Another Purpose for Preaching the Gospel to Ourselves: Perpetual Death and Rebirth in Sanctification
Here at PPT and TANC we like to learn new things, especially in regard to Calvinism and Reformed theology. Recently, we have discovered another purpose behind “preaching the gospel to ourselves every day.” The Reformed term for it is, mortification and vivification. What’s that? It is the perpetual subjective experience of death and rebirth in sanctification. As we use the Scriptures to gain a deeper and deeper understanding of our wickedness, we experience a mourning over our vile condition (death) resulting in joy (rebirth). This passive “subjective experience” enables us to live our Christian life by the same gospel that saved us. Who knew? Truly, in regard to creepiness, Calvinism is the gift that keeps giving and giving.
Of course, this approach is necessary so that we can continually live our Christian lives by faith alone because in Calvinism one is still under the law and in constant need of atoning and re-salvation. This perpetual death and rebirth imputes the perfect obedience of Christ to our justification in sanctification and the law is satisfied. It’s sanctification with two squirts of Hinduism.
We see the premise of this idea in Luther’s Heidelberg Disputation (Thesis 16, 17), and John Piper’s Christian Hedonism. Piper is adamant that joy is continually evidenced in a Christian’s life as proof of salvation. Right, because the perpetual baptism of death and resurrection must experience the exultation of resurrection and not just death. A melancholy Christian is a half gospel that is only death; resurrection must follow for the perpetual cycle to be valid. Michael Horton sates it this way in his book on systematic theology:
Progressive sanctification has two parts: mortification and vivification, “both of which happen to us by participation in Christ,” as Calvin notes….Subjectively experiencing this definitive reality signified and sealed to us in our baptism requires a daily dying and rising. That is what the Reformers meant by sanctification as a living out of our baptism….and this conversion yields lifelong mortification and vivification “again and again.” Yet it is critical to remind ourselves that in this daily human act of turning, we are always turning not only from sin but toward Christ rather than toward our own experience or piety (pp. 661-663 [Calvin Inst. 3.3.2-9]).
Stay tuned as we gleefully serve you with stuff that is truly stranger than science itself.
paul
The Dirty Dozen: 12 Things That the Lying Calvinists Want You to Assume
1. Total Depravity pertains to the unregenerate only. No, they mean the saints also.
2. Sola Fide (faith alone) only pertains to Justification. No, it pertains to sanctification also.
3. Sola Scriptura (Scripture alone) means “alone” and not other “subordinate” truth that also has authority though “subordinate.” No, creeds and confessions also have authority; it is not Scripture “alone.” What does “alone” mean?
4. Solus Christus (Christ alone) only regards the way to the Father. Not so, Christ is the only way to understanding all of reality. This was the crux of Luther’s Theology of the Cross.
5. Progressive sanctification sanctifies us and is separate from justification. No, they say, “never separate” but “distinct.” Then why not call it “progressive justification”? Why not clearly say that we are sanctified by justification?
6. Election predetermines our eternity. No, the elect have to persevere. The perseverance of the saints is not a characteristic of the saved, it is something that the saints have to add to their faith to complete their justification. They call this, “already-but not yet.” The promises of God are “conditional.”
7. Proponents of synergistic sanctification are mistaken. No, Calvinists think they are lost and promote a false gospel.
8. Spiritual growth is about change. Absolutely not. Calvinists believe we experience manifestations of Christ as we live by faith alone.
9. The imputation of Christ’s righteousness is only imputed for our justification. No, they believe it is imputed to our sanctification as well.
10. We should learn what the Bible teaches and apply it to our lives. No, they believe we should look for the cross in every verse which results in Christ manifestations in the Spirit realm. They call this, “the imperative command is grounded in the indicative event.”
11. Calvinists don’t believe in absolution. Not so. Calvin believed Christians need a perpetual forgiveness of sins that can only be found in the church. Augustine and Luther propagated this as well.
12. Christ works within us. Only BY faith, and faith only exists in the object that it is placed in. Calvinists believe that when the work of Christ moves from outside of us to inside of us that it makes “sanctification the ground of our justification.” The contemporary doctrinal term for Calvinism is “the centrality of the objective gospel outside of us.”
If Calvinists want to deny this, have them explain to you what all of the aforementioned para-biblical expressions mean. If they don’t mean what is stated above, what do they mean? Perhaps there is a perfectly logical explanation for all 12.
paul
Paul's Passing Thoughts 
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