Revised: Calvinist Tom Chantry and My Friend the King
My little exchange with pastor Tom Chantry here at PPT (see screen shots below) has prompted me to make a point that I have been thinking about for three years. I know my use of the “philosopher king” nomenclature is seen as satire, but it really isn’t. These guys think they have authority over all of us. They really do. I could cite data galore, but I will instead mention the Calvinist pastor from Bellefontaine, Ohio who tried to place me under church discipline as a process possibly ending with me being declared an unbeliever. I have never talked to this guy in my life until he called me to….”I am trying to gain a brother here.” This is just fact: Reformed elders think heaven will honor their declarations and remove names from the book of life. Calvin and Luther believed elders have that kind of authority (Calvin’s “power of the keys”), and their offspring are all too eager to believe them. Though I don’t know for certain, I think my name has been removed from the book of life by Reformed elders on three occasions.
And like the Bellefontaine case, these guys think they interpret reality for us. I was instructed to repent of what I saw (the Man of God conference controversy) because this philosopher king proclaimed that I really didn’t see it. This resulted in a visit to my home by three local pastors who pushed his agenda, albeit two of them didn’t really get what was going on. But the message was basically the same: I didn’t really see what I saw because they said so.
They think many take this idea seriously. And worse yet, I think they are right. These guys come to PPT and declare me unknowing, and that is the end of the discussion among their Kool-Aid drinking followers. When members of their church come to PPT and see that the philosopher king has passed judgment on me regardless of the facts—end of discussion. In spite of the damning data in regard to CJ Mahaney, a group of philosopher kings declared him fit for ministry—end of discussion. Hence, victims of his spiritual despotism can only watch as he enjoys rock star status among followers that Jim Jones would have died to have for himself. More correctly, some only watch while others have dragged this sorry excuse for a pastor into court. American pastors have become so bloviated with this idea that secular courts are now the only recourse for Christians to expose unspeakable evil in the church. It is clear: church discipline is only for congregants and not elders. The pastorate refuses to rebuke renegade pastors publically as they are commanded to do by Scripture. Instead, they go a step further and cover for them.
I was once a fire system inspector for a private firm in Indiana. I was primarily assigned to homes for the mentally disabled. It was a very interesting job. It was a job that preached many sermons to me throughout the week. I remember that I was once grumbling to myself on the way to an inspection about my life in general. After I saw the residents of that home, I never grumbled about my imperfect circumstances again. That is a sermon that is fresh in my mind until this day.
Then there was one who I will call “Purity.” After a while, I had my own names for the residents. These names reminded me of what God was teaching me through their lives. She was a sixteen-year-old that had the mind of someone around six-years-old. She was fascinated that I have a daughter that is a missionary in Puerto Rico. She followed me around as I was doing my work trying to find out everything she could about my daughter. Till this day, I wonder if there is a more sincere soul walking upon the earth. She was a sermon about the beauty of righteousness—a sermon I will never forget. Then there were the gatekeepers. They wheeled around and acted like they were asleep while the staff changed the codes on the entry/exit doors. They then enjoyed giving vendors and inspectors the codes so they didn’t have to mess around with all the red tape at the administration office. A wonderful service! And “Anna” who appeared to be merely mumbling in her bed, but closer observance revealed a person in constant prayer.
But my favorite was the king. He really thought he was a king. The staff also aided him in his endeavor to be a hard-working king. They bought him a crown and a cape. He would go from room to room with a legal pad and write new laws and then verbally proclaim them. Well, this was pretty cool. I got permission from the company to take him out to lunch. The plan was Burger King of course, but unfortunately, the opportunity never presented itself after I obtained permission.
I’m thankful for the king. He enables me to think lightly sometimes of the Calvinists who also really think they are kings. But they have no excuse and I don’t like them because unlike the king, they are abusive spiritual despots. He went from room to room proclaiming good laws that he thought would help people. He wasn’t really interested in controlling people. He wasn’t interested in power.
He is a good sermon for the Calvinists because if you are only a king in your own mind—at least be a good one.
paul
A Day to Remember Those Lovable Puritans: International Religious Freedom Day
Mark it on your calendar: October 27th; International Religious Freedom Day (IRFD). PPT and TANC will start commemorating this day on October 27, 2013 on an annual basis. Actually, we are going to make a really big deal out of it. We are talking pig roast galore at the Potter’s House with a shameful array of food and drink, games, and drama plays. Our inaugural IRFD will feature a reenactment of Anne Hutchinson’s trial.
The day commemorates the execution of three Quakers in Boston for being, well, Quakers. They were hung by those lovable Puritans that came over on the Mayflower, also known as the Pilgrims. Being a Quaker in the Puritan theocracy of the Massachusetts Bay Colonies was a capital crime. Two men and one woman, a friend of Anne Hutchinson named Mary Dyer were scheduled to hang on October 27th 1659. Dyer received a last second reprieve, but returned to Boston and was hanged the following year. Quakers believed that the average Christian could interpret the Bible by themselves without the help of clergy. One of the two men hanged on October 27th thought it fit to preach exactly that to the crowd before he was executed:
The execution day was Thursday 27 October (the usual weekly meeting day for the Church in Boston) 1659, and the gallows stood on Boston Common. They spoke as they were led there, but their words were drowned out by the sound of drums. After they had taken leave of one another, William Robinson first ascended the ladder. He told the people it was their day of visitation, and desired them to mind the light within them, the light of Christ, his testimony for which he was going to seal with his blood. At this the Puritan minister shouted “Hold thy tongue, thou art going to die with a lie in thy mouth.” The rope was adjusted, and, as the executioner turned the condemned man off, he said with his dying breath, “I suffer for Christ, in whom I live and for whom I die.” Then Marmaduke Stephenson stepped up the ladder and said “Be it known unto all this day that we suffer not as evil-doers, but for conscience sake.” He was turned off the gallows, saying ” This day shall we be at rest with the Lord.” In memory of this, October 27 is now International Religious Freedom Day to recognize the importance of Freedom of religion (Wikipedia: Boston Martyrs).
