Revelation of John Calvin’s inventive genius
THE 5 POINTS OF CALVIN'S DOCTRINE OF PREDESTINATION
T
TOTAL DEPRAVITY OF MANKIND
[Man is totally corrupt, therefore has nothing to do with getting saved]
L
LIMITED ATONEMENT
["Christ did not die for
all men" - To his credit, Calvin did not subscribe to this point]
P
PERSEVERANCE OF THE SAINTS
[eternal security of the believer assured]
IN THE LITTLE TOWN OF DORT
A National Synod (council) of churches in Holland met in Dort in 1618, and during 154 sessions over a period of 7 months formulated John Calvin’s Five Points of election into a system of theology that multitudes of professing Christians have since embraced. These five points were forged by the Council as a protest to Arminianism, which teaches the free will of man. Following is a synoptic overview of this "protest" from the pen of three well known writers in the Calvinist camp.
(1) In his "Five Points of Calvinism in the Light of Scripture"
(page 20), Duane Spencer writes: "God foreordained all of history from the largest event to the most insignificant...(and Loraine Boettner, publisher, adds, "everything that happens in time is but the accomplishing of what was ordained in eternity.")(2) Arthur Pink: "The Attributes of God," page 12: "...fallen man...is dead to all that is spiritual. Unless he is born again, supernaturally brought from death unto life, miraculously translated out of darkness into light, he cannot see the things of God
(Jn. 3:3) still less apprehend them." [i.e. Pink believes man cannot understand even the simple plan of salvation, but John 16:7-9 informs us that He convicts the world of sin - including those He knows will not believe on Him. e.g. 2 Peter 2:1] So we ask: To what purpose is this universal conviction of sin if it is not to awaken man to his need of a Saviour? And if God quickens all men to see their need of a Saviour, will He not also enable them to believe the gospel to meet that need? You decide!(3) G. S. Bishop: "So averse to God [are fallen men] that they cannot turn to Him, so blind that they Him, so deaf that they cannot see Him, so deaf they cannot hear Him…"
These three writers accurately reflect Calvin’s view, that man must regenerated by the Spirit of God and be made a new creature in Christ BEFORE he can hear, understand and believe the gospel and be regenerated by the Spirit of God and become a new creature in Christ. The fact that this position is a senseless revolving door and reverses God’s order of salvation seems to have escaped the notice of Calvin’s followers for well over 350 years!!
Like other religious extremists, such as Seventh day Adventist’s obsession with day-keeping, the so-called "Grace Movement" with its ultra-dispensationalism, the Pentecostalist’s preoccupation with tongues, the so-called Church of Christ’s love affair with water, and Rome’s deification of Mary, the Calvinists have gone to the wall with their doctrine of election. In their view, man has no say as to whether he will or will not be saved. God has already decided that for him. This, sadly, is the Calvinist’s spiritual obsession, preoccupation and love affair with predestination.
That the sovereignty of God, election, predestination and foreordination are taught in Scripture is indisputable, but that Calvinists have carried it into the stratosphere of sophistry and human reasoning, far from sound docrine, is equally indisputable—as we will show. _________________________________________________________(Quotations in this study, as touching Calvin’s doctrine of election are taken from "TULIP - the Five Points of Calvinism in the Light of Scripture," by Duane Spencer and "The Attributes of God." by Arthur Pink
____________________________________________________________________________
Points Number 1, 4 and 5 of "Tulip"
Point # 1: This writer agrees with John Calvin, that man, corrupted by the fall, needs a Savior, that He cannot "by his own wisdom, strength or deviousness enter the kingdom of God." HOWEVER, according to Rom. 10:13, Prov. 1:29; Deut. 30:19; Josh. 24:15; Isa. 65:12 ;66:4; Heb. 11:25 and Matt. 23:37, and many other passages, corrupt man CAN of his own free will and make spiritual choices that will change the course of his entire life. As for "total depravity," it should be understood that man reaches the point of total depravity when he, through willful disbelief of the truth, deliberately refuses to (1) retain the knowledge of God (2) becomes vain in his imagination, (3) his foolish heart is darkened; (4) he becomes a fool; (5) that he has changed the glory of God into an image (6) and, finally, God has given him up "to a reprobate mind to do those things which are not convenient." Such is man’s wretched spiral into total depravity!!! (See Rom. 1:21-32).
