The Bible Tells Us When Jesus Returns - Between Tisha B'Av and Day of Atonement 2029
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“I love all who love me. Those who search will surely find me. For he who finds me finds life and obtains favor from the LORD" (Prov. 8.17,35). If you are totally unable to search out God and love Him then why does this passage implore us to search God out to find Him? Calvinism is Satanic. "Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no plans to satisfy the fleshly desires" (Rom. 13.14).
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That's not what the Bible says.
But the great proof is the Scripture. The whole Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, asserts this original sin and decisive ungodliness of will of all fallen men. Genesis 6
"My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh (carnally minded)." Again, Genesis 6:5: "God saw that every imagination of the man's heart was only evil continually." After the terrors of the flood, God's verdict on the survivors was still the same. Genesis 8
"I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth."Job, probably the earliest sacred writer, asks, "Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one" (Job 14:4). David says: "Behold I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me" (Ps. 51:5). Prophet asks (Jer. 13:23), "Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good that are accustomed to do evil." Jeremiah 17:9 says, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked." What does desperately mean? In the New Testament Christ says (Jn. 3:4-5), "That which is born of the flesh is flesh;" and "Except ye be born again ye cannot see the kingdom of God." The Pharisees' hearts (decent moral men) are like unto whited sepulchers, which appear beautifully outwardly, but within are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. Does Christ exaggerate, and slander decent people?
Peter tells us (Acts 8:23) that the spurious believer is "in the gall of bitterness and the bond of iniquity." Paul (Rom. 8:7): "The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be," (inability of will). Ephesians 2:3 All men are "by nature the children of wrath" and "dead in trespasses and sins" (v. 1). Are not these enough?
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God "declares sinners to be right in his sight when they believe in Jesus" (Rom. 3.26). Who? Not regenerated people but sinners. "And they came...every one whom his spirit made willing, and they brought the LORD'S offering" (Ex. 35.21). Who made whose spirit willing? It doesn't say God did it. It says the person did it whom made his own spirit willing. "If any man willeth to do His will, he shall know of the teaching, whether it is of God, or whether I speak from myself" (John 7.17). "If only My people would listen to Me and Israel would follow My ways" (Ps. 81.13). "To will is present with me" (Rom. 7.18). If you can will something then you are not Totally depraved.
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What is Calvinism?
by Matt Slick
john calvinCalvinism, also known as reformed theology, is a movement within orthodox Protestantism that was developed by John Calvin (1509-1564), a French theologian. John Calvin was eight years old when Martin Luther posted his 95 theses. Calvin and Luther never met.
Calvin was a lawyer who later became a Pastor in Geneva, Switzerland. He was married in 1539.
Calvin produced many commentaries on various books of the Bible, but he is best known for his seminal work known as The Institutes of the Christian Religion, a marvelous work expounding Christian theology, which he published at the age of 26.
The system of Calvinism adheres to a very high view of scripture and seeks to derive its theological formulations based solely on God's word. It focuses on God's sovereignty--stating that God is able and willing by virtue of his omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence to do whatever He desires with His creation. It also maintains that within the Bible are the following teachings: That God, by His sovereign grace, predestines people into salvation; that Jesus died only for those predestined; that God regenerates the individual to where he is then able to and wants to choose God; and that it is impossible for those who are redeemed to lose their salvation.
Arminianism, on the other hand, maintains that God predestined but not in an absolute sense. Rather, He looked into the future to see who would pick him, and then He chose them. Jesus died for all peoples' sins who have ever lived and ever will live--not just the Christians. Each person is the one who decides if he wants to be saved or not. And finally, it is possible to lose your salvation (some Arminians believe you cannot lose your salvation).
Calvinism emphasizes the sovereignty of God and his eternal decrees by which he has ordained whatsoever shall come to pass. Calvinists take the Bible very seriously and try to harmonize all its concepts. It teaches monergism, that salvation is accomplished in God's work alone (John 6:28-29; Phil. 1:29), and that nothing occurs in the world except that God has given permission (Eph. 1:11). Some critics have maintained that Calvinism makes God the author of evil, but Calvinists are quick to deny such an accusation and teach that God is sovereign even over the forces of evil and that he uses evil within his eternal plan for the world and mankind: "For truly in this city there were gathered together against Thy holy servant Jesus, whom Thou didst anoint, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28to do whatever Thy hand and Thy purpose predestined to occur." (Acts 4:27-28).
TULIP
Basically, Calvinism is best known by an acronym: T.U.L.I.P.
Total Depravity (also known as Total Inability and Original Sin)
Unconditional Election
Limited Atonement (also known as Particular Atonement)
Irresistible Grace
Perseverance of the Saints (also known as Once Saved Always Saved)
These five categories do not comprise Calvinism in totality. They simply represent some of its main points.
Total Depravity: Sin has affected all parts of man. The heart, emotions, will, mind, and body are all affected by sin. We are completely sinful. We are not as sinful as we could be, but we are completely affected by sin. The doctrine of Total Depravity is derived from scriptures that reveal human character: Man's heart is evil (Mark 7:21-23) and sick (Jer. 17:9). Man is a slave of sin (Rom. 6:14-20). He does not seek for God (Rom. 3:11). He cannot understand spiritual things (1 Cor. 2:14). He is at enmity with God (Eph. 2:15). And, is by nature a child of wrath (Eph. 2:3). The Calvinist asks the question, "In light of the scriptures that declare man's true nature as being utterly lost and incapable, how is it possible for anyone to choose or desire God?" The answer is, "He cannot. Therefore God must predestine." Calvinism also maintains that because of our fallen nature, we are born again not by our own will but God's will (John 1:12-13); God grants that we believe (Phil. 1:29); faith is the work of God (John 6:28-29); God ordains people to eternal life (Acts 13:48); and God predestines (Eph. 1:1-11; Rom. 8:29; Rom. 9:9-23).
Unconditional Election: God does not base His election on anything He sees in the individual. He chooses the elect according to the kind intention of His will (Eph. 1:4-8; Rom. 9:9-11) without any consideration of merit or quality within the individual. Nor does God look into the future to see who would pick Him (lest God learn and react to man's choices). Also, as some are elected into salvation, others are not (Rom. 9:15,21).
Limited Atonement: Jesus died only for the elect. Though Jesus' sacrifice was sufficient for all, it was not efficacious for all. Jesus only bore the sins of the elect. Support for this position is drawn from such scriptures as Matt. 26:28 where Jesus died for 'many'; John 10:11, 15 which say that Jesus died for the sheep (not the goats, per Matt. 25:32-33); John 17:9 where Jesus in prayer interceded for the ones given Him--not those of the entire world; Acts 20:28 and Eph. 5:25-27 which state that the Church was purchased by Christ--not all people; and Isaiah 53:12 which is a prophecy of Jesus' crucifixion where he would bear the sins of many (not all).
