Calvinist

 About two months ago I saw a trailer for a yet-to-be-released documentary called "Calvinist."  As a Calvinist myself, and since the trailer was intriguing and looked well done, I preorder a copy of the DVD.  The movie was finally released and I received it and watched it earlier this week.

A Calvinist is a person who adheres to a Reformed understanding of salvation (also called the doctrines of grace, summarized by the acronym TULIP) and the complete sovereignty of God in all things - theology that was developed and propagated by Reformers such as John Calvin and many others.  The documentary does a great job in briefly explaining these doctrines in a creative, entertaining, and very well-produced way (in other words, learning about this theology through this documentary is anything but boring).

An additional purpose of the movie is to look at why Calvinist/Reformed theology has made such a resurgence in American Christianity over the past 20 years or so.  This is where I really connected with the documentary, as it seemed to be telling the story of my adult Christian life.  Almost every instance that led to this resurgence listed in the film has also been evident in my life.  Looking back on my life through the eyes of this film made me grateful to God how he awakened me to these life-giving, Christ-exalting doctrines in my spiritual journey.

First, the documentary says that one of the initiators of the Reformed resurgence was a preacher and teacher named R.C. Sproul.  Sproul, now 78, is a Presbyterian minister who has written countless books and taught on Reformed theology for decades.  In the year 2000 I was 20 years old and working as the janitor at Riverview.  The days of constant mopping, window washing, and vacuuming soon grew long and boring.  So I explored the church library for some listening options and came across a series of R.C. Sproul's teaching on cassette tape (yes, tape).  I began listening mostly just to pass the time while I cleaned the church, but soon became enraptured in what he was saying.  Later, I picked up one of Sproul's books, The Holiness of God which was a game-changer for me.  In this book, Sproul lays out God's holiness in a way that I had never heard before, elevating God to the position of supreme sovereign of the universe, and myself as a worm.  The contrast between his holiness and my own lowliness had never been clearer.  When we understand God's holiness, we get a new appreciation for his sovereignty and how and why he works in the world.  As I look back, this book was my entrance into Reformed theology.

Second, the documentary notes that a particular sermon by a preacher named Paul Washer was instrumental in drawing many people back to the authority of scripture and the call to continual repentance and Christian holiness.  Washer is a former missionary to Peru and is now the leader of a missionary society and itinerant preacher.  The untitled sermon has been unofficially regarded as the "Shocking Youth Message," as it was originally preached at a youth evangelism conference in 2002.  I don't recall how I was first turned on to listening to this sermon, but I do recall, however, sitting at my desk in my office, enraptured by what he was saying, almost in tears, feeling as though I was being punched in the gut over and over by what this man was preaching.  As one commentator I heard put it, "This sermon made me want to get saved - again."  I was so impacted by this sermon, I immediately purchased DVD copies and gave them out to as many people as I could - both Christian and non-Christian alike.  If you've never seen or heard the "Shocking Youth Message," you should stop what you're doing right now and take the next 59 minutes to watch it.  You will be changed by it.

Third, the documentary notes that one of the supreme reasons for the resurgence in Reformed theology over the last two decades or so has been because of the writing and preaching of John Piper. It wasn't until after I was married that I really got into Piper's writing and preaching.  I remember my first exposure to Piper's theology merely through the title of one of his books: The Pleasures of God: God's Delight in Being God.  The title intrigued me.  I had never before considered that God delighted in himself - that he delighted in being God, or that such a being as God had the right to delight in himself.  The content of the book had much more to offer, however, and I was hooked.  I have memories of washing dishes in the first apartment that my wife and I lived in, with John Piper's sermons in my ear buds (I had moved on from cassette tapes by then).  And Piper kept publishing books.  Books upon books.  And I ate them up.  The focus of Piper's writing and preaching, and his contribution to the Reformed resurgence has been to, I think, magnify the sovereignty of God, and how we as his children find our utmost satisfaction and fulfillment when we delight in his ultimate sovereignty.  This overarching message is probably most clearly communicated in Piper's seminal work Desiring God.  In this book you will most clearly read about Piper's flavor of Reformed theology.  Probably the most accessible representation of Piper's theology and its application to everyday life is his brief book Don't Waste Your Life.  If you want a taste of what delighting in the sovereignty of God looks like in your life, you should read this book.  It was significantly influential in my own life and thinking.

