The Tulip Driven Life

I struggled naming this blog post. I wanted to make it longer but felt that would lose some people. Some are probably lost already by the use of the term "monergism." So, I will allow an excerpt from an article from monergism.com by John Hendryx to explain the term "monergism."  Very simply, then, monergism is the doctrine that our new birth (or "quickening") is the work of God, the Holy Spirit alone, with no contribution and without the cooperation of fallen man, since the natural man, of himself, has no desire for God and cannot understand spiritual things (1 Cor 2:14, Rom 3:11,12; Rom 8:7; John 3:19, 20). Man remains resistant to all outward callings of the gospel until the Spirit comes to disarm us, call us inwardly and implant in us new holy affections for God. Our faith comes about only as the immediate result of the Spirit working faith in us in the hearing of the proclamation of the word. But just as God does not force us to see against our will

Well I'll just make it plain- you haven't really taken up the duty of sanctification until you've come to the point where knowing God deeply in order to see the beauty and glory of Himself has become your delight. And I would like to submit to you that a non-sovereign God and a non-saving Savior isn't that glorious and frankly, isn't really worth getting that excited about. But a God who is sovereign and a Savior whose sacrifice actually atones, actually saves, actually gives faith for all whom He died... now that's a game-changer. There's no story like that. It is the greatest story ever told: that the Savior would make such wretches His treasure, His bride, His pleasure, and irresistibly so, conquering my rebellious heart and will, turning me from my love affair with self and sin by His grace, making me willing to behold His face and want all that He is and all that I'm not, breaking my heart from what breaks His.  And all by His power, His Spirit, His