Is Grace Really Irresistible?

Can a person who is called by God to salvation reject that calling? This is an issue that is debated among evangelical Christians. On the one side you have people that say that irresistible grace takes away man’s free will and turns salvation into “forced worship.” On the other side are people who claim that if man has the freedom to resist, the power of God is diminished. It is not an issue that is easily settled and I don’t have any delusions of grandeur that I am going to rectify the argument with this short article. I simply want to articulate what I believe to be the biblical response to the aforementioned question.

What is irresistible grace?

The term “irresistible grace” was made popular through the five points of Calvinism. It is the “I” in the TULIP acronym. Many people’s objection with the doctrine of irresistible grace begins before they even try to understand it, when they hear the word “Calvinism.” This article is not meant to debate the five points of Calvinism, but to look at one specific doctrine that is found in the broad scope of reformed theology.

Irresistible grace refers to the connection between God’s effectual calling and man’s regeneration. It is the idea that the saving grace of God is effectually applied to those whom he has determined to save.

What about free will?

This is probably the biggest problem most people have with the doctrine of irresistible grace. It appears to remove man’s free will. As I said before, some people view this as God forcing us into salvation which makes our love and worship of God forced. This would mean that man is able to choose whether or not to accept God’s call to salvation. There are several problems with this line of thinking.

·         First of all, I believe that Scripture teaches that there is nothing good in man that would make him want to choose God. Jeremiah 17:9 tells us that “the heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick.” Paul gives us multiple verses that talk about the depravity of man. He wrote in Titus 1:15, “to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled.” We see man’s separation from anything of God in Ephesians 4:18, “being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart.”

·         Secondly, I think that some people have a misunderstanding of free will. There is a tendency to separate God’s sovereignty and man’s free will, when I believe that these two work in conjunction with one another. Man’s free will operates inside of God’s sovereignty. Wayne Grudem points out that “nowhere does scripture say that we are ‘free’ in the sense of being outside of God’s control.” We have freedom to make willing choices, choices that do have effects, but we must understand that we have been given that power. 

·         The last issue I have with this objection to a lack of free will is the idea of being forced into worship. This seems to be a very poor view of God’s grace. Before a relationship with Christ, I was unable to truly worship God. Through God changing my heart, I now have the freedom to worship God. I have been a Christian for 21 years and I will be the first to admit that I have not worshipped God in every moment since I became a Christian. But I could have. I now have the freedom to by God’s grace. 

When does regeneration occur?

The next problem that many people have with the doctrine of irresistible grace is with the order of regeneration and belief. Those that reject irresistible grace would say that man has to make a conscious decision to believe the word of God and then regeneration occurs. The key verse that most would use to back that up is Ephesians 1:13, which says, “In Him, you also, after listening to the message of the truth, the gospel of your salvation – having also believed, you sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise.”

My first concern with this is how could man, who is depraved (as we saw earlier), ever be inclined toward God if God does not first change his heart? How can a heart that is dead toward God ever believe the word of God if that heart is not first brought to life? I think it would be clear that regeneration must precede belief.

I also take issue with that verse being the flagship scripture for the idea that belief comes before regeneration. If you take the verse in the entire context of Ephesians 1, you will see Paul outlining God’s predestination of the elect. Everything that happens with regard to salvation is initiated by God. 

I would argue, and Ephesians 1:13 would appear to support my argument, that regeneration and belief are almost simultaneous. While it may seem that this may be a list of succession, the nature of the participles suggests that all of these events are happening at once. Other passages also suggest that God regenerates us at the same time as he speaks to us in effective calling. Peter said, “for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God.” (1 Peter 1:23). Likewise, James says, “He brought us forth by the word of truth” (James 1:18).

As the truth of the gospel is presented, God regenerates hearts in order to draw them to himself, giving spiritual life so that we are enabled to respond in faith.

Do not diminish the power of God

If we say that man can refuse the grace offered by God, we presume that God is not, as the Hillsong United song says, mighty to save. If God is offering salvation and we are able to turn our backs we are saying that God is not able to draw that person to salvation, or worse, we turn to God into a beggar, pleading that humanity follow and worship him.

I believe that Scripture teaches that God’s grace is irresistible, and how fortunate this is as there is nothing that I could do to grant salvation or make it a reality in my life. I must echo what Paul said in Romans 7:24, “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of death?”

Praise God that he intervened when I was helpless.

SDG

Beware of the Social Gospel

Euangelion – this is the Greek word from which we get our word “gospel.” It literally means good news.  The first four books of the New Testament are referred to as “The Gospels.” They are called that because they deal with the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. Jesus’ life, death and resurrection is the message of the gospel. Yet this is not the message being preached in many churches, and by many pastors, across the world today.

Too many pastors have exchanged the message of Jesus’ gospel for a social gospel. While it has its beginnings in the late 1800s, the social gospel movement has gained momentum in today’s church. Whether it is because of recent tragedies around the world (such as the earthquake and tsunami in Japan), or our country’s economic climate, or a heightened awareness of diseases plaguing other countries, people seem to have a greater desire to help their fellow man. While we are instructed to love our neighbor (Matthew 22:39), this is not the message of the gospel.

Having a concern for people who are hurting or wanting to help those in need are not bad things. In fact these are evidences of a relationship with Christ. They are not, however, what draw people into a relationship with Christ. It is the true message of the gospel that leads people to a saving relationship with Jesus Christ.

So what is the true message of the gospel? What is the good news? 

We cannot fully understand how good the message of the gospel is until we understand the depravity of man. The depravity of man does not mean that every person is as bad as they possibly could be. After all, not every person is guilty of stealing, adultery or murder. What it does mean is that every person is born into this world affected by sin. That was Paul’s message in Romans 5:12 when he said, “Just as through one man (meaning Adam) sin entered the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned.” In his Systematic Theology, Wayne Grudem explains what passages like this mean, and what they don’t mean. “Scripture is not denying that unbelievers can do good in human society in some senses. But it is denying that they can do any spiritual good or be good in terms of a relationship with God” (p. 497). 

We are born into this world separated from God and destined to spend eternity in Hell. It may not seem like God cares very much about people if He would let that be their fate, but we have to understand that God abhors sin. God cannot be in the presence of sin. God does, however, desire our praise. He desires a relationship with us. In order for that to happen, sin had to be punished. 

This is where the good news comes in. Rather than see all of humanity punished for sin, God saw fit to send His Son to earth and take our penalty for us. He died in our place. Of course that doesn’t mean that we will never die. It means that for those who have placed their faith and trust in Christ, He endured the wrath of God against sin. Every person who has ever lived will die and will stand before God. Those who have trusted in Christ will not endure punishment and will gain access to eternity with God.

We don’t deserve this treatment. It would be perfectly fitting if God were to punish all mankind for their sin. Because of His love, grace and mercy, He chose to offer a way of salvation. This isn’t just good news, it’s great news! This is the message of the gospel.

If you attend a church where the pastor preaches on nothing but how to help our fellow man by improving their quality of life, he is no friend of yours. Our focus should not be on how to improve this life, but how to prepare ourselves for the next.

SDG

Battling Peer Pressure

In my years as a youth minister, one of the most prevalent topics of concerns among teenagers and parents was peer pressure. Teenagers want to know how to say “No” when temptation comes knocking at their door. The truth be told, many adults don’t know how to handle peer pressure either. This pressure to do things is all around us.  We see advertisements everywhere we look, enticing us to try the latest product, watch the latest movie, sample the latest cuisine. Usually this pressure is harmless enough but sometimes, and with the situations we usually associate peer pressure, it is encouraging us to do something that goes against our convictions.

Peer pressure has been a problem dating back to the Garden of Eden, when Eve said, “C’mon Adam, everyone’s eating these apples.” People of all ages are faced with it. It could come from a classmate who encourages you to make fun of another student. It could come from a guy in the locker room pushing you to try smoking pot. It could come from a co-worker who tells you that everyone takes office supplies home. Maybe the pressure you deal with is a lot stronger than these scenarios. Well, I’m here to tell you that the Bible gives a pretty clear example of how to deal with peer pressure from the account of three young men who faced a pressure greater than most of us could have ever imagined.

If you’re not familiar with the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego from chapter 3 of the book of Daniel, it is the historical account of three young Hebrew men who had been forced into service in the pagan country of Babylon. The king at the time, Nebuchadnezzar, had built a giant statue of himself made out of gold and issued a command that all the people in the land were to bow down to it. Failure to comply with this request meant you would be thrown into a fiery furnace. 

So these three young men are faced with a dilemma: bow down and worship this idol or die a horrible death.

When the time came, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, held their ground and did not bow down. They were brought before the king and they were asked why they chose not to bow down. We have their response recorded in Daniel 3:16-17:

“O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O King.”

That’s a pretty bold response! Even though they were face to face with the king, they were convinced of the power of the God they served. They knew that God was capable of rescuing them from the fiery furnace.

