Category: Hot Topics

How “Total Depravity” Ignores the Gospel Call

On By Dave MallinakIn Calvinism, Gospel Conversations, Hot Topics, Issues Facing the Church1 Comment

The TULIP completely ignores man’s responsibility and the gospel call itself. It is, in fact, the TULIP more than any other feature of Calvinism that gives non-Calvinists the impression that Calvinism discourages evangelism and teaches men to wait for God to save them rather than repent and believe the gospel. I would go so far as to argue that Calvinism should discard the TULIP and teach what the Bible says as the authority for what we should believe about Christ in His saving work.

The TULIP focuses exclusively on God’s sovereignty in salvation. But this obsession with the sovereignty of God drifts precariously close to a hyper-Calvinistic overstatement of God’s sovereignty, ala A.W. Pink, who couldn’t appreciate any attribute of God without re-hashing God’s sovereignty all over again. Reading Pink’s Attributes of God, one gets the distinct impression that he sees the sovereignty of God as the one attribute that defines all the others, that sovereignty is more important than God’s holiness or love.

I have no wish to understate God’s sovereignty. God is God, and as an expression of the “Godness” of God, the TULIP seeks to glorify God and to remind us that God doesn’t lay aside His sovereign control when it comes to the salvation of sinners. I am very grateful that God gets all the glory, that salvation is His work, and that I am and have always been in His hand. None of this is a denial of God’s sovereignty. Nor is it a denial that the TULIP includes vital truths about God and His work in saving sinners. I am unwilling to join some of my dear friends in repudiating the TULIP as if it contains no truth whatsoever.

But as I have insisted, the Bible doesn’t resolve the mysterious interaction between God’s will and man’s. God’s will is exhaustive. Of that, there can be no doubt. Man’s will and his entire self have been significantly damaged by sin so that from the time of the Fall onward, man’s heart has been hopelessly corrupted, deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. To put too much stock in man’s ability would be to set aside what the Bible tells us about ourselves. To diminish God’s sovereignty in our salvation would be to ignore or reject what the Bible teaches us about God. I do not wish to fall into either error.

But we must say what the Bible says, and we must emphasize what the Bible emphasizes. I believe the TULIP goes beyond Scripture in its claims about the interaction between God’s will and man’s.

So much has been written on the TULIP that I couldn’t possibly interact with every explanation or claim. I have two fairly simple presentations of Calvinist soteriology in front of me, both apologetic in nature. The first is Chosen by God by R.C. Sproul. The second is Easy Chairs Hard Words by Douglas Wilson. I recognize that neither of these men has attempted a defense of the TULIP itself, and both provide a substantial explanation of Calvinism that includes the TULIP but doesn’t rely on it. In fairness, both men might agree with some of my critiques. I want to interact with the TULIP itself as it is typically presented since (anecdotally) the TULIP tends to be the go-to expression of Calvinist soteriology. My claim in this article isn’t that Calvinists aren’t more nuanced than the TULIP, but only that the Calvinist reliance on the TULIP is flawed and misguided. And I say this because the TULIP mischaracterizes the gospel by giving only half the story.

Continue reading “How “Total Depravity” Ignores the Gospel Call” →

Protecting Your Church from Predators

On By Dave MallinakIn Hot Topics, Independent Baptists, Issues Facing the Church, Justice, Pastors4 Comments

Any institution that deals with children is a target for sexual predators: churches especially, but not exclusively. More than once, I have pointed out the fact that the public schools have a severe problem with this – a problem that dwarfs anything Independent Baptist churches or any other religious institution might have. I don’t say this to minimize problems the IFB might have with sexual misconduct or coverups. We have had some terrible cases of abuse that have done unspeakable damage to God’s children. There is no excuse for this. Our churches must take decisive action to protect our children. However, it has been estimated that as many as 10% of public school students will be the victims of some form of sexual assault while at school – much of it at the hands of teachers and staff.

I wonder why this hasn’t been exposed. We know all about the problems and scandals religious institutions have had. Why is there no concern about the public schools? The United States has 49.4 million public school students. If 10% of them have been the victims of sexual assault at school, that would mean almost 5 million victims. Why isn’t that the biggest scandal ever?

Whatever problems the world might have, churches should be on the front lines of protecting children. If anyone qualifies as a wolf, it would be a person – pastor or otherwise – who preys on children.

Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. (Acts 20:28-30)

I shudder at the thought that a child in any of our ministries would become the victim of a predator. We have spent much time over the years putting policies in place, developing solid training for our volunteers, and teaching our parents and children how to recognize grooming, what is appropriate and inappropriate touching, and what to do if an adult violates any of the boundaries we have put in place. I want to share some of the resources, policies, and training material we have used so churches can have the resources needed to protect their children.

