election that tend to be overlooked or left out of our vocabularies. I ask that as you search the Scriptures, pray for God to give you a soft and receptive heart; that you may be pierced by His Word.


Here are NT scripture references that point more clearly to the fact that election is indeed a two-sided coin. Both mercy and hardening are taught from the outset:


And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. And he said to them, "To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, so that

"they may indeed see but not perceive,
and may indeed hear but not understand,
lest they should turn and be forgiven." -Mark 4:12 ESV



So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe,

"The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone,"

and

"A stone of stumbling,
and a rock of offense."

They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. -1 Peter 2:7-10 ESV



Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us. But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. -1 John 2:18-20 ESV


For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. –Jude 4 ESV

He was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world. –Revelation 13:7-8 ESV



“In the absence of justice, what is sovereignty but organized robbery?” - St. Augustine of Hippo



Soli Deo Gloria,
Shon

Calvinist, Interrupted: The Debate That Never Was (A Deconstruction of Ergun Caner's Theology)

"A dog barks when his master is attacked. I would be a coward if I saw that God's Truth was attacked and yet would remain silent." -- John Calvin

My original plans for blogging this month have been altered, due to the recently cancelled and much anticipated debate on Baptists and Calvinism to be held at Liberty University on October 16, as well as the outlandish comments made by one of the would-be participants on the Anti-Calvinist side of the argument, Ergun Caner. To be sure, I was definitely disappointed to hear that the debate had been called off. I’m aware of the fact that there has been a resurgence of interest in Calvinism within the Baptist community as of late, and being originally from a Southern Baptist background (now Presbyterian), I was encouraged to hear that this would be the topic of discussion.

All was at peace in my world. Though a little disappointed, I would live. No biggie; we live to debate another day. I wasn’t upset or anything. Then Caner made this statement in an online interview:

Q: DIDN’T YOU SAY THAT CALVINISTS ARE WORSE THAN MUSLIMS?

A: Yes, absolutely. For a small portion of these people, just daring to question the Bezian movement is heresy. They will blog and e-mail incessantly. I call it a “Calvinist Jihad,” because just like Muslims, they believe they are defending the honor of their view. They can discuss nothing else. I have even had a few call for my head! Dr. Falwell and I have laughed about it, because they are so insistent, and they miss the point completely. There are plenty of schools to which the neo-Calvinists can go, but Liberty will be a lighthouse for missions and evangelism to the “whosoever wills.” Period. The difference is, Muslims know when to quit - for these guys, it is the only topic about which they can talk.

Oh no…Tell me he didn’t just say that. But, he did. I’ve come to find out that Ergun says a lot of things.

Since I am what you would call a “Calvinist”, I will be the first one to tell you in a very plain manner that Dr. Caner has absolutely no idea what he is talking about. His rhetoric and speak is what can easily be defined as ignorance on fire. Lesson 1: Never get your Calvinism from a non-Calvinist (more on that later). He shouts, he screams, he talks in circles; Caner never makes a rational point—he only draws attention to himself and stirs up the emotions. But we all know that emotional responses to things can be very misleading. I want to make it clear from the start; I have no problems with people who do not subscribe to the Calvinistic (Reformed) school of thought on the issues of predestination (election and reprobation). I have friends and family who themselves do not. However, I do encourage those that do not to search the Scriptures to find out whether or not these things are so. This brings to my major point of contention with Caner—not once have I seen him responsibly handle Scripture or draw from the texts of the Sacred Word to make his case. For that matter, he can’t even properly handle texts outside of scripture! He makes an attempt to use a quote from a sermon by Charles Spurgeon on Romans 9 as a proof text for his stance against the idea that God elects some and reprobates others:

Just some food for thought, from the 1859 sermon by Charles Spurgeon entitled JACOB AND ESAU.

“Why does God hate any man? I defy anyone to give any answer but this, because that man deserves it; no reply but that can ever be true. There are some who answer, divine sovereignty; but I challenge them to look that doctrine in the face. Do you believe that God created man and arbitrarily, sovereignly — it is the same thing — created that man, with no other intention, than that of damning him? Made him, and yet, for no other reason than that of destroying him for ever? Well, if you can believe it, I pity you, that is all I can say: you deserve pity, that you should think so meanly of God, whose mercy endureth for ever.”
CITATION: Charles Spurgeon, Sermon: JACOB AND ESAU (January 16, 1859)

I read recently that I “turned Romans 9 upside down.” Well, then I stand in good company … with Spurgeon … against those who embrace reprobation.


He may indeed stand in good company, but he doesn’t rightly belong there. Caner is obviously confused. Here’s the rest of what Spurgeon said in that sermon—in its proper context:

Right before this passage, Spurgeon says,

"Now, I say if the character of Jacob, be as I have described it, and I am sure it is—we have got it in God's word—there was, there could have been nothing in Jacob, that made God love him; and the only reason why God loved him, must have been because of his own grace, because "he will have mercy on whom he will have mercy." And rest assured, the only reason why any of us can hope to be saved is this, the sovereign grace of God. There is no reason why I should be saved, or why you should be saved, but God's own merciful heart, and God's own omnipotent will. Now that is the doctrine; it is taught not only in this passage, but in multitudes of other passages of God's Word. Dear friends, receive it, hold fast by it, and never let it go."

