Limiting Ourselves to What We Do Know--a brief summary of the book of Job

Today, I write to you and myself as I have been thoroughly challenged by the book of Job in my devotional studies. This book is an amazing challenge to believers today and I believe it has always been there to challenge God's people of all ages. If I had to sum up the book of Job in one point, I would say, "Only God knows everything." I say this because we find Satan coming to God and God showing a favorable opinion of Job--and Satan declares that Job would no longer praise God if God didn't put a hedge of protection around all that Job had. A long story short, Job lost his children, possessions, esteem, as well as being covered in boils and in complete bewilderment. This biblical account is very interesting because his three friends come to him, making assertions about God and how God works and they basically read the situation through the lens of their opinion, as God-focused as it may seem. It honestly seems to me that this story is recorded in many ways and so many chapters are given to these responses, as well as Job's replies to those responses, because the people of God always take what they have learned of God and begin to go beyond their boundaries. We see something, even like the World Trade Center bombing, and many will say, "This is God's judgment on America for their sin." Has God written that in the sky? Has He shown that in His word? Now, I know that God has used this to draw people to Himself and to cause people to think. But who very truly knows the mind of God? We only know what's been revealed, and yet I find that even I can so quickly read a situation and feel that I know what God is doing and such. I am a 4-point Calvinist, and even on that I have now begun to question being nearly as adamant, not because I don't think I see God's sovereignty in the Bible, but because I don't fully understand what that means in relation to God. I can't fully explain the workings of God; I can see things being taught in Scripture, but I have to be careful not to think that I've fully figured anything out when it comes to the depths of God. No human does. So, I ask you, what would your response be, should you have been one of Job's friends? You see this person who's losing everything and their life looks to be in shambles--would you think that they were doing something wrong? How could you possibly know that God was well-pleased with someone and was allowing tribulation into their lives for their benefit and His glorification by allowing Satan permission to throw trials into their lives? How do you know what's going on in the spiritual world? You don't. What Job's friends did has been repeated so many times over and even today, whatever day you may find yourself reading this, it will be happening. So hear out Job's words at the end of the book of Job, as well as God's (who stunningly corrected Job and his friends, who all became guilty of reading more into the situation than they knew):

Job 42:1-11

1 Then Job answered the LORD and said: "I know that You can do everything, And that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You. You asked,`Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?' Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. Listen, please, and let me speak; You said,`I will question you, and you shall answer Me.' "I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor myself, And repent in dust and ashes." And so it was, after the LORD had spoken these words to Job, that the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, "My wrath is aroused against you and your two friends, for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has. "Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, go to My servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and My servant Job shall pray for you. For I will accept him, lest I deal with you according to your folly; because you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has." So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did as the LORD commanded them; for the LORD had accepted Job. And the LORD restored Job's losses when he prayed for his friends. Indeed the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.

And yet some more verses for your thoughts:

Romans 11:33-34

33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! "For who has known the mind of the LORD? Or who has become His counselor?"

Isaiah 55:8-9

"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," says the LORD. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts."

Psa 92:5

O LORD, how great are Your works! Your thoughts are very deep.

So 1) pray, 2) read the Bible, and 3) never jump to conclusions, especially about the workings of God. Just trust that He knows what He's doing and will not lead you in paths He will not be with you in.

Thankful Even for the Air I Breath

Psalm 13:6 "I will sing to the Lord, for He has dealt with me bountifully."

Did you catch those words? As I look at that verse, I see two words that stand out immensely: "sing" and "bountifully." Beyond this, I see a word that everything revolves around: "Lord."

"I will sing to the Lord..."

Why?

"(for) He has dealt with me"

and how has He dealt with me?

"bountifully"

Lest you feel like life's just not that great or you'd rather sit in a corner pouting about your circumstances, I'd like to take this chance to encourage you to praise God. Praise Him for a voice. Praise Him for a mind to think. Praise Him for thoughts to express. Praise Him for hair and for skin and for smiles and for daylight. Praise Him for comfort and praise Him for pain. Yes, pain. It does accentuate the times in life that it does not come to the forefront, does it not? Praise Him for nice people, praise Him for difficult people--He uses both to make you like Him. Praise Him for being above our comprehension, and praise Him for condescending to us to make Himself known and understood through His Son and through the Word. Praise Him for your eyes--you couldn't even read these words without them. And if you're hearing these words spoken or even reading this in braille, praise Him that He allows you to channel communication and understand it. Praise Him for abundance and praise Him for poverty--we find Him in both, and sometimes we see Him easier in the latter. Praise Him for life and praise Him for death. Praise Him for prayers answered and praise Him for prayers that seem untouched. Praise Him for His perfection and praise Him that even our imperfections can help us recognize how vastly less we are from Him--the chasm is infinite. Praise Him for sending His Son and praise Him for His love. Praise Him for newborn babies and praise Him for loved ones in their last moments. Praise Him for hope and praise Him for never leaving us hopeless. Praise Him for blue skies and praise Him for rainy days. Praise Him because He's God and there is no other, there is no one like Him, there is none who can compare. Praise Him--and be thankful even for the air you breath.

Our Pain is Worth the Weight

2 Corinthians 4:16-18
16 Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. 17 For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, 18 while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

God is always doing great things. This isn't a generic statement, like it's some kind of headline news that takes place in foreign places all around the globe--You can take confidence that if Christ is your Savior, such is your case today. Each day brings with it its own character--even when many days look the same. God is always working in our lives, and what He allows us to face is doing something magnificent on His side of heaven. Verse 17 says our afflictions are a) momentary and b) light. God knows what you can handle in this life on your own and He knows what you can handle in this life only by His grace. I hope for your sake and for mine that what we face is not simply given to us on the basis of what we ourselves can handle. You don't grow in God's grace by being given a life that only suits what you're capable of, because quite frankly, it's not very much. The grace of God so often supersedes what we do, and foolishly we often attribute overcoming our circumstances only to ourselves. Be encouraged today to face things you don't want to necessarily face with the confidence that whatever you face, God will be there to aid you in accomplishing what He has for you--even if it's character change. He is doing such great things, oh that we would see that and marvel in His handiwork! Our pain is worth the weight.

Separate the Adjectives from the Nouns

Being a human, and having a sin nature, one of the hardest areas I find to overcome is to look at all people as simply people. Not "poor" people, not "(pick your color)" people, not "skinny" people, "nice" people--you get the drift? It's so easy to attach adjectives to people, and then to quickly attach issues such as value or fear or avoidance...and on and on the list goes. You know, I am not crazy about the whole "politically correct" jargon, but when I think about the need for Jesus Christ in the world, we who already have accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior need to start seeing people first and foremost as people. Yes, they may be very different than us. Yes, we may find it difficult at times to connect. Think about the people you find it easiest to talk about Jesus with, if you're a believer. More often than not, they're just like us--it's easy to present the Gospel to people that mirror much of who we are. Our hearts and minds shut very fast, though, when we start seeing people's distinctions, whether those distinctions be hereditary or a choice or sinful--and to back off from showing God's love. John 3:16 starts off by saying, "For God so loved the world..." That's every person, and that's a group of people who all fall short of His glory, none who deserve His love or grace or mercy. There are no distinctions drawn as to who God loves--it's people--the world. I encourage you and myself to be mindful to pray that we not let the adjectives consume the nouns when it comes to showing God's love and sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We need to separate the adjectives from the nouns--PEOPLE need the Lord, period.

