The Council of Dort laboured for months to make a five point response to the doctrines of Arminius, and finally formulated what have become known as The Five Points of Calvinism. Somewhere down the line (if you know when, please tell us) someone attached the acronym TULIP to the doctrinal formulation, and now they are the touchstone for people who consider themselves convinced Calvinists:
Total Depravity
Unconditional Election
Limited Atonement
Irresistible Grace
Perseverance of the Saints
But such formularies can grow stale and lose their power to interest. So here is a brave effort to create a modern version that might appeal to full-blooded men (and women!) of today. Works for me. As Homer Simpson might say: "Mmmmmmmm.... Calvinism!"
If you want to know more about the Reformation and the issues that surrounded the formulation of these doctrinal positions, why not sign up for The Reformation Church History module of the Moore College course operated by our distance-learning college? Email admin@open-bible-institute.org to enrol.
Iām just back from a church weekend where we learnt the whole of Psalm 16 by heart. Iām now practising it every day to try and get it firm in my mind. I am not finding it easy. But thatās partly because my adult brain isnāt used to memorising stuff, and is protesting at the strain. However, children do learn things ā poems at school, the words of pop songs, lines for a Christmas play. So this is the ideal time for them to be memorising key verses from Godās Word.
Most childrenās teaching material will include some memory verses, and may also give suggestions for how to teach them. But we can quickly get locked in to using the same few techniques ā the ones we think āworkā.... continue reading
Few debates have become more heated in the last 50 years. The Bible's teaching on homosexuality is profoundly counter-cultural and hugely unpopular. But amid the debates are real people. People who are struggling. People who want to be more like Jesus. Today on the blog one person, who wishes to remain anonymous, asks a very personal question to each of us: would it be safe for them to tell us that they're bi-sexual?... continue reading
Do you have a question? A burning ministry conundrum? Something that is confusing you about the Bible, Jesus or how to serve him? Then why not post your question below or send it in to: blog@thegoodbook.co.uk. We'll do our best to answer them all in the coming weeks ... and throw open the discussion to all our other readers too.
Whether you'd value some hints on leading your youth group better, preaching more engagingly, discipling more effectively or you're simply wondering what the Bible says about a specific doctrine, we'd love to help you tease things out.
Weāve been studying 1 Chronicles in homegroup, and I was struck again by the contrast between the Philistinesā āgodā, Dagon ā and the LORD, Sovereign of all things. You may be familiar with the account in 1 Samuel 5 v 1-5 where the Philistines have captured the ark of the covenant and plonked it in their temple, next to Dagon. In the morning, Dagon has fallen over. So they prop him back up. But the next morning, heās not only toppled over but his head and hands have fallen off. Itās a great story that points to the supremacy of the LORD God ā and children love it!... continue reading
A Swedish designer has put together a new range of clerical clothing CasualPriest.com for women that aims to express stylish and confident femininity.
Is it just us ... or does this look suspiciously like a Star Trek uniform?
This weekend will be filled with street parties, the magnificent spectacle of the royal flotilla sailing down the Thames, and a joyful celebration of a British tradition, and a wonderful woman who has served her country so well over the last 60 years.
But, as we have seen over the last few days, the idea of Jubilee in the Bible is filled with a much richer meaning.
The Bible is one book, one story. And at its centre is Jesus, who is the fulfillment of all the law. Yes, even of the law of the Jubilee celebration. How?
Rest: "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11 v 28
Rejoice: āBlessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heavenā¦" Luke 6 v 22-23
Reliance: "Therefore do not be anxious, saying, āWhat shall we eat?ā or āWhat shall we drink?ā or āWhat shall we wear?ā For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." Matthew 6 v 31-33
Restoration: "In my Fatherās house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also." John 14 v 2-3
Release: āThe Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lordās favor.āAnd he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down ... And he began to say to them, āToday this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.ā Luke 4 v 19-21
So let's join in the praise for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, but reserve our full passion and joy for the One True King - Jesus our Lord. He's our real Jubilee.
From all of us at The Good Book Company, have a great weekend.
As the Queen's Jubilee celebration approaches, we've been looking at the origin of the Jubilee festival and made some fascinating discoveries.
The trumpet blast that started the Jubilee 50th year was the sign that anyone who was a slave was released. But there was another important economic aspect of the Jubilee as outlined in Leviticus 25. The land itself as restored to its original owners. In other words - there is no such thing as freehold.When someone sold a field or a plot of land, they were only leasing it for the time until the next Year of Jubilee. Why? As a reminder that: "The land is mine, and you are to reside in my land as foreigners and strangers." (Leviticus 25 v 23)
This whole economic system of land ownership has some very interesting implications for the way that business was conducted - not least that relationships and families became more important than money. But did you get the spiritual dimension of the command for restoration? It was a constant reminder to remember that the land they lived in was not theirs at all - but held as a gift from God.