paul
Emerging From New Calvinism: We Must Persevere to Complete Our Salvation
I am presently reviewing an equitable, well written, well-argued position on the idea that our justification is connected with the “[foot] race” of the Christian life. The authors start by presenting four positions, but have not yet used them to clearly state their own position which well be articulated further along in the book. Is the reward of the race salvation? Or rewards for our work in the Christian life? The race involves perseverance and assurance. Does not the Bible speak of obtaining salvation by persevering to the end? Does it not speak of salvation as being the reward? This is a hefty issue. I highly recommend the book as an honest debate on the subject; the fact that I will probably end-up rejecting it in the end notwithstanding. Nevertheless, the book contributes valuable clarification to the issue.
The authors of this book correctly state that we all come to the Bible with presuppositions, and I am reading their book with a particular biblical presupposition in the background: nothing we do in sanctification can be connected in any way to justification. Salvation comes with justification, but salvation’s power is credited to our account in full when we are saved and receive the Spirit. Our race cannot be for an OBTAINING of final salvation which is intrinsically connected to our justification—only the EXPERIENCE of it. Through the Reformed already—no yet construct, an obtaining of final justification is the reward.
That’s a problem—even if Jesus obeys for us in the race via faith alone. One of the verses used to posit this idea is 2Timothy 2:5;
An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.
The “crown” is seen as salvation. Justification (our righteous [righteousness] standing) cannot be separated from final salvation. BUT, justification cannot be united to our Christian life in any way as a road for obtaining a final salvation. Why? Because Paul plainly states in this verse that “rules” are involved. Final salvation cannot be obtained through “rules” because the justification that comes with it is “apart from the law” (Romans 3:21, 28, 4:15, 7:1,8). Also, righteousness came before the law (Galatians 3:17,18) and justification is obtained by promise only. A final salvation cannot be obtained via rules because justification is declared apart from any standard. There are simply no rules to guide the race. There are no rules to disqualify anyone.
Secondly, proponents of this view often fail to cite the very next verse that follows 2Timothy 2:5;
It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops.
Rewards CANNOT be attached to justification in any way, shape, or form (Romans 4:2). So, what about all of the verses in Scripture that seem to say that we will be rewarded with salvation if we persevere to the end? I am presently looking into that issue deeply, and to some extent with the help of the aforementioned book. But closer examination of some of those verses has yielded some interesting findings. Let’s take a look at Revelation 2:11;
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.
Clearly, the “second death” refers to the Great White Throne Judgment where those who were not part of the first resurrection will be judged by the law. This will be an eternally tragic epoch. This verse, in the English translation, has a flavor of finality, or past tense. According to my Interlinear that is based on the Received text, the verse is better rendered this way: The one who is presently persevering shouldn’t fear the second death. The obedience they see in their life should give them confidence, or assurance. This better fits with a recognized theme throughout Scripture.
Furthermore, there are many incentives given in Scripture to be diligent in sanctification; why would this be if the prize is salvation? It would seem that lesser incentives would be irrelevant when compared to an actual consummation of salvation that would involve us.
paul
Why Calvinists Have No Understanding
Think “colabor.” And by the way, that’s a biblical word. It should be understood that salvation is completely of the Lord. In our day, it’s just best to leave it at that though some finer points could be argued. Election is what it is, but I think it not a good idea to draw logical conclusions that lead to hardcore determinism. The apostle Paul evangelized like it depended on us to some point—that’s irrefutable. At any rate, if God didn’t make a way for reconciliation—there wouldn’t be any. So, should He get all the glory? Absolutely. Does that mean we have no role at all? I doubt it.
But one thing is clear: the Christian life is a colaboring with God, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Our role is learn and do. That’s what a “disciple” is. And one of the doings, perhaps the most important one, is….THINKING.
Throughout the Bible, the colaboring of God and the Christian is seen. Unlike salvation and justification, the Christian life (sanctification) is full of conditions, promises, commands, encouragement, warnings, and instruction. If you take note in your daily Bible reading, you will see this colaboring concept throughout. Perhaps the most profound is 2Timothy 2:7. Here is what the apostle Paul said to Timothy:
Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.
The Lord will give us understanding, BUT, we have to THINK. No thinking—no understanding. To say that Christians in our day believe that God will give us understanding without thinking is quite the understatement.
Clearly, in Reformed circles, the elders think for the parishioners, and the elders get their information from a bunch of Calvinistic dead people, also known as “orthodoxy.” Even when Calvinists do pick-up their own Bibles to read they are anticipating that God will show them “pictures of Jesus” in every verse. Look, those are John Piper’s very words, not mine. Bible reading in Reformed circles has become always been like watching TV; you just watch and let your brain chemicals to the rest. As you read, Jesus will show Himself and whatever Jesus shows you will be imputed to your life because Jesus came to live for our sanctification and die for our justification. The death and resurrection was for our justification, but His life prior to the cross was for our sanctification.
Also implicit in Paul’s charge to Timothy is the fact that Paul expected people to verify for themselves what he taught. Let me show you a picture since we like them so much: When Susan and I are discussing Reformed issues with people while enjoying the perplexity on their faces as we accuse the big names of heresy, this question often follows: “So, who do you follow?” Initially, Susan and I were too shocked at the response to even answer. The question is, at times, also followed by, “You can’t say that about him—he has a lot of followers.”
Not sure I can add to that point. Have a wonderful colaboring day in Christ.
paul
Paul's Passing Thoughts 
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