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We suspect we might get accused of beating up on a helpless disabled person. We will take that risk, because it's not about Ms. Tada's disability, it's about her doctrine. She has presented her doctrine publicly in the below article, and as such has invited scrutiny.
We suspect we might get accused of beating up on a helpless disabled person. We will take that risk, because it's not about Ms. Tada's disability, it's about her doctrine. She has presented her doctrine publicly in the below article, and as such has invited scrutiny.
Ms. Tada writes about her theology, a very specific kind of theology known as Calvinism. As a Calvinist Ms. Tada does what every Calvinist does: Teach Calvinism. Calvinists will never teach the Bible unless they can teach Calvinism.
Their theology revolves around the "doctrines of grace," also known as TULIP. Ms. Tada appeals to TULIP as a comfort to her in her disability. We are happy for her, but we require Ms. Tada to explain how TULIP specifically and uniquely provides this comfort.
We believe that TULIP is irrelevant to the daily Christian walk. By virtue of our salvation, Total Depravity no longer matters. Unconditional Election no longer matters. Limited Atonement no longer matters. Irresistible Grace no longer matters. Perseverance of the Saints no longer matters.
These all reflect on our past, not our current situation. Not our future. None of them come to bear as a benefit to our holiness, generosity, worship, or evangelism.
TULIP doesn't matter.
(...)
...here I am, afflicted with sores and scars, increasing pain, quadriplegia, and the constant threat of deadly pneumonia. How is it, then, that I am consoled by the doctrine of God’s absolute dominion over every moment of my pain and paralysis? (This is a substantial claim. Is Ms. Tada suggesting that God controls everything in every detail?)
Why would I even encourage Christians to view God’s providence (Undefined term.)
as the ultimate source of great comfort? (Yes, indeed. Specifically and uniquely, how is this true?)
The answers are found in the doctrines of grace, those treasured canons of our faith that extol God’s sovereignty (Undefined term.)
The answers are found in the doctrines of grace, those treasured canons of our faith that extol God’s sovereignty (Undefined term.)
in our salvation past, present, and future.
1. Total Depravity
I cleave to Romans 5:6: “While we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.” When I was a teenager and a new believer, however, I considered myself slightly weak and only a little ungodly. I thought I had done Jesus a big favor by accepting him as my Savior.
Then I broke my neck. With a jolt, I learned how spiritually enfeebled I was. God could no longer fit into the back pocket of my jeans. So, for two years, I lay helpless at the bottom of a mortar until God had mercifully crushed my pride with his pestle.
Nearly six decades later, suffering still exposes my sin and lowers my estimation of myself. Afflictions humble me under God’s firm but loving hand, revealing how utterly weak my weakness is. Just as I cannot physically do a thing for myself, I could never contribute even a micrometer of moral worthiness to my salvation. (Every Christian would agree. But this does not tell us about Total Depravity. This doctrine teaches that anything we might do, including making a decision for Christ, is a work. To make a decision for Christ would mean our depravity is not total, because we contributed to our salvation.)
That teenager? She was blind to her pride and depravity. God nevertheless granted her saving faith and a spirit of repentance. She still doesn’t understand why a holy God would shine his kindness on her, but that is the beauty of finding Christ in your total depravity — it makes God’s glory all the more glorious. (Most every Christian marvels at being saved. How Total Depravity enhances this is a mystery.)
2. Unconditional Election
Ephesians 1:4–5 is a feather-soft comfort: “He chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will.” God had his eye on me long before the universe was created — in love, he called me before my suffering even began. (This is false. Ms. Tada needs to ask who "us" is. "He chose us" is not a universal. Paul wrote to about being chosen in a specific context, which he identifies a few verses later:
Ep. 1:11-12 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.
Does the reader see it? The predestined people were those who were the "first to hope in Christ." That's not Ms. Tada. So what about her and the rest of us, who were not the first to hope in Christ? Paul tells us in the very next verse:
Ep. 1:13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation.
