Call It What You Will

I love this.....forwarded by my friend Tim, a Calvinist pastor in the Arminian Salvation Army (now that's a tough gig!)

We are Christians. Radical, full-blooded, Bible-saturated, Christ-exalting, God-centered, mission-advancing, soul-winning, church-loving, holiness-pursing, sovereignty-savoring, grace-besotted, broken-hearted, happy followers of the omnipotent, crucified Christ. At least that’s our imperfect commitment.

In other words, we are Calvinists.

But that label is not nearly as useful as telling people what you actually believe! So forget the label, if it helps, and tell them clearly, without evasion or ambiguity, what you believe about salvation. If they say, “Are you a Calvinist?” say, “You decide. Here is what I believe . . .”

I believe I am so spiritually corrupt and prideful and rebellious that I would never have come to faith in Jesus without God’s merciful, sovereign victory over the last vestiges of my rebellion. (1 Corinthians 2:14; Ephesians 3:1–4; Romans 8:7).

I believe that God chose me to be his child before the foundation of the world, on the basis of nothing in me, foreknown or otherwise. (Ephesians 1:4–6; Acts 13:48; Romans 8:29–30; 11:5–7)

I believe Christ died as a substitute for sinners to provide a bona fide offer of salvation to all people, and that he had an invincible design in his death to obtain his chosen bride, namely, the assembly of all believers, whose names were eternally written in the book of life of the Lamb that was slain. (John 3:16; John 10:15; Ephesians 5:25; Revelation 13:8)

When I was dead in my trespasses, and blind to the beauty of Christ, God made me alive, opened the eyes of my heart, granted me to believe, and united me to Jesus, with all the benefits of forgiveness and justification and eternal life. (Ephesians 2:4–5; 2 Corinthians 4:6; Philippians 2:29; Ephesians 2:8–9; Acts 16:14; Ephesians 1:7; Philippians 3:9)

I am eternally secure not mainly because of anything I did in the past, but decisively because God is faithful to complete the work he began—to sustain my faith, and to keep me from apostasy, and to hold me back from sin that leads to death. (1 Corinthians 1:8–9; 1 Thessalonians 5:23–24; Philippians 1:6; 1 Peter 1:5; Jude 1:25; John 10:28–29; 1 John 5:16)

Call it what you will, this is my life. I believe it because I see it in the Bible. And because I have experienced it. Everlasting praise to the greatness of the glory of the grace of God!

Accountability is Overated

Accountability is overrated. It really is.

I used to bang on about how the antidote to all manner of vices was to have people around us. Don't be isolated. Have friends. Meet with them often. Talk about what's going on in your life.

Now I see things differently.

Over the last few years pretty much all the people I've known who have found themselves in, well, let's just say "trouble" (and I've known a lot of people in this category) have been those who would be described as being in "accountable relationships".

So, my conclusion....having "accountability" doesn't work. People still make ridiculous choices that shipwreck their lives and those of others. It doesn't work.

At least, it doesn't work the way we naively thought it would.

The fact is that we're only as accountable as we want to be.

We can share "what's going on for us" and still not say what's really going on. We can ask one another how things are and simply assume that the asking of the question is sufficient knowing that if we leave it at just "asking", others will do the same for us. Don't really ask, don't really tell.

I mean, let me ask you: When was the last time you took a risk in the information you disclosed to someone you would say you were "accountable to"? Or do you always play it safe, not risking yourself or the relationship? If you're not....chances are you're playing at accountability. And it's a dangerous game. You look like your back is covered but in reality it's totally exposed.

It might be worth doing some reflection on this.

Who do we have in our lives who we know, love and trust (and who know, love and trust us enough) to say the things we desperately need to hear? To what extent are we deepening, and investing in these relationships by an ever-more bold (brave, daring, audacious, courageous) disclosure of our shadow-side?

PR for God?

It's been a challenging two weeks. Chris' sudden and unexpected death has dominated most of my awake hours...and a few of the others.

I really liked him.

He was my friend.

That doesn't always follow when you're a pastor. (Sorry for the shock that might be for some.) He used to phone me up and ask how I was doing. He prayed for me on the phone. He lent me gardening tools and was gracious when I broke his chainsaw. Come to think of it I still have his petrol strimmer in my garage....

And then there are the questions....and I have so many questions. I say that even as a convinced Calvinist who gets excited, comforted and challenged by stuff like unconditional election and irresistible grace. I say that too as one who doesn't think God owes him anything and certainly not explanations. But I do wonder where he was when Chris most needed him.

I wonder too how to speak about the wonderful God we worship, the Jesus who can meet our deepest needs etc etc, to men and women who at the best of times consider the whole thing to be a load of old nonsense for themselves ("but if it works for you.....oh......it didn't work for you....".) Not easy.

I've felt, wrongly I know, but I have felt like God's PR guy in this, a kind of Max Clifford, who's got to spin the story of how God fell asleep on the job. I guess I'm feeling it becasue the Chris thing has come hard on the heels of a few other issues around the place that have made Jesus and his sufficiency look, well, sub-optimal to say the least.

I don't need to justify God but I sure as heck would like Him to present himself a bit better.