POINT # 4: This should be changed to read: All who "hunger and thirst after righteousness" find the grace of God irresistible. The rest do not."
(Matt 5:6; Titus 2:11)POINT # 5: This writer agrees with Calvin that, "Christ is the author and finisher of our faith."
(Heb. 12:2) The work He has begun in us, He will surely complete. Phil. 1:6.
CALVINISM’S DEFINITION OF TOTAL DEPRAVITY!
"Man is depraved in the sense that he is dead,
[HE CAN NOT RESPOND TO GOD] blind, [i.e. HE CAN NOT SEE LIGHT] deaf, i.e. HE CAN NOT HEAR THE CALL OF GOD] unteachable in the things of God, and ruled by Satan because of his own perverse heart and corrupt soul. [THEREFORE GOD WILL SAVE ONLY THOSE WHOM HE HAS CHOSEN TO SAVE."b.t.] Page 67 of Spencer’s "TULIP."
But Consider the Following!
GOD GIVES TO EVERY MAN THE FREEDOM OF CHOICE
Deut. 30:19 - "I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore CHOOSE life, that both thou and thy seed may live." Joshua 24:15 - "CHOOSE ye this day whom ye will serve." Clearly, God, through Joshua, gave the nation of Israel a choice. But Calvin disagreed with Moses and Joshua and taught that man, being spiritually dead, deaf and blind, is unable to choose life UNLESS and until God has first made him one of His elect!
ISAIAH 65:12 - God, speaking to Israel: "…because when I called, ye did not answer; when I spake, ye did not hear; but did evil before mine eyes, and did CHOOSE that wherein I delighted not." If Calvin is right that man is incapable of responding to God because he is dead, blind and deaf, how did Israel perform the feat of choosing to do wrong?
Too, how can a just God hold Israel responsible for making the wrong choice if man was born without the right to choose? Calvinism is clearly at odds with the Bible.
ISAIAH 66:3-4 – "…yea, they have CHOSEN their own ways…I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them…" No question about it, friend, man has the right, the ability and the obligation to make right choices.
IN PROVERBS 1:20-31. "WISDOM" URGES ALL MEN
(BEGINNING WITH VERSE 20) "Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets. She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying....
VERSE 23: "Turn you at my reproof...[Now let’s see how God responds if man turns to Him]: "...behold, I will pour out my Spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you (note: first we turn, THEN God fills us with His Spirit). Calvinists, unfortunately, have it backwards. They say that God first imparts His Spirit to the indi
vidual, who is then able to turn to God. After all these centuries, Calvinists still do not understand the Biblical order of salvation: (1) First we turn (2) then the Spirit is given.VERSE 24: "Because I have called and ye refused…" [According to Calvinism, man is not only spiritually deaf but he has no will of his own and is therefore unable to refuse or accept anything, yet wisdom is here holding men accountable for refusing to either hear or accept her call. Calvinism is clearly at odds with wisdom)
"…I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded... [Is it surprising that blind men, without a will to accept or reject anything, do not take the hand of wisdom?]
VERSE 25: "But ye have set at nought all my counsel [Is it possible for one who is deaf and has no will of his own to set the counsel of God aside? I don’t think so.]
VERSE 26: "I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh.... No rational individual will laugh at and torture a blind man for not seeing. Yet the god invented by Calvin, will forever torture men and women in the lake of fire for not listening to him, even though he made them totally incapable of hearing his voice!]
VERSE 29: "For that they hated knowledge... [Calvinists should ask themselves: how can the unchosen ones hate that which God has not given them to know?]