The first ones were predestined, while the rest of us were included when we believed.)
Even if my afflictions get worse, nothing can take away my eternal deliverance.
When I blow a fuse because of my limitations, God does not rethink his choice to save me. Nothing I do can undo his decision to include me in his flock. (How does she know for sure she's included? Perhaps she's a false convert. Perhaps she thinks she's a Christian but is predestined to fall away? There is no comfort at all in Unconditional Election since one doesn't if one is Elect.)
When I blow a fuse because of my limitations, God does not rethink his choice to save me. Nothing I do can undo his decision to include me in his flock. (How does she know for sure she's included? Perhaps she's a false convert. Perhaps she thinks she's a Christian but is predestined to fall away? There is no comfort at all in Unconditional Election since one doesn't if one is Elect.)
And although there are times when I am anything but a good ambassador for Christ in my wheelchair, my loving God sends his Spirit to correct and strengthen me.
I can rejoice in my suffering because my salvation rests on God’s eternal love, not on my ability to keep a clean slate. To paraphrase Romans 8:38–39, “I am sure that neither death nor life” — nor pneumonia nor intractable pain nor total paralysis nor cancer — “nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate [me] from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
I may live in a wheelchair, but I live to the praise of his glorious grace! (A great truth, for sure. But totally irrelevant to Irresistible Grace.)
I can rejoice in my suffering because my salvation rests on God’s eternal love, not on my ability to keep a clean slate. To paraphrase Romans 8:38–39, “I am sure that neither death nor life” — nor pneumonia nor intractable pain nor total paralysis nor cancer — “nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate [me] from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
I may live in a wheelchair, but I live to the praise of his glorious grace! (A great truth, for sure. But totally irrelevant to Irresistible Grace.)
3. Definite Atonement (Limited Atonement)
When Ken and I open our Bibles to the daily reading for July 20, a certain verse makes me tremble. Hosea 1:9 says, “The Lord said, ‘Call his name Not My People, for you are not my people, and I am not your God.’” The idea of God saying, “You are not mine, Joni,” strikes terror in my heart.
Thankfully, Jesus did not die to offer me the possibility of salvation. (What does this curious phrase mean? Well, Ms. Tada is making a reference to the supposed other side of the doctrine. She thinks that if Jesus died for those who were not the Elect, then He atoned for people who might not ever get saved.
The Calvinist's mistake is thinking that atonement equals salvation. Because of their deterministic doctrines, Calvinists need to create workarounds. If God chooses who will be saved, then it follows that atonement [i.e., salvation] must not apply to everyone. Thus the opposition position is caricatured as thinking salvation is only a theoretical.)
He died to save me specifically — with all my dog-nasty, specific sins paid for at the cross. (Jesus did not pay for our sins, He paid for us:
1Co. 7:23 You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men.)
It is comforting to know that Jesus was thinking of me that day at Golgotha.
Even in the beginning, when quadriplegia made me think twice about the Christian faith, Christ had already secured my salvation. So, come hell or high water, I have comfort that Jesus purchased my salvation completely. (There is no Bible verse that tells us Jesus purchased salvation. It wasn't a transaction, it was a sacrifice.)
I may squirm under the weight of various afflictions, but I need not worry if I’ll make it to heaven. Christ’s atonement was definite, not uncertain. (Indeed, assuming she's one of the Elect...)
Even in the beginning, when quadriplegia made me think twice about the Christian faith, Christ had already secured my salvation. So, come hell or high water, I have comfort that Jesus purchased my salvation completely. (There is no Bible verse that tells us Jesus purchased salvation. It wasn't a transaction, it was a sacrifice.)
I may squirm under the weight of various afflictions, but I need not worry if I’ll make it to heaven. Christ’s atonement was definite, not uncertain. (Indeed, assuming she's one of the Elect...)
