Jeremiah’s message had been ignored. His faith was sorely tested.
Despite all of this, he was able to say, “Sing to the Lord! Praise the
Lord!” (Jeremiah 20:13). This was not his constant theme. In the very
next verse, he says, “Cursed is the day that I was born.” We are pulled
this way and that way by a turmoil of confused and confusing emotions.
Our heart is a battleground. May the Lord lift us out of depression and
defeat. May He lift us into vigour and victory.
Some people are impressed by Barth’s distinction between universal election and universal salvation. They defend his position. Some have been influenced by Barth and have become universalists. Berkouwer’s view was that our critique of Barth must begin with looking closely at his teaching concerning universal election. * By speaking of the idea of the depth-aspect of salvation, Berkouwer distances himself from double predestination. * In his critique of Barth, Berkouwer distances himself from universal salvation. * With such a strong emphasis on both grace and faith, Berkouwer guards against any suggestion that, by our faith, we contribute anything to our salvation. It is always God’s free gift, and all the glory belongs to Him. I think that the distinctive feature of Berkouwer’s teaching is that he emphasizes that everything we say about God’s salvation is said from within the experience of having been saved by grace through faith. We have heard the Good News - “Christ Jesus came...
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