In
Psalm 4, there is a great message of the Gospel. By ourselves, we are
sinners, turning God’s glory to shame, loving delusions and seeking
false gods (Psalm 4:2). By grace, God has done something about this -
‘the Lord has set apart the godly for Himself’ (Psalm 4:3). When we
pray, ‘Answer me’ (Psalm 4:1), we have this confidence: ‘the Lord will
hear when I call to Him’ (Psalm 4:3). The Lord hears the sinner’s
prayer, ‘Give me relief from my distress; be merciful to me and hear my
prayer’ (Psalm 4:1). Jesus Christ is God’s Answer to this prayer. Christ
brings relief (salvation). This salvation arises from the mercy of God.
In Christ, we have a ‘joy’ and ‘peace’ which the world can neither give
nor take away (Psalm 4:7-8). When the seeking sinner comes with
question, ‘Who can show us any good?’ (Psalm 4:6), the Gospel Answer is
always the same - Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
In this post, I will draw comparisons between Arminius and Berkouwer. * Bangs points out that the historical situation in Holland was not a simple one - Calvinism coming in, Arminius nearly ruining it and the Synod of Dort restoring it: “The earliest Dutch Reformed leaders don’t seem to be Calvinists at all. They rise out of the soil, here and there, nurtured by the old Dutch biblical piety, not seized by dogmatic insights, but steadily pressing toward a purified life of faith according to Scripture” (p. 21). This emphasis is similar to Berkouwer’s insistence that election is not a special gnosis for the theological elite. Rather, it is a confession of faith, arising from the hearts of those who have come to know the grace of God ( Divine Election (DE), p. 216). * Bangs observes that Arminius’ theological method is “practical and through faith”: “For the Theology which belongs to this world, is practical and through faith: Theoretical Theology belongs to the o...
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