Calvinism Steve Wolfgang 3 October 2016 ECIC Matthew

Calvinism Steve Wolfgang 3 October 2016 ECIC

Matthew 11: 28– 30 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavyladen, and I will give you rest. 29 “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. 30 “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. ”

Calvinism’s “Five Points” Total Hereditary Depravity Unconditional Election Limited Atonement Irresistible Grace Perseverance of Saints This is, of course, an English acronym, not ever written by Calvin (in French) or Remonstrants (in Dutch)

Michael Hart

In the (in)famous ranking of “The 100” ü Calvin comes in at #57, outranking notables such as üCyrus the Great üJulius Caesar üCharlemagne üJohannes Kepler üQueen Elizabeth I üThomas Jefferson üJoseph Stalin

TIME – March 2009

Neo-Calvinism

Young, Restless, and Reformed

Jonathan Edwards Is My Homeboy

Calvinism & Evangelicals üR. Albert Mohler üPresident, SBTS, 1993 – üSBC “takeover” – ca. 1979 üETS

What’s the Attraction? ü Seems “Biblical” (some texts) ü Has intellectual “heft” ü God-centered ü Comfort (God is in control) ü Assurance (certainty in salvation) ü Tradition (“larger than me at this moment”)

Addressing “Big Questions” ü Does man have free will? ü Does God know the future? ü Is everyone saved? ü Is God responsible for sin? ü Can a person “fall away? ” ü How can I know I am saved? ü What about infant baptism?

How Do People Enconter the “New Calvinism? ” ü Devotional literature ü Hymnology ü Bible study curricula ü “Study” Bible notes ü Authors including John Piper, Tim Keller, Mark Driscoll, Al Mohler, R. C. Sproul, others

Calvinism After Calvin ü “Was Calvin a Calvinist (implying that the later collection of theological commitments known as ‘Calvinism, ’ as forged in late 16 th and early 17 th century polemics, can be brought into relation with Calvin’s theology as a means of judging fidelity or otherwise to his thinking)? ” ü Carl R. Trueman (Westminster Theological Seminary), Histories and Fallacies: Problems Faced in the Writing of History (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2010). , p. 161.

Calvinism After Calvin ü “Some have seen the development between Calvin and later Reformed theology as one where there is an increasing focus on predestination, to the point where it becomes the logical axiom and organizing principle of the whole of theology. Some have seen it as a regression to an earlier, medieval way of doing theology, particularly as evidenced by the resurgence of in the use of scholastic vocabulary, medieval sources, and the apparent revival of Aristotle as a metaphysical and logical authority. ”

Calvinism After Calvin ü “Others have seen the development as a move toward Enlightenment rationalism, with an increasing emphasis upon the extent of natural theology (i. e. , that theology which can be derived from observing the natural world, as opposed to that which comes from special revelation, such as the Bible). All of these groups have two things in common: they fail to approach the issue in a truly historical way and, in so doing, they end up imposing anachronistic criteria on 17 thcentury thought. ” ü Trueman, Histories and Fallacies, Fallacies p. 121. Here, Trueman is relying heavily on the work of Richard A. Muller, After Calvin: Studies in

Arminian “Issues” Practical, not simply doctrinal ü Jacob Harmensz (ca. 1560 -1609) ü Latinized Harmenszoon (Herman’s son) to ü ü Arminius; first name – Jacobus (English translation – James) Parents killed in Spanish (Catholic) attack on his hometown in 1575, while Arminius a student at Marburg William of Orange established for the new Dutch republic a university at Leiden After Leiden, Arminius receives scholarship to Geneva At Geneva, Arminius encounters Calvin’s

Arminian “Issues” Practical, not simply doctrinal ü Preaching in Amsterdam, where three of his children died in infancy, Arminius encountered other “issues” ü Challenged to defend Beza’s views, he writes mostly about what his disagreement with his teacher ü Thus, his writings probably obscure the points on which he agreed with “Calvinistic” doctrines ü Whether his views changed, or he never truly accepted Beza’s more extreme views, is a question many have

