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The Five Points Revisited: Calvinism for Today H. Carl Shank The Five Points Revisited Calvinism for Today Copyright © 2011 by H. Carl Shank ISBN 978-1-257-99779-4 All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the publisher. Permission to make reasonable numbers of printed copies of sections for educational or church use is granted as long as due credit is given. Cover design: H. Carl Shank First printing 2011 Printed in the United States of America Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. The “NIV” and “New International Version” trademarks are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by International Bible Society. Use of either trademark requires the permission of International Bible Society. 2 About the Author In addition to his M.Div. and Th.M. (systematics) work, H. Carl Shank has been a youth, associate, solo, staff and lead pastor in over thirty years of church ministry, pastoring beginning and established congregations in Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and New York state. His passion for leadership development has resulted in mentoring numerous pastors, teaching in a number of local Bible institutes as well as serving as an adjunct faculty member of The King’s College, and training InterVarsity leaders on the East Coast. Carl has been regularly sought out for his acknowledged gifts of discernment and wisdom in dealing with church issues. He is now serving as the Executive Pastor of Cross Roads Brethren in Christ Church in Mount Joy, PA as well as a church health consultant through ChurchSmart, Inc. out of Chicago. Besides numerous seminars and church related articles, his written contributions include Qoheleth’s World and Life View As Seen in His Recurring Phrases, Westminster Theological Journal, 37 (1974), 57-73, More of Christ, Mack Publishing, 1973, A Faith Journey: Steps of Faith from Here to God, 2009 (www.blurb.com), The Two-Talent Church: Truths for Health and Growth, and Upfront and Indepth: Deeper Devotional Studies on Psalm 119, both self-published in 2010 and available from Amazon and other booksellers. Carl is married to his wonderful wife, Nancy, and has three grown, married children, Stephen, Jeremy and Heidi. He lives in the Marietta, PA area and can be reached for consulting, seminars or leadership development at [email protected] www.carlshankconsulting.com 3 4 Table of Contents Preface: Do We Need This Book? ................................. 7 Chapter One: Just Believing the Bible and Other Theological Systems ................................................11 Chapter Two: Calvinism Today ................................... 21 Chapter Three: As Bad As It Gets ................................ 31 Chapter Four: Sovereign Rescue ..................................37 Chapter Five: Redemption That Matters ................... 43 Chapter Six: Grace That Captures ...............................55 Chapter Seven: Perseverance and Preservation ........ 59 Chapter Eight: Let God Be God! ................................69 Postscript: Personal Reflections ..................................81 5 6 PREFACE Do We Need This Book? hy would a pastor in a Wesleyan-Arminian denominational group write a book actually supporting Calvinism? My non- WCalvinist ministry friends, who think I am somewhat “on the edge” anyway, might just respond by saying, “Oh, that’s just Carl. He likes to stir up controversy.” My Calvinist ministry friends might say, “Oh, good! He’s writing for us. He’s back in the fold.” But both of these options miss the real reasons. I am writing for at least three reasons. First, I wish to give “fresh eyes” to the debate that has been currently raging in Southern Baptist and other circles.1 I have been a Reformed Baptist and have ministered in a number of Baptist churches in my ministry years.2 I have also ministered in strictly Presbyterian circles, namely Orthodox Presbyterian churches and groups.3 Presently I am in a non-Reformed setting. So, my wide ranging ministry service has enabled me to both stay clear of internal divisions and struggles in these groups, but also keep a vital Reformed or Calvinistic belief system in my personal life. After all, I am a graduate of Westminster Theological Seminary (Philadelphia) in the years (1970–73 and 1975–79) when non-Presbyterian Calvinistic churches were gaining ground in this country. I therefore bring to the table some freshness to the debate. Second, there is a longing among Generation X and Y younger people for preaching and teaching of the Bible that is deeper and more profound than what they have been hearing in seeker-oriented churches and ministries. My kids are part of those groups desiring 7 more than just hand-me-down sermons from dumbed-down messages following the latest, greatest megachurch pastor or teacher. They grew up in Reformed