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TULIP Trouble

On By Dave MallinakIn Apologetic, Calvinism, Gospel Conversations, Hot Topics, Independent Baptists, Issues Facing the Church3 Comments

The relation of divine sovereignty to human responsibility is one of the great mysteries of the Christian faith. It is plain from Scripture in any case that both are real and that both are important. Calvinistic theology is known for its emphasis on divine sovereignty – for its view that God “works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will” (Eph. 1:11). But in Calvinism there is at least an equal emphasis upon human responsibility. (John Frame, Apologetics to the Glory of God, p. 14)

I open with this quote because, first, John Frame is a well-known Calvinist, and second, because he accurately describes here the mysterious interaction between God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility in salvation. Recently, I placed as the tenth on my list of things I wish would change among Independent Baptists, “overstated anti-Calvinism.” In my explanation of that objection, I said that quite often, in their haste to refute Calvinists, many Independent Baptists caricature Calvinism. In response to that article, some friends asked me to explain my objections to Calvinism, which resulted in an initial post in which I objected to the way Calvinists tend to blur the paradox between God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility in their presentation of the gospel. Now, I want to raise before you the primary proof that in Calvinism, this paradox is either blurred or ignored.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

The TULIP does not account for man’s responsibility at all. Period. It gives no consideration to man’s responsibility, and nothing in it would give anyone the idea that man is responsible before God to repent and believe the gospel. If a person learning the TULIP were to take that as the summary of Christian doctrine, they would conclude that man has no part in God’s plan for our salvation other than to wait and hope that God might save him. The TULIP is an effective mnemonic device, for sure. But as far as a summary of Christian doctrine, it falls woefully short. One could argue that the TULIP only gives one side of the coin – later, I will contend that it also goes beyond Scripture in its attempt to describe God’s sovereignty in salvation. But supposing that the TULIP does give one half of the truth, half the truth is not the truth.

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The Ooze From the Hyles Dumpster

On By Dave MallinakIn Hot Topics, Independent Baptists, Issues Facing the Church, Justice1 Comment

A week ago, the Fundamental Baptist Podcast, hosted by David Baker, posted an episode in which Dave Hyles refuted his sister Linda’s now-famous claims about her father Jack Hyles. This has been a long time coming. Linda gave her TED talk in 2012 – more than a dozen years ago. So one might wonder why Dave waited so long to answer it. Maybe he had other affairs to attend to…

https://youtube.com/watch?v=SDg8LqJFwXA%3Fsi%3DYwK6GAx7Us_pMx-E

There is a reason why we keep our dumpsters out of sight, far removed from our places of business. Besides those especially ripe fragrances that surround it, we find ourselves stepping carefully, the closer we get, lest we step into a puddle that wasn’t caused by any rain. The liquids that ooze out from beneath the dumpster have a way of staying on your shoes, and nobody wants to track that around.

Even so, it seems impossible to come near the Hyles airspace without getting a little dumpster jam on your clothes. It’s a stench you can’t shake, and nobody wants to smell like that. And the Fundamental Baptist Podcast is like a steaming mess of toxic fumes. As just one sample of the rotting mess from this podcast, neither David Baker nor Dave Hyles believes repentance to be a necessary step to restoration – “We start the restoration process before they repent.” Vintage. Don’t nobody look at 2 Corinthians 7:8-12.

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A Critical View of Calvinism

On By Dave MallinakIn Calvinism, Gospel Conversations, Hot Topics, Issues Facing the Church2 Comments

Let me say at the outset that I won’t be interacting with the various Calvinist viewpoints or offering a nuanced critique of hyper-Calvinism v. “high” Calvinism v. “strict” Calvinism. I saw a comic strip on Twitter/X where a Calvinist poked fun at his fellow Calvinists about some of the high-handed intermural debate that goes on between Calvinists themselves. The comic said, “Brothers and sisters are natural enemies, like Arminians and Calvinists, or Lutherans and Calvinists, or Catholics and Calvinists, or Calvinists and other Calvinists.

This isn’t a strange thing. Our church is committed to exclusively using the King James Bible – a position most would describe as “King James Only.” But amongst King James Onlyists, that isn’t nearly enough. I don’t say that the King James Version is inspired, so I’m not really King James Only – I only “use” the King James. And this statement is made with thick scorn heaped upon my head.