Irresistible Grace: When God calls his elect into salvation, they cannot resist. God offers to all people the gospel message. This is called the external call. But to the elect, God extends an internal call, and it cannot be resisted. This call is by the Holy Spirit who works in the hearts and minds of the elect to bring them to repentance and regeneration whereby they willingly and freely come to God. Some of the verses used in support of this teaching are Rom. 9:16 where it says that "it is not of him who wills nor of him who runs, but of God who has mercy"; Phil. 2:12-13 where God is said to be the one working salvation in the individual; John 6:28-29 where faith is declared to be the work of God; Acts 13:48 where God appoints people to eternal life; and John 1:12-13 where being born again is not by man's will but by God's.
Perseverance of the Saints: You cannot lose your salvation. Because the Father has elected, the Son has redeemed, and the Holy Spirit has applied salvation, those thus saved are eternally secure. They are eternally secure in Christ. Some of the verses for this position are John 10:27-28 where Jesus said His sheep will never perish; John 6:47 where salvation is described as everlasting life; Romans 8:1 where it is said we have passed out of judgment; 1 Cor. 10:13 where God promises to never let us be tempted beyond what we can handle; and Phil. 1:6 where God is the one being faithful to perfect us until the day of Jesus' return.
https://carm.org/calvinism
by Matt Slick
john calvinCalvinism, also known as reformed theology, is a movement within orthodox Protestantism that was developed by John Calvin (1509-1564), a French theologian. John Calvin was eight years old when Martin Luther posted his 95 theses. Calvin and Luther never met.
Calvin was a lawyer who later became a Pastor in Geneva, Switzerland. He was married in 1539.
Calvin produced many commentaries on various books of the Bible, but he is best known for his seminal work known as The Institutes of the Christian Religion, a marvelous work expounding Christian theology, which he published at the age of 26.
The system of Calvinism adheres to a very high view of scripture and seeks to derive its theological formulations based solely on God's word. It focuses on God's sovereignty--stating that God is able and willing by virtue of his omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence to do whatever He desires with His creation. It also maintains that within the Bible are the following teachings: That God, by His sovereign grace, predestines people into salvation; that Jesus died only for those predestined; that God regenerates the individual to where he is then able to and wants to choose God; and that it is impossible for those who are redeemed to lose their salvation.
Arminianism, on the other hand, maintains that God predestined but not in an absolute sense. Rather, He looked into the future to see who would pick him, and then He chose them. Jesus died for all peoples' sins who have ever lived and ever will live--not just the Christians. Each person is the one who decides if he wants to be saved or not. And finally, it is possible to lose your salvation (some Arminians believe you cannot lose your salvation).
Calvinism emphasizes the sovereignty of God and his eternal decrees by which he has ordained whatsoever shall come to pass. Calvinists take the Bible very seriously and try to harmonize all its concepts. It teaches monergism, that salvation is accomplished in God's work alone (John 6:28-29; Phil. 1:29), and that nothing occurs in the world except that God has given permission (Eph. 1:11). Some critics have maintained that Calvinism makes God the author of evil, but Calvinists are quick to deny such an accusation and teach that God is sovereign even over the forces of evil and that he uses evil within his eternal plan for the world and mankind: "For truly in this city there were gathered together against Thy holy servant Jesus, whom Thou didst anoint, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28to do whatever Thy hand and Thy purpose predestined to occur." (Acts 4:27-28).
TULIP
Basically, Calvinism is best known by an acronym: T.U.L.I.P.
Total Depravity (also known as Total Inability and Original Sin)
Unconditional Election
Limited Atonement (also known as Particular Atonement)
Irresistible Grace
Perseverance of the Saints (also known as Once Saved Always Saved)
These five categories do not comprise Calvinism in totality. They simply represent some of its main points.
Total Depravity: Sin has affected all parts of man. The heart, emotions, will, mind, and body are all affected by sin. We are completely sinful. We are not as sinful as we could be, but we are completely affected by sin. The doctrine of Total Depravity is derived from scriptures that reveal human character: Man's heart is evil (Mark 7:21-23) and sick (Jer. 17:9). Man is a slave of sin (Rom. 6:14-20). He does not seek for God (Rom. 3:11). He cannot understand spiritual things (1 Cor. 2:14). He is at enmity with God (Eph. 2:15). And, is by nature a child of wrath (Eph. 2:3). The Calvinist asks the question, "In light of the scriptures that declare man's true nature as being utterly lost and incapable, how is it possible for anyone to choose or desire God?" The answer is, "He cannot. Therefore God must predestine." Calvinism also maintains that because of our fallen nature, we are born again not by our own will but God's will (John 1:12-13); God grants that we believe (Phil. 1:29); faith is the work of God (John 6:28-29); God ordains people to eternal life (Acts 13:48); and God predestines (Eph. 1:1-11; Rom. 8:29; Rom. 9:9-23).
Unconditional Election: God does not base His election on anything He sees in the individual. He chooses the elect according to the kind intention of His will (Eph. 1:4-8; Rom. 9:9-11) without any consideration of merit or quality within the individual. Nor does God look into the future to see who would pick Him (lest God learn and react to man's choices). Also, as some are elected into salvation, others are not (Rom. 9:15,21).
Limited Atonement: Jesus died only for the elect. Though Jesus' sacrifice was sufficient for all, it was not efficacious for all. Jesus only bore the sins of the elect. Support for this position is drawn from such scriptures as Matt. 26:28 where Jesus died for 'many'; John 10:11, 15 which say that Jesus died for the sheep (not the goats, per Matt. 25:32-33); John 17:9 where Jesus in prayer interceded for the ones given Him--not those of the entire world; Acts 20:28 and Eph. 5:25-27 which state that the Church was purchased by Christ--not all people; and Isaiah 53:12 which is a prophecy of Jesus' crucifixion where he would bear the sins of many (not all).
Irresistible Grace: When God calls his elect into salvation, they cannot resist. God offers to all people the gospel message. This is called the external call. But to the elect, God extends an internal call, and it cannot be resisted. This call is by the Holy Spirit who works in the hearts and minds of the elect to bring them to repentance and regeneration whereby they willingly and freely come to God. Some of the verses used in support of this teaching are Rom. 9:16 where it says that "it is not of him who wills nor of him who runs, but of God who has mercy"; Phil. 2:12-13 where God is said to be the one working salvation in the individual; John 6:28-29 where faith is declared to be the work of God; Acts 13:48 where God appoints people to eternal life; and John 1:12-13 where being born again is not by man's will but by God's.
Perseverance of the Saints: You cannot lose your salvation. Because the Father has elected, the Son has redeemed, and the Holy Spirit has applied salvation, those thus saved are eternally secure. They are eternally secure in Christ. Some of the verses for this position are John 10:27-28 where Jesus said His sheep will never perish; John 6:47 where salvation is described as everlasting life; Romans 8:1 where it is said we have passed out of judgment; 1 Cor. 10:13 where God promises to never let us be tempted beyond what we can handle; and Phil. 1:6 where God is the one being faithful to perfect us until the day of Jesus' return.
https://carm.org/calvinism
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Matt Slick is going to Hell of course. See here,
The Three Main Teachings of Matt J. Slick
The Popular Teachings of Matt Slick
The Three Main Teachings of Matt J. Slick
The Popular Teachings of Matt Slick
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You reject the Bible.
