We’ve all heard the concept. Calvinism renders God the author of sin and evil. This is simply a necessary consequence of the Calvinistic belief system. If God’s decrees, as taught by Calvinism, are true, then man has no ‘free will’.
Well…quite.
Of course, no true Christian can make a coherent claim for an absolute, unfettered free will. “Free agency” as advocated by Calvinists is ignored, and the charge of “determinism” is laid at our door. But what is actually meant by this is that, on Calvinism, we are reduced to nothing more than machines, controlled from above by the grand puppeteer. The biggest charge of all emanating from the incoherent mess that is Arminianism is the charge that Calvinism makes God the “author of sin”. Murmurs about “logic” can be heard, but they are rarely (if ever) substantiated. We will address this later.
God did not create the world on a whim, and He did not create man in order to then leave him to his own devices. God has His own reasons and purposes for creating, and He governs the world accordingly:
Isaiah 46:9-10
for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me,
10 declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.’
Proverbs 19:21
Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD
that will stand.
God didn’t create the world in order for human beings to dictate His plans. The counsel of God is immutable. And His counsel stands forever:
Isaiah 14:24,27
The LORD of hosts has sworn: “As I have planned, so shall it be, and as I
have purposed, so shall it stand,
27 For the LORD of hosts has purposed, and who will annul it? His hand is
stretched out, and who will turn it back?
Psalm 33:10-11
The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the
plans of the peoples.
11 The counsel of the LORD stands for ever, the plans of his heart to all generations.
God’s purpose in creating the world is for His own glory and good pleasure:
Proverbs 16:4
The LORD has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of
trouble.
Revelation 4:11
“Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, for
you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”
God does not stand idle in the Church age:
Ephesians 1:11
In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to
the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his
will
Philippians 2:13
for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good
pleasure.
And all temporal blessings depend upon the providence of God:
Matthew 6:26
Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into
barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than
they?
James 1:17
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the
Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to
change.
So where does this leave the agent‘s ‘free will’? Unfortunately, any notion of a libertarian free will was left behind at the fall. “Libertarian free will” must be considered a fad. And it is entirely unbiblical.
John 8:34-36
Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is
a slave to sin.
35 The slave does not remain in the house for ever; the son remains for ever.
36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
Freedom, as defined by the bible, is a freedom from the bondage of sin, the freedom to do what is pleasing to God. As Hendryx notes, “When Jesus says He will set people free, He does not say they are now free to choose good or evil but He will set them free from the bondage of sin. And where there is bondage, by definition there is no freedom.”
Of course, we affirm free agency, and man is certainly free to act and choose according to his greatest inclinations and desires. But the desires of man are in bondage to corruption.
Romans 6:16-18
Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves,
you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or
of obedience, which leads to righteousness?
17 But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become
obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed,
18 and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of
righteousness.
2 Corinthians 3:17-18
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is
freedom.
18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being
transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this
comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
Only God can grant us freedom from the bondage of sin, and until He does, men are enslaved to a different master:
Ephesians 2:1-3
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins
2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the
prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of
disobedience-
3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the
desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the
rest of mankind.
The proponent of libertarian free will would have us believe than man can act contrary to his desires and free from the determination of his own nature. This immediately leads one to ask: On this view, can man act contrary to his sinful nature and come to Christ without the prior work of the Holy spirit?
1 Corinthians 2:14
The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they
are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are
spiritually discerned.
2 Timothy 2:25-26
correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may
perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth,
26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil,
after being captured by him to do his will.
It is God who allows man to come to a saving faith:
John 6:44
No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will
raise him up on the last day.
John 6:63
It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all.
John 8:42-47
Jesus said to them, If God were your Father, you would love
me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent
me.
43 Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I
say.
44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your
father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth,
for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for
he is a liar and the father of lies.
45 Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me!
46 Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why
don't you believe me?
47 He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is
that you do not belong to God.
So much for libertarian free will.
