Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Discussing Dave Hunt on facebook
As Calvinists, we all know that God wants to be known for who He is. God is not secretive about displaying His glory to us, in fact, if Dave Hunt did a proper exegesis of Exodus 33:18-19, he would have discovered who God TRULY is. When Moses asks God to show him His glory, God shows us a unique manifestation of His “name” and who He is, by answering Moses: "… I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the “NAME” of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy (Exo 33:19).” This freedom of choice is synonymous with sovereignty. And the very name “LORD” here, is used to show God’s divine prerogative to choose whom He will. God is telling us that freedom is essential to His name, and that He is not constrained or influenced by any outside force, but can, and will do, as He so pleases.
So, here’s my question: If someone gets the nature, attributes, and the practical outworkings of the character of God wrong, are they teaching a false gospel? This is the sixty-four-thousand-dollar-question, to me at least. And I ask myself this all the time. Are there Christians who are guilty of teaching a false God/gospel, in spite of the fact that they do get the Apostles Creed correct? Remember, a false God can only lead to a false Jesus/gospel, because God insists on being worshipped in Spirit and in TRUTH; and Scripture is replete with God condemning all the false icons and Golden Calves we human’s bow our knees to.
I believe God’s glory (His name) and all that that entails, should be the unambiguous, categorical construct that NEEDS to be grasped at some pivotal point in any Christian’s life. Not only does the Holy Spirit prod us to ask questions like: what must we do to be saved, but also, who IS this God with whom we have to do? If we don’t undertake that question with all gravity and seriousness, and invest our time, minds, and hearts in discovering the true qualities of God, we simply will be guilty of a creating a fill-in-the-blank Deity. Faith is ALWAYS predicated on the character and the knowledge of God.
So, at what critical point does Dave Hunt’s loosely gathered, tidbits and morsels, of God’s character and outworkings, become real, flat-out heresy? I personally think he has crossed that line. Dave Hunt resists the God of Scripture. He hates the God of Scripture. He mocks the doctrines of grace, and in vain, attempts to dethrone the sovereign God of the Universe; and he knows an infinitesimal, miniscule, and negligible amount about the outworkings of the true and living God.
Election, God’s right to choose whom He will (from the same lump of clay, btw) is no evil fabrication that is foisted upon its victims, as Dave Hunt would have others believe, but is seen by those who truly love and cherish this doctrine, as being the only true way in which God has chosen to reveal Himself to sinful mankind.
God has invested so much in His name, so that those who are truly born again can understand His true nature. “Who has ascended into heaven and descended? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has wrapped the waters in His garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His NAME or His son's NAME? SURELY YOU KNOW (Pro 30:4).” The question we are left with, does Dave Hunt really know the God with whom we have to do?
Note: I do believe that many Arminians are true Christians, but those who are so rabid and hateful of the true, sovereign God of Scripture, are clearly a horse of a different color.
I thank God that James White takes it upon himself to refute this man and others like him. It is a time consuming venture, but Dr. White, I’m sure, treasures every minute of it.
***Added note: I was hoping my question would engender more of a response, here. It boils down to this: If we HATE the way in which God has represented Himself to us in Scripture, even though we say we believe in Jesus Christ, does this pose any real problem?
Saturday, May 5, 2012
God's Sovereignty and Human Responsibility
I think the problem that lies behind the average thinking Arminian as to the ordo salutis, is that they give little credence to the tension between God’s Sovereignty and human responsibility. As a matter of fact, it doesn’t even enter the equation for them. How many Arminians have you heard say, “Well, we believe that God IS sovereign, but we believe that in his sovereignty he allows or gives man the right/permission to exercise his free will.”
This deception IS the underpinning of their soteriology, which simply blinds them to any real truth concerning a monergistic approach to salvation. Arminians simply enact the right to make a choice they feel was granted to them by God. In other words, their autonomy gives them the right to make choices that God never endowed them with in the first place. Human responsibility to them is in the exercising of their **right** to believe, and by extension of that right, they exercise their **faith** accordingly.
When you discuss faith as being a gift from God (Eph 2:8), as any good Calvinist worth his salt believes, Arminians will flatly deny it AS a gift. So from that point forward they cannot properly exegete any passages from Scripture that admits of election. Man’s autonomous nature has trumped God’s divine right to choose whom He so chooses to.
I firmly believe unless someone can build a bridge between God’s Sovereignty and human responsibility for Arminians, which is impossible for us this side of heaven, we may never be able to, by way of reason, convert them to these precious truths. Yes, I know, we plant and God gives the increase. Knowing that as we do, we can all rest and let God be glorified in the work that He first started. After all, God tells us: “He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus (Phl 1:6).”