Arminian “Issues” Practical, not simply doctrinal ü The real crisis arose with the plague of 1602 ü Questions regarding assurance (Latin, desperatio) – lack of hope, ü ü ü hopelessness Calvinistic (Calvin’s? ) concept of “temporary faith” of reprobates (not actual salvation, but the appearance) Greater problem: False security Why so concerned, Jake? If elect, NBD! Saved if you do, saved if you don’t Lowered expectations for sanctification – Romans 7

Arminianism ü “There are many streams of theology and political ideology called Arminian that lead far afield from Arminius’ teaching. ” ü Mildred Bangs Wynkoop, Foundations of Wesleyan-Arminian Theology Press, 1967), p. 60 (Kansas City: Beacon Hill

“Lutheran and Calvinist theologies… ü …shared more than an antipathy to Roman Catholicism. They shared ideas, reinforced each other, and offered up an assortment of theological building blocks to other leaders who customized their own Protestant viewpoints in acts of borrowing as much as theological invention… They also challenged invention each other to be more precise…as they claimed an increasingly broad and committed following…[of] various Anabaptists, English and Scottish innovators, and others. ” ü John Corrigan and Winthrop S. Hudson, Religion in America (7 th ed. , Pearson/Prentice-Hall, 2004), p. 24.

Imagine my bewilderment at ü the “American Dutch Reformed Chinese, ” ü or, attempting to sort through the disquieting spectrum of semi-Calvinistic-to-Arminian aptist denominations: üGeneral, Regular, Particular, Separate, ü“Hardshell”/Primitive/“Old School, ” üFreewill, Landmark, Southern, Northern, üFundamentalist, Independent, etc.

What Might We Learn Profitably from Calvinism? ü Larger vision of God and His glory, majesty, beauty, truth (vs. “Big Buddy upstairs”) ü Theological depth (vs. stylistic shallowness; ignorance is not a “Christian virtue”) ü Relationship of divine grace and human autonomy (vs. divine determinism or human self-determination)

Biblical Foreknowledge 1 Peter 1: 2 Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.

Foreordination “God, from all eternity, did, by the most wise and holy counsel of his own will, freely and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass. ” Westminster Confession

Foreordination “God’s decrees are the wise, free, and holy acts of the counsel of his will, whereby, from all eternity, he hath, for his own glory, unchangeably fore-ordained whatsoever comes to pass, especially concerning angels and men. ” Larger Catechism, Q 12

John Piper on Sovreignty ü “So every spin of the roulette wheel. . . every roll of the dice in your family board game, every reaching of the hand for the scramble of the letter, is determined by God” ü From a seminar, “The Pleasures of God, ” organized by the Desiring God ministry and held at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, MN, where he has served as pastor for over three decades. ü http: //www. christianpost. com/news/john-piper-on-mans-sin-and-gods- sovereignty-80617/#qerbh. DIl 2 Fhs 9 b. Jb. 99

Thou Shalt Not Kill, Steal, Lie… ü Did God foreordain what he forbids? ü If God foreordains all man does, will God punish man for doing evil? ü Does God foreordain evil? ü Psalm 145: 9, 17

David Bentley Hart “One should consider the price at which that comfort [viz. , that of the Calvinist preacher who said, “God killed my son”] is purchased: it requires us to believe in and love a God whose good ends will be achieved not only in spite of – but entirely by way of – every cruelty, every fortuitous misery, every catastrophe, every sin the world has ever known”

David Bentley Hart “It requires us to believe in the eternal spiritual necessity of a child dying an agonizing death from diphtheria, of a young mother ravaged by cancer, of thousands of Asians swallowed in an instant by the sea, of millions in death camps… It is a strange thing indeed to seek peace in a universe rendered morally intelligible at the cost of God rendered morally loathesome. ”

David Bentley Hart ü “If indeed there were a God whose true nature – whose justice or sovereignty – were revealed in the death of a child or the dereliction of a soul or a pre-destined hell, then it would be no great transgression to think of him as a kind of malevolent or contemptible demiurge, and to hate, and deny him worship, and to seek a better God than he. ” ü The Doors of the Sea: Where was God in the Tsunami?

