Prayer for a friend

My friend in Christ, Orval Halley, needs the healing hand of God. He's very sick with pancreatic cancer, and will not live much longer unless God heals him.

Halley was my pastor for about 12 years. He has been a blessing to me and my family. He "retired" from his pastorate about 4 years ago to pursue full time missions in the 10-40 window. Pastor Halley is a man who is sold out for the kingdom. He has a commitment to God that I have seen in few other people.

If God places it on your heart, please pray for him and his wife Roberta, and for their extended family. I believe that God has more for him to do in this life.

[update: Pastor Orv went to be with his Father on 5-9-08]

The Hermeneutics Quiz

Here's an interesting quiz that measures how you interpret and apply Scripture.

The Hermeneutics Quiz
by Scot McKnight

Here's my results:
47
"You scored between 20 and 52, meaning you're a conservative on The Hermeneutic Scale."

"The conservative hermeneutic group scores 52 or lower. The strength of this view is its emphasis on the authority, ongoing and normative authority, of all of Scripture. It tends to operate with the line many of us learned in Sunday school: "If the Bible says it, that settles it." Such persons let the Bible challenge them with full force. Literal readings lead to rather literal applications. Most of the time."

Foreknowledge

Foreknowledge means to have knowledge of something before it happens. In scripture there are are references to God's foreknowledge of those who will believe in Jesus. Those whom God foreknows, he also elects to be saved.

The Greek word - proginosko
Proginosko is the word used in the New Testament that today we translate as "to foreknow". It literally means "to know before". The word breaks down like this: Pro (before) ginosko (to know).

We are familiar with this word in English. For example: a doctor will give a prognosis. And someone who makes predictions is called a prognosticator.

The word in its noun or verb form is used several times in the New Testament to explain the foreknowledge of God or of individuals. Here are some passages where the word is used:
Acts 2:23
Acts 26:4-5
Romans 8:29
1 Peter 1:1-2
1 Peter 1:20
2 Peter 3:17

Arminians believe that foreknowledge works like this: God has exhaustive knowledge of the future, thus He "prognosticates" it perfectly. God knows who will believe in Jesus. Those who believe are elected. Election is corporate in scripture (those who believe) as opposed to individual election. The Arminian understanding of foreknowledge is apparent in passages like Romans 8:29 and 1 Peter 1:2

(Bold mine - represents the Greek word for foreknowledge)

Romans 8:28-29: And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. (NKJV)

1 Peter 1:1-2 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied. (NKJV)

Calvinists err in their understanding of foreknowledge, confusing foreknowledge with predestination. They believe that God decrees whatever happens, so foreknowledge is only a byproduct of His decree. In Calvinist thought, foreknowledge is a synonym of election. But Romans 8:29 and 1 Peter 1:2 show instead that God's election is a result of His foreknowledge, not the cause of it.

Another Calvinists interpretation of foreknowledge is "to forelove" instead of "to foreknow". However, there is no justification for this interpretation in the context of the passages in the New Testament.

God is working for the good of those who love Him! He sees everything, he always knows what will happen, and He is always working on the behalf of those who He knows will believe. He is for us!

Audio Link: Apologetics for Christians

Apologetics for Christians has lots of good audio discussion on Arminianism and Calvinism. They have a five part series on Arminianism (mostly dealing with the topic of if it's possible to lose salvation or not - he says no), and a 10 part series on Calvinism.

The site is run by Kelly and Theresa Powers from Winnipeg, Manitoba. They come from a Calvary Chapel and Christian Missionary Alliance background. Kelly describes himself as a "Calminian" who's closer to Arminianism than Calvinism. After listening to him I would describe him as a 4-point Arminian who's perhaps not comfortable with the title. :) I haven't listened to all of his stuff yet, but he seems to have a good theological grasp, and a kind heart. He does like to make fun of James White - but that's perhaps understandable. :)

Anyway, Kelly has an internet broadcast where people talk to him and ask questions. If you have lots of time to listen, he has good stuff to say, but the show does run pretty long.

Audio links located here: Audio Link

Libertarian Free Will

Libertarian free will is the concept that men and angels have the ability to make real choices that have not been pre-determined by God. Arminians believe in free will, while Calvinists generally do not.

The Arminian belief in free will is rooted in our understanding of the goodness of God. We believe in free will not because we are interested in usurping God's authority, but instead because we want to protect God's character. We also recognize that free will comes directly from the hand of God. Man has free will because he is made in the image of God. To the extent that man can make any decision on his own, it's only because God has given man that ability, because it pleases Him to do so.

Calvinists instead believe in determinism (or compatiblism) - that from the beginning God has decreed everything that happens. The problem with determinism is that if God has decreed everything that happens, that would logically make Him responsible for evil. Scripture is very clear that God is not responsible for evil. Evil is a result of the disobedience of men and angels. Logically, if there were no free will, there would be no evil. Calvinists are against the concept of free will because they want to protect the sovereignty of God. They argue that if God is truly sovereign then man can't have the final say. They believe that free will makes man independent of God, and if man is independent of God, then God is not sovereign.

It is helpful to recognize that this issue of free will is a secondary concern for both Arminians and Calvinists, and flows from our understanding of who God is. Disagreement over the issue originates from honorable intentions in both theological systems. Each side wishes to protect an aspect of God's character, and each side believes that the other side's understanding does damage to the character of God. Arminians believe that the goodness of God requires that man have free will in order to explain evil. Calvinists believe that the sovereignty of God requires that there can be no such thing as true free will, or else God is not really in control. Given that backdrop it is important to understand the motivation of Arminians, and that we do affirm the sovereignty of God. However, we define sovereignty in a slightly different way. This enables us to affirm both free will and sovereignty.

A simple definition of sovereignty is: God does what He pleases. Arminians believe that true sovereignty is based on two things: power and authority. God has both, so He is sovereign. Calvinists instead believe that sovereignty is based on three things: power, authority, and intervention. Calvinists believe that if God does not ordain the actions of individuals in every aspect, then He is not sovereign. Arminians believe that since God created man in His image, it does not please Him to micromanage the affairs of man. It instead pleases God to give free will to man, to see if we will obey Him. God still has the ability to intervene when He desires to, and scripture indicates that He often does intervene. Arminians recognize that regardless of His level of intervention, God still has complete power and authority. He gets the last word. Man has the freedom to break God's law, but man does not have the capability of avoiding the consequences of breaking God's law. Thus God is sovereign.

So the key to understanding sovereignty is knowing that God does what He pleases.

It pleases God to give free will to man.

Audio link: Roger Olson discusses Arminian Theology

Reclaiming the Mind Ministries has a number of interviews with different Biblical scholars. One link is an interview with Roger Olson about Arminianism. The broadcast 78 minutes long. Olson gives an easy to understand overview of Arminian Theology.

Link here: Reclaiming the Mind: online live theology

Audio Link: Steve Gregg - Verse by Verse Bible Lectures

A while back I posted a link to Steve Gregg's 9 part series on Calvinism. I have found his work to be fair, humble, and from the heart of a teacher. A reader pointed out that Steve has also done a verse by verse exposition of Romans 9. Here is the link for that series (and much more):

Steve Gregg Verse by Verse Bible Lectures