big grace session 2 summary

7/27/2019 Big Grace Session 2 Summary

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BIGGRACEWHATTHEBIBLEREALLYSAYSABOUTGOD Iss

Big Gracewhat the

Bible reallysays abouGod

BYGRACEYOUHAVEBEENSAVED INTHISISSUE

WeknowthatChrist,beingraisedfromthedead,willnever

dieagain

(Romans

6:9).

WeknowthatforthosewholoveGodallthingsworktogetherfor

good,forthosewhoarecalled

accordingtohispurpose

(Romans8:28).

Weknowthatwhileweareathomeinthebodyweareaway

fromthe

Lord

(2

Corinthians

5:6).

Weknowthatapersonisnotjustifiedbyworksofthelawbut

throughfaithinJesusChrist

(Galatians2:16).

Weknowthatwhenheappearsweshallbelikehim,becausewe

shallsee

him

as

he

is

(1

John

3:2).

WeknowthattheSonofGodhascomeandhasgivenus

understanding,sothatwemay

knowhimwhoistrue(1John

5:20).

HAVESOMETHINGTOSAY?

Jointheconversation

BIGGRACE

@BigGraceICN

BigGraceBlog.wordpress.com

[email protected]

Historical Background onCalvinismWheredidthedoctrinecomefrom?

Page

The Difference between Calviniand ArminianismWhatsthedifference,anyway?

Page

@BigGraceICN

What Do We KNOW?


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BIGGRACEWHATTHEBIBLEREALLYSAYSABOUTGOD|Issue2

TheBible

is

the

authoritative

word

of

God

withouterror.Wecantrustitandwemust

listentoit.

OurthinkingaboutGodmustcomefromthe

Bibleoritcomesfromanunauthoritative

position.

Wewillbeinteractingwithteachingonthe

topicbuttheBibleistheonlyauthorityand

voicethatultimatelymatters.

Wecan,andprobablywill,attimesstruggle

tomakesenseofwhatweareseeing.We

mightdisagree

with

what

is

being

said.

It

mightbehardforustohearorunderstand.

Wearefreetodisagreeandstrugglewiththe

textofscripturebutweneedahumble

posturetowardsGod.HeisGodandweare

not.IfourdisagreementsarewithGodand

theBiblewecantrusthimtohelpus.Ifour

disagreementsarebetweenusashumanswe

canlooktoGodtohelpus.WetrustthatGod

willrevealwhohereallyisandwewill

worshiphimasheis.

THEWORDOFGOD

AllScriptureisbreathedoutbyGodand

profitableforteaching,forreproof,for

correction,andfortraininginrighteousness,

thatthemanofGodmaybecomplete,

equippedforeverygoodwork.

2TIMOTHY3:1617

ESV

Findthefreeseminarstudyguideon

DesiringGod.com.

WiththisStudyGuideandtheDVD,John

Piperwalksstudygroupsthrougheachofthe

fivepointsofCalvinismTotaldepravity,Unconditionalelection,Limitedatonement,

Irresistiblegrace,Perseveranceofthesaints

discussingtheimplicationsandtheissues

fromafullybiblicalperspective.Theguide

focusesonPiper'ssixteen,30minuteDVD

teachings,whichcovertopicsthatinclude

themeaningof"total"intotaldepravity,

doingmissionswhenGodissovereign,

Romans9andthetwowillsofGod,andten

effectsofbelievingthefivepointsof

Calvinism.

Thisguidedgroupstudyclarifiestheall

importantdifferencesbetweenCalvinism

andArminianismandcallsbelieverstohold

fasttobiblicaltruthregardingGod'ssaving

workinhispeople'slives.

Summaryof

Seriesfrom

Crossway.

http://www

ossway.org

ooks/tulip

tpb/

The Bible

TULIP DVD by John Piper


3/6


KEYSCRIPTURES

Ephesians 1:3-6BlessedbetheGodandFatherofourLordJesus

Christ,whohasblessedusinChristwithevery

spiritualblessingintheheavenlyplaces,evenashe

choseusinhimbeforethefoundationoftheworld,

thatweshouldbeholyandblamelessbeforehim.In

lovehepredestinedusforadoptionassonsthrough

JesusChrist,accordingtothepurposeofhiswill,to

thepraiseofhisgloriousgrace,withwhichhehas

blessedusintheBeloved.

