The Amazing Sovereignty of God

But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life.
- Genesis 45:5 (NKJV)

And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.
- Genesis 45:7-8 (NKJV)

But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.
- Genesis 50:20 (NKJV)

In my devotional reading I have been reading through the book of Genesis and I am struck by the almighty sovereignty of God. It resounds so clearly in the life of Joseph who was sold by his own brothers into slavery (Genesis 37:28) and told to his father, Jacob, that he was dead (Genesis 37:31-35). Even in bondage it seemed that Joseph's faith was always on the Lord God and yet he continued to suffer one setback after another (Genesis 39:19-23; 40:23). In the end, Joseph rises to power in Egypt and becomes the second most powerful man under Pharaoh (Genesis 41:42-45).

And despite all that took place in Joseph's life, his faithful focus on God leads him to conclude that God Himself used the evil acts of his brothers to bring about God's sovereign plan. Joseph amazingly recognized that God uses even the sinful acts of men to bring about His sovereign purposes. As Martin Luther said of Satan, "Even the devil is God's devil." Nothing and no one is above the sovereign rule of God and He is able to use even the sinful choices of men to bring about His divine purposes. That is simply amazing!

John Piper, in his book Spectacular Sins, points out that God used even the worst of sinners in the Bible to bring about His purposes. This is not a motivation to sin but it does show that God can use even our failures for His purposes. Piper points out that God used even the greatest sin in the Bible, the betrayal of the Son of God, to bring about His purpose in the death of His Son (Acts 2:23-24). While Peter pointed out that they crucified the Lord of glory and they needed to repent (Acts 2:37-38), he also saw that this happened because of God's sovereignty. God foreknow the sinful choices of men and He used them to glorify His name. Amazing is our God!

Some open theist believe that the future is partly open in that God does not know the free will choices of people but He acts based upon those choices. I agree that God created us with free will but I also believe in the absolute sovereignty of God and I believe that through foreknowledge, God foreknows all that will come to pass. I don't understand this sovereignty nor do I expect any theologian to be able to explain how people are free to make free choices yet God foreknows those free choices and His purposes are already set. As Robert Picirilli points out, "It is enough for me to know that God foreknows even sinful acts of men based on 1 Peter 1:20." Because God foreknew that Adam would fall, He still allowed Adam to make the free will choice to fall and He did not force Adam to sin or not to sin. He allowed the free will choice to come to pass though God foreknew it would come to pass (1 Peter 1:20).

God is not shocked, therefore, when people sin. He foreknows their acts. He foresees all that will come to pass (Isaiah 46; 8-11; 48:3-5). Nothing happens that God does not know about before it takes place and for His own purposes He allows things to come to pass (Romans 11:33-36).

For me, it is enough for me to simply trust in the Lord. I don't always have the answers why things happen in my life but I trust in the Lord. I lean on Him and His perfect wisdom. I am learning to bless His name even when difficult times come. That is not easy (James 1:2-5). Like any other person, I have, at times, wanted to simply give up on this journey of faith but like Peter, I run to Jesus and declare that there is no where else I can turn since He alone holds the words of eternal life (John 6:68-69). I am learning to wait on the Lord knowing that His purposes will come to pass in His perfect timing (Psalm 27:14 NKJV).

It is enough for me right now to simply bow before the Lord God and humbly declare, "You alone are sovereign and You alone reign forever more. Let me be in the center of Your will, obeying You, and I will bless Your name no matter what comes my way (Job 13:15)!"

A.J. Smith: Signs I Was Not Born Again

A.J. Smith (1887-1960) was an American Arminian missionary, pastor, and evangelist. The following was what he wrote concerning his own conversion. In 1905 Smith made a "confession of faith" but Smith wrote that he wasn't truly saved until 1927 and he gave the following reasons why he doubted his salvation experience until that point.

I believe Smith's points are well worth reading and making sure that we ourselves are likewise redeemed of the Lord. So many people in the modern Church today, I believe, are not truly born again. They are deceived or have placed their faith in their works but they have not been born of the Spirit (John 3:3-7; 1 Peter 1:18-21). The New Birth is a glorious experience that delivers us from darkness into God's marvelous light (Colossians 1:13; 1 Peter 2:9-10). It is more than saying a prayer or signing a card or even simply being baptized. Being born again is a real experience where we meet the Savior through His grace and through His gospel. I pray that you and I won't be those who hear Jesus say, "I never knew you" (Matthew 7:21-23).

