#4 of 5 rebuttals of Calvinism/Reformed/Sovereign Grace Movement.

#4 of 5 rebuttals of Calvinism/Reformed/Sovereign Grace Movement

TULIP is the acronym used to describe Calvinism.

“I” stands for "IRRESISTABLE GRACE".

Consistent with their usual methods of interpreting scripture, they immediately add a word to  the Word of God. “Irresistible” and “grace” are stranger bedfellows than any political union based on expediency ever produced!

As RC Sproul openly admits, grace can be resisted, as the scriptures clearly reveal. This problem is solved for RC Sproul, not by changing his theology, but by simply renaming the doctrine!  “I have a little bit of a problem using the term irresistible grace, not because I don’t believe this classical doctrine, but because it is misleading to many people. Therefore, I prefer the term effectual grace, because the irresistible grace of God effects what God intends it to effect.”

Not only does RC’s doodling with “irresistible grace” mess up the acronym TULIP (TULEP?) it also avoids some potentially embarrassing questions. For instance, where was “irresistible grace” when Adam could have used it? And thereby saved everyone a lot of pain? Or how about in Heaven, where sin really began…in the heart of Satan? That would have been something.

And how does this doctrine work? Apparently, it only works on really big stuff, like salvation, as RC has honestly admitted it can be successfully defeated in other areas of life. Yet why doesn’t the God of love just set the grace ‘o’ meter on super-high-irresistible and direct it toward every person ever born?  God’s loving character must also submit to the Calvinist’s misconception of His Sovereignty or the Reformed teachings would be wrong…and that simply must not be.

 Calvinism doesn’t have to make sense, it just must stay true to its own doctrines, which are held together with the duct tape of philosophy, educational elitism and misplaced loyalty to its own traditions. What to do about its weak points? The saying is, if duct tape doesn’t work, you haven’t used enough duct tape.

This crazy doctrine! Why go to all the trouble of imparting faith to a select few in such a convoluted way? Why not just activate the choice sinners without all the rigmarole?  The main problem with such a procedure is the Bible.

The Bible clearly states that God has provided salvation for all sinners through the death of His Son. He has done this in such a way as to make it simple and effectual. Man must decide to trust Christ or die in his sins. To the Calvinist, man deciding to believe is unthinkable, as such is considered a work added to salvation and thus nullifying grace.

However, as Romans 4 illustrates, faith is not a work added to salvation, but rather the access to it. Salvation, not faith, is the gift of God and simply receiving God’s gift can only be twisted into a grace-denying work by the loyalist blindness of the Reformed persuasion. The work of God is to produce true faith in Christ through the preaching of the Gospel.

¹⁷ So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10:17 (NKJV)


The Calvinist has misunderstood predestination as including initial salvation. It does not. All believers are included in the eternal, glorious plans God has for them. God knows, of course, who we are, but has not REWARDED us with salvation because He knew we would believe. All these glorious promises are part and parcel of all the Bride of Christ will enjoy with Him in eternity.

Honest Calvinists will admit they don’t see how God’s salvation by grace alone (their understanding of same) can be justly compatible with God holding unsaved man responsible for rejecting Christ. Of course, these two things are irreconcilable to average people. But here the Calvinist retreats to a scriptural oxymoron. He takes the high ground by playing the humble card! He talks about us with “finite minds trying to understand the unfathomable God”.

This seems a strange argument to me. Here are people who speak of some amazing things about God and His will, His power and His glory like they helped write His book. Yet when their own theology lands them on the rock of this contradiction, they suddenly claim the charts they confidently relied on don’t address the such things and we shall have to wait to see a compatibility in eternity, unseen here.

A nice dodge which will be acceptable to many for various reasons. However, when scripture speaks of deep things being unfathomable, it only means no man, unaided by the Spirit, can understand God and His ways. By the grace of God, we believers can claim this promise of God though His Apostle, Paul:

But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. 1 Corinthians 2:10 (Please read the whole chapter)

All we know about God has been revealed to us by Him in His book. There are simply no contradictions in God’s revelation and we can know His character and His agenda for all things by reading and studying it. We have the mind of Christ as revealed in His word and in us in embryonic form when we are born again. We can grow from immaturity to maturity understanding more and more accurately through the Spirit’s ministry using His Word.

This awful “doctrine of grace” is added into their teachings to shore up their shaky scheme of salvation. The purpose of this teaching is to somehow get dead sinners saved with no participation on the part of the spiritual corpse. This way, (so goes the thought) and only in this way, salvation is 100% of the Sovereign God.