Their boldness doesn’t stop there, though. Look at what they say in the very next verse:

“But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O King, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”

Talk about guts! We have the benefit of being able to see the whole picture and we know that God did rescue them from that fiery furnace. But these guys didn’t know that was going to happen! They knew it could happen, but they didn’t know it would. It didn’t matter what the result, they were not going to back down from what they knew to be right.

Most of us will probably never find ourselves in a situation as bleak as Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. I doubt I will ever find myself staring down at a fiery furnace with the command “worship me or die” being shouted at me. The one fact that I, and any other Christian, can take comfort in when faced with any sort of peer pressure is this: we serve the same God as Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.  He is able to rescue us from any “fiery furnace” that we may face. But let us be bold enough to say, “Even if He does not,” we will not back down!

How to Grow Your Church

If you enjoy outdoor recreational activities, Bend, Oregon is a dream come true.  In the summer there is hiking, mountain biking, kayaking, fishing and over 30 gorgeous golf courses. In the winter there is snow skiing, sledding, hunting and some even brave the weather to get back on one of those beautiful golf courses.

If you are a pastor or a church planter, Bend, Oregon can be a nightmare as the competition for people’s free time is strong. Central Oregon is very different from the Bible Belt (where this writer is from) in regards to church attendance. In the South, attending church can be less about a relationship with Christ and more about tradition or family obligations. In the Pacific Northwest, however, those traditions are not as prevalent. Most that attend church do so because they want to. 

The struggle lies in how to get those who have no background of church interested in giving up their regular weekend activities in order to be a part of a church congregation. Here are some tips for pastors on increasing their Sunday attendance:

1.      Focus on quality, not quantity

It shouldn’t be about numbers. It should be about relationships with Christ. Pastors should be more concerned about whether the members are becoming stronger Christians than how many people packed a pew each week. When the church body is growing spiritually, numerical growth is sure to follow.

2.      Stop trying to look like the world

The things of God are never going to be attractive to lost people. Churches should not be trying so hard to make the church attractive to the world by making it just as appealing as other forms of entertainment. My previous article dealt with this subject in more detail, but the main idea is that the church should strive to look more like Jesus and less like a concert or coffee shop.

3.      Be genuine

This is piggybacking the previous point in that pastors (and the church as a whole) should stop changing their image to seem more appealing. If you’re 45 years old and you used to wear a suit and tie when you preached, don’t suddenly switch to t-shirts and tattered jeans and a faux hawk to seem more “relatable.” People can sense when you’re not being real with them.

4.      Preach the Word

It’s disheartening to watch preachers on TV, or in person, get up and try to convince their audience of some truth, yet fail to ever open their Bible. Some don’t even reference the Bible. Paul made it clear to Timothy what his main responsibility as a pastor should be when he said, “I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom:  preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.” 2 Timothy 4:1-2

5.  Care about people

This is not a plea for a social gospel (stay tuned for an article regarding that subject as well). This is a plea for pastors and churches to genuinely care about the people around them. If you want people to want to come to your church, let them know you care about them. When they visit your church, let them know you appreciate their attendance. Be involved in people’s lives. Get to know what they do for a living. Attend ball games. Visit hospitals when people are sick. 

These are not meant to be taken as “sure-fire” ways to grow your church. They are, however, ways that have been proven effective for many churches. This is also not an exhaustive list. There are many pastors that have found a variety of methods to grow their church. The litmus test for those methods should be: Is it biblical and Does it glorify God. After all, God is the only one who can truly grow a church.

SDG

5 Things Every Son Should Learn From His Father

I am not a parent…yet. I hope to be one someday and I hope that I can be the godly influence on my child’s life that my father had on mine. Usually you would expect an article like this to be written directly to the parent, but, like I said, I am not a parent. So I am writing to the children, sons in particular. My hope is that the sons who read this would either already see these attributes in their fathers, or desire to show them to their father so that they could learn these from him.

Let me first begin by stating that I know not every son has the benefit of a godly father. Some may not have a father in their life at all. If this is the case, I want to offer some words of advice:  1) Pray for your dad – whether he is in the picture or not, pray that he would come to a saving knowledge of Christ. Pray that he would accept his responsibility to be a godly father. 2) Seek out godly counsel – for those that do not have a dad in their life, for whatever reason, I would encourage you to seek out someone who can provide counsel in your life. It could be a mentor, a pastor/youth pastor, an older friend, etc. Find someone who can help nurture your walk with Christ and can teach you to be a godly man.

I am not writing this because my dad is perfect. I know my dad has flaws. I know this because he is human. I am writing this because, without my dad, I wouldn’t be the man I am today (and I mean that in a good way). The lessons I learned from him are priceless and I hope to pass them on to my own children some day.