Be Thankful for the Past...but Don't Live in It

My senior year in high school, I was fully entrenched in the hockey lifestyle. I worked a job at a local ice rink as a "skate guard," which is kind of like a peace-keeper/first aid/safety ensuring person. I played hockey every Monday night, and I played on a local team which played on Saturday nights, and even the occasional Sunday night (to which I did not appreciate). When that was over, I played adult hockey league in the best league in my home city. I was looking forward to playing hockey in college, but this did not pan out well as my interests quickly changed toward ministry.
I remember vividly living off of the steam of my hockey days, using this as a calling card to gain attention and to make friends. It was something I was good at and enjoyed. Hockey did not last. I have hardly skated since I got married; I haven't ice skated in almost two years, and I haven't played hockey in probably eight years. In those days, I wanted a career out of the sport, somehow, someway. I even went off to college hoping to major in journalism just to be attached to the game still.
The fumes of those days have faded, and I cannot run on them. Humans like to do this often--we love those "glory days" of high school, or college, or a certain achievement. There's times, too, where we are thankful that we don't have to return to those memories. I have plenty of both! (Would you like some?!)
God has called for us to be thankful people, people who would be reminded of His goodness and to revel in His greatness in our history as well as all of history. Might I suggest to you, though, that today is the present and the past is gone? What happened twenty years ago, five years ago, two days ago, one minute ago, is past and is now concrete history. It can't be changed, it can only be remembered and we live with the effects. As you live this day, even right now, use your time to the glory of God. Make decisions that are reflective of His guidance in your life. Study the Bible and realize what kind of character God would want you to have, and make the most of this day. We can dwell on the past to the extent that it clouds our vision of what we should be doing today. Praise the Lord for His goodness, praise Him for this new day.

Be thankful for the past...but don't live in it.

Philippians 3:13-16 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you;
however, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained.

Seeing the Stars Best

Starry nights are a wonderful thing. I love looking up in the sky, taking it all in, and enjoying what God has made. What does it take to see those stars so well, though? If you live in the city, you will never see the stars nearly as bright as you will in the country--I recommend going out sometime if you haven't. Before I ramble any more, here's what I'm getting at. We don't see the stars without the darkness surrounding them. We need the night to see that light. I want you to think about those dark days of life...love ones lost, maybe your financial resources are low, maybe you find yourself just wishing to escape some of the things you've been facing. God shows up best in our darkest of nights. His overflowing grace, His steadfast love, His sovereign sustainment all are most visible in our most vulnerable moments. It's true. My wife lost a child in miscarriage in October of 2009, right in the heart of my first semester in school, with lots of work to do and then an overwhelming flood of grief that ensued at such a loss. I may have such days again, but that was the hardest day of my life when we found out about the loss of our little one. We decided to have a child as a gift to God, someone He could use to His pleasure, in July. My wife conceived after we made such a decision, and we joyfully came to find out a child was on the way. We even saw our child at the first sonogram, and it was truly exciting. The next month, October, this all changed. I can tell you, though, that in that time, I truly felt the prayers of people being answered as God's grace overwhelmed us far more than the grief. Easy? By no means. Without hope? Not a chance! I take comfort in God's sovereignty and a deep knowledge of His love for us, even when our days grow dark. If you do not know God personally through a saving relationship with Jesus Christ, dark days may truly seem hopeless. Christ died for our sins, and we all know that we've done wrong. He has offered Himself as our atoning Sacrifice, satisfying God's requirement of a perfect sacrifice for sins. We simply have to believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins, place our faith in His work, and you should know, too, that He was raised from the dead on the third day and that He is in heaven now at the Father's right hand. He would love for you to make that decision. If you're a believer, you have hope. The darkness of life is always a backdrop to God's grace for the believer. I know it's true. He sustains us and our hope is not in vain. He is so good. I'd encourage you to pray, even now, thanking God for His love for us and His sustaining grace. And if you need Christ as Savior, do it now. No one who recognizes God for who He truly is would want to continue on without Him. He's God and there is no other!

"You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah." (Psa 32:7)

This is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it. (Ps. 118:24)

Lord, help me to live this moment to your glory. I can't change the past and I have no control over the future. Help me not to run on the fumes of past "mountain-top experiences" nor to swim in a sea of guilt for past failures. I boldy accept Your forgiveness and grace for the moment. I so quickly lose sight of You when I get caught up in the future. I don't know that tomorrow will come, but I know that today is here and I am alive. You have sustained me, You have enabled me. Help me to take my cross today and to follow You wholeheartedly. Help me to see You for who You are today and not as my heart would pridefully make you out to be. You are above Me; Your ways are above my ways; You are beyond my comprehension, and I accept Your biblical revelation of who You are by faith. Help me to reflect You the best way that I can today. Thank you, God!

No Day is Too Dark

It was a fall day, not too long ago, a day that will never leave my mind. My wife went off for a regular check-up at the doctor's office, expecting nothing incredibly out of the ordinary in her pregnancy. I have to say, I expected nothing, either. What took place that day was initially surreal, followed by a journey to emotionally broken depths I have never gone to before. While I may return to other such days, this day will rank above all of the deepest days of grief. I remember her walking through the doors, deeply in tears, and saying something about the baby not moving. The doctor were deeply concerned, even perplexed. There was no movement, no detectable heartbeat, nothing. I remember going in maybe a month before and seeing that baby moving around, and what a happy day it was. What happened? I drove my wife to the major hospital, a flood of emotions overcoming me. Fear...anger...frustration...even hope that maybe this was just a fluke, it would all be okay. I remember going in, looking at that screen, and seeing my child in the womb, not moving. No heartbeat. The baby was gone. Sadness crept in...and then it pinned me to the ground. Wave upon wave of grief, nothing like I'd ever known before. I remember breaking down in homiletics class the next day when we were asked for prayer requests. I remember leaving after that class and not returning to class for the day. I remember the emotions, and like a stone dropped in water, the waves are largest at the epicenter, and yet even as you move away, you sometimes feel the ripples. You know, in all of that, I never cried a tear of absolute hopelessness. I never got angry at God. I never questioned His sovereign plan--I feel He had prepared us for that. When I think of all of this, I think of the sun or the stars that we behold in the sky. I think about how they shine so bright because of the darkness that they're set upon. And then I think about life, and how God's grace and love shine brightest in our darkest hours. The pain is real, and quite frankly I feel it's best to face it. But a believer doesn't have to face it hopelessly. We can face those days, hard as they may be, with deep, grace-filled, soul-drenching hope, the hope of God. The knowledge that He's doing what's best and has a plan. And so I turn to these verses and say to you, if you're a believer, don't weep as one without hope on your dark days...

17 So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days.
18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off;
19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary, to console them concerning their brother.
20 Martha therefore, when she heard that Jesus was coming, went to meet Him, but Mary stayed at the house.
21 Martha then said to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.
22 "Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You."
23 Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."
24 Martha said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day."
25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies,
26 and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?"
27 She said to Him, "Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world."
28 When she had said this, she went away and called Mary her sister, saying secretly, "The Teacher is here and is calling for you."
29 And when she heard it, she got up quickly and was coming to Him.
30 Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha met Him.
31 Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and consoling her, when they saw that Mary got up quickly and went out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there.
32 Therefore, when Mary came where Jesus was, she saw Him, and fell at His feet, saying to Him, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died."
33 When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled,
34 and said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to Him, "Lord, come and see."
35 Jesus wept.
36 So the Jews were saying, "See how He loved him!"
37 But some of them said, "Could not this man, who opened the eyes of the blind man, have kept this man also from dying?"
38 So Jesus, again being deeply moved within, came to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone was lying against it.
39 Jesus said, "Remove the stone." Martha, the sister of the deceased, said to Him, "Lord, by this time there will be a stench, for he has been dead four days."
40 Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?"
41 So they removed the stone. Then Jesus raised His eyes, and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.
42 "I knew that You always hear Me; but because of the people standing around I said it, so that they may believe that You sent Me."
43 When He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth."