"…and did not CHOOSE the fear of the Lord... [According to Calvin, man has no ability to choose because he is spiritually dead,
yet, here, God is holding man responsible for NOT choosing! Something is dreadfully wrong.]VERSE 32: For the turning away of the simple shall slay them... [Since, according to Calvin, the sinner is unable to either turn to or turn from God, why is he being threatened for doing either? But what can we expect from a god hewn out of a proud theologian’s foolish imagination??]
ISAIAH
65:12 - "Because when I called, ye did not answer... [If Calvin is right, this should come as no surprise. One should not expect a "deaf" man to answer a call he cannot hear!]"…but did evil before mine eyes, and did CHOOSE that wherein I delighted not." Idolatrous men are here appointed to the sword for choosing to not hear the voice of God. Yet Calvinists are taught that only the elect are given the power to choose. How then can God hold wicked men responsible for not making the right choice when no choice has been given them?
In one more effort to support Calvin, Spencer wrote, "Since man is incapable of giving himself life, opening his own eyes, or teaching himself spiritual truth, God must act on man’s behalf. The work of regeneration, therefore, must precede faith and repentance, and is the work of God. He must ‘open the heart’ and CAUSE his elect to will and to do that which is pleasing to Him, otherwise none would believe." (
See page 69)As with Bishop and Pink, this doctrine is so incredibly far out that one wonders if the council of 70 in Dort had been enjoying too much inspirational liquid before deciding on this point of doctrine! Here again we’re being told that we must be "re-generated" (spiritually born again) with all of its attendant blessings, before we can repent and be born again to enjoy its attendant blessings! Ah, yes, the revolving door!!!
LET’S SEE HOW GOD REVERSES CALVIN’S ORDER
Calvinists tell us that one must first be regenerated, born again, then one can repent - assuming, of course, that you are one of God’s chosen ones. But what saith the Scriptures?
ACTS 2:38 - Peter is preaching to the multitudes on the day of Pentecost, and he says, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit"What came first,
repentance or the gift of the Holy Spirit? The answer is obvious. Note also the expression, "every one of you" Is that not an invitation to all who audibly heard Peter that day?ACTS 16:31 -
Paul to the Philippian jailer: "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved…" Again note God’s order. The jailer had to first hear and believe the gospel (which he did) and salvation followed - not the other way around as Spencer, Pink, Bishop, Calvin and the council of 70 at Dort would have us believe!MATT. 11:28 – " COME UNTO ME ALL YE THAT LABOR and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Here is a universal call, first to Israel, and then beyond them to the nations of the world.
Yet, according to Calvinists, only a select few could possibly have responded to this invitation. They are forced into this position by their fallacious doctrine that only those who were "chosen before the foundation of the world" can hear, believe, repent and be saved. If Calvinists are right, then the Lord Jesus deceived the multitudes of unchosen ones into thinking He had made a bonifide offer anyone could accept. It has been my experience that every religious "fable,"
(2 Tim. 4:4); every "doctrine of demon, " (1 Tim. 4:1) and every religious tradition and commandment of men (Matt. 15:6-9) have been an attack on the Person, deity and purity of the Lord Jesus. This but one more example.A CHALLENGE
Apart from John the Baptist, this writer would like for anyone, Calvinist or not, to point to one instance in the Bible where God implanted His holy Spirit in the being of an individual BEFORE he or she took God at His Word and was saved, born again, made a new creature in Christ, had eternal life and was thereby made a candidate for heaven! One verse will do.
CHRIST GIVES LIGHT TO ALL MEN
ROMANS 1:19-24: "Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them." God is here giving light
to all men "by the things that are made," even to those whom He foreknew would reject His Son. E.g. 2 Peter 2:1.Please read Romans 1:21-33 and note the downward spiral of these sinful men as they depart from the living God. First they willfully blew out the light God had given them and their foolish hearts were darkened. Having extinguished the light they once had, they now join the swelling ranks of "wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever." See Jude 13.
