As some of you may or may not know, I am taking classes. I will always be taking classes, it probably will never end. I have many desires and educational goals, but who knows if I will ever reach them all, I probably will.
Anyway, I am enrolled in Liberty Universities Distance Program, I like it, it's really challenging, it is making me think about what I believe - outside of what I learned at
FU or
HCU. Mainly because, well
Liberty is a school with a Baptist heritage, I am really enjoying the classes in a way like never before and I actually feel challenged, not that I haven't before, but this is just well...Different.
Right now I am in a Theology class and we are in the opening stages and reviewing some things about soteriology - the study of salvation. Calvinism and Arminianism are challenging theories, especially for someone who has a CoC education and background, it just doesn't seem like we talked about these much in the restoration college settings. Anyway, this week I had to read an article by a man named Terrance Tiessen, the article was about Divine Justice and Universal Grace. The concept was to review/critique the article and then type up a conclusion - all of which is to be shared with an entire work group. The critique was easy, let's face it, I come from a critics background. For some reason though, I had a harder time with the conclusion, you know sharing my concluding thoughts about the article. I know you don't have the whole article in front of you, but I want to share my conclusion here, it's a bit off the wall maybe. Maybe my professor isn't going to be overly impressed, maybe it wasn't exactly what he was looking for, but in my heart and in all honesty it's all that I could muster, see what you think...
As I review the Article, “Divine Justice and Universal Grace: A Calvinistic Proposal by Terrence Tiessen" I am asked to think about what I believe regarding God’s calling to man. Will God overlook those who have not “heard” the gospel, and accept them as “saved” based on his own willingness that “not one should perish?” I am not sure. In this answer, I know it sounds much like someone who doesn’t have all of the answers or like someone who hasn’t studied the issue. Well, that isn’t true. My response is not one of not knowing the facts, I could argue about God’s grace and willingness to save all men, I could share that I believe God will not allow those who don’t know of Him to make it in to heaven. But to me, this is not an issue of the right answers or knowing God’s judgment, which we know, none of us can. It is a question of being comfortable with God’s sovereignty. Am I comfortable to accept that I don’t know all of the answers but God does? The answer is yes. I realize this is a study in an attempt to find concrete reasons to believe one way or another, but I can’t say that I do. Some would say that is wishy washy, others might say that this an irresponsible response to God’s truths and that it is even too propositional in nature. I believe that this is me responsibly accepting that God is God and I am not, and that I was not put here to be a theological answering machine, but that I am to give an account of my willingness to seek God’s commands, and live them out in the context of daily life and be ever willing to share the hope and good news that is Jesus to all that I come in to contact with. Over the last six months I have spent much time along the gulf coast region of our country, and through that time I have come to see that God’s commands to me rest more clearly in places like Matthew 25:31-46, where Jesus shares the account of allowing the Kingdom of God to break in to this plane in an incarnational way. I have seen the brokenness of people in pain over tragedy and heartache and I know that my God has mercy upon them. May we all as followers of Christ seek to realize that God’s grace is sufficient for all of our shortcomings and weaknesses and may we realize that this is the ministry of the cross.
Have a great weekend, would you?
Added 2.11.06 - I just got news from my instructor, he gave me a 100 on the work. That's pretty neat.
Donna G said...
I'm not surprised you got 100. That was a great conclusion.
k2 said...
that is pretty neat, dude! congrats!
Unknown said...
CL,
Sorry to barge in to your blog. But I followed a link, and well, here I am...
Calvanism and Arminianism are only two schools of Theological thought. I prefer a mixture of Wesleyanism and Arminianism. I find it to be in line with the totality of Scripture. If you are interested in exploring these a little more, I invite you over to my blog: https://signin.dell.com/premier/portal/login.aspx entitled "Holiness of Heart & Life"
~Kevin
MikeS said...
Chris,
Great statements. In the end, it's as you said - "it's about the grace." If only the rest of us who proclaim to be Christ-followers would understand and live that out.
Mike
