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Institutes of the Christian Religion - John Calvin

Whenever we come upon these matters in secular writers, let that admirable light of truth shining in them teach us that the mind of man, though fallen and perverted from its wholeness, is nevertheless clothed and ornamented with God’s excellent gifts. If we regard the Spirit of God as the sole fountain of truth, we shall neither reject the truth itself, nor despise it wherever it shall appear, unless we wish to dishonor the Spirit of God. For by holding the gifts of the Spirit in slight esteem, we contemn and reproach the Spirit himself. What then? Shall we deny that the truth shone upon the ancient jurists who established civic order and discipline with such great equity? Shall we say that the philosophers were blind in their fine observation and artful description of nature? Shall we say that those were devoid of understanding who conceived the art of disputation and taught us to speak reasonably? Shall we say that they are insane who developed medicine, devoting their labor to our benefit? What shall we say of all the mathematical sciences? Shall we consider them the ravings of madmen? No, we cannot read the writings of the ancients on these subjects without great admiration. We marvel at them because we are compelled to recognize how pre-eminent they are. But shall we count anything praiseworthy or noble without recognizing at the same time that it comes from God? Let us be ashamed of such ingratitude, into which not even the pagan poets fell, for they confessed that the gods had invented philosophy, laws, and all useful arts. Those men whom scripture [1 Cor. 2:14] calls “natural men” were, indeed, sharp and penetrating in their investigation of inferior things. Let us, accordingly, learn by their example how many gifts the Lord left to human nature even after it was despoiled of its true good. (Emphasis mine.)

“Jesus wasn’t a Democrat or a Republican.”

Duh!

I get this. I don’t need to be told again…and again…and again. But here is my question:

Why do people think that just because Jesus didn’t have an American party affiliation, that I shouldn’t?

Romans 13 says that God instituted our governing authority. That means the government. Not necessarily the person. That is where America is so historically different, having few precedents set before her, because we actually have a say in who the person will be that inhabits that position. But if you truly believe that God set up the government, then shouldn’t it follow that He also expected us to use it as it was designed? That means to participate. If He has already ordained a certain person, then why did He set it up so we think we might have a say? That sounds an awful lot like Calvinism…why do anything (vote or witness) if it has already been decided? So I have coined the new term “Political Calvinism”. (if in fact it is mine to coin)

Here is the deal…

1. I have been given, as a gift from God alone, the ability and means to own a nice home.

2. I am expected to use the house to God’s glory, in the way that allows me to fulfill my God-given purpose, and invest in the house’s upkeep.

3. If I do not constantly recognize this house as a gift, if I ignore it, or don’t use it, then I am not “multiplying my talents”. (See Matthew 25:14 - 28) I must also not idolize the house or see it as anything more than a blessing from God, a means to glorify Him.

4. God has already ordained that the paint will peel and the carpet will get dirty and the design will go out of style. So why should I change that? Because it is being a good steward of the gift God has given me, so to dismiss that upkeep/maintenance as “anti-Christ” or too worldly is to spit on the blessing of a house that we have been given.

So, substitute “house” with freedom/democracy/voting/government. It is NOT anti-Christ. Not if we truly believe it was established by God. It is a blessing. It is a gift. Who else in history was able to elect their governors with the freedoms we have to follow God however we are led? No, Democracy can become an idol, just as my house can, but it is, nonetheless, a gift. One which we are able and, I believe blessed, to be able to participate in.

ROMANS 13:1-7

1Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 3For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. 4For he is God’s servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. 5Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. 6This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. 7Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.

God is Sovereign!

When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.  He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son. But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”

One thing that I’ve always found ironic is that those who claim to adhere most strictly to the Five Solas often seem to have a hard time letting their practice line up with their rhetoric.  The one that seems to be the most abused and ignored is Sola Fide, or justification through faith alone.  Now I’m sure they would deny it, but it seems to me they deny this doctrine by setting themselves as the arbiter of whom actually has faith and who doesn’t.

The latest victim of this arbitrary faith-check is none other than great Christian author and apologist, C.S. Lewis.  In this article linked here, with the sad title Did C.S. Lewis Go to Heaven (which is steeped in gnosticism, by the way, but we won’t go there now), for reasons unknown, the author goes out of his way to throw accusations around that Lewis didn’t believe Scripture was inerrant (a loaded and debatable term anyway) and that he was a univeralist (a read of his little book The Great Divorce would show he wasn’t).  Perhaps the most telling portion of this article is the following paragraph taken from Mere Christianity, in which the author is clearly claiming Lewis said something he didn’t say:

“Christians have often disputed as to whether what leads the Christian home is good actions, or Faith in Christ. I have no right really to speak on such a difficult question, but it does seem to me like asking which blade in a pair of scissors is most necessary. A serious moral effort is the only thing that will bring you to the point where you throw up the sponge. Faith in Christ is the only thing to save you from despair at that point: and out of that Faith in Him ood actions must inevitably come.”

To which the author says this:

According to Lewis, both faith in Christ and “good actions” are necessary to lead a Christian “home.” The Apostle Paul says that this is not Christianity.

What?!  Did the author read the actual paragraph he quoted?  It doesn’t appear so.  Obviously, Lewis is stating that anyone who tries to reach God through good works will fail and eventually come to the conclusion that faith is his only chance.

So perhaps the ironic thing is this.  Those who claim to hold to Sola Fide, often throw all kinds of requirements on top faith.  So let’s not just make “through faith alone” a slogan.  Let’s live like we mean it.  Let’s not add our own litmus tests on top of it for people to prove they have faith.  In the end it’s not us who makes the call anyway.

