From Everlasting to Everlasting
I have fond memories of the early days of the Reformed resurgence. These were the days in the early 2000s when so many people were discovering, or rediscovering, the deep and historic truths of the Reformed tradition. Everyone was writing about the five solas and the five points, marveling at how they display God’s glory. Soli deo gloria, indeed.
But it seems to me that somewhere along the way people stopped writing about those truths. They began to assume them in place of celebrating them, to consign them to the background instead of ensuring they remained in the foreground. I understand why this happened—there are only so many books that can be written and so many sermons that can be preached on the same topics. But I also fear that unless we continue to return to these foundational truths, we will inadvertently undermine the very tradition we claim to have become part of.
With this in mind, it was a joy to open Will Dobbie’s From Everlasting to Everlasting: Every Believer’s Biography and find it is a book about the ordo salutis, or the order of salvation. This is another of those topics that was once written about often but is now written about seldom—too seldom, I fear. The ordo salutis is how theologians describe the order by which God saves his people. Beginning with election, it proceeds through calling, regeneration, conversion, justification, reconciliation, sanctification, and perseverance before culminating in glorification. It is a “a stage-by-stage roadmap from eternity past to eternity future. It’s a pathway marked out for us by God consisting of multiple steps, some sequential and some simultaneous. No matter how wild or random life may seem, this is the trail along which He is leading us. It will ultimately guide us home to unimaginable joy.”
Dobbie takes an interesting and helpful approach to the topic by structuring his book as a kind of 30-day devotional. Though there are formally nine steps to the ordo salutis, he increases this to 30 by expanding and subdividing each of them. Hence the topic of election becomes “The God Who Agrees: The Eternal Covenant,” “The God who Knows: Foreknowledge,” and “The God Who Chooses: Election.” Before he discusses calling he considers “The God Who Arranges: Providence” and “The God Who Creates: Conception and Physical Life.” Then, of course, in consistency with Reformed theology, he distinguishes between the external call and the internal call. It’s an effective packaging of familiar topics. The devotional nature ensures it is not just informative but also worshipful.
I grew up within the Reformed tradition and have held to its core doctrines for my entire life. These things are deeply ingrained within my heart and mind. Yet I found From Everlasting to Everlasting a particular pleasure to read, almost like the pleasure of reading a novel that was especially meaningful in my childhood. It was a joy to be reminded of the wonder of how God saves his people and to reaffirm how so much depends upon rightly ordering these steps. It was a joy to see again how God is sovereign in our salvation, how he is glorified from the first step to the last. It was a joy to once again meditate upon one of the unique and uniquely beautiful distinctives of Reformed theology.
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A La Carte (June 1)
May the Lord be with you and bless you as you begin a new day and a new month.
(Yesterday on the blog: To Surprise Us At the Last Day)
A Word to Gen Z Graduates
Aaron Menikoff has a message to Gen Z graduates that may encourage and challenge them in useful ways.
What Is Prudence?
“As a protective Father, God calls us to prudence, to think before we act. This may sound simple, but even prudence has its imposters. We may think we are being prudent while we are still playing the fool. How so?” Emily Van Dixhoorn explains.
Let’s Turn Pride Month into Prayer Month
Cindy Matson has a great idea here. She includes prayer prompts for every day of the month.
The Sound Witness of An Ordinary Life
“In Paul’s view here in Titus, the lifeblood of an effective Gospel witness is far more ordinary and unimpressive than we’d like to admit. It’s comprised of character and behavior we readily assume ourselves to have, but closer self-examination reveals why Paul instructs us to continually remind ourselves of these things.”
The Ordinary Means of Grace
For the Church’s “Theology in the Everyday” series of brief introductions to theological matters continues with an explanation of the ordinary means of grace. As is true for each entry, there’s also an explanation meant for children.
Expect God to Work in the Lives of People Around You
“I find the Lord’s activity in the lives of the Babylonian kings’ when the Israelites were in captivity fascinating. I cannot help but think that it was because of the presence of the people of God that the Lord worked miracles in the lives of these pagan monarchs.”