My passage to heaven is completely paid for, just as Hebrews 9:12 promises: “He entered once for all into the holy places . . . by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.” (Again, Jesus' death is not a transaction, it is a sacrifice.)
If you suffer, learn to love the word redemption. Christ’s secure atonement will redeem our broken bodies riddled with sin and pain. And we shall ascribe him glory forever and ever.
If you suffer, learn to love the word redemption. Christ’s secure atonement will redeem our broken bodies riddled with sin and pain. And we shall ascribe him glory forever and ever.
4. Irresistible Grace
Ken Tada is an amazing caregiver, but my disability can overwhelm him. He can feel trapped by my never-ending physical needs — wiping my nose, nebulizing my lungs, maintaining my wheelchair, doing toileting routines, taking inventory of meds, and on and on. No wonder he occasionally feels trapped, depressed, and just plain tired.
When that happens, Ken occasionally gives me the silent treatment. But his cold shoulder is my cue to pray for him. I ask God to bear his burdens (Psalm 68:19), open his heart (Ephesians 1:18), draw him to Jesus (John 6:44), and give him the grace he needs to endure in the way of James 1:12: “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.”
When I pray this way, using Scripture, my husband always responds to the grace God gives. Before the day is out, Ken will lay aside the weight of my needs, take a deep breath, and keep “[running] with endurance the race that is set before [him]” (Hebrews 12:1).
By his grace, God not only saved his people in the past but goes on saving them day after day. Irresistible grace is a true comfort for any weary caregiver. (Ms. Tada told us nothing about this doctrine. Irresistible Grace is the idea that if God chooses you for salvation, you will be saved no matter what. Which makes us wonder why anyone would need to "remain steadfast under trial," since obeying these biblical commands changes nothing about being Elect, or irresistibly saved.)
5. Perseverance of the Saints
My friend Kara lives with terrible pain. Together, we have cried, “O God, our afflictions are hard. We are slipping. Please help us, give grace, and make effective our prayers for each other!”
We know that Jesus also prays for us. As he said to his weak and faltering disciple, “I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail” (Luke 22:32). Like Peter, our faith may be shaken to the core by great affliction, but it will not be extinguished. (Which must also mean that no matter what we choose to do, righteous or unholy, virtue or sin, will make no difference in our perseverance.)
The truly saved will be preserved. (How does she know she's truly saved?)
To help Kara and me endure, we have memorized Jude 24–25: “Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.”
Jude’s doxology is God’s promise to keep us to the end. (No, it means He keeps the Elect to the end.)
To help Kara and me endure, we have memorized Jude 24–25: “Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.”
Jude’s doxology is God’s promise to keep us to the end. (No, it means He keeps the Elect to the end.)
He will preserve our souls and enable us to run the race set before us. We will persevere all the way through our sanctification until God calls us home to our glorification. We will say with the aging apostle Paul, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7).
The Hand of Providence
When Ken and I read through the Bible every year, we can easily trace the hand of God’s providence (Still undefined.)
When Ken and I read through the Bible every year, we can easily trace the hand of God’s providence (Still undefined.)
in nearly every chapter. God keeps opening our eyes to the beautiful doctrines of grace in our hardships. He uses our suffering to refine our faith (Hebrews 2:10), stretch our hope (Job 13:14–15), purge sin from our hearts (Psalm 107:17), build our character (Romans 5:2–5), and increase our eternal reward (2 Timothy 2:12). (None of which Ms. Tada has any control over, since God has ordained these things a long time ago.)
The doctrines of grace show themselves most precious in seasons of suffering, weakness, or failure. When life strips away human confidence, these doctrines assure us that salvation past, present, and future rests entirely on our wise and loving God.
The doctrines of grace show themselves most precious in seasons of suffering, weakness, or failure. When life strips away human confidence, these doctrines assure us that salvation past, present, and future rests entirely on our wise and loving God.
Joni Eareckson Tada is founder and chief executive officer of Joni and Friends in Agoura Hills, California.
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