the perseverance of relationships

while i am not an extreme calvinist, i believe in the perseverance of the saints.

'once saved, always saved' is true by definition. however, 'once saved, always saved' does not mean that we are saved as long as we have committed to God before. getting saved only happens once, but being saved is an ongoing process.

'once saved, always saved' means that if we are truly saved, then we will persevere until the end. if we do not persevere until the end, then we are not truly saved in the first place.

"They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us." - 1 John 2:19 (NIV)

if i ask you now whether you believe and you say 'yes' - and later on i ask you whether you believe and you say 'yes' again, then it shows that you truly believe.

if i ask you now whether you believe and you say 'yes' - and later on i ask you whether you believe and you say 'no', then it shows that you think you believe, but actually do not truly believe.

if i ask you now whether you believe and you say 'no' - and later on i ask you whether you believe and you say 'yes', then it shows that you think you do not believe, but actually truly believe.

if i ask you now whether you believe and you say 'no' - and later on i ask you whether you believe and you say 'no' again, then it shows that you truly do not believe.

if i ask you now whether you believe and you say 'yes', then you could either have said 'yes' or 'no' if i had asked you earlier on.

if i ask you now whether you believe and you say 'no', then you could only have said 'no' if i had asked you earlier on. you could not have said 'yes' if i had asked you earlier on, for if you had said 'yes' if i had asked you earlier on, then you would say 'yes' if i ask you now.

as i believe in the perseverance of the saints, so do i believe in the perseverance of relationships. after all, relationships are founded on the profound mystery of God and Israel, of Christ and the church, of biblical complementarianism in the Lord.

"The LORD said to me, "Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the LORD loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes."

"So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and about a homer and a lethek of barley. Then I told her, "You are to live with me many days; you must not be a prostitute or be intimate with any man, and I will live with you.

"For the Israelites will live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred stones, without ephod or idol. Afterward the Israelites will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the LORD and to his blessings in the last days." - Hosea 3 (NIV)

'once together, always together' is true by definition. however, 'once together, always together' does not mean that two people are together as long as they have committed to each other before. getting together only happens once, but being together is an ongoing process.

'once together, always together' means that if two people are truly together, then they will persevere until the end. if they do not persevere until the end, then they are not truly together in the first place.

sovereign grace

"But if our unrighteousness brings out God's righteousness more clearly, what shall we say? That God is unjust in bringing his wrath on us? (I am using a human argument.) Certainly not! If that were so, how could God judge the world? Someone might argue, "If my falsehood enhances God's truthfulness and so increases his glory, why am I still condemned as a sinner?" Why not say - as we are being slanderously reported as saying and as some claim that we say - "Let us do evil that good may result"? Their condemnation is deserved." - Romans 3:5-8 (NIV)

"What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don't you know that all of us who were baptised into Christ Jesus were baptised into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life." - Romans 6:1-4 (NIV)

"Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious. But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their fullness bring!" - Romans 11:11-12 (NIV)

knowing that 'in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose' (Romans 8:28, NIV) should not lead us to sit back and relax, but sit up and renew our minds.

if God is able to work through our lack of faith (ie. sin), how much more will He be able to work through our faith!

calvinism and middle knowledge

*to professor terrance tiessen*

in one of my previous posts, calvinism vs middle knowledge, i held that:

both calvinism (which i disagree with) and middle knowledge (which i agree with) affirm that God sovereignly predestines all choices.

the key difference is that according to calvinism, God sovereignly predestines how all choices are made; according to middle knowledge, God sovereignly predestines how all choices are actualised.

after reading tiessen's article on "Why Calvinists Should Believe in Divine Middle Knowledge Although They Reject Molinism", i would like to revise my position. i now hold that:

extreme calvinism, classical "non-middle knowledge" calvinism (which i both disagree with) and moderate "middle knowledge" calvinism (which i agree with) affirm that God sovereignly predestines all choices.

the key difference is that according to extreme calvinism, God sovereignly predestines how all choices are mechanistically made; according to classical "non-middle knowledge" calvinism, God sovereignly predestines how all choices are compatibilistically made; according to moderate "middle knowledge" calvinism, God sovereignly predestines how all choices are compatibilistically actualised.

