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A Quote by Cyprian: The Church

/ lucas kelly / Leave a comment

“He cannot have God as his Father who does not have the church for his Mother.”
-Cyprian

Church membership is a topic my church (Crosspoint Baptist Church) has been studying for the past few weeks. I think this quote applies well. Basically, Cyprian says, one who does not want to partake in the Church and become a member in the Church ought not to consider themselves Christians. To say “I am a Christian, yet I do not take part in the Christian Church” is an inherent contradiction. We see that in Acts 2:42 that those who were converted on the day of Pentecost ALL “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer”, which are specific functions held by the Church alone. Christianity is not just a religion, it is a family. One who doesn’t want to be in the family shouldn’t be part of the religion. Instead, they should seek membership, Baptism, and profession of faith at a local church.

A Quote: St. Augustine on the Mystery of Salvation

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“Without God, man cannot. Without man, God will not.”
-St. Augustine

Augustine here affirms that the salvation process is a mystery unbeknownst to man. Augustine says that man can in no way choose God without God first initiating that choice. Yet he states that without man willingly choosing God, God by no means will initiate the salvation process. This seeming contradiction only supports the idea that the salvation process is an unfathomable meshing of human Free Will and divine Sovereign Choice.

A Quote on the Divine Plan of Salvation: St. Anselm

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“For it was appropriate that, just as death entered the human race through a man’s disobedience, so life should be restored through a man’s obedience; and that, just as the sin which was the cause of our damnation originated from a woman, similarly the originator of our justification and salvation should be born of a woman. Also that the devil, who defeated the man whom he beguiled through the taste of a tree, should himself similarly be defeated by a man through tree-induced suffering which he, the devil, inflicted. There are many other things, too, which, if carefully considered, display the indescribable beauty of the fact that our redemption was procured in this way.”
-St. Anselm of Cantebury

The Mystery of Salvation

/ lucas kelly / 5 Comments

As some of you folks know,  I believe that God is sovereign in the salvation process: he initiates salvation, guides its progress, and carries it out to completion. This point of view, in my opinion,  is absolutely supported by Scripture. Most call this Calvinism.

Let me lay out for you the 5-point system of Calvinism, otherwise known as TULIP:

  • Total Depravity: The doctrine that man is absolutely and totally incapable of meriting salvation in any form or fashion. We can not earn our salvation: it comes by faith, and by faith alone. (Jer. 17:9, Eph. 2:1-3, Rom. 3:23)
  • Unconditional Election: The doctrine that God elects, or chooses, those who will be saved. He grants faith to those he elects.  This election is not based on what man does — man can do nothing to earn salvation, as total depravity states — but is based on God’s ultimate and supreme wisdom and knowledge. Man can not understand why God chooses who he chooses.  (John 6:44, Eph. 1:4-5, Rom. 8-9)
  • Limited Atonement:  The doctrine that Christs death and atonement  is only meant for the elect; those that aren’t elect are not capable of receiving the benefits of the atonement at all. ( Matt. 26:28, John 10:11, 15)
  • Irresistible Grace: The doctrine that the grace extended by the Holy Spirit to the elect is irresistible. No one can refuse to follow its call. ( Phil. 2:12-13,  Rom. 9:16)
  • Perseverance of the Saints: The doctrine that once a sinner is saved, he can not lose his salvation. Salvation is permanent and secure. Also, that true Christians wouldn’t, nor couldn’t, turn their backs on Christ. Those who do were never truly saved. (John 10:27-28, 1 Corinthians 10:13)

Yet, when examining Calvinism, we must ask ourselves this: if God is supremely good, merciful, loving, and kind, how then can he predestine some to Heaven, and either by passing over others, or by directly acting on the part of others, predestine some to Hell. All men deserve the same fate, yet though he is fully capable of predestining all to Heaven, he chooses to predestine most to Hell — in fact, Hell would be exponentially more full — by God’s choice — than Heaven. This seems rather impossible to reconcile with God’s abounding love and goodness. So, what many have done is stated that God does not choose who is saved and who isn’t: this is up to man: man has free will when it comes to salvation. This point of view is called Arminianism. Arminianism, like Calvinism, has a 5-point system, which seems directly contradictory to Calvinism.