Also, this list is not exhaustive. These are not the only things I learned from my dad. I simply chose the ones I felt the most important to share. Just because I learned the art of grilling and how to make the perfect plate of nachos from my dad, I didn’t feel those needed to be included. I believe that these 5 things are important for any son to learn from his dad.

1.      How to pray

My dad didn’t teach me the perfect words to say every time I bowed my head. It wasn’t about saying the right words. It was about the importance of communicating with God. I learned at a young age that prayer was a vital part of the Christian life. We prayed before every meal, whether it was at home or in public. My dad taught me not to be ashamed about prayer. I watched my dad pray in church but I also watched him pray at home. He would pray during our family devotions and come to my room and pray with me. While I didn’t always see it, he prayed alone and with my mom. I know that if I want to be a godly man I must live a life of prayer.

2.      The importance of family

The past several years my dad has made it a priority to take our family on vacation. With all four kids now married and having families of our own, it makes it difficult for every person to participate every time but we always try. This was something my dad learned from his dad. I can remember our family and my dad’s two sisters and their families all going on vacation together. It was important to spend that time together. We still do our best to get together for major holidays. I call my parents at least once a week to talk about what’s going on in their lives and what’s going on in mine. I regularly check up on my sisters to see how their families are doing. I don’t do this out of obligation. I do this because I love them. They are important to me. Now that I am married I have a new family and they are just as important to me. I saw my dad care for his family. He loved his wife and kids and would do anything for them. He sacrificed to make sure we were provided for. He loves his parents, even taking them into his home when they needed it. I am so grateful for my family, their love and concern for me and I hope that I can continue to pass this on.

3.      How to fix a car

This lesson seems to be out of place with the others as there is nothing very spiritual about fixing a car. And I know that not every guy knows how to work on cars. I am not an expert mechanic and neither is my dad. My dad did teach me some things about auto maintenance. I know how to change a tire and jump off a dead battery. I’ve even replaced water pumps and alternators. This particular lesson is more about learning basic skills from my dad. It’s about being teachable. I believe that too many young people think that they cannot learn anything from their parents. They either think their parents have nothing to teach them or that they should be learning from someone else. I will admit that there were times when I thought I knew more about certain things that my dad did. I think every teenager believes this at some point. As an adult, I am so grateful for the things my dad taught me. He taught me how to fly fish and how to skin a deer (the first one took, the second, not so much). He taught me how to use a hammer and a drill. He taught me how to care for my lawn and, as I mentioned before, how to use a charcoal grill. The important thing was not in the lessons themselves, but that I was learning from him. In fact, sometimes, it wasn’t so much about what I was learning as it was about us spending time together. 

4.      How to be a husband

This is one lesson that I am still learning how to put into practice as I have only been married for 8 months (the best 8 months of my life, though!). It is one of the most important lessons I have learned from my dad. There are hundreds of different ways men can learn how to be husbands. We can learn it from books and magazines, from TV and movies, from co-workers and friends. Some of these are reputable, if you’re reading the right books and have the right friends. The place where most men are going to learn what a husband is supposed to be like is in their own home, watching how their dad treats their mom. I am extremely blessed to come from a home where I witnessed what a godly husband is supposed to look like. My dad loves my mom unconditionally. He loves her like Christ loves the church. He provides for her and prays for her and with her. He laughs with her and he cries with her. He is affectionate with her (I am grateful for that, regardless of how gross it may be to me). He compromises with her when he would rather see her happy than have his own way. He is the spiritual leader of their relationship. When I think of my own relationship with my wife, I can only hope that I can be the kind of husband that my dad has been.

5.      How to love God

Of all the things I’ve learned from my dad, this is the most important. It is the most important because all the other things I’ve learned stem from this one attribute. How my dad has related to me and my sisters, to my mom and to others has been because of his relationship with God. I was able to witness first-hand what it means to have a relationship with God. My dad is a pastor, so of course I saw it in the pulpit on Sundays. More importantly, however, I saw it in our home. I learned the importance of reading my Bible. I learned the importance of loving others as Christ did. I learned the importance of sharing the gospel with the lost. My relationship with Christ is the most important thing in my life and that is something I learned from my dad.

I am extremely blessed to have such a godly father. I thank God for him and I pray for him regularly. I challenge all sons to want to learn these things from their fathers as well. It will be well worth it.

“Hear, my son, your father’s instruction…indeed they are a graceful wreath to your head.” Proverbs 1:8-9

SDG