It was the Lord who had rescued them from Egypt. It was the Lord who brought them through the wilderness to the land of Milk and Honey. It was with the Lord's strength that the Canaanites were driven out. It was the Lord's promise to Abraham that was fulfilled by the Lord's hand. The Jubilee enshrined in the rhythm of life the reminder that what they have comes as a gift to them from a gracious God. They must hold onto it lightly. They must live in it and enjoy its blessings with gratitude.
Many people admire the hard work and dedication to duty that has marked the reign of Queen Elizabeth II. She has worked hard to fulfill her role. She deserves to be celebrated this weekend. But I am sure that Her Majesty would echo the sentiments of the original Jubilee. That it is a time for recognising that all the good things we enjoy come from the hand of God. Your house, our country, your work, your bank account, your stuff. It's all his really.
Tomorrow: the real Jubilee!
The name Jubilee has a couple of possible derivations. It's either from the Hebrew term Yobel meaning a blast on the trumpet (the Jubilee year was announced by the blowing of a Shofar - a ram's horn - during Yom Kippur); or else it is from the Latin Jubilo - meaning shout.
Either indicates a celebration of enormous importance and joy. English words like "enjoy" and "Jublilation" come from the same root.
We saw yesterday how the Sabbath years were part of the way God built the principles of Rest, Reliance and Rejoicing into the life of his people Israel.
But the Jubilee, the 50th Year had another important function. In addition to the above, it was also about Release and Restoration.
Because in the Jubilee year, it wasn't just the land and the farmers that were released from having to do any work - anyone who was indentured as a slave was also released.
We tend to think of slavery today in absolute terms. Someone who is completely owned by another for life, and has no possible means of escape. Slavery in ancient Israel, and in much of the ancient world was practised in a very different way - more like the practice of bonded labour, where you effectively sign up with an employer for a period of time. In Israel, this time period was intended to be calculated from the Jubilee that came round every 50 years.
So if I got into debt or some kind of economic trouble, I could "sign up" as a slave, knowing that when I heard the blast of the trumpet that marks the start of Jubilee, my contract is over and I am free to go.
This release from slavery mirrors God's great saving act in Israel's history in Egypt. He put an end to their slavery and released them for a life of freedom under his loving rule.
Fast forward 1500 years to a hillside outside Jerusalem, and we see what the Exodus and the Jubliee year is really pointing to. God's ultimate act of salvation, as the Lord Jesus dies to set us free from the penalty of sin, so that we can live a life of freedom under his loving rule.
Jubilee is about celebrating the reign of the British Sovereign, Elizabeth. During here reign the UK has known a time of unprecedented peace and prosperity. But the Jubilee ultimately urges us to celebrate the reign of the King of Kings, the Lord Jesus whose brings peace with God and whose service is perfect freedom.
Call back tomorrow for some thoughts on Restoration...
Bunting? Check!
Cucumber sandwiches? Check!
Union Jack hat and Umbrella? Check!
Britain is preparing for a big party that will kick off a summer of celebration, starting with the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebration this coming weekend, and culminating in the Olympics in August. We're all looking forward to having a fantastic Summer of Fun - and the good weather has arrived just in time!
But behind it all the excitement, the niggling worry about how we will afford it all in this time of economic austerity never quite goes away.
Which is a little how the people of God must have felt about the original Jubilee celebrations commanded by God in Leviticus 25.
As part of his instructions to his redeemed people, the Lord ordained that the weekly pattern of 6-days work one-day rest was to be repeated with years. So people were to sow their fields and reap a regular harvest for six years, but the seventh year was also to be a sabbath year. They were to let their fields lie fallow - to plant nothing. They were to live from the things that grew naturally in the fields, and from crops stored from previous harvests.
But in addition to this there was another Mega-sabbath to be kept. After seven of these sabbath years - 49 years - they were to celebrate a special year of Jubilee on the 50th year.
These seven-year farming sabbaths model good land management in ancient cultures. Leaving land fallow allows it to "recover" and remain fruitful over time. When land is overworked it's productive value drops over time.
But it wasn't pragmatics that drove the Sabbath rule - they had a spiritual purpose. It was to teach them that there is more to life than work, work, work. It was to teach them to trust God for provision. It was to reflect the character and nature of God as a worker who rested and rejoiced in his handiwork.
Every time a sabbath year came round, no doubt they would be looking forward to having a "sabbatical". It was a chance to rest and to celebrate. But what would they eat? What would they live off? As well as planning for it with the storage of crops, they would also have to rely on God's provision to see them through the year. In order to be obedient to God's law, they needed to trust that He would supply their needs. They needed to trust in Jehovah Jireh - The Lord our Provider (See Genesis 22 v 14)
But in addition to Rest, Reliance and Rejoicing, the Jubilee was designed to model and show one other really important thing.
Call back into the blog tomorrow to discover what that is...
