Sermon for October 22nd, 2017 - Revision history

Iraneal at 13:07, 22 October 2017

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Iraneal at 12:25, 22 October 2017

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Iraneal at 05:07, 22 October 2017

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Iraneal at 04:49, 22 October 2017

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Iraneal at 03:52, 22 October 2017

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Iraneal at 03:24, 22 October 2017

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Iraneal at 02:49, 22 October 2017

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Iraneal at 02:05, 22 October 2017

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	And thus grace and gratitude spread throughout the earth. Continually. Incrementally. Irresistibly.		And thus grace and gratitude spread throughout the earth. Continually. Incrementally. Irresistibly.

−	You don't have to seek out that kind of grace--it will find you, sooner or later. When it does, I pray you'll recognize it for what it is, as you stop, as you give thanks, as you cherish the experience, and as you pass it on.	+	You don't have to seek out that kind of grace--it will find you, sooner or later. When it does, I pray you'll recognize it for what it is... as you stop... as you give thanks... as you cherish the experience... and as you pass it on.

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 Where the word grace appears in the New Testament (mostly in the letters of Paul) it is almost always the Greek word χάρις (charis), which is where we get words like charisma and charity.
-From Greek, the word jumps over into Latin, where it becomes GRATIA, where we eventually get the word "grace" but also words like "grateful" and "gratitude."
+From Greek, the word jumps over into Latin, where it becomes GRATIA. That's where we eventually get the word "grace" but also words like "grateful" and "gratitude."
-I don't know whether or not God has chosen you for some special purpose in this world.  I don't know whether your biological genome has predisposed you to live longer or survive better.  I don't know whether something in your personality or your environment or your very nature has destined you to contribute something great (or something small) to the development of humanity.
+And thus grace and gratitude spread throughout the earth. Continually.  Incrementally.  Irresistibly.

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 Unstoppable progress.  Irresistible grace.
-Alright, pastor.  So if you're saying that grace (or human progress) is inevitable, irresistible...then it really doesn't matter what I, as an individual do, right?  I can just do whatever I want, or nothing, and I'll still benefit from all that progress, right?
+Now at this point in the sermon, some of you (especially those who are familiar with my sermons!) may have noticed something missing.  Pastor Neal has gone for almost an entire sermon without defining anything...no etymology, no Greek, Hebrew, Latin, or Old English.
-Well, not so fast.
+I didn't forget.  I was just saving the best for last.
-Charles Spurgeon, who was a Calvinist (and arguably the most influential preacher of the 19th century) liked to use the metaphor of a train conductor driving a train down a railroad track.  His course is pre-determined by the track (and whatever authority laid down the track long before his time):  He cannot veer to the left or the right, he can only go faster or slower down his pre-determined path.
+Merriam Webster's dictionary gives, as its first definition of grace, "unmerited divine assistance given to humans for their regeneration or sanctification."  Further down the page, it also defines grace as a "disposition to or an act or instance of kindness, courtesy, or clemency."
-That track is made up of two strips of iron:  God's sovereignty on one side, and human responsibility on the other side. The two tracks run parallel to each other, and are two separate things when viewed immediately in front of the train.  But if you look into the distance, they seem to merge into one indistinguishable line. They are both still there, but you can no longer tell the difference between them.
+Where the word grace appears in the New Testament (mostly in the letters of Paul) it is almost always the Greek word χάρις (charis), which is where we get words like charisma and charity.
-I think his point was this:  God may be responsible for all things, for the orchestration of the universe and everything that happens within it.   But unless we have the ability to see, understand, and influence the distant future (and we don't), we must accept what we can plainly see in front of us--that our actions have immediate consequences, and therefore we are responsible for those consequences, even when they are part of a greater, fixed trajectory that we are moving  toward.
+From Greek, the word jumps over into Latin, where it becomes GRATIA, where we eventually get the word "grace" but also words like "grateful" and "gratitude."
-But in the absence of that knowledge, I can look around and see that there are still plenty of things to do.  If we do nothing, we guarantee we are