2 Timothy 1:9Whosavedusandcalledustoaholycalling,not

becauseofourworksbutbecauseofhisownpurpose

andgrace,whichhegaveusinChristJesusbefore

theages

began

ROMANS8:28

ALLTHINGS

work

together

for

GOOD

EveryoneknowstheacronymTULIP,butnot

everyoneknowswhere thisacronym comes

from. The Canons of Dordt are among the

mostfamousbutunreaddeliverancesofany

ReformedSynod.Thecanonsaremorethan

five letters. The canons teach a pastoral

doctrineofgraceandprovideamodelforthe

stewardshipoftheGospel.

The

Canons

(rules)

of

the

Synod

of

Dordt

were written after years of controversy

withintheReformedchurchesinEuropeand

Britain. In the late sixteenth century the

Reformed doctrines of sin, grace, faith,

justification, atonement, perseverance, and

assurancefacedagrowingresistance.Atthe

same time, James Hermanson (c. 1559

1609),knowntousasJacobArminius,wasa

student in theGenevanAcademywhere he

showed promise andno obvious evidence

ofheterodoxy.

QuestionsaboutArminiusdoctrinearoseas

earlyas1590,butJacobhadmarriedwelland

his

patrons

protected

him.

About

1594

he

developedanewreadingofRomanschapter

7 inwhichheargued thatPaulcouldnotbe

describing a regenerate person. By 1596,

after studying Romans chapter 9, he

concluded that inclusion in the covenant of

grace is not determined solely by Gods

sovereigndecree. Instead,Godhaswilledto

acceptthosewhoseekacceptancewithHim

by faith. This was a clever move. He

appeared to be defending justification by

faithall thewhile redefining thedoctrineof

election and thedefinitionof faith.As time

passed,hisviewsbecamemorewellknown.

Confessional pastors and theologians in t

Netherlands

and

elsewhere

began

to

southe alarm. Dialogues were conducted a

Arminius said the right things, leaving t

orthodoxuneasybutwithouthardeviden

oferror.Despiteswirlingdoubts,theregen

of the University of Leiden appoint

Arminius to professor of theology. Almo

immediately,Arminiuswascontroversial.

wasreportedtoteachthatGodelectstho

whom he foreknowswouldbelieve.Hea

raised questions about the Reform

doctrineofthecovenantofworks. Inpub

however, Arminius went out of his way

agreewithhisorthodoxcolleagues.

By1605,

however,

confessional

Reform

pastors were calling for discipline again

Arminiusandhisgrowingbandof followe

(the Arminians). The orthodox called for

national synod to discipline the Arminia

but the politicians refused. Instead, leadi

Arminians in the government called for

synod to revise the Belgic Confession a

theHeidelberg Catechism to make the

moreamenabletoArminiusviews.

Arminius died in October 1609, and t

controversy entered a new phase. T

Arminianspublishedaremonstranceagain

theReformed

churches

in

which

th

outlined five objections to Reform

doctrine. Some preliminary responseswe

drafted as early as 1611, but it was t

Remonstrantswhofirstgaveusfivepoints

whichtheReformedchurcheswouldrespo

atthegreatSynodofDordt.

The Synod of Dordt almost did not occ

Political forces within the governme

workedmightilytopreventanationalsyn

toaddresstheproblem.Thetheologicalcri

threatenedtobreakout intowarfare.Prin

TABLETALK

Originallypostedonwww.ligonier.org/tabletalkhttp://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/canons

dordt/

The Canons of Dordtby R. Scott Clark

Historical Backgroundon Calvinism


4/6


Maurice of Nassau (15671625), who

sympathizedwith theorthodox,called fora

national synod. The Remonstrants

responded by organizing riots in 1617.

Maurices chief rival threatened war, but

when Maurice arrived in Utrecht (an

Arminian stronghold) in 1618 with battle

testedveterans,theoppositionmelted.

Thegreatest

international

Reformed

synod

convened in Dordrecht, on 13 November

1618. In attendance were delegations from

across Europe and Britain. Forbidden by

LouisXIIIfrom attending, the French

delegation was

notablyabsent.

In 1610 the Remonstrants proposed these

five points:One: Election conditioned upon

foreseenfaithandobedience;Two:Universal

atonement; Three: Regeneration enables

sinners to do good toward salvation; Four:

Resistible grace; Five: Believers may

fallaway.

BecausethesynodrepliedtotheFiveArticles

of the Remonstrants point by point, the

order of the Canons is not actuallyTULIP.

The first head of doctrine concerned divine

election and reprobation. With the apostle

Paul, Augustine, Luther, and Calvin, the

synodruledthat,byvirtueofAdamsfall,we

aresoprofoundlysinfulthatwedeserveonly

condemnationandareabletodonothingto

prepareforgraceoreventocooperatewithit

towardourjustification(1.1).Theinstrument

ofjustificationisafaiththatembracesChrist

alone for salvation (1.24). Only the elect

come

to

faith

(1.56).

