Thought for Today

Joshua 24:15  Now if you are unwilling to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve . . .

Jeremiah 10:23  I know, O LORD, that the way of human beings is not in their control, that mortals as they walk cannot direct their steps.  

John 15:16  You did not choose me but I chose you . . .

Hebrews 2:7  You have made them for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned them with glory and honor, 8 subjecting all things under their feet." Now in subjecting all things to them, God left nothing outside their control. As it is, we do not yet see everything in subjection to them,  

I recently read the phrase, “God is in control.” It is not an unusual phrase for Christians to utter or to read. Every time I read that phrase, it sets off a chain of thought for me. My own personal theology exists in what I term a dynamic tension between free will and double predestination. I describe myself as a ‘free will Calvinist.’ How would you describe your own theology? That word ‘theology’ is a combination of the Greek words θεὸς (theos, meaning God) and λόγος (logos, meaning word). Theology is defined as “Language or discourse about God . . . It has classically been seen as ‘faith seeking understanding.’” (Westminster Dictionary of Theological Terms.) What words to you use in your own mind when you think about God, when you try to understand your own relationship with our Creator?

Are you a fatalist? Fatalism is defined in that same dictionary as “The philosophical view that events occur as the outworking of an impersonal force and that these events cannot be changed by human decisions or actions.” Does saying ‘God is in control’ imply that we are merely puppets dancing on strings, with no control or personal accountability for anything? Some Christians, especially some Calvinists, confuse double predestination with fatalism. If you are a Christian fatalist, why should you try to avoid sin? Why should you be anything other than a hedonist? After all, if God is in control, whatever you do is obviously what God has controlled you to do.

You may be familiar with Deism. Again, from that same dictionary, “A view contrasting to atheism and polytheism. It emerged in 17th– and 18th– century England. It holds that knowledge of God comes through reason rather than revelation, and that after God created the world, God has had no further involvement in it.” In seminary, we referred to this as the ‘Divine Watchmaker’ theory. God built the watch, wound it up, and then went on vacation (hopefully somewhere warmer than New England). Unfortunately, this idea obviates huge portions of the Bible, especially all of the miracles. It does account for God’s being ‘in control,’ in the sense that God did build the watch. God takes care of all the ‘big stuff,’ astrophysics, etc., and we are left totally responsible for sin, wars, poverty, etc.

Calvin’s doctrine of predestination, especially double predestination, is a bit more helpful to me in understanding my own view of God and my relationship to God. My theological dictionary offers, “predestination – God’s actions in willing something to a specific result. It is also called foreordination. Some Christian theologians, particularly in the Reformed tradition, have seen it as indicating God’s eternal decree by which all creatures are foreordained to eternal life or death. It may also be used synonymously with ‘election’ and indicates God’s gracious initiation of salvation for those who believe in Jesus Christ.” Double predestination then is, “A term for the view that God both predestines or elects some to salvation and condemns others to damnation, both by eternal decrees.”

God created Creation. Contra Deism, I believe knowledge of God comes both through reason and through revelation. I also believe, however, that God offers salvation to all of God’s children. “Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—” God’s gift is freely offered to all who believe. With the psalmist, I believe of God, “139:13  it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother's womb.” God offers God’s gift to all, but God knows us all so intimately that God knows in advance who will and who will not accept the gift God offers to us all.

I’ve shared with you before, a plaque on my dresser reminds me of Joshua’s challenge each morning. Like Joshua, I declare each day, “24:15 . . . as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."

Stay safe, serve God, trust God,

Pastor Ray