And right after he states,

"You are quite right when you say the reason why God loves a man, is because God does do so; there is no reason in the man. But do not give the same answer as to why God hates a man. If God deals with any man severely, it is because that man deserves all he gets. In hell there will not be a solitary soul that will say to God, O Lord, thou hast treated me worse than I deserve! But every lost spirit will be made to feel that he has got his deserts, that his destruction lies at his own door and not at the door of God; that God had nothing to do with his condemnation, except as the Judge condemns the criminal, but that he himself brought damnation upon his own head, as the result of his own evil works. Justice is that which damns a man; it is mercy, it is free grace, that saves; sovereignty holds the scale of love; it is justice holds the other scale. Who can put that into the hand of sovereignty? That were to libel God and to dishonour him;"

As we can see, Caner conveniently forgot to complete the thought. He does indeed turn Romans 9 upside down, as it has been so aptly stated. The text could not be any more direct; even including Paul’s answer to the expected objection by those who may reject the idea of God’s sovereign choice in the salvation of souls:

But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but "Through Isaac shall your offspring be named." This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. For this is what the promise said: "About this time next year I will return and Sarah shall have a son." And not only so, but also when Rebecca had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad--in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of his call-- she was told, "The older will serve the younger." As it is written, "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated." What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means! For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth." So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills. You will say to me then, "Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?" But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, "Why have you made me like this?" Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honored use and another for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory--even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? –Romans 9:6-24 ESV


As can be clearly seen, when held up to the light of Scripture, the mantra of “those who elected were selected” is crushed under the weight of the passage. The appeals to the “whosoever will” statements and an isolated exegesis of John 3:16 don’t help to make the case either. In the beginning of the Gospel of John, we find:

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. –John 1:12-13 ESV

In using scripture as its own interpreter, let us see the consistency in statements made by Christ himself:

Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus said to him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?" Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." –John 3:3-8 ESV


There you have it; so much for our decision in the salvation process. Now here is Caner’s key “whosoever” text—in context:

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been carried out in God." –John 3:16-21 ESV

In other words, reprobation and condemnation is the default state of man as a result of his inherent sinful nature, unless he is granted the grace of regeneration and faith by the Holy Spirit. As John the Baptist testifies a few verses later,

“A person cannot receive one thing unless it is given him from heaven.” –John 3:27 ESV


So from all that we have seen in Scripture, the “whosoever” that Caner wants to appeal to are only those whom have been given the gift of the divine and supernatural light to see the truth. As Jesus affirms:

"It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is of no avail. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe." (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) And he said, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father." After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. So Jesus said to the Twelve, "Do you want to go away as well?" Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God." Jesus answered them, "Did I not choose you, the Twelve? And yet one of you is a devil." He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the Twelve, was going to betray him. –John 6:63-71 ESV

And again:

Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God." –John 8:42-47 ESV

And just in case you are still not sure:

But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers…I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. –John 10:2-5; 14-15 ESV

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. –John 15:16 ESV


Caner and others like him, who hold to their staunch anti-Calvinistic/anti-Reformation viewpoints need to take serious heed to the passages presented here. While their intent may be to attack John Calvin and the men who followed, it actually turns out to be a very vicious attack on the Word of God itself. I am astonished by men like Ergun Caner, who hold powerful positions as teachers and educators of the gospel, yet the lack of (or disregard for) knowledge for the sake of making a name for themselves by way of personal attacks and inflammatory statements is ridiculous. I don’t know about his claims of people “calling for his head”, but I’m definitely all for someone calling for his job. Teachers should be held to a higher standard due to their influence over impressionable minds and he has been extremely negligent in his duties of imparting the truth of the Word to his students at Liberty Theological Seminary. Not once has he offered a solid biblical defense for his position on this issue. My guess, is because there isn’t one.

Another of his outrageous claims is that the view of salvation held by the Calvinist camp causes them to be impotent in terms of evangelism. Once again, his lack of knowledge of Church History rears its ugly head. Many of the greatest evangelistic/missionary campaigns throughout history have in fact come out of the Reformed and Calvinistic tradition. There’s one he should be familiar with; I believe William Carey was a Baptist and a Calvinist—that’s just one example. If anything, the doctrine of election shows us how amazing grace really is, for it shows that we bring nothing to the table when it comes to our salvation. It is all God through Christ from start to finish. It serves to humble us and drive us to make it know that we love Christ only because he loved us first. The Great Commission to preach the gospel to all men is not hampered by such belief; it is ignited.

The bottom line is this—election and reprobation are clearly taught in the Bible. But as a doctrine, its bearing on Christian behavior is indirect. God’s decree of election is secret; which persons are elect and reprobate will not be revealed before judgment. Until that time, God’s command is that the call to repent and believe be preached to everyone.


At that time Jesus declared, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." –Matthew 11:25-30 ESV

For many are called, but few are chosen. –Matthew 22:14 ESV




“It is no novelty that I am preaching; no new doctrine. I love to proclaim these strong old doctrines, that are by nickname Calvinism, but which are surely and verily the revealed truth as it is in Christ Jesus.” –Charles Haddon Spurgeon



Soli Deo Gloria,
Shon