Much has been made about the resurgence of Calvinism in the SBC. More young people, and not a few older pastors, are embracing a theology of salvation that closely resembles that which was taught by John Calvin. 

The label Calvinism is a convenience. Use the word and people (sometimes) know (sort of) what you are talking about, though to my surprise I see several people claim the title Calvinist who really aren’t very Calvinistic in their thinking. But the label tends to imply something untrue: that people have studied the teachings of John Calvin and have devoted themselves to those teachings. The truth is that Calvinists are those who have studied Scripture and have drawn conclusions from Scripture similar to the conclusions drawn by John Calvin.

What we have in the SBC is not a resurgence of Calvinism but a resurgence of Scripture. Conservatives won the struggle in the 80’s and 90’s to move the denomination away from liberalism, but too many conservative pastors did little more than give lip service to the Bible, failing to use the Bible any more than the liberals. I attended a revival service several weeks ago during which the preacher talked a lot about how important the Bible is but he never once faithfully unfolded Scripture. He used a few springboard text and filled his long sermon with personal anecdotes. This can also be seen in most of the material that comes out of Lifeway. I often get angry when I look at how they handle various texts. Irresponsible, shallow, misleading, sour milk, frequently missing the point, using the word of God as a springboard to the things they want to talk about. These things happen too often in the SBC but by the grace of God this pattern just might be changing.

Again, what we have in the SBC is not a resurgence of Calvinism but a resurgence of Scripture. We have people faithfully studying the Scriptures. The end result is their theology looks like that of John Calvin. But these people are also talking about and teaching the Bible with greater faithfulness. This in itself can be a challenge to churches that are not used to well grounded biblical preaching but it is a challenge we must push through if we are to grow in the Lord.

Praise God for the resurgence of the Bible in the SBC. May it continue and may it spread.

My sermon on Ephesians 1:4-6, referred to previously, is now online at the Immanuel Baptist website.

I’ve just recently started preaching through Ephesians at my church and Sunday I’ll be tackling Ephesians 1:4-6. Due to the differing opinions over the interpretation of these verses, Sunday could be an interesting day. There will be more such days by the time we are through with Ephesians, though most of the landmines are past by the end of chapter two.

Below are my notes about the text itself. These are not sermon notes, just some thoughts about the verses. The sermon audio should be online sometime Monday. Please pray for all to go well with the service.

Ephesians 1:4-6

4 just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world to be holy and without blemish before him in love, 5 having predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ into him, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace with which he blessed us in the beloved.

v4
he [the Father] chose us in him [Christ]. The Father did the choosing and gave us over to Christ. Paul matches exactly what John records Jesus saying in John 6:44 (no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.), John 6:37 (all that the Father gives me will come to me…), John 6:65 (no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father) and John 17:24 (they also, whom you have given me…) etc. The possible challenge is John 15:16 (You did not choose me, but I chose you). Jesus said he did the choosing. Two possible responses: 1, Jesus is speaking in the sense of the triune God. I, God, chose you. Or 2, Jesus is speaking to his disciples and the application might be limited to them so he is saying he chose these disciples whereas in salvation the Father chooses who will be saved. Either way the point is clear that individuals do not do the choosing.

He chose us before the foundation of the world. Various expressions like this seem to reinforce the point that our being chosen has nothing to do with us. God loved us before we ever could have done anything to merit his love. He chose us before we could have shown any reason to be chosen. The foreknowledge view seeks to get around this but in doing so it defeats the purpose of the text. What else would words like this mean if not that God chose us without anything in us being a consideration?

He chose us to be holy and blameless in love. This speaks highly of the need for a holy life. Verse 5 shows that adoption is one of the goals of our having been chosen but Paul first tells us that we were chosen to be holy and blameless. In Exodus 19:6 God told the Israelites that they were to be a holy nation. In 1 Peter 2:9 this gets applied to the church. 1 Peter 2:9 further shows that this way of being is so that we would glorify God – proclaiming his excellencies – a point also drawn out in Ephesians 1:6. Recognizing that God chose us for salvation and holds our salvation secure is not a license to sin. Those who are his are his and will fight sin. Sanctification is, as Charles Hodge puts it, “the only evidence of election.”

We are to be holy and blameless in love, reminding us that holiness does not mean being a Pharisee. We are to be loving people, showing the love of the Lord as we live a holy life for the glory of God.

v5

God predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ. First he chooses the people then he predestines them. Choosing them singles them out. Predestining them for some action assures the action will take place. They are predestined for adoption, so all who are chosen will be adopted into God. Specifically, they are adopted into the Father through Jesus Christ. Thus Jesus says in John 14:6: “No one comes to the Father except through me.” There are several reasons why we can only access the Father through Christ. One reason is that the Father has chosen to extend adoption only through Jesus. Even if a person could live a perfectly holy life, always free from all sin, they would still need Jesus in order to be adopted into the Father. Only in Christ can we address God as Father.

God’s choice to predestine certain individuals is based on the purpose of his will. This reinforces what we saw in v4, that his choosing is not based on something within humans. Someone advocating the foreknowledge view might say, “Yes, according to the purpose of his will, and the purpose of his will is to choose all those he sees choosing him.” But that is not supported by the text and, again, would weaken the force of the text. Salvation is in God and from God and given to those God has chosen. According to the purpose of his will means given to those determined by God, not to those who have determined God for themselves. Boice says, “One problem is that an election like that [foreknowledge] is not really election. In such a reconstruction God does not preordain an individual to anything; the individual actually ordains himself.”

v6

This verse reveals the third and highest purpose of God’s choosing: to the praise of his glorious grace. Why are we chosen for holiness and blamelessness? Why are we adopted? So that we might praise God and he be glorified. The particular attribute of his character that is uplifted is his glorious grace. God’s actions draw attention to different aspects of God’s character and nature. In Romans 9 we learn that those not saved by God are used by God to glorify his holiness and justice. Here we learn that those saved by God are used to glorify his grace and mercy. Salvation is not simply a matter of making my life better and keeping me from Hell. Salvation is a matter of glorifying the grace of God. Yes, God loves us. Yes, he desires that which is good for us. But we are not the center of God’s affections. We were created for God’s glory and told to worship and serve him and no other. We are to be God-centered. Likewise God is God-centered and not man-centered. We lift him up, he lifts up himself.

Finally, Paul says that this grace is given to us in the Beloved. This is certainly a reference to Jesus, he is the beloved through whom comes the gift of saving grace. Time and again in these three verses Paul stresses salvation as a gift entirely of God’s work and grace. This is not a response to those who would challenge his monergistic soteriology but is rather a reminder to the believer of how good and gracious God is and how great our debt is to him. These verses are praise and though they are deeply theological, Paul assumes his readers will be on the same page as him. Monergism is assumed, not argued for. And God is praised for giving us such great grace through Jesus Christ our Lord.

This is sort of backwards but I still have hope it may someday be true.

HT: Tim.