Washing Our Dirty Feet

Last week I had the pleasure of listening to R. C. Sproul, Jr. teach on John 13.  You know the story:  It's the week of Passover, and Jesus has withdrawn from public ministry to devote himself to his disciples.  After supper in the upper room, Jesus took off his outer garments and tied a towel around his waist to wash his disciples' feet, a demonstrative act of love and humility.  Imagine the Lord of Glory doing the dirty task reserved for the lowliest of servants!  But there's more going on than meets the eye.  Jesus was fully aware that "his hour had come to depart from this world" (v. 1), and, as part of his imminent death, he knew he would endure the outpouring of the wrath of God on behalf of sinful men.  Jesus was about to become the Sacrificial Lamb of God.  

When we know we're going to have a difficult day, or are in the midst of a bad day, our self-centered tendency is to want those around us to cater to our emotional needs.  We want to be treated with extra consideration and compassion.  But no human has ever experienced anything like Jesus did the day he was crucified.  Unlike sinful men, Jesus didn't rally those around him in selfish pity. Rather, he focused on loving his disciples and serving them.  How could Jesus do this?  Verse 3 says, "Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God."  This verse takes us from his glory to his humiliation to his resurrected glory.  Jesus knew who he really was - God incarnate - and that he had a mission.  The washing of the disciples' feet symbolized the "washing" of sin that was about to take place on the cross, according to the eternal plan of the Trinity. 

The beginning of our own humility is learning to face the reality of our "dirty feet."  I liked what R. C. Sproul, Jr. said about us Calvinists:  we think we have the understanding of our sinfulness down pat because we believe in total depravity.  That's where we begin the doctrines of grace, after all.  But affirming the doctrine, that all mankind is born enslaved to sin as a result of the Fall of Adam, is not the same as understanding the depth of our own sin and humbly crying out, "Lord be merciful to me, a sinner!"  

A simple test of our humility is this:  When we hear someone talking about the sinfulness of man, do we focus on all the ways we've been sinned against, or are we mindful of all the ways we've sinned against God and others?   That's certainly something to take to the Lord in prayer.  

The Unity of the Godhead in Salvation

I mentioned last week that Ligonier's Renewing Your Mind radio broadcast is currently featuring Dr. Steven Lawson teaching on the doctrines of grace in the Gospel of John.  It was been rich teaching, as Dr. Lawson looks at Jesus' own words that clearly support the sovereignty of God in salvation.  You have to wonder how anyone can miss it!  

The other morning as I was listening to the broadcast on particular atonement, that Jesus died to redeem a particular people for himself, I was struck by Dr. Lawson's point that particular atonement actually exemplifies the unity of the Godhead. Each person of the Trinity is working together in perfect unity to save one group of sinners, those chosen of God for salvation.  Dr. Lawson explained that Arminians, whether they realize it or not, believe in a fractured unity of the Godhead.  They believe:

1.  God the Father looks down the "tunnel of time" and saves those individuals whom he knows will choose Christ as their Savior - a limited group of people.

2.  God the Son laid down his life to save the whole "world," i.e. every person who has ever lived on this planet.

3.  God the Holy Spirit woos only those who have heard the gospel of Christ - another limited group of people.  

When Jesus said "I and the Father are one" in John 10:30, he was not saying that he and the Heavenly Father are the same person; rather, Jesus explained that he and the Father are one in mind, one in mission, and one in purpose.  And that purpose was not to die for people without exception, but to die for people without distinction.   With his blood, Jesus "ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation (Rev. 5:9)."

On the Doctrines of Grace

This week on the Renewing Your Mind broadcasts, Dr. Steven Lawson is teaching through the Gospel of John on the doctrines of grace: the radical or complete depravity of man, unconditional election, particular atonement, irresistible grace, and the perseverance of the saints.  Excellent teaching by Dr. Lawson!  You can find the teaching sessions here.

All of the doctrines of grace really hinge on the view of the spiritual nature of man apart from Christ. . .is mankind spiritually well, spiritually sick, or spiritually dead?  I encourage you to take time to listen. 