JOHN 1:9 - "Christ is the light that lighteth EVERY MAN that cometh into the world." THIS is the light that wicked men throughout history have put out by willful unbelief, proving once again that men everywhere have a will and a choice (contrary to Calvin) or they could not extinguish the light God has given them.
TITUS 2:11 - "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to ALL men..." According to Calvin, the word ALL can refer only to the chosen few. Such is clearly adding to the Word of God –
a common practice among Calvinists!Make no mistake about it, friends, apart from the grace of God and the universal convicting power of the Holy Spirit
(John 16:7-9) NONE would be saved, but as the preceding pages have shown, all men have a choice to answer the gospel call and be saved, for GOD IS NO RESPECTER OF PERSONS. Acts 10:34; 43; Rom. 2:10-11; Gal. 2:6; James 3:17.HEBREWS 6:4-6
"For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened..."
[as were those in Romans 1:21] and have tasted of the heavenly gift...[they never got past the tasting stage]…and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost.. [they saw the work of the Holy Spirit manifested in the life of true believers] "and .have tasted the good word of God...[they heard the Word faithfully preached]…and the powers of the world to come…
[they witnessed the "signs and wonders" of the apostles and other believers, but remained unmoved.] Read Acts 5:12-16; 19:11; Mark 16:17 and see for yourself."If they shall fall away... [
from what? Salvation? No, from what God had revealed to them] "to renew them again unto repentance..." [Notice, "renew…unto repentance" not renew unto salvation!! Nowhere in this passage could it be said that these Hebrews were once saved then were lost, for Scriptures clearly teach the perseverance of the saints!] "seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh..." [When one rejects the Son "there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries." Heb. 10:26-27]Throughout this passage it should be noted that these Hebrews had a choice. They had come face to face with the ministry and miraculous credentials of Christ by the hands of the apostles (and other disciples), but turned back to the law of Moses and its works program for salvation. Such was their choice, and in so choosing "they crucified to themselves the Son of God afresh…" and damned their own souls to eternal torment.
QUESTIONS:
I’m sure all of us would agree that these Jews of Heb. 6:4-6 forfeited salvation through disbelief. But using Calvin’s logic, I ask: How could they disbelieve a message they had not heard? How could they turn from light they had not seen? And how could they repent not having been quickened by the Holy Spirit, which Calvinists say is a requisite to repentance? Yet God holds them responsible. On what ground - if Calvin is right??
CHRIST CALLS ALL MEN
ISAIAH 45:22 - "Look unto me and be ye saved, ALL YE ENDS OF THE EARTH, for I am God, and there is none else." Sadly, no Calvinist teacher can afford to admit that "all ye ends of the earth" might mean every soul on earth—that is, if he is to remain a good Calvinist.JEREMIAH 22:29 - "O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord [This, too, has the ring of a universal call, does it not? But John Calvin would say...well, hmm, what would he say?
THE HOLY SPIRIT CONVICTS ALL MEN
JOHN 16:8-9 - "And when He ["the Spirit of truth"] is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin because they believe not on Me." (This verse shows that the only sin that sends a man to the lake of fire is the wilful
sin of unbelief. But how can God hold unbelieving men accountable for their unbelief if He has made it impossible men to hear and believe the truth unless they are one of the "elect"? Calvinists need to face up to these simple, easy-to-understand questions and cease vainly trying to defend the indefensible.Please note that I am not taking issue with the Potter
(Romans 9:20) but with clay pots who are determined to defend Calvin’s
foolish, Christ-bashing, Christ-dishonoring doctrine, at any cost!
"LIMITED ATONEMENT"
Calvinism says: on page 71 - "Atonement is for the Elect
only, since Christ died only for those whom the Father gave Him to be His
bride. If only the elect are to be saved, then Christ died for them and them
alone." But wait, what saith the Scriptures. Read on...