Our nuanced opinion is a design feature, fed in part by our unique individuality and in part by our fallenness. And though the work of redemption ought to teach us to hold our viewpoints in humility, we all have those lines that “you shall not pass.” And woe unto that man that crosses our carefully-drawn line.

That said, a hyper-Calvinist will argue that man’s salvation and sanctification and really everything in life is all dictated by God, that man has no choice in anything, that even the suggestion that we should respond to the Gospel is a corruption of the Gospel. “High” Calvinism believes in evangelism because God commands it, but considers it more of a scavenger hunt in search of the elect. According to high Calvinism, God has no desire to save the non-elect. He calls all men to faith and repentance, but for the non-elect, this call only demonstrates that their condemnation is just. God doesn’t love all men, and the atonement of Christ is not available to all men. In other words, the universal offer of the Gospel is more a theory than a reality.

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Can We Expect a Special Whisper from the Holy Ghost?

On By Dave MallinakIn Cessationism, Continuationism, Hot Topics, Independent Baptists, The Holy Spirit2 Comments

With apologies for an exceptionally long post…

I have argued that the quest for a “special whisper” from the Holy Spirit amounts to a search for further revelation. God’s Word is sufficient. The Holy Spirit works through the Word and through wisdom acquired from the Word to lead us in our decisions. And so, while God may direct us in extraordinary ways, we shouldn’t expect this. After all, extra ordinary isn’t ordinary.

Nonetheless, I have had a few questions about Bible verses suggesting that the Holy Spirit will give a tangible word of guidance in the more critical decisions. I promised to take time with these passages, so here goes.

Here are some specific questions I have been asked:

(from Missionary Matt Northcutt) What do you do with passages that seem to indicate that God does, indeed, give peace as an arbiter as we follow Him in faith (such as Is. 26:3, Phil. 4:6-7, and Col. 3:15)?

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He Shall Direct Thy Paths, Part 4

On By Dave MallinakIn Cessationism, Continuationism, Hot Topics, Independent Baptists, The Holy Spirit4 Comments

In three posts, I have sought to establish from the Bible that God does guide us, that we are taught to trust Him to guide us, and that we shouldn’t look for tangible signs of His leading. But does that mean God never gives us what I have called a “special whisper” or some token of His leading?

I do not say this. I say that we shouldn’t look for it, that we should trust God to lead us in the absence of any kind of sensational guidance. But I have had some experiences in my own life that could only have been the Lord. My experiences are not authoritative but are very real and meaningful to me. Let me share three of them and then get down to the brass tacks of how God communicates His will for our lives.

Photo by Matthew Montrone on Pexels.com

I was in my fourth year of ministry as an Assistant Pastor at Berean when God began to work on me about becoming a pastor. I did not realize that God was the one at work until the very end of that period of wrestling. Initially, I thought my desire to pastor was a pride issue, as if I presumed on this calling. Ultimately, God helped me see that He was calling me into this ministry. Within a few weeks of surrendering to this call, I met with my pastor to discuss it with him. Though God’s dealing in my heart was very real to me, I came to that meeting believing that God’s call would be confirmed or denied when I told my pastor. To my surprise (and horror), he said to me that he had been praying for this very thing for some time and that he was praying that God would make me the pastor at Berean. After I got past that shock, I met with him again about a week later, and he repeated this desire. A month later, on a fateful September evening, we received word that my pastor had tragically drowned. In the moment when I received word of his death, I had a very concrete thought that has never left me: “This is what I have been preparing you for.” I didn’t (and don’t) believe that experience was authoritative. I didn’t tell the church or anyone besides my wife. When the church formed a pulpit committee and began the search for a new pastor, I offered no hint of these phenomenal words of guidance. I waited for the church to ask me to be the candidate. When they asked, I said nothing about what our former pastor had said, and I said nothing about what I believed the Lord said to me. If these thoughts came from the Lord, I knew the church would vote me in as the next pastor. If they were merely voices in my head, the church would decline. When they took the vote, it was confirmed to me that this was, in fact, from the Lord.

Continue reading “He Shall Direct Thy Paths, Part 4” →

He Shall Direct Thy Paths, part 3

On By Dave MallinakIn Cessationism, Continuationism, Hot Topics, Independent Baptists, The Holy Spirit1 Comment

You might wish God would communicate every step you should take each day. Anytime you had choices, God would telegraph His will for that decision. God would make His choice known if you had to decide between McDonald’s and Denny’s, pick between mowing the lawn or washing the car, or take the job at the bank or the local flour mill. Such a deal!

Now, you might be thinking that this would be wonderful. You would never make a wrong choice again. You would immediately know God’s first choice in a spouse, in a job, in a house, in a car, in a church, and so on down the line. This plan, it would seem, would be the very best way to keep all God’s children in line.

