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INITIATIVE David Ervin CCC Press Belleville, Michigan 2
Copyright © 2021 by David Ervin Published by CCC Press 44500 Willis Rd., Belleville, Michigan All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, except as provided by USA copyright law. First Printing, 2021 Italics or underlining in biblical quotes indicates emphasis added by the author. Scripture marked NKJV taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked ESV are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The ―NIV‖ and ―New International Version‖ are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.® ISBN 978-0-578-73100-1 Printed in the United States of America. 3
The First Move 9 Spiritually Dead 27 The New Man 45 Of Mice, Men and God 61 Objections 75 Why Does it Matter? 117 Appendix A: Difficult Passages 131 Appendix B: Further Study 161 4
THE FIRST MOVE 5
heart pounded as the evangelist called for a response. Against a mountain of fears and inhibitions, another force arose. A mysterious strength was welling up within me, taking captive my mind and will to the sweet call of the Savior. This unknown power, moving from my heart to my head to my body, transformed my thoughts and feelings into action. It was my very first act of obedience. I raised my trembling hand in response to the gospel. I was a teenager attending a summer youth retreat. We camped outside for a whole week on the church grounds enjoying fun activities punctuated with group Bible studies. A life-changing event was certainly not on my agenda. My motive for attending the youth retreat was devoid of anything spiritual. I went because my friends were there, and more importantly, girls would be present. It was strictly a social occasion. The week‘s retreat culminated in a worship service. As a PK (that‘s a pastor‘s kid), I was all too familiar with the drill. It was time to ―pay for the soup.‖ They would bring in some itinerate evangelist who would preach at us for about forty-five minutes, and then we would be free to go. Though reared in an evangelical Christian church, I was not a believer. I knew all the Bible stories and had heard the gospel message a thousand times, but it was a heap of foolishness to me. I thought 7 11
them comfort. As an unbelieving PK, I had consequently become quite adept at getting through boring religious services and prepared myself for yet another routine mental blackout. But something was different this time. The setting was the same. The songs were the same. The message was the same. But something was vastly different. I found myself hanging on every word. It seemed as if everything being said was just for me. I felt the weight of my sin and the need for the Savior like never before. The cross, unimportant to me the day before, suddenly became a refuge of safety. Prior to that hour, I considered Jesus Christ to be nothing more than a mildly curious religious figure. But at that moment, He leaped out of history and became personal as if He were alive and present in the room. I was acutely aware that He had done something real and stupendous on my behalf—something I did not deserve. When the evangelist called for us to raise a hand, indicating a response of faith in Christ, I raised mine. I wish I could say that I steadfastly followed Jesus Christ from that day forward with unwavering faithfulness. That would make a great conversion story. But like many people, my coming to Jesus was like stepping across a blurred, gray line. Others may have experienced a sudden leap of faith; my journey was 8 12
there would be many other incidents and ―faith events.‖ Somewhere along the way, I had crossed over to Christ. Still, that day when I raised my hand represented a beginning—a first move. I had heard Christians say many times that ―if you just take the first step, God will do the rest.‖ Well, I had done my part. I took that first step. I had taken the initiative in this salvation thing. But did I really make the first move? Was God waiting around for me to initiate His plan for my life, or was His plan already in motion? Was the raising of my hand the outward sign of my initiative in a relationship with God, or was it the culmination of a divine initiative that began in eternity past, moved a million circumstances, and overcame countless obstacles until at last it intersected with that specific moment in time? The apostle John makes a causal statement about our love for God: ―We love Him because He first loved us.‖ (1 John 4:19). This is a profound truth yet one so simple that children sing about it in Sunday school: ―O how I love Jesus, because He first loved me.‖ According to John, there is a love prior to our love—a love that causes our love. There is a movement of God toward us that takes place long before our movement toward Him. 9 13
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