← Older revision		Revision as of 05:07, 22 October 2017
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	That track is made up of two strips of iron: God's sovereignty on one side, and human responsibility on the other side. The two tracks run parallel to each other, and are two separate things when viewed immediately in front of the train. But if you look into the distance, they seem to merge into one indistinguishable line. They are both still there, but you can no longer tell the difference between them.		That track is made up of two strips of iron: God's sovereignty on one side, and human responsibility on the other side. The two tracks run parallel to each other, and are two separate things when viewed immediately in front of the train. But if you look into the distance, they seem to merge into one indistinguishable line. They are both still there, but you can no longer tell the difference between them.

−	I think his point was this: God may be responsible for all things, for the orchestration of the universe and everything that happens within it. But unless we have the ability to see ~~far into~~ the distant future (and we don't), we must accept what we can plainly see in front of us--that our actions have immediate consequences, and therefore we are responsible for those consequences.	+	I think his point was this: God may be responsible for all things, for the orchestration of the universe and everything that happens within it. But unless we have the ability to see, understand, and influence the distant future (and we don't), we must accept what we can plainly see in front of us--that our actions have immediate consequences, and therefore we are responsible for those consequences, even when they are part of a greater, fixed trajectory that we are moving toward.
		+
		+	I don't know whether or not God has chosen you for some special purpose in this world. I don't know whether your biological genome has predisposed you to live longer or survive better. I don't know whether something in your personality or your environment or your very nature has destined you to contribute something great (or something small) to the development of humanity.
		+
		+	But in the absence of that knowledge, I can look around and see that there are still plenty of things to do. If we do nothing, we guarantee we are

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 ==The Doctrine of Irresistible Grace==
-Today's sermon is about the doctrine of irresistible grace.  I'm going to try to explain it in three different ways:  First as a divine romance, second as it's understood in classic Calvinism, and finally in terms of human evolution and progress.
+Today's sermon is about the doctrine of irresistible grace.  I'm going to try to explain it in three different ways:  First as a divine romance, second as it's understood in classic Calvinism, and finally in the 21st century terms of human evolution and progress.
-But before I do that, allow me a somewhat longish digression (but one with a purpose!).
+Before I do that, allow me a somewhat longish digression (but one with a purpose!).
 I don't quite remember the first time I saw my wife Amy.  But she often tells the story of the first time she saw me.  It was in the band room at Coronado High School.  We were both 16.  She saw me across the crowded room,  wearing a red, sleeveless shirt.  I had in my hand a bass drum mallet (a drumstick) and with it I was engaged in a mock sword fight with another drummer.
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 That's the nature of irresistible grace.
-Of course, the doctrine of irresistible grace does not have quite so much to do with attraction between you and your significant other as attraction between God and those he has chosen to be his "elect." As the Apostle Paul puts it in today's scripture passage, "those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified."  Basically, if God chooses you, if God calls you...that grace changes your life, your heart, and draws you irresistibly to him.
