Pastor Glenn’s Weblog

            This week I gave a bold sermon on Calvinism.  I address these matters often, but since many lay people are turned off by the name, I usually take a more subtle approach by pointing out the depth of our sin or the sovereignty of God, by telling the congregation “it’s all about God,” or by showing how He is the subject of most of the verbs, etc.  But when I came across the emphatic phrase, “he is my chosen instrument,” in Acts 9:15, especially after Luke’s emphasis on Saul’s evil, I had to address it more plainly.  I feared how some of our Arminian attenders might respond.  But the responses from the ones who talked to me were far more positive than I imagined.

          I read the following quote, from Michael Horton in Modern Reformation, as an illustration: 

          The doctrine of election, like many other hard theological topics, is taboo in many Christian churches today.  Instead of discussing the central doctrines of our faith, many only want to talk about marriage, child rearing, church organization, or spiritual warfare.  These “practical” subjects are considered to be more important than controversial doctrinal issues that only serve to divide our churches.  But the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Ephesians begins his teaching of marriage, child rearing, church organization and spiritual warfare with a no-holds-barred discussion of God’s sovereign election of individuals to salvation in Christ.  A subject that many Christians will avoid by moving to the other side of the room is the foundation for all of Paul’s subsequent instruction on the day-to-day life of the saints.

Then I read Ephesians in my devotions this week.  I was tickled by chapter four because I think of the first three chapters of Ephesians as being the “controversial doctrinal issues,” and the last three as being the “practical matters.”  But what I noticed was the number of times these “doctrinal issues” are referenced in the fourth chapter.  Paul begins with “I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received” and “There is one body and one Spirit – just as you were called to one hope when you were called.” (4:1, 4)  Then the chapter ends with these reminders, “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption,” and “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” (4:30, 32) 

            It is our calling by God, our sealing by the Holy Spirit, and our forgiveness in Christ that is the basis for practical matters in the church.  The practical matters are an outworking of the doctrinal matters, or, as Horton put it, “the foundation of all Paul’s subsequent instruction on the day-to-day life of the saints.”  If we want to get our day-to-day life in order, then we must begin with getting our theology in order.

You can hear the message on line at this link

            The reformed position on grace and election doesn’t come from Paul alone, as some might say it is a distorted understanding of Paul’s epistles; rather it comes from an understanding of the scriptures as a whole.  Luke, who actually wrote more pages of the New Testament than Paul, brings this teaching to us in many ways through the book of Acts.  Here are some examples:

            When the apostles decided to replace Judas, they prayed that God would show to them the one he had already chosen for that ministry (1:24).  Peter viewed himself and the other apostles that way also, as he said to Cornelius, “God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen – not by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen – by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.” (10:40-41)  That shouldn’t surprise us, because throughout these early chapters, the apostles understood, finally, that Jesus’ death was God’s plan predetermined from the beginning.  They say things like, “this man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge;” “this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold though the prophets, saying that his Christ would suffer;” and “they did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen.” (2:23; 3:18; 4:28)

            In the beginning of his famous Pentecost sermon, Peter quotes from Amos, including the words “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (2:21)  But he ends his sermon with “Repent and be baptized  .  .  .  and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  .  .  .  This promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off – for all whom the Lord our God will call.” (2:38-39)  Did you notice the surprise turn around?  The promise to call on the Lord is for all whom he will call.  It seems to be God’s initiative.  The upshot of this whole matter was “the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”  Again, it’s his initiative.

            When Peter spoke to the people who had witnessed the healing of the cripple in the temple, possibly just a few days later, he included these words, “By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong.  It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing.” (3:16)  Yes, he was healed by his faith in Jesus, but that faith came through Jesus.  Even the faith to believe was a gift of God’s grace!  By the way, that is the correct grammatical understanding of Ephesians 2:8-9 – “by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God” – “it” in the passage refers to faith, not salvation.  We don’t generate our own faith, it comes from God.  That’s why the believers in Jerusalem heard the story of Cornelius and praised God saying, “So then God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.” (11:17)  And the believers in Antioch rejoiced that God “had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.”  (14:27)  In each case God is the initiator.

            On Paul’s first missionary journey, Luke would say of those in Pisidian Antioch, “all who were appointed for eternal life believed.” (13:48 – a phrase for which I can’t imagine any Arminian response)  And on the second journey, when Paul came to this hemisphere, the first western convert was Lydia, a business woman in Philippi.  Luke tells us “the Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message.” (16:14)  While Paul was in Corinth, the Lord said to him, “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking,  .  .  .  because I have many people in this city,” (18:10) so he stayed there a year and a half.

            Finally, who could ever say that Paul decided on his own to believe in Jesus?  He was hell-bent on destroying the followers of Jesus, yet he was God’s chosen instrument to take the Gospel to the Gentiles, even before his conversion (9:15; 22:10; 22:14; 26:16-18; see also Galatians 1:13-17).  Luke shows us, beyond any doubt, that salvation is all about God; it is his grace and his initiative that saved Paul; it is his grace and his initiative that saves us.