History is not my strong suit. But, when it comes to church history I am always blown away by the magnitude of everyone’s faith. Early Christians were so excited about Christ that they couldn’t stop telling people about Christ. Could you imagine if we did that? Goodness I wish more people did- myself included!
This past week at the Institute we covered much of the church’s history. There were so many inspiring stories and things that I would love to share with you but for time sake (and your attention span) I’ll stick to just a couple of things. (But I highly encourage you to study it yourself!)
One of the men that I found to be quite interesting was John Calvin. Calvin was a great teacher and theologian. His thoughts and ideas impacted Christianity greatly. Having grown up in the church I had heard the term ‘Calvinism’ or ‘Calvinistic’ a few times, but really did not have a true understanding of whom he was or what Calvinism was. This past week I learned that Calvin was an extremely wise man who had a true understanding of the scriptures. He wrote 65 commentaries (one for each book of the Bible, excluding Revelation), he was a respected teacher, a theologian and more. Followers of Calvin coined the acronym TULIP, which has to do with the sovereignty of God.
The T in tulip I could not agree with more. I truly believe that we have no good in us aside from the Lord. We are only saved through God’s goodness and the Holy Spirit moving in our lives, convicting us to repent. This reminds me of Ephesians 1:4-5
“For he chose us in him before the creation
of the world to be holy and blameless
in his sight. In love he
predestined us to be adopted as his
sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance
with his pleasure and will”
Having read that I think that it is imperative to also read 2 Peter 3:9.
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise,
as some understand slowness.
He is patient with you,
not wanting anyone to perish,
but everyone to come to repentance.
I believe God wants everyone to know him, but only a few will choose to listen. I guess you could say that I have some Calvinistic viewpoints. But there is so much more that I am interested in learning! I just know that I am so grateful that the Lord has captivated my heart and I now know that I serve an omnipotent God!
Day 12- Freedom. Having learned some of the history of the Church I am so thankful that I can openly and proudly serve the Lord. What a blessing that I do not take enough advantage of!
What a great post and I’m so glad someone enjoys church history as much as I do. Yes, we really have it soft today. I hear people complaining if the sermon goes on past 40 minutes! Heaven knows (literally) how we would have advanced Christ’s church if the same people who lived today had lived back then! I feel God sent extremely strong, perfect people to represent the church at the right time in history. Thanks for your post.