Calvinism: Its Implications to the Individual

Driving home: The Calvinist is the man who has seen God, and who having seen God in his glory, is filled on the one hand with a sense of his own unworthiness to stand in God's sight as a creature, and much more as a sinner, and on the…

Martin uses the analogy of a 'living corpse' to explain that an 'academic Calvinist' is a misnomer, emphasizing that true Calvinism must be an experiential reality, not just intellectual assent.

a Calvinist. He used words of a strongly experimental nature. These words, apprehension and realization, deal primarily with the understanding, though they go beyond that. But when we come to words like this, seeing God, filled on the one hand with a sense of his own unworthiness, adoring wonder, thinking, feeling, willing, these are words of experience. In other words, Mr. Warfield is saying, no person is a Calvinist. No person is truly biblical in his thinking of God, as God, in the purest expression of theism. No man is truly religious in the true expression of religion. No man is truly eva...

7:06 - 7:59 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin expounds Isaiah 6, detailing how Isaiah's vision of God's enthroned majesty led to a deep experimental acquaintance with his own sinfulness, insight into his generation's…

The vivid description of the seraphim taking a live coal with tongs to touch Isaiah's lips illustrates the painful yet purifying nature of God's grace in dealing with sin.

And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips, for mine eyes have seen the king, the Lord of hosts. Then flew one of the seraphim unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from my hand. off the altar, and he laid it upon my mouth, the sensitive tissues of the lip, a cold so hot a seraphim couldn't handle it barehanded, but had to take it with tongs, and it sears the lips of the prophet, and no doubt a cry of pain and a curl of smoke in this vision,

12:19 - 12:55 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin expounds Isaiah 6, detailing how Isaiah's vision of God's enthroned majesty led to a deep experimental acquaintance with his own sinfulness, insight into his generation's…

Martin contrasts Isaiah's presumed holiness before his vision with his shattered state afterward, highlighting that even a 'dedicated Christian' needs a profound sight of God to expose inherent corruption.

Was he some hippie yanked off the streets of Chicago who'd been holding up little four-letter words to those who didn't like his interest in peace? Was he some kind of a bum? Was he some kind of a licentiate who'd been running around under the guise of the...

15:56 - 16:14 Read in full sermon

The point: Has the Holy Spirit brought us to this profound sense of God that has worked into us, at least in some measure, the grace of humility?

Martin describes human pride as assuming God is obligated to explain His ways, and true Calvinism as sinking this pride into the 'ocean of the mystery of the ways of God,' leading to self-abhorrence.

I submit that this is how God is. God makes Calvinist. He takes the pride that is so inherent to human nature that makes us assume that God is obligated to explain his ways to us, and to reconcile his ways to the itch for logical consistency with which all of us are born and which develops as we grow and our mental powers stretch and expand, that when a man or woman is brought to the place where all of that is sunk into this, as it were, ocean of the world, God is obligated to explain his ways to us. And he takes the pride that is so inherent to human nature, the mystery of the ways of God, th...

28:25 - 29:12 Read in full sermon

The point: Has the Holy Spirit brought us to this profound sense of God that has worked into us, at least in some measure, the grace of humility?

The example of a poor, retarded child is used to illustrate that any gifts or abilities one possesses are sovereignly dispensed by God, fostering humility and gratitude.

And so I submit to you that we have no right to speak of being a Calvinist because we can parrot phrases given to us in the great heritage of Reformed literature, but must ask ourselves the following question. Has the Holy Spirit brought us to this profound sense of God that has worked into us, at least in some measure, the grace of humility? Has God endowed me with gifts and abilities? Well, when I've had this sight of God, I realize, what have I that I did not receive? Who makes me to differ? That if God has endowed me with gifts or abilities, whether they be intellectual abilities or any ot...

29:14 - 30:27 Read in full sermon

The point: Has the Holy Spirit brought us to this profound sense of God that has worked into us, at least in some measure, the grace of humility?

