Chosen but Free

Through Norman Geisler’s book Chosen but Free he discusses the views of both Arminianism and Calvinism. The one thing that I really like throughout this book is that he uses Scripture to show views of both sides; he then adds some of his personal views on what he actually believes. The book does discuss the issues of predestination that is a common issue in most people and gives Scripture backing up the foreknowledge of God himself and a person’s initial decision of either accepting or rejecting Christ. Like many others I have struggled with the issue of predestination and whether or not God elects or has the foreknowledge of unbelievers accepting him. However, this book does a great job showing how neither view of this is correct, in fact it is somewhat of a combination of the two. There are so many questions we as children of God have, such as eternal security, but these questions we have will not always be answered. We must just trust and accept what he has shown us in his Word.

One of the major points I’m sure many other people have made is “Was John Calvin really a Calvinist?” He seemed to share the Calvinistic view which was supposedly instituted by him. However, dealing with the topic of TULIP many people think that he believed in all of the five points. He actually did not hold to this belief as many of the extreme Calvinists do. In this book it shows how Calvin believed that Christ died for the sins of the whole world, something that Calvinists argue against (200). I had never heard this view before that he did not always agree with his own doctrine which is completely fascinating to me. This does in fact show that the many people that did and do look up to Calvin for his many views are following him on beliefs that he did not all he believed in.

Reading chapter three in this book really caught my attention in the fact that God holds everything together and how everything is under his control including: “human events, earthly kings, good angels, evil angels, Satan, and human decisions” (pg. 27- 29). In this since Geisler states, “Job confessed to God: I know that you can do all things, no plans of yours can be thwarted” (pg. 26). He also says, “He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: What have you done?” (pg. 27) These statements show how God is in control of everything and has his hand in everything that happens. In this chapter it also talks about how God was here before anything else since he was the one who created everything. “He knows all things, he upholds all things, and can do all things” (pg. 23, 24). The author states, “God was not only before all things, but He was before all time” (pg. 23). This is so true and show’s how God has created everything and was here before anything else. It also shows how God can do all things; “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” (pg. 24). The answer for this is defiantly no, the Lord can do all things, and nothing at all is too difficult for him.

I really enjoyed this book and the way Geisler used Scripture to back up the different point of views. I agree with Geisler on many of these issues, and think this is an excellent book for every Christian to read to become more knowledgeable on both sides of view the Calvinistic and the Arminianism. The Scripture aspect was one of my favorite parts of this book.

Worship

Worship in the church is often discussed in many different settings. The questions that are most frequently asked are: what is worship? is there a right way to worship? Is raising your hands worship or is it when one closes their eyes and sings to their self? Many people take different stances on this topic and argue on what is the real meaning of WORSHIP. I think worship is an act of praising God and is meant for God alone and nobody else. There are many different styles of worship expressed in the Bible some including: vocally, stringed instruments, instruments of percussion, and wind instruments. It says clearly in the Word of God that believers are to praise the Lord. In Psalms 30:4- “Sing unto the LORD, O his saints, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness”. This includes everyone, including children; the Lord should be forever praised. We are so unworthy of him and the least we can do as humans is give him thanks for all he has given to us. We praise his different attributes including: his glory, his holiness, his wisdom, his power, his faithfulness, his goodness, his mercy, his continuance of blessings, and his salvation; the list goes on and on. In the Bible it repeatedly shows over and over how his people sang songs of praise to him, and this act has continued on and should never cease. It mentions in Psalms how David danced before the Lord, which is also seen as a form of Worship. A good point that was brought up in class is that Worship we do together, but Praise you offer to God alone. Most of the confusion with this topic comes down to the conflict over principle and preference. Principle being the Bible explicitly states worship is for God alone. Preference is what one prefers, because they like that style of music. It was also mentioned in class how just because you don’t like the style of music a church displays doesn’t mean it’s unbiblical. It was also said that not to hold your preference above the principle. In the end one must ask the question, does the music glorify God? I think everyone has their own special way of worshiping the Lord, some may raise their hands, close their eyes, run around and dance, or some may just keep to themselves and sing to God quietly. There is no right or wrong way to worship the Lord, whatever way you do it as long as it is honoring and glorifying God it completely correct.

My Testimony

  I grew up in the church all of my life, but after awhile I realized that there was something missing in my life. I was not living a bad life, however, as a 6 year old there weren't many things I could have done. But at this time I knew that there was something that was not there, that I wanted.  The thing missing was a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. One day after coming home from school I went to talk to my mom asking her what it meant to ask Jesus into my heart, because I wanted that. She read through some verses in Romans, talked about what this meant, and prayed the prayer of salvation with me right there on the end of her bed. I was ecstatic after I had made this transformation, but after awhile it wore off, and I found myself just going through the motions. My faith has been on a roller coaster ever since, there were times I was very close to the Lord and then there were times when I drifted away. I continued to go through the motions week by week, and nothing every changed until I decided to change my life around. I decided I wanted something more, I decided I didn’t want to say a prayer here an than when I needed something, but I wanted to be able to pray whenever I wanted, through the good and bad. Through it all Jesus has always been there, never leaving my side. I am so thankful for where he has brought me today, and I am here to serve him and him alone. He is the best thing that ever happened to me, and I have never been the same.