A Call To Discover The Doctrines Of Grace
Michael A. Milton, Ph.D.,
President and Professor of Practical Theology, Reformed Theological Seminary
There are no small disagreements about what constitutes the basics of the Reformed faith. Does the Reformed faith refer simply to the teachings that emerged out of the 16th century reformation led by Luther and Calvin? Is the Reformed faith simply Protestantism? Perhaps. Is it, as so many think, about the doctrine of predestination as espoused and taught by John Calvin? Most certainly the Reformed faith includes the teachings of Calvin, but I would not say that Predestination is the sum of the Reformed faith. In fact, I would say that the teaching of John Calvin, the preaching of the English Puritans, the reformation teachings of Luther, and the very heart of Protestantism, and most certainly the Reformed Faith could be summarized in what are called "The Doctrines of Grace."
I have written a little book, soon to be published by Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing, which summarizes a part of the Doctrines of Grace, the Perseverance of the Saints. I quote from one section of that work and pray it might be of some help to those inquiring into the Reformed faith. May God Himself confirm in your heart that what He requires, in holiness and in punishment for sin, He has provided, in His Son Jesus Christ who lived the life we could not live and died the death which should have been ours.
Here then is an excerpt from the upcoming book. Read and as you do pray!
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The doctrine of the perseverance of the saints, the fifth point in the “Five Points of Calvinism,”1—or, The Doctrines of Grace—logically works out the truth that if God started it, God will complete it. Following the acrostic TULIP we see the logical progression. If man is a sinner (T-Total Depravity), and God chooses us not on our merits but completely out of His love (U-Unconditional election), and Christ was sent to die for those whom the Father set His love upon (L-Limited—or better put, “Particular”—Atonement), and if He drew them by His Holy Spirit (I-Irresistible grace), then it follows, that that our salvation is not about us, it is about the love of God, the grace of God, and the purposes of God at work in us. Thus, those whom He set His love on from all eternity are His and He will never let them go. Those for whom Jesus Christ shed His precious blood will never be cut off from Him. Those who have been saved by grace will be kept in His grace—”P”: Perseverance of the Saints.
But this doctrine also means that through the ordinary means of grace—Word, Sacrament, and Prayer—believers may face every sort of physical, circumstantial and spiritual adversity and affliction, and yet, because of the work of the Holy Spirit in them, and because of the seed of faith in them, they will always persevere. They may fall away, Peter-like, from following their Lord for a season, but if they are truly born again by the Spirit of God, they will return to their Father. They will persevere. Or, we may put it better and say, “God will persevere through them.”2 The Dutch theologian, Louis Berkhof, summed it up like this:
“Perseverance may be defined as that continuous operation of the Holy Spirit in the believer, by which the work of divine grace that is begun in the heart, is continued and brought to completion.”3
The Westminster Confession of Faith simply says:
“They, whom God has accepted in His Beloved, effectually called, and sanctified by His Spirit, can neither totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace, but shall certainly persevere therein to the end, and be eternally saved” (Chapter 17, Article 1).4
The prodigious Methodist hymnist Fanny Crosby5 composed a beautiful, little spiritual song whose title says it all for me: “Safe in the Arms of Jesus:”
“Safe in the arms of Jesus, safe on His gentle breast; There by His love o’ershaded, sweetly my soul shall rest.”6
And Biblically, Theologically—personally—this is what Perseverance of the Saints means for you.
1 The five points of Calvinism are, in fact, not the whole teaching of John Calvin on theology or his major views on the Reformed faith. They are, in fact, direct answers, put in an acrostic for English speakers, to the five specific “remonstrances” (protests) of the followers of a Dutch theological named James Arminius. The protest was made by the “Arminians” as this group came to be called, in 1610. The response to this charge was studiously provided by 84 pastors and theologians and 18 representatives of the Dutch government. After 154 sessions, lasting from 1618-1619 (called “The Synod of Dordt”—for the meetings were held in the Dutch town of Dordt), this stalwart band of believers produced what became known as “The Five Points of Calvinism.” For a study of this, in particular, I would recommend two books: James Montgomery Boice and Philip Graham Ryken, The Doctrines of Grace : Rediscovering the Evangelical Gospel (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books, 2002), David N. Steele, Curtis C. Thomas, and S. Lance Quinn, The Five Points of Calvinism : Defined, Defended, Documented, 2nd ed. (Phillipsburg, N.J.: P & R Publications, 2004).
2 Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology, 2d rev. and enl. ed. (Grand Rapids, Mich.,: Wm. B. Eerdmans publishing co.).
3 Ibid.
4 For a good modern English translation, faithfully preserving the doctrinal integrity of the original, see Douglas F. Kelly, Hugh McClure, and Philip B. Rollinson, The Westminster Confession of Faith : An Authentic Modern Version, 3rd ed. (Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Summertown Texts, 1992), G. I. Williamson, The Westminster Confession of Faith : For Study Classes, 2nd ed. (Phillipsburg, N.J.: P&R Pub., 2004).
5 It has been said, with a smile, that Methodists teach like Arminians but compose hymns like Calvinists!
6 Fanny Crosby, “Safe in the Arms of Jesus,” 1868.
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