An Unexpected Journey - Part 5

The last in my series on the doctrines of grace:


I find it interesting that the doctrine of man's radical corruption (aka total depravity), the doctrine that is foundational to the other doctrines of grace, was the last piece of the puzzle for me.  Because I didn't initially have systematic teaching on the doctrines, there was a time between my understanding of the Holy Spirit's effectual call (choosing) of some to salvation and why it must be so.  Once one understands man's total depravity, the remainder of the doctrines of grace logically fall into place. 

Man's total depravity doesn't mean that man is as wicked as he possibly could be, as in utterly depraved.  Even quintessential bad guy Adolf Hitler was not as evil as he could have been.  Total depravity means that sin penetrates to the very core of our being; every part of us is tainted by sin...not just our body and soul, but also our mind, emotions, and will. Ever since the first transgression of Adam and Eve, man commits sin because he is born a sinner; that is our nature.  Scripture teaches that "There is none righteous, no, not one. (Romans 3:10)"  R. C. Sproul explains, "We are not considered unrighteous because the dross of sin is mixed together with our goodness.  The indictment against us is more radical:  in our corrupt humanity we never do a single good thing...Fallen sinners can refrain from stealing and perform acts of charity, but these deeds are not deemed good in an ultimate sense.  When God evaluates the actions of people, he considers not only the outward deeds in and of themselves, but also the motives behind these acts.  The supreme motive required of everything we do is the love of God.  A deed that outwardly conforms to God's law but proceeds from a heart alienated from God is not deemed by God a good deed.  The whole action, including the inclinations of the doer's heart, is brought under the scrutiny of God and found wanting."    

Apart from being regenerated by the Holy Spirit, every man is spiritually dead in his trespasses and sins and is by nature a child of God's wrath (from Ephesians 2).  From R. C. Sproul:  "To be dead in sin is to be in a state of moral and spiritual bondage.  By nature we are slaves to sin.  This does not mean that the fall has destroyed or eradicated the human will. Fallen man still has all the faculties to make choices.  We still have a mind and a will. The problem is not that we cannot make choices.  Natural men make choices all the time.  The problem is that, in our fallen condition, we make sinful choices. We make these choices freely.  We sin precisely because we want to sin, and we are capable of choosing exactly what we want to choose." But we do not want to choose, nor can we choose, to convert ourselves to become followers of Christ, because, as spiritually dead men, we have absolutely no desire for the righteousness of God.  Our salvation must be of the Lord!        

Quotes by R. C. Sproul taken from Grace Unknown, Chapter 6

An Unexpected Journey - Part 4

Some weeks ago, I began a series on my unexpected journey to the understanding of the doctrines of grace.  I'm not able to identify a particular "light bulb" experience when I first understood that Christ died for the sins of the elect; rather, along the way in my understanding, I had to gradually work through the following questions:

1.Is Christ a real Savior, or is he a "potential" Savior?
2.Did Christ die to to atone for the sins of every human being?
3.What part did my faith play in my salvation?  Did my faith make Christ's death effective for me?
4.What was God's original purpose in sending Christ into the world?  

Several years ago we were involved in a Bible study on the doctrines of grace.  During that study, the teacher presented the following three possible options for Christ's atonement...


Either...
1.Christ died for all the sins of all people;
or
2.Christ died for some of the sins of all people;
or
3.Christ died for all of the sins of some people.


The first option represents the view of universal salvation, which is not taught in the scriptures.  Many who deny universalism would argue, though, that Christ's death created a possibility of salvation for everyone if they believe in Christ.  If this were true, then individual faith is not only a condition for redemption, but is the very grounds for redemption.  R. C. Sproul explains, "If the atonement is not efficacious apart from faith, the faith must be necessary for the satisfaction of divine justice.  Here faith becomes a work with a vengeance because its presence or absence in a sinner determines the efficacy of Christ's work of satisfaction for this person." The Bible clearly teaches that we do not earn God's grace by any good works that we do (Ephesian 2:8-9, Titus 3:5), and even our faith is a gift from God.


