Election

Coming up next on Renewing Your Mind. If were going to be biblical in our theology is not a question of whether we have a doctrine of predestination. We have to have a doctrine of predestination question is, is our doctrine of predestination. The correct one. The biblical one because obviously there is a biblical doctrine of election predestination predestination.

Just hearing that causes many people to be on alert. Caution, you might be thinking controversy ahead but as will hear today from RC Sproul predestination is a biblical concept. Neither Augustine nor Calvin nor any of the reformers made it up.

So why does it continue to be so controversial will find out today as Dr. Spruill continues his series on the Westminster confession of faith come to the last section of chapter 3, section 8, we get to the what I call, so what part of the doctrine we been studying for several sessions. The difficult concept of God's eternal degrees of predestination the election and all that goes with it. And this doctrine course run the most controversial issues that Christians debate all the time. So having looked at the doctrine and the content of the doctrine we asked the question, finally.

So what what differences and make and that's what's being answered here in this last segment begins by saying the doctrine of this high mystery of predestination. Let me just stop there. Two words jump out at me by the Westminster divines that the doctrine of predestination is first of all knowledge to be a mystery, but there are elements to the doctrine of predestination that in this world and this life. We do not yet understand God's been pleased to reveal some of it but obviously not all of it so it remains to some degree, at least shrouded in mystery. Now that's no reason for us to then pass it off as irrelevant or insignificant, because though the Bible does not reveal all there is to know presumably about the doctrine of predestination. It certainly does make it clear that there is such a thing as predestination. As I've said at the beginning, the term predestination was not invented by Martin Luther or John Calvin or by St. Augustine but it is right there in the text of sacred Scripture, not to mention the word predestination but also the word election and the term elect is found abundantly throughout Scripture. So as I said at the beginning if were going to be biblical in our theology is not a question of whether we have a doctrine of predestination.

We have to have a doctrine of predestination. The question is, is our doctrine. Predestination the correct one. The biblical one because obviously there is a biblical doctrine of election predestination, not mentions the fact that mystery attends this doctrine, but even that term is qualified by the adjective high is not just any garden-variety mystery that is associated with the doctrine of election, but this is a high mystery. Not that the mystery is more mysterious than all other mysteries, but that is a mystery that attains a high and holy and very important and significant doctrine, mystery, yes, but it's a high mystery. This is not one of the insignificant details of the Bible course.

I believe there are any insignificant details of the biblical revelation, but it can't to simply be dismissed as a technical point for scholars to deliberate only, but the doctrine of this high mystery of predestination is to be handled with special prudence and care a couple things I want to say about that. This is almost verbatim drawn from the institutes of the Christian religion by John Calvin, who so famous for his Calvinism, and for his doctrine.

Predestination election was perhaps more vocal on this point than any of the reformers that the doctrine of predestination is so weighty and in many ways so difficult and can create so much confusion and bitterness and contentiousness in the church that it has to be handled in such a way that it is characterized by profound wisdom. It's not to be dealt with flippantly.

It's not the be dealt with superficially. It's not to be dealt with literally or contemptuously, but it is to be dealt with as the confession says with a special prudence and care. This doctrine demands not just ordinary wisdom and no ordinary care, but a special care with to be very careful with it and very wise with it, but some have taken that to mean that since it is a high mystery and since to deal with. It requires special care and special prudence. The safest thing to do is don't deal with it at all. But notice that it says before we talk about special prudence and care that this high mystery is to be dealt with. It is to be dealt with its biblical edge of the heart of fact, Martin Luther called the doctrine of election the corner at Lycia. The heart of the church so that it's a core doctrine of the Christian faith as central doctrine of the biblical revelation and therefore it is to be dealt with it, but recognizing that it's a mystery and recognizing that it is be dealt with with the special care in a special prudence that men attending the will of God revealed in his word and yielding obedience thereunto when I wrote my book chosen by God. I went out of my way. At the beginning of the book to say to the reader that this is a difficult doctrine, one that people stumble over and struggle with sometimes for many years and often are led into a different direction from the classic position, and so on and so I was very almost patronizing in the early parts of the book is trying to acknowledge the difficulty of it, not even confess the I was a Christian, five years before I finally was dragged kicking and screaming against my will to submit to the biblical doctrine in a much more about that. Anecdotally, in just a moment. But towards the latter part of the book after going through all the biblical evidence I said if you are Arminian if you have looked at this and then you have rejected the classical doctrine of predestination and if you've rejected the reformed doctrine of predestination. If, indeed, as I believe it is the biblical doctrine of predestination then you need to repent of it, because to deny something that the Bible clearly teaches and not just here and there but repeatedly and manifestly teaches is to be disobedient to the word and to be disobedient to the word is to sin against God.

