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Its Autumn again, and I am sitting inside a pale room, lit with tedious halogen lighting. Nothing out of the ordinary is happening, life itself seems to be slowly falling into a disenchanted slumber. I close my eyes and think of Autumn. I can imagine a vividly colored outbreak of leaves floating like kites in the sky. Then I remember all the autumns of the past: jumping into a large piles of leaves, sipping hot chocolate while the cold air stings my face, burning fallen debris in a large fire near a shallow stream. I can hear popping and cackle of the fire and smell the smoke as it sears my clothes.

Just remembering the season of Fall brings a wave of emotion crashing into me. I turn on the soundtrack from the Lord of the Rings and it further invigorates the feeling. I am now awash with feelings, sentiments, sensations, and most interestingly, a longing.  If feels so familiar, as if I have seen or heard it before, I desperately try to grasp at the memory of what I’m yearning for. It’s so near I can touch it, yet its infinitely far away. It’s as if I am recalling the future. Craving something I know and yet have never touched.

Childhood dreams and fairy tales

This is not the first time I’ve felt this aching longing. Even as a child I remember feeling it and the rush of  melancholy and nostalgia that came with it. This desire was often evoked by thinking about something far away and so astonishing it overwhelmed peoples mundane lives and thoughts. As an elementary and Jr. high school student I would bury myself in fiction, reading of faraway lands, magical worlds, and the glorious battles between good and evil. I remember tearing through the Narnia series and feeling such a great connection with the characters, who lived in a dull and dreary world yet found that their real purpose and calling was in a world yet unknown. I would lie in bed and fantasize hoping and wishing I could leave this world and enter another filled with mysteries, purpose, quests, and “glory.”  In the sixth grade I saw Star Wars, and I vividly remember thinking that I was like Luke Skywalker, living on a simple desert planet with no purpose other than survival, and hoping just like Skywalker one day a spaceship would fly in and tell me I am the descendant of someone important and have a destiny. I literally longed for it and the feeling of yearning was sweet to my taste.

Reviving the Desire

Ever since first feeling the Desire (from now on capitalized to distinguish it from regular human desires like hunger, thirst, or pride), I would try as hard as I could to re-capture it. I would seek it with all my energy and effort. I would scroll past hundreds of movies to find one that made me feel emotional like the Lord of the Rings did the first time. I would try to find a hauntingly beautiful and melancholy melody that would revive the Desire or pour through a library to find the one book that bring it back.

In some cases I’ve tried to awaken the Desire by going back to the same object that started it (literature, music, film, place, person etc.) I found that often the object itself wasn’t strong enough to cause any kind of stir in my emotions; Star Wars today cannot bring back the longing I had when watching it as a kid, yet other things like music can launch me into a waterfall of feelings (This song by Annie Lennox called “Into the west” will always do it, it’s the last song in the Lord of the Rings, and symbolizes the end of a journey.) Another thing that also  evokes the feeling of longing for something familiar yet unknown is the autumn season; a rush of colored leaves will do it every time.

Truth is, it’s been so many years since I first discovered it, but I still have the Desire.

The Theological Explanation

I think that at some point in their life, most people experience this feeling, in fact I think every story ever told, every legend, fable, and fairy tale is made specifically for us to feel that new, yet ancient longing. Every artist who paints a picture desires to put into art what he longs for, every musician at least once feels it and writes a song that is laced with a deeper longing than this world can contain. The poets through all the ages have laced together words inexplicably feeding a strong yearning in many men and women. Every fantasy writer and/or movie director has at least once been so moved by this desire that he or she has began to create works that could somehow try to revive or at least disclose that feeling to others. Many girls have found the Desire while yearning to find a magical romance that is inexplicably out of this world, just as many boys have awoken themselves to it while dreaming of great adventures. There are many seasons and stimuli that can awaken the Desire, but it most definitely exists, even while we are unaware of what it is.

There can only be one explanation for it.  At this point somebody may be ready to shout, “you are empty and seeking to fill yourself with bad things like drugs, sex, rock & roll, and fantasy world, you have a God shaped hole in your heart and these things won’t satisfy!” That’s a little naïve and  too simplistic. Humans sin because they are by nature and choice sinners, who sin because they love to sin (not merely to fill a hole.) And likewise atheists and Christians have recorded many instances of the Desire, so clearly this is not only a sinner feeling, moving on.

I think that this Desire is evidence of a God who transcends everything we know.

That we see so many fiction books and movies, so much art and music, romance and nostalgia, is evidence for only one thing: we were made for something more than this world has to offer. We hunger because we were made to eat, or thirst because we were made to drink. We feel lonely because we were made to be in community. We desire to fulfill our purpose (even as sinners who desire sin, we want that thing which would fulfill the function we have fallen into.) And this longing or Desire points us to something else we were made for. A world and life we don’t know. It’s as if we can remember it, yet its in the future. It’s as if we are child, just born, who feels hunger for the first time. He hasn’t yet tasted food, but that rumbling in his little stomach is familiar like a memory. A memory of what he will get in the future.

CS. Lewis once said in Mere Christianity:”If I find in myself a Desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.”

Why Autumn?

That brings me to the last question. Why autumn? Of all the things above, autumn often sticks out as awakening the Desire more than any time period. Other seasons do suggest in us a longing for something, yet they come in the form of nostalgia, we are reminded of memories we had during the summer or winter and long for the simplicity during that time and etc. However, it seems there is something special about fall, more particular than nostalgic  memories. Fall seems to evoke the Desire in and of itself.