+Of course, the doctrine of irresistible grace does not have quite so much to do with attraction between you and your significant other as it does attraction between God and those he has chosen to be his "elect." As the Apostle Paul puts it in today's scripture passage, "those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified."  Basically, if God chooses you, if God calls you...that grace changes your life, your heart, and draws you irresistibly to him.
 The opposite of irresistible grace, in theological terms, is called "prevenient" grace (basically "resistible" grace).  It is a surprisingly popular doctrine in many churches these days, and basically it's the idea that God chooses everyone, but some people say "no."  They resist.  Not just once, but they successfully continue resisting until the very end, and therefore by their own choice, God is not able to save or redeem them, because God respects our "free will."
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 That's why in our families, we instinctively make great sacrifices of our own interests or well-being for the sake of our children, so that they might thrive and succeed even beyond our own ambitions for ourselves.  In sports, given the choice, a good player will sacrifice individual accomplishment so that his or her team can win the game.  In our armed forces, in law enforcement, or in firefighting, an individual will willingly put his or her own life at risk to protect the larger community.
-I think that's a better framework for understanding the concept of "GOOD," regardless of whether we're speaking of evolution, or God's intentions for humanity (and perhaps they are one and the same).  Classical Calvinism emphasised the salvation of the INDIVIDUAL after death as the ultimate good.  But today I'd rather emphasize the "greater good" or benefit to humanity as the ultimate good.
+I think that's a better framework for understanding the concept of "GOOD," regardless of whether we're speaking of evolution, or God's intentions for humanity (and perhaps they are one and the same).  Classical Calvinism emphasised the salvation of the INDIVIDUAL after death as the ultimate good.  But as a Calvinist today I'd rather emphasize the "greater good" or benefit to humanity as the ultimate good.
 We know that all things are constantly, slowly, inexorably working together for THAT kind of good, over the span of millions of years.  As we evolve, we keep getting better and better, stronger and smarter.  Better at taking care of each other, better at understanding the world around us and the way it works.
-Now, if you look at things on a small scale--this year's tragedy, this year's natural disaster, this year's local or national crisis--you might think otherwise.  That's because we're also getting better at communicating with each other instantaneously across vast distances.  But if you look at any specific statistic over a span of the past hundred, or even thousand years--war, poverty, famine, disease, mortality, take your pick--you will see nothing but the steady and consistent improvement of life and humanity on this planet.  Unstoppable progress.  Irresistible grace.
+Now, if you look at things on a small scale, you might think otherwise--this year's tragedy, this year's natural disaster, this year's local or national crisis.  That's because we're also getting better at communicating with each other instantaneously across vast distances.  But if you look at any specific statistic over a span of the past hundred, or even thousand years--war, poverty, famine, disease, mortality, take your pick--you will see nothing but the steady and consistent improvement of life and humanity on this planet.