One of the things I teach my students in seminary is it theological error is rooted in sin. And that's kinda shocking to them. You remember when Ellen present the United States to be forced to resign his office was Richard Nixon. And when the United States went through that upheaval of Watergate and the rest Richard Nixon went on national television and he said to the people.

Finally, before he resigned. He said I made a mistake but I'm not a crook.

Some of you remember that right at the time that he did that.

I happen to be visiting Capitol Hill and was being entertained by one of the Senators at that time we were in an elevator going to the Senate dining room and he looked at me and he said if Richard Nixon would have said what I did was wrong and I'm sorry, he would still be present because there's a difference between making a mistake and doing something that you know is wrong, you know, when you give the wrong answer to a math problem. That's not necessarily completely a moral failure but if you cheat on the math test you've done more than make a mistake. You've done something unethical that requires repentance so you see the difference. But most people who deny the biblical doctrine of predestination, do it, not out of an attempt to be belligerent.

Erin recalcitrant against the hearing of the word of God. They simply made a mistake in their thinking. However, when we make a mistake in handling the word of God. You have to back up and say why do we make the mistake I'm sure I make mistakes in handling the word of God, and I know that there are two major reasons that incline me to make mistakes in interpreting the Bible. The first one is one of the basal sins of the human heart. Slothfulness when I mistake the Scriptures is usually because I'm lazy and I haven't love the Lord my God with all of my mind.

I have looked at passages studied a few things about it but I haven't treated the subject exhaustively. I haven't applied my whole mind to everything that the Bible teaches about a given subject. There many areas of the content of the Bible about which I remain ignorant. All of which is to my shame because I have not been absolutely diligent meditating in the word day and night like I should be if I were perfectly sanctified and so that's one of the main reasons for error in biblical understanding is because we haven't really done our homework.

We haven't really studied the matter the degree that we should. But even more important is not so, so much the sin of sloth as the sin of pride. There's something about this doctrine that slays our pride and we don't want to believe it because somehow it insults our understanding of God and who we think God is or should be, and wheezed like to hold onto the idea that I've had something to do that contributed to my coming to face in the first place and cling to that illusion that my salvation was at least in part by own doing because the doctrine of election rather than engendering pride makes you realize you have nothing in which to boast except in Christ and his work in your behalf.

But notice that the framers of the Westminster confession are talking here about obedience to the word and I said I would give you an anecdote about that. I told you already that I struggle with this doctrine for five years rejecting it.

Even though I had it set forth to me by some of the most brilliant people ever met some of those godly people I ever met my mentor in college who was the head of the philosophy department and had an advanced degree in theology as well was reformed in his theology.

He explained this to me in depth and I graduated from that collagen from his influence still in Arminian I had a visiting professor at that college who had an international reputation as the theologian studied the gospel of John under him under which he explained the doctrines of grace in the Gospel of John and I were still resistant is brilliance. Then I went to Pittsburgh seminary and the king of the Calvinists taught their John Gerstner, who was the most brilliant theologian I've ever met anywhere in the world and Gerstner didn't convince me that job came ultimately to Paul the apostle and I was driven. The apostle Paul by Jonathan Edwards and it was reading Edwards and finally got me through that I had this card that I had in my study in seminary.

That said, you are required to believe. To preach and teach what the Bible says is true, not what you think it should say is true and that convicted me because I realized that my resistance to the doctrine of election is not exegetical but psychological.

I didn't like it but finally Romans nine I tried every which way. I tried every way that Arminians try to tell me today how to get past. Romans nine I been there done that and many many ones that they have even thought of yet to try to get out from underneath the weight of the biblical testimony of Romans nine and I realized I couldn't do it and so I reluctantly acquiesced to the doctor next right if that's what the Bible teaches that the word of God.

There's something I'm missing here but I have to accept this so I will and two things happen after that one God has a sense of humor and a sense of proportion of justice that I fought the doctrine so long. He made me a spokesman for the people who fight at their own lives as I've had to be on the other side of the aisle for 40 years and put up with all of the objections that I was raising myself before and try to be patient with people remembering that there but for the grace of God.

