The Evangelical Church's Tower of Babel

Genesis 11:1-9 recounts the dispersement of families, tribes, and languages upon the earth. It tells of a people who tried to "reach" God by the building of a great tower. Despite God's command for them to be "fruitful and multiply" (Gen 9:7) man tried to maintain and establish his own authority by remaining in one place (Gen 11:1-10).  As a result, God came down and confused the languages of the people, thereby forcing them to comply with His command to fill the earth and subdue it. Just as a caveat a study note in the Faith Life Study Bible adds,

11:7 let us go down As with 1:26, both exhortations are plural. The plural indicates that God is speaking to the heavenly host (see 1:26 and note; and see v. 1). The text also contains literary puns and wordplay: “let us confuse” is nabelah (from the root, balal; see v. 9), the reverse consonant order of the word used earlier for “bricks” (lebanim). God will reverse their efforts by confusing their language.

What does this have to to with the Evangelical church? The tower of Babel was a defining moment for the people of that day. Perhaps you didn't catch it but the author kinda drops a clue at the end of verse 9: And from there the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth.

Back in Genesis 9:7 God had commanded Noah and his family to disperse and fill the earth. Upon coming to the plain of Shinar the people ceased to obey that command. They began to make plans to actually bring the people together rather than settle all over the earth.

Today, the Church is at its defining crossroads. We have been commanded to preach the gospel. Not that we haven't been preaching it–in a loose, sort of a way, I suppose. But today, the Evangelical church, by and large has produced its own Tower of Babel in the gospel it proclaims. This gospel has proclaimed to men that are dead in their trespasses and sin (Eph 2:1, Col 2:13) that they may indeed raise their dead souls to life with but a mere prayer.

This man-centered gospel has produced false converts who believe that simply because they have "accepted Jesus" then they are eternally saved.

Scripture makes it abundantly clear that God is the author of salvation from start to finish! (John 6:37, John 6:44, Mat 11:27, Ro 9:16, Rev17:8, Eph 2:8-9).

Perhaps it is not too late for the Church to redeem the lost time it has squandered. Perhaps we can once again, as in centuries past, change, shape, and lead our culture to see the Great King, Jesus the Christ. Perhaps we will abandon our nonsensical efforts of salvation and finally leave it wholly to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Perhaps!

The Doctrine of Election Is Not About Predestination Steven Long 3/01/13

Without doubt the Doctrine of Election stirs up emotions. And with the recent buzz just months ago in the Southern Baptist Convention concerning the issue it is beginning to once again make an appearance in the forefront of evangelicalism. For some time the Convention seemed at peace with the idea that Calvinist and non-Calvinist could co-exist alongside in cooperation regarding the issue. But many of the rising leaders made it clear that this could not be the case. For example, the opening lines of the source article in the link above states,

“Every generation of Southern Baptists has the duty to articulate the truths of its faith with particular attention to the issues that are impacting contemporary mission and ministry. The precipitating issue for this statement is the rise of a movement called “New Calvinism” among Southern Baptists. This movement is committed to advancing in the churches an exclusively Calvinistic understanding of salvation, characterized by an aggressive insistence on the “Doctrines of Grace” (“TULIP”), and to the goal of making Calvinism the central Southern Baptist position on God’s plan of salvation.”

The drafters of this new statement make it abundantly clear that Calvinism’s doctrines (namely that of election) are no longer acceptable within the Convention.


It seems that the traditional understanding of the Doctrine of Election from a non-Calvinist perspective focuses solely on predestination, and consequently double predestination, rather than on the real scope of this beloved truth. The Doctrine of Predestination is not about election--that is, it is not primarily based on God’s choice of His elect from eternity past. It’s primary focus is on God’s grace to underserving sinners.


It is all too often forgotten that God is not obligated to show His grace to any one person in particular, and more specifically to the entire human race. It is essentially agreed among Calvinists and non-Calvinists alike that if God were to send the entire human race to Hell He would be just in doing so. If this is so, why then do we tend to focus on the logistics of election rather than on the scope of its effects; the salvation of poor, blind, wretched, and wicked God-hating people?


Just as an inmate on death row deserves to die because of his/her atrocities against other people, so we too deserve nothing less than an eternity separated from God’s presence in Hell for our crimes against the Most High Court of all. If then, that judge, being gracious to the offender decides to pardon the offender for mercy’s sake, yet does not pardon all those on death row he would not be unjust for letting the others die for their crimes. They are simply reaping the consequences of their own actions.
In the same way, God has chosen to pardon a mass of the human race who have been on death row for their crimes against Him. This is the scope and meaning of Election. It is not that God has chosen not to pardon all, but that He has chosen to pardon any.


And in that lies the beauty of the Doctrines of Grace!

Calvinism Offers the Highest View of God: Unconditional Election Part 1Dan Long August 19, 2012

Every Christian has some view of the sovereignty of God. You cant read through the Bible without running into the fact that God chooses people for salvation. The question is how does He choose? Did God choose to save people based on what He already knew they would do? In other words, did He look down the corridors of time, see that certain people would embrace the gospel when it was presented to them, and then choose them based on that response? Or did God choose to save unconditionally, apart from  any response of the individual?