It has been interesting to see how my personal spiritual development has influenced my thinking in every day life.  My kids have recently gotten into the music of Petra - an 80's and 90's Christian rock band.  Their 1990 album Beyond Belief is truly a masterpiece and occupies a spot on my personal top 10 list (on cassette tape).  Recently, as I was listening to some of the songs from that album, my kids overheard and have since developed an appreciation for the music, to the extent that it's all they want to listen to nowadays.  Last week I told them that in conjunction with the album, Petra produced a 60 minute movie that told a story with music videos of their songs interspersed, and they wanted to watch it, so we did.  The movie tells the story of two brothers, the younger of which is an up and coming track and field star who is in the process of being recruited by universities and is receiving scholarship offers.  His older brother (who is also his running coach) reveals that he has been diagnosed with cancer.  This revelation infuriates the younger brother, who begins to blame God for all of his personal and family problems.  The older brother maintains his walk of faith, and tries to encourage his younger brother to continue to trust God.  As part of this process, the older brother tries to comfort his younger brother by saying, "God didn't give me this cancer."  This statement, regardless of how comforting a person might find it, is biblically inaccurate (and actually, I don't find it either comforting or encouraging).  This statement implies that God is not sovereign over cancer.  Rather, the Bible teaches that God is sovereign over all things - even horrible things like cancer - and that he either causes them or allows them to happen for his purposes, which, also according to scripture, are always for the good of those who love God and who have been called according to his purpose (Romans 8.28).  God is sovereign over everything - even cancer.  And that should change how we think about cancer: it is not stronger than God; it is not out of his control; cancer is not sovereign - God is.  That truth is encouraging; that truth is comforting.  The idea that God is not sovereign over cancer is, to me, terrifying.  If God is not sovereign over cancer, then it is an unsolvable mystery that can only lead to fear and doom.  Praise the Lord that he is, indeed, sovereign over cancer.  (Note: to show how even cancer is under God's control and can be used for his purposes and for our good, John Piper has written an excellent article called "Don't Waste Your Cancer."  Even if you don't have cancer, you should read it.  It is an excellent example of how Reformed theology is practically applied to every day life.)

In this documentary I saw a lot of myself, and the journey I took to get to where I am today.  This is just a snippet of what it covers.  I'm glad for the release of this documentary, and I hope a lot of people will see it.  If a documentary on the resurgence of a theological stream doesn't sound very interesting to you, you'll be surprised at how engrossing this film is, and by how much you enjoy it.  You should see it (the film is available on DVD in the Riverview library), and come to know the doctrines of grace which most beautifully and gracefully describe our God and the sovereign, glorious salvation he offers.

Ed Young's Take on Reformed Theology

Huh.  That's about all I've got to say about this video (the anti-Reformed theology rant starts at about 27:00).  There's just not much more that can be said about someone who is so willfully ignorant about Reformed theology.  Obviously I disagree with everything the distinguished Pastor Young Jr. says in this rant.  In fact, I think his presentation of what Reformed theology is and its implications on ecclesiology was so over-the-top ludicrous it almost demands no response.  It's easily recognizable as something that is reactionary, full of over-reaching generalizations, and logical fallacies.  See here and here to get some context on Ed Young Jr.  This guy is the king of pragmatic, so-called "sexy" ministry for the purpose of getting results.  If you follow the links, you'll soon see that for him to say that Reformed people are only into "sexy" theology and the social gospel (which is strange - I've never equated the Reformed crowd to be too much into the social gospel) for the sake of looking good is a case of the pot calling the kettle black if ever there was one.

Since so many people are responding to this particular rant against Reformed theology (and probably doing so much better than I can), I'll just say two things in response to this rant:

1. I'm always amused when someone accuses someone else, or a group of people, of putting God "in a box."  This phrase implies that the one accused of putting God "in a box" has God figured out, and can therefore define him and control him by putting him, "in a box."  The irony of this accusation is that to suggest that a person could presume to put God in a box is, in itself, putting God "in a box."  That is, if you say that no one can figure out God enough to put him in a box, you're making a claim that you at least know enough about him to be able to claim that he cannot be "boxed."  Isn't this assertion, at least to some extent, putting God in a box?