Obviously, the second option is faulty.  Complete atonement is not achieved for anyone.  So, that leaves the third option that Christ died for all the sins of some of the people, God's elect.  Quoting R. C. Sproul again:  "If God sent Christ to save everyone, then he must be eternally dissatisfied with the results.  Though the Son may receive satisfaction from knowing that some have availed themselves of his atonement, his satisfaction must be partial because so many have not.  This raises the cardinal point in the doctrine of limited atonement.  The ultimate question has to do not so much with the sufficiency or efficiency of the atonement, but with its design.  What was God's original purpose or intent in sending his Son into the world?  Was his divine plan to make redemption possible or to make it certain?  If God planned to redeem all men, did his plan fail?"  God's sovereignty necessitates that his plans and purposes never fail.

The next and final stop on my journey will be humanity's radical corruption.  

The Sproul quotes I used in this post came from his book entitled Grace Unknown:  The Heart of Reformed Theology. 

An Unexpected Journey - Part 3

I know many Christians resist the truth that God is sovereign over the salvation of men.  In our limited understanding, we want to hold on to the idea that everyone has a free will to choose to follow Christ, because that is what seems "fair." When we were homeschooling, we had a Bible doctrines textbook that actually said, "Isn't it wonderful that God sets aside his sovereignty, so that man can exercise his free will in salvation?" God never sets aside his sovereignty!  He is the unchanging, almighty Lord over all things! 

Years ago, our pastor taught on the election of the saints, and I was keenly interested in understanding this doctrine of the Bible.  I approached our pastor after the service to ask a few questions, because the light bulbs started going on.  I remember asking him something like, "Since God through the Holy Spirit calls certain people to salvation, wouldn't they have to respond in faith?"  I was beginning to understand the doctrine of God's effective call to salvation, that God effects exactly what he intends each time he quickens spiritually dead souls to spiritual life.  That's why God's Word says we are "made alive" in Christ. A spiritually dead person has no ability to make himself come to spiritual life; rather, God replaces our stony heart with a heart of flesh.  In so doing, He alone gets the glory for each regeneration that leads to faith in Christ.  

Some of you might be saying now, "Wait a minute! What about John 3:16? And what about the verse that says, 'God is not willing that any should parish, but all should come to repentance'?"  I had to work through those (and other) verses that are used to support the idea that man has a free will in his salvation.  Through the years, expository teaching, systematic theology, and gifted Bible teachers and scholars have been key in helping me work through these "troublesome" passages.  God's Word is not contradictory, so I had to reconcile all the references to God's electing, calling, and choosing some to salvation with the verses that seemingly indicate man has a free will in salvation.  First of all, I had to gain an understanding man's free will.  Yes, I do have one, but I can only choose according to my nature. If I am spiritually dead because of my sins, I have no ability to choose the things of God.  I'll cover this more in depth when I discuss man's radical corruption.


So what about the "world" and "whoever" in John 3:16: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life?  The meaning of the verse is that Christ's saving work on the cross is not limited to a specific time and place, but applies to God's elect from all over the world throughout history.  


II Peter 3:9 was indeed a troubling verse:  does God really desire that all should come to repentance?  This verse must be explained in the context of the whole letter.  To whom was Peter writing?  "To those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ" (v. 1).  He was writing to Christians!  R. C. Sproul explains that "the scope of 'all' is qualified by the word 'us.'  The repentance in view, for the sake of which God delays judgment, is that of God's people rather than the world at large.  God is not willing that any of His elect should perish (John 6:39)."

One other key passage in my journey was Romans 9, in which Paul explains that election is not based on God looking down the tunnel of time and seeing who will choose Him; rather, it is based on God's sovereign predestinating grace.  He owes mercy to no one, so there is no injustice when mercy is not shown or not offered equally to all.  

The next stop on my journey of the doctrines of grace was God's purposeful atonement - to be covered in an upcoming post. 

An Unexpected Journey - Part 2

If you read part 1 of my unexpected journey, you might be wondering "what does she mean by 'doctrines of grace'?"  I am referring to the five interrelated doctrines regarding man's sinful state and God's plan of redemption:

1.  Humanity's radical corruption
2.  God's sovereign choice
3.  Christ's purposeful atonement
4.  The Spirit's effective call to salvation
5.  God's preservation of the saints

Over several posts, I'll be sharing how I came to my understanding of each of these doctrines, to the best of my recollection.  And I'd have to say my first encounter was with #5 - God's preservation of the saints, also called eternal security.