four five views on divine sovereignty and human responsibility

1. extreme calvinism - God is sovereign, man is mechanistically free (philosophically sound - hard determinism, theologically unsound)

2. moderate "middle knowledge" calvinism - God is sovereign, man is compatibilistically free (philosophically sound - soft determinism, theologically sound)

2. classical "non-middle knowledge" calvinism - God is sovereign, man is compatibilistically free (philosophically sound - soft determinism, theologically unsound)

3. moderate "middle knowledge" calvinism - God is sovereign, man is compatibilistically free (philosophically sound - soft determinism, theologically sound)

4. molinism - God is sovereign, man is libertarianly free (philosophically unsound, theologically unsound)

5. open theism - God is not sovereign, man is libertarianly free (philosophically sound - libertarianism, theologically unsound)

(on a side note, what is philosophically sound may or may not be theologically sound, but what is theologically sound must be philosophically sound. at the same time, what is theologically unsound may or may not be philosophically unsound, but what philosophically unsound must be theologically unsound.

to put it in philosophical terms, philosophical soundness is a necessary but not a sufficient condition of theological soundness.)

moderate "middle knowledge" calvinism

Perhaps we should think of God's regulating the factors of a situation, then, as 'occasioning' a particular choice to be made, rather than as 'causing' a particular choice to be made. Because God knows the natures of each person perfectly, he knows how those natures will respond to particular sets of factors presented to them. Thus, without causing a person to do evil, he nonetheless controls the evil they do. He controls whether evil is done, what evil is done, and in any and every case he could prevent the evil from being done. But in no case does he cause the evil to be done. In this way, God maintains meticulous control over evil while his moral creatures alone are the agents who do evil, and they alone bear moral responsibility for the evil they freely do.

- Bruce Ware, God's Greater Glory: The Exalted God of Scripture and the Christian Faith in Terrance Tiessen, Why Calvinists Should Believe in Divine Middle Knowledge Although They Reject Molinism

Thus, in my middle knowledge Calvinist model, before God decides what He will do by way of creating a world and ordering its history, God knows how particular creatures would act if they found themselves in particular sets of circumstances. This knowledge enables God to choose a world whose history is exactly the history that He wisely purposes but to bring about that history through a combination of the morally responsible actions of rational creatures and God's own actions. God does this in such a way that all glory for everything good must be attributed to God but all culpability for evil done by creatures justly lies in the will of those creatures. God is able to choose a great number of people to salvation, but then to bring about their salvation in such a way that all who are saved by grace contribute nothing to their salvation which would give them ground for boasting, and no one is condemned who does not freely choose to reject God's grace.

- Terrance Tiessen, Why Calvinists Should Believe in Divine Middle Knowledge Although They Reject Molinism

*****

in one sense, God's decree is based on His knowledge. in another sense, God's knowledge is based on His decree. however, both cannot be true in the same respect and at the same time.

God's decree is based on His knowledge. however, it is not that God's decree is based on His knowledge of what we WILL do. rather, it is that God's decree is based on His knowledge of what we COULD WOULD do.

God's knowledge is based on His decree. however, it is not that God's knowledge of what we COULD WOULD do is based on His decree. rather, it is that God's knowledge of what we WILL do is based on His decree.

therefore, God's decree is based on His knowledge of what we COULD WOULD do, and God's knowledge of what we WILL do is based on His decree. God has middle knowledge in between His knowledge of what we COULD WOULD do and His knowledge of what we WILL do (ie. God has middle knowledge in His decree).

in other words, God's sovereign choice to create THIS particular world is based on His knowledge of ALL possible worlds, and God's knowledge of THIS particular world is based on His sovereign choice to create THIS particular world. God has middle knowledge in between His knowledge of ALL possible worlds and His knowledge of THIS particular world (ie. God has middle knowledge in His sovereign choice to create THIS particular world).

if God's sovereign choice to create this particular world is not based on His knowledge of all possible worlds, then there could be other possible worlds (outside of God's knowledge) which reflect His glory more than this particular world. however, there are no other possible worlds (outside of God's knowledge) which reflect His glory more than this particular world. therefore, God's sovereign choice to create this particular world is based on His knowledge of all possible worlds.

if God's knowledge of this particular world is not based on His sovereign choice to create this particular world, then there could be events in this particular world which are not part of God's decretive will. however, there are no events in this particular world which are not part of God's decretive will. therefore, God's knowledge of this particular world is based on His sovereign choice to create this particular world.

one very important pastoral implication of this is that there is no place for regret in moderate "middle knowledge" calvinism. there are no other possible worlds which could have been brought about, only one particular world which has been (freely) brought about. there are no "what ifs", only "what is".

