Our son, Chip is a youth pastor in Indiana. He said he has had people ask him about his position on calvinism, election, predestination, and God's sovereignty in the work of salvation, so he wrote a brief article on his "thoughts, positions, and humble opinions." I was blessed to read it and received his permission to share it on my blog.
The Sovereignty of God and the Responsibility of Man
I fully believe that the inerrant Scriptures teach the sovereignty of God, the Lordship of Jesus Christ and the responsibility of all humanity. At times, these can seem to be contradictions in Scripture because of the extreme views that some hold to when trying to adhere to one without the others. I do not believe that there are any contradictions in Scripture since it is God-breathed (2 Tim 3:16-17), and it is impossible for God to lie (Heb 6:18). I believe we must be faithful to all of Scripture. This can be the danger in holding wholeheartedly to any theological system developed by man. There is a temptation to shape Scripture to fit into our systems rather than allowing Scripture to shape and mold us into the image of Christ (Col 3:10). While Scripture does not ever contradict itself, I believe we must affirm that there are tensions in Scripture that our “un-niscient” minds cannot perfectly wrap around or be able to understand where the truths meet in the middle. We must be careful to not interpret Scripture differently than the context that it has been written in. We are called to be faithful to interpret all of Scripture even if there are tensions that we cannot easily iron out ourselves. We do this with great faith in the omniscient God and great humility towards our “un-niscient” brains. I really try not to commit to a theological system. I am certainly not a Calvinist since I do not fully agree with John Calvin on many things. My goal is to be a disciple of Christ, and for His mind to be in me (Phil 2:5).I fully believe the Scriptures teach the sovereignty of God. God is ultimately in control of all things and His will can never be thwarted (Job 42:2). When it comes to the doctrine of salvation, I agree with the book of Jonah which declares “salvation belongs to the Lord” (Jonah 2:9). Ultimately, salvation is an act of God which was decided by God, initiated by God, fulfilled by God, called by God, and finished by God (Rom 8:30). I believe that salvation is not of any work of man so that none of us could ever brag that we have done anything ourselves (Eph 2:9). Therefore, the reason I uphold the sovereignty of God in salvation is because I believe God gets all of the credit. The point of affirming God’s sovereignty over salvation in Scripture is never for the purpose of debate or pride. Far too many holding only to the sovereignty of God in salvation are using these truths as an area to endlessly debate over or as some t-shirts say “proud to be a Calvinist”. But these attitudes are completely contrary to the purpose of God’s sovereignty over salvation. God’s sovereignty over salvation should only grow thankfulness, humility, comfort, and unity within the church. By no way do I believe in double predestination. It says no where in Scripture that God has elected or predestined anyone to hell.
I also fully believe the Scriptures teach the Lordship of Jesus Christ. If I have any agenda as a pastor in any church, it is certainly not election, predestination, or Calvinism by any means. My agenda for teaching is the glory and Lordship of Jesus Christ. I believe all Scriptures point to Him, Jesus of Nazareth, the God-man. Salvation is ultimately about Christ: that we might gain Him and know Him (Phil 3). Humanity must have faith in Christ and fall under His Lordship.
I also fully believe the Scriptures teach the responsibility of all humanity to respond to the calling of Christ through the offer of the gospel. There is never any hint in Scripture that humanity comes to Christ kicking and screaming or against their will. Every sinner must respond to the gospel willfully in order to be united in Christ through repentance and faith. I preach the gospel passionately as I plead with people to repent of their rebellion against God and to turn to faith in the Lordship of Christ for salvation. If you have further questions, please ask.
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