His Greater Workmanship: A Potter’S Perspective of God’S Sovereign Grace in Redemption

By Cecil C. Moore

It has been said that art is the signature of man. The signature of God is seen, not only in the material creation but, more so, in all true believers in Jesus Christ who are the object of His exquisite workmanship and the source of good works by which the whole world benefits.

This mystery is revealed in the gospel of God and it is an exhilarating account of how the Holy Creator turned around a hopeless and dark situation for the human race into a glorious reality. The gospel was almost lost to the medieval Church but was recovered through the Protestant Reformation, 500 years ago. It is the good news that the nations need to hear today because it is in danger of becoming obscure again in this 21st century. In His Greater Workmanship, Cecil C. Moore illustrates, from his experience in the ceramic arts, the critical importance of understanding the Biblical doctrines of sovereign grace in order to avoid the pitfalls of the many false doctrines that have assailed historical Christianity.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Feb 27, 2018
• ISBN: 9781973620419

Cecil C. Moore

Cecil C. Moore is a retired Chemical Engineer. He has a deep interest in the visual arts, especially ceramics. In this first attempt at writing a book, he dares to follow the esteemed Augustine of Hippo and John Calvin by counting himself one of those who write as they learn and learn as they write. He resides in Trinidad & Tobago and can be contacted at email address: [e-mail]

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Copyright © 2018 Cecil C. Moore.

Interior Art Credit: Eldon Learmont

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Scripture quotations 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.

WestBow Press

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

ISBN: 978-1-9736-2040-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-2041-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018902111

WestBow Press rev. date: 2/26/2018

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Contents

Acknowledgements

Introduction

1. Masterpiece on Display

2. Created with Purpose

3. An Idea from Eternity

4. Preparing the Clay

5. Chosen Unconditionally

6. Cause Célèbre

7. Through the Fire

8. Difficult Clay

9. Grey Areas

10. Sola Scriptura

11. All of the Potter

To the memory of my Parents:

Muriel Moore,

Who loved to read, doing so through squinted eyes

Because she could not afford eye-glasses,

But persevered to the end

and

Cecil Brodie Moore,

A man of few words,

Who boasted that he walked alone,

Only with God.

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Acknowledgements

S incere gratitude to all of my Tutors at the Bunyan Institute of Theological Studies (BITS) and the Trinidad & Tobago Bible College (TTBC), who guided my studies in Systematic Theology and Church History at these Institutions. These dedicated men instilled in me a deep appreciation and understanding of the critical role of God’s sovereign grace in man’s salvation, that the work is all of the Potter and not of the clay.

Special thanks to my Book Coach, Philip Guy Rochford ([e-mail]), who helped in large measure to salvage my first book project when it lacked direction and purpose.

Thanks to Eldon Learmont ([e-mail]), who provided the high quality photography for the color images used in this book.

Introduction

I wish I knew how it would feel to be free

I wish I could break all the chains holding me

I wish I could say all the things I should say

Say ‘em loud, say ‘em clear

For the whole round world to hear

These lyrics from the song ‘I Wish I Knew’ were written by jazz pianist, Billy Taylor, and released in 1964. Made famous in 1967 by the enigmatic Nina Simone, the song became a rally cry for the American Civil Rights Movement and was a favorite of Martin Luther King, Jr. The opening verse above captures the mood and motivation for this book.

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I n 1858, Hudson Taylor, English evangelist to China, preached a sermon that evoked a solemn response from the leader of a reformed Buddhist sect. Ni Yongfa had become disillusioned with all the idolatry around him and was searching for the truth. At the end of Taylor’s sermon, Ni stood up and said: I have long searched for the truth as my father did before me. I have travelled far, but I haven’t found it. I found no rest in Confucianism, Buddhism or Daoism, but I do find rest in what I have heard tonight.

Then Ni Yongfa turned to Hudson Taylor and asked, How long has the gospel been known in England? Taylor, a bit embarrassed, replied mildly, For several hundred years. Yongfa, somewhat agitated, said: "And you have only now come to preach it to us? My father sought after the truth for more than twenty years and died without finding it. Why didn’t you come sooner?" I don’t know if Taylor was able to provide a satisfactory answer to that difficult question in the heat of the moment.

I am often reminded of this incident in Hudson Taylor’s ministry whenever I reflect on my abrupt introduction to Reformed Theology, a.k.a Calvinism, at the rather late age of fifty-five and the spiritual realignment that followed. Up to that point in my life, I was comfortable with my basic understanding of the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ and thought that I knew mostly all there was to know.

I would have described my beliefs then as fundamentalist and evangelical, having made some effort to search the Bible for myself to ensure that my beliefs had basis in the Scriptures and not in any man’s ideas. So this new, deeper revelation was both startling and humiliating to me. There was the immediate feeling of having been by-passed and of missing a vital opportunity when it really mattered. I had no doubts about my basic Christian beliefs but I wondered why God had chosen to hide the rich details of the doctrines of sovereign grace for so many years. It did not take long before I received the answer to the question, why didn’t you come sooner?

The truth is, I had not committed to church membership for over thirty years of my life, following my Christian conversion and water baptism in a small Brethren Church at around age seventeen. Instead, I was on the move, occupied with the cares of this world in trying to make my way through university, building a career and starting a family. Also, I had grown disillusioned with the shallow message being preached in many churches, which seemed to be focused on satisfying the emotions and the carnal, short-term desires of man rather than on the majesty of God and the eternal gospel. A careful study of the Bible will reveal that the gospel is the message of God’s sovereign and free grace – it’s not about providing the formula for achieving self-esteem and wellness; such blessings are consequential add-ons within the kingdom of God.

Very often, we seem to think that the commands of God are optional and we can attend to them according to our own scheme of priorities. I needed to learn that seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33) was the golden rule for setting the priorities in my life. God’s intention is not to spoil our fun. His commandments are for our good, to the praise of His glory. In keeping them, we truly live (Deuteronomy 4:40).

It would be correct to say that I was living at that time on the periphery of my Christian calling, which was not a safe place to be. I was far removed from the means of grace that are provided through the Church. To be quite blunt, I had become a spiritual dwarf and didn’t even know it. In John Bunyan’s popular book, ‘The Pilgrim’s Progress’, Christian and Hopeful were warned about the danger of falling asleep on the ‘Enchanted Ground’, where the air tends to make one drowsy. This can happen to the soul that is starved of a regular diet of good spiritual food. Bunyan described how the two pilgrims made the wise decision to enter into good discourse in order to stay alert, so they could arrive safely at the Celestial City. Such are the benefits of the fellowship of the saints that we are able to support each other in our pilgrimage.

The invisible, universal church is comprised of all believers from all nations, the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven (Hebrews 12:23). However, God has ordained that individual Christians should attain to spiritual maturity only through the visible, local church. I discovered that the idea of a solo Christian, operating apart from the local church, was an anomaly and a travesty of the clear teachings of Ephesians 4:11-16. Fish need to be in water to survive. The seemingly fragile local church is the place where the miracle of God’s sustaining grace is displayed and His spiritual gifts enable growth of the body as a whole in unity and love. It is not to be despised. This caution is especially relevant for this age, which offers easy access to television and internet worship. Attempts to circumvent God’s purpose will always result in failure.

And so it was that, after I was providentially guided into taking the giant step of