I was so excited to pick up Bruce Ware's book, Big Truth's For Young Hearts. For those who may not know, Bruce Ware is a professor of Christian Theology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary - so you know he has to be good! His book is endorsed by CJ Mahaney and Mark Driscoll. The book, according to Mark Driscoll, is to help "Anyone who wants to help children grow in their love for Jesus and understanding of the Bible needs this book." I was excited to get it.
A while back I posted we were trying to memorize some catechisms written by John Piper. Well, that hasn't gone as well as I had hoped. This book is a catechism of sort but with a lot of practical application. We are using it as a family devotion book at night before bed.
Friday night as I was flipping through the book, I came to his section on God choosing certain people for salvation. I know, the Doctrine of Election is very controversial and people on both sides are passionate about what they believe. The Doctrine of Election was a hard one for me to swallow as well. I will never forget the first time I even heard the term "Calvinism" as I was reading something about John MacArthur being a Calvinist. I was shocked that someone I liked so much could be one of "those." Then something crazy happened, see I had begun following several theology blogs like John MacArthur, John Piper, Mark Driscoll, CJ Mahaney, Joshua Harris, Tim Challies, Justin Taylor, Albert Mohler, Russell Moore, Kevin DeYoung and Pyromaniacs. As I researched each one of these I realized they were all Calvinist! Then I realized "older" theologians I was drawn too like Jonathan Edwards and Charles Spurgeon were all Calvinist also. I thought there had to be more to this so my husband and I began a search through the Bible on the TULIP acronym - Total Depravity, Unconditional Election, Limited Atonement, Irresistible Grace and Perseverance of the Saints.
We took several weeks looking up verses on election, predestination, chosen. We looked at the context. Looked at the original language. Honestly, I did everything I could to disprove unconditional election. What ended up happening, however, is I really began to believe that this is exactly what the Bible taught and I had been taught wrong my whole life.
One amazing truth I noticed about unconditional election....it is exactly that....unconditional! See, IF God looks into the future to see who would choose Him and then chooses those based on them choosing Him, then that person did something to earn favor with God - they chose Him first. However, if Salvation is by grace through faith alone then this view cannot be right. We cannot in our own earn God's favor or grace because if left to us, we would never choose Him.
Back to Bruce Ware's book, I love how he explains this election doctrine at a child's level. Here are some quotes:
Looking at Ephesians 1:3-6, "So, what is the first thing that comes to Paul's mind when he things about why God should be praised? Answer: God has chosen some sinners to be in Christ (v4), and God has predestined them for adoption into his family through Christ (v5). This is very important to see. If the apostle Paul thinks that one of the greatest reasons why God would be praised is that he chose people to be saved, then we should think the same way.
"as we begin to think about God's plan to save people, we need to understand from the very beginning that no one - absolutely no one! - deserves the kindness and mercy that God decided to shower upon them."
"But as sinners before God, there is only one thing that we rightly deserve-everlasting separation from God and punishment for our sin. The fact that we are breathing at this moment or have good to eat today or often feel well and enjoy good health is because God, in his kindness, gives us what we don't deserve (Acts 17:25). Well, if we don't deserve breath or food or health, we also don't deserve to be saved. None of us do. And until we take this truth deep within our own thoughts and lives, we will not understand the grace and mercy of God in choosing some to be saved."
"Some people would lead us to believe that when God looks at the human race, he sees many people reaching out to him, wanting to be with him, and desiring to live in ways that please him. In this view, if God chooses some to be saved, this means that he turns others who have also wanted to be with him, but he didn't choose them. But this isn't true, not true at all. No person born in the line of Adam is ever like this."
"God has done something so good, so gracious, so wise that it is almost unthinkable. God has decided to choose some sinners to be the objects of his most precious love, to receive kindness and grace that they do not deserve, to have their sins forgiven by the death of his Son, and enter into fellowship with him now and forever. You see, God's choosing is never a matter of his turning away someone who wanted to come. His choosing is always a matter of his bringing to him those who never would have come."
I loved the simplicity of this to explain to our children. There is no way every question about election can be answered in one post, or even by a short devotion. However, what I have learned is God's choosing is something great, something to be praised! The Doctrine of Election isn't about a mean God. So many people say, "God isn't like that." They say this because in their fallen minds they can't understand such a profound truth that goes against our natural tendencies to believe about God. Trust me, I understand because I was there once. Now I celebrate the fact that I am chosen and hope to help others understand the wonderful truth in that.
Here are some good links on election, calvinism and tulip.
Desiring God
Grace To You
More Grace To You
Time Article with Albert Mohler after his brush with death.
There are many many more, but this is just to get started on this post.
Hope you all have a wonderful Memorial Day with your family.
1 comment:
I've wanted to get that book ever since Dr. Ware was a guest on Revive Our Hearts last year. They talked about it over a couple of broadcasts.
Man, you and I are so similar, it's downright uncanny. I'm not a Calvinist either and yet I find myself drawn to so many who are! (many of whom are the same ones you are) This issue is still one I struggle with, having been raised and still being part of a more Arminian-leaning denomination, but that's pretty much the only bone of contention left. This is a great explanation of this doctrine ~ precisely why I want this book as much for myself as for my kids!!
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