The Doctrines of Grace in Scripture: John 10:26-30

The Text

John 10:26-30 – “But you refuse to believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; no one will snatch them from my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can snatch them from my Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.”” – Jesus (NET Bible)

Relevance

The significance of this text in relation to the Doctrines of Grace is that this passage shows us that a sinner’s turning to Christ flows from His identity (being predestined by the Father or “given” to Christ by the Father) rather than God’s choice being somehow contingent on God foreseeing that the sinner would believe. Furthermore, it demonstrates that God’s children, who are truly saved from the wrath of God, will never again be subjected to that wrath, they are safe and secure in His hands, because of Might of God.  It relates very directly to the U, I, and P in TULIP.

Historical Comments On It

  • “It is an inestimable fruit of faith, that Christ bids us be convinced of our security when we are brought by faith into his fold. But we must also observe on what foundation this certainty rests. It is because he will be a faithful guardian of our salvation, for he testifies that our salvation is in his hand And if this were not enough, he says that they will be safely guarded by the power of his Father This is a remarkable passage, by which we are taught that the salvation of all the elect is not less certain than the power of God is invincible. Besides, Christ did not intend to throw this word foolishly into the air, but to give a promise which should remain deeply axed in their minds; and, therefore, we infer that the statement of Christ is intended to show that the elect are absolutely certain of their salvation.” – John Calvin (1509-1564)
  • `O’, says he, `take comfort from them, you may be sure God will be as good as his word, if he never tells you so again.’ And our Lord knew his poor sheep would be always doubting they should never reach heaven, therefore says he, `I give to them eternal life, and they shall never perish.’ …”though they often think they shall perish by the hand of their lusts and corruptions; they think they shall perish by the deceitfulness of their hearts; but Christ says, `They shall never perish.’ I have brought them out of the world to myself, and do you think I will let them go to hell after that? `… ” – Georege Whitefield (1628-1688)
  • “True Christians shall never perish. Are they not Christ’s special property, the servants of His house, the members of His family, the children of His adoption? Then surely He will never let them be overthrown, He will watch them as tenderly as we watch over our own flesh and blood, He will guard them as we guard our valuable and precious possessions, He will cherish them as we cherish that which is most dear to our hearts; He never would have laid down His life for their sakes if He had intended to give them up. ” – J.C. Ryle (1816-1900)
  • “they touch on nearly all five points of Calvinism. Jesus identifies his sheep as having been given to Him by the Father. In other words, they are the gift of God’s electing loves. However, these are the same sheep for whom Christ died…and thus they are special objects of his atonement…What these verses emphasize, however, is God’s persevering  grace. The sheep are in some danger…Yet Jesus asserts their absolute security, emphatically promising their perseverance” ” -  James Montgomery Boice (1938-2000)

France’s Military Actions

To some, French doesn’t seem like a very militarized society. Especially in North America, the common perception is that France is (depending on one’s perspective) either a voice of restraint and reason and peace (for those opposing the current actions by North American powers) or a voice of cowardly hesitancy or incompetency or isolationism (for those supporting the actions).

However, journalist and author Eric Margolis shows otherwise in his article France’s Day of Glory.  Margolis is a foreign policy expert, who for years has contributed to Huffington Post, the Toronto Sun, and CNN. Interestingly enough, he is also the owner of the Canadian vitamin manufacturer Jamieson Laboratories.

Eric states that “France has been almost constantly at war since September, 1939″.  He continues “Today, French military units are fighting in Libya, Afghanistan, and Ivory Coast. French troops and air units are stationed in Djibouti, monitoring the Red Sea; in a new base in Abu Dhabi, giving France a say in the affairs of Arabia; parts of West Africa, the French Pacific, Chad and, of course, units assigned to NATO.”

He goes on to say that “Like the United States, France’s foreign policy has become increasingly militarized at a time when its armed forces are strained to the limit and severe budget cuts impend.”  And “France is also in close consultation with Washington over the seething uprising in Syria and turbulence in Lebanon. Both used to be French colonies and are regarded by Paris as within its sphere of influence. Both Washington and Paris are bent on overthrowing Syria’s Assad regime, but they are uncertain as to which group to install in power once their plans for regime change succeeds.”

He also shows how France is working hard in the Libyan attack, “launching constant air strikes against Col. Gaddafi’s beleaguered forces”. Margolis also has sources that claim that “French special forces and the Legion are covertly operating in Libya from bases in neighboring Chad”.

Lest my views on foreign policy should be ever perceived to be merely “blame the USA”, it should be noted that much of what can be said about U.S. policy could also be directed towards the policies of France. Although they tend participate in less conflicts and are critical of ventures such as Iraq, they are just as willing to meddle in other nations affairs and pursue questionable war strategies when it aligns with their interests.