When I look back on my upbringing, I have to marvel at God's gracious work in my life to bring me to where I am today.  During the first twenty years of my life, my biblical instruction was limited, and I wasn't yet "alive" to the things of God.  But one thing I never questioned at that time was the notion of "once saved, always saved."

That someone could lose their salvation was never even a consideration until the subject was brought up in discussion with friends during our early married years.  (It was also during this time frame that I came to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.)  I remember sitting around their kitchen table, and Martin asked us what we thought about the possibility that someone could lose their salvation.  I was so dumbfounded by the question, my only response was, "You mean there are people who believe that?"  Martin laughed and said, "Yeah, it's like turning a light switch off and on."  

The aspect of the doctrine of preservation of the saints with which I have wrestled, though, is the false assurance of salvation, derived from an incorrect view of salvation or a false assumption of one's faith.  How do we explain those people who profess saving faith in Christ, but their lives don't testify to saving faith?  Scripture is clear that if one is genuinely saved from their sins, he will bear spiritual fruit and experience the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit.  Many people are led astray by messengers who reduce salvation to walking an aisle, raising a hand, or "praying the prayer."  I have come to really appreciate the parable of the sower found in three of the gospels. I did a blog post on that parable in 2007, so you may click on the link if you wish to read it, but the point I want to make is that those who are true followers of Christ (represented by the good soil) "are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience" (Luke 8:15).   


One other passage of scripture that has been important in my understanding of the preservation of the saints is in John 6.  Jesus assures us with these words:


"I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.  But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe.  All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. for I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.  And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.  For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life; and I will raise him up on the last day."

An Unexpected Journey - Part 1

One of the Ligonier Conference optional sessions was given by Dr. Robert Godfrey, president of Westminster Seminary in California and reputed "professional church historian" (a conference joke).  Dr. Godfrey discussed his newly released book entitled An Unexpected Journey, the story of how he came to embrace Reformed theology.  Since then, I've been mulling over my own "unexpected journey," particularly to the understanding of the doctrines of grace.  I remember hearing someone say that everyone is born an Arminian, and it's only by the grace of God that eyes are opened to a God-centered understanding of salvation.  I can attest to that statement, because I held a man-centered view of salvation for the first thirty (or so) years of my life, and I am so thankful for God's leading in understanding His sovereign grace in salvation.  


What do I mean by a man-centered view of salvation?  The belief that it is solely man's decision whether he will choose to accept God's offer of salvation from the penalty for his sins, that Jesus died on the cross to make salvation a possibility for everyone, but not a certainty for anyone.  God is offering the gift, and it's up to man to reach out and receive it.  And that's where I was theologically until the late 1980s.

The embryonic stage on my journey, though, was the discovery of the "Grace to You" radio program earlier that decade when we lived in Texas.  Joel and I would regularly listen to John MacArthur on the local Christian radio station as we drove home from church on Sunday nights.  I had never heard anyone preach with such knowledge, conviction, and passion...I hung on every word. At the time, I didn't know what his teaching style was called, but I liked it!  

After three years in Texas, we moved back to Kansas (our home state), and Joel and I became members of a church in the denomination of our upbringing. But over time, we realized we were not lining up doctrinally with the teaching of the church.  My neighbor invited me to a ladies' Bible study, where I met some wonderful Christian women, one of whom spoke very favorably about her church and the teaching of her pastor.  Before long, Joel and I decided to visit Crestview Bible Church.  I remember that as we walked out of church that first Sunday, and we turned to each other and said, "Where has this been all our lives?!"  "This" meaning the style of Bible teaching.  (We also realized it was the same style used by John MacArthur.)  We couldn't wait to go back to church the next Sunday.  All our lives, we had been in churches whose pastors did topical sermons, so this was our first experience with expository preaching (in a church), teaching verse by verse through books of the Bible.  What a difference when you approach God's Word by allowing it to do the teaching and the interpreting, rather than having a sermon topic in mind and making scripture verses "fit" the topic.  This shift was foundational on my journey to the doctrines of grace.


When I began writing on my unexpected journey, I thought I would cover it in one post.  Since I try to avoid lengthy blog posts, and since I would like to mull over the next phase of my journey before continuing, I am going to end for now. I promise, though, that my journey will not turn into a book-length project, as did Robert Godfrey's.  

Have a wonderful day!