Satan is not senseless or unintelligent. He knows very well that if temptation was not tempting no-one would fall for it. Temptation is always inviting, alluring and appealing. We are always tempted by that which seems to be so good and promising. Or as Revelation 17 says, temptation is like a golden cup, which looks attractive, but is actually “full of abominations” and “impurities” (Revelation 17:4).
We live in an age of professionalism and specialisation. If our air-con breaks we phone the air-con specialist. If our child is sick, we don’t go to the GP but the paediatrician – who sends us to another specialist. If the bulb goes in our car’s headlamp, cars today are so sophisticated, we often have to take the car to the specialist at the dealer to replace a simple bulb.
Even in the church, the minister is seen to be the professional. The thinking is that we need ministry done – so we pay the minister to do the ministry. If he does his job well we are happy and might put more money in the thank-offering.
Ephesians 4:11-12 breaks this Christian professional mindset. It says,
(v11) And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, (v12) to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ…
Besides inventing a new word, I thought I would draw your attention to two errors that some make when it comes to thinking about the doctrine of predestination. These two errors can also be seen as two extremes on opposite ends of the theology spectrum: Arminianism and Hyper-Calvinism
I hold to and teach the doctrine of predestination for one simple reason: the Bible teaches it. In fact, the Bible’s teaching on this subject are very clear and understandable, and I have trouble comprehending how so many Christians do not see this grand doctrine in the Bible. I believe that if you read the Bible carefully and seriously you cannot but hold to this crucial doctrine.
Recently I watched the move, “The Life of Pi”. I immensely enjoyed it and found it very thought-provoking. It says a lot about what people think about religion today. In the movie there is a shipwreck and a boy survives in a life raft accompanied by a tiger named Richard Parker. By the end of the movie there are two different stories, two versions of the truth, about how the boy named Pi survived. The older Pi, recounting the events, asks the interested journalist: “Which story do you prefer?” The journalist replies, “The story with the animals”. And the older Pi says, “And so it goes with God.”
In other words, you choose which story about God you prefer. Do you prefer the Bible, the Koran, the Bhagavad-Gita or the latest book on spirituality at Exclusive books? The ending is the same, you simply need to choose the story.