The Doctrines of Grace in Scripture: I Peter 1:4-5

The Text

I Peter 1:4-5 – “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he gave us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, that is, into an inheritance imperishable, undefiled, and unfading. It is reserved in heaven for you, who by God’s power are protected through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” – Apostle Peter (NET Bible)

Relevance

The significance of this text in relation to the Doctrines of Grace is that this passage shows us the way God’s power (the ultimate power) sustains our faith to preserves our salvation until the last day. True salvation can never be lost because it is sustained by the Almighty God! This text also shows us that our inheritance in Christ is imperishable. It relates very directly to the P in TULIP.

Historical Comments On It

  • “And, indeed, we see that under the Papacy a diabolical opinion prevails, that we ought to doubt our final perseverance, because we are uncertain whether we shall be tomorrow in the same state of grace. But Peter did not thus leave us in suspense; for he testifies that we stand by the power of God, lest any doubt arising from a consciousness of our own infirmity, should disquiet us. How weak soever we may then be, yet our salvation is not uncertain, because it is sustained by God’s power. As, then, we are begotten by faith, so faith itself receives its stability from God’s power. Hence is its security, not only for the present, but also for the future.” – John Calvin (1509-1564)
  • “The blessing here promised is preservation: You are kept; the author of it is God; the means in us made use of for that end are our own faith and care; the end to which we are preserved is salvation; and the time when we shall see the safe end and issue of all is the last time. Note, 1. Such is the tender care of God over his people that he not only gives them grace, but preserves them unto glory. Their being kept implies both danger and deliverance; they may be attacked, but shall not be overcome. 2. The preservation of the regenerate to eternal life is the effect of God’s power. The greatness of the work, the number of enemies, and our own infirmities, are such that no power but what is almighty can preserve the soul through all unto salvation; therefore the scripture often represents man’s salvation as the effect of divine power ” – Matthew Henry (1662-1714)
  • “This is a description of the persons for whom the inheritance is reserved in heaven; they are not only chosen to salvation, and begotten again to an inheritance, but they are preserved unto it; their happiness is very great; their inheritance is safe in heaven for them, and they are kept below, amidst a thousand snares and difficulties, till they safely arrive to the possession of that: they are kept, not in and by themselves, the way of man is not in himself; nor in the hands of angels, for no such trust does God put in them; but in the hands of Jesus Christ, where they are safe, and out of which none can pluck them; on him, as a foundation, and in him, as a strong hold; they are kept in the love of God, and on his heart, from whence they can never be separated, and in the covenant of grace, out of which they will never be put; and in a state of justification, and shall never enter into condemnation; and in the family of God, for, being sons, they are no more servants; and in a state of grace and holiness, in the fear of God, and faith of Christ, and love to both; and in the path of truth, from whence they can never finally and totally fall…for Christ prays for them, that their faith fail not; and from a final and total falling away from grace into sin: and they are kept thus, not by their own power and might, or that of any mere creature, but ‘by the power of God’…by which they are kept, as with a guard, or in a garrison, as the word here used signifies…but God himself, in the perfection of his power, is a wall of fire to them; he is round about them from henceforth and for ever; their place of defence is the munition of rocks; his name is a strong tower” – John Gill (1697–1771)
  • “It means that God’s power protects us for salvation by sustaining our faith. The only thing that can keep us from heaven is forsaking our faith in Christ, and turning to other hopes, other treasures. So to protect us God prevents that. He inspires and nourishes and strengthens and builds our faith. And in doing this he secures us against the only thing that could destroy us; unbelief, lack of trust in God. ” – John Piper (1946–Present)

The Doctrines of Grace in Scripture: John 6:44-45

The Text

John 6:44-45 – “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him,and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God. Everyone who hears and learns from the Father comes to me.” – Jesus (NET Bible)

Relevance

The significance of this text in relation to the Doctrines of Grace is that this passage shows us man’s inability to come to Christ outside of God’s intervention (an intervention which could not be a generically inclusive one due to the fact that the one drawn is raised on the last day). It relates very directly to the T, U, I, P in TULIP.

