Read: an act of Worship

 Read as an act of worship. Read to be elevated into the great truths of God so that you may worship the Trinity in Spirit and in truth. Be selective about what you read, however. Measure all your reading against the touchstone of Scripture. So much of today’s Christian literature is froth, riddled with Arminian theology or secular thinking. Time is too precious to waste on nonsense. Read more for eternity than time, more for spiritual growth than professional advancement.

Feed My Sheep, ed. Don Kistler, Soli Deo Gloria Ministries, 2002, p. 120.

Joel Beeke

Even You

 "The essence of the doctrine of election is this: God has saved you! Because he had a plan to save you and he always fulfills his plans, it means that no one can thwart God's plan. Even you." -W. Robert Godfrey

Preserving Faithfulness

 If someone Reformed is asked on what his perseverance in the state of grace rests, then he will not answer, “On something in me, on the power and the capacity for withstanding of the new life that I possess,” but, “Solely on the preserving faithfulness of God.”

—Geerhardus Vos

Are you Weary?

 O, Christian, Are You Weary? D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones on Being “Weary in Well Doing”

Being a Christian these days can be a wearying task. We fight indwelling sin, forces of spiritual darkness, and personal trials that come our way. In addition to these difficulties, we have suffered through Covid for multiple years and now watch the effects of a new war, inflation, and whatever else might come. Do you find yourself weary in doing good?

In his book Spiritual Depression: Its Causes and Cure (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1965), D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones gives a chapter to encourage those who are “Weary in Well Doing” (190–202). His main text is Galatians 6:9: “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not” (KJV). He describes spiritual depression from weariness in this way: “Here, the devil does something much more subtle, in that there is apparently nothing wrong at all. What happens is that people just become weary and tired, while still going in the right direction…. shuffling along with drooping heads and hands… the very antithesis of what the Christian is meant to be in this world” (191).

He then describes weariness in general and turns these thoughts to the Christian life. Life has times of youth and old age in which people are granted “compensations” to help them through these years. Between these times, however, is especially when the weariness may come: “The most difficult period of all in life is the middle period” (192). Whereas one has worked hard to get to this point, the motivation is not the same to continue in one’s success. Goals are achieved, life is routine, and the excitement of learning and discovery may vanish. The internal push for progress dissipates once one reaches life’s plateau.

Lloyd-Jones then focuses on the Christian: “Now this is equally true in the religious or the spiritual life” (192). “The initial experience… was new and surprising and wonderful and clear” (193), but “now we have become accustomed to the Christian life” (193). It seems “routine… the same thing day after day. Then this trial [weariness] arises, and we are no longer carried over it by that initial momentum which seemed to take us through it all in the early stages at the beginning…. This is the condition with which the apostle deals with here…. some kind of doldrums…. a standstill” (193). What are we to do? How can we overcome weariness in well-doing?

Lloyd-Jones warns us of three dangers and tells us what not to do. First, we may be tempted to “give up, or give way, or give in” (194). Second, a greater temptation, “The danger of the majority at this point is just to resign themselves to it and to lose heart and to lose hope” (194). Though it may seem “heroic” or ring of “loyalty” to grit our teeth and carry on, addressing our weariness in our own strength will only lead to weariness still. And third, if we are not careful, “We will resort to artificial stimulants” (195). Even in his day, Lloyd-Jones warns against drunkenness that begins with “a little alcohol to help him to carry on” or giving in to “drugs and various other things” (195).

Finally, Lloyd-Jones offers us some solutions. “The first thing must be self-examination” (196). We have to look at ourselves to discover the root of our weariness. Are we working too hard and too much and running down our bodies? Are we doing the Lord’s work in human strength alone? Also, what is our motivation for doing what we do? To been seen of men or to please God alone? Or, has “God’s work” become not “something which you do” but “something that keeps you going” (198)? Would we know what to do with ourselves if the busyness of ministry and Christian activity was taken away? Are we “being in control” or is “the thing controlling us” (198)? If the latter, “ultimately it exhausts us and depresses us” (198).

Lloyd-Jones then goes on to give three “certain great principles” to overcome weariness in well-doing (198). First, we have to remember that “there are phases in the Christian life as in the whole of life” (198). Life in general and the spiritual life begins with infancy and moves to maturity. As infants, everything is exciting, fresh, and new. In our maturity, our energy is the same but harnessed and used in different ways. We have to remember that Christian maturity will not be quite the same experience as when we first believed.

Second, he says, “It is ‘well doing’ remember,” not just doing (199). “You are set in the midst of the most glorious campaign into which a man could ever enter” (200). If we merely look at the Christian life as “doing” and not “well-doing,” then we have lost sight of who we are in Christ, what He has done in us, and what we are doing for Him.

Are you weary? Do not give up, and do not grow weary of doing good. In due season you will reap as you persevere in serving the Lord.