And ultimately, the Calvinist/Reformed/Sovereign Grace Movement is all about establishing in the Christians’ thinking, God is supreme in all His ways. Even if those ways (as delineated by the Calvinist) are illogical and contradictory to foundational truths of scripture. And even if Reformed doctrines assault the character of God. A blatant example of such fixated blindness is A.W. Pink’s claim in The Sovereignty of God. “Even if God lied, it would not be a lie.” (paraphrased by me)

I believe in the sovereignty of God, but I certainly do not believe Calvinism is scripturally accurate in it's  description of how God saves sinful, rebellious men. He saves them through the preaching of the Gospel, a message that is easily understandable to the worst of sinners.

Scriptural examples abound proving sinful man can understand our Holy God. We have given the examples of Cain Abel as a case in point. Now let us look at a whole NATION of spiritually dead sinners whom God invites to REASON with Him! This call to sinners to reason with God debunks the whole theory unsaved man cannot hear God and respond in faith. Such is the supposition IRRESISTABLE GRACE requires to be valid.

Isaiah 1(NKJV)

⁴ Alas, sinful nation,
A people laden with iniquity,
A brood of evildoers,
Children who are corrupters!
They have forsaken the Lord,
They have provoked to anger
The Holy One of Israel,
They have turned away backward.


¹⁸ “Come now, and let us reason together,”
Says the Lord,
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
They shall be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They shall be as wool.”

A gracious invitation to REASON and to RECEIVE. This is the Gospel and this is what saves. We are included when we admit the obvious. We are sinners for whom Christ has already died and thus reconciled us to God. Now God Himself, proving His love for the lost, BEGS sinners to be reconciled to this way of being saved. Trust Christ and His sacrifice to have settled your sin debt with God and enter into peace and joy. Determine to know this Christ even as He knows and loves you!

#3 of 5 rebuttals of Calvinism/Reformed/Sovereign Grace Movement.  

TULIP is the acronym used to describe Calvinism.
“L” stands for LIMITED ANTONEMENT, and is the most scripturally indefensible of all the doctrines of Calvinism. All the 5 points of Calvinism/Reformed/Sovereign Grace Movement are equally wrong in adding to the scripture, wrong interpretation, divisiveness and deadening effect on the Church, the body of Christ.

Yet LIMITED ATONEMENT is so blatantly incorrect, even die-hard Calvinists avoid it by claiming to be 4 point Calvinists. Their willingness to embrace a self-acknowledged flawed theological system shows the inroads this nefarious system has made into true Christianity.

Fresh faced seminary students, newly come to the faith and awed by the knowledge of the professor, become the sincere propagators of Calvin’s misguided theology.

No wonder the Apostle Paul tells us all to “examine yourself to see if you are in the faith.” Are the things we believe taught by the Apostle Paul? If not, change your view. Let every man be a liar if shown in conflict with the Gospel, whether a respected scholar, a pastor or missionary.

LIMITED ATONEMENT is nowhere taught in the scriptures. The exact opposite is taught. The Apostles and Jesus taught that Christ died for all the sins of the world, save one.  

Jesus:  ^“For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” John 3:17

The Apostle John:“And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.”  1 John 2:2

The Apostle Peter:

“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, (NOTE; all men are unjust naturally DJC )that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit,” 1 Peter 3:18

 

The Apostle Paul: “¹⁹ God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.²⁰ Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. ²¹ For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.   2 Corinthians 5:19-21 (NKJV)

A frivolous argument is brought forth by Calvinists that teaching that Christ died for the sins of the whole world means that all are saved. The charge of universalism is leveled at us, but this is a mere grasping at straws since we are well aware faith in Christ must be present to enjoy the benefits of Christ’s atonement. Yet salvation cannot be offered honestly to all sinners except atonement has been made.

Only one sin is not covered by Christ’s atonement and that is the sin against the Holy Spirit. This damning sin is the rejection of the testimony of the Spirit that Christ is indeed the Son of God.

The Apostle John speaks of this sin against the Holy Spirit, whose main ministry to sinners is exalting Christ, and teaching everyone to trust in Him.

“He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son.” 1 John 5:10 And also: “Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son.” 1 John 2:22

It is also necessary that Christ died for all the sins of unbelievers (except unbelief, the sin against the Spirit) for another reason. God is a God of justice and EVERY sin must be paid for in His sight because all sin is an attack against His Holy, righteous character. Only sinless blood can atone for ALL sin. The sinner pays with his everlasting soul for the one sin of unbelief…rejecting Jesus Christ. The sinner who refuses forgiveness shall not have forgiveness, ever. However, his endless sufferings in Hell are the result of sin, but in no way pay for his sins.