When I first so many years, but in any case, not only that, but it wasn't long after I acquiesced to the doctrine that I began to see the sweetness of the lowliness of and how greatly magnified God to me. The doctrine of election in no way casts a shadow of the character of God, but rather it just burst forth with the fullness of the glory of his grace made to this day I'm still amazed by grace the God who is as holy as God is would ensure the salvation of a single person amazes me because I don't think he owed salvation to anybody I know. He didn't owe it to me and I know that I couldn't of been further away in my heart from the things of God that I was the night I met Christ.

Just as the apostle Paul was a zealous for his opposition to the church until Christ unilaterally supernaturally and immediately changed him on the road to Damascus, so God interrupted me in midstride. I wasn't seeking him I was running from them as fast as I could. Walking according to the way of this world according the part of the Prince of the air, bitter and angry against all things religious. When God in his mercy change my heart, and again when I began to see that it was God that salvation is of the Lord wasn't me. If you cannot get a seat on every page of the Bible.

I wondered how I want so long missing it, and so were encouraged here by the confession to yield obedience to what God reveals in his word thereunto made from the certainty of their effectual vocation, but from the soreness of their factual calling. Be assured of their eternal election.

This, as I mentioned earlier that one of the great practical benefits of this is Peter says that we are to make our election sure because that feeds and generates confidence in us as we pursue growth in grace and sanctification. So shall this doctrine afford matter of praise, reverence and admiration of God. Three things that this doctrine we understand it this way should have an effect on us to increase our praise of God. When we sing the doxology, but that we mean it. Praise God from whom all blessings flow and the greatest blessing we have is our election. The greatest blessing we have is are being included in his family by adoption. The greatest blessing we have are all of the promises that come to us when we have faith and that faith is a gift of God. We didn't generated and more and more and more I study this doctrine of election and I see that salvation is of the Lord more.

My soul sings the praise of God, which is just the opposite of those who hate this doctrine because one of the things that they genuinely struggle with is that they think that this doctrine somehow casts a shadow on the goodness of God. There was an article in the paper about the tsunami controversy in their local ministry was talking and again in agreement with Rabbi Kushner why do bad things and good people you have. He has to think about whether God ordained this terrible catastrophe know the first thing that defined his understanding of God is a God is a God of love and a God of love would never ordain a tragedy like this should let the insurance companies called an act of God really is simply a natural disaster is nothing to do with God because God is a God of love and is also an impotent God has no control over the ocean that he made his no control over the wind that he controls no control over earthquakes that shot you know this is just simply a one of these accidents of nature. I read that I wanted to weep right in the paper, but that's basically the theology that is so the majority report in our world today, where is this doctrine of the term occurs of God should've bound to our praise on else reverence and admiration should increase our sense of awe, it should elevate our sense of adoration and then what you do to us. On the one hand. Understanding this doctrine change is our attitude towards God elevates our praise and adoration, reverence, and so on, and respect for him, but also likewise does what and of humility, diligence, and abundant consolation to all that sincerely obey the gospel when we stop holding on to something that we believe entitles us to heaven. Then we understand something of the biblical concept of humility. Augustine's top lady understood it.

There's no him that that lauds this work of God more eloquently than rock of ages. This was one of my favorite in my favorite part of the him is when top lady rights. Nothing in my hand. I pray nothing, not one is much as our studies.

This doctrine, there are times I find myself thinking, well at least I did this or I did that and I almost feel like I'm entitled to place in the kingdom of God.

But the more we understand the doctrine of the free grace of God, the more were driven to our knees, only to praise him but to break our own pride, realizing that there is nothing in us that was the grounds of God's choice of us should make us more diligent and give to us an abundance of consolation.

That's right.

This doctrine is not a doctrine of terror, doctrine of consolation.

It's a doctrine of comfort. It's the comfort that Paul spoke of in Romans when he came to the end of his discussion on sign. If God be for us. That's the proper response. I hope you caught that this is not a doctrine of terror. It is a doctrine of consolation that is food for thought isn't it weird today that the majority of Christians reject predestination in one form or another, but it is a biblical doctrine and we need to understand it. You heard RC Sproul sure his own struggle with it and perhaps that's where you are right now you've heard of election, but really don't know what it's all about. Or like me you were raised in a tradition that rejects it. Let me commend Dr. Sproles book truths we confess. He provides helpful commentary on the Westminster confession of faith, which is the historic confession that explains predestination and other important documents will be happy to send you the hardbound edition of this book. When you give a donation of any amount to look at your ministries.

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