Imputation Theories üAdam’s “original sin” imputed to us üOur sins imputed to Christ üChrist’s personal righteousness imputed to us ü“The Great Exchange”

Imputation Theories ü “The bald argument is that if God by his love and grace, saved us from sin by imputing to us a righteousness in which we had no merit, He must also have cursed and damned us by inflicting upon us a crime for which we were not to blame. ” ü William T. Bruner, Children of the Devil: A Fresh Investigation of ü the Fall of Man and Original Sin (New York: Philosophical Library, 1966), p. 137. Debate on original sin with Clinton D. Hamilton took place at the Expressway church in Louisville, May 23 -28, 1966.

“Dressed in His Righteousness Alone: ” Imputed Righteousness and Imputed Sin Edward Mote, “The Solid Rock” (1836), #412 in Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs The idea is that justification is impossible except by perfect obedience of law. This a legalistic concept! … They think Romans 5: 10 teaches it…. Notice that we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son. If we are reconciled to God by the death of Christ, then ‘much more, being reconciled [Christ has already died], we shall be saved by His life. ’ Which life? The resurrected life, not

Perfect Life of Christ üThe perfect life and obedience of Christ are critically important to for our salvation üBut not because they are somehow magically “imputed” or transferred to us üJesus’ sinless life made him the perfect sacrifice for sin – 1 Peter 1: 18 -19 üechoing Mosaic texts such as Leviticus 22: 18 -22 regarding the necessity of

Jesus’ Perfect Life ü Just as in verse 10, Jesus’ “life” referred to here is not his sinless life before death, but more powerfully (Romans 1: 4) his resurrected life – life after death. üJesus died, and “the life that he lives” is his resurrected life

Jesus’ Perfect Life ü Nowhere does Paul say that the perfect life of Christ, or his personal righteousness, is imputed to anyone else. ü If it did, the parallelism would demand the imputation of Adam’s sin to others as well – inherited depravity.

Mac. Arthur Study Bible üMac. Arthur defines “justification” as ü“a legal or forensic term” producing “the imputation of Christ’s righteousness to the believer’s account. ” üGod not only “declares a sinner righteous solely on the merits of Christ’s righteousness” – in addition, “He imputes a believer’s sin to Christ’s account. ” üThe sinner “receives this gift of God’s

Mac. Arthur Study Bible ü Commenting on the text of Romans 5, Mac. Arthur asserts dogmatically that ü“justification is a one-time legal declaration with continuing results” – ü“not an ongoing process” by which “the sinner’s war with God is ended forever”

Perfect Life of Christ ü Furthermore, his sinless life makes Him the only possible mediator and priest between man and God, who alone can both empathize with human temptation and weakness and yet is undefiled and separate from sinners – Hebrews 4: 14 -16, 5: 8 -9, 7: 25 -27; 1 Timothy 2: 5 -6 ü Not only that, but “much more, ” Jesus’ sinless life provides us a perfect example to follow – 1 Peter 2: 21 -22 ü He is powerful to save us – not by living a sinless life in our place, but by suffering the punishment of sin for us.

Albert Barnes ü “What Adam did must be held as done by us, and the imputation of his guilt would seem to follow as a necessary consequence. ” üRomans, p. 120

D. A. Carson ü“for many Protestants today, the doctrine of imputation has become the crucial touchstone for orthodoxy with respect to justification” ü“in both exegesis and theology, imputation has been tied not only to what Christ accomplished on the cross, but also to the relation

Imputation Controversies

D. A. Carson üClassifying several “distinguishable positions” which are “bound up with distinctive understandings of imputation, ” Carson acknowledges: ü“exploring these matters would take us immediately to Romans 5: 12 and related passages. ” ü “The Vindication of Imputation, ” in Justification: What’s At Stake

Robert H. Gundry The Non-Imputation of Christ’s Righteousness But what about the imputation – that is, crediting – of righteousness? Here all the New Testament texts that refer explicitly to imputation in relation to righteousness. [Galatians 3: 6; Romans 4: 3, 5. 6. 9, 11 22 -24]. But none of these texts say that Christ’s righteousness was counted.

