Cork Free Presbyterian Church, 10 Briarscourt
(Annex) Shanakiel, Cork, Ireland
Pastor: Colin Maxwell. Email: colin.maxwell@fpcmission.org
FREE PRESBYTERIAN ISSUES -- GOSPEL ISSUES -- PROTESTANT ISSUES -- EVANGELISM ISSUES -- CALVINISM
ISSUES -- C.H. SPURGEON INDEX -- SERMON NOTES -- MAIN PAGE
THE THREE LEGGED STOOL
Only a fool would think that he can make simple those things which even Peter considered were "hard to be understood" (2 Peter 3:16)
Paradoxically, it seems the more we know about the things of God, the
more evident it is that we are ignorant. We can only say with Paul: "O
the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how
unsearchable are his judgements, and his ways past finding out!"
(Romans 11:33) And yet there are things we can do in order to
come to a better understanding of what God has revealed to us. We can
study to show ourselves approved…we can meditate upon these
things etc., and above all else, cry out to God to send out His light
and His truth and let them lead us; This article is an attempt to
simplify some matters which some folk find difficult. I sometimes use
the illustration of the three legged stool to emphasise the importance
of some very fundamental doctrinal truths.
The
three legged stool, if probably used and sufficiently strong, will bear
your weight. It will prove comfort enough to sit upon and even to stand
upon. The secret of its strength lies in the weight being equally set
upon each leg as a whole. If one leg is taken away…the whole
stool is useless and actually becomes dangerous. So too with the word
of God. Over emphasise any doctrine and you are heading for trouble,
for although every word of God will ever remain pure (Proverbs 30:6)
yet our interpretation of it can become unbalanced and dangerous.
Heresy can often be traced back to imbalanced truth. Some of the early
heretics so emphasised the humanity of Christ that they denied His
deity…others so emphasised his Deity and denied His humanity
etc.,
It
will greatly help us in our understanding of the Doctrines of Grace in
particular, although of the Bible in general, if we keep THREE VITAL
MAXIMS in mind when trying to fathom out those deep things of God which
He has revealed to us. No amount of simplification will ever help us
when we seek to go beyond that which is written. We should not pry into
what God has chosen not to reveal to us. These things belong to the
Lord - not unto us or our children (Deuteronomy 29:29) Speculation is a
dangerous business. Avoid like the plague. Keep the following maxims in
mind and use them all together at one and the same time. Never push one
to the exclusion of the other. Otherwise your stool will collapse. It
is not for us to necessarily reconcile them, when and if a supposed
conflict arises. Truth is to be received…not necessarily
explained if God has not given an explanation to us.
1) GOD IS ALWAYS SOVEREIGN:
No
doctrine is ever to be believed or embraced that knocks God off His
throne. Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever… (Psalm 45:6)
and any doctrine which impinges upon God's sovereign right to do what
He will with His own (Matthew 20:15) is to be repudiated. God owes no
man anything and especially the sinner (see next point) who deserves
nothing but damnation and hell fire. God has the right to damn us all
and His decision to purpose to save some and not all is entirely within
His sovereign justice. None can obligate God to anything. One reason
why men end up with wrong views on salvation is that they start with
man. They START WITH MAN…CONTINUE WITH MAN…AND END WITH
MAN. C.H. Spurgeon wisely observed:
"If
we study man, and make him the only object of our research, there will
be a strong tendency in our minds to exaggerate his importance. We
shall think too much of the creature and too little of the Creator,
preferring that knowledge which is to be found out by observation and
reason to that divine truth which revelation alone could make known to
us. The basis and groundwork of Arminian theology lies in attaching
undue importance to man, and giving God rather the second place than
the first. Let your mind dwell for a long time upon man as a free
agent, upon man as a responsible being, upon man, not so much as being
under God’s claims as having claims upon God, and you will soon
find up springing in your thoughts a set of crude doctrines, to support
which the letter of some few isolated texts in Scripture may be
speciously quoted, but which really in spirit are contrary to the whole
tenor of the Word of God." (Sermon on Job 23:13)
Note:
CHS believed in man as a free agent and man as a responsible
being…he was simply warning against a man centred view of
Scripture which practically ignored the Sovereignty of God.
The Bible STARTS, CONTINUES AND ENDS WITH GOD: "For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen." (Romans 11:36) If you want to study the doctrine of salvation from the emphasis of the Bible i.e. God centred…follow through our studies on the Doctrine of Grace which begin where we ought to begin i.e. with God.
2) MAN IS ALWAYS RESPONSIBILE:
God's
sovereignty and man's responsibility always run hand in hand with each
other. One never cancels out the other. God is entirely
sovereign…man is equally and therefore entirely responsible. To
emphasise one at the expense of the other (either way) leads either to
Arminianism on one hand or hyper Calvinism on the other. Both are
unsatisfactory systems of belief and are to be studiously avoided.
