CSO Newsletter Vol. 2, No. 6
December 2, 2007
I do not consider myself to be a theologian. I hold to no –ists, or –isms, and follow no teacher apart from Jesus Christ as revealed to me through the plain reading of God’s Word, aided by the Holy Spirit.
Over the centuries since Christ was crucified and raised again, learned men have debated, one with the other over more points of doctrine than I am even aware were and are in dispute, and in so doing, becoming followers of theologians, rather than followers of Christ.
Paul warns of the dangers of division:
10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
11 For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.
12 Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.
13 Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?
14 I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius;
15 Lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name.
16 And I baptized also the household of Stephanas: besides, I know not whether I baptized any other.
17 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.
As far as I can determine, the only lasting legacy of such debates and disputes has been to the detriment, rather than the betterment, of the body of Christ, with divisions and mutations of the body so rampant as to make the church unrecognizable today, whether it be the vast conglomerate that claims to be the direct line of Peter or those too numerous denominations that have emerged and splintered from the Reformation.
Having said that, there is another perspective to consider:
1 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;
2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.
3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
5 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.
It is my intention with this writing to illuminate the errors of those who follow what can only be called the inspired teachings of Satan himself – designed to disparage and discourage the lost to a permanent place of damnation, while disguising itself as the teachings of men deemed to be inspired by God the Father.
This is no small task and I pray that I be led by the Holy Spirit to reveal the Truth of the scriptures in such a manner as to restore lost, no, stolen, hope and point lost souls to the saving Grace of my loving Father through His Son, Jesus Christ, and encourage the brothers and sisters who are secure in Christ to strive continually to reach out to the lost with the Good News of the Gospel, as has been commissioned to us by Jesus Christ Almighty, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) Amen.
When I first became aware of the teachings of John Calvin, I was stunned.
Surely I was misunderstanding – were preachers of God’s Word really saying that God had created some men and women for whom there was no hope for salvation?
The focus of this article is on a portion of the 5 – points that make up Calvinism, which have come to be represented by the acronym TULIP:
Total Depravity
Unconditional Election
Limited Atonement
Irresistible Grace
Perseverance of the Saints
Let us now take a look at the doctrine of Unconditional Election.
In essence, Unconditional Election is the contention that God, from the foundation of Creation, called some individuals to salvation and the remainder was doomed to hopeless damnation.
As Calvin states it:
“We say, then, that Scripture clearly proves this much, that God by his eternal and immutable counsel determined once for all those whom it was his pleasure one day to admit to salvation, and those whom, on the other hand, it was his pleasure to doom to destruction. We maintain that this counsel, as regards the elect, is founded on his free mercy, without any respect to human worth, while those whom he dooms to destruction are excluded from access to life by a just and blameless, but at the same time incomprehensible judgment.” [emphasis mine]
Institutes of Christian Religion, Book 3, Chapter 21, Section 7
I can agree with one point only – such a judgment, based solely on God’s pleasure, is, indeed, incomprehensible.
Point by point debate on this topic has been going on for centuries, and I do not believe it will be fully resolved before Christ returns.
All I can hope to do, is to raise the level of consciousness in regard to the subtle evil that masquerades as God’s Word, and this I will attempt to do, in the very name of hope, for it is in this precious commodity that salvation ultimately rests.
What Godly man would set out to change God’s promises into a lie and present commentary of God’s Word tainted by the paw prints of Satan himself?
From John Calvin we learn thusly concerning John 3:16:
“Let us remember, on the other hand, that while life is promised universally to all who believe in Christ, still faith is not common to all. For Christ is made known and held out to the view of all, but the elect alone are they whose eyes God opens, that they may seek him by faith.” [emphasis mine]
I find it ironic that another chapter that contains the scripture frequently cited to support Calvin’s fallacy also holds the correction to this grievous error.
Let us first look at Calvinist supporting scripture.
29For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
30Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
But, what of the verses leading to this oft misused scripture?
19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,
21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.
24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?
25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.
26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Undoubtedly, the devout Calvinist will smugly rebut that, without the call of God that is reserved for the elect alone, the Spirit will not move within the natural man, nor draw him to the Savior.
To accept such a premise is to place blind faith in the teachings of men, without testing the harsh lesson with scripture.
