To underscore this point, below is a very brief sampling of some churches / mission groups that hold to the Doctrines of Grace who are also very active in Missions, Evangelism and Church Planting, etc (of course, Christian "activity" should not be limited to these 3 branches of "outreach" as all Christians ought to be involved in ongoing "ministry" and actively seeking to proclaim Christ in their "sphere of influence", 24/7, in word and deed... "at the sink", place of business, in the family, etc). In any event, far from being disconnected or unaffected toward the grand "missionary enterprise", these and scores of other Calvinistic believers, are being used by the Lord as instruments for the advance of Christ's glorious Kingdom, all to His glory and praise!
- http://www.kabwatabaptistchurch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=section&id=8&Itemid=41
- http://www.metropolitantabernacle.org/?page=sot (large Sunday School outreach, evangelism, and Missions via Tabernacle's Overseas Ministry Fund... see Sword & Trowel for info).
- http://www.orlandograce.org/ministries_missions.html
- http://72.52.203.155/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=46&Itemid=18
- http://presbyterianmissions.org/
- http://www2.mtw.org/home/site/templates/splash.asp (click on "Our Work").
- http://www.merf.org/
- The Association of Reformed Baptist Churches of America - An association started in 1997 with about 60 churches. Many of the members of ARBCA provide Missionary + Church Planting support. http://www.arbca.com/
- History of Evangelism / Church Planting by those holding to the Doctrines of Grace: http://www.founders.org/journal/fj37/article1.html
- Some notable Missionaries, Evangelists, and Gospel Preachers who held to the Doctrines of Grace were: Brainerd, Whitefield, M'Cheyne, Bonar, Burns, Luther, Calvin, Tyndale, Latimer, Knox, Whishart, Perkins, Rutherford, Bunyan, Owen, Charnock, Goodwin, Flaval, Watson, Henry, Watts, Edwards, Newton, Spurgeon, and many martyrs during the Reformation, etc (source: WJ Seaton).
The Doctrines of Grace fully encapsulate some of the choicest cardinal truths of Scripture and perfectly meld to the activity inherent to the Great Commission in what, one might term, the worldwide "Theater of Redemption". I'm sure not all holding to Calvinistic doctrine have had the zeal becoming of our profession (myself not exempted) but many, in even in our day, are applying it daily by His grace.
May His Kingdom ever grow, as it shall and is -- and may the Lord give grace to me, and you, to be actively engaged in it!
4 comments:
I find it ironic that a legalist like you would talk about grace. Grace means you throw out the rule book; there are no rules. It's between you and God and no one can question it. Anything else means you're adding leaven and on a slipperly slope to legalism.
Dear Anonymous,
At the outset, you accuse me of being a legalist. A legalist in the theological sense is someone who believes their salvation is merited either completely, or partly, by works (that is, by doing the law) as a means of justification before God. My prior blog entries clearly state otherwise but, just in case I did not communicate that effectively, I’ll be glad to re-state it here.
I believe I am a wretched sinner, deserving of Hell, and have only been saved by grace alone, through faith alone, by Christ alone, on the authority of Scripture alone, and all that for the glory of God alone. Far from depending on my many failed “works” (legalism) I flee from the mound of sin and failures I own as well as the far smaller pile of what I might be so proud to call my “good deeds” (also legalism) – and flee to Christ my Saviour who lived and died (was punished) in my place. I go further against legalism still: I believe that my “decision” to receive Christ as my Saviour was a 2nd cause and that the 1st cause was the Holy Spirit of God in concert with the Word which made me willing to see my need and turn to the Saviour who forgave my sin solely on the merits of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection. Romans 7 and 8 speak of this. Have you studied this passage under prayerful guidance? Also you may want to see: http://www.gty.org/Resources/Articles/A335
Next, you say that “Grace means you throw out the rule book; there are no rules. It's between you and God and no one can question it. Anything else means you're adding leaven and on a slippery slope to legalism.” Actually, I submit you’re mixing up grace with genuine legalism here (i.e. genuine legalism being defined above). Grace is getting what you don’t deserve, mercy is not getting what you do deserve. In order to receive both, you must have an objective moral standard that has been violated. That standard is the moral law, also called the 10 commandments, which is eternal. The Scriptures clearly teach that “there is none righteous, no, not one (Romans 3:1). In other words, we have all broken God’s perfect law and are in need of mercy and grace. Now it’s here that the “legalism” fallacy can result. In short, we are not “under law” as a means of justification; however, once saved, we are given power to obey God’s law which results in our increasing sanctification (holiness), see Romans 6:1-2, etc. When a truly converted Christian obeys God’s Word from the heart (sanctification), albeit often imperfectly, that reflects the changed condition (justification) inside the believer. The Christian loves God’s law because grace and obedience are inseparable. But be careful here. Christ obeys in the believer’s stead to his justification and the believer heeds his Master’s voice once regenerated (saved) -- because he loves His Redeemer, who first loved him (1 John 4:19). The unbeliever mixes this up and sees it as awful rules… and reverts to self-rule or, ironically, self-legalism and self-imposed rules that keep him captive (2 Timothy 2:25-26). In contrast, Christ states: “If you love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). This is freedom and the furthest thing possible from legalism. To re-wire your phrase, anything else means you’re adding leaven and are onto legalism, works and self-rule.
