Killing Calvinism on Amazon by Greg Dutcher
Here are some passages I highlighted:
"I realized that God’s love for me was so great that he had my eternal well-being deep in his eternal heart long before I came on the scene. I also came to see that my sinfulness was so horrible, so debilitating to all of my faculties, that without God outright saving me, apart from any cooperation on my part, I was doomed to everlasting judgment."
"We desperately need more Christians who know how to think along clear, biblical lines. But we cross a line when we are more focused on mastering theology than on being mastered by Christ."
"Although Jesus’ grasp of theology was infinitely perfect in every way, what stands out the most about him is how he lived and what he did."
"More often than not, though, zealotry untempered by wisdom is just obnoxious and obsessive—whether your passion is computing or theology."
"Paul paid a high personal price, suffering hardship and spending himself to bring the gospel and preach the gospel to people who were already certain to be saved! Why? Because the saved are the means God uses to reach the lost."
"A shared secret—whether a trivial bit of nonsense, a shameful slab of gossip, a stock tip, or a lewd joke—is just one of several ways by which people join together to form 'in' crowds. An especially powerful and enduring form of the 'in' crowd involves a shared passion, like for a sports team, a method of brewing coffee, or a theological system. What they all have in common is special knowledge coupled with passion that others do not share. Combine that with the capacity for raging pride that we all have lurking in our hearts, and any kind of special knowledge can quickly lead to an attitude that says, 'We get it, and you don’t.' "
"If our Calvinism has become a platform from which we look down upon others, we desperately need God’s grace to convict us that this is sinful."
"As one who ministers mostly to those who don’t see themselves as Reformed, I ask you to trust me when I say that letting go of a worldview can be like letting go of a loved one. For the typical evangelical in the West, what helps him or her make sense of the world is a kind of unexamined “Arminianism lite,” absorbed by osmosis from the broader Christian culture, tainted as that culture is by humanism and postmodernism and whatever else. For many of these genuine believers, this perspective is Christianity, however vague and ill-formed it may seem from our side of the theological fence. They love it and feel they need it. To let go of something you have cherished in this way often requires a period of grieving."
Total Depravity
Sin controls every part of man. He is spiritually dead and blind, and unable to obey, believe, or repent. He continually sins, for his nature is completely evil.
Unconditional Election
God chose the elect solely on the basis of his free grace, not anything in them. He has a special love for the elect. God left the rest to be damned for their sins.
Limited Atonement
Christ died especially for the elect, and paid a definite price for them that guaranteed their salvation.
Irresistible Grace
Saving grace is irresistible, for the Holy Spirit is invincible and intervenes in man’s heart. He sovereignly gives the new birth, faith, and repentance to the elect.
Perseverance of the Saints
God preserves all the elect and causes them to persevere in faith and obedience to the end. None are continually backslidden or finally lost.
No comments:
Post a Comment