Beyond Emmaus

“Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” — Luke 24:32

’Tis Not That I Did Choose Thee

One of many hymns written by Josiah Conder in the 17th century.

’Tis not that I did choose Thee,
For Lord, that could not be;
This heart would still refuse Thee,
Hadst Thou not chosen me.
Thou from the sin that stained me
Hast cleansed and set me free;
Of old Thou hast ordained me,
That I should live to Thee.

’Twas sov’reign mercy called me
And taught my opening mind;
The world had else enthralled me,
To heav’nly glories blind.
My heart owns none before Thee,
For Thy rich grace I thirst;
This knowing, if I love Thee,
Thou must have loved me first.

A more modern rendition, put to music by Na Band in their album Looked Upon (Sovereign Grace Music):

My Lord, I did not choose You,
For that could never be;
My heart would still refuse You,
Had You not chosen me.
You took the sin that stained me,
You cleansed me, made me new;
Of old You have ordained me,
That I should live in You.

Unless Your grace had called me
And taught my op’ning mind,
The world would have enthralled me,
To heav’nly glories blind.
My heart knows none above You;
For Your rich grace I thirst;
I know that if I love You,
You must have loved me first.

At Odds With Election

Let me be honest. I hated the doctrine of election (and it’s brother, predestination). Any Calvinist who dared to speak of God’s sovereignty over an individual’s salvation was—in my mind—a fatalist whose views on the topic should be at best dismissed and at worst mocked. Perhaps you can relate.

Does Calvinism Discourage Evangelism?

Kevin DeYoung has a good post on election in regards to evangelism.  I’m in agreement with his assessment in that I have witnessed the lives of both Reformed and non-Reformed Christians. Remarkably, and logic-defying, it’s my Reformed Christian friends who have the most evangelistic lives and are the most eager to share the Gospel to a lost and dying world.

That said, I’ve also seen plenty of apathetic Calvinists who use God’s sovereign will as an excuse for their sinful laziness.

Delighting in the Scriptures

As a follower of Christ, I take delight in God’s law (Psalms 119:77, Romans 7:22). At least, I like to think so. There are been numerous passages in the Bible which have been unsettling to me, namely those which seem to impose upon my God-given free will. I have not taken delight in these verses, which is also unsettling. Here’s a few that come to mind right now, the parts that unnerve me are in bold.