But does this reduce human beings to mere robots in the great scheme of God’s decrees? I think it would be appropriate to turn to the specific (though unsubstantiated) claims that Calvinism promotes fatalism and that, accordingly, mankind must be absolved from moral accountability. Fatalism holds that everything we do we do necessarily. The argument goes something like this:
1. Necessarily, if God foreknows x, then x will happen.
2. God foreknows x.
3. Therefore, x will necessarily happen.
This is fallacious because the conclusion does not follow from the premises. The fallacy is carrying the necessity from the premise over to the conclusion. The correct argument is as follows:
1. Necessarily, if God foreknows x, then x will happen.
2. God foreknows x.
3 Therefore, x will happen.
We can show the unnecessary transfer of the necessity over to the conclusion by way of a similar argument:
1. Necessarily, if John is a bachelor, John is unmarried.
2. John is a bachelor.
3. Therefore, John is necessarily unmarried.
Obviously John is by no means necessarily unmarried. It is not the case that John must be unmarried. John is unmarried yet perfectly free to be married. Again, the valid form of the argument is as follows:
1. Necessarily, if John is a bachelor, John is unmarried
2. John is a bachelor.
3. Therefore, John is unmarried.
So the valid form of this argument demonstrates that John is free to remain a bachelor or to be married. Just because God foreknows x, it does not follow that x must happen, only that it will happen.
Agents are free to either act or refrain according to their greatest inclinations and desires; whichever the agent chooses, God will have foreknown that choice. That choice is certain for God. But the choice is not necessary for the agent; the agent has freely made the choice. The agent could have made a different choice. And God would have infallibly foreknown that choice in eternity.
When the Calvinist speaks of God's decree, he is not necessarily always speaking of God’s active involvement. In many cases, God's "decretive will" may be expressed in His opting not to interfere with this or that choice, act or event, of which He had definite foreknowledge. And of course, without God’s foreordination no act or event could come to pass.
In the case of sin, while God knew that Adam and Eve would sin, He didn't cause them to do so in an active sense. He merely opted not to prevent it and in doing so allowed sin to enter the world in order to bring about His purpose; God not only allowed the fall, He knew that in creating man in the first place He was rendering it a certainty. He did so in order to achieve His greater purpose.
It is a gross misrepresentation to say Calvinism holds that God specifically acted to bring about sin or evil, rather than consciously willing not to prevent it. Those who present the caricature are either being wilfully dishonest or they’re failing to grasp the doctrines.
Once we see that, on Calvinism, God’s sovereign decrees are in complete harmony with man’s free agency and his moral accountability, the Arminian is backed into a corner. Not only has he failed to substantiate the charge laid at Calvinism (and more to the point God!), but the Calvinist has refuted the charge. But by the Arminian’s own standards, he must by necessity be wide-open to the exact same charge.
On the Arminian view, God creates a world in which many people will go to hell. No matter what He does to try and save them, they are going there, since God's knowledge of their destiny is infallible. There are no two ways about it; they are certain to spend eternity in hell. And yet He proceeds to create anyway. Why? Why create those people He knew for certain would spend eternity in hell? Why didn’t God just create those He knew would choose Christ? By creating them, God has effectively damned them for eternity. There’s no escaping it.
On the Arminian interpretation of foreknowledge and predestination, before the foundation of the world, God knew that John Bloggs would make a free decision to come to Christ. God knew of John’s free decision long before he was born. His decision to come to Christ was inevitable. Why was it inevitable? Was it down to John’s free will, even though he had not yet been born? The Arminian must be forced to concede that John’s destiny is predetermined. It is fixed. John can do nothing but be saved.
Here the Arminian is in all sorts of trouble. He has nowhere left to turn, since he has in no uncertain terms charged the sovereign God of scripture with being unjust, unfair, a monster, the author of sin, or whatever. The stick which he has chosen to throw at Calvinism has turned out to be a theological boomerang, a boomerang with dynamite attached to it, coming back at him and aiming straight between the eyes.
The Arminian is left squirming in his own mess.