Leave the Acting to the Actors

Matthew 6:1-18

Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Pray then like this: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, [fn] on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Church can be a great place for the worship of God, the hearing of great sermons, education in the truth of the Bible, and fellowship amongst other believers. I enjoy going to church myself--but even in conservative circles, I find that playing church evades no one. How easy it is to go through the motions; how easy it is to look like you couldn't be more right with God. Let me say this, as this is titled: leave acting to the actors. Integrity is what we need in believers today, and quite often we'd rather act than show who we really are. What if only the people who meant it sang in church this Sunday? Would the scenario be exciting or awkward? Would you be one of those people? What if everyone who wasn't going to really listen to the sermon was asked to leave, and they were honest with themselves and just got up and left? How many of us would there be? What if we came to prayer requests, and all we could pray about was God, worshiping Him with our words in prayer? Could you do it? Could you do it and not feel like you're faking it? What if church continuously was cancelled for a year? Would you feel the effects? I am guessing that if we are anything like what Jesus warns against in the verses above, church or no church really won't have the effects like we think it will on our lives. When we come to church to act, we leave to go back to our realistic lives. How do we break this cycle? Might I suggest to you that you pour your heart into what you do? That when you're not at church, you make it a point to spend time with God, pray to God, worship Him, obey Him, and don't keep Him to yourself? I believe wholeheartedly that when we live for what God thinks and not what others think, our acting will most likely cease. Don't go to church for what people think. Don't pray because people are listening. Don't pay attention because people are watching. You do your walk with God no justice when you are "churchy" for the sake of others. If you believe God is who He says He is, then worship Him as such, fear Him as such, love Him as such, and go to meet Him above anyone else when you go to church. Acting is fun on the stage or on the set, but when we do it in real lives, it destroys us. Pursue God every day with integrity.

Glass Hearts and Rubber Souls

When I look at the past and all that has led up to this point in my walk with Christ (twenty-two years, now!), I think about all that has happened and how many times over the grace of God has been shown to me. I also think of how many times I failed to see it, royally. I am convinced, as the verse says, that "all things work together for good to them that love Him, to those who are called according to His purposes." How many different jobs have I had where the work just seemed unbearable at times, or people in my life that I had to interact with on a consistent basis have been difficult to say the least? How many times have I just wished to move on, or hoped for something better? Maybe that I'd have more money to deal with the financial issues of life. Maybe that I'd only be working with people who I got along with well. Maybe that the pressure of deadlines would finally come to rest. As a believer in Jesus Christ, I am convinced that though my heart so quickly breaks with the circumstances, God has, if you will, given me a "rubber soul." I think this could be said of all believers. He gives us the grace that sustains us through all the moments, and somehow we find ourselves in the future, looking back in the past, forgetting that so many times over we said, "How will I ever get through ______?" And here we are. It was the grace of God that sustained us, and it is the grace of God that will continue to sustain us. We were made to be stretched, to be people of a higher caliber in the calling of God, that we may continually be changed into His image and not left to our own. Paul says, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me," as well as God making it clear to him, "my strength is perfected in weakness." Paul says that he glories in his weaknesses therefore. I think that God never intended us on earth to overcome being reliant on Him. I think He never meant for us to come to a rest from the various wearinesses that we face. I think life consistently shows us that while we may hope for a rest to come after our present trials, we may only find that we graduate to another way of being stretched. I take heart in this, realizing that it is the love of God that continues to stretch me as I follow Him where and how He leads. Believer, if you find life difficult yourself, take heart in God's love and grace. He wants to stretch you, even though your heart may feel like breaking one thousand times over. Glory in your weakness--we may have glass hearts, but by His grace, we have rubber souls.

A Study on the Extent of Man's Depravity

(“A Study on the Extent of Man’s Depravity”-November 22, 2009)


CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION

This paper is written to better understand the positions taken in regards to the extent of the depravity of man as well as to look at least into some of the ramifications of the conclusions made. In studying the various theological viewpoints on the depravity of man, the ideas range from man not being tainted at all by the original sin of Adam to the opposite end where all of the parts of man (intellect, emotion, and will) have been tainted by the original sin.
It is my belief that where one arrives on this particular issue will influence other theological outlooks they hold in a logical progression. For example, it seems that the five points of Calvinism and Arminianism hinge greatly on the starting point of the view of man’s depravity. It seems that another issue would be the one of who really saves a person, and all theological outlooks have an opinion on this.
One of the greatest issues this doctrine faces, at least in my perception, is which view the Bible itself supports. A great dividing line between the regenerate and unregenerate (though many are ignorant of truth) is where they stand on the idea of total depravity. Many unregenerate people (who even attend churches, though liberal in their approach to the Bible) would deny such claims that they are wholly affected by sin from their very conception. On the same token, the concept of sin towards a holy God can often be highly offensive to the carnal mind. Additionally, the question is raised as to the whether we are guilty of the sin of Adam or not. The doctrine of grace is heavily involved in how Adam’s sin has affected the rest of humanity; either we are in desperate need of the grace of God or it’s just not that big of a deal. Another question I might add to this is the one of man’s free will: is it really free? The answer to such a question is answered differently by each separate view.
I note that this research is not done in regards to the extent of the depth of man’s depravity but rather to the extent of the breadth of man’s depravity. In other words, this paper is not looking to see if total depravity means the degree to which man is bad (which some may take to be fully at seeing the words total depravity at face value), but the extent of his character which has been affected, be that none of him, some of him, or all parts of his composition (intellect, emotion, and will) by which he reasons.
I hope to cover all major viewpoints in regards to the extent of man’s depravity and to offer a firm foundation for what I believe the Bible is teaching on the extent of the depravity of man.
 



CHAPTER TWO
VARIOUS VIEWPOINTS ON THE EXTENT OF MAN’S DEPRAVITY

There are three major viewpoints which will be looked at in this chapter. These three views all have modern adherents and I hope to show the distinctions between the three views. We will be looking at the Unitarian Universalist concept of original sin (which comes from the traditional view of Pelagianism), the Methodist/Lutheran/Seventh Day Adventist concept of original sin (at least three groups that hold to an Arminian view of sin’s effect on man), and finally the Reformed/Presbyterian view of original sin (which goes back to Augustine/Calvin).

