A thought

Recently a friend posted his thoughts regarding Arminianism vs Calvinism. This brought about a discussion in our family. Our family has always recognized that God's people are everywhere. Just as in the human body, members of the body of Christ look different, function differently, and have a different purpose to fulfill. How humbling it is to know that we are a part of His marvelous eternal plan! That he knew us before the foundations of the world and chose to include us in His dominion kingdom is an overwhelming thought! Thank you, Lord.

The attempt to understand the mind of God in regards to His sovereignty has been an ongoing challenge throughout the centuries, with great and godly minds weighing in from different perspectives. To quote our dear friend, DeVern Fromke, "The finite will never understand the Infinite." How seemingly contradictory verses fit together in God’s ultimate plan is for God to reveal as He will. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isa 55:9

No one man or denomination has a “corner” on understanding God’s Word. To claim to be absolutely on target in regards to these complex doctrines would be to say that one has the mind of God. We can only take God’s Word at face value, striving to understand gradually more year after year. We may glean from wise men who have invested years of study into the matter, and trust our Sovereign Lord with what still baffles the finite mind.

This being a great year of celebrating the 500th birthday of Calvin, we should certainly take time to appreciate the vast influence that this great man of God had upon Christianity, in the understanding of true godly government, as well as in the founding of our own country. (For more about this great man see Mrs. Frodge's recent letter to the editor)In fact, the American Revolution was spoken of in England as the “Presbyterian Rebellion”. Prime Minister Horace Walpole said in Parliament, "Cousin America has run off with a Presbyterian parson."

The majority of the Pilgrims, as well as our founding fathers identified themselves as Calvinists or Presbyterians. Great men such as William Bradford, John Bunyan, George Whitfield, Peter Marshall, William Carey, John Gill, Jonathan Edwards, Noah Webster, and Patrick Henry, among many others, were Calvinistic in their beliefs. Calvinism was actually the mainstream thinking at the time our nation was founded, therefore to come to appreciate this thinking would actually be returning to our godly heritage, which is much more than being caught up in a fad so to speak. One does not need to agree with absolutely all of a theologian’s writings in order to appreciate certain aspects of that theology.

Isn’t it wonderful that as long as the body of Christ is in agreement with the key issues, The Deity of Christ, The Trinity, The Virgin Birth, the inerrancy of the Word of God, The blood of Christ as the only remission for sin, etc., we can fellowship together in sweet fellowship?
We will never completely understand all of God’s mysteries, and no two Christians will ever agree on everything doctrinally because unfortunately our own human reasoning gets in the way! Godly brethren on both sides of the aisle fervently believe that they are standing on the Word of God alone! We must be ever so careful, when discussing doctrine, that there be no schism in the body.

When we all come into the fullness of Christ as His body, we will assuredly find that there are all stripes of believers whom God has accepted into the body. For the body is not one member, but many. (1 Cor. 12:14). What God has cleansed, we must not call common. (Acts 11:5) The Word has many deep mysteries, open to interpretation, but this one thing is crystal clear, God hates the sowing of discord among brethren (Prov. 6:19). We must strive for the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Eddie and Beth