  • Free Will: The doctrine that man has the ability, by God’s grace, to choose God, or to deny him. (Is. 1:19-20, John 7:17)
  • Conditional Election: The doctrine that  God elects who will be saved, yet this election is based on God’s foreknowledge of who will chose him and who will deny him. (Matt. 11:28-30, John 4:42)
  • Unlimited Atonement : The doctrine that  Christ’s death and atonement is meant for, and is available to, all men, elect or not. (John 3:16, Rom. 5:12-21)
  • Resistible Grace/Common Sufficient Grace: The doctrine that God extends a grace to all men that is sufficient enough for man to choose God or not. Without this grace, man cannot chose, but with it, he is able to chose. This grace can be resisted.   (Acts 7:51, Jer. 7:24)
  • Fall From Grace: The doctrine that a saved Christian can lose his salvation. This is based on whether man remains in Christ or not. Whoever remains in him is saved, yet whoever denies him can/will lose his salvation. (1 Cor. 15:2)

Of Calvinism, I affirm all except Limited Atonement. Of Arminianism, I affirm all but Fall From Grace. “Isn’t this a contradiction?”, you might ask. Such a question is quite reasonable, for man’s mind is too feeble and finite to understand this meshing of man’s will and God’s sovereignty. Yet, just because we aren’t capable of understanding this does not make it false. The Salvation Process is a mystery. This mystery is so vast and complex that men can try to understand, but all will fail. Calvinism by itself, it seems to me, takes away man’s responsibility, while contradicting God’s goodness with its affirmation of predestination to Hell. Arminianism, on the other hand, Reduces God’s sovereignty to be subject to man’s will. To me, both of these positions are correct in ways, yet incorrect in ways. Salvation is a mystery, and a combination of sovereignty and will. I believe that John 1:12-13 support this idea completely: “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” Verse 12 says that man receives God, and can choose to believe in him or not, whereas verse 13 states that this is not based on will. This seems contradictory; it isn’t. It is a mystery.

 

That said, my theology is ever developing, and still will. This is where I am now. Let me know what you guys think, please.

 

In Christ,

Lucas.

 

Last Week: Pine Cove

/ lucas kelly / Leave a comment

So, You guys may have noticed that last week my blog lay dormant. This is because I was out of town at Pine Cove , a Christian youth camp. Pine Cove, located in Tyler, Texas, may very well be one of the most influential spiritual forces in my life. No other place that I have been to has shown me young Christian men and women who have a passion for living to God’s Glory and a desire to share Christ. Also, no other place I have been to has so many fun things to do: high-ropes course, water sports, community worship time, etc. Last week was by far the foremost week in my spiritual growth. No where else has left me so refreshed and so on fire for Christ as Pine Cove has. Parents, look into it. Kids, talk your parents into sending you there.

In Christ,

Lucas.

A Quote on Suicide: G.K. Chesterton

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Not only is suicide a sin, it is the sin. It is the ultimate and absolute evil, the refusal to take an interest in existence; the refusal to take the oath of loyalty to life. The man who kills a man, kills a man. The man who kills himself, kills all men; as far as he is concerned he wipes out the world. His act is worse (symbolically considered) than any rape or dynamite outrage. For it destroys all buildings: it insults all women. The thief is satisfied with diamonds; but the suicide is not: that is his crime. He cannot be bribed, even by the blazing stones of the Celestial City. The thief compliments the things he steals, if not the owner of them. But the suicide insults everything on earth by not stealing it. He defiles every flower by refusing to live for its sake. There is not a tiny creature in the cosmos at whom his death is not a sneer. When a man hangs himself on a tree, the leaves might fall off in anger and the birds fly away in fury: for each has received a personal affront. Of course there may be pathetic emotional excuses for the act. There often are for rape, and there almost always are for dynamite. But if it comes to clear ideas and the intelligent meaning of things, then there is much more rational and philosophic truth in the burial at the cross-roads and the stake driven through the body… There is a meaning in burying the suicide apart. The man’s crime is different from other crimes — for it makes even crimes impossible.

-G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy