Friday, September 25, 2015

Calvinist Calvinism Explain and Links

Most of the Fundamentalist, Premillennialist, Hell-Fire, Legalist, Arminianist, KJV onlyist preachers are so good at making blank statements that express just what they believe is truth as if they were the pope.

Most are not Calvinist, they may be a one pointer,  or not any way like the Reformed guys, what is monergism they don’t know, and could not tell you what the five solas of the Protestant Reformation are because they are Baptist.

The Five Solas of the Reformation

The Five Solas of the Protestant Reformation, while not unique to Calvinism, are integral to a Calvinist theological perspective and therefore bear restating here:

 

Calvinism is the theological system associated with the Reformer John Calvin that emphasizes the rule of God over all things as reflected in its understanding of Scripture, God, humanity, salvation, and the church. In popular vernacular, Calvinism often refers to the Five Points of Calvinistic doctrine regarding salvation, which make up the acrostic TULIP. In its broader sense, Calvinism is associated with Reformed theology.

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Background

Background

Calvinism is named after 16th century Reformer, John Calvin whose overall theology is contained in his Institutes of the Christian Religion (1559). Sometimes Calvinism is referred to by other names such as "Augustinianism" because Calvin followed Augustine (A.D. 354–430) in many areas of predestination and the sovereignty of God.

In a broad sense, Calvinism can be virtually synonymous with "Reformed Protestantism" or Reformed theology, encompassing the whole body of doctrine taught by Reformed churches and represented in various Reformed Confessions such as the Belgic Confession of Faith (1561) and the Westminster Confession of Faith (1647).

Scripture

The principle of Calvin's system can be expressed by the term Sola Scriptura (Scripture alone). This principle of the Reformation demonstrates the conviction that the Bible is the Word of God and therefore the final authority in belief and practice. A common mistake is made when Sola Scriptura is understood as the Bible "alone." Calvin and the Reformers, believed strongly in church tradition, e.g. Calvin consistently and often cites the early church fathers. However, Scripture had the final authority and tradition was given a subordinate role. The authority of Scripture was not through rational argumentation or proofs, but through the witness of the Holy Spirit. [1]

See main page: Scripture alone, Authority of the Bible

God

Calvinism affirms and confesses the historic doctrine of the Trinity: God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God is perfect in all his attributes, and is self-sufficient. Therefore, God is not subject to time or other beings, nor is he reducible to matter or spatial categories available to human reasoning or examination.[2] God is also mysterious, or hidden, except as he chooses to reveal himself to men, which He has done in the Scriptures.

Salvation (Five Points of Calvinism)

The Calvinist doctrine of salvation is summarized in what is commonly called the Five Points of Calvinism, or the Doctrines of Grace, known by the acronym TULIP. These five points are a summary of the Canons of Dort which in turn was the judgment of the Synod of Dort (1618–1619) against related Arminian teaching. These five points are not intended to be a comprehensive summary of Calvinism or Reformed doctrine, but an exposition of the sovereignty of God in salvation -- arranged to address the particular points in dispute raised by the Arminians of that day.

Note: The summary wording below is adapted from the Center for Reformed Theology and Apologetics

Total depravity

Calvinism teaches that humanity is totally depraved. Due to the Fall, the original relationship that Adam and Eve enjoyed with God was severed by sin. This affected the entire human race, corrupting the heart, mind, and will of every person born. Thus, people's natural actions and affections, whether viewed by man as bad or good, are never pleasing to God. The Calvinist understanding of total depravity does not mean that people are as evil as they possibly could be. People still make good choices (from a human perspective), but no matter how good they may be, they never gain favor with God. While total depravity is commonly associated with John Calvin, this theological viewpoint is based on the theology of Augustine (b. 354).

Unconditional election

Unconditional election is the doctrine which states that God chose those whom he was pleased to bring to a knowledge of himself, not based upon any merit shown by the object of his grace and not based upon foreseen faith (especially a mere decisional faith). God has elected, based solely upon the counsel of his own will, some for glory and others for damnation (Romans 9:15, 21). He has done this act before the foundations of the world (Ephesians 1:4–8).