"God does not just sweep life away [preterition]; instead, he devises ways to bring us back when we have been separated from him" (2 Sam. 14.14). This speaks of God's sufficient grace for all to have the free choice. "And she [Rahab of Jericho] said unto the men, I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you" (Joshua 2.9). "And they [the two men who spied out Jericho when they returned] said unto Joshua, Truly the LORD hath delivered into our hands all the land; for even all the inhabitants of the country do faint because of us" (v.26).
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"If ye offer a sacrifice...unto the LORD, ye shall offer it at your own will" (Lev. 19.5). "If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it" (Isaiah 1.19-20). If a person couldn't offer would not God have said so? That is sort of an important point to leave out. See Lev. 22.18; 23.38; Numb. 15.3; Deut. 12.6; 2 Chron. 31.14; Ps. 119.108. "Whosoever is of a willing heart" (Ex. 35.5); "who his spirt made willing" (v.21); "as many as were willing hearted" (v.22); "a heart with a willing mind" (1 Chron. 28.9; "who then is willing to consecrate his" (29.5); "offered willingly" (v.9); "I have willingly offered all these things" (v.17); "willingly offered himself unto the LORD" (2 Chron. 17.16); "princes gave willingly unto the people" (35.8).
The NT contains many similar phrases: "The spirit indeed is willing" (Matt. 26.41); "Pilate [was] willing (Luke 23.20); "Ye were willing" (John 5.35); "The centurian [was] willing" (Acts 27.43); "They were willing of themselves" (2 Cor. 8.3); "a willing mind" (v.12); "not by constraint, but willingly" (1 Pet. 5.2). Are we to believe that that these Scriptures actually mean either man has no will or God causes him to be willing? Calvinism treats man as a puppet that God makes willing, yet the Bible gives man credit for having a willing heart as though the willingness were his own. The judgment seat of Christ, His promised rewards, the Great White Throne judgment, and the lake of fire are meaningless if all is of God and nothing is from the heart of man. The many statements about the person being willing from his heart become nonsensical.
The NT contains many similar phrases: "The spirit indeed is willing" (Matt. 26.41); "Pilate [was] willing (Luke 23.20); "Ye were willing" (John 5.35); "The centurian [was] willing" (Acts 27.43); "They were willing of themselves" (2 Cor. 8.3); "a willing mind" (v.12); "not by constraint, but willingly" (1 Pet. 5.2). Are we to believe that that these Scriptures actually mean either man has no will or God causes him to be willing? Calvinism treats man as a puppet that God makes willing, yet the Bible gives man credit for having a willing heart as though the willingness were his own. The judgment seat of Christ, His promised rewards, the Great White Throne judgment, and the lake of fire are meaningless if all is of God and nothing is from the heart of man. The many statements about the person being willing from his heart become nonsensical.
MaxGrit
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Arminian Errors
Errors of Arminianism
by Elder Tim Brown
Arminians- (Southern Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterians, Nazarenes, Lutherans, Pentecostals, and other beliefs or denominations that strive to gain salvation by their works.
To serve God, is to serve the one true God in spirit. Although the world is filled with many religions and beliefs, it is Arminianism that threatens to deceive the elect as wolves in sheep’s clothing. (Matthew 7: 15Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.) We encounter each day the philosophy that there is one God yet that God goes by different names, and is worshipped in different ways. This is a lie and a deception to the elect of God. We have only one God and worship Him in spirit and truth (John 4: 24God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. All others who do not worship the true and living God, worship their god and father, the devil (John 8: 44Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.)
Points of Refutation
1. How can one be saved?
Arminians: One becomes saved when Jesus is asked to be their personal savior and asked to enter into their heart that they may have life.
Salvation is dependent on the work of man, and God cannot work
where man hinders or prevents Him from working, by denying him or not asking him to come into their heart. Salvation is not possible without the request of man. God has no sovereignty, for his power to do and work is dependent on man. Man saves himself by man’s choice.
Elect : One becomes saved by the sovereign grace of God. God the Father elects a people, send His Son to save them, and sends the Spirit to make them alive. God’s Salvation is not dependent on man. The elect are predestined from the foundation of the world to be the people of God. God will not lose one of His children. If one is an elect then they will not see eternal death. The only condition to be saved, is that you are an elect. You must be chosen by God, not that you must choose God.
Eph. 1: 4According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 5Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
John 15: 16Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. 17These things I command you, that ye love one another.
2. God loves everyone?
Arminians: God loves everyone. God cannot hate anyone. It is those who deny him and do not ask him for salvation, that hates him. God is love.
Anything that is love is God.
Elect: God loves His elect. God hates the nonelect. God love his sheep. God hates the goats. God hates nonbelievers. God is love, but love is not God.
Rom 9:10And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac; 11(For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth
12It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. 13As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated
Matthew 25: 32And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
3. God sends people to hell?
Arminians: God does not want to send people to hell. He is forced by their rejection and unbelief. God wants to save all the world, but is unable to save them so they are sent to hell.
Elect: God sends the nonelect to hell. All those that God did not choose are damned. They have been set aside for the day of judgment to burn in the everlasting fire. Not one elect will burn in hell. Only the nonelect, by God’s purpose, will be present in hell. God only knows His people and has a relationship with them. All others, He never knew and is cast out before Him.
Rev. 1:18I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death
Rev. 20: 14And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Mat 7: 22Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity
Eze 34: 11For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out. 12As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. 13And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country. 14I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel. 15I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord GOD. 16I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.
John 10:14I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. 15As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.
4. The Bible is for everyone?
Arminians: The Bible was given to God that the world might be saved. Everyone has the ability to hear the word of God, if they would just open their heart and accept Him. The Holy Spirit will open the Word of God to anyone in the world, if that person will choose to receive God.
Elect: The Bible is given only to the elect. The elect are the only ones who have spiritual eyes to see and spiritual ears to hear. The Bible is a great mystery that can only be revealed to the elect by the Holy Spirit. The Bible belongs only to the elect of the God.
Col. 1: 25Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God; 26Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: 27To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: 28Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: 29Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.
Mark 4:11And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables: 12That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them. (God purposely hides his mystery from the nonelect. The true hearing of the Word is life giving. The nonelect cannot hear for they are dead and are purposed to be dead.)
Matthew 11: 15He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Deut 29: 4Yet the LORD hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day.
5. John 3:16 means God loves the world meaning everyone?
Arminianism: John 3:16 proves that God loved the world, meaning everyone. Because of this love Christ came to make salvation possible that the world might be saved if they would only believe.
Elect: The world discussed in John 3:16 refers to the world of the elect. The whole population of the elect is the world. The whosoever proves that is does not encompass the world but those who believe, the elect, who are made to believe. John 3:16 is one verse and scripture, verses` throughout the Bible show that Christ died for the elect, for those who will only believe by his preordained purpose. Notice it does not say, might have everlasting life, but shall have everlasting life. Absolute sovereignty of God. Notice it does not say, Those who do not believe will become condemned, but it says, those who believe not are condemned already. The condemnation was present on non-believers before their non- belief was present. God does not condemn the elect.
John3: 16For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
Romans 8: 1There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 2For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. 3For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: 4That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 5For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. 6For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. 8So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. 9But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. All of Romans 8: Discusses the world and who salvation was intended for.
We by no means view other religions as passive or non-threatening. Mainstream America Protestantism is a product of the church gone a whoring. So many denominations were founded in the belief of the One true and Living God, yet have stepped out of marriage and produced illegitimate, bastard children such as we find in today’s Southern Baptist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, and many more pulpits all across our land and the world. The elect, easily discern world religions that do not profess Christ as God, as heresy, such as Islam and Hinduism. Religions that confess to follow Christianity, that do not follow the word of God, that raise up people above God (such as the Pope and Mary), that supplement or replace the Word of God with their own books of doctrine, and deny the triune power of God, are also discerned to be heresy by the sheep as well, such as Catholicism, Greek Orthodoxies, Russian Orthodoxies, Lutheranism, Episcopal, and others. Arminianism, mainline American protestant beliefs, is a great threat to the elect and a great enemy to the faith. Although the world’s religions seem to be divided, they all stand against God and join together to raise up their father, the devil.
Errors of Arminianism
by Elder Tim Brown
Arminians- (Southern Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterians, Nazarenes, Lutherans, Pentecostals, and other beliefs or denominations that strive to gain salvation by their works.
To serve God, is to serve the one true God in spirit. Although the world is filled with many religions and beliefs, it is Arminianism that threatens to deceive the elect as wolves in sheep’s clothing. (Matthew 7: 15Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.) We encounter each day the philosophy that there is one God yet that God goes by different names, and is worshipped in different ways. This is a lie and a deception to the elect of God. We have only one God and worship Him in spirit and truth (John 4: 24God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. All others who do not worship the true and living God, worship their god and father, the devil (John 8: 44Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.)
Points of Refutation
1. How can one be saved?
Arminians: One becomes saved when Jesus is asked to be their personal savior and asked to enter into their heart that they may have life.
Salvation is dependent on the work of man, and God cannot work
where man hinders or prevents Him from working, by denying him or not asking him to come into their heart. Salvation is not possible without the request of man. God has no sovereignty, for his power to do and work is dependent on man. Man saves himself by man’s choice.
Elect : One becomes saved by the sovereign grace of God. God the Father elects a people, send His Son to save them, and sends the Spirit to make them alive. God’s Salvation is not dependent on man. The elect are predestined from the foundation of the world to be the people of God. God will not lose one of His children. If one is an elect then they will not see eternal death. The only condition to be saved, is that you are an elect. You must be chosen by God, not that you must choose God.
Eph. 1: 4According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 5Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
John 15: 16Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. 17These things I command you, that ye love one another.
2. God loves everyone?
Arminians: God loves everyone. God cannot hate anyone. It is those who deny him and do not ask him for salvation, that hates him. God is love.
Anything that is love is God.
Elect: God loves His elect. God hates the nonelect. God love his sheep. God hates the goats. God hates nonbelievers. God is love, but love is not God.
Rom 9:10And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac; 11(For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth
12It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. 13As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hatedMatthew 25: 32And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
3. God sends people to hell?
Arminians: God does not want to send people to hell. He is forced by their rejection and unbelief. God wants to save all the world, but is unable to save them so they are sent to hell.
Elect: God sends the nonelect to hell. All those that God did not choose are damned. They have been set aside for the day of judgment to burn in the everlasting fire. Not one elect will burn in hell. Only the nonelect, by God’s purpose, will be present in hell. God only knows His people and has a relationship with them. All others, He never knew and is cast out before Him.
Rev. 1:18I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death
Rev. 20: 14And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Mat 7: 22Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity
Eze 34: 11For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out. 12As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. 13And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country. 14I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel. 15I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord GOD. 16I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.
John 10:14I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. 15As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.
4. The Bible is for everyone?
Arminians: The Bible was given to God that the world might be saved. Everyone has the ability to hear the word of God, if they would just open their heart and accept Him. The Holy Spirit will open the Word of God to anyone in the world, if that person will choose to receive God.
Elect: The Bible is given only to the elect. The elect are the only ones who have spiritual eyes to see and spiritual ears to hear. The Bible is a great mystery that can only be revealed to the elect by the Holy Spirit. The Bible belongs only to the elect of the God.
Col. 1: 25Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God; 26Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: 27To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: 28Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: 29Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.
Mark 4:11And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables: 12That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them. (God purposely hides his mystery from the nonelect. The true hearing of the Word is life giving. The nonelect cannot hear for they are dead and are purposed to be dead.)
Matthew 11: 15He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Deut 29: 4Yet the LORD hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day.
5. John 3:16 means God loves the world meaning everyone?
Arminianism: John 3:16 proves that God loved the world, meaning everyone. Because of this love Christ came to make salvation possible that the world might be saved if they would only believe.
Elect: The world discussed in John 3:16 refers to the world of the elect. The whole population of the elect is the world. The whosoever proves that is does not encompass the world but those who believe, the elect, who are made to believe. John 3:16 is one verse and scripture, verses` throughout the Bible show that Christ died for the elect, for those who will only believe by his preordained purpose. Notice it does not say, might have everlasting life, but shall have everlasting life. Absolute sovereignty of God. Notice it does not say, Those who do not believe will become condemned, but it says, those who believe not are condemned already. The condemnation was present on non-believers before their non- belief was present. God does not condemn the elect.
John3: 16For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
Romans 8: 1There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 2For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. 3For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: 4That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 5For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. 6For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. 8So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. 9But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. All of Romans 8: Discusses the world and who salvation was intended for.
We by no means view other religions as passive or non-threatening. Mainstream America Protestantism is a product of the church gone a whoring. So many denominations were founded in the belief of the One true and Living God, yet have stepped out of marriage and produced illegitimate, bastard children such as we find in today’s Southern Baptist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, and many more pulpits all across our land and the world. The elect, easily discern world religions that do not profess Christ as God, as heresy, such as Islam and Hinduism. Religions that confess to follow Christianity, that do not follow the word of God, that raise up people above God (such as the Pope and Mary), that supplement or replace the Word of God with their own books of doctrine, and deny the triune power of God, are also discerned to be heresy by the sheep as well, such as Catholicism, Greek Orthodoxies, Russian Orthodoxies, Lutheranism, Episcopal, and others. Arminianism, mainline American protestant beliefs, is a great threat to the elect and a great enemy to the faith. Although the world’s religions seem to be divided, they all stand against God and join together to raise up their father, the devil.
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There is a soulish as well as a spiritual wisdom. The first springs from man’s mind while the second is supplied to the spirit by God. Education may remedy any lack of understanding and wisdom in a natural man, but it cannot alter his natural endowment. Spiritual wisdom, though, may be realized through believing prayer (James 1.5). One thing which we ought to keep in mind is, that in redemption “God shows no partiality” (Acts 10.34). He places all sinners, wise or foolish, on the same footing, and confers upon them the same salvation. As the entire being of the wise is totally corrupted so is that of the foolish. In God’s sight the mind of the wise is as nonefficacious as that of the foolish. Both need the regeneration of the spirit; and after that it is no easier for the wise man than for the foolish to know the words of God. Now of course it is quite difficult for a very foolish person to know God; but is it less difficult for the wisest among men? Not at all, because God must be known in the spirit by everyone. Their minds may be unalike, yet both their spirits are dead and hence equally foolish and deficient in divine matters. Man’s natural cleverness does not help him to know God and God’s truth. No doubt the wise one is easier to reason with and is quicker in understanding, but it is altogether limited to the mental realm, utterly contrary to intuitive knowledge. We can conclude, therefore, since God is no respecter of persons and shows no partiality that He provides sufficient grace to all to give us all the choice whether through common grace or special grace of the gospel, for if a person had received God they would surely accept His only begotten Son if introduced to Him.
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"That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust" (Matt. 5.44). This verse speaks to me of God's grace that is sufficient for us all to be children of God whosoever is willing.
MaxGrit
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Why I Am a Calvinist, Part 1
. . and why every Christian is a Calvinist of sorts. John Calvin
Part I: Is Arminianism damnable heresy?
I love the doctrines of grace and don’t shy away from the label “Calvinist.” I believe in the sovereignty of God. I’m convinced Scripture teaches that God is completely sovereign not only in salvation (effectually calling and granting faith to those whom He chooses); but also in every detail of the outworking of Providence. “Whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified” (Romans 8:30). And He makes “all things work together for good to those who love God, [i.e.,] to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). Quite simply, He “works all things according to the counsel of His will” (Ephesians 1:11).
That’s what people commonly mean when they speak of “Calvinism.” When I accept that label, I am not pledging allegiance to the man John Calvin. I am not affirming everything he taught, and I’m not condoning everything he did. I’m convinced Calvin was a godly man and one of the finest biblical expositors and theological minds ever, but he wasn’t always right. As a matter of fact, my own convictions are baptistic, so I am by no means one of Calvin’s devoted followers. In other words, when I accept the label “Calvinist,” it’s only for convenience’s sake. I’m not saying “I am of Calvin” in the Corinthian sense.
Furthermore, I’m not one of those who wears Calvinism like a big chip on his shoulder, daring people to fight with me about it. It’s true that I can get feisty about certain points of doctrine—especially when someone attacks a principle that goes to the heart of the gospel, like substitutionary atonement, or original sin, or justification by faith and the principle of imputed righteousness. When one of those principles is challenged, I’m ready to fight. (And I also don’t mind beating up on whatever happens to be the latest evangelical fad.)
But Calvinism isn’t one of those issues I get worked up and angry about. I’ll discuss it with you, but if you are spoiling for a fight about it, you are likely to find me hard to provoke. I spent too many years as an Arminian myself to pretend that the truth on these issues is easy and obvious.
Now, don’t get the wrong idea. I do think the truth of God’s sovereignty is clear and ultimately inescapable in Scripture. But it is a difficult truth to come to grips with, so I am sympathetic with those who struggle with it. I’m Calvinistic enough to believe that God has ordained (at least for the time being) that some of my brethren should hold Arminian opinions.
Over the years I have probably written at least twice as much material trying to tone down angry hyper Calvinists as I have arguing with Arminians. That’s not because I think hyper Calvinism is a more serious error than Arminianism. As a matter of fact, I would say the two errors are strikingly similar. But I don’t hear very many voices of caution being raised against the dangers of hyper Calvinism, and there are armies of Calvinists out there already challenging the Arminians, so I’ve tried to speak out as much as possible against the tendencies of the hypers.
QuoteThat’s why I’m probably a whole lot less militant than you might expect when it comes to attacking the errors of Arminianism. Besides, I have gotten much further answering Arminian objections with patient teaching and dispassionate, reasonable, biblical instruction—instead of angry arguments and instant anathemas.
Why not take a more passive, lenient, brotherly, approach to all theological disagreements? Because I firmly believe there are some theological errors that do deserve a firm and decisive anathema. That’s Paul’s point in Galatians 1:8-9; and it’s the same point the apostle John makes in 2 John, verses 7-11. When someone is teaching an error that fatally corrupts the truth of the gospel, “let him be anathema.”
But let me be plain here: Simple Arminianism doesn’t fall in that category. It’s not fair to pin the label of rank heresy on Arminianism, the way some of my more zealous Calvinist brethren seem prone to do. I’m talking about historic, evangelical Arminianism, of the classic and Wesleyan varieties — Arminianism, not Pelagianism, or open theism, or whatever heresy Clark Pinnock has invented this week — but true evangelical Arminianism. Arminianism is certainly wrong; and I would argue that it’s inconsistent with itself. But in my judgment, standard, garden variety Arminianism is not so fatally wrong that we need to consign our Arminian brethren to the eternal flames or even automatically refuse them fellowship in our pastors’ fraternals.
If you think I’m beginning to sound like an apologist for Arminianism, I’m definitely not that. I do think Arminianism is a profound error. Its tendencies can be truly sinister, and when it is allowed to go to seed, it does lead people into rank heresy. But what I’m saying here is that mere Arminianism itself isn’t damnable heresy. It’s just grossly inconsistent with the core gospel doctrines that Arminians themselves believe and affirm.
But as long as I’m sounding like a defender of Arminianism, let me also say this: There are plenty of ignorant and inconsistent Calvinists out there, too. With the rise of the Internet it’s easier than ever for self taught lay people to engage in theological dialogue and debate through internet forums. I think that’s mostly good, and I encourage it. But the Internet makes it easy for like minded but ignorant people to clump together and endlessly reinforce one another’s ignorance. And I fear that happens a lot.
Hyper Calvinists seem especially susceptible to that tendency, and there are nests of them here and there—especially on the Internet. And more and more frequently these days I encounter people, who have been influenced by extremism on the Internet, touting hyper Calvinist ideas and insisting that if someone is an Arminian, that person is not really a Christian at all. They equate Arminianism with sheer works salvation. They suggest that Arminianism implicitly denies the atonement. Or they insist that the God worshiped by Arminians is a totally different God from the God of Scripture.
That’s really over-the-top rhetoric—totally unnecessary—and rooted in historical ignorance. A couple of years ago, when I started my weblog, I mentioned that tendency in the first entry I posted, which was titled “Quick and Dirty Calvinism.” At the end of that post, I said this: My advice to young Calvinists is to learn theology from the historic mainstream Calvinist authors, not from blogs and discussion forums on the Internet. Some of the forums may be helpful because they direct you to more important resources. But if you think of the Internet as a surrogate for seminary, you run a very high risk of becoming unbalanced.