So, why doesn’t God provide us with a CPS – the celestial version of a GPS? First, we have to say that since God doesn’t equip each of us with our own personal ephod, it must be contrary to His will to give us this kind of direction for our every decision. In fact, such micro-direction wouldn’t help us grow into maturity or measure up to the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:13-15). Divine micro-managing would keep us in a perpetual childhood, which must be contrary to God’s will.

Photo by Sami Aksu on Pexels.com

You might object that nobody wants this kind of guidance for every little inconsequential decision. We only need God’s clear direction for the major decisions we have to make. And that is fair enough. Of course, we don’t always know when a decision qualifies as “major.” Some decisions would obviously count, like choosing a life’s partner or a life’s calling. But major decisions sometimes sneak up on us. Without recognizing the significance of the decision, we take a step and then learn, to our horror, that we can’t walk it back. The guy who lost his leg in a motorcycle accident didn’t know what a fateful decision he made when he chose to go riding that day.

Continue reading “He Shall Direct Thy Paths, part 3” →

He Shall Direct Thy Paths, part 2

On By Dave MallinakIn Cessationism, Continuationism, Hot Topics, Independent Baptists, Preaching and Teaching3 Comments

In the initial post on God’s guidance, we argued that we can be sure of God’s leading in our lives. Besides the many places in Scripture that teach us to look for His direction, we can add that the entirety of Scripture would lead us to believe that God will guide us.  God is our Father; we are His sons and daughters by adoption. If a good father directs His children, how much more can we look to our Heavenly Father to lead us and guide us in the way we should go? “No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.” God isn’t moving the football, concealing His will, or being tricksy or coy with us. Since God wants His children to do His will, we can be sure that God will guide us and not withhold the information we need like a catty secretary.

We know this also because God’s Holy Spirit indwells us, and a vital part of His ministry includes teaching and instructing us.

But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him. (I John 2:27)

The Bible doesn’t teach us to look for the same method or means of guidance as we see men in the early church receiving. Remember that the Holy Spirit worked more overtly and sensationally then. Without the entire canon of Scripture, God allowed men to walk by sight. 

In our day, God expects us to live by faith, looking to His Word more than we look for signs or sensations. So, we don’t look for God to speak to us now the way He spoke to the men of that day. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t look for God to guide us at all.

Continue reading “He Shall Direct Thy Paths, part 2” →

Nothing to Lose

On By Dave MallinakIn Hot Topics, Independent Baptists, Issues Facing the Church, Pastors, Personal4 Comments

Whether the dust has settled from my recent series or not, who can say. In my experience, these things tend to bounce around for a bit, and sometimes, they don’t gain a head of steam until further downstream. Maybe the next time I gather with friends, I will feel that awkward silence that says, “Somethin’ ain’t rat.” Who knows?

But I have the urge to unpack a few thoughts in conclusion. Consider this my apology for not apologizing.

I was pretty young when Berean Baptist Church called me to become her pastor. I was woefully unprepared. Pastoral ministry always seemed to have a romantic quality in my imagination – a fiction that evaporated quickly once the church voted me into office. I quickly discovered the nature of the battle we are in for the hearts and souls of men. 

Early on, I felt the weight of responsibility that God had placed on me. God made me see the importance of rightly dividing the Word of truth so believers would be built and not destroyed. I fear that I hurt more than I helped in those early years. God pressed on me a sense that eternal souls hung in the balance and that if I did not carefully handle God’s Word, those souls would be destroyed.

This impacted me profoundly. In my earliest years as a pastor, I followed the examples of men before me. I offered heavy doses of opinion sprinkled lightly with Biblical references. It didn’t take long for me to recognize that, not only were my opinions like a bruised reed and smoking flax, but that the people didn’t travel all the way to church three times a week so they could learn more about my mind.

That launched me into a long practice of expository preaching. I wouldn’t give much for those early series (my first series was through the book of Romans), but I will say that the challenge of digging into the text so I could give the meaning and application (instead of my impressions based loosely on the text) transformed me and shaped my ministry. 

In those early years, I came to recognize a strange kind of pressure to conform to the opinions of others. I felt in my bones that if I followed certain texts to their plain meaning, I would be ostracized and rejected. My sense of foreboding was confirmed one unfortunate day when I publicly expressed an opinion outside the vein of conventional wisdom. The attacks against me were furious and personal, and to my shock and horror, I discovered that several pastors were gunning for my church, attempting to persuade the men of my church to expel me as pastor. 

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