We all have boxes that we put God into.  In fact, we are forced to box God in at some points simply because we are linear beings.  We put God into the boxes of space and time quite frequently.  So instead of accusing others of putting God in a box, let's just admit that we've all got a nice set of boxes that we frequently put God in.  Admittedly, Reformed folks can be guilty of this as a result of their theological construct, but so can and does everyone with any kind of theological construct (which is everybody).

2. What I believe is the one and only valid objection Ed Young brought up against Reformed theology is also probably the most widely known and easily answerable one.  He claims that most Reformed folks don't care about evangelism or winning lost people to Christ.  He supports this claim by calling Reformed churches to account for their supposed small baptism numbers (read this little bit about reporting numbers, then get back to me, Pastor Young).  This is a common objection that mostly stems from the Reformed doctrine of election, and usually manifests itself in questions like this: "If God has already predestined people to be saved, then why bother with evangelism?  If God has elected people to be saved unto eternal life before the foundation of the world, then what is the motivation for preaching the gospel?  For outreach?  For missions? (UPDATE: Tim Challies has posted some very helpful thoughts on Calvinism and evangelism.  You can read his post here.)

Again, this is a common question, and it has (I think) an easy answer - an answer that Ed Young even mentioned in his rant: we don't know whom God has predestined.  Has God predestined believers from before the foundation of the world?  Yes.  But I have no idea who those people are.  Additionally, God has commanded believers to go to all corners of the earth to preach the gospel, presumably for the sake of partnering with God in his purpose of bringing the salvation of the elect to fruition.  When we combine these two ideas, we come up with the notion that God has indeed ordained those who have been saved from before the foundation of the world, and he is using, in his sovereignty, the preaching of those who would be obedient to his great commission to complete the work that he began before the world was created.  The motivation for what I'll call "Reformed Evangelism," then, is obedience to God - not inflating baptism numbers, church attendance, or even the potential salvation of lost souls.

That last part is kind of tricky.  Do I preach so that souls might be saved?  Yes.  Do I want people to hear and believe the gospel unto salvation?  Absolutely!  But since God has predestined those who would come to salvation, it would be incorrect to assume that the salvation of lost souls is dependent upon my willingness to preach.  In other words, Reformed theology says that nobody goes to hell because Christians were too lazy and didn't preach.  Our motivation for evangelism is obedience, nothing more and nothing less.  I preach the gospel not because I think it might save souls (after all, God already has that covered), but because I want to be obedient to what God has called me to do as a Christian, and because I want to be a part of the incredible things God is doing in the world (saving lost people being chief among them).

Put simply, then, anyone who holds to Reformed theology but has no urgency for evangelism is guilty of two things: 1) not holding to a true and right understanding of Reformed theology, and more importantly, 2) living in disobedience to God and his word.  Evangelism isn't unimportant to Reformed crowds - it is of vital importance, because it has to do with obedience.

The biblical case study for what I've just described above is that of Esther.  Esther wisely realizes that, in her situation, God would do what he would do (save the Jews), and if she didn't want to be a part of what he was doing in the world, he would find someone who was.  Her motivation for approaching the king unrequested, then, was not saving the Jews (although that was certainly in her mind), but it was first and foremost, obedience to God.  To reiterate then, if I am disobedient and choose not to preach the gospel, God will find someone who will.  That's not a position I want to be in.  I want to be obedient.  Read Esther 4 for all the details and to see how this "works."

Above all, I guess I'm just disappointed that he did this.  It seems rather low-brow and amateurish.  Let's rise above this kind of stuff.  It certainly doesn't help the state of the church in America, and it makes us all look rather uneducated (on that note, how did Young not come across these answers to the objections to Reformed theology he raises in his schooling?  He says he knows the Greek and Hebrew and theology behind it, although it sure didn't seem so from the clip).  Let's all resolve to treat each other better in the public square and put some time and effort into studying and researching claims and arguments before we comment on them.  And I don't say this lightly.  I certainly have my own bit of repenting to do when it comes to this.  One need not peruse the pages of this very blog for too long to find my own shortcomings!

Soli Deo gloria, Pastor Young.