CHRIST DIED FOR ALL MEN
HEBREWS 2:9 - "But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that He by the grace of God should taste death for EVERY MAN" - Note: NOT SOME MEN BUT EVERY MAN!1 TIMOTHY 2:3-6 - For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior; who will have
ALL MEN to be saved..." (AGAIN, NOT SOME MEN BUT ALL MEN!)"….the man Christ Jesus, Who gave Himself a ransom FOR ALL, to be testified in due time."
2 PETER 2:1 - "But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies,
EVEN DENYING THE LORD THAT BOUGHT THEM." Note this: These false teachers were bought and paid for at Calvary, ( 2 Cor. 5:19 – read this vs. and see for yourself) even though they were not chosen before the foundation of the world!! No Calvinist can explain this without either adding to the Word of God or upsetting Calvin’s apple cart!ISAIAH 53:5 - "He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities." Calvinist leaders say, without any Biblical support whatsoever that this chapter is referring only to those whom God has chosen. Yet Heb. 2:9 states that "Christ tasted death for
EVERY man." Which of the two are we going to believe, Calvinism or the Bible?PSALM 19:1-3 "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth
knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard." Calvinistssay that outside of the "elect" men can not hear the voice of God, yet Psa. 19 tells us that the handiwork of God speaks to ALL men of His glory. Pretty universal, is it not? [No wonder God tells us in Rom..1:20 that men who reject Him are "without excuse."]
CHRIST HAS REVEALED HIMSELF TO ALL MEN
JOHN 1:9 "Christ is the light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world." Note, it does not say "every man that has first been chosen of God."
JOHN 16:7-9 – "When He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will convict the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin because they believe not on me." No living mortal escapes the convicting power of the Holy Spirit.
CHRIST DRAWS ALL MEN
John 12:32 — Christ said, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw ALL MEN unto Me..."
Yes, our thrice holy God has made the first move. He has brought light, conviction and the revelation of Himself to every man. When any individual comes to the end of himself and sincerely cries out to God for salvation, he is instantly saved from the guilt and penalty of sin and is destined for heaven.
Any man who rejects the light God has given him, sends himself to eternal torment, suffering the consequences of his own folly.
If Calvin is right, that man is so designed that he is incapable of choosing between God and Satan, good and evil, then man is merely a puppet on a string in the hands of a sovereign god who has already decided his destiny for him. And the verses in the Bible where God invites man to choose the good and reject the evil brings man’s will into play repeatedly.
This ridiculous monster that Calvin conjured up in the chambers of his spiritually deluded mind, is an entitity that, according to his doctrine, has chosen to rescue a few men and women out of the billions of earth’s inhabitants and torture the rest unmercifully throughout the endless ages of eternity!
Is this the god you worship, friend? Is this the god you would urge others to accept? More importantly, is this the god you rest your eternal soul on?
Bob Thompson
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The purveyors of this iniquitous doctrine continue to promote Calvin’s radical, Christ-slandering misrepresentation of predestination, foreordination, election and the sovereignty of God as taught in the Bible. By so doing, they foolishly make God responsible for the avalanche of drug abuse in this country, for the slaughter on our highways of alcohol-related accidents, for Sodom and Gomorrah’s and San Francisco’s gay activists, for the 6,000,000 Jews who were tortured, burned, gassed and butchered under Adolph Hitler, and for every other unspeakable act perpetrated against innocent men, women and children since the fall of Adam.
But God divests Himself of all such charges, for though He is sovereign He is infinitely fair. He has, indeed, "tasted death for every man," and desires all men everywhere to hear His voice and live.
Let’s face it, friend: this partial-minded god, shaped and carved out of the chamber of Calvin’s mind, is no more the God of the Bible than a tire mark is Grand Canyon. Calvin’s election god is a grotesque caricature, a silly, concocted monster of partiality and injustice, fathered by Satan, "the father of lies," and is still aggressively being used by him to further divide the people of God.
This is not to say that John Calvin was not saved, nor that anyone who has embraced extreme predestination is not saved. That matter was, and is, and will always be decided by one’s relationship to the Lord Jesus Christ, a relationship decided by man’s free will to accept or reject the light God has given to every man. John 1:9.