Baptist and Orthodox Presbyterian circles that demanded a clear salvation by faith experience while imbibing the Westminster Shorter Catechism. Instead of leaving these years confused or dismayed, they have been informed and taught the “faith once for all delivered to the saints.” Others in that age range I have met and ministered to have complained of the vapid, shallow and less-than-satisfying Sunday by Sunday messages they had been hearing. They want more. They want meat not milk, truth not error, depth not skirting around the issues. They are dissatisfied with experience-only Christianity. In response, they now flock to Calvinistic churches, many of them not in the Presbyterian fold, to hear and experience the truth of God’s Word. A third reason is to articulate afresh the salient points that make Calvinism attractive and compelling to so many. It is more than logical analysis that drives people to Calvinism. It is rather a whole Bible, indepth, leaving-no-stone-unturned look at theology and systems and a definite God-centeredness that Calvinism offers. It is a world- and-life viewpoint that modern Christian analysts like George Barna say is desperately lacking from Christianity today.4 This is not an exhaustive book, nor a polemic against my Arminian friends. Nor is this a treatise on systematic theology, though there are many theological points in it. It is rather a personal restating of truths that God has impressed on my heart and mind since my college years. Rather than being weakened by all the different ministries and situations in which I have served, they have been strengthened, deepened and made more real for me by a continual study of God’s Word and interactions with many Christians from a variety of theological backgrounds. Carl Shank 2011 8 Footnotes PREFACE 1References to the surge of interest in Calvinism, especially in Southern Baptist circles, can be seen in the introductions to the books, Why I Am Not A Calvinist, by Jerry L. Walls and Joseph R. Dongell, InterVarsity Press, 2004, and Whosoever Will: A Biblical-Theological Critique of Five-Point Calvinism by David L. Allen and Steve W. Lemke, B & H Publishing Group, 2010. 2Church planter for Reformed Baptists in the 1970s in Wilmington, DE, Salisbury, MD and Baptist itinerant preacher in the mid-Atlantic states. These churches follow the Philadelphia Confession of Faith (Spurgeon type of Calvinism). 3Youth pastor in an Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Vienna, VA and solo pastor in the same denomination in Schenectady, NY in the 1980s. 4Such a judgment has been made by George Barna at the Barna Group at http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/5-barna-update/131-a-biblical- worldview-has-a-radical-effect-on-a-persons-life. 9 10 ONE “Just Believing the Bible” and Other Theological Systems “ just believe the Bible.” In over thirty years of pastoral experience and teaching, I cannot recall how often I have heard this sentence. IMany use it as a sincere declaration of their faith in God and reliance on the Bible as the Word of God. Some use it as a defense against a modernistic dismissal of the Bible as authoritative. Others use it as a comeback against “theology,” as if theological commentary somehow degrades or runs counter to the literal or printed words of Scripture. A few may use it as an excuse not to give themselves to serious study of the words, phrases and themes of Scripture. What many people often fail to recognize is that we are always doing theology. We are always making theological observations, applications and conclusions from the Bible. “Theology,” very simply is the study of God as He has revealed himself in His Word, the Bible.1 Theology proper has come to mean a systematic study of the truths of the Bible, or an exploration of those truths in a systematic way. However, everytime we make a comment on a biblical statement or term, we are doing theology. Saying we “just believe the Bible” means we believe certain truths revealed in the words of Scripture in a way that makes sense to us and in a manner in which we were taught. Thus, Baptists and Presbyterians believe “baptism” is a biblical truth, but their thoughts and explanations widely differ, even though both would maintain they just believe what the Bible says about baptism. So, when we say “I just believe the Bible,” we are making a 11 theological statement. Now, it is most likely a partial or only personally informed statement, but a statement about biblical truth nonetheless. But that’s the problem, isn’t it? And the attempted solution to this partially framed theology is to ask and try to answer, “What does the whole Bible say about a subject?” As my seminary friend and colleague, Wayne Grudem, points out, that is exactly the definition of systematic theology!2 Yes, you guessed it.
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