Old Paths Paved

The Chief End of Man

“You might turn the world on its head by changing one word in your creed”, says Piper referring to the preposition “and” which he thinks should be turned to the preposition “by” in the Shorter Catechism’s Q&A 1 .¹ What Piper fails to realize is, (1) That we already did turn the world on it’s head with this phrase. With the exception of the Apostolic era, no greater time of Gospel advancement has ever taken place in Church history than in the days of the Westminster Assembly. (2) That by changing the proposition “AND” to the preposition “BY” Piper has irrevocably redefined the chief end of man. This in no trifling over prepositions either. By changing the answer of Shorter Catechism Q&A 1 to, “Man’s chief end is to glorify God BY enjoying him forever”², God’s glory is no longer man’s chief end, man’s pleasure is. This is a fundamental shift in the emphasis of the answer to the question. With the emphasis on the preposition “by” rather than “and”, pleasure becomes the chief objective end of man.

“And”? says Piper referring to the first question of the Shorter Catechism. “Like ham and eggs? Sometimes you glorify God and sometimes you enjoy him? Sometimes he gets glory, and sometimes you get joy?”³ Piper’s cynicism is unfortunate indeed. He goes on to say in the same paragraph, “Not that I care too much about the intention of seventeenth century theologians”.⁴ Perhaps he should. The Puritans were some of the most thoughtful and conscientious men the Christian Church has ever known. William Hetherington once said, “All that learning the most profound and extensive intellect, the most acute and searching, and piety the most sincere and earnest, could accomplish, was thus concentrated in the Westminster Assembly’s Confession of Faith, which may be safely termed the most perfect statement of Systematic Theology ever framed by the Christian Church”.⁵ The Shorter Catechism was also the result of this famous Synod. For Piper to quote them, and then admit that he does not care much for their thoughts⁶, is a shame bordering on arrogance. If however, Dr. Piper would have taken some time to research the intentions of the Puritans, he would have soon realized that his thesis looks quite different than that of the seventeenth century divines.

The Puritans knew very well that to glorify God meant to put Him first in all things, and that the pleasure man enjoys is a subordinate blessing. Witness Thomas Vincent (1634-1678) a Westminster contemporary:

Q. 3. What is it to glorify God?

A. 1. Negatively, to glorify God, is not to give any additional glory to God: it is not to make God more glorious than he is; for God is incapable of receiving the least addition to his essential glory, he being eternally and infinitely perfect and glorious. “Your Father which is in heaven is perfect”.— Matt. 5:48. “Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not unto thee”.— Ps. 16:2.

2. Affirmatively, to glorify God, is to manifest God’s glory: not only passively, as all creatures do, which have neither religion nor reason, but also actively, men glorify God, when the design of their life and actions is the glory and honour of God. “That ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you,” &c.— 1 Pet. 2:9. (1.) When inwardly they have the highest estimation of him, the greatest confidence in him, and the strongest affections to him, this is glorifying of God in spirit.. “Glorify God in your spirit, which is God’s”.— 1 Cor. 6:20. (2.) When outwardly they acknowledge God according to the revelations he hath made of himself, when with their lips they show forth God’s praise. “He that offereth praise, glorifieth me”.— Ps. 50:23. When they sincerely endeavour, in their actions, the exalting of God’s name, the promotion of the interest of his kingdom in the world, and to yield that worship and obedience to him which he hath prescribed in his Word. “Magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together”.— Ps. 24:3. “Fear God, and give glory to him; and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters”.— Rev. 14:7.^{<
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Piper insists that the chief end of man is to enjoy God forever, but as Vincent demonstrates, the clear objective and life consuming duty of the believer is to glorify God. Piper has failed to take into account the fact that words often take on the barnacles of time and are used differently today than in the 1600’s (even word like happy, joy, and pleasure). Fundamentally Piper has missed the point completely by not rendering the Biblical definition of the phrase “enjoying God” as the Puritans saw it, and reading into it his own modern use. Further, because he has not taken the time to investigate the reasoning for both the order and syntax of the phrase itself, he has missed the general thrust of the point almost completely. One might think in reading the question that there is a duality to the chief end of man- the glory of God and enjoyment of God. In this there is a general mistake as the chief “end” is singular not plural. The logical conclusion then is the secondary subordinate clause, “enjoy him forever”. Piper’s mistake is much larger however as his customized reading actually alters the answer and unavoidably changes the conclusion.⁸ Thus Piper can say that the chief end of man is enjoying God forever. On this very line of thinking Vincent insists, “Men ought to have no other chief end than the glorifying of God, but they may have subordinate ends (emphasis mine).’⁹ To the Puritans, glorifying God was the very foundation of enjoying him in obedience, truth, worship, honour, attestation, and proclamation. Thomas Watson puts it this way,

The glory of God is a silver thread which must run through all our actions. ‘Whether therefore ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God’ (1 Cor 10:31). Everything works to some end in things natural and artificial; now, man being a rational creature, must propose some end to himself, and that should be, that he may lift up God in the world. He had better lose his life than the end of his living. The great truth is asserted, that the end of every man’s living should be to glorify God. Glorifying God has respect to all the persons in the Trinity; it respects God the Father who gave us life; God the Son, who lost his life for us; and God the Holy Ghost, who produces a new life in us; we must bring glory to the whole Trinity.¹⁰

