Happy Thursday. You might remember a couple of weeks back. We looked at 10 reasons why we

need the doctrine of unconditional election. That was an APJ in 1969. And one of those reasons

was found in 1 Corinthians 127. God's design for unconditional election is that God gets praised,

we get humbled. God gets praised, we get humbled. The doctrines of grace are fundamentally humbling,

ideally. Sometimes that's not what happens, though. If we're not careful, a wrong understanding

of Calvinism can breed pride in our hearts. That's Nathaniel's dilemma. He lives in Tennessee.

Hello, Pastor John the Tony. Thank you both so much for the APJ podcast. It has helped me love Jesus

more and to long for his return to love his appearing. I am a five point Calvinist. I believe that

God chooses a people for himself before the foundation of the world to be as children as Ephesians

one versus four to six teaches. I know that God chooses people owing totally to his free grace and

wisdom and not owing to anything within the people whom he chooses. However, sometimes as I begin

to overflow with thankfulness to God for choosing me and saving me by sovereign grace, I sent some

arrogance in me, thinking that I am special to God because his special grace has been extended to

me and not to others. I know that my arrogance is wrong. I did nothing to save myself and I don't

deserve to be saved at all. My saving faith in Christ is a total gift of God as Ephesians 2 versus

8 to 9 says. So I have no grounds for boasting. I've seen God do some work in my heart in this area

recently. So I'm hopeful that you will bring about the good work that he started in me to completion

Philippians 1 6. But in the meantime, in addition to swimming in God's word daily, are there any

helpful pointers you might have for me in how I can become a humbler Calvinist? Well, not just for

Nathaniel in Tennessee, but for me and for all of us. Here's the frightening thing about the

human heart. There is no doctrine, no theology, no set of ideas, no creeds that can provide an

infallible protection against the pride and boasting of the human heart period. The heart can find a

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