Read mainstream Calvinist authors, however, and you’ll have trouble finding even one who regarded Arminianism per se as damnable heresy. There’s a reason for that: It’s because while Arminianism is bafflingly inconsistent, it is not necessarily damnably erroneous. Most Arminians themselves—and I’m still speaking here of the classic and Wesleyan varieties, not Pelagianism masquerading as Arminianism—most Arminians themselves emphatically affirm gospel truth that is actually rooted in Calvinistic presuppositions.
Why I Am a Calvinist Part 1
. . and why every Christian is a Calvinist of sorts. John Calvin
Part I: Is Arminianism damnable heresy?
I love the doctrines of grace and don’t shy away from the label “Calvinist.” I believe in the sovereignty of God. I’m convinced Scripture teaches that God is completely sovereign not only in salvation (effectually calling and granting faith to those whom He chooses); but also in every detail of the outworking of Providence. “Whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified” (Romans 8:30). And He makes “all things work together for good to those who love God, [i.e.,] to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). Quite simply, He “works all things according to the counsel of His will” (Ephesians 1:11).
That’s what people commonly mean when they speak of “Calvinism.” When I accept that label, I am not pledging allegiance to the man John Calvin. I am not affirming everything he taught, and I’m not condoning everything he did. I’m convinced Calvin was a godly man and one of the finest biblical expositors and theological minds ever, but he wasn’t always right. As a matter of fact, my own convictions are baptistic, so I am by no means one of Calvin’s devoted followers. In other words, when I accept the label “Calvinist,” it’s only for convenience’s sake. I’m not saying “I am of Calvin” in the Corinthian sense.
Furthermore, I’m not one of those who wears Calvinism like a big chip on his shoulder, daring people to fight with me about it. It’s true that I can get feisty about certain points of doctrine—especially when someone attacks a principle that goes to the heart of the gospel, like substitutionary atonement, or original sin, or justification by faith and the principle of imputed righteousness. When one of those principles is challenged, I’m ready to fight. (And I also don’t mind beating up on whatever happens to be the latest evangelical fad.)
But Calvinism isn’t one of those issues I get worked up and angry about. I’ll discuss it with you, but if you are spoiling for a fight about it, you are likely to find me hard to provoke. I spent too many years as an Arminian myself to pretend that the truth on these issues is easy and obvious.
Now, don’t get the wrong idea. I do think the truth of God’s sovereignty is clear and ultimately inescapable in Scripture. But it is a difficult truth to come to grips with, so I am sympathetic with those who struggle with it. I’m Calvinistic enough to believe that God has ordained (at least for the time being) that some of my brethren should hold Arminian opinions.
Over the years I have probably written at least twice as much material trying to tone down angry hyper Calvinists as I have arguing with Arminians. That’s not because I think hyper Calvinism is a more serious error than Arminianism. As a matter of fact, I would say the two errors are strikingly similar. But I don’t hear very many voices of caution being raised against the dangers of hyper Calvinism, and there are armies of Calvinists out there already challenging the Arminians, so I’ve tried to speak out as much as possible against the tendencies of the hypers.
QuoteThat’s why I’m probably a whole lot less militant than you might expect when it comes to attacking the errors of Arminianism. Besides, I have gotten much further answering Arminian objections with patient teaching and dispassionate, reasonable, biblical instruction—instead of angry arguments and instant anathemas.
Why not take a more passive, lenient, brotherly, approach to all theological disagreements? Because I firmly believe there are some theological errors that do deserve a firm and decisive anathema. That’s Paul’s point in Galatians 1:8-9; and it’s the same point the apostle John makes in 2 John, verses 7-11. When someone is teaching an error that fatally corrupts the truth of the gospel, “let him be anathema.”
But let me be plain here: Simple Arminianism doesn’t fall in that category. It’s not fair to pin the label of rank heresy on Arminianism, the way some of my more zealous Calvinist brethren seem prone to do. I’m talking about historic, evangelical Arminianism, of the classic and Wesleyan varieties — Arminianism, not Pelagianism, or open theism, or whatever heresy Clark Pinnock has invented this week — but true evangelical Arminianism. Arminianism is certainly wrong; and I would argue that it’s inconsistent with itself. But in my judgment, standard, garden variety Arminianism is not so fatally wrong that we need to consign our Arminian brethren to the eternal flames or even automatically refuse them fellowship in our pastors’ fraternals.
If you think I’m beginning to sound like an apologist for Arminianism, I’m definitely not that. I do think Arminianism is a profound error. Its tendencies can be truly sinister, and when it is allowed to go to seed, it does lead people into rank heresy. But what I’m saying here is that mere Arminianism itself isn’t damnable heresy. It’s just grossly inconsistent with the core gospel doctrines that Arminians themselves believe and affirm.
But as long as I’m sounding like a defender of Arminianism, let me also say this: There are plenty of ignorant and inconsistent Calvinists out there, too. With the rise of the Internet it’s easier than ever for self taught lay people to engage in theological dialogue and debate through internet forums. I think that’s mostly good, and I encourage it. But the Internet makes it easy for like minded but ignorant people to clump together and endlessly reinforce one another’s ignorance. And I fear that happens a lot.
Hyper Calvinists seem especially susceptible to that tendency, and there are nests of them here and there—especially on the Internet. And more and more frequently these days I encounter people, who have been influenced by extremism on the Internet, touting hyper Calvinist ideas and insisting that if someone is an Arminian, that person is not really a Christian at all. They equate Arminianism with sheer works salvation. They suggest that Arminianism implicitly denies the atonement. Or they insist that the God worshiped by Arminians is a totally different God from the God of Scripture.
That’s really over-the-top rhetoric—totally unnecessary—and rooted in historical ignorance. A couple of years ago, when I started my weblog, I mentioned that tendency in the first entry I posted, which was titled “Quick and Dirty Calvinism.” At the end of that post, I said this: My advice to young Calvinists is to learn theology from the historic mainstream Calvinist authors, not from blogs and discussion forums on the Internet. Some of the forums may be helpful because they direct you to more important resources. But if you think of the Internet as a surrogate for seminary, you run a very high risk of becoming unbalanced.
Read mainstream Calvinist authors, however, and you’ll have trouble finding even one who regarded Arminianism per se as damnable heresy. There’s a reason for that: It’s because while Arminianism is bafflingly inconsistent, it is not necessarily damnably erroneous. Most Arminians themselves—and I’m still speaking here of the classic and Wesleyan varieties, not Pelagianism masquerading as Arminianism—most Arminians themselves emphatically affirm gospel truth that is actually rooted in Calvinistic presuppositions.
Why I Am a Calvinist Part 1
MaxGrit
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Part II: Spurgeon: “Calvinism IS the Gospel”
There are, these days, quite a few self-styled Calvinists who disagree with my assessment of Arminianism and insist that Arminianism entails an absolute denial of certain fundamental gospel truths. Those wishing to make that argument will invariably quote a famous statement by Spurgeon, taken from the chapter in his autobiography titled “ A Defence of Calvinism ” in which Spurgeon said this:
I have my own private opinion that there is no such thing as preaching Christ and Him crucified, unless we preach what nowadays is called Calvinism. It is a nickname to call it Calvinism; Calvinism is the gospel, and nothing else. I do not believe we can preach the gospel, if we do not preach justification by faith, without works; nor unless we preach the sovereignty of God in His dispensation of grace; nor unless we exalt the electing, unchangeable, eternal, immutable, conquering love of Jehovah; nor do I think we can preach the gospel, unless we base it upon the special and particular redemption of His elect and chosen people which Christ wrought out upon the cross; nor can I comprehend a gospel which lets saints fall away after they are called, and suffers the children of God to be burned in the fires of damnation after having once believed in Jesus. Such a gospel I abhor.