So God’s  books of justice are perfectly balanced by the blood of Christ and the second death of the sinner. We conclude LIMITED ATONEMENT, like the rest of the TULIP teachings are wrong and hostile to the Gospel; in two ways. It distorts the message of the cross in scope and effectiveness. It is neither Biblical or logical.

 "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved."

 

#2 of 5 rebuttals of Calvinism/Reformed/Sovereign Grace Movement.

TULIP is the acronym used to describe Calvinism.

"U" stands for UNCONDITIONAL ELECTION.

Right away, the Calvinist/Reformed/Sovereign Grace Movement break a cardinal scriptural rule...adding to the Scripture. “Unconditional” is an addition to the scriptural term, election. They add insult to injury by employing this true term in a false doctrine. Once again, we shall see the Reformed teachers are much more interested in “protecting” God’s sovereignty than they are in actual understanding what He said in His Word.

The term elect and election are used very sparingly in scripture, yet if we had cars that got as much out of so little as the Reformed crowd have gotten out of “elect/election”, we would only have to refuel once a year!

First, let us state very clearly what elect and election really mean in scripture: they mean certain people and nations have been chosen for a specific purpose. For instance, Israel has been chosen by God to show all the rest of the nations what God is like. Jesus said, in John 4, “Salvation is of the Jews”. And so it is…as someone has said, “If you don’t believe in God, study the history of Israel.”

Isaiah 45:4

For Jacob My servant’s sake, And Israel My elect, I have even called you by your name; I have named you, though you have not known Me.

Now please, note, ALL of Israel was chosen for this purpose, not just the individuals who were made righteous by personal faith in Christ. So we see the term “elect” cannot be held to the one purpose the Calvinist believes it to describe, i.e., election to personal salvation.

This truth is further shown in the Person and purpose of the Son of God, who most certainly never needed to be saved.   Isaiah 42:1: [ The Servant of the Lord ] “Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles.

While the term “elect” is used for all of Israel, saved or unsaved, Israel’s purpose will change when they are all converted and dwell in the Millennium. Then they will bring glory to God, unhindered by sin, under the New Covenant written in their new hearts. God will delight in them, which was his purpose resulting in their election by Him.   Isaiah 65:22: They shall not build and another inhabit; They shall not plant and another eat; For as the days of a tree, so shall be the days of My people, And My elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. (Please read the whole chapter)

There is no better way in a short piece to show the misuse of “election” as God’s choosing specific people and nations for a special purpose than to observe how the Calvinist employs it. He adds to the term and changes its meaning from the simple term election into UNCONDITIONAL ELECTION.

R. C. Sproul, a leading apologist for the Reformed position teaches thusly:

“In the book of Romans, we find a discussion of this difficult concept.(Election)  Romans 9:10–13 reads: “And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls—she was told, ‘The older will serve the younger.’ As it is written, ‘Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.’” Here the Apostle Paul is giving his exposition of the doctrine of election. He deals with it significantly in Romans 8, but here he illustrates his teaching of the doctrine of election by going back into the past of the Jewish people and looking at the circumstances surrounding the birth of twins—Jacob and Esau. In the ancient world, it was customary for the firstborn son to receive the inheritance or the patriarchal blessing. However, in the case of these twins, God reversed the process and gave the blessing not to the elder but to the younger. The point that the Apostle labors here is that God not only makes this decision prior to the twins’ births, He does it without a view to anything they would do, either good or evil, so that the purposes of God might stand. THEREFORE, OUR SALVATION DOES NOT REST ON US; IT RESTS SOLELY ON THE GRASCIOUIS, SOVEREIGN DESCSION OF GOD.” END QUOTE (Caps added)

Now, please, let us agree God made a decision before the twins were born and thus their subsequent roles in life were set by God. God is the potter, and when working with men or nations of clay, He can well determine what role they will play in the earth. Yet He cannot contradict His own word and never does.  So where, oh where, in this passage, does it say He chose Jacob to be saved and Esau to be sent to Hell? Paul quotes scripture written after Jacob and Esau had lived and died which has God revealing He loved Jacob and hated Esau. We know from Hebrews that God hated Esau because Esau despised God by despising His birthright. The same birthright which brought with it the blessing of God!  So the passage is twisted by RC Sproul from showing God’s sovereign right to determine what roles men will play in the earth to compromising and contradicting the free offer of salvation to all men in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

In the larger context of scripture, Paul’s real purpose in writing in Romans 9-11 is to show to  ISRAEL, God has a perfect, sovereign right to show mercy to the Gentiles through the same Gospel they had rejected! So Esau, though born with the natural right of blessing, rejected it and it is was given to one who desired it, Jacob.