Limited atonement

Limited atonement (also known as "definite atonement") is a doctrine offered in answer to the question, "for whose sins did Christ atone?" The Bible teaches that Christ died for those whom God gave him to save (John 17:9). Christ died, indeed, for many people, but not all (Matthew 26:28). Specifically, Christ died for the invisible Church -- the sum total of all those who would ever rightly bear the name "Christian" (Ephesians 5:25).

See main page: Definite atonement See also Atonement of Christ and Penal substitutionary atonement

Irresistible grace

The result of God's irresistible grace is the certain response by the elect to the inward call of the Holy Spirit, when the outward call is given by the evangelist or minister of the Word of God. Christ, himself, teaches that all whom God has elected will come to a knowledge of him (John 6:37). Men come to Christ in salvation when the Father calls them (John 6:44), and the very Spirit of God leads God's beloved to repentance (Romans 8:14). What a comfort it is to know that the gospel of Christ will penetrate our hard, sinful hearts and wondrously save us through the gracious inward call of the Holy Spirit (1 Peter 5:10)!

Perseverance of the saints

Those called and justified will certainly be glorified (Romans 8:28–39). The work of sanctification which God has brought about in his elect will continue until it reaches its fulfillment in eternal life (Phil. 1:6). Christ assures the elect that he will not lose them and that they will be glorified at the "last day" (John 6:39). The Calvinist stands upon the Word of God and trusts in Christ's promise that he will perfectly fulfill the will of the Father in saving all the elect.

The Church

Theology of the sacraments

Calvinists regard the sacraments as gracious gifts from Christ to his church, the substance of the sacraments being Christ and their benefits being appropriated by faith. They are memorial and symbolic in nature, but not simply memorial and symbolic, as Jesus is faithful to his promise. Thus, if a thing is signified by a sacrament, he will certainly bestow the thing so signified on a faithful participant, and indeed he himself will accompany the sign. Consistent with Protestantism in general, Calvinism acknowledges the two sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper as being specifically instituted by Christ for the church.

The Five Solas of the Reformation

The Five Solas of the Protestant Reformation, while not unique to Calvinism, are integral to a Calvinist theological perspective and therefore bear restating here:

Notes

  1. ↑ Cf. John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, book 1, section 7, chapter
    1. See also book 1, section 8, chapters 1-13.
  2. ↑ W. S. Reid, "Calvinism", p. 202 in Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, Walter A. Elwell, ed. 2nd ed. (Baker, 2001)

See also

Further Reading

Favorable
Critical

External links

Introductions
Favorable
Critical

 

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Thursday, September 24, 2015

How A Believer Is to Respond To Our Culture

1 Peter 3:13-17 Commentary

1 Peter 1 13 How to gird today
Survival and Suffering; Witness While Suffering,
The Christians' Securities Against A Hostile World (MacArthur)
Finding Security in This Troubled World
Practicing The Lordship of Christ 3:13-17
When we practice Lordship, we turn suffering into a witness and bring glory to Christ. http://sermons.pastorlife.com/members/UploadedSermons/sermon_471.pdf

Charles 01 11 2015 pm a
Pastor/Teacher/Expositor: Charles e Whisnant
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1 Peter 3:13  Who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good?  (NASB:
Greek: Kai tis o kakoson (FAPMSN) humas ean tou agathou zelotai genesthe?
Amplified: Now who is there to hurt you if you are zealous followers of that which is good?
KJV: And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?
Now, who will want to harm you if you are eager to do good?  (NLT - Tyndale House)
After all, who in the ordinary way is likely to injure you for being enthusiastic for good?
Young's Literal:  and who is he who will be doing you evil, if of Him who is good ye may become imitators?
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OUTLINE: First Peter 3:13-17
Promise: 13a
Passion: 13b
Persecution: 14
Prosperous: 14b
Protection: 16
A Defiled Conscience    Titus 1:15
A Seared Conscience  I Timothy 4:2
A Evil Conscience    Hebrews 10:22
Possibility: 17
=================
Francis Schaeffer wrote this in the 1970;s
In ancient Israel the nation had turned from God and from His truth and commands as given in Scripture, the prophet Jeremiah cried out that there was death in the city. He was speaking not only of physical death in Jerusalem but also a wider death.  Because Jewish society of that day had turned away from what God had given them in the Scripture, there was death in the polis, that is, death in the total culture and the total society.