UNITARIAN UNIVERSALISTS (A PELAGIAN APPROACH)
The first approach to humanity’s sinfulness we will be looking at is that of the Unitarian Universalists. The Unitarian Universalist Church holds to a concept that the fall of Adam does not affect the rest of mankind. “Unitarians reject the Calvinistic doctrines of original sin and total depravity, the responsibility of the human race for Adam's fall, and the belief that, until converted, man is under the wrath of God. They maintain, on the contrary, that if there is hereditary depravity, there is also inherited goodness: that such phrases as "the wrath of God" are figurative, and cannot apply to the Eternal Goodness. They believe that inherited evil is misery, but not guilt, and is what Paul refers to when he says, twice over, of involuntary wrong-doing, "Now it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me" (Rom. vii. 17, 20). “ We see in here at least a few things of note in regards to the Unitarian Universalists: a denial of original sin, a denial of the evilness of man in the sense of iniquity, and a denial of God’s wrath on sin. Likewise, the notion of guilt for original sin clearly is abandoned as the idea of original sin is rejected.
From the Unitarian standpoint of man being inherently good, it is important to note the concluded directions that man can take. “Man is capable of growth and of great nobility…but man is also capable of decay and of great corruption. We must face this hard truth about man if we are to understand ourselves truly and set free the forces within us that make for growth.” This system is heavily set on celebrating the perceived virtues of humanity. As a result of their view denying original sin, Unitarians “have traditionally believed in the principle of individual freedom—the right to believe as mind, heart, and conscience indicate.” James Freeman Clark writes, “We have within us reason, which is capable of seeking and finding the noblest truths. We have conscience, which shows us the difference between right and wrong. We have the power of freedom, by which we can choose good and refuse evil. We have the sense of the beautiful, the true, and the good; and a longing for what is unchanging and eternal. These powers, which are in all men, constitute the dignity of human nature, and make it capable of perpetual progress. “
R.C. Sproul, commenting on Pelagius, whose beliefs are what we find resurging in Unitarian theology, says:
Pelagius raised this question: Is the assistance of grace necessary for a human being to obey God’s commands? Or can those commands be obeyed without such assistance? For Pelagius the command to obey implies the ability to obey. This would be true, not only of the moral law of God, but also of the commands inherent in the gospel. If God commands people to believe in Christ, then they must have the power to believe in Christ without the aid of grace. If God commands sinners to repent, they must have the ability to incline themselves to obey that command. Obedience does not in any way need to be “granted.”

With all of the literature available from the Unitarian Universalists, it is quite obvious that there is a common belief in the inherent goodness of man. Man is the focus of their outlook; man has the total ability to choose the outcomes of his life as his unaffected intellect, emotions, and will lead him. Jack Mendelsohn, a Unitarian Universalist minister, writes, “Our purpose is to enable heart and mind to capture realizations of what life can be when men live up to their best. “
The theological path that has resulted from such a view on rejecting the doctrines of original sin and total depravity has thus led to other successive beliefs. Christ, in connection, is a supreme moral teacher, who through example can save us from a bad life and has come to show us the love of God; there is no wrath of God on mankind; there is no literal hell but rather only a figurative hell for poor choices; there is nothing greater than living a good and moral life by one’s own choosing.

WESLEYANS/LUTHERANS/SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISTS (AN ARMINIAN APPROACH)
Paul Enns tells that there are quite a few denominations which hold to an Arminianistic doctrine. “Arminian doctrine is found in widely diversified groups today: Lutherans, Methodists, Episcopalians, Anglicans, Pentecostals, Free Will Baptists, and most charismatic and holiness believers…(and) Wesleyans.” My intent is not to relate the express ideas on the effect of Adam’s sin from every one of these groups, but to highlight a few to give a general consensus of their Arminian point of view.
Luther Lee, a Wesleyan minister, writes:
A large class of errorists deny that man is now depraved, or that he is the subject of inherent corruption of nature, as the consequence of a first transgression, committed by the progenitor of the human family. They maintain that every man enters upon the stage of his life, in moral circumstances as favorable as those which attended the first man, with the exception of the influence of bad examples. This view is believed to be erroneous.

It is important to note at the outset that those who hold to an Arminianistic theology do not deny that man has been wholly affected by sin. Some may misinterpret an Arminian theology as perhaps having less extent of breadth over how it has influenced a person’s avenues of moral composition (i.e. affecting only the intellect), but Arminians clearly do believe that the whole of man has been affected. A Seventh-Day Adventist, Woodrow W. Whidden of Andrews University writes, “While Adventists have not been comfortable with the Augustinian/Calvinistic understanding of original sin, taught in terms of original guilt, we are very much in what could be termed the “total depravity” tradition.” One Lutheran theologian comments, “This Scriptural view of the utter corruption and sinfulness of the entire human race the Lutheran Church holds fast over against the modern view entertained by many people in most of the other Protestant churches and often put forth both in the religious and secular press of the day, that man is not altogether bad by nature, that there is in every person an element of good, and that only some outward influence is required to bring out the good that is in him.”
With this being the case, the next question posed is “Where is the distinction between this view on depravity and the traditional Augustinian view?” Prevenient grace is the key element that draws the distinction. To sum up how it theoretically functions, it is the “preparatory work of the Holy Spirit (which) enables the believer to respond to the gospel and cooperate with God in salvation.” Paul A. Mickey, a Wesleyan theologian, writes, “The prevenient grace of the Holy Spirit draws sinners toward acceptance of God’s offer of salvation.” Lutherans would also concur with this as they strongly resist the idea that man would seek God on His own. Prevenient grace, therefore, is working with the idea of man, though being depraved, being freed up in his ability to choose God, that grace being given unto all men. Under his views on the imputation of sin, Enns comments on the Arminian view that “depravity is not total; people received (a) corrupt nature from Adam but not guilt or culpability.” He also notes, “Arminius taught that man was not considered guilty because of Adam’s sin. When people would voluntarily and purposefully choose to sin even though they had power to live righteously—then, and only then, would God impute sin to them and count them guilty. Although man does not possess original righteousness because of Adam’s sin, ‘God bestows upon each individual from the first dawn of consciousness a special influence of the Holy Spirit, which is sufficient to counteract the effect of the inherited depravity and to make obedience possible, provided the human will cooperates, which it still has power to do’ (quote from Arminius).”
The (Arminian) view of depravity, therefore, is that man is depraved, but legally has not been imputed with the sin of Adam but when he willfully sins himself he is guilty of sin and condemnation. By nature of a prevenient grace that God gives to all, all men are free to choose Him or reject Him. The five steps of Arminianism, “DAISY”, seem to have much outflow from this first point of the acronym, which is depravity coupled with prevenient grace. Salvation is necessary, Christ’s death on the cross was necessary for atonement of sins, and grace is necessary. Still, this system should be highlighted to have a man-centered approach to the gospel, which Arminians would not shy away from claiming. The most basic belief of the Arminian may be that essentially, he chooses to trust in Jesus Christ because his is able by prevenient grace to do so.

REFORMED/PRESBYTERIAN (DERIVATIVES OF AUGUSTINIAN/CALVINISTIC THEOLOGY)
The third major view I will be presenting is that of an Augustinian/Calvinistic flavor. This view is found in Reformed and Presbyterian churches, but is not limited to them. Those who hold to a Calvinistic view point of how salvation works would have a hard time not believing in the total depravity of man. This view of theology does hold to the total depravity of man, that man is affected by sin in all areas (intellect, emotion, and will) in such a way that all are warped or tainted by Adam’s sin. Henry C. Thiessen comments,
From the positive standpoint, it (total depravity) does mean that every sinner is totally destitute of that love to God which is the fundamental requirement of the law;…that he is supremely given to a preference of himself;…that his every faculty is disordered or corrupted;…that he has no thought, feeling, or turn from the love of the truth and become completely insensitive to the Spirit’s promptings.
Furthermore, Millard Erickson writes in regards to man’s natural disposition:
Total depravity means that even the unregenerate person’s altruism always contains an element of improper motive. The good acts are not done entirely or even primarily out of perfect love for God. In each case there is another factor, whether the preference of one’s own self-interest or of some other object less than God.
Not only do we look at the effects of the whole person, but also at the imputation of Adam’s sin. Though the outcome is the same, the two views on how Adam is our representative are the federal and seminal headship views. John MacArthur, writing from a seminal headship view, says
In the same way, although with enormously greater consequences, the sin of Adam was passed on to all of his descendants. When he sinned in the Garden of Eden, he sinned not only as a man but as man. When he and his wife, who were one flesh (Gen. 2:24), sinned against God, all of their descendants—that is, the entire human race in their loins—would share in that sin and the alienation from God and subjection to death that were its consequence. “In Adam all die,” Paul explained to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 15:22).
The following are questions and answers from “The Larger Chatechism,” which is given by the Presbyterian Church USA in their book of confessions:
Q. 22. Did all mankind fall in that first transgression? 7.132
A. The covenant being made with Adam, as a public person, not for himself only, but for his posterity, all mankind, descending from him by ordinary generation, sinned in him, and fell with him in that first transgression.
Q. 23. Into what estate did the Fall bring mankind? 7.133
A. The Fall brought mankind into an estate of sin and misery.
Q. 25. Wherein consists the sinfulness of that estate wherein man fell? 7.135
A. The sinfulness of that estate whereinto man fell, consisteth in the guilt of Adam’s first sin, the want of that righteousness wherein he was created, and the corruption of his nature, whereby he is utterly indisposed, disabled, and made opposite unto all that is spiritually good, and wholly inclined to all evil, and that continually, which is commonly called original sin, and from which do proceed all actual transgressions.
Q. 26. How is original sin conveyed from our first parents unto their posterity? 7.136
A. Original sin is conveyed from our first parents unto their posterity by natural generation, so as all that proceed from them in that way, are conceived and born in sin.