I absolutely agree with what Spurgeon says there, in the sense that he meant it. And the context of that statement explains clearly what he meant. He was pointing out that the principle at the heart of all gospel truth is the same principle that drives Calvinism: “Salvation is of the Lord.” Salvation is God’s work; it’s not something we do for ourselves. That’s the truth he was defending.
Spurgeon was not saying that we ought to use the five points of Calvinism the way Campus crusade people use the “Four Spiritual Laws.” He wasn’t saying that all you ever talk about is the doctrines of election and reprobation you are faithfully preaching the gospel and the whole counsel of God. Unfortunately, I think that’s what a lot of careless Calvinists think Spurgeon meant when he said “Calvinism is the gospel.”
But if you read Spurgeon’s whole article on Calvinism, he makes very clear what he meant. In fact at the beginning of that very same paragraph—as his preface to remarking that “Calvinism is the gospel”—he wrote this:
“Salvation is of the Lord.” [Jonah 2:9.] That is just an epitome of Calvinism; it is the sum and substance of it. If anyone should ask me what I mean by a Calvinist, I should reply, “He is one who says, Salvation is of the Lord.” I cannot find in Scripture any other doctrine than this. It is the essence of the Bible. “He only is my rock and my salvation.” Tell me anything contrary to this truth, and it will be a heresy; tell me a heresy, and I shall find its essence here, that it has departed from this great, this fundamental, this rock truth, “God is my rock and my salvation.”
Did Spurgeon believe Arminianism was in error? Absolutely. So do I.
Did he believe it was damnable error? Absolutely not, and he made that clear, too.
At the peak of the Downgrade Controversy, some of Spurgeon’s critics accused him of being driven by a doctrinaire Calvinist agenda. It’s not really Modernism that Spurgeon hates, they said. It’s anything that departs from his old fashioned Calvinism. This whole controversy is a furtive campaign against Arminianism. That’s what really has Spurgeon bugged. He thinks modern Christians aren’t Calvinistic enough.
Spurgeon replied in The Sword and the Trowel with a paragraph that said this:
Certain antagonists have tried to represent the Down Grade controversy as a revival of the old feud between Calvinists and Arminians. It is nothing of the kind. Many evangelical Arminians are as earnestly on our side as men can be. We do not conceal our own Calvinism in the least; but this conflict is for truths which are common to all believers.
In another place, he was even more explicit:
We care far more for the central evangelical truths than we do for Calvinism as a system; but we believe that Calvinism has in it a conservative force which helps to hold men to the vital truth, and therefore we are sorry to see any quitting it who have once accepted it.
So he had a bone to pick with people who once affirmed the doctrines of grace and had now abandoned Calvinism in favor of new ideas that smacked of Socinianism. But he regarded evangelical Arminians as his true brethren and fellow soldiers—as long as they affirmed the doctrine of justification by faith, the principle of sola fide, the absolute authority of Scripture, the penal aspect of Christ’s atonement, and other essential gospel truths.
Speaking of Arminians in particular, he said:
Those who hold the eternal verities of salvation, and yet do not see all that we believe and embrace, are by no means the objects of our opposition: our warfare is with men who are giving up the atoning sacrifice, denying the inspiration of Holy Scripture, and casting slurs upon justification by faith. The present struggle is not a debate upon the question of Calvinism or Arminianism, but of the truth of God versus the inventions of men. All who believe the gospel should unite against that “modern thought” which is its deadly enemy.
So Spurgeon did not regard Arminians as hell bound heretics. He regarded them as brethren. Did he think they were in error? Yes? Were they guilty of gross inconsistency in their own theology? He would have answered emphatically, yes. Was their main error significant? Spurgeon did not shrink from referring to it as “heresy”—meaning unorthodox doctrine, heterodoxy, serious error. But he was very careful to make clear that he did not regard Arminianism per se as damnable heresy or utter apostasy from essential Christianity. Virtually all mainstream Calvinists from the time of the Synod of Dort until now would agree with him on every count.
For example, Gordon Clark, one of the highest of high Calvinists, said this with regard to whether Arminians are authentic Christians or not:
An Arminian may be a truly regenerate Christian; in fact, if he is truly an Arminian and not a Pelagian who happens to belong to an Arminian church, he must be a saved man. But he is not usually, and cannot consistently be assured of his salvation. The places in which his creed differs from our Confession confuse the mind, dilute the Gospel, and impair its proclamation.”
Which is to say that Arminianism is inherently inconsistent. Arminians technically affirm the fundamental, essential truths of the gospel. Then they try to build a theology on top of that which is totally inconsistent with the solid foundation they have affirmed.
I agree with that assessment of Arminianism. It’s an attempt to reconcile the sovereignty of God with human responsibility—and the Arminian method of reconciling those two truths involves a view of human free will that is inherently inconsistent with certain gospel truths every Arminian actually affirms.
In some posts yet to come, I will explain further why I believe that is the case.
Why I Am a Calvinist Part 2
There are, these days, quite a few self-styled Calvinists who disagree with my assessment of Arminianism and insist that Arminianism entails an absolute denial of certain fundamental gospel truths. Those wishing to make that argument will invariably quote a famous statement by Spurgeon, taken from the chapter in his autobiography titled “ A Defence of Calvinism ” in which Spurgeon said this:
I have my own private opinion that there is no such thing as preaching Christ and Him crucified, unless we preach what nowadays is called Calvinism. It is a nickname to call it Calvinism; Calvinism is the gospel, and nothing else. I do not believe we can preach the gospel, if we do not preach justification by faith, without works; nor unless we preach the sovereignty of God in His dispensation of grace; nor unless we exalt the electing, unchangeable, eternal, immutable, conquering love of Jehovah; nor do I think we can preach the gospel, unless we base it upon the special and particular redemption of His elect and chosen people which Christ wrought out upon the cross; nor can I comprehend a gospel which lets saints fall away after they are called, and suffers the children of God to be burned in the fires of damnation after having once believed in Jesus. Such a gospel I abhor.
I absolutely agree with what Spurgeon says there, in the sense that he meant it. And the context of that statement explains clearly what he meant. He was pointing out that the principle at the heart of all gospel truth is the same principle that drives Calvinism: “Salvation is of the Lord.” Salvation is God’s work; it’s not something we do for ourselves. That’s the truth he was defending.
Spurgeon was not saying that we ought to use the five points of Calvinism the way Campus crusade people use the “Four Spiritual Laws.” He wasn’t saying that all you ever talk about is the doctrines of election and reprobation you are faithfully preaching the gospel and the whole counsel of God. Unfortunately, I think that’s what a lot of careless Calvinists think Spurgeon meant when he said “Calvinism is the gospel.”