In our era, sociologically, man destroyed the base which gave him the possibility of freedoms without chaos.  Humanists have been determined to beat to death the knowledge of God and the knowledge that God has not been silent, but has spoken in the Bible and through Christ - and they have been determined to do this even though the death of values has come with the death of that knowledge.

We see two effects of our loss of meaning and values.  The first is degeneracy. Think of New York City's Times Square - Forty-second and Broadway. 

IF one goes to what used to be the lovely Kalverstraat
The Kalverstraat is a busy shopping street of Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. It is named after the kalvermarkt ("calves market") that was held here until the 17th century.

The Kalverstraat is the most expensive shopping street in the Netherlands, with rents of 2200 euros per square meter (2007).[1] In 2009 it was the 17th most expensive street in the world measured by rent prices.[2] The Kalverstraat is also the most expensive street in the Dutch version of Monopoly.

in Amsterdam, one finds that it, too has become equally squalid i.e.  foul and repulsive, as from lack of care or cleanliness; neglected and filthy.

The same is true of lower old streets in Coperhagen. Pompeli has returned . The marks of ancient Rome scar us: degeneracy, decadence, depravity, a love for violence's sake. The situation is plain. If we look, we see it, If we see it, we are concerned.

But we must notice that there is a second result of modern man's loss of meaning and value which is more ominous, and which many people do not see.  This second result is that the elite will exist. Society cannot stand chaos. Some groups or some person will fill the vacuum.  An elite will offer us arbitrary absolutes, and who will stand in the way! 

How Should we then live! The Rise and Decline of Western Thought and Culture
As one of the foremost evangelical thinkers of the twentieth century, Francis Schaeffer long pondered the fate of declining Western culture. In this brilliant book he analyzed the reasons for modern society's state of affairs and presented the only viable alternative: living by the Christian ethic, acceptance of God's revelation, and total affirmation of the Bible's morals, values, and meaning.

How Should We Then Live: The Rise and Decline of Western Thought and Culture is a major Christian cultural and historical documentary film series and book. The book was written by presupposition list theologian Francis A. Schaeffer and first published in 1976. The book served as the basis for a series of ten films. Schaeffer narrated and appeared throughout the 1977 film series, which was produced by his son Frank Schaeffer and directed by John Gonser.[1] In the film series, Schaeffer attacked the influences of the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, and Charles Darwin. The films were credited with inspiring a number of leaders of the American conservative evangelical movement, including Jerry Falwell.[2] The complete list of materials that the Schaeffers produced under the title "How Should We Then Live?" include the initial book, a study guide for the book, the ten-episode film series, and study aids for the films.
Overview[

According to Schaeffer, How Should We Then Live traces Western history from Ancient Rome until the time of writing (1976) along three lines: the philosophic, scientific, and religious.[3] He also makes extensive references to art and architecture as a means of showing how these movements reflected changing patterns of thought through time. Schaeffer's central premise is: when we base society on the Bible, on the infinite-personal God who is there and has spoken,[4] this provides an absolute by which we can conduct our lives and by which we can judge society. This leads to what Schaeffer calls "Freedom without chaos."[5] When we base society on humanism, which he defines as "a value system rooted in the belief that man is his own measure, that man is autonomous, totally independent",[6] all values are relative and we have no way to distinguish right from wrong except for utilitarianism.[7] Because we disagree on what is best for which group, this leads to fragmentation of thought,[8] which has led us to the despair and alienation so prevalent in society today.[9] Another premise is that modern relative values are based on Personal Peace (the desire to be personally unaffected by the world's problems) and Affluence (an increasing personal income.)[10] He warns that when we live by these values we will be tempted to sacrifice our freedoms in exchange for an authoritarian government who will provide the relative values.[11] He further warns that this government will not be obvious like the fascist regimes of the 20th century but will be based on manipulation and subtle forms of information control, psychology, and genetics.[12]

Believers in Peter's time lived in the Roman Empire. Schaeffer referred to, facing all the same kind of degeneracy and depravity that assaults today's church.  But they faced more frequenct and overt hostility and persecution than believers in today's culture face.

