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Category: theology
Thank God today for John Calvin, a man who treasured God’s glory
Today is the 500th anniversary of the birth of reformer John Calvin, an important man in the history of the Christian church. To help mark the occasion, the Desiring God blog is doing a nine-part series on his biography. Here is the first part:
Five hundred years ago today, he was born Jean Cauvin in Noyon, France—about 70 miles north of Paris. His father was Gerard, son of a barrelmaker and boatman. Gerard was a lawyer, and it was his law practice that brought him into the everyday sphere of the church.
The young Jean benefitted immensely through his father’s ecclesiastical connections. He was able to be educated privately with the children of the wealthy De Montmor family and eventually garnered church support for his further studies.
Gerard originally planned a career for his son in the church. But when things later soured with the dioceses, he would redirect his son toward law.
When Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the church door in Wittenberg on October 31, 1517, and unknowingly launched the Reformation in earnest, the young Calvin was a mere 8 years old. He likely heard very little, if anything, about the rebellious German monk until he left for university in Paris at age 14. There he would hear more.
As part of the celebration, Desiring God is, today only, offering THL Parker’s 1954 biography of John Calvin, called “Portrait of Calvin,” for only $2. You can also download it for free. Why care about a man who lived hundreds of years ago and is not without controversy? I think John Piper gives good reason in his foreward to “Portrait of Calvin.”
“I am eager for people to know Calvin not because he was without flaws, or because he was the most influential theologian of the last 500 years (which he was), or because he shaped Western culture (which he did), but because he took the Bible so seriously, and because what he saw on every page was the majesty of God and the glory of Christ.”
You’re not good enough
John Calvin: Object of controversy
Doug Wilson, one of the speakers for this year’s Desiring God 2009 National Conference, “Calvin in the Theater of God,” says that, like Paul and Athanasius and the prophets, John Calvin was controversial because he was a faithful servant in a fallen world. In other words, he was a threat to the Devil.
Thy Blood Was Shed For Me (Because there was no other way)
Matthew Smith says it for me, but I know where he’s coming from. I have had this album, All I Owe, for awhile but it ministers to me greatly, particularly this song. Treasure Jesus.
One of the subtle ways I avoid God is by pretending that I’m not very sinful, or that sin is a minor issue in my life that I will overcome soon. I find myself taking comfort in thinking that I am a pretty good guy. But this is, of course, a total lie. The only thing I can cling to for hope in this world is the fact that Jesus shed his blood for me. Every virtue or bit of righteousness I try to create for myself will ultimately betray me, but Jesus’ blood has bought an inheritance for me that is kept in heaven, where it will never fade or perish (1 Peter 1:3-5).
Let the world their virtue boast and works of righteousness
I a wretch undone and lost am freely saved by grace
Take me Savior as I am
Let me lose my sins in Thee
Friend of sinners, spotless Lamb
Thy blood was shed for me
Thy blood was shed for me
Full of truth and grace Thou art and here is all my hope
False and foul as hell my heart to Thee I offer up
Thou wast given to redeem
My soul from iniquity
Friend of sinners, spotless Lamb
Thy blood was shed for me
Thy blood was shed for me
Nothing have I Lord to pay nor can Thy grace procure
Empty, send me not away for Thou knowest I am poor
Dust and ashes is my name
My all is sin and misery
Friend of sinners, spotless Lamb
Thy blood was shed for me
Thy blood was shed for me
Calvinism: The thing people fear in their churches
What is the most detestable thing a person can imagine happening to their church? A disregard of the scripture? A lack of mission? Triviality or a worship of culture? Moral corruption among church leaders or an unloving attitude? A lack of worship?
No, it seems that a great many fear the teaching of Calvinism. That is, the five points of Calvinism. The doctrines of grace. These things:
- Total depravity
- Unconditional Election
- Limited Atonement
- Irresistible Grace
- Perseverance of the saint
That is, you believe that:
- We experience first our depravity and need of salvation.
- Then we experience the irresistible grace of God leading us toward faith.
- Then we trust the sufficiency of the atoning death of Christ for our sins.