Imputation Controversies

John Mac. Arthur The Gospel According to Jesus ü “Although the words justification and justify are rare in Jesus’ recorded utterances, I regard this doctrine as the centerpiece of the gospel he proclaimed. ” xv ü “The remedy Luther found was the doctrine of justification by faith. His discovery launched the Reformation and put an end to the Dark Ages. What Luther came to realize is that God’s righteousness, revealed in the gospel, is reckoned in full to the account of everyone who turns to

John Mac. Arthur ü The Gospel According to Jesus “Justification may be defined as an act of God whereby he imputes to the believing sinner the full and perfect righteousness of Christ, forgiving the sinner of all unrighteousness, declaring him or her perfectly righteous in God’s sight. p. 197. ü “The cornerstone of justification is the reckoning of righteousness to the believer’s account. This is the truth that sets Christian doctrine apart from every other form of false religion. We call it ‘imputed righteousness. ’

Mac. Arthur Study Bible üMac. Arthur defines “justification” as ü“a legal or forensic term” producing “the imputation of Christ’s righteousness to the believer’s account. ” üGod not only “declares a sinner righteous solely on the merits of Christ’s righteousness” – further, “He imputes a believer’s sin to Christ’s account. ” üThe sinner “receives this gift of God’s

Mac. Arthur Study Bible ü Commenting on the text of Romans 5, Mac. Arthur asserts dogmatically that ü“justification is a one-time legal declaration with continuing results” – ü“not an ongoing process” by which “the sinner’s war with God is ended forever”

Holman Illustrated Study Bible ü Commentary sidebar in the at Romans 5 ü Justification is defined as “a forensic act of God” whereby “a sinner is pronounced righteous by the imputation of the righteousness of Christ. ” ü The resulting relationship with God “is not merely a temporary state that can be destroyed by man’s action but is instead a state that results in eternal

The Package üBy faith “alone” [absent repentance? ] üGod declares me righteous üImputes my sin (and Adam’s inherited sin) to Christ üImputes to me Christ’s righteousness üBased on His perfect life, lived in my

Who Do You Read? ü John Mac. Arthur ü Rick Warren ü Tim Keller ü Francis Chan ü Chuck Swindoll ü John Piper ü Max Lucado ü Mark Driscoll ü Brian Mc. Laren ü Who else?

Who Do You Read? ü Robert F. Turner ü Melvin Curry ü R. L. Whiteside ü Moses E. Lard ü John W. Mc. Garvey ü David Lipscomb ü Foy E. Wallace, Jr. ü Tom Roberts ü Bill Reeves

Traditional View ü Portrayal of Paul as a “typical” Pharisee üBelieving in one’s ability to earn salvation üThrough legalistic self-righteousness üWho then is converted to a belief that justification comes only through God imputing the personal righteousness of Christ to us by

“New Perspective on Paul” (NPP) ü Judaism was about keeping covenant with God üObeying, yes, the Torah, as the terms of the covenant required üBelieving that such obedience

New Perspective. S ü Palestinian Judaism of Paul’s day was ü More about defining who can participate in the covenant (in Paul’s formulation, Gentiles as well as Hebrews? ) than meritorious works ü More about how one can remain in the covenant than earning salvation by perfect law-keeping ü As much about “corporate” as “individual”

NPP ü Paul was not so much arguing against the Mosaic law per se as ü Challenging Jewish abuse of the law and ü Restriction of the covenant to prevent Gentiles from inclusion as God’s people. ü Paul is arguing with an interpretation of Judaism as presented by his opponents

NPP ü The “NPP” has the advantage of focusing on issues which sound very much like what is actually reported and discussed in texts such as üMatthew 8: 5 -13; Mark 7: 24 -30; Luke 3: 7 -8; John 8: 31 -58; Acts 9: 15; 10: 15, 35 -35; 11: 3, 15; 22: 21 -22; Romans 2: 17 -25; 3: 29 -31; Galatians

“New” Perspectives ü Matthew 8: 5 -13 – No Israelite with such great faith üMark 7: 24 -30 – Greek woman, born in Syrian Pheonicia – “even the dogs eat table crumbs” üLuke 3: 7 -8 – Abraham’s

NPP ü Acts 9: 15 – Paul “chosen” to go Gentiles & Israelites üActs 10: 15, 34 -48 – What God cleanses is not unclean üActs 11: 3, 15 -17 – Who can