In some parts of the world, however, there is direct persecution of believers, and it is likely that in the coming years Christians everywhere will face increasing hostility, both from civil authorities and from unbelievers at the personal level

This passage speaks to all who would live godly lives in the midst of a hostile, ungodly culture.

John MacArthur lays out five principles believers need to embrace to equip and defend themselves against the threats of an unbelieving, hostile world:


a passion for goodness
a willingness to suffer for wrong and for right
a devotion to Christ
a readiness to defend the faith
a pure conscience

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Friday, September 18, 2015

Charity Faye Mucha Whisnant Early Days as a Baby






Lenora Faye Lemaster Mucha and Lloyd Mucha when Charity was born in 1948






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Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Landscaping September 2015 3

 

This is September 14, 2015 and I have taken some photo of the lower property and I have done so little so far, just waiting for the fall and the leaves to come down.  But I will show the after project.

image

 

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Tuesday, September 08, 2015

It’s hard when people leave a church.

It’s hard when people leave a church.

Bible and pen
Over the years that I have pastor a church, from 1971 to the present, people have always quit coming to the church.  If it was not for the fact that every church has the same problem, I would quit been a pastor. But it always happen, people quit all the time.  It does not make it easy at all.  But it happens.

Most every pastor could have written this because it expresses what most preachers and pastor feel and think about people who leave the church

It’s hard to leave. It’ hard being left.

Most who leave don’t make that decision lightly. They deal with some serious pain when they finally make the decision to go.

If you’ve been a pastor for several years, you’ve had to deal with your share of such departures. Each one hurts. It’s especially hard when those leaving are long-term members.

The collective pain of all those departures over a long period of time can wear a pastor down.

Even if the church is growing, it can be hard when people leave. But when the church is small, each loss is that much more painful.

First, there’s the math. The percentage loss is much higher than in a bigger church. Losing one family can mean massive changes in entire ministries.

Second – and most difficult – it’s not just a drop in attendance, tithers or volunteers. It’s the loss of people we know. People we’ve invested in. People we’re friends with.

No Answers, But Maybe Some Solace

It’s taken me a long time to hit “publish” on today’s post because, when I raise an issue, I like to provide solutions or alternatives. But I don’t have a solution to this one.

So today’s post is not about answers. It’s a public recognition of our shared private pain.

With the hope that we can find some sort of solace by knowing we’re not alone in these feelings.

Here are some painful truths many of us have felt when people leave our churches.

1. It Hurts When People Leave the Church
There are two realities about pastoral ministry that we cannot change:
People will leave our church
It will hurt when they leave
We can deny it or admit it.
Denial gives it power over us and allows it to surprise us the next time it happens.
Admitting it… well, at least we can remove the weapon of surprise from this nasty beast.

2. It Hurts When It’s Someone We’ve Invested In
Sometimes it seems like the people we’ve spent the most time with, helped through the hardest trials and seen the most progress in are the most likely ones to leave.

I understand that people need a fresh start after they’ve been through some emotional and/or spiritual trauma. But it still hurts to invest all that time, energy, emotion and compassion only to hear them say buh-bye after you’ve helped them get healthy again.

3. It Hurts When They’ve Been Friends
No, not everyone in your church needs to be your friend. But some should be. Yet a lot of pastors resist having friends in the church because when they leave, it’s really painful.
Ellen Jacobs addressed this issue poignantly from the perspective of a pastor’s wife in her blog post, It’s Hard When Friends Leave. Here is some of what she wrote.