Romans 11:32   For God has committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all.


God’s mercy is not synonymous with salvation, as the Reformed teach. It is God’s mercy to offer salvation to all men through believing in Jesus. This offer is limited and requires an RSVP to be activated in the individual. Trust Christ today and be saved forever while you may! (John 5:14)

#1. of 5:  TULIP: the acronym used to describe Calvinism.

T stands for Totally Depraved, which means sinners are dead in sins and trespasses, unable to respond to God. It is this condition, invented by the Calvinist/Reformed theologians, which sets up all their other mistaken doctrines. Although not all men have sunken to the lowest level of depravity, all are equally lost and have the potential of doing so.

Because of our deadness, we need to be first regenerated, given faith to believe the Gospel, believe and as a result, be born again. This is the tedious path to salvation by grace, according to Reformed/deformed theology. The belief that only some are pre-programed to respond is met with the awkward defense that God did not have to save anyone. Therefore, He should be loved and honored for saving a few.

The obvious question is; why didn't He save everyone, since all are equally lost and He can do all things and He is love? Obvious and logic do not set well with the Calvinist. Be prepared for an absolute avalanche of Latin terms designed to bury your "ignorant" question under a cold blanket of spiritual haughtiness.

 

The biggest threat to Calvinism/Reformed doctrine is the Word of God, properly understood.

 

It's simple to prove from the scripture that sinners can understand God, especially when it comes to the fundamental Gospel. The scripture clearly records God's striving with Cain to be saved. God graciously asks Cain, "Why don't you do what is right?"

 

“Doing what is right” always begins for sinners by first believing in Jesus Christ, His sacrifice for sin and His bodily resurrection.

Cain had just seen his brother Abel “do what was right” regarding God by offering a bloody sacrifice. Abel did this by faith, as Hebrews 11 explains. Abel had heard the Gospel message from his parents, who heard it from God Himself.

This passage is disregarded by the Reformed crowd because they liken spiritual death to physical death. This is an error. Being spiritually dead means one is cut off from the life and accepting Presence of God.

 

Physical death renders a person deaf, dumb and blind to ALL outside sources.Adam "died" as soon as he sinned, just as God had warned. He lost God's approval, sought to cover his shame and tried to hide from God. Although these are negative actions, it still shows the ability to recognize sin and feel guilt by a mind dead in sin.

Spiritual deadness, in its most basic form,, is separation from God, in a state of condemnation. Yet one can still hear God, argue or reason with Him and most certainly, trust Him. Both Abel and Cain are scriptural proofs of these truths. And only with these parameters could God justly hold a lost person responsible for their rejection of Christ. Think about it!

 

We will look at the “U” in TULIP next. “U” stands for Unconditional Election.

A dear Reformed Pastor once told me the raising of Lazarus was a clear picture of how God raises sinners to spiritual life. Our friendly discussion ended with him getting very angry with me when I pointed out Lazarus was already a saved man when he died. Therefore, he was disqualified for the role of the Totally Depraved brought to life with no part in the process.

 

“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved” is God’s promise to anyone who wants to avoid Hell and enter Heaven.

Christ’s Most Misunderstood Teaching

John 13:8: Peter said to Him, “You shall never wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, YOU HAVE NO PART WITH ME.”

ONE OF THE MOST NEGLECTED TEACHINGS OF JESUS EVER!!!! Also, usually MISUNDERSTOOD when not NEGLECTED! A twisted or neglected scripture will never do anything but impede the growth of a believer.

 

The passage is most often used to preach about the humility of Jesus, which of course, is true. Buit there is more than one vein of in this gold mine of teaching!

 The point to remember is that Christians (read the whole passage) DO NOT NEED TO BE CLEANSED FROM THEIR SIN AGAIN AND AGAIN BY THE APPLICATION OF THE BLOOD. That happened once and for all, and we are now new, sinless creatures in God's sight forever. How else would the Spirit of God be able to reside in us unless we are as sinless as Jesus? In fact, there is NO SIN in Jesus even though we are now in Him. New creatures are clean before God forever, Christ having borne our sin.

 So Christ washing our feet, without which our intamacy with Him cannot happen, speaks of our heart and minds being washed from the inescapabvle contact with the filth of the world we are presently living in. The "water of the Word" washes away the impressions in our minds of the sin aroiund us and still resident in our old natures. This is the purpose for saints of the puiblic preaching of the Word of God!