The doctrine of extreme predestination stems from logic, human reasoning and deduction, not unlike the conclusions of philosophers in ages past. But Paul clearly warns us, "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." (Col. 2:8)
Bob Thompson
SOME OF
CALVINISM’S "PROOF TEXTS"
ROMANS 9:1-18
PAGES 17-18 - SPENCER’s booklet, "5 points of Calvin’e doctrine of Predestination.
Response: Read these verses and you will see that salvation is not in view. Both men Jacob and Esau, could not have been the Federal head of Israel. God had to choose one. He chose Jacob because He foresaw the love that Jacob would have for Him. "Esau have I hated." This was comparative language, just as Christ used it in Luke 14:26, "except a man hate his father and his mother, and wife and children, etc." Regarding Pharaoh, God did not harden Pharaoh’s heart until he had first said, "Who is God? I know not God, neither will I serve Him." Ex. 5:2.
That left the Lord no choice but to add to the hardening process of the Monarch’s heart that He might show His great power through Pharoah, and that His name "might be declared thoughout all the earth"—as it has been since that memorable event.2 PETER 2:8
"A stone of stumbling, and a Rock of offense, even to them who stumble at the Word, being disobedient; whereunto also they were appointed." Why were they thus ap- pointed? Because disbelief leads to disobedience. See vss 6-8. The Israelis’ stubborn unbelief led to endless acts of rebellion and disobedience for which they were punished, "whereunto also they had been appointed," because God’s love and faithfulness would allow them to go but just so far. For Biblical examples see, Psalms 106:24-48.
JOHN 15:16
Christ said to his disciples, "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you." Response: Spencer, having lifted these words out of context, presents a different picture than the context allows, so let’s complete the sentence for him: "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, [to labor with Me in the ministry] and ordained you, selected you that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain." Clearly, fruit bearing, not salvation, is in view.
ACTS 13:48
"And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the Word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed." Response: Let’s read Rom.
8:29 to round out the picture: "Elect (ordained) according to the foreknowledge of God....For whom He did foreknow, he also did predestinate (ordain) to be conformed to the image of His Son." 1 Peter 1:2 with Romans 8:29. Note: foreknowledge precedes predestination, not the other way around as Calvinists would have it. Thus Acts 13:48 can be Biblically paraphrased to read like this: "and as many as God foreknew would receive His Son as Savior and Lord were ordained to eternal life." Again, foreknowledge precedes the ordaining to eternal life.JOHN 5:21-b; 6:37-a; 6:44, 65
"....the Son quickeneth whom He will.....all that the Father giveth me shall come to me......no man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him." Response: And who will the Son quicken? whom will the Father give to the son? and who will the Father draw? John 5:24 holds the answer, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my Word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life." Note: all Christ asks men to do is to hear and believe His Word. Some do, some don’t. Those who do, the Father draws and the Son receives and quickens. The rest are rejected. Think about it, if God’s will were the deciding factor, every man would be saved, for "God is not willing that ANY should perish
." 2 Peter 3:9. No this verse does not say that God is not willing that any he has chosen should perish. That is again wickedly adding to the Word of God; sadly a common practice in Calvinist circles.JOHN 6:28-29
[PAGE 32]
Spencer states that, "The Lord Jesus insists that Life and Faith are the work of God, NOT the work of man." He then quotes from John 6. The Jews had been asking Christ, "what shall we do that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, this is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent."
[vs. 29] Spencer then uses the above verse to prove that our taking God at His Word is an act of faith which God performs, not man.Response: But note what Christ said, "This is the work of God that "YE believe." He did not say "this is the work of God that God believes for you." God has supplied the Bible from which faith springs, but it is we, not God, who must believe the Word. When man truly believes and calls on the Name of the Lord, God immediately responds and saves the penitent one. See Rom.