Flashback: 4 Guidelines for Dating Without Regrets
Couples should make their intentions known when they begin dating—but this is not the same as declaring an intention to get married! Rather, to be intentional is to be clear on what the initial expectations are.The way to conquer sin is not by working hard to change our deeds, but by trusting Jesus to change our desires. —David Platt
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Weekend A La Carte (April 15)
My thanks goes to Children’s Hunger Fund for sponsoring the blog this week. Be sure to read about A Believer’s Response to Poverty. Sponsors are essential to keeping this blog running, so I’m grateful to each and every one. I screen them carefully so encourage you to always give them a good look.
Today’s Kindle deals include newer and older books.
(Yesterday on the blog: Friendship With God)
Not Forever, Yet Still Meaningful
“Make sure they know their commitment doesn’t have to be forever to be meaningful.” This is a helpful tip for any number of circumstances.
Psychology’s Culpability in the Transgender Movement
Jesse Johnson: “I’m writing this because I want to make sure pastors and parents see the massive worldview shift that is taking place in the schools and so-called sciences. The transgender movement has become the gravitational center of our culture. It is fed by the Bible of psychology, and it targets our kids. We should at least be familiar with the book that is being used to justify the massive surge in the transgender movement.”
Please Bear with Me
This is a strong call for love and unity in the local church.
The World is Still Spinning
“The world is still spinning, Love. These are the words that jogged through my mind recently, as I was playing with our 19-month-old grandson. We were in his backyard, and he was mowing the grass with his noisy plastic lawnmower.”
No Further
Cassie Watson: “At dawn, I’m on the beach. It’s deserted—just me, a pelican, and the churning waves. And my churning mind.”
Polity Matters
“Are the rules of the church arbitrary? Do we follow the rules as a part of our commitment to Jesus or are they just something we get from the world? This is a significant question because many think that the church’s rules are more advisory than regulatory. They miss the connection to the scriptures and the work of the church. Here are some reasons why the rules are important and to be followed.”
Flashback: Bring Her Out and Let Her Be Burned
From a great distance and with the scantest information we can judge another person’s least transgression. Yet we can rack our own hearts and minds and often barely come up with a single way we are anything less than perfect.Regimens and strategies leave us guilt-ridden when we fail, but prayer that flows out of our relationship with God reminds us of his grace toward us even when we fail. —John Onwuchekwa
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A La Carte (May 17)
May the Lord be with you and bless you today.
Once again you’ll find a selection of new Kindle deals.
Ever Yours, Sin
Here’s a fresh take on sin and sanctification: A letter from sin to the redeemed soul.
The History Of Transformation Church And Mike Todd (Video)
This is a really interesting look at Mike Todd and Transformation Church. (Also, here’s Todd Friel on How Sitting Under Weak Preaching Actually Puts You In Danger)
Get Acquainted with a Forgotten Treasure
Although William Burkitt is not well-known in our day, he was known and acclaimed in days past as an especially brilliant expositor and commentator. His Expository Notes, with Practical Observations, on the New Testament is being reprinted and Derek Thomas says, “Generations to come will now profit from his exceptionally good comments.” (Sponsored)
Your Physical Health is a Spiritual Issue
“There are many things as a pastor that are difficult to speak about. Divorce is one of those, for instance, because so many people are impacted by divorce. Increasingly, all sexual ethics are challenging to speak about because there are often homosexual people in our audiences or people who are living with someone who isn’t their spouse.”
Serving God in Unglamorous Places
I appreciate Stephen Steele’s call for pastors to consider ministry in places less glamorous than big cities.
Secondary Enemy
Counselor Crystal Kershaw writes about a counselee who “fought a fierce battle to overcome a troublesome pattern of sin in her life. It was a significant struggle, but she fought hard with the weapons of truth, humility, and faith. Through Christ’s resurrection power, she gained victory. Yet now she finds herself attacked by a secondary enemy, an unexpected one.”
Treasures of Darkness
Donna writes about some of the treasures of the darkness she has experienced lately.
Flashback: How Many Loves Have You Experienced Today?
The God who loves created a world of love. What a pleasure it is to live in this world, his world, and to experience love as both a giver and a receiver of its infinite forms.Affliction is a bitter root, but it bears sweet fruit. —Thomas Watson