- Then we discover that behind the work of God to atone for our sins and bring us to faith was the unconditional election of God.
- And finally we rest in his electing grace to give us the strength and will to persevere to the end in faith.
Radical stuff, that Calvinism. Goodness knows where that could lead.
Not sure? Here are some things you could read to maybe give you a better idea.
God’s grace in the hurts others do to us
This talk, by Mark Talbot at the 2005 Desiring God National Conference, really ministers to me. Because I am surrounded by fallen, sinful people (like myself), there are numerous times where I have been injured, insulted, violated, offended, shocked, disappointed, slighted, overlooked, disparaged and generally hurt. It’s hard to “get along” sometimes.
The conference theme was Suffering and the Sovereignty of God. Regarding suffering: Why does God allow these kind of things happen? Is is OK to complain to God? Does God make mistakes? How do we think biblically about suffering? These are questions Talbot addresses in his talk.
Mark Talbot will be speaking again this year at the Desiring God national conference, which is themed With Calvin in the Theater of God.
The restlessness in our lives and the persistence of Jesus
Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.”The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.
— John 4:16-21
At Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, John Piper has been preaching through the book of John. The past weeks they have been looking at the story of Jesus and his encounter with the woman at the well. This past week they examined how Jesus spoke with her concerning her adultery and what it means to us as we read it:
You may move through sexual partners, like she did, or through friends, or jobs, or churches, or hobbies, or hairstyles, or wardrobes, or cars, or locations. Never able to settle with a kind of deeply contented identity in Christ, satisfied daily with the ever-springing water of his fellowship.
I don’t mean that the Christian life is static. But there is a difference between the confident movement of faith and the craving movement of frustration. On the one hand, there is restless movement from one thing to the next because we have no solid, satisfied identity in Christ. And on the other hand, we have Christ as our Fountain of life and we move with purposefulness and creativity in the life and power that this living water gives. There is a difference between the jumping from one thing to the next out of frustration and the moving purposefully out of faith.
Jesus is teaching us about ourselves as well as about his glorious sufficiency as water, prophet, savior, and Messiah.
The other thing that is happening in the story is that the woman, like us, is looking at all kinds of externals (water, adultery, where to worship) and is ignoring the inner issues. Jesus knows this and, while not trying to press her on her sin, is not going there either. Piper addresses this as well:
How many times have you been trying to explain to someone about how Jesus died for sinners and rose again to provide forgiveness and reconciliation and have the persons say, “What about the hate speech of right-wing fanatics?” Or “What about gay rights?” Or “What about the people who have never heard about Jesus?”
The remarkable thing about Jesus here is that he does not say, “Let’s stay on the subject, ma’am. We are talking about your adultery.” But neither does he let her define exactly where they are going next.
Jesus is willing to go with her to her topic, but not to her issue. Her issue is: Where do we worship? Her whole life is one of externals. She is dead on the inside, and all she can relate to now are superficial externals. Her distracting question only deals with geography (verse 20): “Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.”
Jesus won’t deal at that level. He has gone into her heart, and that is what he will deal with. Verse 21: Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.” In other words, “We are at a juncture in history when the place of worship will simply be irrelevant.” Verse 23: “The hour is coming, and is now here [because I am here!], when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth.” The issue is not in this mountain or that mountain, but spirit and truth.
What you need, ma’am, is a spirit that is alive and a mind in love with truth.
American Idolatry: When your pleasure becomes your god
There is a danger every day to make an idol out of something or someone in our lives. Because I live in a country and in a time when there is such a great deal of luxury and leisure time, it is a great danger. With that in mind, John Piper has written about 12 ways we can recognize the rise of covetousness in our lives:
Most of us realize that enjoying anything other than God, from the best gift to the basest pleasure, can become idolatry. Paul says in Colossians 3:5, “Covetousness is idolatry.”
“Covetousness” means desiring something other than God in the wrong way. But what does that mean—“in the wrong way”?
The reason this matters is both vertical and horizontal. Idolatry will destroy our relationship with God. And it will destroy our relationships with people.
