God's Irresistible Grace

[Humble_Disciple]

This statement from the 1689 London Baptist Confession perfectly describes my wayward life and God's ultimately irresistible grace:

The most wise, righteous, and gracious God doth oftentimes leave for a season His own children to manifold temptations and the corruptions of their own hearts, to chastise them for their former sins, or to discover unto them the hidden strength of corruption and deceitfulness of their hearts, that they may be humbled;
and to raise them to a more close and constant dependence for their support upon Himself; and to make them more watchful against all future occasions of sin, and for other just and holy ends. So that whatsoever befalls any of His elect is by His appointment, for His glory, and their good.
The London Baptist Confession of Faith (1689)

 

[Mark Quayle]

Well posted. Thank you.

 

[Humble_Disciple]

Well posted. Thank you.

Since you are of the Reformed tradition, you might have noticed that the 1689 London Baptist Confession is almost word-for-word the same as the Westminster Confession:

The most wise, righteous, and gracious God doth oftentimes leave for a season His own children to manifold temptations, and the corruption of their own hearts, to chastise them for their former sins, or to discover unto them the hidden strength of corruption, and deceitfulness of their hearts, that they may be humbled; and, to raise them to a more close and constant dependence for their support upon Himself, and to make them more watchful against all future occasions of sin, and for sundry other just and holy ends.
Westminster Confession Chapters III-VI | Presbyterian Reformed Church

The current resurgence of Calvinism in the Southern Baptist Convention is, no matter what our friend Leighton Flowers might say, a return to historic Baptist roots. While I have no reason to doubt Dr. Flowers' salvation, his usage of the term "Traditionalism" to describe his own position is misleading.

While the 1689 London Baptist Confession was largely based on the Westminster Confession, the 1644 London Baptist Confession came before both of them, and is a Reformed Baptist confession:
1644 Baptist Confession of Faith - Wikipedia

 

[Mark Quayle]

Since you are of the Reformed tradition, you might have noticed that the 1689 London Baptist Confession is almost word-for-word the same as the Westminster Confession:



The current resurgence of Calvinism in the Southern Baptist Convention is, no matter what our friend Leighton Flowers might say, a return to historic Baptist roots.

I came on Reformed Theology almost by default, you might say. I did not grow up in it. My father's side of the family was 'closet Calvinistic', never making an issue of it, never putting a name to it, never quoting anything from which my mother's side of the family could extract a problem, but quoting a lot of Scripture that didn't sound like what my mother's side was fond of quoting. What I was taught by my mother's side, and others of that persuasion ('Arminian-leaning', I call it) didn't make sense to my experience, nor to logic, nor to many places in Scripture, so that my lack of obedience and faithfulness drove me to despair. Just as your quote says, through where God took me, I learned dependence on him, not to mention sovereignty and the fact that this life is about him —not about me. Through study (this story is several decades long) I came to find out that what I had come to believe most closely resembled Reformed Theology. (Haha, I like to think Reformed theology agrees with me!)

 

[Humble_Disciple]

I came on (Haha, I like to think Reformed theology agrees with me!)

I would describe myself as a four-point Calvinist, since Calvin himself, based on numerous passages of scripture, appears to have taught unlimited atonement.

Skip's Lighthouse: CALVIN'S FAVORITE FLOWER WAS NOT A T.U.L.I.P.

What is Amyraldism / Four-Point Calvinism? | GotQuestions.org

The other four points of Calvinism are quite clearly to me based on what the Bible teaches. This book is mostly just a collection of Biblical passages:

The Five Points of Calvinism: Defined, Defended, and Documented by David N. Steele

It's often misunderstood that predestination is the central theme of Calvinism. Instead, Calvinism's central theme is God's grace, that saving faith is entirely the gift of God, irrespective of our free-willed efforts to believe or disbelieve.

As Romans 9 teaches, God has elected us unconditionally, irrespective of anything God foresaw that was good or bad in us. Election and the salvation which results thereof are entirely the work of God's grace or unmerited favor.