Tag Archives: calvinism

discipleship, Finding Answers to Stuff Churches Don't Discuss, Finding the End of the World, Uncategorized

A Sovereign Partnership!

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God is sovereign. King. Creator. Owner of everything. And we are His creation. He can do as He wishes. But that doesn’t mean He moves every blade of grass, orchestrates every heartbeat, or dictates every human choice. Just because He can doesn’t mean He always does.

In His majesty, God permits us to choose a relationship with Him … or not. Choice and consequences, freedom with blessings and curses. This has always been God’s gracious, relational nature. Yet some will say we cannot choose God on our own or play a role in a salvific relationship with Him through Jesus. If you disagree, they’ll say you believe God controls nothing. To them, only two extremes exist: you believe God controls everything, including choice … or that God controls nothing. “Ron! How on earth did this thinking come about?” Fourth-century Augustine and the Reformer he inspired: John Calvin.

Like most of us, Saint Augustine’s Christian worldview was shaped by perceptions and experiences. Sadly, it was also influenced by various philosophies, including Stoicism. Although he and the early church fathers emphasized human free will in seeking God, Augustine’s position later shifted. His doctrine of an inability to choose God evolved into a theology asserting that all people are destined for hell, with God saving only a few souls. According to this view, Jesus ‘effectively’ died only for some—not everyone—and hope is reserved for those whom God draws out of the fire. In contrast, the Bible presents choice, consequences, and genuine hope. Note: Subsequent Scripture quotes are without references for brevity. They are easy to find.

The first significant choice and consequence we encounter is with Adam and Eve, who chose to disobey God. You’ll find countless ‘if-then’ conditional statements in the Old Testament that echo “I will if you will!” and “If you go here, then such-and-such will happen; otherwise …” Of course, 3,000 people lost their lives in the aftermath of the golden calf because they chose not to align with Moses. Another sobering choice: “Choose this day whom you will serve.” There are many more in the Old Testament! Let’s move to the New Testament.

“God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent.” In fact, “… our Savior … desires all men to be saved …” Why? “[God is] not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.” And who does God draw or call, and how? “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.” Yet the Jews of Jesus’ day rejected Him: “Jerusalem … How often I wanted to gather your children together … and you were unwilling.”

To summarize, a sovereign God with free will has granted you free will as His imager. Choose wisely and live! Next, let’s meet some of the ‘heroes of the faith.’ In the meantime, honor God and love people in your freedom.

Blessings and peace,

Dr. Ron Braley (MDiv; DMin)

discipleship, Finding Answers to Stuff Churches Don't Discuss, Uncategorized

Indoctrination or Discipleship?

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Jesus didn’t define church doctrine. He didn’t create church roles or offices. He didn’t walk up and down the beach expounding the Torah, nor did he try to indoctrinate anyone. His purpose was simply to introduce God’s Kingdom through example and discipleship. His approach? Teach, model, test, correct, and send. We should do the same. Yet statistics and experience suggest that most church leaders and pastors don’t understand Jesus-style discipleship or follow this model, often choosing instead to label ‘indoctrination’ as discipleship. Let me share a couple of examples.

My wife and I recently visited several churches to find a new church home after our move last year. Whether a church is active in community outreach and discipleship matters, especially since love and discipleship are the two main things churches should pursue. So I always ask … On one occasion, I poked an elder and asked, “What does your church do for discipleship?” His answer? “We have a discipleship class on Wednesday nights.” Me: “Oh? What will you teach this week?” The elder said, “We’re going to teach people about free will.”

I guess that made sense, since that church’s doctrine is Augustinian Calvinism, which, among other things, teaches that ‘you can only freely do what God wills you to do’—a concept foreign to early Christians and generally contrary to God’s nature. No Church father before Augustine taught such a thing that defies God’s “I will if you will” nature and biblical language like “Choose!” If something so foundational, long accepted before Augustine, now requires deliberate instruction, the task resembles indoctrination more than discipleship.

On another occasion, I was asked to audit a discipleship manual someone had written and shared with me. I quickly noticed that the content was primarily intended to teach students how to be good church members: give, do, be. Given today’s church business model, that makes sense (even though, to be fair, some of the education and training touched on godly principles). The temptation would be to indoctrinate church members to be good members by giving and working, and to call it ‘discipleship.’ But that’s not what God has asked for, nor what Jesus modeled.

In both examples, human desires, doctrine, and performance took precedence over discipleship. There may be nothing malicious or evil at work, and it isn’t necessarily wrong: it’s just not right. Teaching church members to be good members can be helpful, but it doesn’t address God’s commands to love people and make disciples. On the other hand, indoctrinating people to profess things contrary to God’s desires or Christ’s teachings is wrong and unhelpful.

In summary, ask yourself (if you’re a church leader): “Am I equipping my people first and foremost to obey God as disciples and disciple-makers?” Next time, we’ll contrast the seemingly opposing concepts of free will and God’s sovereignty. In the meantime, please prioritize Jesus-style discipleship and avoid confusing it with church doctrine or business!

Blessings and peace,

Dr. Ron Braley (MDiv; DMin)