My hypothesis (or I should say my guess) is that this is because fall is the season of dying. For ages literature associates Autumn with melancholy and death. Irish poet William Butler Yeats wrote a poem The Wild Swans at Coole, in which he contemplates that his life is slowly passing as the summer passed. He finds comparison between the season of fall ending summer, or his own upcoming death ending his life. So thus Autumn is the end of summer, which was a time to sow our seeds and plant our vineyards, a time to live and to enjoy ourselves.  Next is Autumn and we see cold beginning to seep in where there once was warmth. The leaves shows off one last flurry of color before slowly making their descent into death. Flowers that bloomed with beauty wilt into nothingness. It is the end for many living things.

Yet I am convinced that when we think of fall it is not only death that appears in our minds, but also a sense of adventure. Could it be that humans are hard wired to feel their own mortality quickly escaping and associate it with both the fear of dying and the Desire to enter that great adventure? Could it be that every one of us not only knows we will cease to exist here, but also remembers that at one point we did not live on the earth and we are going to see where we came from and why?

And even more so, while we are physically scared of death, maybe just maybe we secretly Desire to die knowing that it leads to the greatest adventure of all time, to finding the world that we really were made for and to glorify God and enjoy him forever.

C.S. Lewis also said “Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.” Maybe the nearer we are to finding the Reason for our Desire, the stronger it gets, just like the closer we are to finally eating the hungrier we feel.

I wake up with a loud yawn, it’s another day that God has gracefully given. The suns golden rays pierce my windows causing an embarrassing whirlwind of dust to be illuminated near my ceiling. Continuing to yawn, I roll out of bed and slowly drag myself to the closet. Minutes later I am dressed down in a cheap Walmart suit. I snap in a clip-on tie, taking great care to align it as well as I can, there are girls to impress. Upstairs I hear the muffled sounds of platform shoes striking hardwood floor. “I’m late” I think to myself as I hurriedly begin to ascend up the stairs. Reaching the top I am greeted by familiar faces, and quickly we rush outside and climb in the dark red minivan. A twenty minute ride brings us to our destination, a dark brick building with Lutheran style, stained glass windows. Like every other Sunday morning I find the most mischievous bunch of misfits and join them in the back, careful to choose the side opposite to the pulpit as if the extra distance would provide more cover. As if on cue we stand up & sit down when needed so as to not draw attention. Yet most often paying little attention to the proceeding at the front, unless one of us is pointing a laser in that direction. I pull out a bible and progress to introduce zit faced teenagers to the some of my favorite passages, of course, from the Songs of Solomon. Somewhere in the distance we hear the echoes of an emotionally charged sermon. The man behind the pulpit has turned three shades redder since I last looked up and is violently motioning with his hands. As if through a fog his voice with piercing clarity, punctures my self confidence, “we are living in the end times!” His loud warnings about the imminent appearing of the antichrist who “is now alive” cause a shiver to roll down my back. “It is sooner than you know, sooner than you know” he repeats the last phrase driving another shiver down my spine. Gulping and looking over my shoulder I slowly move down the aisle, away from the door just in case the antichrist and false prophet decide to come bursting in. It is 1999, the year before the end of the world.

12. When you ask to see the church rules & bylaws you are given a copy of the Old Testament.

11. There are twice as many TSA agents at the church door than at the airport and the gangster in front of you had enough firearms in his pockets to arm a small nation (and he happens to be your kid’s sunday school teacher.)

10. You hear the pastor announce his annual 6 month church-sponsored “mission-cruise” to the Bahamas…. on his church bought “mission-yacht” (going to visit his “mission-girls.”)

9. You can’t quite figure out whether this is a church or a weekly political rally, and the guy who was on stage for an hour talking about bill-9811 is too busy signing up voters after the service to clarify.

8. There is a special Thursday service where the pastor is used as a (verbal?) punching bag, you overhear the women’s prayer group say this is, by far, their favorite service.

7. When a few members were ticketed for illegal parking, they explained that this is the work of the Antichrist and the start of the Great Tribulation mentioned in Revelation… fortunately the church has a stockpile of food, weapons, and prophecies that will last well through 2090.

6. At the last members meeting the only person who raised their hand and kindly asked about changing the paint color was called a heretic and carried outside by a mob of people.

5. The church has split in half every year for the last 20 years… and there’s only two of you left (and she’s the pastor /cashier.)

4. The only time you hear the ‘cross’ in a sermon is when the preacher reminds that yours is the ‘only true church’ while mocking the less holy neighboring church with a ‘cross’ on the roof.

3. Right before announcing a member who sinned and is on church discipline the deacons pass out stones…. and you notice the bodybuilder next to you got a whole basket of the biggest ones.

2. After delivering an emotional sermon on ‘sacrifice’ your pastor waves his knife at the deacons so they would light up the altar and looks around for volunteers…. and everyone points to you and shouts “pick the new guy!”

1. Jesus applied for membership three times, but the elder board decided to kick him out because he wasn’t wearing dress pants/tie like real Christians and his hair cut didn’t meet the church code of conduct.

This blog post is not written to pick a fight. I’m not writing to argue, debate, or win you over. I’m not writing to convince you to become a Calvinist. If at some point you get mad and want to fight please reread the last sentence.  This post is to clear up some common misconceptions about a particular soteriological belief.