Martin clarifies that humility is not 'Uriah Heep self-effacement' or 'folded hands in the dropped hair,' but an honest recognition of God's sovereignty and one's creatureliness.

abilities that God has given, a sober recognition of them, not of false humility, not of false kind of Uriah Heep, a self-effacement. The man or woman who stands in the presence of a God upon a throne and who's had this sight and sense of the majesty of God recognizes all that I have has been given. And humility is not diffidence. Humility is not folded hands in the dropped hair. Humility is that disposition of honest recognition. He is God.

30:27 - 31:02 Read in full sermon

The point: Has the Holy Spirit brought us to this profound sense of God that has worked into us, at least in some measure, the grace of humility?

All sin, including pride, is depicted as 'violent, anarchist spirit exerted against the throne rights of God,' an attempt to share His glory.

And know the unspeakable delight of knowing and doing the will of God. It brings not only humility, submission, but true contrition. For I see then that all sin has been basically a violent, anarchist spirit exerted against the throne rights of God. Have I failed to love him with the whole heart? Then this has been anarchy. He demands and is worthy of my undivided affection. Have I failed to love my neighbor as myself? Expressed in a disrespect for parents, a disrespect for the rights and life of others, the purity and sanctity of others, the reputation of others. The right down through the Te...

31:32 - 32:31 Read in full sermon

The point: It should lead to honest scriptural self-examination.

The anecdote of an 'old master in Israel' asking two questions ('What has Christ done for you?' and 'What has Christ wrought in you?') illustrates the need for both objective and subjective understanding of salvation.

see, the question is not the sincerity of my decision or my resolve or my whatever I want to call it. The question is not what have I done. The question is not what have I done with reference to Christ and His salvation. That's not the essential question. The essential question is this. Has God done something in me? The question is not have I, quote, accepted Christ, but has Christ accepted me? The issue is not have I found the Lord, but has He found me? Old masters in Israel used to ask the question of those who aspired to be admitted to the table of the Lord or to church membership two quest...

39:11 - 40:11 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin asserts that the ultimate goal of God's saving work, as seen in unconditional election, particular redemption, efficacious call, and perseverance of the saints, is to…

A quotation from an old writer about the 'cord of grace' always orienting to Christ and holiness is used to emphasize that true conversion inevitably leads to a pursuit of holiness.

Recognition that your sin has been against the sovereign? Have you been brought to a place where you hate your sin enough to forsake it and cling only to Christ? One old writer has beautifully said, when the Holy Ghost begins the cord of grace in the life of a man, he always orients that cord of grace to the life of a man. He always orients that cord of grace to the life of a man. He always orients that cord to the life of a man. He always orients that cord of grace to the life of a man, but he never orients that cord of grace to the life of a man. He never orients that cord of grace to the li...

43:35 - 44:03 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Using John Bunyan's 'Pilgrim's Progress' and the character Talkative, Martin illustrates the danger of intellectual Calvinism without experiential power. He shares anecdotes from…

An extended quotation from John Bunyan's 'Pilgrim's Progress' about Talkative illustrates the danger of intellectual understanding of doctrine without experiential power and practical godliness.

For I submit to you that John Bunyan was right on target when he wrote that section in his Immortal Pilgrim's Progress when Christian and faithful come into contact with a man named Talkative.

50:38 - 50:52 Read in full sermon

Driving home: He had been a Calvinist three years before he had been a Christian.

A letter from a student who was a 'Calvinist three years before he had been a Christian' illustrates the possibility of intellectual assent to Reformed doctrines without true conversion.

Has there been? Has there been? Has there been an experimental application of that truth with power to my own heart and to my own life? I quote from the letter of a student, a letter which I received last year.

55:13 - 55:26 Read in full sermon

The point: It's not enough that you've inherited a form of doctrine, whether it be Calvinistic or Arminian, the issue is this. If salvation is of the Lord, has he become a work?

Quotations from George Whitefield's journals about unconverted Calvinistic ministers, including Mr. Davenport's experience and an old minister's confession, underscore the prevalent danger of holding sound doctrine without experiencing its power.

The last time I read through Whitfield's journals, I indexed seven or eight very powerful and searching quotations relative to the terrible possibility and prevalent actuality of unconverted Calvinistic ministers. I'll only quote several of them. Page 416 and 417. Preached twice in the field and once in the meeting house and was agreeably refreshed in the evening with one Mr. Davenport whom God lately honored by making use of his ministry for the conversion of many on the east end of Long Island. He's looked upon as an enthusiast and a madman. By many of his reverend pharisaical brethren. And ...

