CALVINISM
The conundrum
If we are predestined;
then God is in control and we can’t change anything.
Paul scratched his head
over this when he said; “God’s ways are past finding out”.
Opening Statement
I personally had a conflict with Calvinism
since it says that God has already chosen those that will come to him; known as
“the Elect” - I have always hung my hat on John 3:16, which says that “whosoever”
believes on Jesus will be saved, and I considered myself as one of the
“whosoever”.
The
word predestination in Greek means
“determined” and is mentioned in only 6 passages of the NT – There is much
controversy concerning the doctrine of “Free Will” vs.; Predestination. – If
you continue along with me, you may find that the two views can exist side
by side.
If I was a doctor and my view on a particular disease was based
on my “understanding” of what I had read; and what I “understood” was actually wrong;
then my view on how to treat the disease will produce a wrong remedy. – The
foundation of our view of scripture must be solid in order to understand
correctly the rest of scripture.
Two
Views on Salvation
Arminianism – The believer chooses God – God’s grace is
the source of redemption,
but can be resisted.
Calvinism – God chooses the believer – God offers grace to
those He elects that
cannot be resisted.
From Paul’s letters we can
see that he preached both views; predestination as well as free will.
Rom 1:16 – Salvation is universal - for those that believe
16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is
the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for
the Jew, then for the Gentile. NIV
1 Tim 2:3-4 – God’s wants
all men be saved.
3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior,
4 who wants all men to be saved and to come
to a knowledge of the truth. NIV
Eph 1:11 – We were chosen - predestined
11 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of
him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will. NIV
Eph 1:4-5 – He chose us in
His good pleasure and “Will”
4 For he chose us in him before the
creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love
5 he predestined us to be adopted as his
sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will- NIV
A little Background
John Calvin
(1509-1564)
taught that salvation was only for those predestined by God. – He became a great leader in the Reformation
of the Churches. – His whole point was that we “find our way” through “the
scripture alone” to find the revelation of God; and not the scripture
plus traditions of men as in the Catholic Church. – John had five doctrinal
points that he embraced. - Stay tuned.
The
Reformation
came about to get rid of traditions and embrace the Holy scripture as
the whole Word of God and that it is dependable, reliable, sure
and without error. – There is no “private interpretation” and no “special
revelations.” – The basic message of the Bible is plain for anyone to see and
understand.
2 Tim 3:16 – Scripture is God-breathed
16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for
teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, NIV
2 Peter 1:20-21 – No
private interpretation
20 Above all, you must understand that no
prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation.
21 For prophecy never had its origin in the will
of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
NIV
Rom 11:33 – Man cannot figure out the ways of God
33 Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and
knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths
beyond tracing out!
TULIP
- Out of the reformation of the church
came five doctrines which became known as the five points of Calvinism
and are remembered by the acrostic TULIP.
T - Total depravity… U – Unconditional Election… L – Limited
Atonement…
I – Irresistible Grace…
P – Perseverance of the Saints…
- If you can grasp the first point of
Calvinism, then the rest will fall into alignment.
The first point states
that we are not partially lost, but are totally lost; dead in our
sins.
We can do nothing to save
ourselves nor have the ability to even seek God.
Point number 1
Total
Depravity
- It all begins with
the fall of man in the Garden of Eden – It was a “Total Fall” from grace. Sin entered into this world
through Adam, and through sin, death entered.
- We were born in sin when
we entered this world and physical and spiritual death is our fate.
We are unable on our own to change our nature – Only the grace of God
can resurrect our fallen soul.
- There is a total
inability on our part to do anything to contribute to our own salvation. -
The natural man is both blind and deaf. – The Word of God is foolishness
to him. – We are unable to come to God. – We have no desire for the things
of God - God must enable us.
- Satan has bound up
our senses and we only know the perverted truth that he has placed in
front of us.
- It is Christ who
seeks us out
to give us life while we are still dead in our sins. – So salvation has to
be from the Lord. – Salvation is a gift – We cannot do anything to earn
it.
- It is God the Father
that enables man to come to him.
- The fall of man did
not surprise God, nor was His plan of redemption an afterthought.