Those who hold to the view that all men sinned in Adam, he being either the seminal or federal head for all men, further step into the area of guilt. Quoting MacArthur in regards to guilt, “every human being was present in the garden with Adam and shares in the sin he committed there.”
What is the nature of man’s will in regards to this view of total depravity? The Second Helvetic Confession states:
5.045 MAN IS NOT CAPABLE OF GOOD PER SE. In regard to goodness and virtue man’s reason does not judge rightly of itself concerning divine things. For the evangelical and apostolic Scripture requires regeneration of whoever among us wishes to be saved. Hence our first birth from Adam contributes nothing to our salvation. Paul says: “The unspiritual man does not receive the gifts of the Spirit of God,” etc. (1 Cor. 2:14)…Wherefore, man not yet regenerate has no free will for good, no strength to perform what is good…Yet in regards to earthly things, fallen man is not entirely lacking in understanding.
As can be seen in all of the above, the Augustinian/Calvinistic view point holds that when Adam fell in the original sin, all men fell in him (with the exception of the Lord Jesus Christ). All men are held guilty for the sin of Adam; though men have the capacity to do good things, men are warped by sin in their intellect, emotion, and will. The natural disposition of men is that they will never choose righteousness over sinfulness for they are not morally able to do so. R.C. Sproul, commenting on the views of Jonathan Edwards, writes:

Jonathan Edwards made another distinction that is helpful in understanding the biblical concept of free will. He distinguished between natural ability and moral ability. Natural ability has to do with the powers we receive as natural human beings. As human being I have the natural ability to think, to walk, to talk, to see, to hear, and above all, to make choices…We have a mind and a will. We have the natural ability to choose what we desire. What, then, is our problem? According to the Bible the location of our problem is clear. It is with the nature of our desires. This is the focal point of our fallenness…Edwards declared that man’s problem with sin lies with his moral ability, or lack thereof…The sum and substance of the whole debate on predestination rests squarely at this point: Does fallen man, in and of himself, have a natural desire for Christ? Edwards answers this question with an emphatic “No!” He insists that, in the Fall, man lost his original desire for God. When he lost that desire, something happened to his freedom. He lost the moral ability to choose Christ. In order to choose Christ, the sinner must first have a desire to choose Christ. Either he has that desire already within him or he must receive that desire from God.
Under the Augustinian/Calvinistic view, God would have to step in to make this possible, for man would never choose to believe in Him otherwise on account of being totally depraved.
 


CHAPTER THREE
MY POSITION
In light of the major views on the depravity of man (with modern adherents), I myself follow that of the Augustinian/Calvinistic view. There are numerous supportive verses I find in relationship to this, as well as what I feel a stronger biblical position than the other two views.
In regards to the Unitarian Universalist (Pelagian) view, I find some of the greatest flaws to be in their handling of Scripture. There is a great deal of abandonment of a literal interpretation of Scripture by this group. Likewise, in their use of Scripture, they tend to use poor hermeneutics and allegorize many biblical claims. Unitarians place a great deal of focus on their perception of the goodness of humans, far more than they do on biblical claims. I would say that they are highly guilty of eisegesis, reading their preconceived notions into their understanding of biblical texts. The abandonment of the key fundamentals of the faith is a humongous “red flag” as well; I do not see how they could possibly be regenerate by their positions that stem from the denial of depravity. To throw out the sinfulness of man, the divinity of Christ, the wrath of God, the need of spiritual redemption, the doctrine of hell, all miraculous happenings and the claims of Christ are nothing less than heretical. This is one of the most unbiblical forms of “Christianity” (so they label themselves) that I could think of. I believe that their position on man not being affected by sin but rather seeing a bad example in Adam is ludicrous, but more than that, it is in direct opposition to the Bible and the understanding of Scripture that the Spirit of God leads us in. The Bible never claims that men are inherently good; it never claims an “inherited goodness” ever; it never claims that all men did not sin in Adam, but quite the contrary. Romans 2:14-15 says, “For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law.
They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them.” I find it very hard for the Unitarians to deny the guilt of their sin, but Jeremiah 17:17 holds true in the deceitfulness of the heart. Paul writes, “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing.
In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (2Co 4:3-4)