Monday, February 13, 2012
Tuesday, February 07, 2012
The Knowledge Of God Part I
"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things." (Romans 1:18-23)
All men have knowledge of God. This may seem like a strange statement to make in today's pluralistic, unbelieving society. Yet as a matter of common observation, all men live in God's universe, and cannot function apart from acknowledging Him in some way. The seeds of the Christian religion have been firmly planted in the minds of men, and God's handiwork has been made manifest to all (Psalm 19:1). All of men's endeavors rely on God's creative attributes and his Providence, without which knowledge as well as the ability to express that knowledge would be impossible. The myriad of false religions reveals that man has an innate knowledge of the divine, corrupted and incomplete though it may be. However, unless the mind is transformed by God Himself from it's depraved state, all ideas concerning God are, of necessity, based upon pure speculation. There is no shortage of idols that man may invent for himself in order to find a deity that will conform to the pleasures of his own deformed nature, even to the point of exchanging "the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things".
Yet the knowledge of the one true God is strong enough that failure to worship Him is inexcusable, placing both Jew and Gentile in the same dreadful mire, for according to verse 16, all men need the salvation which is revealed in the power of the gospel. "The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men", being revealed to Jews through the law, as well as the gentiles by their reason. The fact that pagan nations had not the revealed law at their disposal did not excuse their sinfulness, because "what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them". The unbeliever may not proclaim ignorance of God or His laws, because he has an innate knowledge of both. Paul tells us that they "suppress the truth", not out of ignorance, but rather "by their unrighteousness".
Man, in his very nature being unrighteous and rebellious, is bound to raise a multitude of objections to such knowledge. The atheist and the agnostic are bound by intellectual autonomy. They assume that a world governed by undesigned chance and blind fate may obtain enough order to allow for scientific inquiry, and that the natural laws of the universe can result in a mind capable of objectively realizing such order to obtain meaningful knowledge. While they often call themselves "free-thinkers", their minds are imprisoned by their metaphysical commitment to a material-only worldview from which it can find no escape.
The relativist attempts to hide behind the limits of human knowledge. Nietzsche formulated the relativist mantra quite nicely. "There are no eternal facts, as there are no absolute truths" (Human, All Too Human). Obviously, this statement is self-defeating. There is no way that it can be true. Relativist "do-it-yourself" religion (Pluralism) relies on the frailty of the human mind in comparison to the immensity of God in order to deny God's revelation of Himself, (ie. “God is incomprehensible”). Yet oddly enough, the pluralist expects to be taken seriously when he or she expresses any facts about God.
All of man's objections to his knowledge of the Divine have ethical ramifications at their root. Wicked men love darkness and hate the light, because their deeds are evil (John 3:19). By either denying God or recreating Him in their own image, men seek to loose themselves from Divine Authority, thus enabling themselves to do what is “right in his own eyes" (Judges 21:25). For them, no thought is more comforting than the idea that their sins will die with them in the grave.
There is an ethical element to how one uses his mind, for the failure to acknowledge God leads to a "debased mind" (Romans 1:28). We are commanded to love God with all of our minds (Matthew 22:37), relinquishing all pretense of intellectual (and thus moral) autonomy and submitting to the One True and Living God. This autonomy may take many forms, from the Empiricism of William Clifford to the Relativism of Friedrich Nietzsche. Yet, as we shall see in this study, all forms of autonomy are built on the shifting sands of human wisdom and ultimately lead to an endless cycle of skepticism. The only option is for our minds to submit to the One who created it, the one who is Absolute Truth, in whom "we live and move and have our being". (Acts 17:28)
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Tools Of Theology
"For although no man will now, in the present ruin of the human race, perceive God to be either a father, or the author of salvation, or propitious in any respect, until Christ interpose to make our peace; still it is one thing to perceive that God our Maker supports us by his power, rules us by his providence, fosters us by his goodness, and visits us with all kinds of blessings, and another thing to embrace the grace of reconciliation offered to us in Christ." (John Calvin, Institutes Of The Christian Religion, Book I, Chapter II)Calvin begins his systematic thelogy with the knowledge of God, distinguishing between the knowledge of God the Creator and the knowledge of God the Savior. As such, he presents us with both the problem of man's knowledge of God as well as the solution to that problem. How is man, a creature, able to ascertain any truths about God the Creator? How does the science of theology even get off the ground, and how to we know that the truths we arrive at are objective and not conventional? The answer is that God Himself must reveal truths about Himself. Indeed, in order to avoid any claim to ignorance, God has revealed himself to all men by His creative attributes, by the way he providentially governs His creation, and by the very fact that he creates and governs the minds of men, without which no knowledge would be possible in the first place. Just as any sort of knowledge must needs be rooted in divine evelation, so the knowledge of God himself requires such revelation.