Ps 51:5 – We were born in
sin
5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the
time my mother conceived me. NIV
Rom 5:12 – Death has come to ALL men
12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world
through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came
to all men, because all sinned- NIV
Gen 6:5 – Our thoughts and
inclination are of evil all the time.
5 The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the
earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart
was only evil all the time. NIV
Job 14:4 – Man cannot make
something pure that’s impure
4 Who can bring what is pure from the impure?
No one! NIV
Jer 13:23 – Can a Ethiopian change his skin
23 Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the
leopard its spots?
Neither can you do good who are accustomed to
doing evil. NIV
Mark 4:11 -12 – The natural man is blind and deaf.
11 He told them, "The secret of the kingdom of God
12 so that, they may be ever seeing but never
perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding NIV
1 Cor 2:14 – The Word is foolishness to the natural man.
14 The man without the Spirit does not accept the
things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and
he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. NIV
2 Tim 2:25 -26 – We must be gently instructed in the Word
25 Those who oppose him he must gently instruct,
in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge
of the truth,
26 and that they will come to their senses
and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive
to do his will. NIV
Eph 2:1 –Christ made us
alive when we were dead in our sins
1 And you (did he make alive,) when ye were
dead through your trespasses and sins, ASV
John 6:65 – God enables us
to come to Him
65 He went on to say, "This is why I told you
that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him." NIV
Eph 2:8-9 – Salvation is a
Gift – Can’t do anything to earn it.
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through
faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-
9 not by works, so that no one can boast NIV
Faith
Faith without works is a dead faith – True
faith is a living faith - It contains three elements
- Awareness
of
the information God has provided through His Word.
- Accepting the truths of the
Word and implementing them in our life.
- Trusting
and
reliance on the Word – Believing unwaveringly.
Point Number 2
Unconditional
Election
- Chosen: eklegomai (Greek) meaning to pick out, to
choose.
- Webster: Unconditional:
Without reservations – Absolute, without condition. Election:
- If all men are not “Elected”
or saved, then the conclusion must be that God has chosen not to save
everyone, but only some. – Some receive Justice others receive Grace.
Clemency, - Paul said; Man is unable to
understand the ways of God.
- Grace is an act of
God,
NOT a state into which He brings us.
- If you can accept
that man cannot do anything to save himself, then it becomes obvious that
it’s up to God to be the One that saves us.
- There is no specific
condition that puts man in a position to receive the election of God;
to become one of His elect. We are not
chosen because of who we are.
- We are not chosen
because we accepted Christ, we were chosen so that “we might have he
ability” to accept Christ. (We can’t
do anything on our part to merit salvation)
- When we read He
foreknew us, it means He foreknew all our sins and weakness. – It has
nothing to do with Him knowing whether or not we would accept Him. – He
chose us in spite of ourselves. – It was His good pleasure – The cause
of His choice is found in Him, not in us. - It is the gift of God.
- We can “believe” only
because we were unconditionally elected by Christ.
Rom 9:16 – Salvation does not depend on mans effort
16 It does not, therefore, depend on man's
desire or effort, but on God's mercy. NIV
John 15:16 – Christ does the choosing.
16 You have not chosen me, but I have chosen
you, KJV
Rom 9:15 – God has the right of divine clemency
15 "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy,
and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." NIV
Acts 10:34 – We are not chosen because of who we are
34 Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a
truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: KJV
Deut 7:7-8 – We are not
special in our own right
7 The LORD did not set his affection on you and
choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were
the fewest of all peoples
8 But it was because the LORD loved you NIV
Eph 1:4-5 – He chose and
predestined us.
4 For he chose us in him before the
creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love
5 he predestined us to be adopted as his
sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will- NIV
Eph 2:8-9 – It is a gift
from God
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through
faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-
9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
NIV
Rom 9:11-13 – God’s
purpose in election stands
11 Yet, before the twins were born or had done
anything good or bad-in order that God's purpose in election might
stand:
12 not by works but by him who calls - she was
told, "The older will serve the younger."
13 Just as it is written: "Jacob I loved, but
Esau I hated." NIV
Gal 1:15 – God chooses you before you are born.