Over the past three years, God has been working in me by changing my heart, my mind, and my entire life. An area within me that has been upset by these changes is my pride and self-worth. I grew up believing it was my own worth and genius which caused me to respond to the Gospel and believe in Jesus, while the cold hearts of others remained stubborn and refused to believe. Yet, over the years, the more intimately I studied the Word of God, the more aware I became of my own foolishness. I began to realize that if it were not the labor of the Holy Spirit within me, were it not for God’s Grace, I would be not better. At that time the scripture changed my view on theology. I began to have a very low view of man, as one who cannot do anything “godly” on his own, even open his own mind or understand his need of God (Rom 3:10-11; 1 Cor 2:14); and a very high view of God, as One who can do everything, including giving faith (Rom 10:17, 12:3; Heb 12:12, 2 Peter 1:1, Acts 3:16) and openings hearts and minds (Luke 24:45; Acts 16:14). This doctrine is otherwise known as Calvinism, reformed theology, or the doctrines of sovereign grace.

In the soviet union the communists often accused Christians of being stupid, ignorant, and claimed that they sacrificed people. While this was obviously not true, the common people believed these myths about Christians. It’s easy for name-calling to breed intolerance and form very wrong ideas in the minds of those that listen to gossip, slander, lies. With that said, I want to clear up some of these types of accusations that I have seen hurled at reformed theology.

This is not to argue, debate, or win you to my side, not even to say I am more correct than you, only to say not everything you overheard is true.

Because not everyone has 2 hours to read this there will be a short version and a long version.

The 7 Misconceptions and/or Accusations

1. Calvinists are Heretics

Short: No they are not. Calvinists are smart people that believe everything you believe unless you’re a weirdo.

Long: I have been called a heretic by some of my Christian brothers and sisters. That I carry a “false teaching.” This is completely untrue. Heresy is defined as a belief or teaching that is against the orthodox (accepted) teaching of the Christian Church throughout the ages. Some ‘orthodox’ teachings include that the Holy Scripture is God inspired and true, a Triune God who created all things, Christ who died on a Cross and was resurrected on the third day to save sinners, a coming eternal afterlife with bodily resurrection to hell and heaven, and etc. All doctrines that are considered orthodox and biblical are affirmed and supported by Calvinism and Calvinists. Many of the doctrines that we consider orthodox were best and originally articulated by Calvinists. Take for example that salvation is by faith alone: this very orthodox doctrine was lost for many years, and it was people like Martin Luther, who believed in predestination, to uncover and remind us of this doctrine which is today at the core of the Christian faith.

2. Calvinists aren’t Christians

Short: Calvinists are christians who believe in Jesus and the bible and have among them some of the most well known and effective Christians. If you want to debate someone who’s not christian go mess with the mormons, they’d be happy to visit you, again, and again, and again.

Long: People have said about me that I should stop being a Calvinist and become a christian. I understand that such people are only simple gossips who are clever in their own minds and honestly don’t really have the capacity to understand theology at all, yet I’ll still answer this one. First off, half of all pastors are Calvinist. This included half of all Pentecostal, Assembly of God pastors. Half of them! A Barna “study found that 31% of pastors who lead churches within traditionally charismatic or Pentecostal denominations were described as Reformed, while 27% identified as Wesleyan/Arminian. This is somewhat surprising given that these denominations – including Assembly of God, Vineyard, Foursquare, and Church of God-Cleveland – are generally viewed as stemming from Wesleyan or Holiness traditions.” Click here to see Study.

In addition throughout history many great men of God were so called Calvinists. People like Geoffrey King and Thomas Holland, translators of the King James bible, the first and most common English bible (in fact most of the translators of the KJV were Calvinists). The men who broke away from the catholic church and brought us the Protestant reformation were all reformed, duh. We might have all been Eastern Orthodox or Catholic if not for Calvinists who started our Protestant church. Our favorite and most referenced bible commentators like John Gill and Matthew Henry.  The prince of Preachers, Charles Spurgeon himself. Griffith Jones, William Williams and Howell Harris who led the welsh revival and brought tens thousands into the church. George Whitefield who led the first Great Awakening over Britain and America. Jonathan Edwards, Americas “most prominent christian theologian” and another leader in the Awakening. All these men and countless others who greatly advanced the cause of Christ were Calvinists. And I will not be ashamed to claim them as brothers, to paraphrase Wesley speaking of Whitfield, in heaven they will be so close to the Throne that I may not even be able to see them.

3. Calvinists think people are brainless robots

Short: While calvinists do like robots, they can tell robots and people apart.

Long: I have been accused of teaching that people are robots, they have no brains and are involuntarily moved about without making any consious decisions. This is not at all what calvinism teaches. We all have a will but it isnt as free as people often portray it. Imagine that I gave you the option to eat an apple or dirt… which would you choose? I predict the apple, I know you will pick the apple. Did I take away your free will or control you? No, I know that you desire, wish, crave, like, hunger for, and want the apple more than dirt. Your choice was not fully free, your choice was a slave to your hunger. The same way the bible teaches that our choices are either slaves to sin/flesh/satan or slaves to the Holy Spirit/Jesus. As an unchristian when given the choice to sin or to be good, I will try sin because I want it. As a christian when given the same choices I try to avoid sin because I want to be holy. Our choices depend on what we want.

