Fear and Trembling

I had occasion last night to read through parts of the Cannons of Dort for a Bible study class at my church. The Cannons of Dort were written by the Synod of Dort in 1618-19. They lay out the system of doctrine that has been known as ‘Five-point Calvinism’ ever since. We are doing the Amazing Grace study, and one of the sections is Calvinism vs. Arminianism, which concentrates on the Synod of Dort (see here , here and here for information on this synod). I was once again struck by the way in which Dort defined the issues. One of the bitterest criticisms of Five-point Calvinism that has been leveled has been the idea that it undermines evangelism. I find this criticism hard to justify in view of these statements: Cannons of the Synod of Dort: The First Main Point of Doctrine, Article 3: The Preaching of the Gospel In order that people may be brought to faith, God mercifully sends proclaimers of this very joyful message to the people he wishes and at the time he wishes...

Someone told me recently that the law is like a set of railroad tracks. The tracks provide no power for the train but the train must stay on the tracks in order to function. The law never gives any power to do what it commands. Only the gospel has power, as it were, to move the train. - Tullian Tchividjian I have a hard time understanding the role of the gospel in my sanctification sometimes. I treat it like a safety net. When I fall, the gospel catches me and allows me the chance to try again. There is value in an approach like that, but I know there is more. I am grateful for what Christ has done for me. This is a motive for good works. In that sense, the gospel provides motivation (power) to live the Christian life. But I have the feeling that there is more to it than that. I have some more thinking to do…

Today’s BreakPoint commentary from Chuck Colson describes an alarming situation: When we wrote the Manhattan Declaration last fall, we warned about “the decline in respect for religious values in the media, the academy and political leadership.” An example of this decline is on display currently in Georgia. Jennifer Keeton, who is a 24-year-old studying for a master’s degree in counseling at Augusta State University, has been threatened with expulsion. The grounds for the threatened expulsion are not poor grades or misconduct – they are Keeton’s beliefs. Specifically, they are Keeton’s beliefs about the morality of homosexuality. In written assignments and classroom discussions, Keeton has said that people’s sexual conduct is “the result of accountable, personal choices,” and not “a state of being.” These statements caused officials to question “her ability,” I’m quoting now, “to provide competent counseling to gay men and lesbians.” So they gave her a choice: participation i...

Evil is all around us. Some even try to use the existence of evil as an argument against God's existence . I am not about to try to give a comprehensive explanation for how evil came to be. I do not claim to be the kind of person who can mount a theodicy of any consequence. God created men with the ability to sin and the ability not to sin , but I cannot reason beyond that. I do not know the “how”; I just know the “is.” I know that evil exists. I know evil is present. I know evil is real. What must exist in order for evil and suffering to be truly wrong? Does not the existence of evil itself require a standard of good? Should I just accept evil as a part of the way the universe works? Should I accept a view of evil based on social convention, or the DNA encoded in my cells? These things vary from one person to the next, but we do not find a definition of evil that changes greatly from person to person, place to place, or time to time. We always seem to have a notion of the w...

Ligonier Ministries is highlighting a primer by John H. Gerstner titled “The Problem of Pleasure” here . I am looking forward to the series. Gerstner is quoted in the first article: As long as there is sin, there can be no problem of pain. A good God, if He is omnipotent, would have to make the sinner suffer. … Troubled by the non-problem of pain, most people do not feel the real problem. The real difficulty is the problem of pleasure. While in a sinful world, pain is to be expected, and pleasure is not to be expected. We should be constantly amazed at the presence of pleasure in a world such as ours. The problem is not, “Why do good people suffer?” There are no good people. The problem is “Why do bad people experience pleasure?” The old problem is turned on its ear.