15 But when it pleased God, who separated me from
my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, KJV
1 Peter 2:9 – We are part
of a chosen generation
9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal
priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the
praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light:
KJV
2 Peter 3:9 – God wills
none of the ELECT should perish
9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as
some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward US, not willing that any
should perish but that all should come to repentance. NKJV
Rom 11:33 – Man cannot figure out God’s ways.
33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom
and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past
finding out! KJV
Luke 4:25-26 – God chose
only one Widow out of many.
25 I assure you that there were many widows
in Israel
26 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them,
but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon
RABBIT TRAIL
Reconciliation
– Redeemed – Saved – Elect
- Lets
pause right here
to grasp that something must happen in order for a debt to be
paid – Reconciliation is an accounting term – to balance the books - and
that’s where “God the Son” comes in; He paid our debt.
- If a man had become a
bondservant because he was unable to redeem himself; unable to repay his
own debt, then a kinsman who was ready, willing and able, could
redeem him. – The Son of God became the son of man to become our kinsman and
redeem us.
- It was prophesized by
Isaiah the prophet, that Christ would be the one who would come and “reconcile”
man to Himself - To pay the debt – To redeem the Elect
- Christ would give His
life for “the Church” which is not just the Jews or the Gentiles,
but for all those He foreknew; the Elect, “every kind of person”
that makes up the Church.
- Man is
DEAD
in his sins and it is Christ that makes us alive.
- Get
ready to get upset: Jesus Christ
did not die for EVERY man’s sin; He died just for the Elect, the
chosen, the predestined, those who are saved. – All others will die in
their sins.
Isa 53:11 – Prophecy – Christ
will suffer for the sin of many
11 After the suffering of his soul, he will
see the light [of life] and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant
will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. NIV
Eph 5:25 – Jesus gave His life for believers.
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved
the church and gave himself up for her NIV
Rom 4:25 – It was His death that justified us
25 He was delivered over to death for our sins
and was raised to life for our justification. NIV
1 Cor 15:22 –It is through Christ that we are made alive.
22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all
will be made alive.
Point Number 3
Limited
Atonement
- Webster: Atonement - Satisfaction given
for a wrongdoing; reconciliation. – The redeeming of mankind.
- Three questions now arise concerning
Christ dying on the cross for our sins;
- Did Christ die to
save everyone? – If so, He failed – otherwise we would all be
saved.
- Did He die to save no
one in particular? – If so, man is responsible to do something on
his own part to receive salvation.
- Did He die to save specific
people? – If so, it’s “All God” and His election of saving grace and
we can do nothing to merit this underserved act.
- Limited Atonement; means that only some are reconciled; only some
redeemed from deserved Hell fire; only some saved.
- The Elect were chosen
before the creation of the world to receive the covenant of the blood of
Jesus Christ. – We were adopted as sons – Under Roman law an
adopted son enjoyed all the rights and privileges as a real son.
- Reading the Hadith; a collection of sayings of Mohammad, (Sura 32:13), the Muslims
believe that God made a bunch of people just to go to Heaven and made
another bunch of people just to go to Hell. - In actuality, scripture says
ALL have sinned and ALL fall short of the glory of God. – ALL are deserving
of Hell – God has chosen to save some that are already Hell bound; and
His ways and His reasons are past finding out.
Rom 3:23 – We ALL deserve Hell fire judgment
23 for all have sinned and fall short
of the glory of God, NIV
Matt 26:28 – The covenant
is for many – not ALL
28 This is my blood of the covenant, which
is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. NIV
John 6:37 – God the Father gave many to God the Son
37 All that the Father gives me will come
to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. NIV
John 17:9 – Only some were
given to Christ
9 I pray for them. I am not praying for the
world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. NIV
Eph 1:4-7 – We are a predestined
people; the elect.
4 For he chose us in him before the
creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love
5 he predestined us to be adopted as his
sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will-
6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he
has freely given us in the One he loves.
7 In him we have redemption through his
blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's
grace. NIV
PREDESTINATION - RABBIT TRAIL
- First
Word
– All are predestined for eternal life – somewhere.