Whether the reason for leaving is bad or good, it leaves a wound behind.

So what do we do? I think we mourn for a while, perhaps a long while if needed. We ask God to dress our wound. We process, we pray, and time goes by.

And you know what we don’t do? We don’t write that person off. We don’t forget all the good that existed in that friendship. We don’t subconsciously (or consciously) vow to never open ourselves up to people again.

4. It Hurts When They Leave Without Telling Us Why

Church consultants recommend doing exit interviews to help us understand why church members left. That’s a great idea. In theory. And it works well in larger churches because the person conducting the interview probably doesn’t know them personally. But it’s one of those principles that doesn’t transpose smoothly into the smaller setting.

When people leave a smaller congregation, who should conduct the exit interview? The pastor they had a disagreement with in the first place? The deacon they’ve been gossiping with for years? The new family who barely knows the church and the issues involved?

No. In a Small Church, the pastor calls and/or emails the person or family they haven’t seen in a while to ask if anyone’s been sick or on vacation. Even though we have a strong suspicion of what’s really going on. If they answer the phone or return the email, that’s our exit interview. And it can be very awkward and painful – for both sides.

If they don’t return emails or phone calls – which happens quite often – there’s nothing to do but feel hurt for a while, then soldier on. The silent, unanswered departure is never easy.
Since this post is about making private pain public, here’s a hard truth that I’ve heard some Small Church pastors admit to each other. We don’t always make that call when we know what the answer will be. We know we should, but we can’t always handle the rejection.

So, to all the church consultants berating pastors for not following up when members leave, we get it. We know we should make those calls. But it’s not always because we don’t care. It’s because we care too much.

5. It Hurts When They Bomb Us with Every Reason Why

This is the other side of the silent departure. The pastor gets a “we need to talk” call.

The truth is, we want to know why people are leaving and why. We really do. But these final talks are often a great source of additional pain to us. Especially when the problem is with something we did – or failed to do.

In my three-plus decades of ministry, these have been some of my toughest moments. People who I thought were doing well and were happy in the church sit down with me and pull out a piece of paper listing all the offenses they feel they’ve endured over the last few years. Some are legitimate. Some are really not. All of them are painful to hear.

But the most frustrating thing about the “here’s every reason why I’m leaving” conversation is…

6. It Hurts When They Don’t Give Us a Chance to Make Things Right

I wish people would tell me about their problems when there’s still a chance to make things right!
I’ve been through too many meetings where
I didn’t know there was a problem until now
The problem would have been fixable if I’d known

It was just a misunderstanding that we could have easily resolved

But it’s too late now. They’ve already made their minds up to leave.

7. It Hurts When They Leave for Another Church
It’s especially hard when they leave the long-term, healthy, faithful, smaller congregation for the flashier, new, big church. But it could be worse…


8. It Hurts Even More When Don’t Go to Any Other Church

To lose someone from our church is hard. To know they’ve left the church entirely and that we’ve possibly lost them from the body of Christ is unspeakably heartbreaking. (Please, no eternal security comments. This is not about that.)

9. It Hurts When They Avoid Us Later

Many Small Churches are in small towns, or in tight neighborhoods where people run into each other in the store or at civic events.

If I could give one word of advice to church members who leave, it would be this. You don’t have to look away awkwardly when you run into your former pastor or one of their family members on the street. Our relationship may have changed when you left. But just because we’re no longer your pastor doesn’t mean we can’t still be friends.

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Sunday, September 06, 2015

The Lord’s Word to His Church: Ephesus

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Saturday, September 05, 2015

Should We Influence the “Influencers”?

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Thursday, September 03, 2015

First Peter 1:22-23 and First Peter 3:9 Video Sermon

 


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Reasons for systematic theology?

Reasons for systematic theology? Let me briefly mention six.