In regards to the Wesleyan/Lutheran/Seventh-Day Adventist (Arminianistic) approach, there is far more credibility to their view than that of the Unitarians. The biggest points of dispute I would have with this view are the issue of prevenient grace (I am still uncertain where biblical support for this comes from), as well as man not being guilty of Adam’s sin. I do believe that those who hold to an Arminianistic point of view could be saved, so long as they are placing their faith in the blood of Jesus being shed for their sins. There is not a “must,” likewise, for someone believing in some of the points of Arminianism to believe in all of them, nor to hold them in the standardized terms.
Having covered the two previous views, I find better biblical support for the position of the (Augustinian/Calvinistic) persuasion. There are a number of verses in support of this view. I will be listing them by verse and text that they might be examined.
First, Genesis 6:5: "The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” While this verse speaks of the times before the Flood, it is of great note that all men were descendants of Adam and that this was the state that they were in. Here we find that all of man was affected and that there was no righteousness in him. Noah (and his family) was considered righteous by faith (Hebrews 11:7) but there were still no people of exception when it came to being totally depraved.
Secondly, Genesis 8:21 says: "And when the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, the LORD said in his heart, "I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done.” I note that God’s promise is in relationship to the present and future following the destruction of evil men upon the earth through the Flood. The sentence is not implying a past time frame, or a time to come when man might have evil intentions, but that in regards to the whole of humanity, the intentions of every man’s heart (other than Jesus Christ) is evil from his youth—there are no neutral individuals, and certainly no exceptions in regards to being morally good. We’re all evil at heart. Likewise, Psalms 51:5 says, "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me." Yet again, this is the case of all men who have a sinful nature even before their childhood days; it is at the point of conception, when a human is begun in their existence, that they are marked by a sin nature.
John 3:19: "And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil." Not only are men, evil, but they love their spiritual estate by nature. Our human preference is to embrace darkness while simultaneously having an incredible distaste for the objective truths of God (and true righteousness). In so many ways we are just like Adam and Eve: we too, being in Adam, bought into the lie that we could be “like God” and by nature we’d still prefer to deceive ourselves and have it that way.
Solomon says in Ecclesiastes 7:20: "Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins." No one is capable of not sinning, even when deemed righteous, righteousness only being counted to a man through faith by God(see Hebrews 11).
Jeremiah 17:9 says, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” This is one of the best verses in regards to an idea of total depravity, in my opinion. Man is affected by sin in such a way that no sinner can fully trust their own judgments, for their ability to make pure, accurate judgments has been marred by sin. I think this verse would rub very wrong against many people to think that they cannot make perfect, clear, accurate evaluations through any of their resources, be that emotion, intellect, or will-all are affected by sin. The heart says, “I don’t believe in Jesus. I don’t need a Savior. I’m not a sinner.” Jesus says in Mark 7:21-23: "For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person." This follows suit with Jeremiah 17:9. It is the inner faculties of man that are evil because of sin. The conscience says otherwise about our condition, though it may be seared (1 Tim. 4:2) or defiled (Titus 1:15). The effects of total depravity are comparable to a blind person denying the fact of light because they can’t see it. Subjectively, they have never perceived anything beyond darkness, but objectively, light exists, and those not impaired by blindness know it to be true. Whether the blind person can recognize light or has the capacity to believe in it does not matter. What matters is what is true. Yet this is what sin does to all people.
Isaiah 64:6 "We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.” In this verse, I see a subjective righteousness under the realm of total depravity. Yes, men can do good things, but their motives are impure and their hearts at the core are evil. Subjectively, we may think that we are righteous before God for what we do by our assessment of what righteousness is. This is most likely much of the problem for the Unitarians, who believe that they are good. The problem rests in the objective Word of God making our sinfulness evident, as well as revealing our righteousness to be worthless.
John 6:44: "[Jesus said,] 'No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.'" The first part of this verse, in the Greek, is οὐδεὶς δύναται ἐλθεῖν πρός με. I note strongly the word δύναται. It is a word speaking of ability or power. In its usage here, it is in the present tense and in middle/passive deponent voice. Being in present tense, this shows how the problem stands—“no one is able.” This verb sounds like the ability rests in the power of the group (“no one”) but being in middle/passive deponent it does two things: as middle, tends to focus on the subject in relation to the verb (no one is able); in passive, focuses on the subject being acted upon, so that something is acting upon them to render them unable. I would suggest that it is the sin nature of man which acts upon him, thus making him powerless to change his situation as a hopeless sinner. The second part is “unless the Father draws him.” Unless God steps in, man in no way can end his enslavement to sin.
1 Corinthians 2:14 says, "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." Here we see the same usage in regards to ability (δύναται is used again here).
Romans 3:10-11: "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God." I am working with the viewpoint that the Bible is not providing solid evidence for prevenient grace, and therefore no man will ever seek after God. For man to seek after God, God would have to seek him out first. I have never seen any verses that seem to give with any clarity the idea that man’s will has been freed up to make the call on his eternal destiny. I do see, though, that on account man’s moral inability, no man desires or is able to desire God. Additionally, Isaiah 64:7 says, "There is no one who calls upon your name, who rouses himself to take hold of you, for you have hidden your face from us and have made us melt in the hand of our iniquities." Man will never choose God because there are no naturally righteous men, nor is it favorable to his desires.
Ephesians 2:1-3 says, "And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 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 - 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." These verses give quite a few truths to grab onto: all men are spiritually dead; they are dead in trespasses and sins; they follow lies and darkness; the wrath of God is toward set against the sinner; all of mankind are children of wrath. Finally, verses 4-5 say, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,
even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved.” It is because of His great love that God made us alive with Christ. It is not because of us, how good we think we are or how righteous we suppose ourselves to be. We were spiritually dead people who could not make ourselves alive in Christ. Regeneration is a gift of God; no one spiritually dead wakes up one day and says, “I’m sick of being spiritually dead. I think I’ll make myself spiritually alive today.”
I believe that the issue of whether we are guilty of Adam’s sin or not is answered in Romans 5:12. “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.” The word “sinned,” from “all sinned,” is ἥμαρτον. This verb is in the aorist (past) tense, signifying when all men sinned. All men have been brought under the curse of death because all men sinned in Adam. We are imputed with Adam’s sin directly and imparted with a sin nature indirectly. God in His grace can pardon us of our guilt because of the sacrificial death of His Son Jesus Christ on the cross. “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” (Rom 5:8-11)




CHAPTER FOUR
CONCLUSION

I write this paper acknowledging my own humanity in my ability to make mistakes, to perhaps miss some issues, as well as acknowledging that the issue of the extent of the depravity of man is not a closed issue. There are many solid Bible-believing Christians out there that may embrace a more Arminianistic approach. Biblically, I do conclude that the Pelagian view is erroneous and heretical. I also am firmly persuaded that man is totally depraved and in need of the grace of God. I myself do not believe in prevenient grace as I look at the Scriptures. I am firmly persuaded that it is God who has done the work to save me and I praise Him for choosing me.

 


WORKS CITED

Clark, James Freeman. Manual of Unitarian Belief. [on-line publication] (American Unitarian Conference, 2003, accessed 20 November 2009); available from http://www.americanunitarian.org/manual.htm

MacArthur, John F. Romans. The MacArthur New Testament Commentary. (Chicago: Moody Press, 1991)

Enns, Paul P. The Moody Handbook of Theology. (Chicago: Moody Press, 1989), p 493

Erickson, Millard. Christian Theology. Second Edition. (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1998)

Lee, Luther. Elements of Theology or An Exposition of the Divine Origin, Doctrines, Morals, and Institutions of Christianity. (Syracuse: Wesleyan Methodist Publishing House, 1873)

Luecke, Geo. Distinctive Doctrines and Customs of the Lutheran Church. (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1945)

Mendelsohn, Jack. Why I am a Unitarian Universalist. (Boston: Beacon Press, 1967)

Mickey, Paul A. Essentials of Wesleyan Theology. (Grand Rapids: The Zondervan Corporation, 1980)

Scholefield, Harry B., ed. A Pocket Guide to Unitarianism (Boston: The Beacon Press, 1954)

Schwandt, John and Collins, C. John, eds. The English-Greek Reverse Interlinear New Testament: English Standard Version. (Wheaton: Crossway Bibles, 2006) Unless noted, all Scripture quoted from.

Sproul, R.C. Chosen by God. (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1987)
Sproul, R. C. Willing to Believe: The Controversy over Free Will (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1997)

Thiessen, Henry Clarence. Lectures in Systematic Theology. (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1979)

Whidden, Woodrow W. Adventist Theology: The Wesleyan Connection. [on-line publication] (Biblical Research Institute General Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists, 2009, accessed 23 November 2009)
The Second Helvetic Confession. The Book of Confessions. Office of the General Assembly Presbyterian Church [U.S.A.] (Louisville: The Office of the General Assembly, 1999)
The Larger Chatechism, The Book of Confessions. Office of the General Assembly Presbyterian Church [U.S.A.] (Louisville: The Office of the General Assembly, 1999)

Our View of God

(Isaiah 6:1-5) In the year of King Uzziah's death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. 2 Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called out to another and said, "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory." 4 And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke. 5 Then I said, "Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts."

