As Cool As the Other Side of a Calvinist

If you know Calvinists, you probably know some bad ones. The stereotypes aren’t fair, but they don’t come out of nowhere. Calvinists are “cold,” “heady,” and “condescending.” They think they have it all figured out and everyone else is blind, slow, or stubborn. They’re so lost in their books, they’re not interested in the needs around them. And they’ve somehow misplaced Christ, but are quite content to follow John Calvin. Unfair, but not uncommon enough either.

But what if there’s another side to Calvinism — a real side, with flesh and love and humility and a living, breathing passion for Jesus? We’re not doubting you’ve had bad experiences with so-called Calvinists, but whether the experiences you’ve had are really examples of true Calvinism. If all your encounters have been bad, or others’ stories so off-putting they’ve kept you away entirely, we ask you to give us just four minutes with this video above. It’s the poet himself reading, with subtitles so you can follow the words carefully. (There is also a version with multiple readers which we released last week.)

The poem is an opportunity to hear from a man, who has lived these truths, and lived by them, for more than forty years. But more importantly it’s an invitation to meet his big, sovereign, gracious God — a God big enough for the hard things you face in this life, big enough to make sense of a long, old, complex book like the Bible, and big enough for everyday life in a broken world.    Continue at Marshall Segal

Implications of God’s Passion for His Glory

The essence of Christian Hedonism (as Piper calls it) is that  that everything was made by God to give him glory, and thus (as his creatures) we are happiest when we are seeking to glorify God. In fact, all things derive their meaning by the way in which they magnify the glory of God.

That is easy enough to believe at first glance. When I first picked up God’s Passion for His Glory (half by Edwards, half by Piper), I read the summary of the book: all things exist for God’s glory. I agreed easily. But then in the introduction, Piper hits his readers with a list of implications.

I did not get very far down that list before I realized that I had it all wrong. I had God existing for me, and not me for him. I thought I knew what it meant that my purpose was to glorify God. But this list exposed how flimsy my theology was. It convicted me to read more, study more, and finally to go to seminary. I’m posting these here to provoke you to read the book, and to be thankful that we were made for him.

If man’s chief end is to glorify God by enjoying him for ever, then the following (all off these are taken from God’s Passion for His Glory) are true:  Continue at Jesse Johnson

When Your Husband Is Struggling Spiritually

That “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Heb. 13:8) is especially good news for us when we consider the reality of our flighty hearts.

Our affections ebb and flow. Our passion for Christ surges and then dwindles.

Sometimes we feel like a dry desert, lacking the intimate adoration for Christ that should flow out of our understanding of his Word.

Sometimes we feel like we’re walking by a serene brook, where everything is calm and beauty is easy to see.

Sometimes we feel like a dusty library of books, filled with lusterless academic knowledge bereft of joy.

Sometimes we feel like we’re flying, caught up in the thrill & joy of walking with Jesus in the truth of his word.

Sometimes we feel like we’re in a dark cave filled with brokenness and pain with no foreseeable exit.

Sometimes we feel like we’re in a forest of weariness, struggle, and pain in which rays of sunlight bring us joy as the reassuring presence of the Holy Spirit to carries us through.

Praise God that neither our salvation nor our sanctification depends upon our emotion, passion, or circumstances!   Continue at Britney Hamm

What Does It Mean for the Father to Forsake the Son? (Part 1)

Someone has described the four Gospels as “passion narratives with extended introductions.”  Indeed.  All the action and teaching prior to the passion of Christ serves as harbinger to the suffering to come.  The scenes grow more affecting from Gethsemane.  The intensity swells until the heart nearly bursts. 

Consider Matthew 27:

³² As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. ³³ They came to a place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull). ³⁴ There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it. ³⁵ When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. ³⁶ And sitting down, they kept watch over him there. ³⁷ Above his head they placed the written charge against him: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS. ³⁸ Two robbers were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. ³⁹ Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads ⁴⁰ and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!”

 ⁴¹ In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. ⁴² ”He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. ⁴³ He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” ⁴⁴ In the same way the robbers who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.
⁴⁵ From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. ⁴⁶ About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”—which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”   Continue at Thabiti Anyabwile

When Pastors Give the Sex Talk

This is the last topic I thought I would ever address in a public forum, not least in a published book. But alas, God opens doors and calls us through them. So here I am, encouraging my fellow pastors to make sure---even if you're no longer serving in youth, university, or young adult ministry---to keep your sex talk fresh, handy, and well thought out.

A little more than a year ago I was a college pastor. The topic of dating, purity, and romance seemed to be an ever-present area of commentary, question, and struggle. (Many of my former students are smirking right now, thinking that I am the one who kept bringing it up.) As I prepared to teach a series on romance, dating, and marriage, I was taken aback by the lack of theological depth among evangelicals on this topic. Many books and essays (on the left) properly noted that dating cannot be found in the Bible, but then wrongly concluded that therefore the Bible has nothing conclusive to say on this topic.

Alternately, many (on the right) offered strong convictions defended by sordid statistics, pragmatic concerns, and plain old legalism. Where was the gospel? While I did note several good treatments on the practical "how to's" of dating and maintaining sexual purity, I noted a dearth of articles and books that dealt with the topic from a theological, gospel-rooted perspective. I also found that many pastors hesitated to get any more specific about sexual boundaries than telling Christians not to have sexual intercourse before marriage. Such lack of clarity left unanswered the age-old question: How far is too far?  Continue at Jay Thomas

Calvinists Aflame for God

Some say Calvinism tends toward a cold, cerebral piety that is devoid of compassion. They claim Reformed theological convictions produce ineffective or just downright annoying Christians. In some cases this has undeniably been true. You can probably think of examples. 

Great. Point conceded.
 
On the other hand, many of the most zealous servants of Christ have been Calvinists. Some of the most pioneering, devoted, self-sacrificing missionaries in the history of the Church have been Calvinists. Many of the martyrs who have testified passionately and died for Christ's cause have been Calvinists. Many of the greatest devotional works - the ones that point to the glories of Christ and call us to love-inspired labors - were written by Calvinists. Newton, Bunyan, Spurgeon, Baxter, Whitefield and Watson come to mind.
 

How is it that some Calvinists have demonstrated such intense devotion, while others have gone flat? It's a good question, and an important one. Below are a few thoughts about how we Calvinists can stay aflame for God, speaking Truth in love and maintaining the simplicity of devotion to Christ, even as we wrestle Calvin-style with the hard doctrines of Scripture and refuse to back away from any of their philosophical implications.

• Never think about the doctrine of Total Depravity without considering your own sins. Especially your recent sins. Let the desperate plight of fallen humanity inspire a fresh compassion for the lost people around you.
• Never think about the doctrine of Unconditional Election without reminding yourself that nothing in you influenced God's choice. That's what unconditional means. Know that it was purely of His mercy that He took pity on you and saved you.   Keep Reading ...

Holy Week Volcano

In preparation for Holy Week I have been reading the final chapters of each gospel. Last Friday a strange thing happened as I was reading Luke 22:63-65.

Now the men who were holding Jesus mocked him and beat him; they also blindfolded him and asked him, “Prophesy! Who is it that struck you?” And they spoke many other words against him, reviling him.

As I read these terrible words I found myself saying to Jesus, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Jesus. Forgive me!” 

I felt myself to be an actor here, not just a spectator. I was so much a part of that ugly gang that I knew I was as guilty as they. I felt that if the rage of God should spill over onto those soldiers and sweep me away, too, justice would have been done. I wasn’t there, but their sin was my sin. It would not have been unjust for me to fall under their sentence. Keep Reading...

Peanut-butter Passion