NPP Romans 2: 17 -25 Romans 3: 29 -31 Romans 9: 30 ff Galatians 3: 13, 15 - 29 Galatians 4: 21 -31

Does the Bible teach Universal Salvation? ü If God saves people totally apart from anything they do: ü Why are not all people saved? ü Or are all, universally, saved? 231

Does the Bible teach universal salvation? ü If God saves people totally apart from anything they do: ü Why are not all people saved? ü Or are all, universally, saved? ü If not all are saved, is God then a respecter of persons? ü Salvation is offered freely to all! ü Will accept? 231

Common Descriptions ü “Once saved, always saved” ü “Once in grace, always in grace” ü (Im) possibility of apostasy ü Security of the believer ü Perseverance of the saints ü Preservation of the saints

Romans 5: 18 ü Here, “Paul affirms a universal atonement and reconciliation comprehending all men: ü ‘so one man’s act of righteousness leads to acquittal and life for all men’ (RSV). ü “But actuation of the universal atonement for individual men is contingent on personal appropriation

Romans 5: 17 ü ‘much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ’ (v. 17 RSV). ü“What is provided for ‘all men’ benefits only those who receive. ” ü Shank, Elect in the Son, 108.

Conditional Texts ü John 3: 16 -17, 36 ü John 6: 33 -35, 51 ü 1 Timothy 4: 8 -10 ü Romans 1: 5, 16: 26 üRomans 5: 1 -2 ü “Read the book” 234

More Conditional Texts ü Luke 8: 11 -15 ü John 5: 24 ü John 15: 1 -10 ü 2 Peter 2: 1 -4, 14 -15, 20 -22 ü “Read THE Book”

The “Hook” ü Insecurity ü “Do you KNOW you’re saved? ” ü Can’t do it all ü I’m not perfect ü I fall short

The Shortcut ü By faith alone ü God declares me righteous ü Imputes my sin (and Adam’s inherited sin) to Christ

The Shortcut ü By faith alone ü God declares me righteous ü Imputes my sin (and Adam’s inherited sin) to Christ ü Imputes to me Christ’s righteousness ü Based on His perfect life, lived in my place ü Once mine, it can’t be lost: “secure”

Practical Reality However, the cluster of Calvinist doctrines of imputation, election, and related dogmas do not really solve the “problem” of insecurity, as is often claimed.

Jack Hyles Jack Schaap

Can’t Fall Away? Jack Schaap, “pastor” of the 15, 000 -member First Baptist Church of Hammond, Indiana, was fired for having an adulterous affair with a 16 -year old church member, transporting her across state lines for sexual purposes. 236

Always Saved? üSchaap was married to Cindy Hyles Schaap, daughter of Jack Hyles, who built First Baptist Church and helped found Hyles-Anderson College. üSchaap is under Federal investigation, along with Hyles-Anderson College, where the former preacher was once a vice president, and where the teenage girl was enrolled. 237

Source -- Dennis Sullivan and Lisa Black, “FBI says it’s looking into Indiana pastor’s relationship with teen; Agency investigating whether cleric’s ‘improper behavior’ was a crime, ” Chicago Tribune, August 05, 2012 --Online at http: //articles. chicagotribune. com/2012 -08 -05/news/ct-met-pastorfired-update-20120805_1_schaap-fbi-independent-church.

Always in Grace? ü Long-standing allegations of Schaap’s father-in-law Jack Hyles’ multiple adulteries have been confirmed by one of his daughters üSee video interview at http: //brucegerencser. net/2012/08/07/linda-murphrey-and-her-life -as-the-daughter-of-jack-hyles/

Chicago Magazine January 2013

Eternal “Security? ” ü If anyone had asked these advocates of “eternal security” 5 -10 years before their spectacular fall from grace: ü Are you “assured” of salvation? ü Are you “secure” as one of the “elect? ” ü They would no doubt have ostentatiously declared that they were “secure” ü With no possibility of apostasy whatsoever!

