The Difference Between Election & Predestination

Kevin DeYoung has a helpful post on the difference between the doctrines of election and predestination. Here's an excerpt.

I had someone ask me this question recently. My short answer is: in popular usage, not a lot.
The terms election and predestination are often used interchangeably, both referring to God’s gracious decree whereby he chooses some for eternal life. In Romans 8:30 Paul speaks of those whom God has predestined, called, justified, and (in the end) glorified. In 8:33 Paul references “the elect,” apparently a synonym for the predestined ones described a few verses earlier.

A sharp distinction between the two words is not warranted from Scripture, but if there is a distinction to be made, predestination is the general term for God’s sovereign ordaining, while election is the specific term for God choosing us in Christ before the foundation of the world. That is, predestination is the broader category of which election is the smaller subset. Calvin defined predestination as “God’s eternal decree, by which he compacted with himself what he willed to become of each man…Therefore, as any man has been created to one or the other of these ends, we speak of him as predestined to life or to death” (Inst. III.xxi.5). For Calvin, predestination encompasses the entire eternal decree. Election and reprobation, then, represent two different aspects of the decree. The Canons of Dort Article 1 makes the same distinctions.

Read the rest.

Should We Marry if We Are Theologically Divided?

Dr. Russell Moore recently had a couple write in and ask him this question.  To make it even more interesting, the young man is a self-proclaimed Reformed, dispensational fundamentalist while the young woman is a Pentecostal.  If you are not familiar with those terms, suffice it to say that they differ on lots of theological topics.

What I really appreciate about this article is Dr. Moore's wise & loving response.  It's worth the few minutes it takes to read, especially if you happen to find yourself in a similar situation.  You can read it here.

Does Theology Matter?

I don't want to answer this question at the moment. Instead, I'd like to let this excellent video answer it for you. However, let me contribute this to the answer. The word "theology" literally means "the study of God." Therefore, any time we answer the questions, "Who is God? What is He like? Who is Jesus?" we immediately become theologians. As a result, I think rephrasing the question above could shed some light on the answer. Does what we believe about God matter? Yes, yes, & yes!!

DugDownDeep_Carnahan.mov from Covenant Life Church on Vimeo.

Michael Patton's Blog Series on Stupid "Christian" Statements

Michael Patton has had a provocative and insightful blog series entitled "...and Other Stupid Statements." This series has helped me think biblically about some of the statements that I make without even thinking.

1. Belief Is No Good Without Practice (Part 1, Part2, Part 3)
2. You Ask Me How I Know He Lives... He Lives Inside My Heart
3. I Was Going to Preach This, But the Holy Spirit Led Me to This
4. One White Lie Will Send You to Hell for All Eternity (Not sure about this one...)
   
5. The Trinity Is Like 3-In-1 Shampoo
6. The Bible Says It, Therefore It's True
7. All Sin's Are Equal in God's Sight (I'm still having a hard time with this one as well.)
   
8. When We Get to Heaven, We Will Be Timeless
9. Nothing Could Be Further From the Truth
10. In Heaven, We Will Be Bowing Down Before the Throne of God 24/7
11. Everyone Who Disagrees with Me Is a Liar
12. I Don't Want to Know About God, I Just Want to Know Him