Justin: Calvanism, Arminianism or the Bible

I'm glad I finally got the chance to read this... It only took a few minutes. I read it on this website.

I've had a pretty strong feeling on these issues, but it's all been based on what I've heard from other teachers, and not on what I've seen in the Bible for myself. Chuck does a good job of laying out CC's position Biblically.

My understanding up to this point on the Cal v. Arm issue has been that neither side was completely right. They both hold Biblical views, but they also both have to throw out other scriptures to make their points stand. I see it as man's way to try to put God into a box, when that is impossible for an infinite God. Biblically, a balance has to be struck between the two views and I've heard it described before as cal-minianism. Which has always made sense to me because both positions have good points, they just need to come together and agree that there is scripture to support both positions and stop fighting.

That is probably the point that I appreciated the most in this small book... the fact that this debate has caused radical division and divisiveness in the Body of Christ. It's clear that the fruit of these doctrines have not brought about any fruit whatsoever. Here is a quote:

Jesus said, "By their fruit ye shall know them." When a particular position on the
Scriptures causes one to become argumentative, legalistic, and divisive, I
question the validity of that position. I seek to embrace those things that tend to
make me more loving and kind, more forgiving and merciful. I know then that I
am becoming more like my Lord.

One last thing I wanted to mention was my understanding of the actual 5 points of Calvanism. I find it interesting that the 5 points were established AFTER Calvin died. This stuck me as odd, and I heard it explained one time by Robert Morey that there is a good possibility that John Calvin wasn't even a 5 point calvanist. When the 5 points were set up at the council of Dort, The people that actually quipped the 5 points were the Arminians! Not the calvanists. The council was set up as a debate, and the arminians came with a "strong arm" argument against the calvanists in order to win the debate... and the 5 points stuck. Calvanists these days don't seem to recognize that the TULIP system is really an extreme position, and not necessarily what John Calvin himself believed.

Anyway, I love Calvary Chapel's balanced Biblical opinion on the matter...

Justin: Grace Changes Everything Chap. 4-14

Sorry for the long hiatus... I finally finished the book, and hope to be on a faster reading track in the future, or this internship is going to last until the second coming!!

I'm just going to summarize a few quotes that stuck out to me:

Chap. 4

- "Our faith must necessarily lead to a life of obedience and right actions, but it is not those right actions or our obedience that earn us right standing before God."

Chap. 5

- "To walk in the Spirit means that we allow the Holy Spirit to exercise control over our lives. Every day we are presented with the option of living after the Spirit or after our own fleshly desires." --- This clearly demonstrates a conscious choice that must be made by me on a day by day basis. I truly do have the option.

- " A computer can only produce that which has been programmed into it. In like manner, our minds are being programmed daily. If our input comes from the flesh, our lives will be characterized by the flesh. If we begin to program our minds with the things of the Spirit, our lives will begin to reflect the priorities of the Spirit" --- Put good stuff in, and good will come out... etc, etc.

- "I am convinced that one of our greatest needs is to become more and more aware of God's presence at all times" --- one of the greatest quotes in the book. A truth that I have seen true in my own life. I want a conscious understanding of God's presence with me all the time... and it is very hard to come by sometimes because I get so wrapped up in my own little world.

Chap. 6

- "Ripening (fruit) is the natural product of relationship"

- The fruit of a relationship with Christ is doing what you love to do by serving God. God doesn't want manufactured works from us that we sweat and toil for. He doesn't want those works of the flesh that we work so hard to produce. The natural fruit of the spirit in my life will flow naturally out of my relationship with Him, and it will be a joy in my life, not a drudgery.

Chap. 7

- "The only attitude acceptable to Him says, 'I'm a failure and I don't deserve it - but please Lord, go ahead and bless me anyway'."

- "The problem is that you are looking for a blessing on the basis of your own performance. You are trapped in the kind of thinking that says: 'when I become so good and perfect, then He can bless me'." --- I get in this mindset all the time. I tend to not only equate His grace with my works (good or bad), but also the blessings He pours out. I did some good works, so I should get blessed, or I was in the flesh, and really messed up: God won't bless me now. That is messed up... if his blessings relied on what I could or couldn't do, I would never receive his blessings. It's all because of His grace, and not anything about me. I just have to receive what He has for me based upon that grace.

Chap. 9

- " If we are to remain free, we must be careful not to exercise our liberty in any area that will bring us back under bondage."

Chap. 14

- "God has given you but one simple responsibility: to believe in His promise. You can enjoy the blessing of a relationship with God even though you may not pray enough, or sacrifice enough because your faith in what God has already done for you." --- when I can sit back and say truly, that I have a relationship with God because of what He has done, and not what I've done, then I will be in the place of true relationship and be ready to receive the blessings that God wants to give me. Lord help me to come to that place.


I was really blessed by this book...