How 'bout Them Apples?

Monday, February 9, 2009

Dear Fellow Travelers,
I had a brief exchange with my Calvinist friend yesterday afternoon, following this email he sent me earlier in the day: Now my good brother Mac, Joseph Arminius would certainly be proud of you! You know full well that God is not manipulated by what we choose. In other words, God is not subject unto us, moreover, we are subject unto Him. When He calls, we must come! You know I am a "died in the wool" Calvinist-as are you! Prior to my diligent study of the Scriptures, I was Arminian. Any good student of the Scriptures must embrace the intertwined doctrines of Election, Foreknowledge, and Predestination. God has predetermined the boundary, which is defined by the person of Christ. To be in Christ is to be one of the elect, according to the foreknowledge of God. Ephesians 1 is good proof text for this discussion. In my opinion, God's election determined His foreknowledge and not the other way around. The elect are foreordained of God with a destiny of full and final salvation realized in Glorification (Romans 8). In short, God has chosen in His sovereignty to lavish upon me the riches of His grace, realized in the conformity to the very likeness of His precious Son. I am not there yet, however, He is able to complete that good work which HE has begun in me. How 'bout them apples?
You can rest assured that Mr. Arminius would NOT have been proud of this Calvinist, aka, Mac Goddard, not even one bit; in fact, he wouldn’t even have allowed me to attend his church (not that I would have wanted to!). Of course, my Calvinist friend knows this and knows it well; the truth is Mr. Arminius wouldn’t have allowed him to attend his church, either! Well, he might have allowed him to put some money in his offering plate, but that would have been about the extent of it.
To tell you the truth, I really love my Calvinist friend, and I am continuing to pray for him, as he listens to that still small voice. Presently, he is having to drive almost 6 hours (one way) to work, to do something he really does not want to do, but both he and his family like eating, so he does what he has to do. He has a calling on his life, along with the God-given passion that would naturally accompany it. I am looking forward to seeing just what the Holy Spirit has in store for him. Rest assured (to use my friend’s own words!), nothing ever occurs to God! In other words, my friend does not have to wait for it to “occur” to God that he is, as a “fish out of water!” Much to the contrary, He has perfect foreknowledge and a predetermined plan for his life and, I might add, this predetermined plan is for God’s glory and for my friend’s good! Eye has not seen, neither has in entered into the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him! How ‘bout them apples?