- Election proceeded from God’s
love and sovereign good pleasure – into separation – into obedience – into
adoption – into salvation – into Sonship.
- Predestination
–
For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the
likeness of His Son. Rom 8:29
- When God chose or elected some before
the earth was made to be predestined to salvation, it was proposed that
it was because in His omniscience, that He “foreknew” that they would be drawn to Christ and in the
finality of things, accept Him. (Something
that they would do)
- This cannot be the case, as scripture
teaches, that election is not based on God knowing the action or reaction
of man to His will. – It is a solely a gift from God.
- God does not predestinate some to “NOT
believe”. That would be “Double
Predestination”, considering man is already not drawn to God in
his current fallen state.
- Election flows from God’s own
initiative according to His design, His purpose, His council and His will. Man’s destiny is in conformity to God’s
eternal plan.
- The Apostle Paul was Hell bound till
God chose him and predestined him to eternal life.
- Free
Will conflict - The Holy Spirit knows the will of God and imparts wisdom, knowledge and truth to the Elect – When you know the truth,
you want it – are drawn to it – want more of it – and have the ability to
lay hold of it – therefore it does not conflict with man’s free will
to chose it. – When you know the truth, it will set you free.
- Think now – Along with those
predestined, the plan of redemption
was also predestined. - It must be
remembered that in God’s eternal plan, it also included His Son, who was predestined
to die on the cross.
- Predestination in scripture is always
presented with the intent of God’s willingness to embrace ALL who will
believe. – All who believe become “predestined” to Eternal Life.
- Election/predestination is an “effectual
calling” which draws forth faith which salvation demands, commands and requires.
1 Cor 15:8-9 – God Chose
Paul
8 Then last of all He was seen by me also,
as by one born out of due time.
9 For I am the least of the apostles, who am not
worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God
Acts 9:15 – Chosen vessel
15 But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he
is a chosen vessel unto me, KJV
Phil 2:12-13 – God’s
purpose is at work in you.
12 -continue to work out your salvation
with fear and trembling,
13 for it is God who works in you to will
and to act according to his good purpose. NIV
John 16:13 – The Holy Spirit guides you into ALL truth
13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes,
he will guide you into all truth. NIV
John 8:32 – The truth sets you free
32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth
will set you free."
1 Cor 12:7-9 – The Spirit
gives wisdom and knowledge
7 Now to each one the manifestation of the
Spirit is given for the common good.
8 To one there is given through the Spirit the
message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means
of the same Spirit, NIV
WHOSOEVER WILL - RABBIT TRAIL
- This is hard to
digest, but there seems to be two
parallel lines of “The Elect” taught in scripture which both calumniate
with God somewhere in eternity. – You cannot deny one or the other. – You
cannot look at just one line, but the both of them at the same time.
- There are those that God
chose before the foundations of the earth; “The Elect” and then
- Those who would be drawn
by the Holy Spirit through the hearing of the word of God.
- Jesus flat out told His
Disciples that He had other sheep that were not of this sheep pen.
- If you can just grasp
the fact that God chose the nation
of
- NOTE: All of the Jews did not “choose” to
accept the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Likewise, all of the Gentiles did not choose to either; Life is
choice driven.
- On your own, you are
incapable of doing anything to accept Christ – It is the seed of “truth”
sown by the Holy Spirit that “enables you” to desire to receive Him.
- The Holy Spirit sows
the seed of “truth” in man’s life - Some hearts are fertile ground for the
seed to grow, other hearts are hard and full of thorns and the seed is
choked out.
- The “Whosoever”
that comes to God is included in The Elect and become predestined
by God to receive the gift of eternal life with Him.
John 10:16 – I have other sheep that are not of this pen.
16 And other sheep I have, which are not of
this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall
be one fold, and one shepherd. KJV
Mark 4:14 -20 - Some hearts are fertile others rocky.
14 The farmer (the
Holy Spirit) sows the word.
15 Some people are like seed along the path,
where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the
word that was sown in them.
16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places,
hear the word and at once receive it with joy.
17 But since they have no root, they last only a
short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly
fall away.
18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns,
hear the word;
19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness
of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making
it unfruitful.