The bible teaches that all men freely chose sin in Adam and now because of that theyre spiritually dead in sin (Rom 6:23). All men are sinners by choice and motive in whom nothing good dwells (Isa 64:6; Rom 3:9-11, 23; 7:18), therefore they are not free but slaves to sin, desiring, wishing and wanting to do sinful things (Gen 6:5, 8:21, Prov 21:10, 1 Sa 24:13, Mat 7:18 , Lk 6:43, Jn 3:19, 8:34, 8:44,  2 Pe 2:19, Tit 3:3, Gal 4:8-9,  Rom 6:6, 20, 7:14, 2 Tim 2:26 and etc)

The bible teaches that sinners don’t want to become good, they, we, us, resist the holy spirit by nature (Acts 7:51). The truth is, Jesus said humans are bad trees, and bad trees only produce bad fruit. Sinners don’t want to change and be good and make good fruit (Isa 64:7; Jer 13:23, Job 14: 4; Mat 7:18, 12:34, Luke 6:43, Jn 3:20). Our mind is set on the flesh and does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so (Romans 8:7). Apart from Christ we cannot do anything, including choose to become good (Jn 15:5). In other words the bible says we are blind and deaf to God (Isa 6:10, Lk 4:18, 6:39,Mat 13:14-15, 15:14, 23:24, Jn 9:39, Jn 12:40).  And that only Jesus can change that blindness (Isaiah 42:6-7, Lk 4:18). Only Jesus can cause us born again, therefore free from slavery to sin, not by mans will but by Gods will (Jn 1:13,  3:3, 3:6-8; 1 Pet 1:3). Therefore, Calvinists don’t teach that men are brainless robots with no will, only that men by nature and choice are slaves to sin and will not want to obey God unless the Holy Spirit opens their hearts and grants us repentance (Acts 5:31, 11:18, 18:27; Phil 1:29; Eph 2:8-9; 2 Tim 2:26; 1 Cor 12:3; 2 Pet 1:3 ).

4. Calvinists think that you can’t get saved if your not chosen, even if you ask and try.

Short: Everyone who trusts their life to Jesus will be saved, even calvinists.

Long: It has been said that salvation is forced upon those who are unwilling and they have to accept it, at the same time those who really really really really really really want to be saved cannot because God did not choose them. The idea is that some people are begging God to save them and He says no because He already picked them for hell and they cant do anything about it.

This is a very backwards way of thinking that twists both scripture and what reformed pastors have preached for generations. Above we saw that men and women are wicked from the inside, our hearts are sinful, our choices are sinful. We are sinners by nature and choice, and we dont want to leave that sin.  There is no man or woman on this earth that would want to seek God and become righteous (Rom 3:11) without God first beginning to work in their hearts.  God says of His choosing of us gentiles “I have been found by those who did not seek me; I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me.”(Isaiah 65:1; Rom 10:20). The only reason we found God in the first place is because He caused it, for we did not seek him first. In truth, all men hate and despise God, as He is light and they are in darkness (John 3:19-21). If anyone at all seeks out God it is because the Holy Spirit is already leading that person to Jesus. If anyone finds Jesus it is because the Good Shepherd abandoned all others to go and find that lost sheep, not because the sheep found the shepherd. (John 10:14, 10:16). Anyone who confesses Jesus as Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven, Calvinists believe the bible fully, especially that everyone who has faith will enter the kingdom of heaven.

5. Calvinists can sin as much as possible and be saved since they’re chosen anyway

Short: You may have confused cultists and Calvinists, only the first ones get to sin all they want.

Long: This is a big accusation that Calvinists encounter. We are often looked at as the vilest of self-deluded sinners who use the grace of Jesus as an excuse to continue in sin. This is not at all a true accusation but let me expose the mindset of people who use this complaint. The way most people think about this is: “If I am saved no matter how much I sin, why not sin? So therefore, Calvinists must sin alot.” It shows the hearts of men. It shows that those asking the question want to sin; that the only reason they don’t sin is because they want to go to heaven. That’s like saying “If I will remain married to my wife no matter what other woman I sleep with, why not sleep with other women?” If you got to stay married with your wife forever no matter what you do, would you right away start sleeping with other women? No!

Second, this wrong accusation shows that there is alot of “salvation by works” theology in their mindset. It makes people mad that someone can not do good works and still get saved. People become jealous because they think my works are so darn good that they definitely deserve salvation. And it becomes not fair that another person can get salvation without doing the good works that I did.

Calvinsts believe that anyone who lives fully in sin, loving sin, not wanting to fight sin or ask God to help with sin, is not likely a christian. Even if they go to church they are not part of the church until they repent.  Calvinists believe that those who show work of the Holy Spirit in their life, such as growing in the fruits of the spirit and abandoning sin are true believers. John says this about people that do not repent of sin: “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us” (1 Jo 2:19) Jesus said by their fruits you shall know them (Mat 7:16). We are told as God’s chosen ones we need to show evidence of His salvation (Col 3:12) and if we are convicted of sin (and want to repent) its evidence of God choosing us (1 Thess 1:4-5).

6. Calvinists respect Calvin, who was a killer, above Jesus.

Short: So pentacostals respect Mr. Pentacostal above Jesus? And baptists love Mr. Baptist? Calvin killed noone at all, that was David.

Long: Of all the most outlandish claims that exist is that one way or another Calvinism is actually wholly about and comes from John Calvin of Geneva (in Switzerland). The claim is that if Calvin had not come into the picture people would worship Jesus, but because Calvin exalted himself, people left Jesus and started to follow Calvin. And on top of that Calvin with his own hands grabbed an anti-trinitarian ‘heretic’ named Servetus and burned him at the stake. Sigh.

First and foremost, reformed theology is not about Calvin. The doctrines of Sovereign Grace were not first invented, created, or refined by John Calvin. No Calvinist or any learned bible scholar and historian would ever say that. Calvinists joke that the first person to formulate a doctrine that is as close to what we believe was St. Paul who in nearly all his epistles speaks of predestination and election, he doesn’t even speak of baptism or gifts of the Holy Spirit as much as he speaks of predestination. But all joking aside, one of the most prominent church fathers of all time, who lived in the 4th century, Augustine, taught doctrine that was the can be called reformed theology. Augustine was involved defending against the Pelagian controversy which nearly took the church into a ‘works based salvation’ direction, and Augustine best articulated the doctrines of Sovereign grace a more than 1100 years before John Calvin.

Furthermore, when the protestant reformation took off and people finally received the bible into their own hands, churches were springing up all over Europe and most of them were “Calvinist” on issues like the bondage of the will and predestination. From Luther in Germany, to John Knox in Scotland, to the Puritans who left to America, none of these reformers were “unconditional free willists” or “Arminians.” It was only after the first wave of the reformation hit and other men began to write up newer doctrine that Calvinism took the name “Calvinism” and then only so because Calvin’s books were by far the most logical and eloquently articulated (due to his training as a lawyer.)

As far as the incident in which its claimed that Calvin killed Servetus, this is merely character assassination. Basically Servetus wrote a book claiming the doctrine of the trinity was an invention of the devil  and its worshipers deceived by the devil; then he and Calvin had a lengthy written discourse in which Calvin said “I neither hate you nor despise you; nor do I wish to persecute you; but I would be as hard as iron when I behold you insulting sound doctrine with so great audacity.” (Downton, An Examination of the Nature of Authority, Chap 3). As far as Calvins involvement it consisted in identifying Servetus and submitting evidence that Servetus was in fact a heretic. First Calvin was not even present at the trial. Second, Calvin was a visiting pastor, not a citizen of Switzerland and couldn’t even vote. Third, the Spanish already tried Servetus and gave him the death sentence which he escaped. Fourth, Calvin had no power to condemn him or save him. Fifth, Calvin pleaded for the city council to be more lenient in the death penalty (his plea was ignored).  Sixth, Calvin visited the man in prison to pray for him and plead with love that he would recant (he didn’t). Seventh, death for heresy was in accordance to the spirit of age. At the time people were put to death for trying to cause the church to splinter by teaching and refusing to recant of Christ-denying heresies. It was also in accordance with the spirit of the age that David killed Goliath by cutting off his head, and no christian says it was wrong or immoral, because at that time it was normal. So was it with Government officials punishing heresy by death in the middle ages. (it wasn’t Calvin that did this, but the government; and the Arminians of the age would also agree with the type of punishment for the type of heresy.) Moreover, just as one christian who once sins does not invalidate all other Christians, even if Calvin had ordered this death penalty (which he didn’t) it would in no way invalidate the doctrine of sovereign grace as thousands of pastors, preachers, and theologians across the world have taken up to torch of Christ’s sovereign grace as the cause of our salvation.

7. Calvinism is against evangelism

Short: Some Russians are against evangelistm too, they believe that unless Americans learn & dress russian they cant be saved. Oh and Calvinists invented modern mission work.

Long: We are considered as those hostile to evangelism and missionary work. It is said that Calvinists don’t evangelize or send missionaries because there is no point, if someone is not chosen there is no reason to evangelize them. This is a sad accusation built upon layers of misconceptions. Its foolish and wrong!

First, this is what Calvin himself said about evangelism: “It is no small consolation to godly teachers that, although the larger part of the world does not listen to Christ, He has His sheep whom He knows and by whom He is also known. They (all preachers) must do their utmost to bring the whole world into Christ’s fold, but when they do not succeed as they would wish, they must be satisfied with the single thought that those who are sheep will be collected together by their work.” (Calvin’s Commentary on John 17:9).

Second, Calvin evangelized neighboring France. At the beginning of the reformation in 1555, there was only one church. In 1562 Calvin’s movement had led to the formation of 2150 local protestant congregations in an area hostile to protestants Christians.

Third, Calvin himself sent out more worldwide missionaries than most Arminian churches today. Historians have called his Geneva a “hub of vast missionary enterprise” (Frank A. James, III, “Calvin and Missions,” Christian History, 5 no. 4 (Fall 1986) : 23.) For example, historical records show that just in one year, 142 missionaries were sent out by Calvin to go around the world and reach people with the gospel message. Some were even sent to Brazil where they were killed. (Hughes, “John Calvin: D. O. M,” 46; cf. also McGrath, 184).

Fourth, the modern missionary movement as we have come to know it, was founded and stimulated by William Carey, a Calvinist! Today he is called “the father of modern missions” after spending 58 years of his life on Indian soil preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. In fact, a great majority of early missionaries were Calvinists, men like David Brainerd, John G. Paton, Henry Martyn and a host of others. Hundreds of Calvinists were martyred and died sharing the good news of Jesus to sinners. Looking through the history of our modern world we can see that at all times Calvinists have eagerly taken the gospel to nations and people all over the world, from missionaries who died in small tribes, to great revivals and awakenings that swept the western world, reformed Christians have been at the forefront of mission and evangelism work, proclaiming salvation to those  enslaved to sin.

With apostle Paul reformed Christians say ”For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory.” (2 Tim 2:10)

Conclusion

Short: Don’t judge, hold hands and love Jesus.

Long: My aim is not to fight or cause strife and struggle. I do not consider myself to be a follower of Calvin, I am not of Apollos or of Paul, I am of Christ Jesus. I think Calvin was a pretty good bible teacher, and there are many other bible teachers. All of the good ones including Calvin repeat the same theme in scripture that man is bad and God is Good. And God saves bad men by His son Jesus. That is at the forefront of what I believe, we need our Shepherd for without Him we cannot do anything.