So here are A.J. Smith's points on how he knew that he was not born again until 1927. May his words deliver us from doubt as well.

(1) In the first place, undoubtedly the strongest point against me was that I had never had the "Witness of the Spirit" that I was a child of God.

(2) I did not hate sin, nor did I forsake all sins and all sinful habits.

(3) I had not confessed all those sins that the Holy Spirit showed me.

(4) I had not made restitution for all the sins and things that the Lord showed me.

(5) There was the absence of godly sorrow, consequently no true repentance ("godly sorrow worketh repentance" 2 Corinthians 7:10).

(6) "The fruit of the Spirit" (Galatians 5:22-25) was lacking in my life; on the other hand many of the "works of the flesh" (Galatians 5:19-21) were in evidence.

(7) I did not separate myself from the world, especially worldly companions. "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers" (2 Corinthians 6:14). "Know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God?"(James 4:4) "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world."(1 John 2:15)

(8) Lack of "love for the brethren." I did not especially care for the fellowship of the saints of God.

(9) There was not the love for God's Word and prayer that I know we have after we are born again.

(10) There was outbroken anger. I would get mad at horses and cows if they offended me or refused to obey me, and would punish them mercilessly. I would get angry at people, and my temper would get the best of me. This was sin, say what you will. "He that committeth sin is of the devil" (1 John 3:8). "Whosoever abideth in Him sinneth not." Oh, I know that some folks try to twist these Scripture passages so as to make them mean, "He that committeth habitual sin, or the unpardonable sin, is of the devil." The original text does not bear this out. How many years have I tried to shield myself behind these crooked interpretations!

(11) There was a spirit of unforgiveness in my heart. I held things against others; neither did I ask their forgiveness when I had offended them, or go to those whom I knew held things against me, even though I was not at fault. "Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer" (1 John 3:15). "But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses" (Matthew 6:15).

(12) My conduct in the home was not right. I was also given to joking and laughing, loved to tell stories that would make people laugh, instead of telling something that would cause them to repent or think about God. How many preachers there are who think it is a trait of cleverness to be able to make the audience laugh! This kind of preaching will never create conviction, but on the contrary will prevent conviction; and if there is any, will smother it [Jesus Lifting Chinese or Marvelous Spiritual Awakenings in China. Cincinnati: God's Bible School and Revivalist, 1929, pp. 100-101].

Theology Should Ignite Passion (But It Often Doesn't)

When I was in college students would sit around and debate theology. They would debate nearly every aspect of theology. On my hall there were two students who were not Christians though they both entered our college as committed Christians (we can debate that statement some other time). Both of these boys would do things to drive the evangelicals mad such as playing secular music as loud as possible, put various quotes from philosophers on their door that would be quotes about how Christians don't use their minds, and they would read books that either reflected atheistic thinking or liberal Christianity. Because our college required that you agree with the statement of faith before you could graduate, they both left to attend a secular university.

Oddly, people would spend hours debating these two boys. Even professors would take them to lunch and would debate with them trying to get them to see the errors of their thinking but to no avail.

What I noticed about all the debating that was going on around me was that it never produced much passion for Christ. It did produce passion for Calvin or against Arminius (although there were very few Arminians on campus) but it largely did not produce a genuine passion for Jesus or His kingdom. The prayer rooms were still empty. The evangelism teams still begging for members. The chapel services were dead as door nails. Sexual immorality still ran rampant. Drunkenness was a problem. Fighting among the boys was a problem. Yet theological debates raged day after day.

The problem with studying theology is that we can do one of two things. First, we can begin to view the Bible as a textbook rather than a book given to us by God Himself to teach us His ways that we might know Him (2 Timothy 3:15-17). There is great danger in viewing the Bible simply as a book given to us to debate with or to proof-text with. The Bible is to produce faith in us as we read and study it (Romans 10:17) yet how few people actually grow in their faith in God by studying His Word (2 Peter 3:18).

Second, without application theology is dry and lifeless. James 1:22-25 tells us that we are to be doers of the Word and not just hearers only. To often within theological debates there is more passion for proving one's theology than in loving Jesus and advancing His kingdom. We know the Word but we don't know the living Word (John 1:14). We know much about the Bible but we fail to live out what we believe (1 Peter 2:12). Jesus said that true disciples are those who hear His Word and obey it (Luke 8:21; John 8:31-32). Obedience is better than sacrifice (1 Samuel 15:22-23).

I believe that theology should spark a passion for the God we are studying. Theology shouldn't just make me mad at Calvinists or Calvinists mad at Arminians but it should drive us to our knees in humble worship of Almighty God! There is no Savior but Jesus and there is no hope apart from Him. Jesus alone is worthy of praise and worship and He alone should be our passion. Our hope should not be in the writings of Arminius or Luther or Wesley but in the Lord Jesus Christ who gave Himself for us (1 Peter 3:18). My earnest prayer to God is that I would not just read my Bible with an eye on Arminianism or Calvinism but with an eye on the Lord God and upon myself.

Arminianism is Not.....

I was visiting a Calvinist brothers Facebook page and found that he had a few lines attacking Arminianism. At first I brushed off his attacks as simply another Calvinist misunderstanding Arminianism but the more I thought on his comments, the more I realized how many people truly don't understand what Arminians believe about God nor about His salvation in general. Roger Olson already has done a good job of presenting common myths about Arminianism in his book Arminian Theology: Myths and Realities so I don't feel a need to re-write what Olson has already covered concerning popular myths about Arminianism.

Yet I do feel that there are a few things that I want to point out about Arminianism as to what it is not. Arminianism is not.....

1. Man-Centered Theology - A reading of the works of Arminius will find that Arminius' emphasis is always on glorifying Christ. Whether it be Arminius' understanding of election (Christ-centered) to his understanding of the nature of perseverance (Christ-focused), Arminius sought to exalt Christ.

I actually believe (and have written posts on this before) that Arminianism truly exalts Christ even above Calvinism since Jesus is seen not just as the Savior of the elect (which He is according to 1 Timothy 4:10) but to all (John 1:29; 1 Timothy 2:1-6). In eternity, all the saints will declare that Jesus alone was worthy of praise for saving us (Revelation 5:8-10). Mankind will not receive credit for our eternal salvation that was purchased alone by the blood of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 9:14).

2. Will-Centered Theology - Some try to teach that Arminians believe that anyone, anywhere can "will" themselves to salvation. This is not the case. We teach that apart from the drawing of the Spirit, no person can be saved (John 6:44; 16:8-11). The Spirit convicts us of sin and though He does not force the person to believe, He does enable us to believe through grace (Philippians 1:29; 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14). We don't deny that God has given us free will but no person can be saved apart from the Holy Spirit's work upon the human heart. We don't teach that a person co-operates with God to be saved but that we surrender to His grace to be saved. We receive His salvation by faith (Romans 5:1; Ephesians 2:8-9) and the Spirit regenerates us at that moment (John 3:3-7; Titus 3:5-7; 1 John 5:1). Salvation is always by faith and continues by faith until the very end (John 8:51; 1 Corinthians 15:1-2; Colossians 1:21-23; 1 John 2:28).

3. Works-Kept Salvation - Some want to teach that Arminians believe we are saved by grace through faith but kept by works. I actually heard a "non-Calvinist" try to say that this is the reason he is not an Arminian since Arminians believe in a revolving door salvation (one minute you are in and the next you are out). How sad that he failed to search out the truth from Arminius' works and relied on the Internet or Calvinist sources for his material.

The reality is that Arminians teach that we are saved by grace through faith and we are kept by faith. 1 Peter 1:5 makes this clear. Jesus said that His sheep hear (present tense) His voice and follow Him and no one is able to take them (those who are listening to His voice) out of His hands (John 10:27-30). Paul said that nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:38-39 with the key being "in Christ Jesus"). As long as a believer remains a believer in Christ Jesus, we have nothing to fear (2 Thessalonians 3:3). Jesus said that the work we must do for salvation is simply to believe (present tense) in Him (John 6:29). When we do this (believe), we will stand secure (2 Peter 3:17-18 NIV).

4. Evangelism is Man-Centered - I refer you back to point #1 but it is foolish to assert that Arminians believe in man-centered evangelism. Evangelism should always be to the glory of God in Christ Jesus. When we seek to make disciples for Jesus we should always place the emphasis on Jesus and His teachings (Matthew 28:19-20 NIV). Evangelism should be done using the Word of God to bring about conviction of sin (1 Timothy 1:8-11) and to bring people to repentance through God's Word and through God's grace (Romans 2:4; 3:19-20; 2 Timothy 2:25; 2 Peter 3:9).

To this Arminian, the sad gimmicks found in many churches where you "walk the aisle" or say "the sinner's prayer" is simply misleading and is not Arminianism but is semi-Pelagianism. The Bible does not teach any methods to salvation other than God dealing with people through the gospel and once people repent, being baptized (Acts 2:37-39, 41; 3:19; 8:12-13, 36-38; 9:17-18; 10:44-48; 11:18; 16:14-15, 30-34; 18:8; 19:1-7; 22:16; 26:20). There is nothing in the New Testament about people "praying to receive Christ" or "coming down front." Even Jesus simply told people to abandon all and follow Him (Luke 14:25-35; 18:18-30). He never tried to convince people through gimmicks to follow Him but He laid out the truth before them and allowed them to follow Him or reject Him (John 4:42).

5. Lacks Biblical Exegesis - I have read Calvinist blogs and books that seem to teach that Calvinism is an intellectual faith whereas Arminianism is more emotionally based. There is simply no evidence for this. Arminians, such as myself, love the Word of God and I love to feed on its precious truths (Matthew 4:4). I believe that it is the duty of the disciple of Jesus to abide in His teachings (John 8:31-32 NIV) and I believe that the faithful disciple (Revelation 17:14) needs to hold firmly to sound doctrine (1 Timothy 4:16 NIV).

Over the years as a disciple I have modified my beliefs yet I have done so only because I searched the Scriptures and concluded that I either had to change my belief or compromise. Compromise is not an option for the disciple of Jesus so I have reformed my mind (Romans 12:2). God has given us His Word to know His ways and to walk after Him (Psalm 19:7-11 NKJV) and to know right from wrong (Hebrews 5:14 NIV). The Holy Spirit helps us to apply the Scriptures to our lives (John 14:25-26; 1 Corinthians 2:11-16). It is important for us to obey God and His Word (James 2:14-26) and to be transformed by the Word.

Conclusion
By no means do I understand everything about Calvinism but I pray that my Calvinist brethren would be cautious in labeling Arminianism as any of the above apart from first reading and studying what Arminius said on the subjects. We Arminians have been guilty of attacking Calvinists for what we perceived about Calvinism without first seeking to know if John Calvin taught such a doctrine. I admit this and for that I am sorry. But I do think that as brothers and sisters in Christ we need more understanding and less simply making false assumptions about each others theological system.

Book Review: The Scofield Bible - Its History and Impact on the Evangelical Church

I would not classify myself as a dispensationalist. For the most part, I don't know where I stand. I sometimes find myself leaning toward dispensationalism on some issues but then I turn around and can lean toward covenantal theology on others. When it comes to end times, I don't line up with dispensationalism so I wanted to read a book on dispensational theology and its history. I have a few books here and there in my library on dispensationalism but not much in terms of the history of the movement.

And then I happen to find this book on the Scofield Bible. Occasionally I visit a fundamentalist Baptist church in our area where the Scofield Bible is practically worshiped. In fact, the pastor of the church will sometimes cite the page number he is turning to before citing the biblical reference. The members of the church almost all use the Scofield Bible. The church also has a small Bible college and I have visited the school a few times for chapel services and almost all the Bible college students use the Scofield Bible. Most of them prefer the 1917 notes above the 1967 notes since the 1967 notes corrects the King James Version translation here and there and this is simply unacceptable in KJV-only circles.

This book, written by R. Todd Mangum (UK) and Mark Sweetnam (US) offers a history of the Scofield Bible. The book opens by tracing the story of the man behind the study Bible itself, C.I. Scofield. Scofield has been criticized by his critics and adored by his admirers when the reality is that he probably was somewhere in between. Without a doubt, before his conversion, Scofield was a shady man. The word to describe Scofield would be simply a liar. He lived off lies. Scofield's critics feel that his lying didn't end with his conversion though I tend to doubt this. Some point out that there is no evidence that Scofield ever received an honorary doctorate though his study Bible has "Rev. C.I. Scofield D.D." in it. This is true (that there is no evidence that he ever received a Doctorate of Divinity) but it is possible that he was awarded this and there are no records to date for this. Either way, the history of Scofield is a book unto itself.

Following the history of C.I. Scofield, the authors next turn to the development of Scofield's theology which is not original with Scofield. Much of the dispensationalism that Scofield put in his study Bible can be traced to John Nelson Darby and the Plymouth Brethren. Scofield, following his conversion, was discipled by a strong follower of Darby and naturally Scofield adopted Darby's viewpoints while modifying them here and there in his study Bible.