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 ==The Doctrine of Irresistible Grace==
-Today's sermon is about the doctrine of irresistible grace.  I'm going to try to explain it in three different ways:  First as a divine romance, second as it's understood in classic Calvinism, and finally (as I've been doing for the past few weeks) in terms of modern biology, genetics, and Darwinian evolution.
+Today's sermon is about the doctrine of irresistible grace.  I'm going to try to explain it in three different ways:  First as a divine romance, second as it's understood in classic Calvinism, and finally in terms of human evolution and progress.
 But before I do that, allow me a somewhat longish digression (but one with a purpose!).
@@ Line 25: / Line 25: @@
 That's the nature of irresistible grace.
-Of course, the doctrine of irresistible grace does not have quite so much to do with attraction between you and your significant other as it does between God and those he has chosen to be his "elect." As the Apostle Paul puts it in today's scripture passage, "those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified."  Basically, if God chooses you, if God calls you...that grace changes your life, your heart, and draws you irresistibly to him.
+Of course, the doctrine of irresistible grace does not have quite so much to do with attraction between you and your significant other as attraction between God and those he has chosen to be his "elect." As the Apostle Paul puts it in today's scripture passage, "those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified."  Basically, if God chooses you, if God calls you...that grace changes your life, your heart, and draws you irresistibly to him.
 The opposite of irresistible grace, in theological terms, is called "prevenient" grace (basically "resistible" grace).  It is a surprisingly popular doctrine in many churches these days, and basically it's the idea that God chooses everyone, but some people say "no."  They resist.  Not just once, but they successfully continue resisting until the very end, and therefore by their own choice, God is not able to save or redeem them, because God respects our "free will."
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 Most Calvinists would argue that's the same thing as a parent saying to a child, "I respect your free will, so if you choose to run out into the busy street in front of a car, I will only save you if you ask me to."  No.  If you have the power to save the child, you save the child, whether he wants to be saved or not.
-So in classic Calvinism, the doctrine of Irresistible Grace is simply a way of saying that God's will is stronger than ours, God's plans are better for us than our plans for ourselves, and where the two are in conflict, eventually God wins.
+So in classic Calvinism, the doctrine of Irresistible Grace is simply a way of saying that God's will is stronger than ours, God's plans are better for us than our plans for ourselves, and where the two are in conflict, eventually God wins. Or as writer and theologian Rob Bell puts it, "love wins."
 Again, the Apostle Paul, in one of his most often quoted verses: "We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose."
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 Note that this verse does NOT say, "All things work out for everyone all the time."  Nor does it say, "All things work out for people the way they WANT them to."  It says that "all things work together for GOOD for those who love God, who are called according to HIS purpose." In other words, what's GOOD is determined by God's purposes, not by our desires.
-Which brings me to my final take on Irresistible Grace, as viewed through the lens of biology and Darwinian evolution.  Contrary to popular belief, the greatest good in evolution is not the survival of the individual.  It's the survival of the species.  And sometimes, what's GOOD for the entire species is not so good for the individual. That's why in our families, we instinctively make great sacrifices of our own interests or well-being for the sake of our children.  In sports, given the choice, a good player will sacrifice individual accomplishment so that his or her team can win the game.  In our armed forces, in law enforcement, or in firefighting, an individual will willingly put his or her own life at risk to protect the larger community.
+Which brings me to my final take on Irresistible Grace, as viewed through the lens of biology and sociology.  Contrary to popular belief, the greatest good in evolution is not the survival of the individual.  It's the survival of the species.  And sometimes, what's GOOD for the entire species is not so good for the individual.
-I think that's a good framework for understanding the concept of "GOOD," regardless of whether we're speaking of evolution, or God's intentions for humanity (and perhaps they are one and the same).  Let's call it the "greater good" or benefit to humanity.  We know that all things are constantly, slowly, inexorably working together for THAT kind of good, over the span of millions of years.  As we evolve, we keep getting better and better, stronger and smarter.  Better at taking care of each other, better at understanding the world around us and the way it works.
+That's why in our families, we instinctively make great sacrifices of our own interests or well-being for the sake of our children, so that they might thrive and succeed even beyond our own ambitions for ourselves.  In sports, given the choice, a good player will sacrifice individual accomplishment so that his or her team can win the game.  In our armed forces, in law enforcement, or in firefighting, an individual will willingly put his or her own life at risk to protect the larger community.
 Now, if you look at things on a small scale--this year's tragedy, this year's natural disaster, this year's local or national crisis--you might think otherwise.  That's because we're also getting better at communicating with each other instantaneously across vast distances.  But if you look at any specific statistic over a span of the past hundred, or even thousand years--war, poverty, famine, disease, mortality, take your pick--you will see nothing but the steady and consistent improvement of life and humanity on this planet.  Unstoppable progress.  Irresistible grace.