All human relational problems—from marriage and family to friendship to neighbors to classmates to colleagues—all of them are rooted in various forms of idolatry, that is, wanting things other than God in wrong ways.
Piper goes on to identify 12 ways we can do this when it comes to enjoyment. He says enjoyment is becoming idolatrous when:
- It is forbidden by God.
- It is disproportionate to the worth of what is desired.
- It is not permeated with gratitude
- It does not see in God’s gift that God himself is more to be desired than the gift.
- It is starting to feel like a right, and our delight is becoming a demand.
- It draws us away from our duties.
- It starts to awaken a sense of pride that we can experience this delight while others can’t.
- It is oblivious or callous to the needs and desires of others.
- It does not desire that God be magnified as supremely desired through the enjoyment.
- It is not working a deeper capacity for holy delight.
- Its loss ruins our trust in the goodness of God.
- Its loss paralyzes us emotionally so that we can’t relate lovingly to other people.
This is just the list, read the article to get the full explanation. Be happy in God.
What sustains us — God’s grace
Matt Perman says this is his favorite John Piper sermon. I would agree with him. And, in light of what I posted yesterday, I say this not because it is John Piper preaching it, but rather because it gets me thinking about God’s grace — his sovereign grace, as Piper puts it – and how wonderful it is. I love the examples Piper uses in this sermon, but we could all come up with other great examples of God’s grace in our lives. Here are four good points to take away from it:
Jeremiah 32:36-41
Now therefore thus says the Lord God of Israel concerning this city of which you say, “It is given into the hand of the king of Babylon by sword, by famine, and by pestilence,” “Behold, I will gather them out of all the lands to which I have driven them in My anger, in My wrath, and in great indignation; and I will bring them back to this place and make them dwell in safety. And they shall be My people, and I will be their God; and I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me always, for their own good, and for the good of their children after them. And I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; and I will put the fear of Me in their hearts so that they will not turn away from Me. And I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will faithfully plant them in this land with all My heart and with all My soul.” For thus says the Lord, “Just as I brought all this great disaster on this people, so I am going to bring on them all the good that I am promising them.”
Four Promises of Sovereign, Sustaining Grace
Notice four promises of sovereign, sustaining grace.
1. God Will Be Our God
God promises to be our God. Verse 38: “They will be my people and I will be their God.” All the promises to his people are summed up in this: “I will be your God.” That is, I will use all that I am as God—all my wisdom, all my power, and all my love—to see to it that you remain my people. All that I am as God, I exert for your good.
2. God Promises to Change Our Hearts
God promises to change our hearts and cause us to love and fear him. Verse 39: “I will give them one heart and one way that they may fear me always . . . (v. 40b) I will put the fear of me in their hearts.” In other words, God will not simply stand by to see if we, by our own powers, will fear him; he will sovereignly, supremely, mercifully give us the heart that we need to have, and give us the faith and the fear of God that will lead us home to heaven. This is sovereign, sustaining grace. (See Deuteronomy 30:6; Ezekiel 11:19-20; 36:27.)
3. God Promises We Will Not Turn Away from Him
God promises that he will not turn away from us and we will not turn away from him. Verse 40: “I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; and I will put the fear of Me in their hearts so that they will not turn away from Me.” In other words, his heart work is so powerful that he guarantees we will not turn from him. This is what’s new about the new covenant: God promises to fulfill by his power the conditions that we have to meet. We must fear him and love him and trust him. And he says, I will see to that. I will “put the fear of me in their hearts”—not to see what they will do with it, but in such a way that “they will not turn from me.” This is sovereign, sustaining grace.
4. God Promises to Do This with Infinite Intensity
Finally, God promises to do this with the greatest intensity imaginable. He expresses this in two ways, one at the beginning and one at the end of verse 41: “And I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will faithfully plant them in this land with all My heart and with all My soul.” First he says that he will exert this sovereign, sustaining grace with joy: “I will rejoice over them to do them good.” Then he says (at the end of verse 41) that he will exert this sovereign, sustaining grace “with all [his] heart and withall [his] soul.”
Rockstanding 
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