20 Others, like seed sown on good soil,
hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop-thirty, sixty or even a hundred
times what was sown."
John 3:16 – Whosoever believes will have eternal life –
16 "For God so loved the world (every kind of person) that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever
believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. NIV
Rom 10:13 – Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord.
13 for, "Everyone who calls on the name of
the Lord will be saved."
NIV
17 The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!"
And let him who hears say, "Come!" Whoever is thirsty, let him
come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water
of life. NIV
Josh 24:15 – Life is
choice driven -
15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to
you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether
the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites,
in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will
serve the LORD." NIV
- God made a covenant
with
- It becomes crucial in
our life to understand that God does not break His promises – If God goes
back on His covenant with
- “All
- If you have accepted
Jesus Christ, you now have Jewish roots.
Rom 11:26 – All of Israel
26 And so all Israel
NIV
Rom 9:6 All of Israel Israel
6 It is not as though God's word had failed. For
not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. NIV
John 10:16 – Believing Jews and Gentiles are All Israel
16 I have other sheep that are not of this
sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and
there shall be one flock and one shepherd. NIV
Rom 11:17-23 – The
Gentiles were grafted into the vine
17 If some of the branches have been broken off,
and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the
others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root,
23 And if they do not persist in unbelief, they
will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.
NIV
Point number 4
Irresistible
Grace
- When the word of God
goes forth, most are not drawn to God. – There are two calls, one
physically outward and one spiritually inward.
- The
outward call
to the natural man concerning spiritual things are foolishness to him. It
cannot be received nor understood. – He stands both blind and deaf. – He
needs a fertile heart to receive the seed of the Holy Spirit which
will “enable him” to seek out God.
- The
inward call is a spiritual force that is irresistible;
stronger than our own natural “resistive will” to desire God. - Stronger than the “destroying will” of
Satan.
- When the Holy Spirit
places an inward call in you, you are irresistibly drawn to Christ
and nothing can frustrate the inward call of the Spirit.
- You are not “dragged”
against your will to God – You are “drawn” to God because of the prior
wok of “grace” through the Holy Spirit who imparted wisdom, knowledge and truth.
Rom 8:29 -30 – He foreknew us and predestined us
29 For those God foreknew he also
predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the
firstborn among many brothers.
30 And those he predestined, he also
called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
NIV
John 6:44 – You are drawn by the Father.
44 "No one can come to me unless the Father
who sent me draws him
Rom 8:14 – The Spirit leads you.
14 because those who
are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
John 6:45 – Taught – Listen – Learn - Come
45 They will all be taught by God.'
Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes
to me. NIV
1 Cor 2:14 – Natural man cannot receive spiritual things.
14 But the natural man receives not the things of
the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them,
because they are spiritually discerned. KJV
Matt 16:17 – The Holy Spirit reveals
17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed
art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto
thee, but my Father which is in heaven KJV
Acts 16:14 – The Holy Spirit opens the heart.
14 One of those listening was a woman named Lydia Thyatira
Eph 2:1-9 – FAITH is a
gift from God
1 As for you, you were dead in your
transgressions and sins,
4 But because of his great love for us, God, who
is rich in mercy,
5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead
in transgressions-it is by grace you have been saved.
8 For it is by grace you have been saved,
through FAITH-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-
9 not by works, so that no one can boast. NIV
Point Number 5
Perseverance
of the Saints
- Webster: Perseverance – Patient effort-
Persistence – to continue in some course of action – the continuance in
Grace of those elected to eternal salvation.
- We are to continue
steadfast in our purpose of the way of life in Christ till He
returns. Our Chief end is to glorify
God and enjoy Him forever.
- We have received
three blessings; 1) Redemption; the forgiveness of our sin - 2) Appointed
to participate with Him - 3) and sealed with the Holy Spirit.
- God the Son, who died
to save men who could not save themselves, will also preserve those
who He has saved and carry them to completion until the “Day of the Lord”.
– His return.
- Even thought we as
the Elect are still tempted, God makes a way of escape for us. We can have serious failures, but
none will be a final or total fall.
- It’s a
done deal.
– Nothing can separate us from God; nothing can snatch us out of His hand;
none of us will be lost; The Elect no longer stands condemned.