Blessed is the man (whose)… delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night (Psalm 1: 1a, 2).
- Howie Jones
If are you suggesting that we follow the 10 Commandments as the moral law, you again, are proving my point that you are a legalist. Modern day Christians don't even follow them completely. In fact, it's violated every week, and I submit you are probably one of them that does so (or at least has). My evidence: we are to keep the Sabbath Day, the seventh day, holy. Since christians (generally) meet on Sunday and not the Sabbath, then that is violated. Therefore, every week you are guilty of violating the 10 Commandments. As James would say, you are then guilty of breaking them all. (James 2:10). In other words, you are guilty of murder, committing adultry, bearing false witness, taking God's name in vain, etc. all because church meets on Sunday and not the Sabbath.
One could say that we don't have to worry about keeping the Sabbath because we are now under grace, but then that's a slippery slope, isn't it? What other commandments do we decide not to keep based on that? Do you eat pork or bacon? That's forbidden under law (though not the 10 Commandments), but if you do, you are violating the law. What about all the other 613 laws the Jews had? I can imagine you saying that it doesn't matter to a christian if they eat such things. But again, the slippery slope. If you throw out that, then you can't call yourself a Bible believing Christian. Be consistent.
If things like eating pork and/or keeping the Sabbath can be dismissed because one is now under grace, then one has to seriously think about the other laws that one doesn't follow anymore.
Dear Anonymous,
I confess I have broken God’s moral law -- if not in deed then in thought -- including the 4th commandment, which requires us to remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Furthermore, as you rightly point out, to break one commandment means we have broken it all. I am guilty in and of myself -- completely guilty.
What despair this brought me to. But that is not the end of my story.
As I stated prior, I believe I am a wretched sinner, deserving of Hell, and have only been saved by grace alone, through faith alone, by Christ alone, on the authority of Scripture alone, and all that for the glory of God alone. Please study Titus 3:5-7. I rejoice that Christ obeyed the moral law in my place and was also punished for my breaking of that law, in my place. This is sovereign free grace. In short, I have been saved for no cause in me. It is all Christ’s work and doing. Do you know of this saving grace through faith as recorded in the God-breathed Word of God?
I submit you are mixing up laws when you group the moral law (10 commandments) with the other laws the Jews had. In the Old Testament there were 3 law sets: (i) the moral law; (ii) the ceremonial law; and (iii) the civil law. The moral law is eternal (Rom. 2:14,15) and applies to both the Old Testament and the New Testament; namely to all time. The ceremonial law, which pre-figured Christ and His work on Calvary, was abrogated when Christ fulfilled the types and shadows to which they all pointed. The civil law was for Theocratic Israel which sundry judicial laws “expired together with the state of that people, not obliging any now by virtue of that institution; their general equity only being of modern use” (London Baptist Confession of Faith (1689), Chapter 19, Paragraph 4).
I have written a short paper on the Christian Sabbath which I have posted to my blog, so I won’t provide a rebuttal in this space per your allegation of breaking the 4th commandment by not resting on Saturday. Regrettably, there is much confusion on the Lord’s Day in our day. I trust my humble paper may give a reasonable reason why Christian’s are instructed to assemble and rest (i.e. set apart, keep holy) the first day of the week now. I have posted this in a number of blog postings at:
http://beginningatmoses.blogspot.com/search/label/The%20Lord%27s%20Day
It is to be consistent to recognize that the moral law is forever binding for it is as immutable as God -- that is why we need a Saviour who alone could live it for us, and then be punished in our stead for our breaking it. “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2Co 5:21). We are not “under law” as a means of justification; however, once saved, we are given power to obey God’s law which results in our increasing sanctification (holiness), see Romans 6:1-2, etc. When a truly converted Christian obeys God’s Word from the heart (sanctification), albeit often imperfectly, that reflects the changed condition (justification) inside the believer.
The Christian loves God’s law because grace and obedience are inseparable.
- Howie
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