Words, words, words–or Why I haven’t Unpacked My Books Yet….

Goodwin, Boston, Twisse (even in Latin), Edwards, Calvin, Luther, Zwingli, Witsius, Turretin—-These are all just guys.

They said things. Right at times. Wrong at times. God used them. They did stuff. They died. They didn’t write scripture. Where they interpreted correctly, they were right. Where they didn’t, they were wrong.

They were just guys saved by the blood of the lamb. Some were more right than others. Some were very wrong.

Even Calvin was corrected by his Consistory when he was wrong.
Just guys.

One way to turn me off of a debate faster than anything is to start quoting guys. Unless the debate is about what guys said. But I’m really not interested in that debate.

The debate about whether our works contribute to our final salvation is not a debate about what a bunch of dead guys said. On the judgment day, I won’t be given an exam on protestant scholastics, and it won’t matter who said it.

On the judgment day, only one thing matters. Will I be found in Christ? His righteousness alone is pure enough to stand before God.

If anyone – whether an angel from heaven, or an apostle, or a puritan, or a Westminster divine, says otherwise, they are wrong (Gal.1:8).

If it is conclusively proven that the Reformed Tradition teaches that works must be added to faith, then Reformed Tradition is wrong.

If I teach that works are necessary for our final salvation, I am teaching another gospel. If I quote a bunch of guys, it is still another gospel.

If I can’t say how someone can be righteous before God without a jillion modifiers, twists and turns and a thousand quotes from a bunch of dead guys, perhaps I shouldn’t be doing what I am doing.

How am I righteous before God? Only by true faith in Jesus Christ. His righteousness is put on my account, and my sins were nailed to his cross.
There is no “yes, but” to that.

A lot of implications. A new life born in me. Reconciliation begun. All of this is true.
But no “Yes, but…”

A new heart brings forth good fruit. That has never been the issue. I think that the problem is that any discussion about good works generally ends up into a discussion about why “We” are loved by God, and the “others” aren’t.
I think it is the same fear that the leaders of the Jews had with Jesus. He is letting THOSE PEOPLE think that they are as good as us!

Eventually Abel has to go. He’s a loser. Not like me.

In the world of Reformed scholastics, I have rarely heard any mention of justice, racial reconciliation, the horrors of sexual assault and objectification in church circles, the terrible treatment of women – in fact, if anyone does mention those things, they are usually attacked for being “woke”, “feminist” or “liberal”.

So when the seminarians and scholars talk about the necessity of “works”, they aren’t talking about the same thing that God is talking about when he speaks of good fruit. They are talking about why they are OK, and those other guys aren’t. They want to make sure that everyone knows that liberals, feminists and woke democrats aren’t going to make it into the kingdom of God, no matter what they say that they believe about Jesus.

And they cover their hatred with words, words, words, words, words….

At this point, I have 50 cases of theology books in my upstairs room. I haven’t unpacked them. I think about it from time to time.

But my heart says, “Words, words, words…I’m so tired of words.”
I’m tired of quotes from dead guys used as cloaks to cover up hatred.

I’m tired of the endless debates that solve nothing when a sister in Christ is being used as a punching bag; or children are being raped by “church leaders”, where wickedness is covered over by semantics.

I’m so tired of hearing “Yeah, she tried to cover up her bruises but everyone knew he used her as a punching bag…but she just wouldn’t forgive him so we had to excommunicate her…” (Yes, I actually heard that, and worse).

I’m tired of hearing the word “mutual” when speaking of adults raping children.

I’m tired of:
“Inappropriate relationship”
“Struggles with anger”
“Everyone sins”
“What was she wearing?”

Meanwhile, in Reformed circles they discuss the old dead guys, make fun of evidentialist apologetics, wonder about “2 Kingdom” or whether the law of Moses was a republication of the covenant of works or not, and pat themselves on the back for being the champions of truth.

And the weak, oppressed, bleeding church is crumpled on the doorstep wondering why they aren’t allowed safety and fellowship inside the house.

And speaking of Judges 19, do you ever wonder what the men in the house were talking about while the woman was being killed outside?

Maybe it was what the Westminster divines taught concerning the relationship between justification and works…

If I speak with the tongues of men or of angels, and have not love, I am a sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal…

Maybe one day, I’ll start to unpack my books.
But not today. I’m tired.