10:13; Acts 15:7-11.ACTS 16:31
When the Philippian jailer asked Paul what he must do to be saved, Paul said, "believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved." Acts
16:31 Response: The jailer exercised his free will, believed what Paul said (an act of faith) and God saved him. To teach that man can do nothing until he has been quickened by the Holy Spirit and regenerated is to teach that God first gives man everlasting life THEN instills faith in him so he can believe the gospel and find salvation. Here again is the revolving door mentality that reverses God’s order of salvation. When will Calvinists learn?JOHN 3:16
"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." Response: Spencer goes to great lengths to prove that the word "world" does not include all men, only those whom God wills to be saved.
If Spencer is right, if Christ did not die for all men, if the doctrine of limited atonement is true, how can he explain 2 Peter 2:1 where we’re told that false prophets have been bought by Him....whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not." And how would he explain Hebrews 6:4-6 where some of Israel had once been enlightened, had tasted of the heavenly gift, and had been made partakers of the Holy Ghost, but were eternally lost???
2 THESSALONIANS 2:13
"God hath from the beginning CHOSEN YOU to salvation..." Response: What Spencer, Pink and Bishop fail to see is that it is through [or by means of] : (1). Sanctification of the Spirit, and, (2) belief of the truth." by which a man is saved Or as the NIV states it, "because God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying of the Spirit and through belief of the truth." The thought is not that God has chosen to save anyone to the exclusion of others, but that God has chosen to use this method of bringing people to Himself through Christ: by the convicting power of the Holy Spirit and our believing the truth.
2 PETER 3:9"God....is long suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish..."
Response: Spencer rightfully teaches that this epistle was written to Christians but wrongfully concludes that the words, "not willing that any should perish," is speaking of God not being willing that any CHRISTIAN should perish. That, of course, is adding to the Word of God, which is forbidden. See Deut. 4:2 and Prov. 30:5.
To clear this up, let’s complete the verse: "God...is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance." If this verse is speaking of Christians, as Spencer teaches, why would Christians have to repent? Were they living in sin? Were they away from God?
BY COMPLETING THE VERSE IN QUESTION, WE CAN SEE THAT GOD IS NOT WILLING THAT ANY SINNER SHOULD PERISH BUT THAT ALL SINNER5 SHOULD REPENT AND BE SAVED
CALVIN’S ATTACK ON THE PERSON AND INTEGRITY OF CHRIST
In the many years I have ministered the Word, never have I encountered false doctrine that did not in one way or another attack either the Person, the work or integrity of the Lord Jesus Christ, or all three. Such is the design of Satan against the Son of God in every lie he invents.
Here, again, is Calvin’s positionFor the sake of clarity, allow me to once again remind you of Calvin’s basic premise as expressed by three outstanding writers among the Calvinists:
"The Five Points of Calvinism in the Light of Scripture," page 20, by Duane Spencer." God fore-ordained all of history from the largest event to the most insignificant...everything that happens in time is but the accomplishing of what was ordained in eternity."
Arthur Pink, "The Attributes of God," page 12: "...fallen man...is dead to all that is spiritual. Unless he is born again, supernaturally brought from death unto life, miraculously translated out of darkness into light, he cannot even see the see the things of God (Jn. 3:3) still less apprehend them."
G.S. Bishop—quoted by Arthur Pink in "The Attributes of God," page 70— "so averse to God [are fallen men] that they cannot turn to Him, , so blind that they cannot see Him, so deaf that they cannot hear Him...."
John Calvin invented, and propagated through the Synod in Dort, a god that wills all that is good and right and decent, but He has also willed every vile, impure, vicious, unholy, inhuman, diabolical word, thought and deed of man. Every act of rape, every case of incest against innocent children, every session of child pornography, every occurrence of forced prostitution and mass murders, and all the grizzly wars down through history, all can be laid at the feet of Calvin’s god, for these things are not true of the God of the Bible.