Once again, this is not a debate, I’m not nailing my theses to the wall and stating my immediate withdrawal from any church or group. I love the people of Christ and am merely saddened by the name calling and misconceptions that we can construe about each other. Calvinists and Arminians are both to be considered as Christians. This is an in-house debate, so we should not exclude one group or the other as heretics or nonbelievers. As brothers we are allowed to lovingly, gently, in peace and civility discuss what we Christians should believe about ourselves and about God. Yet this is not an issue that is worth splitting or slandering over (well no issue is worth slandering over).

For Christ’s Fame,

Yuriy Stasyuk

I have had plenty of run ins with people who claim that Jesus was not God. They range from the well mannered Jehovah’s Witnesses and confused Christians to the crazy conspiracy theorists who watch way too many YouTube videos and think they are the only ones right and all of Christianity is deceived.  I cannot judge too harshly for I explored this myself at one time. I remember sitting up until 12am and reading “christian” conspiracy websites (the surest way to see if you stumble upon one is the brightly colored rainbow text with GIANT titles and lots of exclamation points claiming EVERYONE is wrong except them!!!!!). I can still remember the Gnostic-like feeling I would have, thinking that I was right and the whole world was in error; it played my ego and my desire to know something special. Turns out I was wrong and repented after examining the scriptures for myself (Thank God or Jesus or Both). Below are just a few things that changed my mind. There are many more arguments, I cannot cover all, but here is an exploration of at  12 reasons Jesus Christ of Nazareth is not mere man but also God. This is by no means a comprehensive list, as gigantic books are published on the subject of Christology and we are still unable to fathom His glory, but its a start. There will definitely run along someone who can pick out a verse here or there that they can debate, but the whole point is not to set up some “proof texts” but to show that the bible does overwhelmingly support Jesus as God.

It finally happened. By “it” I mean very thing all of my grandparents, aunts, and uncles have been hounding me about for the last few years: I made the commitment to love one woman for the rest of my life and put a ring on her finger. As I write this I am thrilled that Jesus gave me my sweetheart, Inna, (you can read a little about her at her blog here.) I had a formal engagement dinner at which our combined family and pastors were witnesses of my love and pledge. My fiancée and I were also brought up on stage the next day in front of five hundred people at my church. And to top the cake we also became “Facebook official” which finally culminated in our exposure to just about everyone in the world.  Now that Thursday has hit us and we are back in the daily grind it seems like not too much has changed, but as I look past the speedy weekend I find I am different. Wiser. Older. So let me share the top things Jesus is teaching me in this period of my life:

Life passes quickly

We have all heard the phrase that “life is short” yet it’s hard to understand this when you have your “whole life ahead of you.” I am still very young but I am transitioning from a life of singleness to that of a husband. I’m done with childhood, being a teenager, and single young guy. The only three steps left to go are father, grandfather, and then dead guy. Life is short; I don’t want to waste it seeking only my pleasure and selfish ambitions. I don’t want to waste it trying to accomplish everything and not have time to relax and live peacefully.

God is really gracious.. and really sovereign

Looking over the last quarter of a century and reflected on the many times Inna and I were physically threatened and I am shocked that we are both alive. When she was a young teen she was in the front passenger seat of car in which the driver was fatally injured, she walked out without a scratch. I had a heart problem that mysteriously disappeared during my latter childhood. Stories like these fill my memory. Besides the obvious near misses is the simple fact that we are both sinners, deserving death, and yet we are alive. We have had opportunities for our lives to be extinguished every single day, and not one of them materialized. God is gracious and in His sovereignty He led us together, keeping us safe along the way. How can I or you not trust Him?

News travels very fast

It was a big secret that I proposed to Inna. In our Russian community there is a bit of a tradition to make the engagement a surprise that it is formally announced in the church first. (I don’t know if everyone follows it but I know some churches do.) We told our parents, siblings, and just a few friends, all of whom wanted to continue the tradition of having a surprise announcement in church. A few days before the official engagement dinner I ran into to someone I didn’t even know and she said “Hey I hear you are engaged with Inna.” How did they find out? Another person I barely knew told them. I’m not even going to try to trace this stuff back. News travels really fast. Welcome to the 21^st century, there are no more secrets.

Not everyone will always remain your friend

When you are just a kid you often pledge to be “best friends forever.” I have had many best friends, and I still love them dearly but we are not as close as we were at some point, and we will never be closer than me and my future wife.  Even as I got engaged a few of my single friends seemingly put a red “X” over my name and said a slow obituary as if sensing that my days of being a “wingman” in their relentless search for the perfect wife are over. In addition I’m quite sure that some of the moms at my church have stopped being my best friend for a little while. Truth be told, you can’t please everyone or make everyone your best friend, but Jesus will always remain.

There are amazing people in your life

While you may lose friends in your life, some friends are as close as a brother and changes in your life will show you who they are. I found that some friends are nothing short of a blessing.  My family is also an amazing source of encouragement. I haven’t been as close as I would like to with my extended family.  Yet for this day everyone put aside their plans and came to support me.  I may not agree with everyone on every little detail, but you know what? It doesn’t matter. We are family and our bond in not in our sameness but our grandfather/family lineage. That’s the whole point of family, to serve as a model for a church in which we share a bond not because we are all photocopies of each other but because we share the same Father.

We are obsessed with the start, and neglect finishing well.