Whether one reads Thomas Vincent or Edward Fisher, Thomas Boston, or, John Flavel, the consensus in unanimous among the Puritans, that the enjoyment of the believer is the residual of glorifying of God. Vincent calls this enjoyment, “subordinate ends” of which enjoyment is a part. There is an ontological order in the theological outworking of the first Question and Answer; first we glorify God and the result is enjoy Him. The Puritan James Fisher reinforces this idea when he asks the rhetorical question, “Is our happiness, in the enjoyment of God, to be our chief end? No; but the glory of God itself, Isa. 42:8; in our aiming at which chiefly, we cannot miss the enjoyment of him, Psalm 91:14, 15 (Emphasis mine)”.¹¹

Enjoying God does not mean to take part in a kind of sanctified self-pleasure. In fact, to the Puritans, enjoying God, and taking pleasure in Him was not found in inward esoteric tranquility, but in the experimental realization of Christ in the means of grace (Word and ordinances). Thomas Boston insists that the enjoyment of God is the apprehension of being united to Christ, and that pleasure comes from those things that lend to a deeper walk with our Saviour. “The whole man, soul and body, is united to him, and, through the mediator, unto God. This is the foundation of all saving enjoyment of God”. ¹² (Notice the phrase “saving enjoyment”). This is the kind of joy referred to throughout the writings of the Puritans on this subject. The joy that the believer experience is the lingering effect of glorifying God in salvation, holiness of life, and communion through the means of grace.

Watson insists,

It is a great matter to enjoy God’s ordinances, but to
enjoy God’s presence in the ordinances is that which a gracious heart aspires after. ‘To see thy glory so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary’ (Ps. 63:2). This sweet enjoyment of God, is, when we feel his Spirit co-operating with the ordinance, and distilling grace upon our hearts, when in the Word the Spirit quickens and raises the affections, ‘Did not our hearts burn within us’ (Luke 24:32); when the Spirit transforms the heart, leaving an impress of holiness upon it.¹³

Enjoying God to the Puritans was no some mysterious sensation or subjective state of mind dependant on our own understanding of what pleasure might be. Finding pleasure in God is to find joy in His salvation, His Word, His works, and His sacraments. In a very real way, the Christian is to abandon self and find Christ in all the means of grace.

In the Word we hear God’s voice, in the sacrament we have his kiss. The heart being warmed and inflamed in a duty is God’s answering by fire. The sweet communications of God’s Spirit are the first-fruits of glory. Now Christ has pulled off his veil, and showed his smiling face; now he has led a believer into the banqueting-house, and given him of the spiced wine of his love to drink; he has put in his finger at the hole of the door; he has touched the heart, and made it leap for joy. Oh how sweet is it thus to enjoy God!¹⁴

The Puritans knew full well that the catechetical wording of the Shorter Catechism must be firmly rooted in the Word of God (which the proofs themselves suggest)¹⁵ and not redefine our thinking according to the dictates of our own imagination.

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Contentment, The Foundation of Pleasure

The Highland Minister Lachlan Mackenzie once said that one great reason to seek Christian contentment is that “submission and resignation to the Divine will is the shortest road to happiness.”¹ When seeking pleasure in God one does not begin with pleasure, but contentment. How can the Christian be happy if he is not first content? Jeremiah Burroughs defines contentment as, “that sweet, inward, quiet, gracious frame of spirit, which freely submits to and delights in God’s wise and fatherly disposal in every condition”.² Contentment is the resting of the soul on the providence of Christ in all the discharging of God’s dealings upon the believer. If contentment in all things is not learned, Christian joy will never be the result. How else could Paul say in 2 Corinthians 12:10 that he takes “ pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake”? It was because Paul had learned contentment.

Assurance, the Root of Contentment.

Today the church is undergoing a crisis of confidence and authority, and therefore of assurance, a renewal of assurance, individual and collective assurance, is a great desideratum. If such assurance were more widely experienced, the church’s vitality would be renewed and she would live in all spheres of life “in the strength of the Lord God” … for the cause of Christ and the Gospel.³

If the foundation of Christian happiness is contentment, then the foundation of contentment must be assurance of God’s love in the promises of the Gospel. However, if one has never bowed the knee to Christ, no amount of seeking contentment will find it. God is at war with every soul outside of Christ. There is an eternal and endless gulf of wrath fixed between God and the unrepentant heart. And like Christian from Pilgrim’s Progress, before regeneration, there should be an general sense of impending wrath on every soul outside of Christ. The only certain promises for the wicked are eternal and endless destruction.

In Philippians 4 Paul is speaking of divine contentment. “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content” .⁴

He knew the substance of what a hymn writer would later pen,

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine,

oh what a foretaste of glory divine,

heir of salvation, purchased of God,

born of His Spirit, washed in his blood.⁵

Paul understood that if the Christian is going to be content, he would need to have apprehended the knowledge of Christ’s certain love for him. And where does this certainty come from? Does it come from goose bumps felt when recalling some favorite religious poem? Does assurance come from the feelings of past experiences, a song, a special time of year? No. This kind of assurance, that would make Paul say, “for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content”, comes from an objective source— the promises of the Bible.