- The Holy Spirit not
only initiates salvation in us, He also preserves us.
- This is the doctrine
of “Once Saved, Always saved”.
– Eternally elected; eternally saved.
- Time means nothing to
God’s decrees - When God says something – It is prophecy – His unthwartable
Will and purpose will happen according to His plan.
Rom 8:27 – The Holy Spirit knows the will of God.
27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind
of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in
accordance with God's will. NIV
Phil 1:6 – The Holy Spirit
will carry us to completion.
6 being confident of this, that he who began a
good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ
Jesus. NIV
John 6:39 – Jesus will lose none of us
39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I
shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last
day. NIV
Rom 8:38 -39 – Nothing can separate us from Christ
38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life,
nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to
come,
39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created
thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is
in Christ Jesus. NKJV
John 10:28 -29 – No one can take us out of His hand.
28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never
perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.
29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater
than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. NIV
Rom 8:29 – We are among many brothers with Christ
29 Those God foreknew he also predestined to be
conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among
many brothers. NIV
1 Cor 10:13 – The Holy Spirit makes a way out for us.
13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as
is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted
beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of
escape, that you may be able to bear it. NKJV
Rom 8:1 – We are no longer
condemned.
1 There is now no condemnation for those
who are in Christ Jesus.
Isa 55:11 – If God said it
– It will happen
11 so is my word that goes out from my
mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. NIV
Picture the whole world as
a Giant Electrical Sign
with thousands of light
bulbs – None of them with a sign of life.
Picture the manufacturer; The HOLY SPIRIT repairing SOME
filaments to give them the “ability” to light up.
Picture an electrician
with his WORD glove on, screwing ALL
the light bulbs in tighter – Some light – but most don’t.
All had the Word,
but only some were given the ability.
Jesus on Calvinism – “Words in Red”
- Jesus does NOT speak
of “Predestination” from the foundation of the earth; but He does
say; - He does the choosing; God does the drawing; and it could happen any
“time” He chooses for it to happen – Read what Jesus said concerning the
five points of Calvinism.
- T Total Depravity – No one can come to
me, unless it has been granted by the father.
- U Unconditional Election – You did not choose
me, but I chose you.
- L Limited Atonement – You do not believe,
because you are not my sheep.
- I Irresistible Grace – No one comes to me
unless the Father who sent me draws them.
5.
P Perseverance of the Saints – I give eternal life to
them, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand.
John 6:65 - Total
Depravity
65 He went on to say, "This is why I told you
that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him."
NIV
John 15:16 – Unconditional Election
16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and
appointed you to go and bear fruit-fruit that will last. NIV
John 10:26 – Limited Atonement (Particular
Redemption)
26 but you do not believe because you are not
my sheep. NIV
14 "I am the good shepherd; I know my
sheep and my sheep know me- 15 just as the Father knows me and I
know the Father-and I lay down my life for the sheep. NIV
John 6:44-45 – Irresistible
Grace (Effectual Calling)
44 "No one can come to me unless the Father
who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day NIV
John 10:28-29 -
Perseverance of the Saints.
28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never
perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.
29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater
than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. NIV
The Landowner – Free Will or Predestination
or both
- In this parable, the Landowner went
out early seeking workers, and hired/elected only some.
- The workers did not
seek Him – He sought them; chose them; hired them; elected them.
- These first hired
were the Elect – Those predestined from the foundations of the
earth.
- Not all of His workers
were hired at the same time – He went out over and over again with “the
call” and hired more workers.
- These additional new
hires came by “Free Will” as the Spirit “enabled” them to accept the
Call for work and thus became predestined for the same pay as
the others who were first chosen.
- Both got in on the
same reward of eternal Life with Christ.
(It’s OK if you don’t buy
into this.)
Matt 20:1-14 - The last
saved gets salvation same as the first.
1 For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner
who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard.
2 He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and
sent them into his vineyard.
3 "About the third hour he went out
and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing.
4 He told them, `You also go and work in my
vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.'
5 So they went.
"He went out again about the sixth hour
and the ninth hour and did the same thing.