Reason 1: The Bible’s interest in truth demands it. Systematic theology is nothing if it not the pursuit of truth, and truth is essential to biblical Christianity. Jesus said the truth will set you free (John 8:32). The Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of truth (John 14:17). The work of the Holy Spirit was to guide the apostles into all truth (John 16:13). Eternal life is to know the only true God (John 17:3). Jesus prayed that we would be sanctified in the truth (John 17:17). Paul warned that for those who do not obey the truth there will be wrath and fury (Rom. 2:8). We are to be transformed by understanding the truth (Rom. 12:2). People can go to hell for preaching what is not true (Gal. 1:8). People within the church should be corrected when they believe the wrong things. “[An elder] must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it” (Titus 1:9). People are sometimes to be kept out of your house for believing what is not true (2 John 9-10). The wicked perish because they refused to love the truth (2 Thess. 2:10). The workman of God must rightly handle the word of truth (2 Tim. 2:15). In other words, no Christian worthy of the name should be indifferent to the pursuit of right doctrine. As Louis Berkhof put it, “They who minimize the significance of the truth, and therefore ignore and neglect it, will finally come to the discovery that they have very little Christianity left” (Systematic Theology, 29).
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How To Have A Good Day: How To Love Life and See A Good Life: i.e. Living and Loving the Good Life?

First Peter 3   Verses 1-22
Submission and Suffering
First Peter 3:8-9 10-12, 13-17  18-22
Overview of the chapter 
Submission to Husbands:  1 to 6
A Word to Husbands: 7
Called to Blessing: 8-12
Suffering for Right and Wrong: 13-17
Christ's Suffering and Ours: 18-22
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How To Have A Good Day:  How To Love Life and See A Good Life: i.e. Living and Loving the Good Life?


These five virtues are to be normative qualities in the lives of the people of God, reflecting the attitude and example of Christ
having the right attitude
our duties to each other  (8-9)

Harmonious, Sympathetic, Brotherly, Kindhearted, Humble in Spirit
  1. of one mind—as to the faith.We could say that Christians should be like a good choir. Each one sings with his own voice and some sing different parts, but everyone sings to the same music and in harmony with one another.
  2. having compassion one of another—Greek, “sympathizing” in the joy and sorrow of others.
  3. love as brethren—Greek, “loving the brethren.”
  4. pitiful—towards the afflicted.
  5. courteous—genuine Christian politeness; not the tinsel of the world’s politeness; stamped with unfeigned love on one side, and humility on the other. But the oldest manuscripts read, “humble-minded.” It is slightly different from “humble,” in that it marks a conscious effort to be truly humble. 
 These are six duties that we have one toward another.  They are part of what constitutes the Christ-like character that we are to develop as His disciples.

Being saved, then, is not the end of God's plan for us; He would have  us become like His Son (cf. Ro 8:29).  To motivate us in fulfilling  these duties, Peter quotes from the 34th Psalm...]

   A. TO "BE OF ONE MIND" (NASV, "harmonious")...
    John 17:20-21, Acts 4:32; John 5:30
   B. TO HAVE "COMPASSION FOR ONE ANOTHER" (NASV, "sympathetic")...
Matthew 9:35-36, Hebrews 4:15
   C. TO "LOVE AS BROTHERS"..
        John 13:35; First John 4:30; First John 4:7-8
   D. TO "BE TENDERHEARTED" (NASV, "kindhearted")...
        Ephesians 4:22-24; 31-32; Colossians 3:8-10,12
   E. TO "BE COURTEOUS" (NASV, "humble in spirit")...
        Philippians 2:3-5

   F. TO "RETURN BLESSING FOR EVIL"..

MOTIVATION TO FULFILL THESE DUTIES (10-12)

   A. THAT WE MIGHT "LOVE LIFE AND SEE GOOD DAYS".
   B. SO THE LORD WILL BE OPEN TO US - 1Pe 3:12

Suffering for Righteousness’ Sake
8 Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, vbrotherly love, wa tender heart, and xa humble mind. 9 yDo not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, zbless, for ato this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. 10 For “Whoever desires to love life and see good days,let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit;  11 let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. 12  For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”


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Guy Penrod & Sarah Darling "Knowing What I Know About Heaven" LIVE IN CO...

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