![[Graphic of Scripture verse]](https://www.deankwilson.com/Blog_images/James_3_13_v02.jpg)
| Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. |
| —James 3:13 |
Growing up in the 1950s in a very strict, Fundamentalist Christian environment, I was told that some churches taught that an individual could “earn” his or her way into heaven. Those who taught me insisted that such thinking was gravely in error and that people who believed this were greatly mistaken. In fact, or so I was taught, such individuals are likely not “true” Christians at all.
I was also taught that accepting Christ as my Savior was a decision that I, alone, could make. When I reached Houghton College in the fall of 1965, I was shocked to learn that other devoted followers of Jesus believed that God had actually chosen them before the foundation of the earth to belong to Himself. It wasn’t really their choice at all. It was God who chose who belonged to Himself.
At the same time, I learned that those who believed God had chosen them did indeed also believe that God had given them the free-will choice as to whether or not they would follow the pathway God had laid out for them. In other words, while these believers had no personal choice in whether or not they belonged to God, they did very much have a choice as to whether or not they would follow God in obedience.
It wasn’t that so-called “free will” had no part in their belief system. It was just that the exercise of their free will came into the equation after they came to the understanding that God had chosen them.
The interesting part of this revelation arose from the fact that Houghton College was an institution of higher learning sponsored by the Wesleyan Church (originally called the Wesleyan Methodist Church) and actually embraced the same theological position as the denomination in which I grew up—the Evangelical United Brethern Church, now merged to become the United Methodist Church. This theological position was called the Arminian position of Jacobus Arminius (1560-1609), as opposed to the Reformed theological position of John Calvin (1509-1564).
It was rather interesting that I would become exposed to the Reformed tradition while attending an Arminian college. But, that’s what happened and largely because of the belief on the part of the Bible professors at Houghton College that students needed to understand the full breadth of Evangelical theology.
Having now embraced the Reformed tradition, I came to understand that such teachings of the Apostle James, as illustrated by the verse at the beginning of this blog post, made sense in light of the fact that my personal obedience, and the exercise of my free will, would come into play as I allowed my good conduct to show my good works in the meekness of wisdom.
God has chosen me to belong to Him. Now, it was my responsibility, out of love and obedience to God, to live in such a way that my good works would testify to His having chosen me.
I have many, many dear friends who fully embrace the Arminian theology of Jacobus Arminius and believe that humans need to make a purposeful decision to follow Jesus as their Savior and Lord. I also have many, many dear friends who fully embrace the Reformed theology of John Calvin and believe that before the foundation of the earth God chose them to belong to Himself. But, each of these groups of friends also strive now to live in obedience, either to the decision they made to follow Jesus, or to God’s chosing of them.
Each of these dear ones longs to share what Jesus means to them with others. Each of them desires to see other men, women, boys, and girls experience the life-transforming power of the living Lord Jesus Christ. Each of them longs to see a great revival sweep across our land and bring profound change to our nation and our world. Each of them believes that good conduct stands as one of the strongest testimonies to the power of the love of God.
Theology has a definite place in helping us try to comprehend what it means to be a child of God. But, in the end, the way we live out our beliefs and show God’s love to others makes all the difference in our lives and in the lives of those around us.