Natural Revelation
Man, by nature, is apprehensive to acknowledge anything higher than himself, yet in doing so, he proves that the knowledge of God is inescapable, "For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse." (Romans 1:20). The mulititudes of religions and deities testify to the fact that "...what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them," (Romans 1:19). The knowledge of God the creator being innate in all men, there has been no shortage of constructs by which fallen men will attempt to relate to the divine. Much can be determined about the divine nature by way of his Creation. This knowledge is revealed, among many ways, in the natural world (Job 12:7-9, Psalm 19:1), in the necessity of His Providence (Acts 14:16-17, Acts 17:28, Hebrews 1:3), in the ability to obtain knowledge itself (Job 38:36, Colossians 2:3), in the knowledge of moral absolutes (Romans 2:14-15), and in the acknowledgement of human dignity (Genesis 1:27).
Yet due to man's fallen nature, his innate knowledge of God has become corrupt. In this sense, natural revelation renders all men to be without excuse, and that is essentially all that it does.
Special Revelation
"If man were ever to be brought to salvation, it was`necessary for God reveal a way whereby he could become a partaker of it" (Wilhelmus a'Brakel, The Christian's Reasonable Service, Chapter 2, The Word of God)Due to his deformed state, man may only attain to the merits of Christ's saving work if, and only if, God Himself would reveal these truths, both of his need for redemption, and the way by which he may obtain it. The revelation of these truth has been accomplished "..at many times and in many ways" as "God spoke to our fathers by the prophets" (Hebrews 1:1). Today, God's special revelation is complete in the 66 books of the Holy Scriptures, "... breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:16-17). These books contain the faith that has been once for all delivered to the saints (Jude 1:3), to which nothing can be added or taken from without serious consequences (Revelation 22:18-19). In addition, it is the Holy Spirit Himself that makes these truths obvious in the minds and hearts of his people (Matthew 16:17), in a manner without such revelation the things of God appear to be mere folly (1 Corinthians 2:14). Thus the most important need for the study of God is God Himself, without whom we could understand nothing. As such, the Holy Scriptures are, of necessity, the only infallible rule of faith and life.
Over the next few weeks, we will take an indepth look at both types of knowledge in an effort to properly apply them as well as to learn more about our Creator and our Savior. We will show how even the most adamantly unbeleiver relies on God's creation and Providence to even function in God's universe. We will also examine the Scriptures in terms of the basis for the Canon, its necessity, its self-attestation, and its self sufficiency.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Why Theology?
"But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine." (Titus 2:1)
"Bad theology will eventually hurt people and dishonor God in proportion to its badness." - John Piper (A Godward Life Volume Two, pg. 377)
Introduction
The subject of “Theology”, namely the study of God, was once regarded as the Queen of the Sciences (Aquinas). Today, the very mention of the subject among modern Christians is viewed as unimportant at best; divisive and “unspiritual” at worst. Objective truths about the nature and person of God have rapidly been shunned in favor of subjective spiritual experiences and personal exegesis. Just a quick glance through most “Christian” bookstores will yield a plethora of pragmatic books on successful living, non-redemptive approaches to a better life steeped in pop-psychology and behavioral modification methods, and the latest round pop-prophecy fiction novels whose main characters seem to change every 10 years or so in order to coincide with current events. Occasionally, one may find a rich theological treasure of books stowed away in a back corner shelf, but these are the exception.
Like it or not, everyone has a theology. The question isn’t whether or not to have a theology, but whether or not you have a good theology or a bad theology. Everyone has a view of God. But is that view based on the objective truth that God himself has revealed?
But Doctrine Divides…
At this point I will concern myself only with Christian doctrine, since Christianity is the only worldview that is objectively true (a statement that will be defended at a later time.) In an effort to maintain “unity” in the body of Christ, many Christians have adopted the mantra “doctrine isn’t important, just love Jesus”. Aside from the fact that this statement is itself a “doctrine”, we must eventually ask who is this Jesus, and why should we love him. Can we rightly love someone without seeking to know something about them? “Acquaint thyself, I pray thee, with Him, and be at peace…” (Job 22:21) Once we begin to answer any question about the nature and personhood of God, we are making statements of doctrine and are engaged in theology.