Historical Comments On It

  • “Here all men must confess their incapacity and inability to do the good. Should one imagine he is able to do anything good of his own strength he does no less than make Christ the Lord a liar…..Now, if he is drawn by God to Christ, he will certainly experience what the Lord here says: ‘He will raise him up in the last day.’ ” – Martin Luther (1483-1586)
  • “They must be brought unto Christ, yea, drawn unto him; for [quoting John 6:44]. Men, even the elect, have too many infirmities to come to Christ without help from heaven; inviting will not do.” – John Bunyan (1628-1688)
  • “The discovery of their guilt, danger, and remedy, by the teaching of the Holy Spirit, makes men willing and glad to come, and to give up every thing which hinders applying to him for salvation. The Father’s will is, that not one of those who were given to the Son, should be rejected or lost by him. No one will come, till Divine grace has subdued, and in part changed his heart; therefore no one who comes will ever be cast out. The gospel finds none willing to be saved in the humbling, holy manner, made known therein; but God draws with his word and the Holy Ghost; and man’s duty is to hear and learn; that is to say, to receive the grace offered, and consent to the promise.” – Matthew Henry (1662-1714)
  • “they had neither power nor will of themselves; being dead in trespasses and sins, and impotent to everything that is spiritual: and whilst men are in a state of unregeneracy, blindness, and darkness, they see no need of coming to Christ, nor anything in him worth coming for; they are prejudiced against him, and their hearts are set on other things; and besides, coming to Christ and believing in Christ being the same thing, it is certain faith is not of a man’s self, it is the gift of God, and the operation of his Spirit; and therefore efficacious grace must be exerted to enable a soul to come to Christ;” – John Gill (1697–1771)
  • “Arminian divines generally say that God draws men by the preaching of the gospel. Very true; the preaching of the gospel is the instrument of drawing men, but there must be some thing more than this. Let me ask to whom did Christ address these words? Why, to the people of Capernaum, where he had often preached, where he had uttered mournfully and plaintively the woes of the law and the invitations of the gospel. In that city he had done many mighty works and worked many miracles. In fact, such teaching and such miraculous attestation had he given to them, that he declared that Tyre and Sidon would have repented long ago in sack-cloth and ashes, if they had been blessed with such privileges. Now, if the preaching of Christ himself did not avail to the enabling these men to come to Christ, it cannot be possible that all that was intended by the drawing of the Father was simply preaching. No, brethren, you must note again, he does not say no man can come except the minister draw him, but except the Father draw him. Now there is such a thing as being drawn by the gospel, and drawn by the minister, without being drawn by God. Clearly, it is a divine drawing that is meant, a drawing by the Most High God—the First Person of the most glorious Trinity sending out the Third Person, the Holy Spirit, to induce men to come to Christ. ” – Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892)
  • “the incarnate Son of God positively declares that such an act is utterly impossible to a fallen and depraved creature unless and until Divine power is brought to bear upon him. A most pride-humbling, flesh-withering, man-abasing word is this….Before any one can or will “come to Christ” the understanding must be supernaturally enlightened, the heart must be supernaturally changed, the stubborn will must be supernaturally broken.” – A.W. Pink (1886-1952)
  • “Some have said that draw only means ‘woo’ or ‘entice.’… This interpretation of John 6:44 is impossible, however. In James 2:6, we read, ‘Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court?’ In Acts 16:19 we find,’ They… dragged them into the marketplace.’ The same Greek word is used in all three verses. Obviously, mere enticement is not in view here. Kittel’s Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, a standard scholarly work on New Testament Greek, tells us that the word translated draw in John 6:44 means ‘to compel by irresistible authority.’ It was used in classical Greek for drawing water from a well. We do not entice or persuade water to leave the well; we force it against gravity to come up by drawing it. So it is with us. We are so depraved that God must drag us to himself.” – R.C. Sproul (1939-Present)
  • ” All of this presents a consistent teaching that the Father reveals the Son to the elect through the work of the Spirit so that their faith is placed firmly in the Son. There is no disruption of the consistent emphasis upon the sovereign freedom of God in salvation in the text” – James White (1962-Present)

Booklog (July 15, 2011 – July 18, 2011)

  • Black Fugitive Slaves in Early Canada by Linda Bramble (89 pages): A fun and interesting book. I do wish it at least gave some basic information about black settlements in Essex County such as New Caanan! Sometime it gets rather moralistic and over simplifies some historical interpretations to make its points (granted, it’s intended for younger individuals).
  • Pierre Viret: A Forgotten Giant of the Reformation by Jean-Marc Berthoud (98 pages): A short look at a very interesting and yet almost totally overlooked Reformer. It’s like an appetizer to a full biography.

This places the running total for books completed in 2011 at 47.

What Is The True Form Of God’s Church?

“For this reason we must always return to the Scriptures to find the answer to this question: what is the true form of God’s Church? For in the Word of God we find an exact witness of the will of God in all He approves and disapproves.” – French Reformer Pierre Viret (quoted in Pierre Viret: A Forgotten Giant of the Reformation: The Apologetics, Ethics, and Economics of the Bible.  p.74)

Are They Building Up Public Support For Something? (War on Iran?)