If the purveyors of Calvin’s iniquitous doctrine are right, then his god and their god must assume responsibility for the avalanche of drug abuse in this country, for the slaughter on our highways of alcohol-related accidents, for Sodom and Gomorrah’s and San Francisco’s gay activists, for the 6,000,000 Jews who were tortured, burned, gassed and butchered under Adolph Hitler, and for every other unspeakable act perpetrated by wicked men since the fall of Adam. Why? Because Calvin’s god brings things to pass to fulfill His divine purpose.
Thus do Calvinists charge God falsely, the One whom they say, "foreordained all of history from the largest event to the most insignificant....down to the last detail."
Face it, friend: this punitive god, carved out of Calvin’s imagination, is no more the God of the Bible than a tire mark is Grand Canyon. This god is a grotesque caricature, a silly, concocted monster of partiality and injustice, fathered by Satan, "the father of lies," and used by him for over 380 years to further divide the people of God on planet earth.
This is not to say that John Calvin was not saved, nor that anyone who has embraced extreme predestination is not saved. That matter was, and is, and will always be decided by one’s relationship to the Lord Jesus Christ, a relationship decided by man’s free will to accept or reject the light God has given him.
IN CLOSING: I have endeavored to show in the preceding pages that Scripture does not support the doctrine of a "limited atonement," nor is Almighty God partial, choosing to save some while consigning others to eternal fire. That is not the God of the Bible. He is sovereign but He is also fair.
The doctrine of extreme predestination stems from logic, human reasoning and deduction, not unlike the conclusions of philosophers in ages past. But God clearly warns us, "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." (
Col. 2:8) Calvinist leaders quote avidly from Scripture but their pernicious doctrine prove that they "handle the Word of God deceitfully." 2 Cor. 4:2.
"Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." John
8:32.
Questions? Inquiries? Please feel free to write me: Bob Thompson, 4056 Skyline
Road, Carlsbad, Ca. 92008. Fax: 760-729-8073. E-mail: bthomson@simplyweb.net
"Whosoever heareth," shout, shout the sound!
Spread the blessed tidings all the world around;
Tell the joyful news wherever man is found,
Whosoever will may come!
Whosever cometh need not delay,
Now the door is open, enter while you may;
Jesus is the true, the only Living Way:
"Whosoever will may come!""Whosever will," the promise is secure;
Whosoever will, forever will endure,
"Whosever will," ‘tis life for evermore;
"Whosoever will may come."Chorus:
"Whosoever will, whosoever will!"
Send the proclamation over vale and hill;
‘Tis a loving Father calls the wand’rer home:
"Whosoever will may come."
"Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else." Isaiah
45:22
THE BROKEN HEART, THE CONTRITE SPIRIT, GOD’S WILL FOR OURS, AND THE HUNGRY SOUL
WHAT GOD IS LOOKING FOR IN MAN!!
TOTAL SURRENDER TO GOD FOR SALVATION IS VARIOUSLY DESCRIBED
IN SCRIPTURE
PSALM 34:18 - "The Lord is near unto them that are of A BROKEN HEART and saveth such as be of A CONTRITE [penitent] SPIRIT"
ISAIAH 66:2 — "To this man will I look, even to him that is POOR AND OF A CONTRITE SPIRIT and trembleth at (stands in awe of) my Word.
MATT. 5:6 — "If any man HUNGERS AND THIRSTS after righteousness, he shall be filled."
JOHN 7:17—- "He that WILLETH TO DO MY WILL shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of Myself."
PROVERBS 2:20-33
--- "Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets. She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying....Turn you at my reproof, behold, I will pour out my Spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you [every Christian has experienced this!] Because I have called and ye refuse....... But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof [they deliberately rejected God’s counsel]. I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh.......For that they hated knowledge, and did not CHOOSE the fear of the Lord: [a choice was given......"MATT. 11:28 — "Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." [
HERE IS A CALL ANYONE CAN ANSWER OR CHRIST WOULD HAVE PUT A LIMIT ON THOSE WHO COULD]