We are often told, "We should avoid controversial doctrines, because they cause division. We need to be unified in Christ." There is much to be said for unity among the saints. Paul urged the Ephesian church to "walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (Ephesians 4:1-3). This is because "There is one body and one Spirit--just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call -- one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all" (Ephesians 4:4-6). However, what kind of unity does the Bible teach? Did Paul want the Ephesians to avoid controversial doctrines in order to maintain unity? May it never be said as such. Paul goes on to explain the role of apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers (Ephesians 4:11). There were "to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ" (Ephesians 4:12). This was necessary in order to "attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God," (Ephesians 4:13). The unity that Paul spoke of was obtained "so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes" (Ephesians 4:14). The Bible teaches unity through sound doctrine, not despite it. In fact, the Bible has much more to say about sound doctrine that it does unity. Any "unity" that ignores doctrine is really no unity at all.
“Divisions and separations are most objectionable in religion. They weaken the cause of true Christianity...But before we blame people for them, we must be careful that we lay the blame where it is deserved. False doctrine and heresy are even worse than schism. If people separate themselves from teaching that is positively false and unscriptural, they ought to be praised rather than reproved. In such cases separation is a virtue and not a sin.” (JC Ryle, Warnings To The Churches)
The Great Commission Demands Theological Study
One of the ramifications to the modern approach to theology is that the Great Commission has been reduced to eliciting “decisions for Christ”. In fact, the successfulness of a ministry today is often measured by the number of “converts”. While evangelism is important, it is neither the sole focus of the Great Commission, nor the primary focus. Rather we are told to make disciples, baptize them, and teach them to observe all things that Christ commanded us (Matthew 28:18-20). Teaching requires theological study, and is done by those who labor in Word and in doctrine (1 Timothy 5:17).
Subjective Doctrinal Importance
In an effort to maintain orthodox biblical truths while at the same time avoiding controversy, Christians commonly divide doctrine into “essential” vs. “non-essential” categories, the former being the basic beliefs of the Christian faith, while the later being those unimportant and controversial beliefs that divide Christians and create denominations. But by what standard will anyone make such a distinction? If we reduce the gospel to mere “fundamentals”, than what shall we do with the rest of Scripture? What portion of Scripture will we suggest that the Holy Spirit wasted his divine breath in giving us?
The fact is that all Theological Doctrine is divisive to someone. Is there a God? What is He like? What is the way to heaven? What book is the true revelation of God? The answers to these questions are divisive among men today, and if the goal of the Christian is simply to avoid controversy, we will not be obedient to our Lord’s admonition to "make disciples and to teach them to observe all things that he commanded us"> (Matthew 28:19-20). To take any doctrinal stand on any issue is to invite controversy.
"Are there any significant biblical teachings that have remained untainted by controversy? If you have any acquaintance with the history of the Christian church whatsoever, then your immediate answer will be 'of course not.' Whether we’re talking about the triune nature of the Godhead, or justification by faith alone, or the personhood of the Holy Spirit, or the deity of Jesus Christ, or the content of the canonical scriptures, as Christians we have never had the luxury of living in a world where the most nourishing of Biblical truths have existing without opposition. And so when someone expresses a sentiment such as the following: 'I don’t like to talk about a particular doctrine because it is controversial,' we’re not confronted at that point with an expression of great piety or godliness, but rather in most cases a display of Biblical laziness, and in all cases a manifestation of immaturity and ignorance. If your commitment is to feed your soul on only those spiritual truths that have been or are presently non-controversial, than you’ll find yourself staring at an empty plate." (Dr. Arturo G. Azurdia's, Unconditional Election, part of the The Doctrines of Grace Series.)
