THERE IS a new twist to an old controversy out there for Southern Baptists. Some have become frightened by the Calvinists in our family and have produced a document refuting Calvinistic doctrine. Well, I won't be one of the signators of this paper. A few may assume I am now coming out of the Calvinist closet. Others may assume I am seeking to walk the chalk between the doctrines of Calvinism and Arminianism. Both assumptions would be wrong.
Having said that, I have friends that are loyal to the tenets of John Calvin and I love them deeply. I also have friends who make me boil with passion for Christ who are fully Arminian, and I love them. But I am not seeking to juggle their friendships, spin plates, walk the chalk, or any other cliche you may want to use. They know me and know where I stand. And they love me as I love them. Why?
It is because we focus on the Lordship of Christ. We seek to walk in the Spirit, not in the flesh. We seek to keep the unity of the Spirit, knowing we all have a lot to learn before we reach the fulness that Christ intends for us. So Christ's presence in our lives overcomes our approach to understanding how God saves and how God keeps us saved.
So I don't need to sign a paper refuting doctrines I may not fully accept. My Lord Jesus signed the only documents that are important to me. And he wrote on them, "PAID IN FULL." And that was enough.
5 comments:
I read the document as well and I thought to myself, "What's the point?" It seems to me that there are people that are itching to relive the battle between Conservatives and Moderates but this time around it's between Calvinists and Non-Calvinists. With our Convention declining every year in membership and baptisms, fighting over Calvinism is the last thing I think the SBC needs to be focusing on. Some may try to say that the decline is due to a resurgent Calvinism in the SBC but that is not true. The reality is that as a whole, America is getting spiritually harder while the SBC and other evangelical denominations are becoming evangelistically complacent. This complacency is a cancer throughout all factions of the SBC. We just don't know how to reach America anymore with the gospel.
RJM
I like the clever change of your blog name!
Cubano!
Good to hear from you, doc. How goes things for you?
I appreciate your solid and right-on comments. I would go farther and say our complacency is revealed in our comfort with programs, as opposed to the kind of praying that will bring down revival in the church and an awakening in the western hemisphere. Even our insistence in moving from this methodology or that methodology to the latest fad shows we are still convinced we can accomplish the task with our wisdom and cleverness and strength. "Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit," says the Lord.
Amen to all of the above. Also, I pray for the day our US churches will be obedient and get on with the business of deliberately discipling those coming to faith. What a difference this would make. On another note, the proposal of a 'Sinner's Prayer' at the convention should be interesting.
KS - Just bought your book via internet. Looking forward to reading it on the way to OGM. Blessings!
Thomas, AKA, Tommy! Great hearing from you! I have been reading the back and forth over this stuff. People have too much time on their hands. The world is lost and headed to hell and we just need to go win them.
Thanks for picking up the book. I am honored you thought it worthy of your $$.
Blessings, brother.
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