In the next several posts, we will explore what I believe to be some of the challenges of both the traditional Calvinistic and non-Calvinistic understandings of the doctrine of election. I want to be clear that, in all my research, I never doubted the sincerity or the noble intent of any of the expositors from either the Calvinist- or the non-Calvinist perspectives. Yet it seemed that while both sides were eager to expose and exploit the obvious errors in the other’s interpretations, they were reluctant to deal with some weaknesses and unresolved questions in their own arguments.
I want you to know that, while my original intent for this blog was to begin to present a non-contradictory, true-to-Scripture understanding of the doctrines of election and predestination using excerpts from my upcoming book, "God's Elect - The Chosen Generation", my publisher has asked that I limit the amount of material from the book that I publish here, prior to its release. While I'm anxious to share with you an understanding of divine election that, I believe, will set you free, in an effort to respect their wishes, I've been addressing related issues but avoiding exposing too much of the content of the book, which will be coming out in the Fall of this year.
My goal, however, is to continue to post thoughts, ideas, and issues related to the doctrine of election because, truthfully, there is a huge body of wonderful challenges and discoveries regarding God's purpose of election that, for the sake of clarity and space, is not included in the book. So I hope the recent postings, while not excerpts from the book, have been edifying and thought-provoking.
Common Ground
Today, I wanted to take a moment to highlight what I believe all sincere seekers of the truth - both Calvinists and non-Calvinists - must have in common. It is important to point out a few basics that we all must share to ensure that we’re starting from the same benchmark. Here are three things we must affirm regarding the doctrine of election and predestination:
1. Every Christian wants to get this right.
Every serious disciple of Jesus wants to understand God, and God’s plan, and God’s purpose, and our purpose in God’s plan. We all want what God wants, but we acknowledge with humility that there will always be mysteries associated with God, and we acknowledge with humility that God himself is often inscrutable. We must accept with faith the things he declared but chose not to reveal with clarity, but we must acknowledge, explore and seek to understand without prejudice the things that he has made plain.
Who God is, and what we are to do about him is what A.W. Tozer refers to as "the overwhelming problem of God." He goes on to say that every error in doctrine and every failure in Christian ethics can be attributed to “imperfect and ignoble” thoughts of God. Any doctrine that reveals a nature and character of God is a doctrine on which we should contemplate because if we get God wrong, we become idol worshipers without even realizing it. Understanding God's purpose of election is critical to understanding who God is.
2. If the Bible says it, we believe it.
We can understand much about God on the basis of his own self-disclosure in his creation, in his word as revealed to us in our Bibles, and in the person of Jesus Christ, While we must affirm the veracity of the Bible as the word of God, we must also acknowledge the interpretive nature of language. Having said that, it is important that we let the Bible speak for itself. We must resist manipulation of the text. We must resist altering verb tenses, adding words or redefining terms. We must let the Scriptures inform our theology, resisting the temptation to overlay a pre-determined ideology or presupposition onto the Scriptures.
I believe that all children are blessed by God with an untainted faith - that is, a faith that is pure, not corrupted. As adults we have to constantly unload two sources of spiritual corruption: our temporal accomplishments and our doctrinal presuppositions. In the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector (Luke 18), the Pharisee proudly provides God with a list of his accomplishments (vv. 11-12). It is his arrogance and pride in his successes that keep him from being justified that day. As adults, our temporal achievements tend to interfere with our ability to be Christ-dependent, creating a kind of "white noise" in our devotional focus. On the other hand, young children don't have any accomplishments - no fuel for boasting, no temporal successes to interfere with a clear perception of the voice of the Holy Spirit. Likewise, children have not yet been corrupted with spiritual error leading to incorrect presuppositions about God that can skew his true nature and message to us.
3. The Bible is accessible and non-contradictory.
“I thank you that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children, for such was your gracious will” (Mat 11:25-26).
The Bible was not written to conceal God’s truth but to reveal it. It was not intended to be so cryptic, or so shrouded, or so mysterious, or so secretive that only the cleverest among us could interpret it. And the Bible does not contradict itself. If we encounter what seems to be a contradiction in the Scriptures, we must assume error on our part, not a contradiction on God’s part.
First, God is a heart-searcher. He is not interested in clever or smart. He reveals himself and his ways to anyone whose heart is fully devoted to him (2 Chronicles 16:9). And with regard to contradictions, by definition, a statement cannot be both true and untrue in the same sense, at the same time. A contradiction, by definition then, is nonsense. So we are going to justifiably struggle with such notions as proposed by the late R.C. Sproul (who, by all measures, was a wonderful teacher) that “every choice we make is free and every choice we make is determined.” As C.S. Lewis put it, "Nonsense is nonsense, even when we speak it about God."
To learn more, please consider picking up my book - God's Elect: The Chosen Generation
(also available on Kindle)
Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Gods-Elect-Generation-John- Chipman/dp/1632695723/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1507WZLOS9FHL&keywords=god%27s+elect+chipman&qid=1682632127&sprefix=god%27s+elect+chipman%2Caps%2C293&sr=8-1
(Also available at Barnes & Noble & Christianbook.com)
Next post: Difficult questions. Here's a link to the next post:
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