6 About the eleventh hour he went out and
found still others - Why have you been standing here all day long doing
nothing?'
7 "`Because no one has hired us,' they
answered. "He said to them, `You also go and work in my vineyard.'
8 "When evening came, the owner of the
vineyard said to his foreman, `Call the workers and pay them their wages,
beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.'
9 "The workers who were hired about the
eleventh hour came and each received a denarius.
10 So when those came who were hired first, they
expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius.
11 When they received it, they began to grumble
against the landowner.
12`These men who were hired last worked
only one hour,' they said, `and you
have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and
the heat of the day.'
13 "But he answered one of them, `Friend, I
am not being unfair to you. Didn't you agree to work for a denarius?
14 Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you.
NIV
Rejection
- Some of the teachings
of Christ were unacceptable to a number of His followers and they left the
assembly of believers – His words were Foolishness; Crazy. (Eat my flesh, Drink my blood)
- Scripture teaches
that there are some who work among us, who will seem like they are part of
the body, but they are really not. – They are lost.
- Christ did not lose any
of these, they were never saved – They were never His.
1 John 2:19 – Those that left were not really one of us.
19 They went out from us, but they did not really
belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained
with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us. NIV
Matt 7:23 – Some pretend to be Christians.
23 Then I will tell them plainly, `I never knew
you. Away from me, you evildoers!' NIV
CALVINISM SUMMARY
- T Point 1 -
Calvinism states that man did not partially fall from grace, but is
totally fallen and does not have the ability to seek out God. – He
has no desire for things of God - It is God that seeks out man and enables
him to come and make a decision of faith.
- U Point 2 – Our Election did
not involve any action or decision on our part - We are not chosen because
of God foreknowing our decision of faith. - It is a free gift. – We can
believe only because we were elected.
- L Point
3 - God chose to save specific men who were fallen and deserved Hell
fire. - All were on death row – The chosen received Grace the others received Justice.
– God did not make some men
“purposed” to go to Heaven and others to go to Hell – All are Hell
bound.
- I Point 4 – We are irresistibly
drawn to God because the Holy Spirit imparts wisdom, knowledge and truth
in our souls – we want more of it – We are drawn to the truth.
- P Point 5 – We are to continue
in our life in Christ and He will preserve us to “the day of the Lord”;
His return – Nothing can take us out of His hand. – Once saved, always
saved.
- Predestination is an
“effectual” calling – It demands,
requires and commands “faith” to be drawn forth from the Elect.
- The death of Christ
on the cross was not for ALL men’s sin, but only for the sins of those
that believe on Him. – All others die in their sins and will spend
eternity with Satan’s gang.
- God does not purpose
or predestinate some men to “NOT believe”, that would be “double
Predestination” – Because ALL men are totally fallen and already
do not believe.
- There seems to be two parallel lines of “The
Elect” taught in scripture which both calumniate with God somewhere in
eternity – The Predestined; that’s IN the vine and the Whosoever; that’s GRAFTED into the vine.
- Jesus flat out told
the Disciples that He had OTHER sheep that were not of their pen.
- The “Whosoever” that comes to God is
included in “The Elect” and becomes predestined by God to receive “the
gift of eternal life” reigning with Jesus Christ.
- Why
Preach -
It has been said that if men are predestined, then there is no need to
preach the Gospel. - However, we
preach the Gospel because we were commanded to preach; regardless
of any conflict that we might have in our mind. - Matt 28:19
- Faith
comes
by hearing and hearing comes by the Word of God – Rom
- How can they believe
in the one of whom they have not heard? - How can they hear without
someone preaching to them? - How can they preach unless they are sent? Rom 10:14-15
- If you are a Presbyterian, you will agree with
the part about Predestination.
- If you are a Baptist, you will agree with the
part about Free Will.
- If it helps – Think
of those with “Free Will” as those chosen and “enabled” by the Holy
Spirit, to seek God, and thus predestined to “eternal life”.
- “Predestination”
and “Free Will” exist side by side and are both taught in scripture.
CALVINISM SUMMARY
- T Point 1 -
Calvinism states that man did not partially fall from grace, but is
totally fallen and does not have the ability to seek out God. – He
has no desire for things of God - It is God that seeks out man and enables
him to come and make a decision of faith.