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." - Romans 8:28 (NIV)

*edited on 14 oct 08, with input from professor terrance tiessen*

links: more on calvinism and middle knowledge (7 jun 09), even more on calvinism and middle knowledge (28 jun 09)

sharing the Father's welcome

Americans have taken to hanging up yellow ribbons along with the red, white, and blue. It all began at the outset of Ronald Reagan's presidency, when the hostages were released from Iran. They were welcomed with yellow ribbons fluttering from trees and utility poles in Washington, D.C., and on Main Street USA. The image came from a popular ballad about a wife signalling a welcome to her husband, just released from jail, by tying a yellow ribbon "'round the old oak tree". The song has mercifully faded, but the symbol has caught on. The yellow ribbon has become our sign of a joyful welcome home.

One of the stories that Jesus told gives us the picture of a yellow ribbon tied across the open gate of heaven. Jesus described the joy of heaven in welcoming home a penitent sinner. The familiar story is often called the parable of the prodigal son. Some have said it might better be called the parable of the elder brother, since it ends with his reaction to his brother's homecoming. But the central figure in the story is the father, who would welcome both sons to his feast. Jesus tells the story so that we might understand the welcome of his heavenly Father and join in its joy.

- Edmund Clowney, Sharing the Father's Welcome

back in york

i have spent most of the past week unpacking and settling into my new house. living off campus is a big move in many ways, but God has really blessed me with great housemates and a great house.

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labour or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

"So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." - Matthew 6:25-34 (NIV)

i have also been involved with cu international team events over the past week, it being pre-sessional orientation for new international students (albeit run by the university, not the cu) and thus a short window of opportunity to reach out to new international students on campus before the rest of this year's freshers arrive over the weekend.

"Therefore, since through God's mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ." - 2 Corinthians 4:1-6 (NIV)

next week is freshers week and the start of the 2008/9 academic year. where it all begins, again.

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." - Hebrews 12:1-3 (NIV)

is theology poetry?

I was taught at school, when I had done a sum, to "prove my answer". The proof or verification of my Christian answer to the cosmic sum is this. When I accept Theology I may find difficulties, at this point or that, in harmonising it with some particular truths which are imbedded in the mythical cosmology derived from science. But I can get in, or allow for, science as a whole.

Granted that Reason is prior to matter and that the light of that primal Reason illuminates finite minds, I can understand how men should come, by observation and inference, to know a lot about the universe they live. If, on the other hand, I swallow the scientific cosmology as a whole, then not only can I not fit in Christianity, but I cannot even fit in science. If minds are wholly dependent on brains, and brains on biochemistry, and biochemistry (in the long run) on the meaningless flux of the atoms, I cannot understand how the thought of those minds should have any more significance than the sound of the wind in the trees.

And this is to me the final test. This is how I distinguish dreaming and waking. When I am awake I can, in some degree, account for and study my dream. The dragon that pursued me last night can be fitted into my waking world. I know that there are such things as dreams; I know that I had eaten an indigestible dinner; I know that a man of my reading might be expected to dream of dragons. But while in the nightmare I could not have fitted in my waking experience.

The waking world is judged more real because it can thus contain the dreaming world; the dreaming world is judged less real because it cannot contain the waking one. For the same reason I am certain that in passing from the scientific points of view to the theological, I have passed from dream to waking. Christian theology can fit in science, art, morality, and the sub-Christian religions. The scientific point of view cannot fit in any of these things, not even science itself.

I believe in Christianity as I believe that the Sun has risen, not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.

- C.S. Lewis, Is Theology Poetry? in The Weight of Glory

hearing God's voice

Joseph learned you shouldn't draw conclusions about God's will for your life until the last chapter is written. He endured years of suffering at the hands of his brothers, his Egyptian masters, and his jailers until finally he was made a powerful leader in Egypt, second only to Pharaoh himself. He was influential in saving the lives of thousands of people. Only then could he fully see God's divine plan and realise he had been in the centre of God's will all the time.

