Sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. A case for Calvinism.
A fairly strange title to be sure, but something I hope in the end will be helpful no matter where you stand on this doctrine.
Most non calvinist folks probably see calvinism as non-biblical at worst, or a cold hearted and purely intellectual exclusive doctrine. But I hope my unpacking of the story of the demoniac changes that, or at least helps you see things in a different light. I hope to leave you seeing calvinism not as an unjust God turning away people who really want to follow him, but a merciful, loving God doing everything necessary to heal and save His people. This is a humble attempt to be sure, and there are those far better equipped to describe these glorious doctrines. But by God’s grace I hope to be of some help and glorify God.. Before proceeding please read and meditate on the following text found starting in Luke 8:26-39 (You can also find parallels in Mark 5 and Matthew 8 )
“Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. When Jesus had stepped out on land, there met him a man from the city who had demons. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he had not lived in a house but among the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him and said with a loud voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me.” For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many a time it had seized him. He was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert.) Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion,” for many demons had entered him. And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss. Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.
When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. And those who had seen it told them how the demon-possessed man had been healed. Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.”
(Luke 8:26-39 ESV)
Some questions now for you to ponder. Please take your time and think and pray. Even if you think I’m all muddle headed and confused in my doctrine. Please, think and pray.
Is there any possibility that Jesus when he set out to free the man possessed with thousands of demons, that he would fail in his mission? Could Jesus have healed the man from his great bondage only later to allow him to perish?
Did the demon possessed man bring anything to Jesus other than great need? Did the demon possessed man appear willing to be saved? Was he hostile to the idea of being delivered?
Was the demoniac insane? And what was his state of mind after Jesus healed him?
Here are my thoughts on the questions and why I hold the calvinistic view of salvation.
Is there any possibility that Jesus when he set out to free the man possessed with thousands of demons he would fail in his mission?
Answer: No! For Jesus to free the man from the power of thousands of demons only to know full well that later he would return to sin and deny Christ and perish is insanely brutal! There would be no reason for Christ to deliver the man if in the end, Christ did not have the right and the power to deliver him fully into God’s glorious kingdom. The truly delivered man will persevere till the end.
Did the demon possessed man bring anything to Jesus other than great need? Did the demon possessed man appear willing to be saved? Was he hostile to the idea of being delivered?
Answer:
I see a man in total moral bondage and not the slightest bit willing to repent. I see someone so bound that they are bent on destruction, hurting themselves and other people. I see a dangerous sinner on the road to hell, I see myself, and I see you. I don’t see a pretty nice guy with a few moral defects in need of correction. I see total depravity and complete bondage.
Was the demoniac insane? What was his state of mind after Jesus healed him?
Answer:
I believe that the man’s demonic possession had driven him completely insane. He wore no clothes and lived in the cemetery and could not be bound by men. Any restraints put on him where quickly broken by the evil within. He mutilated his body by cutting himself with stones. (Mark 5) And after Jesus had healed him he was sitting at Jesus feet and clothed and in his right mind. Notice this. In his right mind!
Calvinism briefly defined.
Something we need to understand in order to glorify God for our salvation as we should, is that we where in the demoniacs state before we became Christians. I don’t mean that we where all demon possessed before coming to Christ, but some might have! My point is, that by nature we where hostile towards God, even in our most noble moral moments in which we praised ourselves! We lived our lives worshiping images and created things and ourselves, by nature we where rebels and had no more desire for Jesus than the demonic did. Maybe we wore a suit and tie, went to church and didn’t hang out in grave yards or strip clubs, but all the same, we where just as insanely in love with our sin as he was. It took a miracle for us to come to Christ, and that miracle was sovereign grace. Not “a pretty good person + grace = saved” and not “a pretty smart person + grace = saved”. We are saved by grace through faith, and faith itself is a gift of grace! As C.H Spurgeon put it. “It’s all of grace” From top to bottom and from front to back. Until Jesus sets our wills free, we won’t worship him, because until our wills are freed from the bondage of sin we are just like the demonic, we love the darkness. But when by God’s grace we have our wills freed and our insanity cured, we do what any cured sane person would do. We fall head long in love with the great physician who healed us! The infinitely beautiful Christ becomes our supreme treasure! We do what we most want to do, imperfectly for sure! We follow Christ and obey his commands because we love him. Our wills are set free at last to choose Christ, we desire for the first time in our lives what we should desire, Jesus Christ.
Some Ramifications of this Belief:
Believing this view of God’s grace in salvation should make us very humble, it should stun us, it should make us the most merciful people on the planet! It should cause our hearts to sing in worship! When we see sinners trapped in the chains of sin we don’t puff out our chest and say, “just get with the program!” or “God has done his part its up to you now!” Instead, we weep and pray over the souls of lost men and women. We pray for the most hardened sinner and ask God to raise the dead, to take out the heart of stone and replace it with a heart of flesh, we pray that spiritually blind eyes and ears be opened to the beauty of the cross and the glory of the gospel! We know that if Christ can change the demoniac and change us, he can change anyone he pleases! Calvinism doesn’t remove the need for evangelism as some have claimed, but in fact is a great source of confidence in all our efforts.
Conclusion:
When Jesus got out of the boat on that day long ago he was on a mission to shower His sovereign love upon that man that was bound in sin and there was no chance he would fail. And when Jesus hung on that cross long ago he was on a mission to shower His sovereign love on his elect and there was no chance he would fail. The death of the Son of God didn’t just make our salvation a possibility, he made it a rock solid reality!
I probably haven’t convinced anyone that wasn’t a Calvinist already to become one. And thats probably OK. This isn’t something you should be convinced of by a piece as short as this, or by any one man. It is up to the Holy Spirit and God’s word. But I do hope I’ve got you thinking and thinking hard. Read your bible, and think over those hard passages where God appears to be sovereign over the salvation of men just like in the story of the demoniac, and ponder often how it is you became a Christian.
Sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in my right mind. By God’s sovereign grace.
Todd
Some links you might find useful.
http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/TopicIndex/105_The_Doctrines_of_Grace/
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