Wedding planning is hard. Enough said. There are so many expectations to meet that it’s a wonder there are couples who brave the onslaught and actually get married.  People have told me that it’s our first day and so we ought to go the extra mile (or thousand dollars) to make our wedding day truly special.  It struck me that in our culture there is an overzealous emphasis on creating a grandiose display that celebrates the start of something. Whether it be a church launch, the founding of an organization, or the beginning of a marriage, we want the big bang in the beginning. The bible tells us to focus not on starting well, but finishing well.  Whether it’s your church, family, or business don’t follow culture and carelessly plunge into…. If you really want to show off in marriage, don’t spend $20K on the best decorations, spend your life showing people true love, respect, and humility in your marriage.

Do you remember the days you were a kid? Most people would say that was it the best time in their life. They will reminisce about childhood as the time when life was filled with sheer unadulterated joy. Dreaming of great adventure, waiting for Santa to bring you presents, playing outside with the neighbors, and thinking of all the cool places you would go in the future. It seems that we had no responsibilities, nothing serious to think about and no worries.  There were no fears; it was just fun and games… right?

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Are you looking to make your youth ministry rock!? Here are guaranteed methods that will totally, completely, irreversibly, conclusively, without doubt, raise your youth ministry to the next level!

1. Youth pastor needs a jet or helicopter. If you really want the most anointed ministry, buy both.

2. Smoke machines are a must. If you can’t have smoke, I’m pretty sure you can’t have the Holy Spirit. If the worship is not knocking people down, turn up the music, and more smoke.

3. Head coverings for all the girls, even if they’re just children; like with point 2, if you can’t have this, there are so special powers coming down. Sometimes, if you want something really really special, wear two.

4. Be seeker friendly and never talk about anything specific, only vague notions of a higher power. In today’s world, white and black don’t really exist anymore. It’s just taking a really long time for the old timers to catch up to this idea.

5. Constantly remind people about what really and truly matters in life…. that they have a good job and keep giving to keep getting more stuff. God after all gave Adam, or Aaron, or Abram, or whatever that guys name was, a lot of money and stuff, clearly that what God is all about.

6. Have a special group of deacons with rulers measuring the length of girls skirts, and collecting all jewelry at door. Be sure to pick the angriest and loudest to scare the young people with a little extra strong “fear of the Lord.”

7. Gold dust. You CANNOT have a service without a special anointing in the room, for that you need gold dust. If you can’t make it come down from heaven, buy some at Wal-Mart, the kids need their faith bolstered.

8. Bible; it’s too hard for young people, too much archaic language and middle east culture, we don’t need at all today, get rid of the bible and theology… just do games and soda chugging contests. Always remember, the bigger the prizes, the more people will join the church.

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Or you could always try to remember the focus is Jesus.

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Remember your Creator in the days of your youth…

Ecc 12:1

As I was reading through Matthew 12, verses 36-37 caught my attention: “I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” No. This does not mean our justification is not through faith in Chrits substitutionary atonement. No. This does not mean those that reject Christ can just speak good words to be reconciled to God. The context speaks otherwise; the verse prior states: “The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil.” In this passage Jesus clearly articulates that the types of words that come out of your mouth are tied to the state of your heart. Only God can justify us, fill us with His Spirit, and thereby change our heart, make us good, thereby enablig us to bring forth good words.

That theological disclaimer aside, I found myself meditating upon the  “careless word” part of the passage. A Christian who is indwelt by the Holy Spirit should bring forth good fruits, including good words! In fact it is one of the signs that a person is saved!

How often are we careless with our words? As a fellow christian I implore you to ask the Holy Spirit to guide your actions and your words. I urge you to think before you speak and to avoid  careless words:

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1. Words of foolishness that are filthy, unclean, and make one cringe.

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2. Words of anger that break the bond of brotherhood and unity in church.

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3. Words of gossip and slander, that create hostility and initiate unChristlike prejudices.

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4. Words of judgement that scar and cause sleepless nights for our neighbor.

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5. Words of discouragement that destroy both motive and desire, causing many to give up.

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“Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.”

Pro 16:24

Sometimes when trying to grasp at an understanding of Gods sovereignly, we can run into the worst possible conclusions. It is a fine line we walk, one misstep to the left causes an omnipotent God to be weak, one misstep to the right causes God to be the original author and initiator of our sin.

The bible does teach that God is sovereign over all created things and creatures.

• God controls the entire universe: Ps 103:19; Rom 8:28; Eph 1:11
• God controls all of nature: Ps 135:6-7; Mt 5:45; 6:25-30; Amos 3:6
• God controls angels & Satan: Ps 103:20-21; Job 1:12
• God controls nations: Ps 47:7-9; Dan 2:20-21; 4:34-35
• God controls human beings: Pr 16:9; Pr 21:1; 1 Sam 2:6-7; Psa.105:13-14; Gen. 39:21; Isa. 40:23-24; Gen 20:6
• God controls animals: Ps 104:21-30; 1 Ki 17:4-6
• God controls “accidents”: Ex 14:24-25; Pr 16:33; Jon 1:7; Mt 10:29
• God controls free acts of men: Ex 3:21; 12:25-36; Eze 7:27; 1 Chron. 5:22
• God controls sinful acts of men and Satan: 2 Sam 24:1+1 Chr 21:1; Gen 50:20; Judges 14:4; Exodus 14:17

So then can God be considered the “originator” of sin?

I was reading a little bit from the Confessions of Augustine today (I’ll be man enough to admin the old English translation I have access to was giving me a bout of ADD.)

Augustine wrote one phrase that led me down a rabbit trail of thought:

“I do not know where I came from.”