- Henry and Richard Blackaby, Hearing God's Voice

And suddenly you begin to see that this [Genesis 39] is not merely a morality play, again it's part of a deeply Christological reading of the whole Bible. It's bringing you to Jesus, how God in His own purposes, through the foibles and weaknesses and through the strengths and faithfulness of individual believers across redemptive history, has - in the fullness of time - brought forth His Son, the Redeemer, through Whom all the nations of the earth will be blessed.

And there is no text in Genesis 39 that says, "Now listen, pay attention folks, this is heading to the great Christological centre." It's not saying that. It's the narrative that conveys it, the narrative of Genesis 39 in the context of the book of Genesis, Genesis in the context of the Pentateuch, the Pentateuch in the context of the whole Bible, do you see?

- D. A. Carson, The Living Word 2008

the 'author and perfecter of our faith' (Hebrews 12:2, NIV) is also the author and perfecter of the faith of our forefathers, as well as future generations. in fact, 'these were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect' (Hebrews 11:39-40, NIV).

above all, God's will for our lives is to fulfill His covenant to rehab, renew and restart creation to reflect His glory. to quote caleb quoting mark dever, "If I know that God’s plan in the Bible is to glorify Himself through the gospel of Jesus Christ, what is my role in this process?" Another way of asking this question is probably, "What is my personal involvement in the master plan of history, and God’s blueprint for His eternal kingdom - where do I find my spot, and place to contribute?"

saved to serve

in one sense, God does not need us to serve Him.

"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else." - Acts 17:24-25 (NIV)

in another sense, God needs us to serve Him.

"And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the LORD's commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?" - Deuteronomy 10:12-13 (NIV)

however, God cannot both not need us to serve Him and need us to serve Him in the same respect and at the same time.

God does not need us to serve Him in the sense that...

God does not need us to serve Him in the sense that whether or not we serve Him (preceptively), we are already serving Him (decretively). in other words, whether or not we do His will (preceptively), we are already doing His will (decretively). this is founded on the premise that there is one will in two senses.

"When Esther's words were reported to Mordecai, he sent back this answer: "Do not think that because you are in the king's house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?"" - Esther 4:12-14 (NIV)

God did not need Esther to serve Him. Esther needed God to enable her to serve Him.

1. we all serve God.
2. we either serve God like Judas or like John.
3. if we do not serve God like Judas, then we serve God like John.
4. if we do not serve God like John, then we serve God like Judas.

"For you will certainly carry out God's purpose, however you act, but it makes a difference to you whether you serve like Judas or like John." - C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain

God needs us to serve Him in the sense that...

God needs us to serve Him in the sense that He has enabled us to serve Him, and to not serve Him would be to 'grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom [we] were sealed for the day of redemption' (Ephesians 4:30, NIV). like Esther, we need God to enable us to serve Him.

"The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen." - 1 Peter 4:7-11 (NIV)

"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins. Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." - 2 Peter 1:3-11 (NIV)

1. we are all elected for service.
2. we are either elected for service and salvation or service but not salvation.
3. if we choose to accept Jesus' universal offer of salvation, then we are elected for service and salvation (like John).
4. if we choose not to accept Jesus' universal offer of salvation, then we are elected for service but not salvation (like Judas).

of course, just as faith leads to works (even as works do not lead to faith), so does salvation lead to service (even as service does not lead to salvation). we are saved to serve!

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will." - Romans 12:1-2 (NIV)

faith, hope and love

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." - Hebrews 11:1 (NIV)

"For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently." - Romans 8:24-25 (NIV)

"Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." - 1 Corinthians 13:12-13 (NIV)

in holy matrimony

i attended roger and e-vonne's wedding this morning, the first wedding i have attended in kprbc as far as i can remember. as i witnessed the wedding ceremony, i was reminded that there is something magical about marriage, and it is not about the wedding ceremony itself.

if marriage between man and woman - in the first heaven and the first earth - is glorious, how much more glorious will marriage between Christ and the church - in the new heaven and the new earth - be!

"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."" - Revelation 21:1-4 (NIV)

the best is yet to be!