One of the main emphases of this blog is to reveal how the Body of Christ itself is constructing within itself the paradigm of God’s universal love and salvation of all mankind. One profound way is demonstrated by how the evangelical Church is deconstructing itself. As it publicly declares it’s differences (most see them as outright contradictions) with other evangelical entities (there are over 30,000 denominations) it forces us to examine the reality of a broken and disunited Body.<\/p>\n
One example was in an interview of Acts 29 leader Matt Chandler by Pastor John Piper (video provided below). Matt was giving his testimony of how he moved from an Arminian view of God into a Calvinistic view of God. He assured Piper that when he used the label “Calvinist” for himself he meant “The Five Points” (T.U.L.I.P.: Total Depravity, Unconditional Election, Limited Atonement, Irresistible Grace, and Perseverance of the Saints).<\/p>\n
What he shared next was how he came to realize that the God of the Arminians was a “different god” from the Calvinist God he now embraced. \u00a0J. I. Packer has reflected the exact same sentiment in his Introduction to John Owen’s Death of Death<\/a><\/em>.<\/a> Now if we consider that\u00a0over 70% of evangelical churches are\u00a0not<\/em> Reformed or Calvinsitic in their theology this is a serious accusation indeed. It would be like 30% of physicians declaring that, based on their assessment, the other 70% are not real doctors!<\/p>\n What are we to make of this bold assessment by Chandler of his brothers and sisters in Christ? To be fully honest he would have to say that since Arminians do not worship the same God as he does he is declaring TWO different religions within the one name of “Christianity”! That is essentially what he has communicated. Think of the implications of this claim!<\/p>\n If I were trying to navigate through all the conflicting theology and decide which realm of the Church to claim, I think I would lose any shred of faith in the so-called “One Body of Christ.” Both contain doctrines of the character of God that I cherish. How could I decide? The Calvinists believe in a sovereign God over our salvation making it, from first to last, all of grace, even the faith to believe<\/em>; I would never be able to give that up. On the other hand the Arminians treasure the inclusive nature of the love and redemption of Christ: “God so loved the WORLD”! I don’t hear too many Christians willing to limit the global application of God’s love.<\/p>\n The Calvinist\/Arminian conundrum is primarily what led me to see that this isn’t a case of trying to decide who is right among them (and then having to ascertain which particular\u00a0denomination<\/em> is “right”). Rather, this is a case of two polarized sides possessing vital truth that the other needs in order to behold ONE coherent Story!<\/p>\n So what if… just what if God intentionally hid the clear vision of His salvation in all the parts of His Body as a Fatherly scheme to bring us back together? What if …He hid the truth not from<\/em> us but for<\/em> us within His Body? Like a treasure map that has been divided into pieces, perhaps we need all of us together in order to create one clear picture that will guide us to the truth of the full revelation of His Son and our salvation. As the saying goes, “None of us is as smart as all of us.” As I let myself hear from more of the Body than my narrow little tradition and necessarily allowed myself to be wrong, I began to see a beautiful and glorious picture emerge from the chaos that finally unified both sides of this theological debate. What emerged was the God who was both<\/em> willing and able to save “that which was lost”!<\/p>\n I’m afraid that these are your only two choices: either admit that the Body of Christ is not really one body but two different religions altogether or that we all possess one beautiful Story of redemption and love together–<\/em>and that we have one gracious and loving Father who is patiently waiting to grant His Son’s most fervent prayer request:<\/p>\n “Father, make them one as We are one that the world may know…” John 17<\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n VIdeo of Chandler’s confession to “5-Point Calvinism”:<\/p>\n