Is God free? Does He have the freedom to show mercy to some, and to withhold it from others, or, would it be unfair for Him not to distribute His mercy equally to everyone? And what about those who never heard the gospel? What about the countless millions throughout the world who have never had the gospel preached to them, are these people in hell? Our view of God will determine how we answer these questions.

So many in the church today have a small view of God. One reason is because very few Christians take enough time for personal Bible reading and Bible study. Another reason (and I believe the biggest reason) is because Pastors are afraid to preach the hard stuff. They would rather preach a fluffy, light messages to keep their people in the pews, rather then run them off by preaching such "irrelevant topics" like the sovereignty of God.  

And yet this is what the people need! We need to know that God is in control. We need to know that God rules and reigns over everything that happens in this world, including the minute details of our lives. We need to know that everything He created, including us, is for His own glory. We need to know that God is sovereign over the evil actions of men, and that even sin is part of His plan. We need to have a high, majestic view of God. 

I believe Calvinism offers this view, and I think I can show this from the Bible. Over the next several weeks I would like to post scripture passages that support Unconditional Election, Total Depravity, Limited Atonement, Irresistible Grace, and Perseverance of the Saints. 

I start with the absolute sovereignty of God and Unconditional Election. The Bible makes it clear that God is free. He is the Potter, and we are the clay. He is the One who has absolute authority in the Universe. Everything is under His control, even the choices (including sinful choices) of men. This post will start with God's sovereignty over all things including the actions of men, good and bad. After this I'll move to the second point of Calvinism, Unconditional Election. The reason that I'm starting with Unconditional Election first rather than Total Depravity is because I really believe we need to see that God is free to do as He wishes with His creation. We need to understand that it is God who does the choosing, we do not. Only when we see the freedom of God will we be able to grasp the Total Depravity of man. 

The next post will focus strictly on Total Depravity. These post's will be set up as outlines, with the Bible verse references under each point. Hover the mouse over the scripture reference and a box will pop up  with the reference inside. However, some of the references will be passages of scripture rather than a single verse. The verse will pop up, but in order to read the rest of the passage you will have to click the link. Please feel free to post questions or comments. 

I. God is Sovereign. Ex. 15:18; 1Ch. 29:11-12; 2Ch. 20:6; Ps. 22:28


   
    A. His sovereign right is exercised by ordaining all things that come to pass.
 1Sam. 2:6-8; Job 9:12; Job 12:6-10; Ps. 33:11; Ps. 115:3; Ps. 135:6; Isa. 14:24; Isa. 45:7; Acts 15:18; Ep. 1:11
       
        1. He is Sovereign over the events of creation. 
Gen. 8:22; Ps. 104:5-10; Ps. 104:13-14; Ps. 104:19-20;Mark 4:39
        
        2. He is sovereign over the actions of animals. 
Num. 22:28; 1Ki. 17:4; Ps. 29:9; Jer. 8:7; Eze 32:4; Dan. 6:22
        3. He is sovereign over the actions of good angels.
Ps. 103:20; Ps. 104:4
   
         3. He is sovereign over the actions of bad angels.
1Sam. 16:14-16; 1Ki. 22:19-23; 1Ch. 21:1/ 2Sam. 24:1; Job 1:6-12; Job 2:3-6
       
         4. He is sovereign over the good actions of men. 
Jn. 15:16; Ep. 2:10; Phil.  2:12-13
        
         5. He is sovereign over the evil actions of men. 
Gen. 50:20/ Ps. 105:16-17; Ex. 4:21; Judges. 14:1-4; Pro. 16:4; Isa. 44:28; Isa. 10:5-13; Amos 3:6; Acts 2:22-23; Acts 4:27-28;
        6. Sovereign over "chance happenings." 
Prov. 16:33; Prov. 19:21; Prov. 20:24

II. God has Elected Certain Individuals to Salvation. 
    
    A. God is free: He is free to show mercy, or, to withhold mercy. 
Ex. 33:19; Deut. 7:6-7; Deut. 29:4; Mat. 13:14; Mat. 20:15; Ro. 9:10-24; Ro. 11:4-6; Ep
   
    B. He elected people, not a plan. 
Deut. 10:14-15; Ps. 33:12; Ps. 65:4; Ps. 106:5; Hag. 2:23; Mat. 11:27; Mat. 22:14; Mat. 24:22-31; Luke 18:7; Ro. 8:28-30; Ro. 11:28; Col. 3:12; 1Th. 5:9; Titus 1:1; 1Pet. 1:1-2; 1Pet. 2:8-9; Rev. 17:14
   
    C. His choice to save is not based on what He foresees that people will do.
   Mat. 11:27; Mark 13:20; Jn. 6:44; Jn. 6:63; Jn. 6:65; Ep. 1:4; 2Th. 2:13; 2Tim. 1:9; Rev. 13:8; Rev. 17:8; Ro. 9:11-13; Ro. 9:16; Ro. 10:20; 1Cor. 1:27-29; Ep. 2:10; Jn. 15:16; Acts 13:48; Acts 18:27; Phil. 1:29; Phil. 2:12-13; 1Th. 1:4-5; 2Th. 2:13-14; James 2:5

These scripture references are not exhaustive. There are many more passages that proclaim the sovereignty of God in salvation. Feel free to ask  questions or post comments.