This deception IS the underpinning of their soteriology, which simply blinds them to any real truth concerning a monergistic approach to salvation. Arminians simply enact the right to make a choice they feel was granted to them by God. In other words, their autonomy gives them the right to make choices that God never endowed them with in the first place. Human responsibility to them is in the exercising of their **right** to believe, and by extension of that right, they exercise their **faith** accordingly.
I firmly believe unless someone can build a bridge between God’s Sovereignty and human responsibility for Arminians, which is impossible for us this side of heaven, we may never be able to, by way of reason, convert them to these precious truths. Yes, I know, we plant and God gives the increase. Knowing that as we do, we can all rest and let God be glorified in the work that He first started. After all, God tells us: “He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus (Phl 1:6).”
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Multi-Site Churches
My thoughts on multi-site churches. I initially wrote this for John MacArthur's blog.
Pastors and elders, who stand before us every time we gather together to worship, are unique people. They represent a holy God and His standards of righteousness, all the while being sinners like all the rest of us pew sitters. They’re not some beamed in by satellite, giant sized, figureheads, who cannot reach out and touch someone personally. They’re physically real. They’re physically present. They’re equally sinners. All their warts and failings, as well as their good fruits are present for all to be a witness to. When we "super size" the leaders of our churches (on big screens), they become larger than life itself; they become unreachable, unattainable, remote, untouchable and virtually unknowable. This creates a mystique and a warped curiosity about them, not to mention a fawning type allegiance to someone who seems all-vainglorious.
Mutli-site churches are for the pastor’s glory only. Their passion is not in shepherding their sheep with firm handshakes, bedside hospital visits, reaffirming hugs and encouraging, godly words, or heart-felt sympathies for one's personal circumstances and tragedies; but their concerns are for building names and reputations for themselves. Shepherding simply gets too involved, complicated and messy; better left to an underling.
We need to see our leaders (pastors and elders) fail before our eyes, as well as “witness” their personal victories, and to realize that they are sinners in desperate need of a holy Savior like all the rest of us, which also reminds us that ONLY Christ lived a perfect, sinless life. These failings eliminate any possibility of hero worship, and any possible feelings that only THEY can be trusted with our very souls. Likewise, their personal victories and testimonies stir us on to greater depths of holiness.
The responsibility to preach the gospel to all the world was never given to a “few good men,” who for whatever reasons, believe that only they have unique communication skills, or some extra extraordinary visions, or special words from on high (such as Mark Driscoll has fantasized about). God has endowed and gifted “many good men,” in the body of Christ, so as not to create a hierarchy system similar to the Roman Catholic Church. No one man, or group of men, should have a monopoly on God’s Word. Martin Luther fought and died believing this, as did many of the Reformers.
Pastors and elders, who stand before us every time we gather together to worship, are unique people. They represent a holy God and His standards of righteousness, all the while being sinners like all the rest of us pew sitters. They’re not some beamed in by satellite, giant sized, figureheads, who cannot reach out and touch someone personally. They’re physically real. They’re physically present. They’re equally sinners. All their warts and failings, as well as their good fruits are present for all to be a witness to. When we "super size" the leaders of our churches (on big screens), they become larger than life itself; they become unreachable, unattainable, remote, untouchable and virtually unknowable. This creates a mystique and a warped curiosity about them, not to mention a fawning type allegiance to someone who seems all-vainglorious.
Mutli-site churches are for the pastor’s glory only. Their passion is not in shepherding their sheep with firm handshakes, bedside hospital visits, reaffirming hugs and encouraging, godly words, or heart-felt sympathies for one's personal circumstances and tragedies; but their concerns are for building names and reputations for themselves. Shepherding simply gets too involved, complicated and messy; better left to an underling.
We need to see our leaders (pastors and elders) fail before our eyes, as well as “witness” their personal victories, and to realize that they are sinners in desperate need of a holy Savior like all the rest of us, which also reminds us that ONLY Christ lived a perfect, sinless life. These failings eliminate any possibility of hero worship, and any possible feelings that only THEY can be trusted with our very souls. Likewise, their personal victories and testimonies stir us on to greater depths of holiness.
The responsibility to preach the gospel to all the world was never given to a “few good men,” who for whatever reasons, believe that only they have unique communication skills, or some extra extraordinary visions, or special words from on high (such as Mark Driscoll has fantasized about). God has endowed and gifted “many good men,” in the body of Christ, so as not to create a hierarchy system similar to the Roman Catholic Church. No one man, or group of men, should have a monopoly on God’s Word. Martin Luther fought and died believing this, as did many of the Reformers.
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Friday, April 6, 2012
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Monday, March 26, 2012
Love is the key!
This is what God does for sinful mankind. He picks us up out of the trash heap of life, cleanses us, causes us to see, then graciously gives us a permanent home. I LOVE my Master!
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