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.

In need

Are you in need of assurance today? Look! To Calvary, where God proved He is for us. To justification, which proves that no accusation against us will stick. To the interceding Christ, standing to assure us we can never be condemned. To the indestructible love of God that persuades us that nothing will ever be able to separate us from Jesus Christ our Lord. (from Jeffery Perry on x.com)

He wore my crown

He wore my crown, the crown of thorns; I wear his crown, the crown of glory. He wore my nakedness; I wear his royal robes. He bore my shame; I bear his honour. Spurgeon

Heap. David Dickson.

"Puritan Gold" "I have taken all my good deeds, and all my bad, and cast them together in a heap before the Lord, and fled from both, and have taken myself to the Lord Jesus Christ, and in Him I have sweet peace." "David Dickson"

Anatomy. Obadiah Sedgwick

Every self-considering Christian does see so much sin in his heart and life, that he is abased under the burden of it; how heavy then is this thought upon his heart: that there are many thousands of secret, unseen errors chargeable upon him by the all-knowing, heart-searching God. - Obadiah Sedgwick (1600-1658), The Anatomy of Secret Sins

Growing as a Christian

Michael Reeves -- "If you are not increasingly grieved by your own sin, you are not growing as a Christian."

God sent the Son in Love

This idea that the Lord Jesus Christ is at great pains to persuade God the Father to forgive and accept us is utterly unscriptural and entirely false. —Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Saved in Eternity, 55

Walter Marshall once told

Walter Marshall once told Thomas Goodwin all about the sins that weighed heavily on his conscience. Goodwin’s response was that he had forgotten to mention his greatest sin: not believing on the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of his sins and the sanctifying of his nature.

Remember (Thomas Wilcox)

Remember your sin—Christ's pardon 

your deservings—Christ's merits 

your weakness—Christ's strength 

your pride—Christ's humility 

your infirmities—Christ's restorings 

your guilts—Christ's blood 

your failings—Christ's raisings up 

your vileness—Christ's righteousness. —Thomas Wilcox

"Let sin break your heart, but not your hope in the gospel." -Thomas Wilcox.

When you see sin, look at Christ's grace that did pardon it; and when you are proud, look at Christ's grace, that shall humble and strike you down in the dust. --Thomas Wilcox

The Supreme Art

"It's the supreme art of the devil that he can make the law out of gospel." Martin Luther

Proper Worship

I am not unaware how difficult it is to persuade the world that God rejects and even abominates everything relating to His worship that is devised by human reason. ~ John Calvin

Question for Non-Cals by CCP

Question for non-Cals: God knows if He takes one action ‘A’ the person will choose ‘X’. However, God knows if He takes another action ‘B’ the person will instead choose ‘Y’. How did God NOT “choose your choice” by choosing which action to take?

Faith is a Gift

Calvin on faith being a gift from God “Faith itself is a work of the Holy Spirit, who dwells in none but the children of God. So then, in various respects, faith is a part of our regeneration, and an entrance into the kingdom of God, that he may reckon us among his children. The illumination of our minds by the Holy Spirit belongs to our renewal, and thus faith flows from regeneration as from its source; but since it is by the same faith that we receive Christ, who sanctifies us by his Spirit, on that account it is said to be the beginning of our adoption.” -- John Calvin

ENJOY GOD'S GENEROSITY

Let’s get rid of the inhuman philosophy which only allows necessities. Not only does it wrongly deprive us of legitimate enjoyment of God’s generosity, but it cannot be effected without depriving man of all his senses, reducing him to a block. --John Calvin. We should therefore learn that the only good we have is what the Lord has given us gratuitously; that the only good we do is what He does in us; that it is not that we do nothing ourselves, but that we act only when we have been acted upon, in other words under the direction and influence of the Holy Spirit. Calvin’s New Testament Commentaries, The First Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians, Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1960, p. 317-318, www.eerdmans.com.

One Hundredth Part

 You are worse than you think you are, but also far more loved than you feel you are.

--Timothy Keller.

No one knows the one-hundredth part of the sin that clings to his soul.

--John Calvin

Spiritual Discovery

One man may give another an affecting view of divine things with but common assistance: but God alone can give a spiritual discovery of them. --Jonathan Edwards

SOLE SOUL MEDIATOR

 The doctrine of making angels and saints mediators and intercessors is condemned because it associates Christ with others in that significant role. Yet, when you join 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 and 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦 with Christ's obedience, you do the same.

—Puritan Anthony Burgess

By Feelings

 “Salvation by feelings is no more possible than salvation by good works.”

— Charles Spurgeon

Clothed

 What didst Thou see in me that I, a poor, diseased, despised sinner, should be clothed in Thy bright glory? — The Valley of Vision, ‘Freedom’