T for ‘Total Depravity’
U for ‘Unconditional Election’
L for ‘Limited Atonement’
I for ‘Irresistible Grace’
P for ‘Perseverance of the Saints’
This week has been a challenge, somewhat. It has featured what, for me, have been deeply personal, theological struggles. Struggles over how the Church should relate to other religious faiths and I got the opportunity to observe ‘interfaith dialogue’ which was a less than fun experience.
Also, within the Christian camp I was on the receiving end of what was for me, destructive, heretical theology.
And on a personal level, I know this week I have really hurt people. Perhaps unintentionally, yet for that person the pain is still real.
In the midst of this confusion I have had the privilege of being in the company of two saints who are in a similar place. They have arrived at the point of beginning to explore ‘Reformed’ theology, otherwise caricatured as ‘Calvinism’, hence the reference to ‘tulip’, the five main points of Reformed doctrine.
Being in their company has been a great blessing. These are people who stand upon great conviction, far greater than mine, practicing what they believe and honestly seeking the Scriptures to hear the voice of the God they love, the God who has saved them.
Conviction which isn’t very popular in the Christian world I live in today. It’s trendy to be ambiguous, fashionable to doubt. It’s very tempting to become caught up in that world. Yet I believe the Lord is not a God of confusion but of order. Reflecting on my reading of the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Old Testament, I have come to understand God has displayed this through the way he carefully arranged creation, and beauty of his ordinances, the detail over the life of his people. Read the rest of this entry »
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