56:40 - 57:44 Read in full sermon

The point: It's not enough that you've inherited a form of doctrine, whether it be Calvinistic or Arminian, the issue is this. If salvation is of the Lord, has he become a work?

A story about a Westminster graduate asking Martin if his calling was to 'get people upset' illustrates the discomfort some have with preaching that challenges the sincerity of one's faith.

After dinner I prayed with one old minister who was so deeply convicted that calling Mr. Noble and me out with great difficulty because of his weeping, he desired our prayers, for, said he, I have been a scholar, a clairvoyant, a scholar of the gospel. Here in the Church scholar and have preached the doctrines of grace for a long time, but I believe I have never felt the power of them in my own soul. Those are just two or three of the eight quotations that can be found in Whitefield's journal. Back about a year ago, a young man, a graduate of Westminster, came to me to talk about some matters ...

58:07 - 59:10 Read in full sermon

The point: It'll produce a holy watchfulness and a wholesome distrust of myself. I will recognize that the remaining corruption within me is like a dry tinderbox, and that every temptation is like a live coal or spark. And I'll not…

The analogy of remaining corruption as a 'dry tinderbox' and temptation as a 'live coal or spark' illustrates the need for holy watchfulness and self-distrust even after regeneration.

May I suggest briefly three things? One, a holy watchfulness and distrust of myself. Do I really believe? That by nature I am so undone that God must initiate the work? And that the remains of corruption in me, even after I've been regenerated and joined to Jesus Christ, that those remains are such that if God took his hand off me for a moment, they would lead me back into every form of wickedness possible by a human being? If I believe that, what will it produce in me? It'll produce a holy watchfulness and a wholesome distrust of myself. I will recognize that the remaining corruption within m...

61:27 - 62:23 Read in full sermon

The point: It will produce a consistent prayerfulness. Is salvation his work from beginning to end? Then he must help, and his help is given to those who cry out to him.

Matthew Henry's quaint saying, 'When God deigns to bless his people, he sets them a prey for the blessing he desires to give them,' illustrates the fusion of God's sovereign promises and His command for His people to pray.

save you. Verse 30, I will multiply. All of these tremendous promises. God says, I will do it. I will do it. I will do it. And yet he comes down to verse 37 and says, God saith the Lord God, I will yet for this be inquired of by the house of Israel to do it for them. I will do it. I will be inquired. In the economy of grace, all the blessings which God dispenses sovereignly and powerfully, he awakens in the hearts of those to whom he would dispense them the desire for those very blessings. Matthew Henry in his simple, homely, quaint way said, When God deigns to bless his people, he sets them a...

63:55 - 65:20 Read in full sermon

The point: A true Christian does not cringe at the exposure of his sin. For every exposure of sin in the life of a true believer drives him afresh to his Savior, and everything that drives him afresh to his Savior makes his Savior …

The hymn line 'A debtor to mercy alone, covenant to mercy I say' is used to express the secure position of a child of God, whose salvation is entirely dependent on God's grace.

A debtor to mercy alone, covenant to mercy I say. This is the cry of a child of God who can then say, more safe, but not more secure, the glorified Spirit in heaven. Why? For the work which is good.

69:16 - 69:32 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin outlines three aspects of a sane, biblical pursuit of practical godliness: holy watchfulness and self-distrust, consistent prayerfulness (acknowledging God's promises and…

The example of young men who become 'proud, cocky' after discovering Calvinism and using it to 'shoot holes' in secular philosophies is presented as a caricature of true Calvinism.

is that people, especially young men, who get hold of Calvinism, seem to view it as an unanswerable, unassailable philosophical system, and they become proud, because they can go back now to their secular schools and in ten minutes shoot holes in their philosophy profs, and see right through the shredded humanism that looked like such a formidable, sublime structure, and now they see it to be nothing but a web of flimsy material that they could tear with one sweep of a reformed hand. And they become proud, cocky. That's caricature. That's not real, physical Calvinism. What's the personal, prac...

70:14 - 71:12 Read in full sermon