Grace and Tenderness
Posted by TulipGirl | Under Theology for Girls Wednesday May 20, 2009“We mean to show that a man cannot apply himself seriously to repentance without knowing himself to belong to God. But no one is truly persuaded that he belongs to God unless he has first recognized God’s grace…No one will ever reverence God but him who trusts that God is propitious to him. No one will gird himself willingly to observe the law but him who will be persuaded that God is pleased by his obedience. This tenderness in overlooking and tolerating vices is a sign of God’s fatherly favor” (Calvin, Institutes, 3.3.2).
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Beautifully said. Two goodies arrived in the mail this week — “Calvin and the Duchess” and a bio of Calvin. Grad school classes also started this week. I may need to defer Calvin until after I start understanding more about forecasting revenue and such.
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Read about the transformation of John Macarthur’s church at the link below:
Of interest, Grace Community Church elder and executive director of Grace to You, Phil Johnson, is a Baptistic Calvinist. This statement appears on his website: “Theologically, Phil is a committed Calvinist—with a decidedly Baptistic bent.” (Who is Phillip R. Johnson?) Even more interesting is this statement: “He…is a member of the Fellowship of Independent Reformed Evangelicals (FIRE).” The slogan of FIRE is “In essentials Unity, In non-essentials Liberty, in all things Charity.” (FIRE) Why is this interesting? FIRE’s slogan is nearly identical to the slogan of Phoenix Freemasonry! “It is the glory of Masonry to teach Unity in essentials, Liberty in details, Charity in all things; and by this sign its spirit must at last prevail.”
http://www.watch.pair.com/macarthur.html
Charles,
Your post was in poor form. It’s considered more polite to actually comment on the topic about which someone has written, or at least introduce yourself. . .
I’ve been well aware of Phil Johnson’s Calvinistic/Baptistic leanings for years — probably since the mid-90s. Personally, I wouldn’t mind seeing Phil lean a little more Covenantal/Reformed/Presbyterian — but those are my biases, so there ya go.
The site to which you link — whether you site or someone else’s — seems to find fault with many and has very little positive to say. Websites like that get red-flagged in my book, and have little credibility.
Grace and peace,