Handling Disagreements
So does that mean that Christians will all agree on every single point of doctrine? Just a cursory glance over the religious landscape will clearly show otherwise. These disagreements are simply based in human fallibility, and though we seek to know as much objective truth concerning God as He has revealed to us, none of us are omniscient. When confronting a fellow saint who has a disagreement on a particular doctrine, avoiding controversy should not be the main goal, for “Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her.” (Proverbs 3:13-15). We should argue and debate with those who disagree with us, yet with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:15). And we should be open to the idea of our own fallibility, having our own theology being corrected by others who love God’s word, as “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.” (Proverbs 27:17)
Monday, April 18, 2011
Revelational Gifts Part I
"Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints." (Jude 1:3)
- "Why do you despise Prophecy?"
- "Why do you reject the works of the Holy Spirit today?"
- "Why don't you want all that God has for you?"
The topic of tongues and prophecy today is a controversial one, and there is no way to avoid the personal aspects to the debate. When those of the Reformed faith uphold the teachings of the Westminster Divines that "those former ways of God's revealing His will unto His people [are] now ceased" (Westminister Confession of Faith I:I), we are doing more than just making an abstract doctrinal statement. We are calling into question some of the experiential aspects of worship that many Christians hold dear. As such, appeals to emotion and experience are common in this debate, but it is an area that must be discussed. For either we of the Reformed Faith are lacking true spirituality, having at best only a partial faith, or else those of the charismatic faith are actively participating in false prophecy. Furthermore, the debate must be settled by Scripture alone, not by subjective spiritual experiences which can likely be claimed by many different religions.
Additionally at stake are two crucial principles. The first is sola scriptura. While most Pentecostals would claim to hold to sola scriptura, they deny it in both their practice and their theology of continuing prophetic revelation. Either the scriptures contain "the whole counsel of God concerning all things necessary for His own glory, man's salvation, faith and life" (Westminister Confession of Faith I:IV), or else more is to be added through continuing special revelation. In many cases, some charismatics have implicitly accepted their own revelations (ie. being "led by the Spirit") as being superior to the Holy Scriptures. Consider this following quote from the introduction to a very popular work by a charismatic author from about a decade ago.
“A true God chaser is not happy with just past truth; he must have present truth. God chasers don’t want to just study from the moldy pages of what God has done; they’re anxious to see what God is doing.”While most Pentecostals won't go quite so far as to refer to the Bible as "moldy pages", it is quite often to hear them claim that new prophetic revelations not only continue today, but are actually necessary for true holiness, power, and effective evangelism. No matter how you slice it, any claim supporting the "necessity" for continuing "fresh" prophetic revelation is nothing less than an implicit denial of the sufficiency of Scripture. If we have the Scriptures properly expounded, we are in need of nothing else in term of revelation. The Bible IS the "full gospel".
The second principle at stake is the office of Christ as the sole mediator of the New Covenant (Hebrews 12:24). When a person claims to receive prophetic revelations today, that person is actually claiming to be a covenant mediator (Galatians 3:20), standing between God and man. He is going to the mountaintop, receiving the Word, and bringing it back down to the rest of us. Thus it is necessary to discuss whether such a mediator may exist in the New Covenant among the sons and daughters of men (Hebrews 1:1).
Some Pentecostals, seeing the dilemma that continuing revelational gifts causes in these two areas, have sought to redefine prophecy in the New Covenant era. In this series, we will focus special attention to this issue, showing that:
- Biblical (inspired) Prophecy is inerrant, infallible, and authoritative. This is true in both Old (Deuteronomy 18:18-22) and New (2 Peter 1:21) Testaments.
- Biblical Tongues were a form of inspired prophecy. (Acts 2:16-18)
- Biblical Tongues were earthly human languages (or at the very least included human languages - Acts 2:5-11).
- The events of Pentecost were a sign of both New Covenant inauguration (Acts 4:16) and Old Covenant Judgments (1 Corinthians 14:21-22), both being fulfilled in that "crooked generation" (Acts 2:40). There is no biblical basis for a "personal pentecost".
- All Christians have been Baptized In the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:9-11, Acts 2:38-39). There is no division between "Spirit-filled" Christians as opposed to just "regular" Christians (1 Corinthians 12:13).
- The offices of Prophet (Hebrews 1:1) and Apostle (Ephesians 2:20) have ceased to exist.
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