Third, Lloyd-Jones reminds us, “The next principle is that this life of ours is but a preparatory one…. This life is but the ante-chamber of eternity and all we do in this world is but anticipatory of that” (200). This thought brings us back to Galatians 6:9: “for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” Lloyd-Jones closes with a number of texts to reinforce this forward look. We have not fully seen, heard, or imagined what is yet to come (1 Corinthians 2:9). We should keep our mind on heavenly things (Colossians 3:1) and thereby bound in the work of the Lord (1 Corinthians 15:58). As Christ saw the joy set before Him and thought nothing of His cross, so also we may suffer from time to time but will one day join Him above (Hebrews 12:2, 4; cf. Colossians 1:24). If these truths guide you through your weariness, “You will go forward still more gloriously, until eventually you will hear Him saying: ‘Well done, thou good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of the Lord’, ‘Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world’” (p. 202; Matthew 25:21, 23, 34).

Are you weary? Do not give up, and do not grow weary of doing good. In due season you will reap as you persevere in serving the Lord.

Exiled.

 Yes, that is essentially accurate. Athanasius of Alexandria (c. 296–373), one of the most important defenders of Nicene orthodoxy against Arianism, was exiled multiple times by different emperors. Here is a more detailed breakdown of his exiles:

1. Exiled by Constantine (335–337) – At the Council of Tyre in 335, Athanasius was accused of various charges, including obstructing grain shipments to Constantinople. Emperor Constantine exiled him to Trier (modern Germany). However, after Constantine's death in 337, his son Constans allowed Athanasius to return.

2. Exiled by Constantius II (339–346) – Constantius II, who favored Arianism, opposed Athanasius. In 339, he deposed Athanasius and installed the Arian bishop Gregory of Cappadocia in Alexandria. Athanasius fled to Rome, where he found support from Pope Julius I. He was later restored in 346.

3. Exiled by Constantius II (356–362) – Under increasing Arian influence, Constantius II exiled Athanasius again in 356. He fled into the Egyptian desert, where he stayed among the monks and continued writing against Arianism.

4. Exiled by Julian the Apostate (362–363) – Julian, seeking to weaken the Christian church, allowed many exiled bishops to return, including Athanasius. However, after seeing Athanasius' influence in strengthening Nicene Christianity, Julian exiled him again in 362. Athanasius withdrew briefly but returned after Julian's death in 363.

5. Exiled by Valens (365–366) – Emperor Valens, an Arian sympathizer, ordered Athanasius' removal again in 365. Athanasius hid for a few months but was allowed to return in 366, spending the rest of his life in Alexandria until his death in 373.

In total, Athanasius was exiled five times over his lifetime, spending roughly 17 years in exile out of his 45-year tenure as bishop of Alexandria. His steadfast opposition to Arianism earned him the title Athanasius contra mundum ("Athanasius against the world").

The Secret

 The secret of a successful spiritual life is just to realize two things: I must have complete, absolute confidence in God and no confidence in myself.

—Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Completely Human Centered.

I normally do not make posts this long, but since I probably have zero readers, I will archive this material online for my own sake; but as a preface the beginnings of this post should be understood in terms of 1 Corinthians 1-2 (foolishness of the gospel.)

Provisionism is Not Foolishness:

Provisionism is not foolishness. In fact, it makes perfect sense.

It’s simple. Even children are trained in this framework from a young age:

If you choose to believe in Santa…

If you stay on the good list and endure to the end of the year…

Then you will receive good gifts as a reward.

But if you don’t believe or if you fall away into bad behavior, you get coal.

That’s Provisionism in a nutshell. Believe, behave, endure, and receive the reward. It’s not foolishness because it’s not foreign—it’s how every human system works.

For adults, it’s even more practical:

You lost your job and owe a mortgage you can’t pay.

The good news? There’s a corporation willing to help.

If you believe the owner will pay you at the end of the month…

If you stay in the corporation and endure to the end without quitting…

Then you will certainly receive your paycheck.

That’s not foolishness—that’s just a contract. Work, endure, and be rewarded.

Provisionism is not foolishness. It (Provisionism) is completely rational, completely understandable, and completely human-centered.

And that’s exactly the problem.

Paul Was Not Ashamed of the Foolishness He Preached

Paul didn’t preach a transactional system that made sense to the world. He preached a Gospel so offensive, so radical, that it was mocked, rejected, and called foolishness by those who were perishing (1 Cor. 1:18).

The world understands contracts. It does not understand a God who saves people who didn’t choose Him (John 15:16).

The world understands religious effort. It does not understand a God who says “It depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.” (Romans 9:16).

The world understands wages. It does not understand grace that actually saves rather than just offering an opportunity (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Provisionism is not foolishness because it’s not the message Paul preached. It’s just another works-based system with better branding.

I’m Not Ashamed of Calvinism Because It Is Foolishness

Calvinism is mocked, twisted, strawmanned, and hated—and that’s exactly how it should be.

Paul never had to defend an accepted Gospel. He had to defend a rejected one.

Paul never had to clarify a reasonable Gospel. He had to clarify a foolish one.

Paul never had to suffer for a man-centered Gospel. He suffered for a God-centered one.

So when the world rejects Calvinism, when it ridicules and distorts it—that is exactly what should happen. That’s what always happens when you preach that God alone saves, that man is powerless, and that salvation is not a paycheck but a gift given to the elect.

The only reason to say “I am not ashamed” is when the world is calling your message foolish.

And the world does not call Provisionism foolish. It makes too much sense to them. It’s too familiar. Too humanistic.

But the Gospel Paul preached? That was offensive. That was foolishness to those who were perishing.

And if that’s what Paul preached, then I’m standing right there with him.