Our core beliefs about God are not in what we have learned about Him,but rather in how we live our lives in before Him. Let me rephrase this: the way you live reflects much of whether your view of God is pure or tainted. We show that we really believe Scripture and have a high view of God when we obey God, put Him first in our hearts, and allow Him to reveal Himself to us in Scripture, accepting this revelation with a firm foundation of faith. The truth of God's word stands true whether or not you or I accept it. The complexity of the God of the Bible, who I believe to be the only true and living God, is not bound to my logical ability of understanding Him. Religion always seems to have this tendency in its pursuit of God (which is to make God less than He is in order to all the more pursue Him). For a good book to read in regards to a proper view of God, I'd recommend "The Knowledge of the Holy" by A.W. Tozer, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

"Take Off" conclusion chapter

I hope that this small book is of any way a help to you to spur you on towards the pursuit of God and the depth of obedience that you need to have to really soar in your life as a believer. It is possible to be a believer and to barely take off; it is possible to watch others from the “ground” and to wish you yourself were like that but to never get on the runway. We must give God everything we've got. We must have faith in God, trusting in nothing less than God Himself. We must have hope in God and all that He promises, and to not settle for hoping only in things that are of temporal concern. Finally, we must love God and people with the love that only God gives, doing this as frequently as we can and praying that the Holy Spirit would show us where and how the Father would have us show this love.
The journey of one's life is much comparable to that of riding on a river. We are born, we get into our boat, and we float downstream. The current carries us along and if we want we can do nothing to get where it's taking us. There are many people on this river, in fact, every human being. Jesus Christ is standing on the banks, calling out, “Don't go downstream! The end is certain death! There is a waterfall coming and then the rocks—no one will survive!” Those who listen must decide whether they will change course or not. They must decide to paddle upstream, and that's hard and it takes all their lives. People float by, looking at them like they're crazy, mocking them and telling them that there's no such thing as a waterfall. While believers do not have to fear the eternity of death in hell, it is very possible that they plug in their Christianity into the downstream model. They follow Christ as it is convenient, attempting nothing for God and thinking that the good life is the easy life. We must believe that the river only leads to peril and a life wasted. We must believe Christ and pursue Him with reckless abandon, giving Him our best and losing ourselves to His purposes. The life of a believer is intended by God to be an upstream passage, going to God in faith though the journey be hard. Through faith, hope, and love, let us travel there with the strength that only God can supply, knowing that this is the life to which our whole being would find true, deep, everlasting joy. The life of a believer is so radically backwards from what the life of the unbeliever is like—at least it should be. The people of this world will never want what we have if we ride the river just as they do while claiming Christ as Savior. This is not change, it's only a labeling of what we find is our purpose. No wonder so many people are saying, “What you believe is fine for you and what I believe is fine for me; we will all get to where we're going.” This problem must be attacked, and the best way we can do this is to live the life ourselves to which Christ calls us.

"Take Off" chapter three

CHAPTER THREE: LOVE
II have been involved in ministry in various forms for probably at least ten years (though in those teenage years it was very little). Something that I was faced with within serving was the reason as to why I did it. This is still something I have to battle with all the time—why do I really “serve”? Do I do it for what people think? Do I do it to make my parents proud? Do I do it because it gives me purpose and it's what I know? Do I do it for the perks of ministry? Do I do it because I simply love God? I hope that in time that I may consistently resound with the last answer.
What is love? The 1990's song, with a skit created around the song, is very comical and yet the question, aside from all the humor, remains. What is it? How do you describe it? What is the at the core of this word? “Love.” I want to go to a few passages and help you get this concept in your head: the love of God is unlike any kind of love that humans could ever come up with on their own. Why? Because our love is contaminated by sin. Our concept of what love is far less of what God's concept of love is. We must know the difference to know how to employ the difference.
The first thing to know is that not everyone has the ability to love with “God-love.” The Greek word for the greatest form of love is “agape.” John says in 1 John 4:7-9, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him.” In all of its usages in 1 John 4 (look at it, there are many more), love is used with the word agape. This kind of love is a selfless, unconditional love that comes from God and can only be channeled, not created. “We love because he first loved us.” (1 John 4:19) “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”(1 John 4:8) We may often forget, but unbelievers cannot love like this because they do not know the One from whom such love comes.
Love is the motivating factor for why a Christian should truly serve God. Love is the reason why we will live outside of our own interests and promote the interests of others. Love is that which will show the world what God is about and what God enables His people to do.
Imagine helping your parents not because of a sense of duty when they nag at you, but as a sense of communicating “God loves you” by quickly acting upon their best interests. Imagine working a job, doing your best with a great attitude not for “Employee of the Month” or a pay raise or people's opinion of you. Just imagine doing that to show those people that God loves them and doing it regardless of what they will say or think or do to you. If we really loved people without expecting return, imagine how you might actually witness regularly or help others regularly or be selfless as a matter of character. Imagine that your life was not about the advancement of you but the advancement of God through the great avenue of a deep and true love for others. Many people, including believers, are foreign to this way of thinking.
It is especially impossible when we regard sin in our hearts to deliver such show such a kind of love. We usually defer to the lesser kind of loves, primarily as phileo love which esteems others in a friendship kind of love. This kind of love may be revoked and it generally has strings attached. We will love others with this kind of love as a matter of convenience or what best suits our interests. This kind of love cares about others so long as there is a sense of gratitude on their parts for our love. If we were to give out this kind of love and to get nothing in return or perhaps even evil in return, we would very likely stop showing this kind of love. In the absence of this love, there is really nothing of merit to take its place. It is so imperative that this is not the kind of love that defines us.
I think agape love is the kind of love that we've heard of where someone says, “I don't like such and such, but I do love them.” In our humanity, we hear that statement and it really doesn't make sense. How could you not like someone and yet love them? Maybe it is clear to you, but to me, I just don't get it—at least along the lines of phileo love. But in the realm of agape love, I totally understand what this means. People may not be likeable; they may truly be a thorn in our side. This does not negate the ability on our parts to show them that God loves them by putting even our enemies above us in what ways we can. It is hard to do this because of our sin nature, but when we get our pride out of our system we are freed up to love them without conditions or personal gain from our efforts.
The love of God is also a fear-neutralizing agent. 1 John 4:18, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.” Did you hear that? Fear has to do with repercussion, or punishment in light of our actions. Imagine thinking only of the interests of others and not regarding how your actions affected yourself. There would be no fear in doing the hard things, like witnessing, confronting sin, saying the truth, correcting wrongs. People may totally misread your intentions in what you do, but if you really love them you will find yourself doing things that normal people are simply too afraid to do. The love of God is quite capable of enabling the most fearful men into becoming spiritual Spartans, facing this world with boldness because they care about the future of others and, more importantly, the glory of God.
To look at life with the love that comes from God, all I have to say is, “Wow.” You could do incredible things in mundane circumstances. You literally could wake up every day to the best day of your life, dependent upon the outflow of God's love that you would give. John writes in 1 John 5:2-4:
“By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.”

What people need and what our own souls need so greatly is to be filled with love and in turn to have this love poured out on others. The world would be so different a place, let alone the United States, if every true believer in Jesus Christ were to live with love as their motive for all that they do. People would not be able to deny what God has done; they could reject truth but they would not be able to deny its power.
So, why do you do what you do? Is your life all that it could be? I will suggest to you and to everyone out there that if love is not what flows through your heart, not phileo love but agape love, your life will never be what it could have been as a believer. What do you make of your plans for the future? Do they revolve around getting the most out of life for yourself or for the sake of God and other people? Take to heart the words of Jesus in Matthew 16:24-26:
24 Then Jesus told his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?

