Theology on Thursday

One of the best works dealing with practical theology in relation to the doctrines of grace (aka “Calvinism”) is Terry L. Johnson’s When Grace Comes Home.  Today’s edition of Theology on Thursday includes excerpts from this work dealing with three areas of Christian living: worship, humility, and adversity.  Johnson does a superb job demonstrating that doctrine is meant not only to be believed, but lived.

Worship
“Calvinists accept the apparent contradictions of God’s sovereignty and human responsibility.  We admit that we cannot reconcile these two principles.  But we think that the Bible teaches both truths, so we teach both.  If you try to reconcile one truth to the other you will compromise one or the other.  ‘Why reconcile friends?’ Spurgeon asked.  What do we do with them?  We bow in worship.  This is exactly what Paul does. . . .  Nothing will cause you to bow in worship like the conviction that God is sovereign. . . .  Knowing that this is the God with whom I have to do, I’ll be more careful about Sunday worship.  I’ll also be more serious about life generally, knowing that one day I will stand before such a God.  Maybe before, I toyed with the things of God.  No longer.  Now I become much more careful to live in conformity with His commands. . . .  Your soul will crave and demand worship that is God-centered, that is filled with high praise and lowly confession, and characterized by a spirit of reverence and awe for the almighty Trinity.”

Humility
“A proud, condescending Christian, and especially a proud, condescending Calvinist, is a contradiction in terms.  If one who has grasped the meaning of the doctrines of grace is proud, he is not a true Calvinist.  He may have accepted a philosophy that resembles Calvinism.  He may have been converted to a Reformed way of life, or a Reformed ‘world and life view’, but he is not a Calvinist.  A true Calvinist is one who has been born again by the Spirit of God, who has seen his personal filth and corruption, who has fled to Christ, and knows better than anyone that it is only by the grace of God that he is saved.  He has nothing to boast in.  He has nothing to be proud about. . . .  Converts to Calvinism will often look back with disdain on their former views, and when they hear others continuing to express them, they look with disdain upon them, and are quick to refute their every word.  In their zeal, they quickly forget how recent their own ‘conversion’ has been, and how long they continued in error.  They can appear to be arrogant and insensitive.  They strike others as ‘know-it-alls’, and are unpleasant to be around.  Understand this problem though we may, we still must say that this arrogance can only be a temporary aberration brought on by a ‘convert’s zeal’.  Quickly should he return to the normal state of mind, which is profound humility.  Here is why: the doctrine of election. . . .  If he is truly convinced of the truth of the doctrines of grace, there can be nothing of pride in him.”

Adversity
“From our point of view, much of the discussion of ‘the problem of pain’ and suffering gets started on the wrong foot. . . .  There is a tendency to begin with the assumption of human innocence.  Adversity then is viewed as an unfair or unjust intrusion into the life of one who is undeserving.  This is implicit in almost all of the popular discussions of the subject. . . .  The Biblical place to begin any consideration of suffering is not with innocence but guilt. . . .  The response of God to the sin of Adam and the sins of his progeny is judgment.  God promised death ‘in the day that you shall eat of it’. . . .  In the meantime, life consists of multiple mini-judgments which are visited upon us because of the sin of Adam and our own sins, as previews of the final judgment.  These mini-judgments, because they fall short of eternal death in hell, are, in effect, gracious stays of execution. . . .  Strict justice lands each of us in hell.  Anything less than that – sickness, injury, poverty, hunger, or heartbreak – is mercy. . . .  Instead of saying that some are innocent sufferers, [Jesus Christ] says that everyone deserves to suffer in this way.  He warns that ‘unless you repent, you will all likewise perish’.  In other words, it is not that they were worse than others, but this is what every sinner deserves and will get unless he repents.  Jesus focuses not on the tragedy that has befallen the few, but on the grace by which the majority are spared. . . .  The remarkable thing is not that there is pain but that there is pleasure.  Once one understands the doctrine of the Fall and of the depravity of man the philosophical problem is not that of explaining why God allows suffering but why He shows mercy and grace. . . .

First, if there is a God, what happens must be His will.  If anything happens that is not His will, He is not God, and we are in trouble. . . .  What an omnipotent God foreknows and permits, He wills and ordains.  Second, events either have God-given meaning or they have no meaning at all. . . .  Finally, we come to the answers in Romans 8.  The wonder of our adoption and eventual glorification lead Paul to speak of the path to glory which is the path of suffering. . . .  Then comes the crown jewel of Bible promises: ‘And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose’ (Rom. 8:28). . . .  Many times, even most times, we won’t know what good God is bringing from adversity.  That is not the critical thing.  The critical thing is knowing that God is good and He meant it!  When you lost your loved one, He meant it.  When you were afflicted with disease, God meant it.  When you were hit with financial reversals, God meant it.  He promises to bring good from it.  Now you must trust Him. . . .  Only when we understand that God has ordained our suffering can we begin to make sense of it.  Only then can we be certain that He has a purpose in it.  When tragedy comes, when adversity strikes, we will not be shaken.  Yes, we will cry.  Yes, we will grieve.  But we will move on confidently knowing that God is on His throne, that we are in His hand, that our circumstances are His doing, and He is working them for our good.”

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