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	Which brings me to my final take on Irresistible Grace, as viewed through the lens of biology and Darwinian evolution. Contrary to popular belief, the greatest good in evolution is not the survival of the individual. It's the survival of the species. And sometimes, what's GOOD for the entire species is not so good for the individual. That's why in our families, we instinctively make great sacrifices of our own interests or well-being for the sake of our children. In sports, given the choice, a good player will sacrifice individual accomplishment so that his or her team can win the game. In our armed forces, in law enforcement, or in firefighting, an individual will willingly put his or her own life at risk to protect the larger community.		Which brings me to my final take on Irresistible Grace, as viewed through the lens of biology and Darwinian evolution. Contrary to popular belief, the greatest good in evolution is not the survival of the individual. It's the survival of the species. And sometimes, what's GOOD for the entire species is not so good for the individual. That's why in our families, we instinctively make great sacrifices of our own interests or well-being for the sake of our children. In sports, given the choice, a good player will sacrifice individual accomplishment so that his or her team can win the game. In our armed forces, in law enforcement, or in firefighting, an individual will willingly put his or her own life at risk to protect the larger community.

−	I think that's a good framework for understanding the concept of "GOOD," regardless of whether we're speaking of evolution, or God's intentions for humanity (and perhaps they are one and the same). Let's call it the "greater good" or benefit to humanity. We know that all things are constantly, inexorably working together for THAT kind of good, over the span of millions of years.	+	I think that's a good framework for understanding the concept of "GOOD," regardless of whether we're speaking of evolution, or God's intentions for humanity (and perhaps they are one and the same). Let's call it the "greater good" or benefit to humanity. We know that all things are constantly, slowly, inexorably working together for THAT kind of good, over the span of millions of years. As we evolve, we keep getting better and better, stronger and smarter. Better at taking care of each other, better at understanding the world around us and the way it works.
		+
		+	Now, if you look at things on a small scale--this year's tragedy, this year's natural disaster, this year's local or national crisis--you might think otherwise. That's because we're also getting better at communicating with each other instantaneously across vast distances. But if you look at any specific statistic over a span of the past hundred, or even thousand years--war, poverty, famine, disease, mortality, take your pick--you will see nothing but the steady and consistent improvement of life and humanity on this planet. Unstoppable progress. Irresistible grace.

← Older revision		Revision as of 03:24, 22 October 2017
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	Note that this verse does NOT say, "All things work out for everyone all the time." Nor does it say, "All things work out for people the way they WANT them to." It says that "all things work together for GOOD for those who love God, who are called according to HIS purpose." In other words, what's GOOD is determined by God's purposes, not by our desires.		Note that this verse does NOT say, "All things work out for everyone all the time." Nor does it say, "All things work out for people the way they WANT them to." It says that "all things work together for GOOD for those who love God, who are called according to HIS purpose." In other words, what's GOOD is determined by God's purposes, not by our desires.

−	Which brings me to my final take on Irresistible Grace, as viewed through the lens of biology and Darwinian evolution. Contrary to popular belief, the greatest good in evolution is not the survival of the individual. It's the survival of the species. And sometimes, what's GOOD for the entire species is not so good for the individual. ~~In sociology that~~'s ~~the idea that sometimes we make individual sacrifices for the "greater good." In~~ our families, we instinctively make sacrifices of our own interests or well-being for the sake of our children. In sports, a good ~~team-~~player will sacrifice individual accomplishment so that his or her team can win the game.	+	Which brings me to my final take on Irresistible Grace, as viewed through the lens of biology and Darwinian evolution. Contrary to popular belief, the greatest good in evolution is not the survival of the individual. It's the survival of the species. And sometimes, what's GOOD for the entire species is not so good for the individual. That's why in our families, we instinctively make great sacrifices of our own interests or well-being for the sake of our children. In sports, given the choice, a good player will sacrifice individual accomplishment so that his or her team can win the game. In our armed forces, in law enforcement, or in firefighting, an individual will willingly put his or her own life at risk to protect the larger community.
		+
		+	I think that's a good framework for understanding the concept of "GOOD," regardless of whether we're speaking of evolution, or God's intentions for humanity (and perhaps they are one and the same). Let's call it the "greater good" or benefit to humanity. We know that all things are constantly, inexorably working together for THAT kind of good, over the span of millions of years.

← Older revision		Revision as of 02:05, 22 October 2017
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	Most Calvinists would argue that's the same thing as a parent saying to a child, "I respect your free will, so if you choose to run out into the busy street in front of a car, I will only save you if you ask me to." No. If you have the power to save the child, you save the child, whether he wants to be saved or not.		Most Calvinists would argue that's the same thing as a parent saying to a child, "I respect your free will, so if you choose to run out into the busy street in front of a car, I will only save you if you ask me to." No. If you have the power to save the child, you save the child, whether he wants to be saved or not.
		+
		+	So in classic Calvinism, the doctrine of Irresistible Grace is simply a way of saying that God's will is stronger than ours, God's plans are better for us than our plans for ourselves, and where they are in conflict, eventually God wins.
		+
		+	Again, the Apostle Paul, in one of his most often quoted verses: "We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose."