Prose

Reformed + Election

written by: alf hickey

Calvin's problem, it seems is that he couldn't explain how 2 contradictory ideas (based in the weakness of language/concepts) could be reconciled maybe. Choice and election. Choice is very often understood to be the way to God in scriptures. We are to examine ourself, choose life, do the right thing. It is madness to think that God's instructions to Adam and Eve did not involve choice. In the scriptures people negotiate with God, we are instructed to send Him our petitions- these all involve volition, action, agency.

Choice is the only clear way to Christ from a scriptural perspective. This is emphasised in the scripture "How will they hear without a preacher." And faith comes through hearing the word of God. All require action, hearing is an action !!! So what of election. Choosing never changes God's election and doesn't contradict election. But also realise, Jesus did not know the day nor the hour. Knowledge in heaven is relative to elements in the trinity.

Since Christ Jesus has been given all authority in heaven and on earth. That was only for the Father. So this idea of election is not such a simple thing. Satan gave Job a hard time by challenging God/Job to a test.

I argue the greatest thing getting in the way of God's sovereignty is "Reformed,in its current form" the way certain groups are pushing it. It has opened the way for liberals to get their way, as true spiritual discernment is no longer, but human discernment. So people do things that are seemingly sinful and get away with it because they are "Reformed." I think the church has lost its head !

God doesn't want a Reformed Church, he wants a Jesus church. Some heresy in Reformism is to call a "church" Calvinist, or Lutheran or even words invented by them like: "Presbyterian" etc...
Where is the glory to Jesus, where is the centrality of the cross. We have replaced Jesus with institutions, named by other people and ideas, is this idolatory ? Where is the simple gospel ?

Have we glorified/deified human teaching and teachers, as kings or Gods as much as in the Catholic Church (Pope) or like Buddha ? (Buddhists totally miss the innate contradiction in their belief system- they have this "King (Lord) entity" yet they believe all the universe is God and One- so how is Buddha special then and why do they have little golden statues of him everywhere- why don't we ever talk about the contradictions in other ideas/philosphies ? Its curious, I read that 75% of Buddhists believe in a God. Jesus is actually God as man- now there's something worth following.

As Romans 1 says, they worship the creation rather than the creator... and worshipped things made to look like created things.

At least Anglican churches follow the scriptural pattern of Church in a place, or church in England. It should not be maybe: Church of England. But then why do we have Anglican churches in Africa or even Australia ? That's what I tell JWs and Mormons, if God sent you to America, why are you here, preaching to us. We want a "prophet" for Australia !!

People are saying that election in essence makes us deterministic robots, that's because they are silly, and worldly, given to and promoting being bullied by authority, that they are just blind followers- they go against the whole point and spirit of reformation, and replace God with men's ideas.

Luther tried to make Jesus more accessible, so people could CHOOSE Christ. Like I have said, this in no way contradicts election. It is a conceptual problem people have, not a spiritual thing. We are mocking Reformation by saying that election means we do not choose, it is potentially heretical, because the bible clearly commands a response/choice, whether this be Israel or people.

A better question is what is CHOICE for the Christian ? What does it mean to choose Jesus today. How do we obey ? What does it mean to submit to the Lordship of Christ !

In Conclusion, God's will for people is that all follow Him, "on earth as it is in heaven," but as we know this will not happen, many will deny Christ and there will only be a remnant of Israel too. But as the scripture says, every knee will bow and tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Work that out ! Phillipians 2: 10-11