Young, Restless, and Reformed

Tonight my wife and I attended a lecture at our church given by a well-respected scholar of the Bible and of Christian history, Lyle Murphy. Though the talk wasn't formally modeled this way, he more or less spent the majority of the time discussing the history of a couple of the pillars found within the "TULIP" model, which is the Calvinist description of the Doctrine of Grace (though TULIP was never mentioned tonight).

We began with Total Depravity, with which there was little dissension in the audience. However, as we moved toward the history of the doctrines of Unconditional Election and Limited Atonement, the tension in the room began to grow. Lyle shared some of his convictions, supported by scriptures, and held that he no longer embraced all of the Calvinist doctrine of grace, particularly the aspect of God choosing, or "electing", only a few to be saved.

I think I see where Lyle is coming from-- I have wrestled with the Calvinist/Armenian debate for years and years, and one of the aspects of Calvinism that repelled me the most was that the people I knew who held that position were typically some of the worst at showing grace. But then I came across "Reformed" guys like John Piper, Mark Driscoll, Tim Keller, C.J. Mahaney, and I began to listen to a lot of their sermons. These guys wonderfully communicated the glorious beauty of sound doctrine and Christ-centered living, unraveling truths of Scripture, and most importantly blowing my mind with the immeasurable glory of God's Grace. I love Jesus more than I ever have. For this reason, I keep coming back to these guys for more-- I love their teaching, their theology, and I can't get enough. It's like dessert for me! I've probably listened to hundreds of sermons by Driscoll, Piper, and Keller over the past year, and thanks to the technology of the internet, I've been able to pass the precious teaching of these men on to others.

I'm learning that I'm not the only young guy who's turning to Reformed doctrine. In the midst of a Post-Modern movement, of which I used to be a passionate advocate, the old and time-tested theology (also known as "Biblical") is rising in opposition. And I've been won over to the side that gives God the most glory.

To continue this thought, check out this article published by Christianity Today in September of 2006, called "Young, Restless, and Reformed"