God's Boundless Grace

The issue of Calvinism versus Arminianism has come up on various blogs recently, so I've been thinking a lot about the subject. I've always thought of myself as an Arminian, and according to the five points of Calvinism (TULIP), I certainly am. (Arminianism is essentially moderate Calvinism.) But I've never been drawn to the writings of Jacobus Arminius or John Wesley, whose teachings represent what is known as Arminianism. In fact, my all-time favorite author is Andrew Murray, who was reformed (or Calvinist). He has probably influenced my thinking the most. And John Piper, another Calvinist, is one of my favorite living authors.

But I still can't accept TULIP, and I'm beginning to understand why: it confines God's grace to a man-made system that uses terminology not found in the Bible. It uses language like "limited" atonement and "irresistible" grace, making God seem like a small deity who rations grace to a few (because he didn't have to save anyone). He will punish people for being "morally culpable," even though, according to TULIP, they had no choice. TULIP seems like a straitjacket to me, because it leaves no room for human freedom and it restricts grace. And even if it is based on biblical truth, it strips God's word of its paradoxes, so at best it is a half-truth.

Andrew Murray, on the other hand, talks about grace that is vast as an ocean and a God who empowers us to receive everything he wants to give. Nothing except our own resistance can keep him away, because he won't break down the door. But even our resistance needs not be a barrier--God will help us surrender if we ask him.

So I'm empowered because I have a choice, but my will--weak and corrupt as it is--won't keep me down. God will meet me where I am, no matter how low. He will nurture me so that I grow stronger and freer by surrendering my life him. My bondage gives way to perfect freedom when his grace fills every part of my life.

The invitation goes out to all: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me." (Revelation 3:20)

What is Saving Faith?

If The Pilgrim's Progress had been written today, the protagonist, Christian, would simply have recited the Sinner's Prayer and built a nice home in the City of Destruction. End of story.

"Listen to today's typical gospel presentation," says Bible scholar John MacArthur. "You will hear sinners entreated with such phrases as 'accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior'; 'ask Jesus into your heart'; 'invite Christ into your life'; or 'make a decision for Christ.' You may be so accustomed to hearing those phrases that it will surprise you to learn that none of them are based on biblical terminology. They are the products of a diluted gospel. It is not the gospel according to Jesus."

What is wrong with the gospel often preached today? There's rarely any mention of repentance. I'm not trying to be nit-picky here, but repentance is fundamental to saving faith. Without it we may have intellectual faith in the gospel and even be really nice people (as far as that goes), but we won't be saved. 

John the Baptist spent his entire ministry exhorting people to REPENT. I realize that word sounds very old-fashioned (and you may be picturing me wild-eyed on a street corner right now), but it was the way John prepared people for Jesus. Repentance is absolutely fundamental. Without it, saving faith is impossible. 

Why is that? Because repentance is recognizing, at the deepest level, our utter spiritual bankruptcy. We need to recognize this because it's true. And when we do, the gospel becomes good news and we are prepared to receive it in faith. Before that, it means nothing. 

To use an example: Martin Luther was a conscientious Catholic monk who took holiness very seriously. So every time he sinned, he'd go see one of the priests to confess. Luther spent most of his day in confession. "Oops! I had a sinful thought!" Off to confession. "Oh, no! Another one." One more trip. "I haven't checked off everything on my to-do list--a sin of omission! Aaargh!!" I don't think anyone was more relieved when Luther saw the light than the priests who had to listen to him.

As history tells us, Luther did see the light, in the book of Romans, where he learned that we are justified by faith in Christ, not by any good deeds on our part. Romans 8:1-2 says: "Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death." When we come to Jesus in true repentance, he fills us with his Holy Spirit and begins the process of sanctification, or transformation into his image. We are saved as soon as this re-birth takes place (Luke 23:33), but we still have to be led by the Holy Spirit throughout our lives. "All who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God." (Romans 8:14)

So what about good deeds? They are the fruit or evidence of salvation. If we have the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16) we will behave like him. The more time we spend with him, abiding in his presence, the more we'll think and act like him. That is faith. 

Can we lose this salvation? This is a hotly disputed question, with most modern theologians saying "no." They say that if someone walks away from the faith, they were never saved to begin with. What then, do we make of 1 Cor. 9:27, where Paul says: "I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified."? Is Paul saying that he is not sure that his conversion was real? Of course he isn't. He's talking about making sure that he finishes the race. What matters is whether we are still walking with God in faith when we draw our last breath. (Ezekiel 18:21-29)

But in the meantime, I like Brother Lawrence's thoughts on the issue: "He had been long troubled in mind from a certain belief that he should be damned . . . but that at last he had seen that this trouble arose from want of faith, and that since he had passed his life in perfect liberty and continual joy." Here was another monk who saw his own moral failure, but learned to trust that God would save him. Jesus is, after all, the Good Shepherd, who will do what he can to bring us back when we stray.

Let's trust in him without complacency. Because there is no room for complacency in the life of someone who has entered the race to receive that imperishable wreath. (1 Cor. 9:24-27)

Asking the Right Questions

Ever notice that the issues that divide Christians often have very little to do with our walk of faith? Usually they pertain to how God does his job. For example, we all agree that God created the world. Will my faith be deeper and stronger if I believe that it took him a literal six days than if I believe it took millions of years? Or is it good enough that I know who created it, that he made me in his image, and how evil entered the world? Is it possible that the story of creation tells us everything we need to know and no more?

Calvinists and Arminians have always squabbled and probably always will. But if Future Grace by John Piper represents Calvinism, there's very little practical difference between the two camps, because I agree with almost all of it, and I'm an Arminian. The only real differences between Calvinism and classical Arminianism are different interpretations of predestination and disagreement about whether Christians can lose their salvation or if they were never really saved if they fall away. But if a Christian is ultimately lost, what difference does it make if he or she was ever saved? It is a theoretical question. And so is the issue of predestination. Again it has to do with how God does his job. Our job is to go out into the world and make disciples of every nation. (Matthew 28:19)

The Problem of Evil is a biggie--we can talk about that one all day for the rest of our lives and still not reach a definitive conclusion. But if the Bible doesn't fully explain it, that must mean we don't need to understand it. And we don't. If you look at the whole Bible in context, you'll see that it's all about how we are to overcome evil with good. When God became Man, he spent his entire ministry overcoming evil, culminating in the cross, where he defeated it decisively. We are to follow in his footsteps, empowered by his Spirit.

Matthew 25 gives us a hint of what Judgment Day will look like, and as far as I can make out, there will be no theology exam. It shows us that Paul was right when he said that the only thing that counts is faith working through love, because we will be judged by our sins of omission. What did we do for the least of these? If I believe all the right things about God, but I don't have love, it will profit me nothing on that day. So why do we waste time bickering about things that God in his sovereignty has chosen not to reveal?

The Bible is an amazing book. People say that it's inconsistent, but it is actually remarkably consistent about everything we need to know. All the necessary pieces fit together perfectly. And God wants us to search out those profound truths that light our path. He delights to reveal himself to us if our goal is to walk more closely with him. If I focus on what I need to know, it will keep my mind fully engaged, because truth of every kind flourishes along that path. But there are some questions that are unsearchable, and for that reason Christians will always disagree. Why not try to preserve the unity where possible by deciding not to get too hung up on theoretical questions? Let's pick the battles that really matter.

Will we fight to the death for a literal translation of Genesis 1 and ignore the words of our Lord about forgiveness of others in Matthew 6:14-15, Matthew 18:35, Mark 11:26? If we do not forgive, God will not forgive us. And without God's forgiveness, where are we? The Bible makes it very clear that forgiveness from the heart is not optional for a believer.

By no means am I saying that we should dismiss what is not practical. Nor am I challenging the inerrancy of the Scriptures. But are we guilty of straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel? (Matthew 23:24) Some things are just beyond human understanding, but that doesn't stop simple believers from walking closely with God in faith. In fact, I can see them way up ahead of me on the path when I'm off in the woods splitting theological hairs.

I am convinced that the Bible is never accidentally opaque or inconsistent. John 21:18-23 illustrates that God has very definite ideas about what we need to know and what we don't. After Jesus told Peter how he would die to glorify God, Peter asked, "Lord, and what about [John]?" Jesus replied, "If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!"

And the Bible tells us everything we need to know to obey that command.

What is Your Life?

James puts it in perspective for us: "What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes." (James 4:14) My life in this world has a beginning and an end. I am like a cut flower that will bloom for a short while and then wither and die.

But Christ came to plant me by streams of living water. This life is but a prelude to Life.

In light of that truth, shouldn't I let him use me as he sees fit? Shouldn't I lay down my perishable life, so I can pick up his eternal life? Each day gives me an opportunity to lay down my life for him. Let's say the Master has a collection of knives to use for his own good purposes. If he wants to use me to perform necessary surgery, should I say: "No! I want you to use me to butter the toast, or better yet, spread the frosting on the cake"? When he wants to spread frosting on the cake, he will choose the right knife, and maybe it will be me. But maybe not.

If God wants me to encourage, I have to encourage. If he wants me to serve, I have to serve. And if he wants my words to convict, I have to speak them. If my life belongs to him, I am a tool in his collection, ready for whatever use he has for me.

Not only is my life a mist--this world is. The pressure I feel to conform is momentary. His truth is eternal.

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." -- Jim Elliot

An Eternal Vantage Point

Picture yourself for a moment, having passed from time into eternity, looking back on your life from that vantage point. What were the high points? The lows? Most of us will probably be surprised.

Why? Because the values of this world, including the modern Christian subculture, are dramatically different from those that govern in God's kingdom. Highly successful people will see their lives weighed on God's scale and declared worthless--nothing more than a fading dream of accolades from people whose opinions no longer matter. Others will rise out of obscurity and receive the only words that matter in that day: "Well done, good and faithful servant." 

How can we know the difference between God's values and those of the world, especially if the world's values infiltrate churches and Christian organizations? 1 John 2:15-17 tells us: "Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever."

In this world, three things motivate us: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life. The word "lust," here broadly means a strong desire for anything. Without the miracle of regeneration, we spend every moment of every day, from the cradle to the grave, pursuing some combination of those "lusts." For example, a typical life without the love of the Father would consist of working hard for recognition, pleasure, and material comfort for ourselves and those close to us. Nothing necessarily wrong with that--except that those things have an expiration date, and the Bible tells us we will live forever.

When we think of the lust of the flesh, of course we think of sex first. It's everywhere in our society. No wonder the subject of pornography comes up so often in sermons. But even if we don't belong to the (ahem) gender that struggles most with that temptation, we can worship the flesh through food and other indulgences as well. (Starbucks, anyone?) If our primary goal in life is to feel good, we are gratifying the lust of the flesh, whether or not our means are socially acceptable.

Gratification of the lust of the eyes is the American way. I have to confess that I lusted after a red patent leather handbag this morning, but I resisted. Cars, homes, computers, clothes--we can never have enough. If there's an upgrade, we need it. God wants us rich, right?

The boastful pride of life is what keeps us working sixty-hour weeks to validate ourselves. It can creep so subtly into even the work we do for God that we have no idea it's happening. Are we doing something to further God's kingdom or because we want people to respect us? This is a very important question, because Matthew 6:1 tells us that if we practice our righteousness before other people to be noticed by them, we have no reward from God. 1 Corinthians 13 gets even more extreme and says that if we give everything we own to feed the poor and deliver our bodies to be burned, but we do it with the wrong motives, it profits us nothing. Wow!

That may seem harsh to us, because we're used to thinking that good deeds deserve rewards. And they do--the Bible doesn't deny that. It simply says that the eternal reward depends on whether the love of God--or the Holy Spirit within us--motivated the deed. If we do something to please others, we may get recognition from them. And if we do the will of God, especially if other people criticize us for it, we earn treasure in heaven. 

So a deed, no matter how small, that originates from the love of God in our hearts will have more eternal value than a major sacrifice aimed at self-promotion. Why? Because the world is passing away, and also its lusts. Only the eternal (the work God does through us) remains. Many things that seem important now are only temporary. 

We will most likely be surprised in that day, when the inflated balloon of this world has popped and reality lays bare. But we shouldn't be. The Bible tells us everything we need to know about the kingdom of God and its values. The problem is that we sentimentalize the words of our Lord. Yes, Jesus was eloquent, but most of the time he was simply stating facts about his kingdom. It's easy to respond by saying, "Ooh, that's beautiful. I like that," and go on living exactly the way we did before. But that is a major mistake. None of us want to spend eternity agonizing over what could have been.

What does your life look like stripped of the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life? That is the measure of its eternal significance.

An Accurate Map

Years ago I had a conversation with another mom who told me, "I think it's really healthy for kids to grow up believing in Santa Claus and God and stuff." She probably wasn't an Evangelical Christian (we would never utter the words "God" and "Santa Claus" in the same breath), but we can easily fall prey to the same attitude--that faith is good in and of itself, whether or not we have faith in something real. But God's word purports to be the truth. It is the ultimate reality--a rock under our feet. And when the fog that fills our minds in this life finally lifts, that truth will be as real to us as the natural laws that govern now.

Do you believe that? That God's word is like a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in our hearts? (2 Peter 1:19) If so, how well do you know--not just know, but understand--the Bible? Would a lawyer go to trial without knowing the facts, the law, the arguments on the other side, and how it all fits together? Of course not. So why, if we believe in eternal life, are we less prepared for it than that?

In Luke 16:1-10, a rich man found out that his manager had been squandering his possessions, and he fired him. The manager said to himself, "I'm too weak to dig, and I'm ashamed to beg! What should I do?" He finally decided to contact all of his master's debtors and write off part of their debt, hoping that one of them would hire him or help him out. How did the master react to that? Luke 16: 8 tells us: "And his master praised the unrighteous manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the sons of this age are more shrewd in relation to their own kind than the sons of light." Huh? Was Jesus checking to see if his listeners were still awake?

What Jesus is saying is this: "Stop thinking about conduct as good or bad for a moment. Think of it as wise or unwise." He wants the children of light to act as shrewdly with eternal treasure as the "sons of this age" do with worldly wealth. Why invest most of our time and money improving our lot in this world if we believe that we'll spend eternity in God's kingdom? That may be well and good for unbelievers, but it's foolish for us. If we believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God, "a lamp shining in a dark place," wouldn't it be wise to know it intimately and live accordingly? 

But in addition to knowing God's word, we have to understand it. Proverbs 3:5, says: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding." This is a wonderful, oft-quoted verse. But it only means that we shouldn't lean on our understanding, not that it offends God when we use the gray matter. I checked my concordance to see how many times the book of Proverbs tells us to acquire understanding. After counting to twenty, I lost count, and I was only about halfway down the list. Not once does Jesus tell his disciples to stop asking questions, but he repeatedly laments their lack of understanding. Taking in God's word without understanding it is like trying to swallow without chewing. And if we don't take it in, it doesn't have the power to save us. Our faith becomes a hollow creed. 

Yes, it's true that we'll never fully understand God's ways, but does that mean it's arrogant to try? Proverbs 25:2 says: "It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter." He invites us to come and learn about him. If you have questions or doubts, don't pretend that you believe. Bring them into the light. Asking questions means you have faith enough to believe that there's a spiritual reality out there to be explored, and it means you care. 

Having said all that, there's a risk of thinking so much about theology that we neglect coming to Christ continually for abundant life. Good theology is at best an accurate map. Let's not be so distracted by the map that we forget to walk. 

But at the same time, we'll never get to our destination without the map.

Giving People the Right to Judge

The noted Swedish diplomat, Dag Hammersköld, says: "He who has placed himself in God's hand stands free vis-a-vis men: he is entirely at his ease with them, because he has granted them the right to judge." What a liberating thought! And from a diplomat, whose job it is to . . . well, be diplomatic. I wonder if his insight grew out of years of worrying about saying the right thing, and finally seeing the futility of trying to please everyone.

Why do we work so hard to make sure people judge us positively? I'm not talking about just being kind to others and doing the right thing, but seeing to it that everyone has a good image of us. Why is it so devastating when that image shatters? There are at least two reasons: First, we think that people have the power to shape our circumstances, and second, we look to them for ego gratification.

Hammerskjöld says that we can yield ourselves so fully to God that nobody has the power to harm us apart from his will. Bosses, customers, editors, or readers may seem powerful to us--people we need to please, but if our lives belong to Christ, he uses them to further his purposes in our lives (and vice versa). Their power is an illusion we must shatter by faith. God is all-powerful in our lives when we surrender to him. Several times, I've seen God bless a difficult act of faith and obedience in spectacular ways, even when the outcome required an unlikely decision by powerful people. So if we are wise, we will seek to please God above all else, remembering that he is our ultimate judge and provider.

But this works both ways, of course. God sees everything I do and knows the motive behind every act. By now I've learned that God doesn't let me get away with anything. I remember one time when a drama camp coach had treated my son harshly, and he was very upset. We live in a great community where teachers and coaches really value the kids, so this kind of thing hardly ever happens. I stayed calm and explained to him that not all people are easy to deal with, and I encouraged him to determine what part was his fault, while not letting her tirade get to him. He accepted my lesson and went on his merry way.

But I hadn't put the matter behind me. I sat down at the computer, having morphed into Mama Bear With a Keyboard. I wouldn't complain to her boss, just express "concern." I would be gracious, reasonable, understanding . . . while driving in the dagger with deadly precision. Nobody would even think I had done anything wrong.

Nobody, that is, except the Person who was watching over my shoulder, daring me: "You go right ahead and send that email, Anette. See if it'll be worth it." I sighed and realized once again that God doesn't just disappear when his existence is inconvenient. He protects us from others, but more than that, he protects us from ourselves.

In addition to worrying that others have power over us, we care about people's opinions because they affect our image of ourselves. But when we look to others for ego gratification, they become like a mirror. So we're just gazing back at ourselves. No wonder it's possible to be lonely in a crowd. We start thinking of other people this way in early childhood. All elementary school students know exactly where they fall in the social hierarchy. High school is cutthroat, and social competition can lead kids to do despicable things to each other. When we grow up and social convention dictate that we act politely, we often do that out of pride as well.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer says: "Without Christ we would not know our brother, nor could we come to him. The way is blocked by our own ego." If we're honest with ourselves, we know what he's talking about. It's hard to really know someone else if we're busy thinking about ourselves and how we come across. But I think most of us want to relate to others without competition, and without worrying about this, that, and the other thing. We want the blockage to be completely gone.

1 John 1:7 says. "If we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another." It's only through Christ, by walking in his light, that we have true fellowship. He alone is the prism through which we can see our brothers and sisters and not our own ego.

People have less power over us than we think, and the ego is meant to be shattered. Once we realize that, we will be able to please our true Judge first, and let the other judgments fall where they may.