The Westminster Confession of Faith says regarding Assurance, “This certainty is not a bare conjectural and probable persuasion grounded upon a fallible hope; but an infallible assurance of faith founded upon the divine truth of the promises of salvation (emphasis mine)”⁶. Today, may Christians have forgotten (or perhaps have never been taught), that the Word of God is propositional truth based on irrevocable facts. These propositional facts come to us in the promises of the Gospel.<
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The Scottish Presbyterian Ralph Erskine was a strong confessional preacher who taught that assurance was not based on subjective experience, feelings, or ecclesiastical testimony, but on true Scriptural propositions. “What is surer than the promise of God, confirmed by the oath of God, and sealed by the blood of God? It is therefore called ‘the sure mercies of David Isaiah’ lv.3. This covenant of promise stands first in Christ”⁷. Erskine was proclaiming that there is no need uncertainty in Christ, but that there must be a belief, assent, and trust, built on the objective propositions of a “firmed oath of God, and sealed by the blood of God”⁸. In Thomas Hooker’s pastoral work, The Soul’s Preparation for Christ, a third class of hearer is introduced producing real confusion in the New World. First, there were the saved, those who had been quickened by the Holy Spirit in regeneration. Next the reprobate, who were still outside the spiritual body of Christ. And lastly the sensible sinner, who sees their sin yet can’t believe. Great confusion entered the American Church at this time a people wondered if they had felt enough of their sin in order to come to Christ. Indeed Erskine would agree that a soul must sees their sin and turn to Christ, but not upon any condition or preparatory work of their own, “As faith is the free gift of God, as well as eternal life, so it is to be considered, not as a work done by us, but as an instrument to receive the promise…true faith never looked upon itself as a condition⁹. Erskine believed that the Gospel itself was first and foremost a message of promise, “What is it to believe the Gospel?”, says Erskine, “Why, it is just to harked to a promising God, and to welcome a promise into the heart”¹⁰. It was the desire of Erskine to compel his hearers to understand that the Gospel is an unconditional promise sent to free them from “legal terms, conditions, and qualifications”¹¹ resulting in a lack of assurance. Mr. Erskine desired to rid his hearer of the concept that we bring anything to the table of our salvation (even soul preparation) and that all conditions have been met in Christ.

There is no conditional form put upon any promise in the Bible, to keep back the soul from applying and taking hold of the promise, but rather to draw it in to embrace the condition, either by taking Christ for the condition, or running to an absolute promise, where that condition is promised .¹²

Believing the objective promises of God in the Word are the tangible grounds of assurance. The reason so many souls today have so little assurance, and in turn so little contentment, is they have so little Scripture in their hearts. Hosea says “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge”.¹³ It is not a lack of experience, or a lack of feelings, but a lack of knowledge that keeps the heart in a state of spiritual timidity. It is not until the believer knows objectively that the Gospel promises are for him and appropriated them by faith, that he can look with any measure of certainty upon his experience. It is in understanding that, even though man changes there is no shadow of turning with Him.¹⁴ This is the foundation of Paul’s contentment; a belief in the objective promises of God resulting in an unalterable satisfaction. All too often the believer rests on something far less dependable that the objective promises of Christ. John Owen once said, “For the most part we live upon successes not promises; unless we see and feel the print of victories, we will not believe”.¹⁵ The Christian life is walking by faith and not by sight. If Paul were to simply trust in previous victories rather than the promises, he never would have gone on his second and third missionary journeys. Three things are called precious in the Scriptures; the blood of Christ is called “precious blood” in 1 Peter 1:19, faith is called “precious faith” in 2 Peter 1:1, and the promises of Christ are called “precious promises”, in 2 Peter 1:4. The Christian must believe that in Jesus Christ, “all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen”.¹⁶

The Fruit of Paul’s Contentment.

The fruit of Paul’s contentment (rooted in assurance) was true Christian happiness. And this happiness was not found in himself, but in another. If one wishes to be content and happy in Christ, the believer needs to lose himself in Jesus Christ. Paul says, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me”. Or as Thomas Adams put it, “Our mind is where our pleasure is, our heart is where our treasure is, our love is where our life is, but all these, our pleasure, treasure, and life, are reposed in Jesus Christ”.¹⁷ The fruit of learning contentment is actually losing self so that no matter what comes, persecution, or famine, or sword, or plenty, or prosperity, or victory, or death… it is all the same to the believer. When a Christian is consumed in Christ, and by Christ, when he is dead to the world and alive in the Redeemer, he too will be able to sing in the prison house of pain as Paul and Silas did.¹⁸ Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever, but it is by glorifying Him that man discovers this joy. All that matters is that Christ is the believers possession, come what may. Hebrews 13:5 says, “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee”.

The fruit of Paul’s contentment was a portable happiness. By portable happiness we mean that his contentment superseded any situation. He says in Philippians 3:10 “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death”. This is where Paul found contentment. We ought to stop trying to sanctify the worlds definition of contentment and stuff it into Christianity, and find ourselves in Christ by learning self denial, by resting in the promises of the Gospel, and by finding pleasure in pleasing Him. This is where true enjoyment is found and godly happiness begins. As Rev. Lachlan Mackenzie of Locharron Scotland once said,

The Happy man was born in the city of Regeneration in the parish of Repentance unto life. He was educated at the school of Obedience. He has a large estate in the country of Christian Contentment, and many times does the jobs of Self-Denial, wears a garment of Humility, and has another suit to put on when he goes to Court called the Robe of Christ’s Righteousness. He often walks in the valley of Self Abasement, and sometimes climbs the mountains of Heavenly Mindedness. He has breakfast every morning on Spiritual Prayer, and Sups every morning on the same. He has meat to eat that the world knows not of, and his drink is the sincere milk of the Word of God. Thus happy he lives and happy he dies.¹⁹

