It came in today!! I've read the first two chapters.
I'm not sure what Bob George's actual theology is yet (especially concerning soteriology), but he says quite a few things that actually seem to agree with the Reformed position. This may be a case of using the same words but meaning totally different things (which is part of the 'presupposition problem' we will address with Sproul and Jonathan Edwards), but we'll see. For now, I'll just make the following observations:
George's basic case seems to parallel that described by Jerry Bridges in his book
Transforming Grace. George describes it like this:
I have heard the same sad admission from many other Christians, too. Someone experiences a genuine conversion to Jesus Christ that results in immediate changes. But there seems to be something lacking in knowing how to live from that point. He dutifully obeys the instructions that other believers give him, and jumps onto the treadmill of service. It isn't long before he discovers that no amunt of service--sincere though it may be--will make a person spiritual. In desperation he redoubles his efforts but, like a person sinking in quicksand, it seems that the harder he tries, the deeper he sinks.
Classic Christianity, p. 18-19
Bridges calls this phenomena the idea that popular Christianity inadvertantly sends the message that we are saved by grace, but then we must live by works. He uses a really good bankruptcy analogy to illustrate that we are not only saved by grace, but that we must also
live by grace. BTW...Jerry Bridge's books aren't
overtly Reformed, but I've realized that his books were the begining of my journey to refomed theology. Just an expansion of my concept of grace was a
huge milestone. I heartily agree with George's quote by Mary, "But it wasn't until I started learning of God's grace and total forgiveness that I started to become free.."
Here's another idea that
could be Reformed(on p. 24):
Christ didn't call me to change anything; He called me to proclaim the truth!
If George means that in evangelism, we are not called to change people's lives but to simply proclaim the Gospel, that is also a Reformed idea. If George means that we are not called to change anything in our lives, but to simply proclaim the Gospel...well...there would be a problem with that. I'm not sure which he means at this point.
I loved George's 'ear-gate' and 'eye-gate' on page 29!! It's an allusion to a book by John Bunyan called
The Holy War. And..you guessed it...John Bunyan also wrote
The Pilgrim's Progress and was Reformed!! (In addition to Ear- and Eye-gate, there were also Mouth-, Nose-, and Feel-gates.)
Here's an interesting statement, also from page 29:
Man is free to put whatever he wants to in his mind.
Reformed theology agrees with this basic statement. But then we need to look closer at what 'wants to' means...and we will do this in our discussion of chapter 3 of
Chosen By God!!
George's discussion on pages 36-39 was also interesting. Scripture is, indeed, the plumb line by which we judge the truth of anything. This is
very revealing:
There's a big difference between knowing what something says and knowing what it means. Millions of Christians know what the Bible says. But many do not know what it means because that can only be revealed by the Spirit. Man's pride rebels against the idea that he cannot understand spiritual truth on his own, but this is clearly what the Bible says...
Classic Christianity, p. 38
I whole-heartedly agree with this. I further submit that another thing that prevents us from seeing what Scripture
means is that fact that we have all been steeped in Enlightenment philosophies that elevate human free will while diminishing God's sovereignty, and these views have even made their way into the church and have had a stronghold on the church since at least the time of Charles Finney.
One last point for tonight:
Jesus Christ said He came to give life. What kind of person needs life? The answer was obvious: only the dead. For example, Ephesians 2:21: "As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins." Before, if asked what the problem of mankind was, I would have always discussed man's sinfullness and need for God's forgiveness. Now this is certainly true, but I began to see, through the Scriptures, that man's problem is much deeper. From God's point of view, the problem of man is not just that he is a sinner in need of forgiveness; his problem is that he is dead and in need of life.
This is a
major point in Reformed theology. Sproul addresses it in Chapter 5 of
Chosen By God, especially pages 112-120.