Did They Fall? üIndeed, the question is not hypothetical üThey were, in fact, emphatically preaching such doctrines! üAnd yet, they sinned spectacularly, brazenly, and repeatedly üWere they really saved all the while they were committing such crimes against their fellow humans?

Bad Choices ü Or were they deluded, wrongly believing they were safe and secure, when in reality they were not? üOr did they in fact fall from grace, falling away completely into apostasy? 237

Religious Discussion on Apostasy November 56 2009

What About You? ü Where will YOU be spiritually in 5 years? ü Ten years? ü Will you become like these “believers? ” ü What kind of “assurance” is that?

However, the cluster of Calvinist doctrines of imputation, election, and related dogmas do not really solve the “problem” of insecurity, as is often claimed.

Insecurity For one thing, “the Calvinist cannot rely upon Christ’s promise of eternal life in the gospel (since that promise is for the elect alone) his security lies in being one of the elect – but how can he be certain that he is? …How can any Calvinist be certain that he is among the select company predestined for heaven? He can’t” (Hunt 2006: 483 -484).

Piper on TULIP “we must also own up to the fact that our final salvation is made contingent upon the subsequent obedience which comes from faith. ” John Piper and Pastoral Staff, “TULIP: What We Believe About the Five Points of Calvinism: Position Paper of the Pastoral Staff” (Minneapolis: Desiring God Ministries, 1997): 25 – quoted in Hunt (2006: 482).

Insecure Calvinists ü “Nearly all the Puritan ‘divines’ went through great doubt and despair on their deathbeds as they realized their lives did not give perfect evidence that they were elect” (Kendall 1979: 2). ü“According to Puritan belief, the genuineness of a man’s faith can only be determined by the life that follows it, [thus] assurance of salvation becomes impossible at the moment of conversion” (Hodges, 1992: vi).

False “Security” Options Advocates of “eternal security” are thus left with these options: either it is possible to be deceived into believing (and even preaching) that one is eternally secure when one is actually not; or,

False “Security” Options that it is clearly possible, having once been saved, to so sin as to be lost eternally. These traditional Calvinistic “arguments” on apostasy do not – indeed, cannot – deliver on their false promises of “security

Titus 2 ü When “we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another” ü God in his mercy saved us – “when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared. ” ü This he did, “not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the

Assurance The certainty of our faith in the resurrected, living Messiah enables us to endure whatever we must in this life, realizing that suffering produces “perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was

The Assurance of Our Hope Secure in the faith that God will do what He has promised, we must continue in zealous service to God in spiritual fervor, “rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer” ü(Romans 12: 12)

Conclusion üThough we deserve none of it, ü“Here is the great Mediator and his whole work, his obedience, his death and blood, his reconciliation which mediates our justification and its effect: Salvation and Life Eternal. Who but an inspired writer could put such a volume of saving truth into twenty-one short

Exodus 34: 6 -7 üAppealed to by Moses himself – Numbers 14: 17 -18 üIt is quoted or paraphrased repeatedly in the Psalms – Ps 86: 15; 103: 8; 145: 8, etc. üPsalm 136 is totally dedicated to a celebration of the hesed of Jehovah üJonah complains God’s grace was why he fled from Nineveh – Jonah 4: 1 -4 üProphets emphasize it – Joel 2: 12 -13 üNehemiah quotes the text in 9: 16 -17

Amazon. com book review ü “I guess this is a good book if you’ve never heard all this before. Most of it is common sense stuff. I don’t want to take away from the good intentions behind it. God bless good intentions. I got bored reading it”

Denominational Critique ü The Purpose Driven Life is ü Christianity for grade-schoolers; ü the style is elementary, ü the sentences short, ü the print large, ü the chapters brief, ü theology shallow, and ü the structure overly simplified. Ø Tony Capoccia – Bible Bulletin Board Box 119, Columbus, NJ 08022

Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Purpose-Driven Ideas ü You were planned for God’s pleasure [Worship] ü You were formed for God’s family [Fellowship] ü You were created to become like Christ [Spiritual Growth] ü You were shaped for serving God [Spiritual Service] ü You were made for a mission [Evangelism]