“DESIRING GOD: MEDITATIONS OF A CHRISTIAN HEDONIST”

In his book Desiring God, Piper contends that the chief end of man’s existence is to enjoy the God of our creation.¹ Piper begins his book by quoting the Westminster Shorter Catechism which states, “The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever”². He then proceeds without any analysis of what the Westminster Divines meant by “glorify God and enjoy him forever”, and takes the reader through a series of personal eisegetical (biblical) principles that are intended to aid the reader in finding pleasure in God. Piper would have done well to investigate what the seventeenth century Puritans meant by the phrase in question as it would have had a profound effect on his thesis. As we shall see later, the Puritans and Piper have very different understandings of what it means to enjoy God forever.

In Desiring God, Piper has missed the mark of what should be a very profound point. By making pleasure the overarching theme of the Christian life, Piper has oversimplified the Christian experience and jettisoned the equally profound duties of self denial, sanctification, and obedience to the law. Piper says, “The distinguishing feature of Christian Hedonism is not that pleasure seeking demands virtue, but that virtue consists essentially, though not only, in pleasure seeking”.³ The Christian life however, is not about seeking or even finding pleasure (see Mark 8:34; Romans 6:4-6; Galatians 2:20, 5:24, 6:14). Rather, the Christian life is about the Christian being dead to self and to the world, and being made alive in Christ. Piper has missed the point not only in degree but in kind by making man the center of the Christian experience instead of Christ. Dr. Peter Masters of the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London notices the same problem when he writes,

One of the great problems with this ‘delighting in God’ scheme of spiritual advance is that it unwittingly puts self-interest right at the heart of the Christian life. Dr Piper clearly would not intend this, but it is inevitable. Pursuit of joy in God has always been embraced as a Christian duty, but it must never be elevated above others so as to detract from their inherent virtue, nor must it eclipse the negatives of the Christian life – the ‘thou shalt nots’.⁴

Likewise Richard J. Mouw’s Treatment of Christian Hedonism in his book The God Who Commands asks of Piper’s thesis, “Is it helpful to view the Christian’s relationship to God as under girded at every point by the pursuit of pleasure?” He answers for himself, “such an account does not seem to capture the sense of the loss-of-self themes in the Scriptures. To construe the Christian life as a continuous pursuit of pleasure fails to address the significant changes that the self undergoes in the pilgrimage of discipleship”.⁵

Within the Presbyterian and Reformed tradition there is a clear understanding that the chief object of the Christian experience is holiness not happiness. Happiness is the unavoidable consequence of the long and often painful process of sanctification. Even then, the pleasures that are unveiled in Christ are not of this world. Sanctification by entomological definition (hagiázo) means “a cutting away of the flesh and making one pure by washing”⁶. Piper has no section regarding sanctification in his book, and only mentions the subject once in passing in either of his books on this subject .⁷ The Puritan Richard Sibbes on the other hand, understood that sanctification is the great bulwark of our preparation for heaven when he insists, “Those that look to be happy must first look to be holy”.⁸ This is a glaring weakness in Piper’s thesis that should not go unnoticed. Again Masters concurs,

It is not surprising that believers find Christian Hedonism or ‘delighting in God’ interesting and attractive. To delight in the Lord is a magnificent and biblical exercise. But Dr Piper’s formula for its use undoubtedly alters the understanding of sanctification long held by believers in the Reformation tradition, because it elevates one Christian duty above all others…Whatever the strengths of Dr Piper’s ministry, and there are many, his attempt to oversimplify biblical sanctification is doomed to failure because the biblical method for sanctification and spiritual advance consist
s of a number of strands or pathways of action, and all must receive individual attention.⁹

Peter Masters’ point is well taken. One should not blindly walk into a proposition without testing its premise against the whole counsel of God’s Word, making sure that one is not creating doctrines of imbalance by magnifying one truth to the neglect of others. And there should be a question of the general profitability of morphing the words Christian and hedonism into a new philosophic paradigm. True, the Apostle did so with the logos theology of John, but he was inspired by the Holy Spirit. It is far better to keep as close to the language of the Bible as possible when speaking of it’s several and many themes.

The question must arise then, how can one set “enjoying God forever” within the right context of the Christian life as part of the mosaic of the Christian experience? Surely it is a good and noble desire.