A recent World Net Daily article states that the U.S. State Department has issued a formal statement condemning Iran for issuing the death penalty for converts to Christianity. You can see the article here. As much as I hate totalitarianism and hate the persecution of Christians and believe Iran is very guilty of these two things, this condemnation by the State Department sounds a bit fishy.

I have not exhaustively followed all State Department statements on foreign policy, but I do not remember them issuing a similar statement to their ally Saudi Arabia.

In light of the context (that Saudi Arabia is being treated much more gently for the same offense and the fact that the current Secretary of State has previously gone on record with a desire to attack Iran), this sounds like little more than political posturing and an attempt to build up public support for an invasion of Iran or something similar.

It seems to me that, more than anything, the State Department’s recent statement is essentially directed to Americans (to build up support for a potential military action ) rather than to make a statement to Iran.   I hope I’m proven wrong.  But, in any case, what needs to be said is this: Iran’s actions in executing Christians are not unique to Iran. It’s also the policy of a country which has been treated very kindly by the U.S.

A Fun Python/Ruby Exercise

1. I made a function to generate one million random integers between 0 and two million.

2. I wrote another function to do a bit map sort on this list of integers (slightly cheating by having my bit map sort function receive a parameter which represented the maximum value it might encounter–two million). The bit map sort was roughly based on one in a Jon Bentley book Programming Pearls.

3. (By the way, I implemented these two functions in both Python and Ruby).

4. I then ran the following benchmarks:
A. Ruby (1.92): My bit map sort on the random integers
B. Ruby (1.92): Ruby’s built-in sort on the random integers
C. Python (3.2): My bit map sort on the random integers
D. Python (3.2): Python’s built-in sort on the random integers

Here were the results:

A. Ruby (my bit map sort, with cheating via a max value): 1.66 seconds
B. Ruby (built-in sort): 1.68 seconds
C. Python (my bit map sort, with cheating via a max value): 2.91 seconds
D. Python (built-in sort): 3.19 seconds

There is a remarkable difference between Python and Ruby in terms of speed/overhead.

(Note: After I ran the initial benchmarks, by refactoring my bit map sort to fix an inefficiency in the bitmap initialization, I was able to bring the Ruby version down to an execution time of 1.38 seconds and the Python version down to 2.77 seconds. I’ve posted the source for the python version and the ruby version.)

Thoughts on Beautiful Code

Here are some good programming thoughts from Beautiful Code (edited by Andy Oram and Greg Wilson, O’Reilly).

On Elegance vs. Performance Trade-offs

“[I]t’s much easier to make beautiful-but-slow code fast than it is to make fast-but-ugly code beautiful” – Rusty Harold (author, former professor)

Defining Beauty

“Code is typically considered beautiful if it does what it’s supposed to do with unique elegance and economy.” – Alberto Savoia (Google)

On Testing

“Generally speaking, the main purpose of tests is to instill, reinforce, or reconfirm our confidence that the code works properly and efficiently.” – Alberto Savoia (Google)

Booklog (July 5, 2011 – July 14, 2011)

This places the running total for books completed in 2011 at 45.

A New Look

Readers of All Thing Expounded (if there be any such beings), what do you think of the new look?

(The background, by the way, is from Negril, Jamaica in case you are curious :>)

The Costs of the “War On Terror”

Here are the known costs of the “War on Terror” since its inception after September 11. (source):

  • Around 224 000 – 258 000 lives have been lost (125,000 of which were Iraqi civilians and somewhere between 10,000-13,000 were  Afghan civilians)
  • Around 365,000 people have been wounded
  • 7,800,000 people have been displaced (the population of Kentucky + Conn.)
  • Since the beginning of the “war on terror”, the U.S. has spent somewhere between $2,000,000,000,000-3,000,000,000,000

Various Costs Not Factored In:

  • Non-bodily losses (of time, money, energy, stress) of those affected by the war but not counted among the dead or injured.
  • Cost of legitimate buildings and other infrastructure destroyed directly or indirectly by the war
  • Inevitable rebuilding, peacekeeping, and nation building costs.
  • Veteran-related costs (including benefit payments and more intangible costs like the veteran’s quality of life)
  • Damage on the perception of the U.S. and the West in general resulting from these actions.
  • Strains in the U.S. relationship with other nations (both in the West and the East)
  • Damage of stability in these regions for the future.
  • Interest Payments paid out on the trillions of dollars spent on the war

Some further thoughts:

  • If you took the killed, wounded, and displaced from this era of the “war on terror”, you would have the full population of New York City.
  • And if you divided all the money that the U.S.A. has spent on this war on terror and divided it between all the people of New York City each and every individual in New York City would receive $250,000.
  • If you take the number of people who died in 9/11 (2,752 by a figure given by NY two years after the fact) and add it to the “USS Cole” fatalities (17) and add to it the Khobar Towers bombing (19) and add to it the US. Embassy bombings of 1998 (23) and add to it the Riyadh Compound Bombings (9) and add them all together, you find that these deaths (some of which were military men) compose 2% of the civilians killed in Iraq alone since 9/11. These are not all of the times in which American lives have been taken at the hands of terrorists, but they are the major ones and the biggest ones.

What result would need to be accomplished to justify this? Has it been accomplished? Will it ever be accomplished? Will this resolve the problem of terrorism? Will it result in more or less stability? At this cost, is it worth it?

Whatever you think about war. one has to stop and wonder.   This seems like a very sad situation from whatever angle I look at it from:

  • As a person who wants the best for the U.S. , it is concerning to see them involving themselves in the affairs of other nations in this matter when they stand to gain so many enemies. And it is concerning to me to see them spending so much money when they are in such a financial mess.
  • As a Christian, it is concerning to me to see such a little concern for truth, rule of law, and just war theory in the execution of these wars, especially since to much of the world this is a “Christian” war. And it is concerning to see Christians blindly endorsing such things. It’s concerning that we (the royal we, I know) are so slow to pray for the people who are being attacked and so quick to cheer the people are attacking. Though some may believe the “war on terror” will open doors for religious freedom, etc., I tend to see it have more of a negative effect in fomenting extremist reactions, antagonizing populations against anything that smacks of the West to them (ie. Christianity), and generally causing increases in persecution in many cases (as has been the case in this war on terror). I believe in the final balance, war in Iraq and Afghanistan seems to have actually in many ways hindered the cause of Christ in Afghanistan and Iraq.
  • As a person who agrees that war can be lawfully waged in various cases, it is very concerning to see it executed in such a disproportional (and often undeclared) fashion.
  • As a human being, I hate seeing people, especially non-combatants killed.
  • As a person who loves the great themes found in the history and tradition of the United States of America: freedom, liberty, toleration, and a free economy, it is very concerning to see the freedoms (both of citizens at home and of other people abroad) being curtailed in the name of this war
  • As a person who cares about the perception the rest of the world has about the “West”, I’m concerned that we are gaining an often well deserved charge of elitism, colonial-mentality, arrogance,cold-blooded murder, disproportion and unreasonableness in our aggression, and a general spirit of “might makes right”, “our side right or wrong”, and “we make the rules”.

I hope, for many reasons, that Western powers will make a swift “cease and desist” on their ambitious projects in Iraq and Afghanistan.  I say “Western Powers” because even though I refer to the U.S. a lot in this post, I’m fully aware that Canada and other nations are involved in some of these efforts.

I will always affirm that the U.S (and the rest of the West) has a right to powerfully and swiftly defend itself.  Given the evidence I’ve seen, there is no way that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as we’ve seen them unfold, fit within that purpose. And even if they did fit into the purpose of self-defense, they are totally disproportionate responses.

The U.S., I believe, can be a safe, free, and prosperous nation. But, it is quite clear to me and many others, that such a course will not be attained by attacking, controlling, or building Afghanistan, Iraq, or Iran.

Booklog (June 28, 2011 – July 4, 2011)

  • The Rats by James Herbert (208 pages) [Audio Book]: Has some interesting aspects, but overall not recommended for various reasons. Flows rather like a vampire novel.
  • Liberal Fascism by Jonah Goldberg (496 pages) [Audio Book]: Jonah has some interesting analysis and this book is better than I expected. However, it is not without  flaws.  Some of his historical and philosophical conclusions seem rather iffy. (And some of us wait for a sequel that this author would probably never write:  “Conservative Fascism”)
  • The Trial of Henry Kissinger by Christopher Hitchens  (160 pages): A scathing and thorough case against Kissinger. I agree with the basic conclusion.   It’s a serious charge to make, but by any contemporary definition of “War Criminal”, Henry Kissinger seems to be one.  He just hasn’t had his day in court.

This places the running total for books completed in 2011 at 42.

Top 5 Hindrances To The Liberty Of A Nation

  1. The idea that God is not God, the State is God.
  2. The idea that adults need a Nanny.
  3. A prohibitionistic mindset.
  4. Choosing a foreign policy of bondage rather than a foreign policy of freedom and peace.
  5. Forgetting that government needs to obey the moral law.