Election

in

Christ

is

Godsunchangeableandeternalchoiceofa

certain number of persons to salvation

unconditionedbyanythinginthesinner(1.7

11).Believersfindcomfort inthistruthsince

only the elect believe, and their faith is

evidence of Gods grace toward them. The

electwill, indifferentways,attainassurance

of Gods grace toward them, not by

inquisitivelyprying into the secretanddeep

thingsofGod,butbybelieving theGospel

and paying attention to the infallible fruits

ofelection (1.12).Thosewhodoubt should

neverthelessmakeuseof themeanswhich

Godhasappointed forworkingthesegraces

inus(1.16).

The second head of doctrine teaches that

Christsdeathdidnotsimplymakesalvation

available for thosewhowill, but rather our

SavioractuallysecuredthesalvationofallHis

people.Hisdeath satisfiedGodsjustice for

all the elect (2.12). Christs death is of

infiniteworth,but intended to satisfyGods

wrathfor

the

elect.

Therefore,

the

promise

of

the Gospel is that whosoever believes in

Christ crucified shall not perish, but have

eternal life (2.5).Contrary to thecaricature

of Calvinism, the synod said that, by His

death,Christredeemedoutofeverypeople,

tribe, nation, and language, all those, and

thoseonly,whowerefrometernitychosento

salvation and given to Him by the

Father(2.8).

Thethirdand fourthheadsofdoctrinewere

combined to articulate the Reformed

doctrineofsinandregeneration.Thoughwe

were created good and upright, we freely

chosesin

and

with

it

death

(3/4.1).

We

are

so

corrupt by nature thatwe are incapable of

life or free choice apart from the

regeneratinggraceoftheHolySpirit(3/4.3).

Thenaturalknowledgeand lawofGodonly

condemns us (3/4.45).OnlyGod the Spirit

through the word or ministry of

reconciliation raisesHiselect to life (3/4.6).

We believe becauseGod hasmade us alive

(andnotthereverse),buttheSpiritmakesus

alivebyworking through theadministration

of the Word; the external proclamation of

theGospelissincereandtheGospelpromise

sincere (3/4.8,11,17).Thosewho refuse the

Gospelareresponsiblefortheirchoices,andthe regeneration of the elect must be

credited only to Gods sovereign grace

(3/4.10,12).Godssovereigntydoesnotmake

us stocks and blocks because the Spirit

works through the Word. It spiritually

quickens, heals, corrects, and at the same

time sweetly and powerfully bends it, that

where carnal rebellion and resistance

formerlyprevailed(3/4.16).

Thefifthheaddefendedtheperseveranceof

thesaints.Those towhomHegives thegift

of faith,whomHeregeneratesbytheHoly

Spirit, he also delivers from the domini

and slavery of sin (5.1). Our ongoi

strugglewith singivesus reason tohumb

ourselves and to seek heaven (5.2). Left

ourselves, we would fall away, but gra

mercifully confirms and powerfu

preserves us even to the end (5.

Sometimesbelievers,suchasDavid,fall in

grievous sin and lose the sense of Go

favor,but

God

preserves

them

(5.45).

G

neverallowsHispeopletoproceedsofar

to lose the grace of adoption (5.6). Chr

certainlyandeffectuallyrenewsHispeop

torepentance,toasincereandgodlysorro

for their sins (5.7). The Spirit gran

assurance to His people not, however,

anypeculiarrevelation,butratheritsprin

from faith in Gods promises (5.1

Assurance of grace does not produ

immorality among Christians. Rather,

renders them much more careful a

concerned to continue in the ways of t

Lord (5.13). As the Spirit makes us al

throughthe

preaching

of

the

Gospel,

strengthensourfaithandassurancethrou

thesacraments(5.14).

TheCanonsofDordtrepresentaremarkab

consensus of conviction among t

Reformed churches on essential doctrin

Indeed,theveryReformationwasatstake

Gods favor is conditioneduponanything

us, thenweare lostbecausewearedead

sin. If theGospel is reconfigured to inclu

our obedience, then it is no longer t

Gospel. Ifatonement ismerelyhypothetic

if the elect can fall away, then grace is

longergrace.

The synods responsewas careful, pastor

and firm. The synod concluded that itdo

not help piety or assurance to make o

salvation depend on anything in us. T

Gospel isChrist forus.TheCanonsofDo

arean inheritance tobe treasured,but th

arealso tobeused inour congregations,

ourcatechismclasses,andasanexample

howtorespondtochallenges.


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The Key Differences betweenCalvinism and Arminianism


6/6

big grace session 2 summary

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