FINDING PLESURE IN GOD

In approaching the idea of finding pleasure in God there must first be an understanding of the kind of person seeking it. First and foremost this seeker is someone who has been translated from darkness to light; someone who has been converted by the power of the Holy Spirit and is enjoying the life of the new birth. There is no pleasure in God outside a saving relationship with His Son. If the natural mind, “receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned”¹⁰, then it follows that the natural man can not be the recipient of God’s special favour or pleasure.¹¹ Finding pleasure in God is the special privilege of believers. Believers however, are not free to find their own way of pleasure in God, but must recognize the set pattern regulated in God’s Word. Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones says in his book The Life of Joy,¹²

The difficulty with many of us is that we are anxious to obtain the blessings of the Gospel, but we are not equally careful to observe the conditions. Everybody wants the blessings, of course; the world today, in a sense, is spending most of its time seeking happiness and joy, because nobody wants to be miserable and unhappy. We want the comfort and the happiness, but we want it on our own terms, we want it easily, we want it simply, we want it by just having it and nothing else. Now let me make it clear, before we proceed to any detailed consideration of this great epistle, that what Paul is talking about here can never be obtained on such terms. Unless we accept his foundation, we shall never be able to erect the building that he has constructed; unless we start with his presuppositions we can never draw the right conclusions.¹³

When answering the question, why has the modern Church lost her pleasure, joy, and sense of triumph in God, Lloyd-Jones rejoinders, “To me there is only one answer to these questions: we have forgotten the doctrine, we have not been careful always to base everything upon certain preliminary considerations without which there is not true comfort”.¹⁴ Finding pleasure in God is not a mystical experience based on subjective feelings, but, as Lloyd-Jones has so succinctly pointed out, is as a doctrinal foundation based on biblical knowledge and understanding. Ignorance of God and ignorance of His Word is the plague of the modern Church. And because there is so little genuine knowledge of God, there is little genuine happiness. The great delight of the times is to manufacture a sense of pleasure in God from the resources of our own imagination rather than the pages of the Word. Finding pleasure in God is the realization that God is pleased with you because you are in Christ, you delight in obeying His Word, and desire to reflect the image of His Son.

Relinquishing of Pleasure

When a soul is regenerated, there must be a new desire (be it ever so small at first) to please God by wrestling with sin, mortifying the flesh, and communing with the God of his salvation. As A.W Pink insist, the first experience the new believer will encounter in Christ is actually a relinquishing of pleasure. “God saves us from the pleasure or love of sin before He delivers from the penalty or punishment of sin. Necessarily so, for it would be neither an act of holiness nor of righteousness were He to grant a full pardon to one who was still a rebel against Him, loving that which He hates”.¹⁵ The regenerated heart’s first conscious encounter with God > is the removal of sinful pleasure and an introduction to new, God-pleasing desires. And this repentance can not be self-centered simply to pacify the conscience. Jerry Bridges writes,

So often when we sin we are more vexed at the lowering of our self-esteem than we are grieved at God’s dishonor. We are irritated at our lack of self- control in subjecting ourselves to some unworthy habit…. God does not honor these self-centered desires. This is one reason we do not experience more of his enabling power in our day-to-day struggles with so-called besetting sins. God does not give us power so that we can feel good about ourselves; he gives us his power so that we can obey him for his sake, for his glory.¹⁶

For the Christian then, if the motive is pure, and the reasoning doctrinal, then the result will be pleasure grounded in the glory of God. When the Christian knows what is required, he can then pursue God’s wonder. And in pursuing God’s wonder, find genuine pleasure. Not for any independent selfish gain, but the necessary consequence of God being pleased.

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This letter came to me from another minister in our federation. I think it is worth sharing…

Paul the Apostle
c/o Aquila the Tentmaker
Corinth, Greece

Dear Paul:

We recently received a copy of your letter to the Galatians. The committee has directed me to inform you of a number of things which deeply concern us.

First, we find your language to be somewhat intemperate. In your letter, after a brief greeting to the Galatians, you immediately attack your opponents by claiming they want to “pervert the gospel of Christ”. You then say that such men should be regarded as “accursed;” and, in another place, you make reference to “false brethren.” Wouldn’t it be more charitable to give them the benefit of the doubt ­ at least until the General Assembly has investigated and adjudicated the matter? To make the situation worse, you later say, “I would they were even cut off which trouble you.” Is such a statement really fitting for a Christian minister? The remark seems quite harsh and unloving.

Paul, we really feel the need to caution you about the tone of your epistles. You come across in an abrasive manner to many people. In some of your letters you’ve even mentioned names; and this practice has, no doubt, upset the friends of Hymenaeus, Alexander, and others. After all, many persons were first introduced to the Christian faith under the ministries of these men. Although some of our missionaries have manifested regrettable shortcomings, nevertheless, it can only stir up bad feelings when you speak of these men in a derogatory manner.

In other words, Paul, I believe you should strive for a more moderate posture in your ministry. Shouldn’t you try to win those who are in error by displaying a sweeter spirit? By now, you’ve probably alienated the Judaizers to the point that they will no longer listen to you.

By your outspokeness, you have also diminished your opportunities for future influence throughout the church as a whole. Rather, if you had worked more quietly, you might have been asked to serve on a presbytery committee appointed to study the issue. You could then have contributed your insights by helping to draft a good committee paper on the theological position of the Judaizers, without having to drag personalities into the dispute.

Besides, Paul, we need to maintain unity among those who profess a belief in Christ. The Judaizers at least stand with us as we confront the surrounding paganism and humanism which prevail within the culture of the contemporary Roman Empire. The Judaizers are our allies in our struggles against abortion, homosexuality, government tyranny, etc. We cannot afford to allow differences over doctrinal minutia to obscure this important fact.

I also must mention that questions have been raised about the contents of your letter, as well as your style. The committee questions the propriety of the doctrinaire structure of your letter. Is it wise to plague young Christians, like the Galatians, with such heavy theological issues? For example, in a couple of places, you allude to the doctrine of election. You also enter into a lengthy discussion of the law. Perhaps you could have proved your case in some other ways, without mentioning these complex and controverted points of Christianity. Your letter is so doctrinaire, it will probably serve only to polarize the differing factions within the churches. Again, we need to stress unity, instead of broaching issues which will accent divisions among us.

