It is my privilege to share with you an essay that Ashley had to write for her Bible Class. For her mid-term, and all from memory, she had to compare and contrast the Calvinist position to the Armenian position. She also had to take a personal position on the issue and defend it with Scriptures. Be Blessed:From the Calvinist position, they believe in many things. They believe that without God, you can do nothing. They also believe that Jesus came down and died for only believers. Calvinists say that only the righteous people will be alive. Since we are "dead in sin", when God wakes us up, we have to obey him. Those are the points from the Calvinist's position.
The Armenian position is very different. The Armenians believe that man has the free will to do whatever he wants. They say that God is just waiting for man's choices, so he can do something. They also believe that you can lose your salvation.
I am not saying either one is right or wrong. I am actually in the middle of these two positions. First of all, I absolutely agree with the Calvinists when they said that you can do nothing without God. In John 15:5, it says that apart from Him, we can do nothing. Jesus is the vine, and we are the branches. I also think that Jesus did not die for believers only. In John 3:16, it says that God loved the whole world and that he sent his son. God sent Jesus to die for everybody in the world, not just believers. Armenians say that man has a free-will. I believe that to an extent. Yes, we do have a free-will, but God is always in control of our lives and he even knows every action we will make 20 years from now! Lastly, the Armenians believe in the loss of salvation. I totally disagree with that, because in 1 John 5:11-13, it says that God sent his son and he told us that so we KNOW that we will have eternal life. We can never lose our salvation. All we have to do is accept Jesus and we will live for eternity. This is where I stand between these positions.
Ashley Pagmanua
13 years old
Wow! Jon and I rarely discuss deep theology with Ashley. But she has her own position. She has sat in so many Bible Studies, attended Sunday School, took Bible classes in school, and have seen our testimonies in how we live, love, and know God. But for her to come up with her own conclusion of what position to take, that is all the Holy Spirit's ministry in her own life... with no interference on our part. The best part of all this ... her stance between the Calvinists' and the Armenians' positions are identical with ours.
Praise God!
To Ashley,
ReplyDeleteI so love reading your essay. Keep up the faith. Your mom and dad are doing a swell job raising you and your brother.
Auntie Christine
ps. I found some photos of you & Taylor when you were still little babes. Now you're teenage babes =.) Hugs. I'll post it one of these days when I find the time to scan some fun pix.
I like the tag you put on this blog. And I like the blog btw. I support the 365 commitment, which is of course is nothing in comparison to the myriad of His time. Love you and miss you guys.
ReplyDeleteThat's really cool she though this through and developed her own belief about it. Well done. I have been mentoring a friend about these two extremes. Tough topic but it sounds as if Ashley has found truth in the midst of it.
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