“It all starts with God” (p. 17) ü ü “You must build your life on eternal truths” “not pop psychology, success-motivation, or inspirational stories” (p. 20) ü ü “The only time most people think about eternity is at funerals, and then it’s often shallow, sentimental thinking, based on ignorance” (p. 39) “Life on earth is a temporary assignment” (p. 47)

What’s Important ü ü ü “Your spiritual family is more important than your physical family because it will last forever” (p. 119) “Being included in God’s family is the highest honor and greatest privilege you will ever receive” (p. 121) “The Bible knows nothing of solitary saints or spiritual hermits isolated from other believers and deprived of fellowship” (p. 130)

Importance of Christ’s Church Chapter 17 ü Identifies you as a genuine believer ü ü ü Moves you out of self-centered isolation Helps you develop spiritual muscle Helps keep you from backsliding You share in Christ’s mission to the world The Body of Christ needs you

Sins of Omission ü ü ü The Purpose Driven Life fails as much in what is not said, than in what is. Key doctrines are sometimes altogether ignored, explained incompletely, or discussed without adequate scriptural support. The “gospel” is presented without repentance, the reason for Jesus’ death, baptism, or the eternal consequences of sin.

Sins of Omission ü ü ü ü Church unity and membership are highlighted, Yet key verses (Hebrews 10: 25) are missing No mention is made concerning doctrinal purity. Temptation is discussed, yet the blame seems to be always placed on Satan The Christian’s response largely reduced to advice including “refocusing your thoughts” (p. 210) and joining a “support group” (p. 212).

The Gospel ü ü A call to self-denial, not self-fulfillment A message about redemption, not life’s purpose Deals with God’s law, His grace, ü human depravity, redemption from sin, ü justification, sanctification, holiness, ü the nature of saving faith, ü the lordship of Christ ü cross of Christ, ü and the truth of the resurrection. None of these are addressed adequately or biblically in The Purpose-Driven Life.

40 Days n Noah’s life transformed by 40 days of rain. n Moses transformed by 40 days on Mt. Sinai. n Spies transformed by 40 days in the Promised Land. n David transformed by Goliath’s 40 -day challenge. n Elijah transformed when God gave him 40 days from a single meal. n Entire city of Nineveh transformed when God gave the people 40 days to change. Jesus empowered by 40 days in the wilderness. n

40 Days ? The flood was judgment on the world n Not preparing Noah for God’s Purposes. n n n Moses was given the law on Mt. Sinai It was not about life change for Moses. n 2 of the spies were faithful and not changed, 10 were faithless. n David heard about the challenge after the 40 days had already happened. n The Bible does not maintain that

Ashley Smith Duluth, GA

Predestination Steve Wolfgang 18 October 2015 Downers Grove

25 Most Influential Evangelicals

“Evangelicals” Claim to believe the Bible ü Claim to believe in inspiration ü Claim to believe in miracles ü Emphasize being “born again” ü Emphasize evangelism ü Most are premillennial ü Many are Calvinists ü

“Evangelicals” ü Most are premillennial ü Christ will return before the kingdom ü He will reign on earth 1000 years ü Many are Calvinists Unconditional Election ü Predestination ü “Once saved, always saved” ü

Billy Graham Franklin Graham

Tim & Beverly La. Haye ICR Women Aglow Left Behind

T. D. Jakes

Bill Hybels Willow Creek Chicago suburbs

Purpose. Driven Life Rick Warren 6 million + copies sold

Mega-Churches ü ü ü Willow Creek, Chicago – Bill Hybels Saddleback, San Diego – Rick Warren Oak Hills, San Antonio – Max Lucado Southeast Christian, Louisville “Seeker” churches Good music, drama, entertainment, job services, oil changes, etc.

God Foreordained All That Occurs Sin Occurs Therefore, God Foreordained Sin

Does God Play Favorites? ü ü Acts 10: 34 Romans 2: 11 Ephesians 6: 9 Colossians 3: 25

Purpose-Driven Life

How To Be Saved? ü The reader is simply asked to “whisper the prayer that will change your eternity: ü ‘Jesus, I believe in you and I receive you’” (p. 58) ü “If you sincerely meant that prayer, congratulations! ü Welcome to the family of God” ü Purpose-Driven Life, p. 59