Sovereign Grace Union: Doctrinal Basis
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Peace and Truth: 2009:3 Sovereign Grace Union: Doctrinal Basis The Holy Scriptures The Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as originally given, as the inspired and infallible and inerrant Word of God, and as the sole, supreme, and all-sufficient authority in every matter of Christian faith and practice. The Trinity One living and true God, Sovereign in creation, providence and redemption, subsisting in three Persons – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit – the same in substance, and equal in power and glory. The Lord Jesus Christ The Eternal Sonship and the essential, absolute, and eternal Deity, and true and sinless humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ; His virgin birth, death, and burial; His physical resurrection and ascension into heaven, and His coming again in power and glory. The Holy Spirit The Personality and Deity of the Holy Spirit, through Whom the sinner is born again to saving repentance and faith, and by Whom the saints are sanctified through the truth. The Fall of Man The fall of mankind in Adam, by which they have totally lost their original righteousness and holiness, and have come under the righteous condemna- tion of God. Unconditional Election The personal and unconditional election in Christ of a multitude which no man can number unto everlasting salvation, out of God's pure grace and love, without any foresight of faith or good works in them. Particular Redemption The personal and eternal redemption from all sin and the penal consequence thereof, of all God's elect, by the substitutionary sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. Effectual Calling The effectual calling of all the elect by the irresistible grace of God. Justification The justification of sinners by faith alone, through the atoning death and resurrection and imputed righteousness of Christ. Final Perseverance The final perseverance in the state of grace of all those who have been elected by the Father, redeemed by the Son, and regenerated by the Holy Spirit, so that they shall never perish but have eternal life. In reference to the above, consult the XXXIX Articles of the Church of England, the Westminster Confession, the Savoy Declaration and the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith. Page 1 Peace and Truth: 2009:3 Editorial Many British churches are guilty of a great sin: by complying with a secular state government in the matter of political correctness they betray their God-given trust to remain faithful to His Word. Their practical Erastianism (named after Thomas Erastus, who advocated the right of the state in cases of church discipline) reminds us of Uriah the priest and King Ahaz (2 Kings 16.10-16). King Ahaz replaced God’s altar in the temple with an idolatrous one that had taken his fancy in Damascus. First he had a model made of it; then he ordered Uriah the priest in Jerusalem to construct a full-size replica of it. The priest did as the king commanded. Ahaz was so pleased with the result that he began to offer sacrifices on it to idol gods, and even consulted it as an oracle, following heathen precedents. What has this to do with political correctness? Well, just as Uriah did what he was told, so church leaders are doing what the secular state government expects of them. This is the kind of toadying that moved David Calderwood to pen his Altar of Damascus against diocesan prelacy in the 17th century. Let us cite two examples: In keeping with the government-approved revival of feminism, modern translators are out-vying each other in turning out ‘castrated’ or ‘gender-neutral’ Bible versions. But what does God say? “Who hath required this at your hand?” (Isaiah 1.12) “Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish aught from it” (Deuteronomy 4.2). So zealous is God for the pristine purity of His Word that after Jehoiakim had burnt Jeremiah’s prophecy of doom, which did not please him, God inspired the prophet to dictate its contents again to Baruch the scribe (Jeremiah 35). Page 2 Peace and Truth: 2009:3 The state government approves of the church elevating women to positions of unsanctioned authority. But what does God say? “I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence” (1 Timothy 2.12). In both cases, God means what He says. So, following the apostles Peter and John, “we ought to obey God rather than men”) Acts 5.29). As B.B.Warfield crisply says: “What we OUGHT to do, we ought to DO.” We could cite many more examples from the churches, such as condoning sodomy; using altars instead of the Lord’s table; worshipping Mary; approving the erection of idolatrous places of worship; etc. etc. all of which are pagan. In all these things the churches have betrayed their God-given trust. Even two generations ago, J.Middleton Murry, no professing Christian, warned us of Christ’s betrayal by the churches. But who paid heed? So now we find ourselves thrusting out ‘God’s altar’ in favour of the pagan ‘altar of Damascus.’ May we take to heart the churches’ capitulation to secularism. Beginning by questioning God’s Word (echoes of Satan: “hath God said?” under the baneful influence of Higher Criticism), proceeding to deny it, they have now removed it to a far corner of their thinking. A symbolic physical parallel is the removal of John Knox’s statue from near the outside front door of the cathedral in Edinburgh to a corner of the inside. But let us be thankful for those who peacefully yet firmly resist the erosion of our precious Christian heritage. Let us beg the Lord to increase their number and make them bolder. Let us continue to contend for the faith of God’s elect. And let us commit our way to Him, leaving the issue in His wise and sovereign hands. Page 3 Peace and Truth: 2009:3 A Concise Calvinistic Catechism (1) What Is Calvinism? Calvinism is . a system of religious doctrines. (Benjamin B. Warfield) The system . was developed into a perfect form, and infused into the creeds of the Reformed churches . through the instrumentality of John Calvin, the Reformer of Geneva (1509- 1564). (Benjamin B. Warfield) The determining principle of Calvinism . is . the glory of the Lord God Almighty. (Benjamin B. Warfield) Calvinism is specifically the theology of grace; and all are properly Calvinists who confess the absolute sovereignty of God in the distribution of his saving mercy. (Benjamin B. Warfield) The term ‘Reformed’ is used to distinguish the Calvinistic from the Lutheran and Anabaptist traditions. (W. S. Reid) Reformed theology is systematic . it attempts to understand doctrine in a coherent and unified manner. (R. C. Sproul) Scripture Warrant: Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. (2 Timothy 1:13) By grace are ye saved through grace; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9) Page 4 Peace and Truth: 2009:3 I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy . So then, it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. (Romans 9:15-16) To the praise of the glory of his grace. (Ephesians 1:6) What Are The Five Points Of Calvinism? In the seventeenth century a dispute arose in the Reformed community in Holland. A group of theologians became known as the Remonstrants [and later, Arminians] because they remonstrated (protested) against five articles of Reformed theology. These five points later became known as the ‘Five Points of Calvinism.’ (R. C. Sproul) Although these five points may be central to Reformed theology, they by no means exhaust this system of doctrine. (R. C. Sproul) The Five Points . are associated with the word T-U-L-I-P: T, Total Inability; U, Unconditional Election; L, Limited Atonement; I, Irresistible (Efficacious) Grace; and P, Perseverance of the Saints. (Loraine Boettner) [Other headings have been suggested. Ed.] The difference between them [Calvinism and Arminianism] is . one . of content. One proclaims a God who saves, the other speaks of a God who enables man to save himself. One view presents . election by the Father, redemption by the Son, calling by the Spirit – as directed towards the same persons, and as securing their salvation infallibly. The other gives each act a different reference (the objects of redemption being all mankind; of calling, those who hear the gospel; and of election, those hearers who respond), and denies that any man’s salvation is secured by any of them. The two theologies thus conceive the plan of salvation in quite different terms. One makes salvation depend on Page 5 Peace and Truth: 2009:3 the work of God, the other on a work of man. (J. I. Packer and O. R. Johnston) What Is The Bedrock Of Calvin’s Teaching? In a strict sense Calvin was primarily a biblical theologian . he went to the Scriptures to see what they clearly said. (W. S. Reid) Proof From Calvin’s Writings: Our wisdom ought to consist in embracing with gentle docility, and without any exception, all that is delivered in the sacred Scriptures. The Scripture obtains the same complete credit and authority with believers . as if they heard the very words pronounced by God himself. I do not venture to make any assertion where Scripture is silent. They who have been inwardly taught of the Spirit feel an entire acquiescence in the Scripture, and that it is self-authenticated, carrying with it its own evidence.