Living for God's Glory: An Introduction to Calvinism by Joel R. Beeke

Living for God's Glory: An Introduction to Calvinism,

Joel R. Beeke, Reformation Trust, 2008, 416pp.

When Joel Beeke gave the main addresses at the Evangelical Movement of Wales' Aberystwyth Conference a few years ago, he was asked which of his many books he would most like people to read. He opted for this one. I've profited from Beeke's ministry on number of occasions and I've frequently found his writings helpful, so with his commendation in mind I toddled off to the conference bookshop and invested in this tome.

Despite its size (a hefty 400-pager) and title, the book isn't at all heavy going. I read it through on Sunday evenings, when I'm often feeling a little weary and brain dead.

Beeke's aim is to show that Calvinism isn't simply a set of doctrines. As the title shows, it is all about living for God's glory. The writer devotes a chapter to the history of Calvinism and then endeavours to define what he calls "Calvinism in the Mind",  by which he means Calvinistic theology. Somewhat stereotypically he defines Calvinistic theology in terms of the good ol' "Five Points of Calvinism". Now, I'm all in favour "TULIP" theology, but as Beeke himself acknowlages, the "Five Points" were never meant to be a handy summary of Calvinistic teaching in the round. They were simply the Reformed response to the Arminian five point Remonstrance at the Synod of Dort. So, why allow Arminians to set the agenda? It makes Calvinists seem defensive and obsessively polemical. Besides, it is reductionistic to discuss "Calvinism in the Mind" mainly in terms of the Five Points. Whence Calvin's emphasis on divine self-revelation, or union with Christ, or justification by faith alone? Beeke's treatment of the Five Points is helpful enough, but we really do need to be more imaginative in our attempts to commend Calvinism in all its breadth and depth to the wider Evangelical movement.

However we define it, Calvinism isn't all in the mind. In the next section Beeke turns to "Calvinism in the Heart". This is better, especially Michel Haykin's chapter on Cultivating the Spirit. Beeke's own explorations of Calvin's God-exalting piety and sanctification in Puritan thought and practice give a real insight into the Reformed faith's robustly biblical and deeply practical teaching on the Christian life. Beeke's essays are informed by his wide reading of Puritan authors, but on pursuing the chapter endnotes I was a little disappointed that some of his choice quotes had been culled from books of quotations like John Blanchard's Gathered Gold. I might be getting overly fussy and cantankerous in my old age, and this is a meant to be a popular rather than scholarly work, but please!

The Reformation was all about the re-formation of the church along scriptural lines so it is good that a major part of the book is devoted to "Calvinism in the Church". Useful material here on church government and discpline by Derek Thomas, worship by Ray Lanning and preaching by Robert Oliver and Beeke. Essays on Calvin's evangelism and Puritan evangelism are a reminder that the Reformed faith when properly understood is not at all inimical to evangelistic zeal. Au contraire.

"Calvinism in Practice" includes essays on marriage, the family, work, politics and ethics, showing that Calvinism offers a theology for the whole of life. Good stuff.

Sinclair Ferguson's excellent piece on doxological Calvism concludes the book. He relates an anecdote from the writings of B. B. Warfield. There was violent rioting in an American city. A man spied a stranger walking calmly up the road. As the stranger passed by the man turned  and asked him, "What is the chief end of man?" To which he replied, "Man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him for ever." They had recognised from each other's unruffled demeanor that each was a "Shorter Catechism boy". That is doxological Calvinism - living for the glory of God and knowing the peace that comes from resting in a sovereign God.

Did Jephthah really sacrifice his daughter?

In my report of Joel Beeke's morning addresses at the recent Aberystwyth Conference, I mentioned that the preacher used Jephthah's daughter (Judges 11:34-40) as an example of "contagious submission" to the Lord. As I said in the report, I profited greatly from Beeke's messages. I have nothing but respect and admiration for Joel Beeke as a godly man and able minister of the gospel. But I disagree with his view that Jephthah did not really sacrifice his daughter as a burnt offering. This is not a matter of huge importance and I don't want to carp on about it, but a comment was left asking me why I differ from Beeke on this point, so here goes.

Let me say right now that this is one of the most troubling passages in the turbulent book of Judges and so we must proceed with some caution. On the face of it, the textual evidence seems to be stacked against Beeke's view. Compare Judges 11:30-31 with Judges 11:39. We are told that Jephthah fulfilled his vow. He offered to the Lord as a burnt offering the first thing to meet him when he returned from battle - his daughter. But the preacher offered seven reasons why in his opinion Jephthah did not really consign his only daughter to the flames. I will take them one by one and offer a response in blue type.

1. Jephthah was not a rash man. He negotiated with the elders of Gilead before becoming their leader (Judges 11:1-11).

But normally level headed people sometimes act impulsively. Just because Jephthah was a tough negotiator does not mean that he was incapable of making a rash vow on the brink of a make-or-break battle. Indeed, wasn't the vow itself a misguided attempt to bargain with the Lord?

2. He was familiar with Scripture and so would have known that sacrificing ones children was contrary to the law of the Lord.

The judge was certainly in command of biblical history as Judges 11:12-28 shows. No doubt he was aware of the prohibitions on human sacrifice in the Pentateuch. But this is the period of the Judges, when "everyone did what was right on his own eyes" (Judges 21:25). Presumably Samson, the very next judge, would have been aware of the laws against intermarrying with pagan women, but that didn't stop him, Judges 14:1-3.

3. The Spirit of the Lord was upon Jephthah.

True, Judges 11:29, but once more, the Spirit of the Lord also came upon Samson before he married a Philistine wife (Judges 13:25) and after (Judges 14:6, 19). It seems that the Spirit of God clothed the judges with power to kill lions, lead armies and fight battles, but his coming upon a person did not necessarily have a powerful sanctifying effect.

4. Judges 11:31 could be read to mean that Jephthah left two options open. He vowed that whatever came out of his house to meet him (this seems to indicate purposeful human action), would either "surely be the LORD’s, or [Beeke's translation] I will offer it up as a burnt offering" (Judges 11:31). In other words a human being would be dedicated to the LORD in some way, while an animal would be sacrificed on the altar.

Beeke posits that we read the Hebrew prefix waw as "or" rather than "and" in this verse. That seems like an unlikely reading as in the majority of cases waw when used in this way usually means "and". For what it's worth, none of the more serious English Bible translations (AV, NKJV, NIV, ESV) render the text as Beeke suggests.

Besides, what does "shall surely be the LORD's" mean in this case? Beeke argues that it it means a man or woman would be devoted to the LORD's service in an perpetually unmarried state. Hence Jephthah's daughter bewailed her virginity (Judges 11:38) because as one devoted to the LORD she could never marry. However, there is no evidence from elsewhere in the Old Testament of men or women forswearing marriage to devote themselves to the Lord. Even the high priest was free to marry! Having to live as a virgin with no possibility of marriage or children would have been a heavy blow for an Israelite woman. In this instance it would have meant the end of Jephthah's family line. But as Matthew Henry points out, "had she only been confined to a single life, she need not have desired two months to bewail it in: she had her whole life to to that. Nor needed she to have taken such a sad leave of her companions". The dutiful daughter bewailed her virginity because she was going to die a virgin, not because she was going to have to live as a virgin.

Also Beeke argued that even if we should not read "and" as "or" in this text, the language of "burnt offering" is sometimes used in a figurative sense in the Bible. That may well be so, but there is no indication of this being the case in Judges 11.

5. Jephthah had time to change his mind about literally sacrificing his daughter to the LORD. She was given two months grace (Judges 11:37).

Yes, but still we are told that after the period ended, he "carried out his vow", Judges 11:39.

6. Even if Jephthah did make a rash vow, Leviticus 5:4-6 offered him a get out clause.

That is the case, but we are not told that the judge availed himself of this provision and substituted an animal for his daughter. "She returned to her father, and he carried out his vow with her which he had vowed" (Judges 11:39 emphasis added).

7. Jephthah is never reprimanded for his actions in Scripture. He is even mentioned as a hero of the faith in Hebrews 11:32.

Fair enough. But the author of Judges is not prone to editorialise on the faults of the characters covered in his book. Writing in the Deuteronomic tradition, he expects his readers to know right from wrong without him having to point it out in a moralistic fashion. He usually prefers to let the facts speak for themselves. Judges 21:25 is enough to tell us that much that happened in the period of the Judges was profoundly disordered. Even the best of men in that time were deeply flawed and prone to sin.

Womanising Samson also gets a mention in Hebrews 11, not to mention Abraham who could be a little economical with the truth, Jacob the manipulative twister, and David who committed adultery. Inclusion in Hebrews 11 does not give a man or woman a clean bill of spiritual and moral health. The chapter was written to illustrate the faith by which we are justified (Hebrews 10:38-39). As Luther famously pointed out, we are "simultaneously justified and yet sinners". Beeke made a good stab at exonerating Jephthah of the dreadful crime of human sacrifice, but I'm afraid that the text, at least as I understand it does not let him off the hook.

See Dale Ralph Davis' commentary on Judges, (Christian Focus), p. 144 for a defence of the view that Jephthah tragically kept his vow to offer his only daughter as a burnt offering to the LORD. Ironically perhaps, DRD is the main speaker for Aber 2010.

Aber 2009 - Morning Addresses

Every year over 1,000 people, a good number of them less than 25 years of age, descend upon Aberystwyth in the second week in August. What is it that attracts them to the west Wales seaside town? I’ll give you three guesses. Is it, a) Guaranteed sunshine, a fine sandy beach and the glimmering azure sea? b) The camera obsrura perched atop Constitution Hill? c) The Evangelical Movement of Wales ‘English Conference’?

If you opted for the last choice, then congratulations! You are absolutely correct. The Aber Conference with its “no frills” approach to worship and emphasis on the centrality of preaching is the big draw. Having laid aside my duties as Chief Steward last year, I was free to simply enjoy the conference. The main speaker at this year was Joel Beeke of Grand Rapids, Michigan. His chosen theme, spread over Tuesday to Friday mornings was ‘Contagious Christianity’. Beeke was careful to say that he did not believe that Christianity can be caught like the common cold. But we can influence others by our lives and witness to Jesus. To be contagious Christians, we need to be saved in the first place. Also, we must make use of the spiritual disciplines such as private prayer and Bible reading and avail ourselves of the means of grace in the life of the church. We should develop an evangelistic heart that desires to reach the lost for Christ. While the use of means is important, in the end only Spirit-given grace can make us contagious Christians.

Each message was based on a particular bible character whose life exemplified an aspect of spiritual contagiousness. Tuesday: Jephthah’s daughter (Judges 11:34-40) showed contagious sacrificial submission when she gladly submitted to her father’s vow. The preacher argued that Jephthah did not actually sacrifice his only daughter as a burnt offering. Rather he insisted that she remained an unmarried virgin. Beeke gave a long list of reasons for his view, but I wasn't convinced. However we understand the fulfilment of Jephthah's vow, his daughter's self-sacrifice was certainly admirable. Like her we must learn to submit to the Lord when faced with suffering and trial. By way of application Beeke pointed out that she acknowledged the Lord, justified the Lord, approved the Lord, clung to the Lord and honoured the Lord. Her attitude was contagious. Every year the daughters of Israel commemorated her sacrificial submission.

Wednesday: When Jesus healed blind Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46-52 & Luke 18:43) he followed the Lord and glorified him. As a result many who saw what had happened also glorified Jesus.

Thursday: Jacob’s wrestling with God (Genesis 32:22-32) shows us that persevering prayer leads to contagious blessing. Jacob was a broken man after his encounter with God, but having prevailed with God, he was also able to prevail with men.

Friday: Lastly we looked at Daniel (Daniel 1) and the contagiousness of consistent integrity. Daniel's determination not to compromise in his youth led to a long life of faithful service.

You did not have to agree with every aspect of Beeke’s exegesis to profit from these thoughtfully structured, finely illustrated and tellingly applied messages. Experimental Puritan-Reformed preaching at its heart-warming and challenging best. Oh to be more of a contagious Christian!

CDs and DVDs of these sermons are available from the Evangelical Movement of Wales.