In one place, you wrote, “Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.” Paul, you have a tendency to describe things strictly in black and white terms, as if there are no gray areas. You need to temper your expressions, lest you become too exclusive. Otherwise, your outlook will drive away many people, and make visitors feel unwelcome. Church growth is not promoted by taking such a hard line and remaining inflexible.

Remember, Paul, there is no such thing as a perfect church. We have to tolerate many imperfections in the church, since we cannot expect to have everything at once. If you will simply think back over your own experience, you will recall how you formerly harassed the church in your times of ignorance. By reflecting on your own past, you might acquire a more sympathetic attitude toward the Judaizers. Be patient, and give them some time to come around to a better understanding. In the meantime, rejoice that we all share a common profession of faith in Christ, since we have all been baptized in his name.

Sincerely,

Charles Phinney
Coordinator, Committee on Missions

Because God does not work effectually in all men, but only when the Spirit shines in our hearts as the inward teacher, he adds to every one that believeth. The Gospel is indeed offered to all for their salvation, but its power is not universally manifest…When, therefore, the Gospel invites all to partake of salvation without any difference, it is rightly termed the doctrine of salvation. For Christ is there offered, whose proper office is to save that which had been lost, and those who refuse to be saved by Him shall find Him their Judge. (Comment on Romans 1:16)

Paul makes grace common to all men, not because it in fact extends to all, but because it is offered to all. Although Christ suffered for the sins of the world, and is offered by the goodness of God without distinction to all men, yet not all receive him. (Comment on Romans 5:18)

“The mercy of God is offered equally to those who believe and to those who believe not, so that those who are not Divinely taught within are rendered inexcusable” (“The Eternal Predestination of God” p. 95).

Hence, we conclude that, though reconciliation is offered to all through Him, yet the benefit is peculiar to the elect, that they may be gathered into the society of life. However, while I say it is offered to all, I do not mean that this embassy, by which on Paul’s testimony (2 Cor. 5:18) God reconciles the world to Himself, reaches to all, but that it is not sealed indiscriminately on the hearts of all to whom it comes so as to be effectual. (Concerning the Eternal Predestination of God, pp. 148-9)

God indeed declares, that he would have all men to repent, and addresses exhortations in common to all; their efficacy, however, depends on the Spirit of regeneration. (Institutes 3:3:21)

The expression of our Saviour, “Many are called, but few are chosen,” (Matthew 22:14,) is also very improperly interpreted, (see Book 3, chap. 2, sec. 11, 12.) There will be no ambiguity in it, if we attend to what our former remarks ought to have made clear, viz., that there are two species of calling: for there is an universal call, by which God, through the external preaching of the word, invites all men alike, even those for whom he designs the call to be a savour of death, and the ground of a severer condemnation. Besides this there is a special call which, for the most part, God bestows on believers only, when by the internal illumination of the Spirit he causes the word preached to take deep root in their hearts. (Institutes 3:24:8)

But if it is so, (you will say,) little faith can be put in the Gospel promises, which, in testifying concerning the will of God, declare that he wills what is contrary to his inviolable decree. Not at all; for however universal the promises of salvation may be, there is no discrepancy between them and the predestination of the reprobate, provided we attend to their effect. We know that the promises are effectual only when we receive them in faith, but, on the contrary, when faith is made void, the promise is of no effect. If this is the nature of the promises, let us now see whether there be any inconsistency between the two things, viz., that God, by an eternal decree, fixed the number of those whom he is pleased to embrace in love, and on whom he is pleased to display his wrath, and that he offers salvation indiscriminately to all. I hold that they are perfectly consistent, for all that is meant by the promise is, just that his mercy is offered to all who desire and implore it, and this none do, save those whom he has enlightened. Moreover, he enlightens those whom he has predestinated to salvation. Thus the truth of the promises remains firm and unshaken, so that it cannot be said there is any disagreement between the eternal election of God and the testimony of his grace which he offers to believers. But why does he mention all men? Namely that the consciences of the righteous may rest the more secure when they understand that there is no difference between sinners, provided they have faith, and that the ungodly may not be able to allege that they have not an asylum to which they may retake themselves from the bondage of sin, while they ungratefully reject the offer which is made to them. Therefore, since by the Gospel the mercy of God is offered to both, it is faith, in other words, the illumination of God, which distinguishes between the righteous and the wicked, the former feeling the efficacy of the Gospel, the latter obtaining no benefit from it. Illumination itself has eternal election for its rule. (Institutes 3:24:17)

“Nor does He [Christ] contradict Himself, when inviting all without exception by the external voice, he yet declares that no man perceives anything, except it were given him from heaven, and that none come to him except those are given Him by the Father.” (Secret Providence p 68)

“On the contrary, therefore, Christ declares that the doctrine of the Gospel, though it is preached to all without exception, cannot be embraced by all, but that a new understanding and a new perception are requisite; and, therefore, that faith does not depend on the will of men, but that it is God who gives it.” (Comments on John 6:44)

“For we know that the greatest number persisteth in their sins, because they refuse the remedy that is offered to them in the gospel.” (Sermon on Galatians 3:21-25)