Sometimes the Bible narrative emphasises one without mentioning the
other. This should not be construed to be at the expense of the other,
even if it is not distinctly mentioned. We are expected to compare spiritual things with spiritual (1 Corinthians 2:13)
The classic case is that of Judas Iscariot. The following Bible references suffice to tell the whole story:
[i] SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD IN THE LIFE OF JUDAS:
"The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil." (Proverbs 16:4)
[ii] RESPONSIBILITY OF MAN IN THE LIFE OF JUDAS:
"Judas…saying,
I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they
said, What is that to us? see thou to that." (Matthew 27:4)
"That
he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by
transgression fell, that he might go to his own place." (Acts 1:25)
"… that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God." (Romans 3:19)
[iii] BOTH ARE EMPHASISED IN THE ONE VERSE:
The
Son of man indeed goeth, as it is written of him: but woe to that man
by whom the Son of man is betrayed! good were it for that man if he had
never been born. (Mark 14:21)
Here
we might answer that age old question: Was Judas born to be damned? The
answer really is simple: No…he was born to glorify God and to
enjoy Him for ever AND HE FAILED. God is seen to be sovereign in that
He could righteously require Judas to dedicate his life to the things
of God. Man is seen to be responsible in that Judas declined to do
this, went his own wicked way - God allowing him to free fall in his
sin, not making it an necessity but permitting it and taking good from
it - and subsequently being punished for his sin. The sin all belongs
to Judas…the glory all belongs to God. Can any one show me where
I'm wrong in my analysis?
3) SALVATION IS ALWAYS BY FREE GRACE:
This
follows on from the doctrine of the sovereignty of God. If salvation is
by anything other than free grace, as stated in Ephesians 2:8-9/Titus
3:5 etc., then God is under an obligation and therefore less than
sovereign. God cannot be obligated to His creatures, especially (as
stated above) if they are sinful. Sin has caused us to forfeit any
claims upon God. Whatever we might have said as creatures is now
silenced because we are sinful creatures. Just to be out of hell is an
unmeasured mercy. Just to be offered the gospel freely and the
opportunity to be saved is an unmeasured mercy. Sin has rendered man
unable to lay hold on eternal life. He is distinctly said to be without
strength (Romans 5:6) - the "physical" equivalent to the "economic"
portrayal of one being bankrupt (a term often used by Calvinist and non
Calvinist evangelists alike) In the non elect, God simply does not
venture to them that saving grace that enables them to overcome the
sinful bent of their hearts and minds (1 Corinthians 2:14) but leaves
them to their chosen sin (as with Judas above) Here again is God's
sovereignty ("He leaves them…) and man's responsibility
(…to their chosen sin.") Both are true. We repeat again…
neither is to be emphasised at the expense of the other.
This
being so…where God does intervene with salvation, this must be
viewed as being the work of His grace. Although God does not believe or
repent for the sinner…the sinner believes and the sinner
repents… yet even these acts are according to the saving grace
of God. Therefore it is said to be the goodness of God that led us to
repentance (Romans 2:4) - God have granted it to us (Acts 11:18) - and
we are distinctly said to have believed through grace (Acts 18:27) Once
- according to John 5:40 - I would not come that I might have life
(man's responsibility) but God worked in me both to will and to do His
good pleasure (Philippians 2:13) and so I was willing in the day of His
power (Psalm 110:3)
This theology - which is far removed from the man based theology of the non Calvinist - has several advantages:
1) IT GIVES GOD THE GLORY: (1 Corinthians 1:31)
2)
IT FORBIDS MAN TO GLORY, APART FROM IN GOD: (Galatians 6:14) There
ought never to be any proud Calvinists! If there are - they are being
false to their profession. An abuse of a doctrine does not negate it.
3)
IT DOES NOT REMOVE RESPONSIBILITY FROM MAN: If this removed, you are
looking at hyper Calvinism which true Calvinists loathe as much as
anyone else.
4)
IT DRIVES MEN TO GOD: It is true that the sinner will abuse the
doctrine and make it into an excuse - but then… the sinner's
excuses come quick and fast anyway (Luke 14:18) - but the awakened soul
will flee to God and cry for mercy. The man in Mark 9:24 certainly
provides a good example: I believe; help thou my unbelief. Here is a
balanced man.
5) IT AFFORDS THE GREATEST COMFORT AND ASSURANCE:
Where
man has room to congratulate himself on his general ability to believe
etc., then surely he must worry regarding his general ability to undo
the work of grace. If he can freely will himself into Christ (in the
non Calvinist sense)…then he can just as freely will himself out
of it. The rank Arminian is being entirely consistent on this matter.
Those who leave God standing like a kind of butler waiting on the
sinner, but who believe in eternal security are not. The saint is not
less free than the sinner. If my salvation is tied in to the eternal
decree (God's Sovereignty) then I have every reason to do those things
essential to my spirituality (Man's Responsibility) knowing that they
cannot fail!
I hope we haven't lost you in this explanation. If so, read it over
again and let it sink in. This is balanced truth. It keeps both God and
man in sight, glorifying God and exhorting and encouraging the sinner.
If you want anything clarified…feel free to email me although
my time to enter into prolonged debates is greatly limited. I pastor a
small church and have an active outreach ministry which must take
priority. If you feel you must raise some objection…go back to
the Judas Iscariot scenario mentioned above and show me where I am
wrong.
THE END
FREE PRESBYTERIAN ISSUES -- GOSPEL ISSUES -- PROTESTANT ISSUES -- EVANGELISM ISSUES -- CALVINISM
ISSUES -- C.H. SPURGEON INDEX -- SERMON NOTES -- MAIN PAGE