Irresistible Grace in Sanctification

The last two points of Calvinism are known as Irresistible Grace and Perseverance of Saints. The form the I and P of the TULIP acronym.

By Irresistible Grace we mean that it is the Holy Spirit who calls a sinner out of his deadness in sin and makes him alive in Jesus Christ (Eph 2:15; Col2 :13; 1 John 5:1). This call – which is often termed as the internal call or effectual call – cannot be resisted.  There are plethora of passages from which this doctrine can be proved. I will choose just two. In John 6: 37, Jesus says that all whom the Father has given him will come to him. On the other hand, in John 6:44 , he says that no one come to the him unless the Father draws that person. These two verses form a logical construct called syllogism. From these two verses we can easily conclude that all that God the Father draws towards Jesus will put their faith in Jesus; and none but these only. This ‘drawing’ happens through agency of the Holy Spirit (Eze 37:3-6, 11-14; Joh 3:3-8). This act of drawing a sinner or making him alive is termed in theology as Regeneration.

The 5 Solas of Reformation (Part 1)

October 31 2010 was the 493^rd anniversary of what has now come to be known as the Reformation Day. On the same day in 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses on the door of the church in Wittenberg. That event sparked off the Protestant Reformation which altered the course of Christian History decisively.

However, sadly, this event has been forgotten with the passage of time. Indian Christians, especially, have very little knowledge about it. Hardly any churches have this important day in their church calendar to commemorate it.  Many also think that since the Reformation got sparked off in Europe, it is something specific to that geographical region and is probably irrelevant to Indian Christians. However, as I pointed out, this event was so crucial to the universal visible church as a whole that it shapes our church life even to this day. All of us who identify ourselves as protestants need to know what we are protesting about. Hence it is good to remind ourselves of the real issues in the Reformation.

My Child Whom I Have Begotten

As I was meditating through the book of Philemon one verse particularly caught my attention.

I appeal to you for my child Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my imprisonment (Phm 1:10; NASB).

It produced a strange warmth in my heart. The reason for this is the the intimate language Paul employs while pleading Onesimus’ case with Philemon. This verse seems to echo John 3:16 since KJV and NASB both employ the word “begotten” (KJV also uses “son”). Paul’s care for his disciples was like that of a father for his son.

This does not seem to be an isolated verse where Paul uses such intimate language. As I looked through other letters of his’, such language abounds. Paul called Timothy his “beloved child in faith”(2 Tim1:2). Titus was his “true child in the common faith” (Tit 1:4). This language was not confined to individuals, he applied them even to churches. When the Corinthian church was being torn apart by sectarianism, he informed them that though they may have many guides yet they have only one father in the Gospel – he was their father in the Gospel (1 Cor 4:15). When Galatians were being led astray by the circumcision party, Paul chided them and corrected them. He later added that he “was in pains of childbirth till Christ was formed in them.” He intensely desired to be with them in order to protect them from this damning heresy(Gal 4:19-20).

Relinquishing Rights

The book of Philemon is a short letter written by Paul to Philemon in which he pleads with him to take back his (Philemon’s) runaway slave, Onesimus, who had now become a Christian. The way Paul goes about doing this is something exemplary and contains many lessons for us – out of which we will concentrate on one.

Sin and the Glory of God

Sin is a reality about mankind which the Bible affirms unequivocally – which other religions fail to do, thus proving themselves to not have originated from God. What is Sin? The Bible defines sin in many places – Sin is committing iniquity (which literally means to do things in a crooked way),  acting wickedly, rebelling against God, turning away from his commandments and judgements ( Dan 9:5 KJV). Sin is going beyond what is properly allowed (Hosea 4:2 ; Lev 5:17; ESV, in other words “transgression”). Sin is accusing falsely, lying (Lev 6:3) , hating one’s brother in his heart (Lev 19:17), cursing God (Lev 24:17). This is just a sample. As you must have observed from  all the quotations mentioned above – they are all from the Old Testament. The Old Testament was very specific is defining what is sin and what is not.