“To be short, Saint Paul showeth here, that men run astray when they seek means of salvation anywhere else than in Jesus Christ, insomuch that they become forlorn and utterly past recovery. Now then seeing that God hath set us forth but only one way of salvation: they that turn aside from that, do cast themselves willfully into destruction, and Satan reigneth over them for their unthankfulness sake in despising the inestimable benefit that God offered them. What a bountifulness is it that God calleth and allureth us to his favour and love, notwithstanding that we be his deadly foes?” (Sermon on Galatians 4:11-14)

“For the gospel may well be preached to all men, even to the reprobate, but, for all that, God does not extend to them this special grace of quickening them into life.” (Sermon on Ephesians 1:4-6 BOT p.48)

“As at this day when we speak of the inestimable blessing that God hath bestowed upon us, when his Gospel was preached; this same shall be preached unto all indifferently.” (Sermon on Genesis 25:21-22 Old Paths Publications p.34 Sermons on Election and Reprobation)

“In the first place, he that has made that writing, were it Sebastian Chastalio or some such like: to show that God has created all the world to be saved, he alleges that he labours to draw unto him all that went astray: the which I confess in respect of the doctrine of faith and repentance, the which he propounds to all in general, be it to draw his elect unto him, or to make other inexcusable. God then calls everyone to repentance and promises all those that return unto him, to receive them to mercy. But this does not mean that he touches to the quick by his Holy Spirit, all those to whom he speaks, as it is said by Isaiah in the 53rd chapter, His arm is not revealed to all those who hear. To which agrees the sentence of our Lord Jesus Christ, None can come unto me, except my Father draw him.” (An answer to a libel against
Predestination)

“But to have a better understanding of this passage, we must expound what the Prophet said: “It will happen in the last days that I shall pour out My Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters will prophesy, and your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams.” By that we must note that, although the Prophet says that the Holy Spirit will be poured out upon all flesh, nevertheless, all do not receive Him. As in fact we see that there are many who are deprived of Him. However, God calls us all, but we resist Him by our ingratitude and malice. It always remains true, that no one comes to Him but him whom He draws by His Holy Spirit. By that also it is signified to us that, if we come to Jesus Christ by faith, and we hold it in true humility, we shall receive gifts of His Spirit so abundantly that we shall be able to communicate them to our neighbors. That, then, is how Jesus Christ calls all of us in general; however, it is very necessary that we come to Him; for we refuse this benefit which is presented to us. Why? Inasmuch as we render ourselves unworthy of it, preferring to give ourselves to our vanities rather than to the fear of God. Now since it is true that many do not receive the gifts which are presented to them, although they are all called, one could ask why the Prophet speaks thus. But he wished to take such a generality to show that from all conditions and from all ages of people He will bring them into His knowledge; also, because now God makes no distinction between Jew and Gentile; for the Holy Spirit by His power works through all.” (3rd sermon on Pentecost from Acts 2:13-17)

“Farther, although David magnifies the plenteousness of God’s mercy, yet he immediately after represents this plenteousness as restricted to the faithful who call upon him, to teach us that those who, making no account of God, obstinately chafe upon the bit, deservedly perish in their calamities. At the same time, he uses the term all, that every man, without exception, from the greatest to the least, may be encouraged confidently to betake himself to the goodness and mercy of God.” (Comments on Psalm 86:5)

After having spoken concerning his grace, and exhorted his disciples to steady faith, he now begins to strike the rebellious, though even here he mitigates the severity due to the wickedness of those who deliberately — as it were — reject God; for he delays to pronounce judgement on them, because, on the contrary, he has come for the salvation of all. In the first place, we ought to understand that he does not speak here of all unbelievers without distinction, but of those who, knowingly and willingly, reject the doctrine of the Gospel which has been exhibited to them. Why then does Christ not choose to condemn them? It is because he lays aside for a time the office of a judge, and offers salvation to all without reserve, and stretches out his arms to embrace all, that all may be the more encouraged to repent. And yet there is a circumstance of no small moment, by which he points out the aggravation of the crime, if they reject an invitation so kind and gracious, for it is as if he had said, “Lo, I am here to invite all, and, forgetting the character of a judge, I have this as my single object, to persuade all, and to rescue from destruction those who are already twice ruined.” No man, therefore, is condemned on account of having despised the Gospel, except he who, disdaining the lovely message of salvation, has chosen of his own accord to draw down destruction on himself. (Comment on John 12:47)

It is true that Saint John saith generally, that [God] loved the world. And why? For Jesus Christ offereth himself generally to all men without exception to be their redeemer… (Sermons on Deuteronomy, p.167)

…Jesus Christ reacheth out his arms to call and allure all men both great and small, and to win them to him. (ibid. p.167)

Hitherto he addressed the Jews alone, as if to them alone salvation belonged, but now he extends his discourse farther. He invites the whole world to the hope of salvation, and at the same time brings a charge of ingratitude against all the nations, who, being devoted to their errors, purposely avoided, as it were, the light of life; for what could be more base than to reject deliberately their own salvation? He therefore commands all “to look to him,” and to the precept adds a promise, which gives it greater weight, and confirms it more than if he had made use of a bare command. (Comments on Isaiah 45:22)

It would have done us no good for Christ to have been given by the Father as the author of salvation, if He had not been available to all without distinction…We should know that salvation is openly displayed to all the human race, for in all reality He is called son of Noah and son of Adam… (Comment on Matthew 1:1-17; Luke 3: 23-38)