Whoever would seek to hold on tightly to his desires and ambitions and selfishness will lose his life to vanity and waste. Whoever will give his life away to God, entrusting everything he's got to God, will find the life that we're all seeking. It is in the losing of ourselves that we find the lives that our hearts so long for; it is in losing ourselves that we become the great people that we would never be otherwise. The world judges a man's greatness by making him something of a spectacle to behold—but the world is lost in sin and is limited in its ability to transcend above marred human reason because of the Fall. What we do with our lives in career and geographical location and the importance of our place has no bearing on real fulfillment. There is an emptiness that no amount of money, no amount of friends, no amount of freedoms, no amount of success (and the list goes on) could ever fill. The love of God and the unconditional giving and selflessness that comes with it, while an enigma to many, is the very thing that our souls crave more than anything. As believers, our souls crave to have it, crave to give it, and crave to understand it.
I close with probably the most quoted verse I can think of: John 3:16. Take your understanding of “God-love” into the word “love” as used in this verse (which is how it is used here).
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes on Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.” God loved the world in an unconditional, selfless way—which is why He sent His Son to come and to die on the cross for their sins. If there were conditions to His love, I seriously question whether He would have sent Jesus knowing what the world would do to Him. I also seriously question that Jesus would have come to the world to offer eternal life had God not loved the world in such a way. We are not exceptions to the unconditional love of God; we are just as undeserving and then to think that if God loved us as we love others, ugh...I'd be afraid to trust in a God whose love was like my love. My love must be reflective of His love. My love must be poured out on others for the sake of them. And don't forget why we are to love others—it's so they will see God's love, be directed to His Son, and find Christ as their own personal Savior. If they're saved, then they'll be pressed on towards being stronger believers who know that God loves them just as much in the present as He did when they first believed. Pray for God to help you see how you can show love to others—and then do it. Love takes action. God sent His son into the world.

"Take Off" chapter two

CHAPTER TWO: HOPE
Growing up, one of the biggest hopes I would have on a yearly basis was our big family vacation. Going to Florida or Virginia or Colorado were the often the highlights of my year, and I suspect that it was for the rest of my family, too. We got to get away, going somewhere that was fun, far, and probably warmer. I think one of our biggest goals was just to escape what we were normally accustomed to—which is why going to a place just like where we lived just wouldn't cut it. We wanted our vacation to be a real getaway, nothing less.
I think that for many of us, our greatest hopes are never really greater than hopes like these. Our hopes so often are reflective of where are hearts are—and our hearts are so often bound to looking at the life we live in this world. Jesus says in Matthew 6:21, “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Do you ever think about the implications of that? Everything that you value most is what your heart beats for. There are a whole slew of people who are living for today because that is where their hope lies. The hopes of many people are often found in big life events, such as going to college, getting married, finding a dream job, living a life of ease with plenty of financial resources, as well as maybe having grandkids someday and hoping to have a long life that evades thoughts of being mortal. This kind of hoping isn't wrong—I have these hopes myself—but this kind of hoping is so average and so much less of what God would have us hope in.
The last chapter really hit on the idea of faith. Hope goes hand in hand with faith, because if you don't have firm, discernable spiritual hopes, you probably struggle greatly with living a life of faith. “Faith is the substance of things hoped for.” If you have no hope, you have no substance of faith, therefore you have no faith. What are spiritual hopes that we can fill up our lives with? I'd say hoping to be faithful to God, hoping for the promise of heaven, hoping for the crowns of reward that are offered to obedient believers in heaven, hoping for God to change us, hoping for Christ to be magnified by our lives, hoping for the salvation of others, etc. etc. etc. Our hopes must be constituted by things that only God could do. Our hopes must be greater than the base, selfish hopes of this world. The great dividing line of a believer's hopes and an unbeliever's hopes lie within the bounds of eternity and temporal time.
Listen to this:
17 "For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. 18 But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness. 19 I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in my people; no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of distress. 20 No more shall there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not fill out his days, for the young man shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed. 21 They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 22 They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands. 23 They shall not labor in vain or bear children for calamity, for they shall be the offspring of the blessed of the LORD, and their descendants with them. 24 Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear. 25 The wolf and the lamb shall graze together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent's food. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain," says the LORD.” (Isaiah 65:17-25)

Do you believe in such a day? It's coming—God's word makes that clear. Now, the second question, do you hope in such a day? Is this where your heart is? Or is it on obtaining the next coolest video game or college acceptance or job? If ever you find yourself struggling in your Christian walk, take an inventory of the things you're really looking forward to at that time in your life. It's very likely that your relationship with God is going under difficulty because your vision is only horizontal and not vertical. If you hope in temporary things, you may get what you're hoping for. When you don't, you may feel like God just isn't that good or life is just not what you'd like it to be. The problem of hoping only on things of this world is that the seventy or eighty years we may live may leave many of the worldly type of hopes unfulfilled. What if you don't get your “dream job”? What if you were never to be financially comfortable like you'd hoped? What if you died after college graduation? I had a friend from high school who went off to a training school offered by Caterpillar and graduated about the same time as I did from college. His future seemed to have a sense of security, purpose, and ease in time. It was probably one or two months after his completion of this schooling that he got into a friend's car that needed worked on, began to drive it home and lost his life driving at over 100 miles per hour when his tire blew that warm summer day. It was sad, tragic, something no one could prepare for, and perhaps so sudden that reality wasn't quite setting in for many people.
15 And he said to them, "Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." 16 And he told them a parable, saying, "The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17 and he thought to himself, 'What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?' 18 And he said, 'I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.' 20 But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?' 21 So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God."
(Luke 12:15-21)

Life can leave you unfulfilled in those temporary hopes—stop living for them! As crazy as it sounds, there's more validity in those spiritual hopes that you can't see than those hopes we all think are quite able to come to pass in this world. I may not live to see grandkids or days of financial ease ever, but I can hope with certainty that what God promises He will provide.
Likewise, don't be content to live a life where the only hopes you have are hopes that can be fulfilled here. I know this may sound like what I've already been saying, but the big deal here is that many believers only know how to hope for things that they've seen happen in the lives of other people around them. This can deeply affect our idea of what the spiritual life is alone! Take into consideration what Jesus says in the Beatitudes:
Matthew 6:1 "Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. 2 "Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 5 "And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 7 "And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 Pray then like this: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread, 12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. 14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. 16 "And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 19 "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
(Matthew 6:1-21, various emphases mine)

There are many things that could be pointed out from these verses, and the motivation of one's heart is strongly being addressed in these verses. I might add, though, that people whose hopes are only temporal do what they do in church often for the praise of others. Their hope is to be seen, commended, and thought highly of for their “spirituality.” This is not limited to Pharisees! It happens all the time in churches with people claiming Christ as their Savior, and they may all be the genuine article. This makes for very weak Christian people who hope not for the eternal rewards of obedience but the “get-it-now” praise of men. If you don't pray thinking of what people think of you, if you don't read your Bible for what people might say, if you don't sing in church because people listen and watch, then it is very likely that if you do do it, you are doing it for God. Our hopes have to be placed in things that last—and men's praise just doesn't keep going.
As I close on this chapter, I want to cause just a bit more thinking on your part on this idea of hope. There are times we walk in faith, we pray, we give up sacrificially to God, we do things for Him as He leads...and we don't see what we think to be a matching response on the part of God. Besides the fact that we lose sight of so many of the blessings He sends our way, I think that sometimes we forget that the principle of eternal reward doesn't always translate into a presently extravagant lifestyle. We may give and stay poor. We may give up our lives and leave this world in obscurity. We may pray prayers for years that do not seem to have any avail. Now think of this. Maybe, just maybe, as you “pray for rain,” it is raining where you're looking. Maybe you look at life on earth and think, “What a scam!” Does it not pass your mind that the “rain” may be a solid downpour in heaven? God blesses faithfulness and He does not leave His children as the underdogs of eternity—though they may in circumstances appear to be the underdogs of the mortal life.
“10 Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.” (Malachi 3:10) I suggest that we pray and ask God to help us to hope for what He has to offer, not what the average life has to offer. Likewise, read your Bible, because this is where we find our spiritual hope spelled out. If you don't know your Bible well, it is likely that you won't hope for what you don't think about. Once again, “set your mind on things above”!!!