I have a friend who questions me about my Calvinism on a regular basis. I love it. He recently asked me, “Where’s the hope in believing that everything is out of your control?”
With a smile and no hesitation I replied, “That’s exactly where it is. My hope lies in the fact that salvation lies outside of myself.”
I don’t say this to pat myself on the back for having such a quick answer. I say this because this is indeed the only hope of mankind. And I rejoice in it.
The more that I get to know my own heart, the more sinful I see it to be. Scripture testifies to the stark reality that the heart of man is the problem of man. We can look around the world and see all sorts of evil in all shapes and sizes, and it all came from one place: someone’s heart. Sin is not something outside of us that causes us to stumble or do bad things. Sin comes from within. Jesus himself preached that from within the heart comes all evil. We are our own worst enemy.
If we are our problem then how fearfully hopeless are we if our hope lies somewhere in us, or in something we have to do? If I look within myself to find hope I will find none.
So where does my hope come from? My hope comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. The gospel announces that salvation has come outside of ourselves and inside of Christ. In Him do we find forgiveness of sins and the hope of eternal life. When I look inside of myself, or outward to my works, I am not looking to that which can save me. But when I look completely outside of myself and away from my works, and gaze upon Christ lifted up to die, I see His work for me, and I am filled with hope. I can’t do it, but He has.
This is where Calvinism gets it right. Sure, our Arminian brothers proclaim that saving comes by grace through faith in Jesus, but it still requires, to whatever tiny degree it may be, some sort of something on our part. Calvinism says, “Salvation is of the Lord.” It is Jesus Christ who comes and resurrects our lifeless hearts unto salvation. There is nothing in me that can raise myself from the dead, or even assist Jesus in raising me. He does it, and He does it alone. That is precisely the source of my hope. Jesus Christ does it all.
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