21 Apr 2010

The Balance of Calvinism

I read this quote yesterday in Iain H. Murray's Spurgeon vs. Hyper-Calvinism and was blessed by the balance and warmth of what Spurgeon has to say about predestination and human responsibility. How these dual sentiments should frame our preaching of the Gospel:

'I believe in predestination, yea, in its very jots and tittles. I believe that the path of a single grain of dust in the March wind is ordained and settled by a decree which cannot be violated; that every word and thought of man, every fluttering of a sparrow's wing, every flight of a fly...that everything, in fact is foreknown and foreordained. But I do equally believe in the free agency of man, that man acts as he wills, especially in moral operations - choosing the evil with a will that is unbiased by anything that comes from God, biased only by his own depravity of heart and the perverseness of his habits; choosing the right, too, with perfect freedom, though sacredly guided and led by the Holy Spirit...I believe that man is as accountable as if there were no destiny whatever'.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Andrew,
It's been one of those weeks! But as I awoke early this am, came into my study to check e-mails etc. I hit the old Double Usefulness button. What a joy to see you up and running again. Praise the Lord.
May you, Caroline & Grace be blessed and in turn a blessing to us.

PMcG

Andrew said...

Thanks Paul, really appreciate your encouragement, and trust that this weekend will be a bit of a 'cure' for your week.

Blessings,
Andrew