Consider:
13 The LORD looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men.
14 From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth.
15 He fashioneth their hearts alike; he considereth all their works.
16 There is no king saved by the multitude of an host: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength.
17 An horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength.
18 Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy;
19 To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.
20 Our soul waiteth for the LORD: he is our help and our shield.
21 For our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in his holy name.
22 Let thy mercy, O LORD, be upon us, according as we hope in thee.
Moving on in Romans 8, now –
31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
Conversely, if God be against us, who can be for us?
Who better to ask then the prophet Jeremiah – see Lamentations 3, which begins:
1 I AM the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of his wrath.
2 He hath led me, and brought me into darkness, but not into light.
3 Surely against me is he turned; he turneth his hand against me all the day.
Yet, just as for those who can claim no such privileges as laid claim to by Calvin’s elect, seemingly doomed forever to darkness, Praise be to God that there is, indeed, hope:
18 And I said, My strength and my hope is perished from the LORD:
19 Remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall.
20 My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled in me.
21 This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.
22 It is of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.
23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.
24 The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.
25 The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.
26 It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.
There is much more than can and has been written on the subject of election.
For now, suffice it to say, that the god painted by Calvin as a cavalier and whimsical being who cares not for all of His creation, is a mere caricature of our Heavenly Father who created man in His image and loves us enough to forgive all who seek Him, inviting all to repentance from sin as evidenced in:
23 Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?
24 But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.
25 Yet ye say, The way of the LORD is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel; Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal?
26 When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die.
27 Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive.
28 Because he considereth, and turneth away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die.
29 Yet saith the house of Israel, The way of the LORD is not equal. O house of Israel, are not my ways equal? are not your ways unequal?
30 Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.
31 Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
32 For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.
Brothers and Sisters do not allow Calvinism to diminish our Father and cheapen the Grace that leads us to faith in the greatest gift known to mankind.
Hearken unto the Apostle Paul and renew your minds, not with the lofty commentaries of men, but in God’s Word, dividing scripture by scripture.
Romans 12:
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
14 Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers.
15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
16 But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Proverbs 19
1 Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity, than he that is perverse in his lips, and is a fool.
2 Also, that the soul be without knowledge, it is not good; and he that hasteth with his feet sinneth.
3 The foolishness of man perverteth his way: and his heart fretteth against the LORD.
4 Wealth maketh many friends; but the poor is separated from his neighbour.
5 A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall not escape.
6 Many will intreat the favour of the prince: and every man is a friend to him that giveth gifts.
7 All the brethren of the poor do hate him: how much more do his friends go far from him? he pursueth them with words, yet they are wanting to him.
8 He that getteth wisdom loveth his own soul: he that keepeth understanding shall find good.
9 A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall perish.
10 Delight is not seemly for a fool; much less for a servant to have rule over princes.
11 The discretion of a man deferreth his anger; and it is his glory to pass over a transgression.
12 The king’s wrath is as the roaring of a lion; but his favour is as dew upon the grass.
13 A foolish son is the calamity of his father: and the contentions of a wife are a continual dropping.
14 House and riches are the inheritance of fathers: and a prudent wife is from the LORD.
15 Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger.
16 He that keepeth the commandment keepeth his own soul; but he that despiseth his ways shall die.
17 He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.
18 Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying.
19 A man of great wrath shall suffer punishment: for if thou deliver him, yet thou must do it again.
20 Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end.
21 There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand.
22 The desire of a man is his kindness: and a poor man is better than a liar.
23 The fear of the LORD tendeth to life: and he that hath it shall abide satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil.
24 A slothful man hideth his hand in his bosom, and will not so much as bring it to his mouth again.
25 Smite a scorner, and the simple will beware: and reprove one that hath understanding, and he will understand knowledge.
26 He that wasteth his father, and chaseth away his mother, is a son that causeth shame, and bringeth reproach.
27 Cease, my son, to hear the instruction that causeth to err from the words of knowledge.
28 An ungodly witness scorneth judgment: and the mouth of the wicked devoureth iniquity.
29 Judgments are prepared for scorners, and stripes for the back of fools.
The Omega Letter Intelligence Digest
Vol: 10 Issue: 31 – Thursday, January 31, 2008
[The Omega Letter]
Even a Broken Watch is Right Twice a Day
I suppose I am accused of being a Calvinist, on average, about twice a week. Three times if I’ve written anything about eternal security or predestination.
John Calvin was a sixteenth century Frenchmen and Reformer/ One of Calvin’s adherents, John Knox, founded the Presbyterian Church, based on the Five Points of Calvinism, known by the acronym “TULIP”.
In point of fact, (for all you purists out there), Calvin didn’t actually come up with the TULIP equation — the Synod of Dort did in 1619, more than a generation after Calvin’s death in 1564.
T=Total Depravity of Man This doctrine holds that man is born hopelessly enslaved to sin. It is not in man’s nature to do good, therefore all people are morally incapable of choosing to be saved on their own.
Calvinism holds that certain people are predestined to be saved by God, which leads to:
U=Unconditional Election which asserts that those who would be saved were chosen (elected) by God, irrespective of virtue, merit or faith, but grounded entirely in God’s mercy.
To a hyper-Calvinist, Unconditional Election means there is no need for a Christian to share his faith with the lost –since God has decided who will be saved, God will accomplish that person’s salvation on His own.
L=Limited Atonement holds that the sacrifice at the Cross was full payment for all the sins one had ever committed or would ever commit.
Hyper-Calvinists believe that Jesus died only for the elect, rather than for the sins of all men, and that therefore, certain people can never be saved.
I=Irresistible Grace describes the saving grace of God overcomes the resistance of the elect to the Gospel. To a hyper-Calvinist person whom God has chosen can resist the call of the Holy Spirit unto salvation.
P=Perseverance of the Saints is the Calvinist name for the doctrine of eternal security. To a hyper-Calvinist, this means that those God has called to salvation will continue in faith unto the end.
The Calvinist view of eternal security holds that, if a person continues in apostasy or habitual sin, it means such a person was never truly saved.
Assessment:
On the surface, my doctrine sure seems to be Calvinist, since I can’t find a lot about the main points with which I disagree. But I am not a Calvinist. That sounds contradictory, but it depends on whether one views it from man’s religious perspective or from the perspective of what the Bible teaches about faith.
On the total depravity of man, I agree, but not because John Calvin says so.
The Bible says so. Romans Chapter 7 is devoted to the subject of man’s depravity, a depravity so total that Paul likens it to being chained to a corpse, crying out, “Who will deliver me from the body of this death?”
Paul used a metaphor sure to be recognized by his Roman audience. It was a common form of execution to chain the condemned to a corpse. The Romans would withhold food and water and bet on how long it took the condemned to resort to cannibalism.
Paul chose this metaphor specifically to underscore man’s depravity, and that it is total. Jeremiah wrote, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9)
“Desperately wicked” is a dictionary definition of the word ‘depraved’.
On the issue of unconditional election, I tend to agree, but only in the broadest possible sense. Calvinists interpret ‘election’ and ‘predestination’ separately.
Calvin’s ‘predestination means God has substituted His will for your free will — you have no choice in the matter. That isn’t what the Bible teaches.
One is ‘predestined’ in the sense of God’s foreknowledge. If by some miracle, I could move backward and forward in time, I could peek into tomorrow and see what you ‘did’.
The mere act of KNOWING what you ‘did’ tomorrow isn’t the same thing as causing you to do it.
If predestination (in the sense of Divine foreknowledge) is some kind of heresy, then what is Bible prophecy?
Nearly 150 years before his birth, God identified the Persian King Cyrus by name, calling him “His anointed” and listing the tasks that God had predetermined Cyrus would accomplish.
Cyrus was anointed, 150 years in advance, to capture Babylon, restore Jerusalem and rebuild the Jewish Temple. (Isaiah 44:24,26-28) Isaiah’s prophecy was so detailed it even detailed the battle tactics Cyrus would use.
Isaiah predicted the Cyrus would “dry up the rivers . . . . and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.” (44:27-28)
Daniel says that the Persian Army, under the command of Cyrus, dammed up the Euphrates where it passed through Babylon, walked down the riverbed and captured the city and the kingdom.
Once in power, Cyrus authorized the repatriation of the Jews from Babylon and the reconstruction of both Jerusalem and the Temple.
Cyrus did precisely as he was prophesied to do, but Cyrus did so of his own free will. God simply knew what Cyrus would do, and revealed it to Isaiah in advance. Cyrus wasn’t a robot. He did what he did of his own free will. It just so happened that God knew just which free-will decisions Cyrus would make.
Calvinism’s ‘limited atonement’ suffers from the same doctrinal excesses that collectively make up what has come to be known as ‘hyper-Calvinism’.
The Bible teaches that the Cross is all-sufficient atonement for sin, and that nothing we do can add or detract from it. But the Bible does NOT teach that atonement is ‘limited’ to ‘the elect.’
1st Timothy 2:6 clearly teaches that Jesus gave Himself as “a ransom for ALL.” The doctrine of ‘whosoever will’ is untouched — due the fact that God already knows whosoever ‘did’.
The difference is, God knows, but I don’t. It is still my duty to spread the Gospel.
‘Irresistible grace’ may have been articulated as a doctrine by Calvin, but Calvin didn’t invent it, and therefore, one can recognize when something agrees with what the Bible says without automatically becoming a Calvinist.
“For He saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.” (Romans 9:15-16)
Paul wasn’t a Calvinist. The flaw in pure Calvinism is in assuming that, since grace is irresistible, there is no need to carry the Gospel message — the elect will ‘get’ it because God wills them to.
But God’s plan for salvation is in two parts: “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing cometh by the Word of God.”
God’s Word imparts the faith, but it must first be carried before it can be heard.
Finally, the perseverance of the saints, or ‘eternal security.’ Calvinism holds that, once a person is saved, he will be supernaturally able to resist the sin nature. If a person later falls away, it means they were never saved in the first place.
If anything, this is the opposite of eternal security. I know that I still fall into sin — I can pretend I don’t in front of other people, but I know better, and so does God. Calvinism gets around that by saying that means I was never really saved. So how could I ever be sure?
The Bible doesn’t have such an arbitrary benchmark for salvation.
“For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:10)
“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)
God’s benchmark for salvation is the sincerity and intent of the heart of the sinner. Calvin’s benchmark, in the final analysis, is based in works, not grace through faith.
The Bible is not Calvinist, nor Arminian, nor Catholic, Presbyterian, Lutheran or Methodist. It is the Word of God, and it is an individual love letter to each of us from God.
“Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” (2nd Peter 1:21)
Bible doctrine isn’t Calvinist because Calvin expressed it. Some places Calvin got it right, others, he got it woefully wrong.
Even a broken watch is right twice a day.
Archives of past issues of The Omega Letter Intelligence Digest plus many other Omega Letter member features can be found at: http://www.omegaletter.com The Omega Letter is published daily by Jack Kinsella and exists through subscriptions and free will contributions. © http://www.omegaletter.com
Well said!
point lost souls to the saving Grace of my loving Father through His Son, Jesus Christ, and encourage the brothers and sisters who are secure in Christ to strive continually to reach out to the lost with the Good News of the Gospel, as has been commissioned to us by Jesus Christ Almighty, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) Amen.
Indeed, Amen!
Surely I was misunderstanding – were preachers of God’s Word really saying that God had created some men and women for whom there was no hope for salvation?
Yes, I think you’re misunderstanding.
There is hope in Christ for whoever will come to him.
As I said on Twitter, I’m not interested in defending Calvin. So I will speak only for the Reformed (’calvinistic’ -and I mentioned how I dislike that label, but in lew of a better one, it will do for now) doctrines I find in scripture:
- That all men are by nature dead in sin, bllind to the light of Christ and in active rebellion towards him – they love the darkness and will not come into the light.
- That God, in his sovereignty has chosen who he will bring to salvation, not based on anything good in them, but on his own divine foreknowledge.
- That Jesus’ death is sufficient for who will come to trust in it, but only ever effective for those who do.
- That God’s Holy Spirit regenerates those he has chosen to bring to himself – dead sinners and removes the spiritual blindness and gives a new heart of love so that they will see the truth of Jesus and willingly come to him.
- That those who God calls, he justifies, and also glorifies. Those who come to Christ are his and will be kept his until the very end when they are made like Jesus.
I believe that God is 100% responsible for my salvation. It is totally of grace, even the faith by which I’m saved is the very gift of God. There is nothing in me that is smarter or more deserving – it is purely God, and He alone gets the glory.