But if you read Spurgeon’s whole article on Calvinism, he makes very clear what he meant. In fact at the beginning of that very same paragraph—as his preface to remarking that “Calvinism is the gospel”—he wrote this:
“Salvation is of the Lord.” [Jonah 2:9.] That is just an epitome of Calvinism; it is the sum and substance of it. If anyone should ask me what I mean by a Calvinist, I should reply, “He is one who says, Salvation is of the Lord.” I cannot find in Scripture any other doctrine than this. It is the essence of the Bible. “He only is my rock and my salvation.” Tell me anything contrary to this truth, and it will be a heresy; tell me a heresy, and I shall find its essence here, that it has departed from this great, this fundamental, this rock truth, “God is my rock and my salvation.”
Did Spurgeon believe Arminianism was in error? Absolutely. So do I.
Did he believe it was damnable error? Absolutely not, and he made that clear, too.
At the peak of the Downgrade Controversy, some of Spurgeon’s critics accused him of being driven by a doctrinaire Calvinist agenda. It’s not really Modernism that Spurgeon hates, they said. It’s anything that departs from his old fashioned Calvinism. This whole controversy is a furtive campaign against Arminianism. That’s what really has Spurgeon bugged. He thinks modern Christians aren’t Calvinistic enough.
Spurgeon replied in The Sword and the Trowel with a paragraph that said this:
Certain antagonists have tried to represent the Down Grade controversy as a revival of the old feud between Calvinists and Arminians. It is nothing of the kind. Many evangelical Arminians are as earnestly on our side as men can be. We do not conceal our own Calvinism in the least; but this conflict is for truths which are common to all believers.
In another place, he was even more explicit:
We care far more for the central evangelical truths than we do for Calvinism as a system; but we believe that Calvinism has in it a conservative force which helps to hold men to the vital truth, and therefore we are sorry to see any quitting it who have once accepted it.
So he had a bone to pick with people who once affirmed the doctrines of grace and had now abandoned Calvinism in favor of new ideas that smacked of Socinianism. But he regarded evangelical Arminians as his true brethren and fellow soldiers—as long as they affirmed the doctrine of justification by faith, the principle of sola fide, the absolute authority of Scripture, the penal aspect of Christ’s atonement, and other essential gospel truths.
Speaking of Arminians in particular, he said:
Those who hold the eternal verities of salvation, and yet do not see all that we believe and embrace, are by no means the objects of our opposition: our warfare is with men who are giving up the atoning sacrifice, denying the inspiration of Holy Scripture, and casting slurs upon justification by faith. The present struggle is not a debate upon the question of Calvinism or Arminianism, but of the truth of God versus the inventions of men. All who believe the gospel should unite against that “modern thought” which is its deadly enemy.
So Spurgeon did not regard Arminians as hell bound heretics. He regarded them as brethren. Did he think they were in error? Yes? Were they guilty of gross inconsistency in their own theology? He would have answered emphatically, yes. Was their main error significant? Spurgeon did not shrink from referring to it as “heresy”—meaning unorthodox doctrine, heterodoxy, serious error. But he was very careful to make clear that he did not regard Arminianism per se as damnable heresy or utter apostasy from essential Christianity. Virtually all mainstream Calvinists from the time of the Synod of Dort until now would agree with him on every count.
For example, Gordon Clark, one of the highest of high Calvinists, said this with regard to whether Arminians are authentic Christians or not:
An Arminian may be a truly regenerate Christian; in fact, if he is truly an Arminian and not a Pelagian who happens to belong to an Arminian church, he must be a saved man. But he is not usually, and cannot consistently be assured of his salvation. The places in which his creed differs from our Confession confuse the mind, dilute the Gospel, and impair its proclamation.”
Which is to say that Arminianism is inherently inconsistent. Arminians technically affirm the fundamental, essential truths of the gospel. Then they try to build a theology on top of that which is totally inconsistent with the solid foundation they have affirmed.
I agree with that assessment of Arminianism. It’s an attempt to reconcile the sovereignty of God with human responsibility—and the Arminian method of reconciling those two truths involves a view of human free will that is inherently inconsistent with certain gospel truths every Arminian actually affirms.
In some posts yet to come, I will explain further why I believe that is the case.
Why I Am a Calvinist Part 2
Parture
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Spurgeon was not a Christian.
Why is it that not everyone who says they trust in Christ are saved? Would it not be because they, in fact, worship a false Christ? They take on a Jesus who is not Jesus at all. It is not that you have to do more, but simply not worship a false Christ where there was no repentance, for God's way of salvation is with John the Baptist then faith unto Jesus to be regenerated. I think Christians can sense that exalted pride in the Calvinist which is very unattractive. They have erected an idol that prevents them from giving their lives Christ by rejecting the ample grace of God to us all to have the free-choice. Their God is not just unwilling but unable to. God is so much bigger than their god; actually, their god is downright evil, for think about it: if we behaved the way the Calvinist god does, we would be sinning horribly. How can God's standards be less than our own?
Why is it that not everyone who says they trust in Christ are saved? Would it not be because they, in fact, worship a false Christ? They take on a Jesus who is not Jesus at all. It is not that you have to do more, but simply not worship a false Christ where there was no repentance, for God's way of salvation is with John the Baptist then faith unto Jesus to be regenerated. I think Christians can sense that exalted pride in the Calvinist which is very unattractive. They have erected an idol that prevents them from giving their lives Christ by rejecting the ample grace of God to us all to have the free-choice. Their God is not just unwilling but unable to. God is so much bigger than their god; actually, their god is downright evil, for think about it: if we behaved the way the Calvinist god does, we would be sinning horribly. How can God's standards be less than our own?
Parture
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Jesus said, "You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not. That is why I said that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am who I say I am, you will die in your sins" (John 8.23,24). Only God can atone for sins. Only the God who provides sufficient grace to all to have the choice can truly atone for sins. Unless you believe in this God you will go to Hell! "Repent ye therefore, and be converted [regenerated], that your sins may be blotted out" (Acts 3.19). Who is to do this? You. "Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, that you and your descendants might live!" (Deut. 30.19) "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men" (Tit. 2.11)--speaks of the sufficient grace given to all men to have the free-choice. His grace is sufficient for all men Who came upon all men to be saved whosoever is willing. Now "the Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance" (2 Pet. 3.9). "Our Lord's patience gives people time to be saved" (v.16). Since God is longsuffering, doing all He can to save each and every soul, we all have the sufficient grace of God to have the free-choice. Thus, God is right in pleading with all to come to repentance.
PostmodernProph
....fully immersed....
why do you think you aren't totally depraved.....
Now yer' talkin'. Only through me (and a financial contribution to my ministry), will the gods allow you free choice.
PM me your credit card number and I'll take care of that for you.
PostmodernProph
....fully immersed....
lol....I suspect the Lutherans are going to be greatly surprised to find out they are Calvinists.......
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