Calvinism/Sovereign Grace/Reigning Grace

The truth that becomes apparent as one researches the Great Awakenings and the beginning of missions is that the predominant, indeed, practically the only theology that produces these great works is that of Sovereign, Reigning Grace Grace or Calvinism, the term usually attached to the doctrines of grace. Such truths are generally regarded as antithetical to evangelism and missions, but the fact is that the reality is otherwise. All of the five points of the tulip acrostic (namely, Total Depravity [and we mean Inability], Unconditional Election, Limited Atonement [better stated as Particular Redemption], Irresistible Grace, and Perseverance of the Saints)constitute doctrines that along with the doctrines of Predestination and Reprobation are teachings which taken rightly are evangelistic and which provoke the most intense concern for the salvation of sinners and for the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, these truths are regarded by many as contrary to evangelism, compassion, concern, and effort. However, the most cursory examination of the Awakenings and the Beginning of Missions reveals the anomaly that the teachings now regarded as destructive to such things was actually the moving force behind what did happen. The question is this: What happened? I think there was a planned effort to stop the Awakenings and blunt or alter the Mission effort to something less focused on the supernatural Gospel of Salvation. The folks who think they rule the world must have thought they had to do something to stop what nearly tore the world from their grasp. One can stop such things by planting people in such movements and driving the teachings to extremes or making such truths to appear to be extremes. Such along with a few examples of a charade or misguided adherents will cause a reaction. Now we are beginning to move toward another Awakening, one which might well win the whole earth in one generation and even for a thousand generations. A blessing like that would not simply be an answer to present prayers for such, but an answer to prayers prayed long before this generation appeared on earth. Mr. Spurgeon, for example, prayed for the whole earth and every soul on it (see Aug.8 & Dec.24 of His Evening Devotions. The teachings advocated are invitations to be saved, to trust Christ on His terms. They are paradoxical interventions par excellence (being Divine in nature and source) that anticipated such techniques in counseling, for example, thousands of years before that field of human endeavor was ever conceived. What is a Great Awakening? What produces it? A Great Awakening requires two things, namely, the right or biblical theology of Sovereign Grace and the coming down of The Heavenly Presence. C.S. Lewis' sci-fi novel, That Hideous Strength, refers to those who PULL DOWN DEEP HEAVEN ON THEIR OWN HEADS. That idea along with the doctrines discussed here describes what happened in the First and Second Great Awakenings

Dr. James Willingham

The theology of a great awakening is the theology of Sovereign Grace, more popularly but inaccurately called Calvinism. The TULIP acrostic with each point (Total Depravity, Unconditional Election, Limited Atonement, Irresistible Grace and Perseverance of the Saints) that it represents along with the doctrines of Predestination and Reprobation lie at the the heart of what is commonly called the First and Second Great Awakenings along with the beginnings of the Great Century of Missions. Each truth in itself is an invitation of the most wonderful kind, so wonderful that (when understood) one cannot resist it. These teachings as invitations must also be accompanied by such a presence of Heaven or Heavenly Presence (the Holy Spirit) as is utterly overwhelming to the individual or individuals in an obverse way. The Doctrines are paradoxical, like mathematical formulas with inverse functions. Each one has its seeming opposite that cannot and should not and must not be reconciled or made consistent with the other. Mr Spurgeon made a telling remark once (which I have tried for several days to locate) that he did not confuse two apparently contradictory truths. He simply accepted both. My explorations in Intellectual History, especially that of Biblical truths, leads me to think that such teachings make one balanced, flexible, and creative. A chairman of a psychology dept. of a state university wanted to recruit me to do an M.A. and Ph.D. in psychology due to my research and what I had found. I lay it down as a challenge that a grasp of these truths as evangelistic and awakening along with pleading the appropriate promises as set forth in Jonathan Edwards' Humble Attempt (Works, II, Banner of Truth, p283) for the whole earth will lead sooner or later to a world wide awakening which might take the whole earth in one generation and perhaps for a thousand generations. I challenge bloggers to seek such a thing and to respond accordingly.