It resonated with me. I thought about it for a few minutes and realized… I dont know where I came from. One day I just became aware of my own existence, and I dont remember anything before. I cannot even remember the moment I understood or recognized my own self-awareness. How did it feel? I do not know and cannot recall. Did it come gradually or in one blinding light moment of clairvoyance? I cannot begin to comprehend where I came from.

It is quite common to hear Christians badmouth theological education. In fact, for the russian generation that grew up in heavy religious persecution, it is inevitable. They lived and (tragically) died  for the cause of Christ, never once having a theological book, system, or in many cases their own bible!

Then the USSR was disbanded and we entered the world arena where the availability of  Christian education has exploded exponentially, bringing with it many streams of teachings, some merely distasteful, others plainly heretical, and so it is very understandable why some people have such hostility towards foreigners and their theology.

In addition looking at the widespread disease of liberalism in theological seminaries and the wide array of so called biblical criticism, striking a dagger into the very heart of historic Christian beliefs, I understand the aggressive stance towards all biblical knowledge that is concerned with more than just memorizing verses.

Is regular scripture reading becoming a boring experience? Are you having trouble finding something in the Book that is hip, relevant, and exciting? Are the red letters highlighting the things that are not important for you? Then you are in for a treat!

Coming to a Christian store near you is the all new “Green Bible!”

I love creation. I think trees are beautiful. I think everything around us is a wonderful gift and we ought to be good stewards of that which we have by Gods mercy. Yet when I picked up this bible I could not help but think how silly the whole concept was.

How often do we pray silly prayers? Let this prayer, uttered many years ago, draw us to repentance and remind us to live worthy lives unto the King.

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Holy Lord, I have sinned times without number, and been guilty of pride and unbelief, of failure to find Thy mind in Thy Word, of neglect to seek Thee in my daily life. My transgressions and short-comings present me with a list of accusations, but I bless Thee that they will not stand against me, for all have been laid on Christ. Go on to subdue my corruptions, and grant me grace to live above them. Let not the passions of the flesh nor lustings of the mind bring my spirit into subjection, but do Thou rule over me in liberty and power.

Romans 8:8 says “Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” And we also know that “without faith it is impossible to please Him” (Hebrews 11:6)

How does one please God then? Only with our mind?

Of course we are to use our body for good deeds, however, those actions should be out of a belief and trust in God. Unfortunately, there are many people that believe and trust in themselves and attempt to please God by deeds. Instead of looking to Christ to be our righteousness, they look to add righteousness by doing great feats, alas, not knowing that even our best works are but filthy rags.

Here are three of the most dangerous behaviours by which people try to earn Gods favor and atone for sin.  By dangerous, I mean physically, though if that is what a person relies on for salvation, I’d say their soul is in far greater danger. (And no these doesn’t work, so dont try this at home.)

People get stoned in church.

Although, I must admit I know tons of young people that tend to like it. They come into the church building, skulk into the restroom, boldly exchange money for drugs, and then get stoned, hammered, and nailed.

Eyes glazed over, they then go around causing all sorts of havoc… sometimes I almost wish these guys did get stoned, old testament style.

That, my dear friends, brings us to the type of stoning that is even worse than that of teens who colossally failed the D.A.R.E. program at school.

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You want healing, wealth, and loads of pure awesomeness?? All You need is faith! Just a little faith and its all yours.

I’ve often heard that rallying cry from many televangelists and their cultlike followers. With a few misquoted and out-of context bible verses they had me believing I could fly, if only I believed hard enough. All I had to do is imagine that its true, that it happened and anything would be possible.

I kid you not, I remember sitting on my bed looking at my closed door, thinking and praying “God, they told me I just need to believe it already happened and You will do it.” And I would close my eyes and imagine my doorknob twist and door start to creak open. I’d squint my eyes open for a second, see my faith failure and proceed to try the faith building exercise again. To my dismay I never did get that door open using the simple  formula of faith that most Pentecostals teach. (Ask God. Believe hard that it happened. Receive anything.)

I could only make out two large words from afar: “OUR” and “ALIVE.”

The distance prevented me from reading the whole sign, but I knew in a minute I would be near enough to make out everything. Though because the sign was posted in front of a church on Easter, I felt very confident that I could correctly guess as to the identity of the tiny characters scribbled in between the giant “OUR” and “ALIVE.”

My only concern at the moment was about the reason why the church chose to write Saviour/Lord/Jesus (as I was sure one of the above was in between “our” and “alive”) with such minuscule, unreadable words. It seemed in my mind the most important thing was the identity of Him who was alive. Easter is all about the resurrection of Jesus Christ, why in the world were they making a small emphasis on his identity?

As I drove up to the sign, my heart stopped.

These last few days have been hell… or so my frail body led me to believe. I dont remember a time when I was more sick, had a higher fever, or committed my soul over to the Lord more times. More than two days were spent in bed,  curled up in the fetal position, shivering, fading in and out of consciousness, yet never crossing the brink into blissful ignorance. I did not sleep a wink; for two whole nights the seconds would drag on, after seemingly tossing and turning for hours I would look at the clock to see that only one minute had passed. It was an eternity of agony.  In that time I even forgot how to swallow, due to the excruciating pain of my superfluously swollen glands. a few bottles of prescription/OTC medication later, I am still alive. Thank God.

I am sick way too often. (Though never like this.)

Some people like to point that out to me. They say I clearly am a worse sinner than the average joe (or apparently child too, since they are sick the most.) The theory is that I must have some crazy secret sins tucked away in the closet. I must be offending God more than the healthy people and He is punishing me out of wrath.

So is He?