The remainder of the book offers an analysis of the impact of Scofield's Bible. The study Bible remains the top selling study Bible of all time. It's influence was felt not just upon the average reader but at schools such as Moody Bible Institute and Dallas Theological Seminary. The Scofield Study Bible remains the top selling Bible among dispensationalist and it remains the study Bible that critics turn to the most when seeking to debate dispensational theology. The modern fundamentalist movement and even the Pentecostal movement all derive much of their theology from their early leaders using the Scofield Study Bible.

Overall, this book was an interesting read on the history and impact of the Scofield Study Bible. I own a copy of the Scofield though I have never used it on a regular basis. I own it more for the notes on the dispensations than anything else. My Arminianism tends to conflict with Scofield's theology (he was a Calvinist though he tended to avoid this in his notes with the exception of eternal security). Many of the modern study Bibles owe their success to Scofield and almost all of them use Scofield's method of placing the notes at the bottom of the page. Scofield's Bible tends to have far less notes than many study Bibles today but bear in mind that Scofield wrote almost all his notes whereas this is not true of today's study Bibles.

I do recommend this book for its insights into the life of C.I. Scofield as well as into his study Bible that continues to make an impact 101 years after its first printing.

John MacArthur on the Exclusiveness of the Gospel

Below is a link to two sermons that Dr. John MacArthur preached on the exclusiveness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. A few of my friends on this blog have e-mailed me several times over the issues related to the issue of Jesus being the only way to heaven (John 14:6). I listened to these sermons and I agreed with Dr. MacArthur in his defense of the gospel of Christ and the issues related to those who have never heard the gospel.

Check them out here.

Why Doesn't God Just Elect Us All?

One of the mysteries of Calvinism is the struggle Calvinist theologians have had since Calvin as trying to understand the mystery of election. Probably one of the most difficult areas is the issue of God's sovereign choosing who will be saved and who will be damned. Some have tried to deny that Calvin himself held to double predestination but there is no doubt that Theodore Beza, Calvin's successor and teacher of Arminius, held to double predestination. Some have said that Beza reacted to attacks against Calvinism by embracing such a view. Arminius (and others after him including John Wesley) rejected such a view. Wesley said that such a teaching (unconditional election) "makes my blood boil."

Most Calvinists today continue to struggle with the issues related to election. Why is it that God has chosen some but not all? Some Calvinists like to narrow this down even more to make it personal as "Why did God elect me but not someone else?" Truly, election within Calvinism is a mystery.

Some Calvinists try to find answers. Most, however, settle for quoting Deuteronomy 29:29 and leaving the mystery of election simply as that: a mystery.

For the Arminian, this answer (that election is a mystery) is not sufficient. For Arminianism, election is based on a person having faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Thessalonians 2:13-14; 2 Peter 1:10-11). We believe that Jesus died for the sins of the whole world (John 1:29; 3:16; 1 Timothy 2:1-6; Hebrews 2:9; 2 Peter 3:9; 1 John 2:1-2; 4:10) and we believe that those who place their faith in Jesus become the elect of God (1 Timothy 4:10). For the Arminian, a reading of Ephesians 1:3-14 is not difficult to grasp as the elect are simply those in Christ Jesus. That seems simple enough to understand.

The issue then related to why are not all men saved is simple: not all have placed their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins (Matthew 26:28; Mark 10:45; Acts 2:38). Only in Jesus is a person completely forgiven (Romans 3:22-26; 10:4; Galatians 1:4; Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 2:12). Those who reject the gospel (John 3:19-21) or those who are not in Christ Jesus by grace through faith are not redeemed (John 14:6; Romans 1:18-32; 10:9-17; 1 Peter 1:18-21). Redemption is found only in the Lord Jesus and what He has done for us on the cross (Hebrews 9:22, 27-28). Those who hope in works or in religion or in themselves are not saved and will be condemned for all eternity (Revelation 21:6-8, 27).

For Arminians, this is not an issue of God simply predestining some to eternal life and others to hell. For us, it is an issue of people refusing to repent and believe the gospel. A person in hell will not be able to cry out to God, "You placed me here without me ever having a choice in the matter!" No! The person in hell will be there because of their sins and their refusal to follow Jesus as their Lord and Savior (Romans 1:18-32). Just as Heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people so Hell is a prepared place for unprepared people. No doubt the elect will be in Heaven with Jesus but the idea that those predestined to hell apart from their own sins and their own rejection of Jesus Christ, in the words of Wesley, makes our blood boil.