Children going around with their friends and/or families to their neighbors homes all on the same night, laughing and having a good time while households share treats and goodies, smiles, and kind words with those that come to their doors?  Shame on them.

How should the church respond to the one time of the year when nearly every neighbor family comes out of their homes to interact with their neighbors? Separate itself of course. Don’t interact with your neighbors and certainly don’t participate in the community activity. Turn off the lights, take your family to church, and be suspicious of any neighbors that enjoy decorating for and celebrating Halloween.

There was a period of my life when I responded to Halloween in similar ways. This is unhealthy behavior for Christians. We should be making the most of this opportunity to connect with our neighbors. This does not mean that we need to adopt the beliefs of our culture, or participate in satanic rituals. Frankly, I think one of the worst things that happens on Halloween is the acceptance and perpetration of consuming large amounts of sugar. But most Christians don’t care about that, and if they do, it too can be handled in an appropriate way to achieve moderation. Maybe we could display Christ-like character during this Halloween by being hospitable to our neighbors, not just handing out candy, but inviting our neighbors to join us for chili (or some other good Fall food) after they take their kids trick-or-treating.

What ideas can you come up with to display Christ to our neighbors?

Friends,

Came across this while perusing JI Packer’s Knowing God. Thought you might enjoy it too.

“We need frankly to face ourselves at this point. We are, perhaps, orthodox evangelicals. We can state the gospel clearly; we can smell unsound doctrine a mile away. If asked how one may know God, we can at once produce the right formula: that we come to know God through Jesus Christ the Lord, in virtue of his cross and mediation, on the basis of his word of promise, by the power of the Holy Spirit, via a personal exercise of faith. Yet the gaiety, goodness, and unfetteredness of spirit which are the marks of those who have know God are rare among us–rarer, perhaps, than they are in some other Christian circles where, by comparison, evangelical truth is less clearly and fully known. Here, too, it would seem that the last may prove to be the first, and the first last. A little knowledge of God is worth more than a great deal of knowledge about him.” (JI Packer, Knowing God, 25-26)

Friends,

I guess these folks, Steve and Kathy, have been doing their thing for a while now. I only heard about them because Christian Post did a story. I don’t really care one way or another what they do with their time and money, but I was just wondering about something after I read the story and watched one of their, uh, videos (which according to my powerful sense of discernment was racially insensitive). The CP story has this paragraph:

Aside from his book, Gray has also been addressing the issues of his “absurd religion” through The Steve & Kathy Show, a Christian comedy TV show featuring skits that are often critical of megachurches and the emergent church movement.

One skit, titled “Seeker-Sensitive Mega Church Guy,” which spoofs the megachurch phenomenon in America, has attracted over 49,000 viewers on YouTube as well as a recently-won Emmy award.

My question is, I wonder what happens when Christian Comedians, who are clearly despised by the ADM crowd, make fun of the people that the ADM crowd despise? I wonder how the two can co-exist without there being some sort of black hole opening in the universe and causing the failure of all life as we know it? Worse, what happens when the comedian apparently is the pastor of his own megachurch and apparently has a very strong urge to be Rob Bell?

I’m just wondering…

In preparation for Halloween Reformation Day (same difference), perhaps it is time to look at -

THIS DAY IN HISTORY - October 27, 1553

From Wikipedia:

As Servetus was not a citizen of Geneva, and legally could at worst be banished, the government had consulted with other Swiss Reformed cantons (Zurich, Bern, Basel, Schaffhausen), which universally favored his condemnation and the suppression of his doctrine, but without saying how that should be accomplished. Martin Luther had condemned his writing in strong terms. Servetus and Philip Melanchthon had strongly hostile views of each other. Those who went against the idea of his execution, the party called “Libertines”, drew the ire of much of Christendom. On 24 October Servetus was sentenced to death by burning for denying the Trinity and infant baptism. When Calvin requested that Servetus be executed by decapitation rather than fire, Farel, in a letter of September 8, chided him for undue lenity, and the Geneva Council refused his request. On 27 October 1553 Servetus was burned at the stake just outside Geneva with what was believed to be the last copy of his book chained to his leg. Historians record his last words as: “Jesus, Son of the Eternal God, have mercy on me.”

Happy Reformation Day (a few days early), Michael!

[Please do note, that Calvin requested that Servetus be decapitated, instead of burned at the stake. So don't ever say that the creator of the so-called "doctrines of grace" was a heartless, graceless guy...]

HT: VV, with more here.

* Sarah Palin has said nothing about the clubbing of innocent baby seals.

* Every year over 200,000 baby seals are clubbed to death for their fur.

* Headline reads “Sarah Palin joins the ranks with seal clubbers!”

I know, I know… that is absolutely asinine. Why would anyone ever make those jumps in logic? Well, apparently one writer over at CRN has decided to do so. Here’s the logic found in this article

* Rob Bell has made few definitive statements about homosexuality.

* The Gay Wisconsin City Cream Choir, an organization that doesn’t claim to follow Christ, is singing songs that are not theologically correct.

* Headline reads “Rob Bell Sing the siren song of the Self”

WHAT!?! How on earth do you make those conclusions and connections!?! It’s absolutely incredible that someone who calls themselves a researcher and a mouth piece for God himself would make such wild and strange statements. If you have some type of vendetta against Rob Bell, then I guess anything and everything pagan could and should be tied to him.

So much for solid research.