Saturday, February 18, 2012

They sing the Bohemian Rhapsody in Hell.

Romans 4:25
Judgment.
Justification.
Here is a topic about which Paul wrote many words in the letters sent out to the earliest churches. This topic took hold of some of the large personalities of the 16th century such as Luther and Calvin and, what is known in church history as the Reformation was launched. "Justification by faith alone" became the battle cry of men against a church system (the Roman Church) that was fat with wickedness and evil practices, not the least of which was putting salvation up for sale.
500 years later, many people still honor the words and works of these men such as Calvin. They consider that he had a great capacity to understand God and scriptural truth. However great Calvin's intellect and organizational skills may have been, none of these attributes can compensate for the fact that he was not "heart smart." All of his intellectual skills did not keep Calvin from becoming so stupid in his thought processes that he dared to blaspheme the Holy Spirit.
One of the ways in which the Reformers such as Calvin did damage to the truth of God's word was through their emphasis on an inadequate justification. Propelled by the foolishness of an ex nihilo perspective of creation, the dead wood of Calvin's heart led him to propose salvation by fiat. Being a lawyer and in love with the Roman form (that eventually became the European and American form in refinement) of written law, Calvin saw God as speaking things into existence and writing decrees. Calvin's explanation of the process was that if someone was justified by God, then God spoke it into existence. Afterward, some exalted creature like Jesus would come and make a show of submission so that there would be a holy lesson plan. Calvinism denies that Jesus is God and that his death on the cross was effective in bringing about forgiveness of sin. Calvinism is as unholy as Mormonism and is the basis of Mormon doctrine, reducing Jesus Christ to a status that is less than God Himself.
Justification.
David comes upon a scene (1 Samuel 17) where the sons of Abraham - friend of God, mighty in faith - are trembling before a son of foolishness (Psalm 14). Goliath is champion for the god of power and modernism and worldliness. David accepts the role of champion of the true and living God, creator of heaven and earth. The clash between them defines the term "justification." The god of Goliath is left laying with him in the dirt. The God of David and Abraham and all who will join them, prevails. You can truly decide for yourself who you will serve.
Romans 4:25 is beautiful in brevity; "(Jesus) who was delivered for our offences, was raised again for our justification." Get the bad pictures of American courtroom battles out of your feeble, Calvinistic minds and enlist with Jesus - the true and living God (Hebrews 2:14) - at the cross. The battle is not paper and pomposity, it is trusting a champion and joining an army which is determined to "make darkness break camp" and flee (James 4:7). Come to the cross.

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