- U Point 2 – Our Election did
not involve any action or decision on our part - We are not chosen because
of God foreknowing our decision of faith. - It is a free gift. – We can
believe only because we were elected.
- L Point
3 - God chose to save specific men who were fallen and deserved Hell
fire. - All were on death row – The chosen received Grace the others received Justice.
– God did not make some men
“purposed” to go to Heaven and others to go to Hell – All are Hell
bound.
- I Point 4 – We are irresistibly
drawn to God because the Holy Spirit imparts wisdom, knowledge and truth
in our souls – we want more of it – We are drawn to the truth.
- P Point 5 – We are to continue
in our life in Christ and He will preserve us to “the day of the Lord”;
His return – Nothing can take us out of His hand. – Once saved, always
saved.
- Predestination is an
“effectual” calling – It demands,
requires and commands “faith” to be drawn forth from the Elect.
- The death of Christ
on the cross was not for ALL men’s sin, but only for the sins of those
that believe on Him. – All others die in their sins and will spend
eternity with Satan’s gang.
- God does not purpose
or predestinate some men to “NOT believe”, that would be “double
Predestination” – Because ALL men are totally fallen and already
do not believe.
- There seems to be two parallel lines of “The
Elect” taught in scripture which both calumniate with God somewhere in
eternity – The Predestined; that’s IN the vine and the Whosoever; that’s GRAFTED into the vine.
- Jesus flat out told
the Disciples that He had OTHER sheep that were not of their pen.
- The “Whosoever” that comes to God is
included in “The Elect” and becomes predestined by God to receive “the
gift of eternal life” reigning with Jesus Christ.
- Why
Preach -
It has been said that if men are predestined, then there is no need to
preach the Gospel. - However, we
preach the Gospel because we were commanded to preach; regardless
of any conflict that we might have in our mind. - Matt 28:19
- Faith
comes
by hearing and hearing comes by the Word of God – Rom
- How can they believe
in the one of whom they have not heard? - How can they hear without
someone preaching to them? - How can they preach unless they are sent? Rom 10:14-15
- If you are a Presbyterian, you will agree with
the part about Predestination.
- If you are a Baptist, you will agree with the
part about Free Will.
- If it helps – Think
of those with “Free Will” as those chosen and “enabled” by the Holy
Spirit, to seek God, and thus predestined to “eternal life”.
- “Predestination”
and “Free Will” exist side by side and are both taught in scripture.
In the multitude of counselors,
there is wisdom.
Prov 11:14
I
am grateful for those that went before me providing concepts, ideas, historical
information, and scripture verses.
Because of them I can stand on their shoulders and see further than I
otherwise ever could have.
101 Q&A on Demon Powers – Dr. Lester Sumrall
A Commentary – Critical, Experimental and Practical – Eerdmans
Annotated Reference Bible – Dake’s
An Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words – Unger
An Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words – WE Vine
Bible Almanac; The - Nelson
Bible Dictionary – Harper’s
Commentary on Calvinism – Mike Fowlkes
Commentary on the Bible – Baker
Dictionary of Biblical Literacy – Oliver Nelson
Dictionary of Pentecostal movements – Burgess – McGee
Five Points of Calvinism; The – WJ Seaton
Expositor’s Bible Commentary; The – Frank E. Gaebelein
Great Doctrines of the Bible – Soteriology – W.A. Criswell
Illustrated Bible Dictionary – Nelson’s
Illustrated Bible Dictionary; The - Tyndale
International Dictionary of the Bible; The – Douglas-Tenny
Invisible War; The – Donald Grey Barnhouse
King James Version Bible - KJV
Matthew Henry’s Commentary – Zondervan
New International Version Bible - NIV
NIV Nave’s Topical Bible - Zondervan
Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, The - Zondervan
Today’s Dictionary of the Bible – Guidepost
Victor Journey through the Bible; The - Beers
Vincent’s Word Studies of the New Testament - MacDonald
What is Reformed Theology? – RC Sproul
Witchcraft, puppets and Voodoo – Irene A. Park
Wycliffe Bible Commentary; The – Moody Press
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