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Just Thinking

5/11/2017

I've been thinking. I was asked recently what I thought about Calvinism. My first thought is I really don't care too much for labels. But, we live in a world of labels. I'm a Christian. That's a label. I'm a Southern Baptist. That's a label. If we move back to Kentucky, I'll be a Kentucky Baptist. That's a label. So I guess we can't really get away from labels. Still, I prefer to focus less on labels and more on Jesus and His Word. Besides, John Calvin would cringe if he knew his name was being used as a label.

Salvation, as revealed in God's Word and delivered to us by the apostles and prophets is a mystery. Paul writes about this mystery, "For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles— if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace which was given to me for you; that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief. By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit; to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel, of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God’s grace which was given to me according to the working of His power. To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things"(Ephesians 3:1-10). John speaks of a time yet future when, "the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets" (Revelation 10:7).

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