Once we understand this principal of washing and regulate 1 John 1:9 to its proper use (evangelizing unsaved Jews who thought they naturaly had no sin) we are trained to do for other believers what Christ did for Peter and the other Appostles, just as He instructed us to do!

 So let us "wash feet" by reminding both weak and strong believers, Jesus paid it all, once and for all, so we could have this fountain of the Spirit springing up within us all the way to Glory! The water of the Spirit washes us clean, using the Word. The water of the Spirit also continues to satisfy our thirst for Jesus. Drink up! Living water!

The Coming Kingdom of Christ (Pdalm 2)

Psalm 2 (NKJV)  The Messiah’s Triumph and Kingdom

1 Why do the nations rage,
And the people plot a vain thing?
² The kings of the earth set themselves,
And the rulers take counsel together,
Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying,
³ “Let us break Their bonds in pieces
And cast away Their cords from us.”

COMMENT: This is the final confederation of rebellious Gentile nations, girding themselves up to oppose the armies of Heaven, led by the King of kings and Lord of lords, Jesus Christ the Righteous. The rage of this nations has been provoked against the Lord by His wrath spilled out on the earth for the seven years of the Tribulation. Their plot is to break ALL restraints of their Creator, and throw them off once and for all. All their rebellious planning is but vanity; like blind men, unaware of the lion before them.

⁴ He who sits in the heavens shall laugh;
The Lord shall hold them in derision.

COMMENT: The idea of puny little man overwhelming their Creator and wrestling the Crown of Deity from Him, is so ludicrous, God laughs and mocks their demented plan. Only truly evil men could have such blinding pride.
⁵ Then He shall speak to them in His wrath,
And distress them in His deep displeasure:
⁶ “Yet I have set My King
On My holy hill of Zion.”

COMMENT: The holy laughter of the Victor over His sworn enemies is followed by the perfect expression of His righteous wrath against such evil doers. Contrary to their plot of overruling God, He has already set up His King in Jerusalem. What could distress evil men more than to know the world will be ruled by the very One who will destroy them in battle? This Psalm is prophetic in nature, yet spoken as though it had already happened. This is because when God speaks of future things, we can be certain they will come about by His power and foreknowledge.

⁷ “I will declare the decree:
The Lord has said to Me,
COMMENT: Jesus Christ now reads His Father’s words concerning Him. As God, He wrote the Word, as Man He learned the Word. 

‘You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.

COMMENT: Christ is fully God, the second Person of the Trinity and He always will be. Yet at a moment in time, He also became fully Man…yet born without sin…the only begotten of the Father. Only Jesus was ever born this way and only He could be born this way.  

⁸ Ask of Me, and I will give You
The nations for Your inheritance,
And the ends of the earth for Your possession.
⁹ You shall break them with a rod of iron;
You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.’”

COMMENT: Christ, as the obedient Son, doing the will of God perfectly through the power of the Spirit, is given the world which He died for. Vs 9 shows the fate of the evil nations who reject His love, His sacrifice and His righteous rule. Surely He could say, “They hated Me without a cause.” Such is the mystery of iniquity!

¹⁰ Now therefore, be wise, O kings;
Be instructed, you judges of the earth.

Comment: These Kings are not the ones first mentioned in this Psalm. Those enemies have been destroyed, along with their followers. These Gentile Kings now being instructed, are reigning over righteous people in their respective kingdoms, the “sheep” who ministered to Christ’s Jewish brethren during their persecution in the Tribulation. 

¹⁰ Now therefore, be wise, O kings;
Be instructed, you judges of the earth.
¹¹ Serve the Lord with fear,
And rejoice with trembling.
¹²  Kiss the Son, lest He be angry,
And you perish in the way,
When His wrath is kindled but a little.
Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.

COMMENT: A sharp contrast is seen here between the King Jesus of the Millennial reign and the lowly Jesus of the Gospels. King Jesus, reigning from the throne of David in Jerusalem, will exercise righteous judgment quickly for any insubordination! Why this difference? Because all men will have available as never before the revealed will of God. His holiness and righteousness will be so manifest, there will be absolutely no excuse of ignorance to fall back on. Sin will be immediately identified in the intense holy light and atmosphere experienced on earth at that time. “Unto whom much is given, much is required”, will be the rule.

It should be understood this Psalm is prophetic only regarding the 1000-year reign of Christ on earth and does not include the eternal state which will have no sin and no temptation in either the new world or the new hearts of the people of Heaven.