The comfortable TULIP [U]

Continuing my series on the comfort that the "Five Points" give, I'll consider the doctrine of unconditional election. This is a controversial doctrine with some people, who allege that to believe God has elected some to eternal life is to believe that God has behaved unfairly. As I say, I am less interested here in defending these doctrines; rather, I want to develop them. But first, a definition.

We attach the name of unconditional election to the fact that, before the foundation of the earth, God purposed, in Christ and for nothing in themselves, to choose certain lost sinners to be saved.

And this is good news. Firstly, God elects. He has chosen people: you and me, if we are believers. It is a true source of comfort to realise that we are chosen by the God who made the universe; for if he has chosen us, what can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord? God has chosen, and he will ensure that his purposes—though they may be bitterly opposed by the world, the flesh and the devil—will triumph. We can be certain because of the eternal decree of the Almighty.

But secondly, we are chosen unconditionally: not for anything in ourselves, but in and because of Jesus. It doesn't take much reading of the New Testament to realise that God's love is for us because of Jesus. This is such good news because if we were left to wonder whether we were good enough for God's love in ourselves:

even if we could point to one [good work], memory of a single sin is enough for God to reject that work.

So we would always be in doubt, tossed back and forth without any certainty, and our poor consciences would be tormented constantly if they did not rest on the merit of the suffering and death of our Savior.
(Belgic Confession, art. 24)

So it is that we are elect by union with Christ, the Elect One. And so we can be confident in God's election, because it rests not upon our own righteousness, but upon the surpassing righteousness of Christ, God's righteousness revealed.

To be elected by the God who made the universe is a comfort all right: an awe-inspiring, jaw-dropping comfort. However, the fact that we were elected in Christ makes it plain to us that we were not chosen for any good in ourselves, but for all the good that is in him. And that, I think, we can both believe and rejoice in.

The comfortable TULIP [T]

Shortly before I engaged in discussion with John H about a post of his, other discussions about the doctrine of election made me wonder about doing a series on the comfort that the so-called "Five Points of Calvinism" give. Since the very interesting discussion with John raised exactly that issue, I've decided I'll go for it. I won't be defending the Scriptural basis for these doctrines, but simply explaining how beliefs, commonly thought to be deadening and draining, are in fact a source of true comfort. So, first up: Total Depravity!

A proper definition of Total Depravity is hard to find, so I'll try my best to produce one myself.

Total Depravity refers to the sinful state of man, which is such that there is no area of a man's person free from the taint of sin.

It's worth just clearing up one common misunderstanding: "total" refers to the extent, and not the intensity, of man's corruption.

Now, this seems like a pretty odd source of comfort; and I'll be honest, it isn't really a comfort on its own. After all, hearing that we stand totally condemned before God, without anything in ourselves to commend us before him, is not exactly the sort of thing you want to hear while eating your cornflakes, is it? It is bad news, but it's a funny sort of bad news, because it contains within it the seed of something wonderful.

That's because I'm so completely hopeless that if there is to be any hope of salvation, it cannot come from within me at all. I cannot be relied upon in any way to provide anything in the story of salvation—apart, as is often said, from the need. So if salvation is to come, it must come from outside me completely.

There is no salvation to be found within me, only need. But from God, there comes only salvation, for he has no need of my help, nor could I offer it if he did. And that really is a comfort, because it means that God's work in Christ must be complete. Nothing I can do can "add" to his work, nor can anything take away from it.

It's that time of the year again

It seems that I always manage to stumble across the BBC hymn-writing competition not so long before it closes, and this year is no exception. The 2nd of July is the deadline, so let's see if I can get HC2 into song before then!

The modern-day Ashtoreth

A BBC article highlights the situation of young girls, sold into sexual slavery in Southern India, forced to work as "sanctified prostitutes" in the temples of the goddess Yellama. I've got a few thoughts springing from it.

Firstly, there's little new under the sun. This is the sort of thing with which the Israelites syncretised their worship of Yahweh in the Old Testament (e.g., 1 Kings 16, 2 Kings 21). Sometimes, I think we lose sight of how wicked this is when we read passages where the Lord judges Israel for its idolatrous practices, and when he uses Israel to judge the idolatries of the nations around. Even those of us who can recognise that this is wicked can fail to recognise how wicked. When we read of Asherah poles and Baals, let us remember the temple girls of India.

Secondly, it behooves us as Christians to say that we believe this is wrong, and, not fearing the brayings of the politically-correct, explain why such practices are wrong, from the Bible. I believe that we may properly draw parallels with the practices of the various Semitic groups judged in Scripture, provided we recognise that Christians are not God's chosen instrument of judgment. God "has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead." (Acts 17:31)

Thirdly, when there are efforts to root out this kind of practice, Christians may participate. I know that some people may get a little bit jumpy about effectively supporting a denial of "freedom of religion" in a country which is not majority-Christian (and some get jumpy about that in countries which are majority-Christian) but there is freedom and then there is freedom. I hope that Indian Christians are supportive of their government's attempts to stamp out this sort of temple prostitution, and that the Indian church in the area preaches clearly that we do not have the freedom to worship God in any way we please, but that Christ has died that we may worship God in Spirit and in truth, according to his word.

This is strong meat!

While I'm thinking about Christus Victor and the messy providence of God (the post dated last Sunday actually went up a few minutes ago, because it took me so long to write), here's a hymn. It's from a man who trained as a Presbyterian minister (PCA), so I think his Reformed credentials are impeccable. And it's not just Christus Victor, it's Miltonic in its recognition of the cost of Calvary. It makes A mighty fortress seem like a Disney song.

Great Apollyon, grim and awful, steeped in gore and stained in blood—
Death, with all his fearsome forces, has besieged the Son of God.
Satan, clothed with evil armor, darkly gleaming, proud and cold—
Merciless, he joins the battle, armed and clad with pow’r untold.

Bowed beneath demonic onslaughts, Jesus fights His awesome duel!
Pain devours its Holy Victim, searing, savage, raging, cruel!
Eager waits the Mouth of Sheol, huge, insatiable, and strong!
Maw agape, the Grave yearns after Holy Flesh—but not for long.

Writhing under Law’s most fearsome curse, ruined, lost, polluted, wrecked;
Languishing in Satan’s prison lie the souls of God’s elect.
At the Cross—desire of Hell!—Christ gives up that final Breath:
Now, at last, the choicest Captive tastes the mortal sting of Death!

Darkness falls; the seething smoke of Hell cloaks the battlefield from view.
Down the head of God has fallen: Law and Wrath receive their due!
Satan smiles in seeming triumph, reaching out, his Prize to take.
Three brief days all Hell rejoices—then the stone begins to shake!

Now the night of wrong is ended; now the Grave has lost its Prize!
Now the Ris’n One breaks the back of Sin: There! Behold! See how Death dies!
Resurrection Light now scatters Satan’s armies from the field.
Christ has drawn the fearful sting of Death: Sheol and Abaddon yield!

At His Glance the mighty prison built by Law and Sin falls down!
Countless in their thousand thousands, all His Ransomed praise His Crown!
Heav’n and Hell’s astonished spirits in their joy and rage all stare
At the Victor of the Cross Who won His greatest Battle there.

© 2005, Neil Barham

Source: CyberHymnal and you'll want to listen to the tune; it's Welsh, minor key and positively Gothic.