Seeing that in His Word He calls all alike to salvation, and this is the object of preaching, that all should take refuge in His faith and protection, it is right to say that He wishes all to gather to Him. Now the nature of the Word shows us that here there is no description of the secret counsel of God – just His wishes. Certainly those whom He wishes effectively to gather, He draws inwardly by His Spirit, and calls them not merely by man’s outward voice. If anyone objects that it is absurd to split God’s will, I answer that this is exactly our belief, that His will is one and undivided: but because our minds cannot plumb the profound depths of His secret election to suit our infirmity, the will of God is set before us as double. (Comment on Matthew 23:37)

Happy Mary, to have embraced in her heart the promise of God, to have conceived and brought into the world for herself and for all – salvation…God offers His benefits to all without distinction, but faith opens our arms to draw them to our bosom: lack of faith lets them fall, before they reach us. (Comment on Luke 1:45)

And when he says the sin of the world he extends this kindness indiscriminately to the whole human race, that the Jews might not think the Redeemer has been sent to them alone…John, therefore, by speaking of the sin of the world in general, wanted to make us feel our own misery and exhort us to seek the remedy. Now it is for us to embrace the blessing offered to all, that each may make up his mind that there is nothing to hinder him from finding reconciliation in Christ if only, led by faith, he comes to Him. (Comment on John 1:29)

It is no small consolation to godly teachers that, although the larger part of the world does not listen to Christ, He has His sheep whom He knows and by whom He is also known. They must do their utmost to bring the whole world into Christ’s fold, but when they do not succeed as they would wish, they must be satisfied with the single thought that those who are sheep will be collected together by their work. (Comment on John 10:27)

51. He openly declares that He does not pray for the world, for He is solicitous only for His own flock [the disciples] which He received from the Father’s hand. But this might seem absurd; for no better rule of prayer can be found than to follow Christ as our Guide and Teacher. But we are commanded to pray for all, and Christ Himself afterwards prayed for all indiscriminately, ‘Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.’ I reply, the prayers which we utter for all are still limited to God’s elect. We ought to pray that this and that and every man may be saved and so embrace the whole human race, because we cannot yet distinguish the elect from the reprobate…we pray for the salvation of all whom we know to have been created in God’s image and who have the same nature as ourselves; and we leave to God’s judgement those whom He knows to be reprobate. (Comment on John 17:9)

As I have devoted time to the research of the language of the Free Offer in the writings of John Calvin, I discovered that I could be publishing this series for a long, long time. What I have decided to do is condense the smaller quotes into one or two posts, and double up on the longer quotes. I will leave it to the reader to investigate the context further if they wish to do so.

He calls all men to himself, without a single exception, and gives Christ to all, that we may be illumined by him. (Isaiah 3:295)

When we pray, we ought, according to the rule of charity, to include all. (Jeremiah 2:248)

God invites all indiscriminately to salvation through the Gospel, but the ingratitude of the world is the reason why this grace, which is equally offered to all, is enjoyed by few. (Synoptic Gospels 1:116)

As no man is excluded from calling upon God, the gate of salvation is set open to all men; neither is there any other thing which keepeth us back from entering in, save only our own unbelief. (Acts 1:92)

Though it is offered to all for salvation, it does not yield this fruit in any but the elect. (Synoptic Gospel. 2:257)

God …shows himself to be reconciled to the whole world, when he invites all men without exception to faith in Christ …For Christ is made known and held out to the view of all, but the elect alone are they whose eyes God opens, that they may seek him by faith. (John 1:125)

… the end and design of public teaching…that all should in common be called; but God’s purpose is different; for he intends, according to his own secret counsel, to draw to himself the elect, and he designs to take away all excuse from the reprobate. (Joel- Obadiah 252)

Paul makes grace common to all men, not because it in fact extends to all, but because it is offered to all. (Romans 117-118)

Christ … kindles for all indiscriminately the torch of his gospel; but all have not the eyes of their minds opened to see it, but on the contrary Satan spreads the veil of blindness over many. (General Epistles 273-274)

God commands [the gospel] to be offered indiscriminately to all. (Genesis 1:503)

[God]…commands his threatenings to be proposed to the elect, and reprobate, in common. (Genesis 1:255)

God’s mercy is offered for the worst of men. (Four Last Books of Moses 3:240)

It is our duty to pray for all who trouble us; to desire the salvation of all men. (Psalm 4:283)

Elsewhere in the above book of Calvin quotations, we have the following indications that Calvin believed in the free indiscriminate offer of the gospel:

The gospel is to be preached indiscriminately to the elect and to the reprobate: but the elect alone come to Christ, because they have been taught of God. (Isaiah 4:146)

God offers his word indiscriminately to the good and bad; but it works by his spirit in the elect…as to the reprobate…it renders them without excuse. (Ezekiel 1:113)

It is true that Saint John saith generally, that [God] loved the world. And why? For Jesus Christ offereth himself generally to all men without exception to be their redeemer… (Sermons on Deuteronomy, p.167)

…Jesus Christ reacheth out his arms to call and allure all men both great and small, and to win them to him. (ibid. p.167)

“If any man hear my words”. John 12:47

“That whosoever believeth on him may not perish.” John 3:16- Part B