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New Man Radio is now being heard once a week in Belize as we share the Letter to the Galatians, verse by verse!

Many thanks to Laurel Gage Almquist, David Almquist, and Victor Hernandez, Pastor of Toledo Faith Outreach Christian Center in Belize for helping to make this expansion possible through the Lord..
Special acknowledgment of Forestdale Church and Pastor Bruce Hanlon for their prayer and financial support of this radio outreach of the Gospel of grace.
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Please pray the saints in Belize will be strengthened in their most holy faith and that others will "taste and see that the Lord is good" for the very first time!
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Don't Trust Fairy Tales

For you, what is the most memorable thing from Walt Disney's story of Pinocchio?

Most people will mention the little wooden puppet's nose growing out of normal proportion whenever he lied.

Ever since the movie was released in 1940, the growth of Pinocchio's proboscis, fueled by personal prevarications, has been routinely employed in political satire cartoons from all segments of the political spectrum.

Small wonder we almost immediately and universally remember it first when we think of Pinocchio!

However, I would suggest the greatest wonder of the story of Pinocchio, is not his nose as integrity indicator, but that he became a real, live boy!

This was his goal and it was dependent on him becoming a good, moral person...um…puppet.

He achieved this and was then rewarded with a transformation from wood to flesh.

This wonder is usually forgotten, obscured by the sensation of his telescoping nose.

Many seem to believe Christianity teaches a kind of Pinocchio theology.

It's generally believed people are motivated by promises of immortality to be good.

Truth be told, most think they have a head start on being good, only needing a little sprucing up here and there.

So the reward of Heaven is anticipated, which is only fair in their mind, since they feel they have met the required obligation of being a good person.

Christianity is far away and beautifully different than such a concept however.

God gives life, not to wooden people, but to dead people with hearts of stone.

This spiritual state of deadness is alienation from the life of God.

The symptom of this condition is sin, as in going against the revealed will of God.

This sickness is terminal and all such afflicted are hopeless, except Christ saves them.

The good news for sinners is Christ died to pay the penalty for all sin!

Now He can give this eternal, spiritual life, not at the END of earthly life, but at some point,
DURING the life experience...if in fact, it is received at all.

When life is received, real spiritual life wherein all can increasingly know God, it is by simply believing His promise, and not by keeping a promise we made to God.

What Pinocchio had to strive for was the REWARD of physical life.

What God has provided...life, true life, is a GIFT, ours by simply believing the living Word of God.

What seems so right to men, as in the Pinocchio story, about EARNING life, is seen in the scriptures as the GIFT of God, to the glory of God. Believe today and receive eternal life immediately!

16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. (John 3:16 NKJV)

Refuting Perserverance of the Saints

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

TULIP is the acronym used to describe Calvinism.

“P” stands for "PERSERVERANCE OF THE SAINTS".

The story is told of a man driving through the Alps in a Rolls Royce, when a rear axle broke. He notified his dealer, who in turn, called the factory. The factory flew a mechanic and a new axle to the scene, and the motorist was on his way after only a day or two. Several months went by, and having never received a bill, the man wrote the factory, requesting one. The answer was promptly received and it read, “Rolls Royce’s do not break axles.”

The doctrine of the Perseverance of the Saints is not biblical, but it is very useful to Calvinism and its bastard child, Lordship Salvation. Since the true emphasis of the term is on what saints do, rather than what Christ has done for us, it is not Biblical when used as assurance of salvation. It is this misapplication which then allows the luminaries of Calvinism to lop off the offending pretenders to salvation as mere shams when they fail.

In the mind of Calvinists’ (and many other theological persuasions as well) failure in the Christian life is prime evidence the “failure” never had true spiritual life.  Allowance is sometimes made for momentary or short-lived declines in zeal, and even some periodic dabbling in sin, but true converts will never, fully and finally fail. So goes the party line, since failures in any system bring it into question. Questioning this teaching, as in any in Calvinism proclamation, will be answered by their apologists with the haughty, “Who are you, oh man, to reply to God?”

Here’s a quote from Matt Slick, a Calvinist who authors “Got Questions?” on the web, which clarifies their belief on this important subject.  “Those who are saved will indeed be conformed to the image of Christ through the process of sanctification (1 Corinthians 6:11). When a person is saved, the Holy Spirit breaks the bondage of sin and gives the believer a new heart and a desire to seek holiness. Therefore a true Christian will desire to be obedient to God and will be convicted by the Holy Spirit when he sins. True Christians will never “live any way they want” because such behavior is impossible for someone who has been given a new nature (2 Corinthians 5:17).” (end quote)

Is this a Biblical truth? No, the scripture is replete with examples of true believers who failed to continue in the process of sanctification and yet did not lose their eternal salvation. The fact is, true sanctification is no more automatic for the believer than his initial salvation experience. Both being born-again and then becoming like Christ require the believing participation of the Christian. It’s another example of the convoluted theology of Calvinism which declares all of salvation happens as a result of Irresistible Grace and Unconditional Election to then throw assurance of salvation back on the believer’s works!

Here are examples of completely full and final failure in the Christian life (denied as possible by the Reformed crowd) as recorded in Scripture. In Acts 5, we have the first two Christians who died in the newly born church: Ananias and Sapphira. They were no martyrs, but were slain by the Lord for lying to the Holy Spirit. This pretty much curtailed their earthly sanctification, but the Apostle Peter, not being a Calvinist, and having missed out on a seminary where Reformed theology is taught as scripture, never suggests these objects of the Lord’s correction were not saved.

The Apostle Paul deals with a similar situation in Corinth where the emphasis was on gifts and earthly knowledge instead of sanctified living:

  “5:1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles—that a man has his father’s wife! ² And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you. ³ For I indeed, as absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged (as though I were present) him who has so done this deed. ⁴ In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, ⁵ deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.”

Please note, Paul does not question this offender’s salvation, but his unsanctified behavior. The Apostle gives this man a death sentence (there is “a sin unto death”). This would have ceased any further earthly sanctification, but in this case, the brother took the rebuke to heart and repented. This was part of the reason for Paul’s action in this case. The other part was to restore a sense of righteousness to the whole assembly, which is crucial in effectual sanctification.

Perhaps the Apostle John refers to these and similar unrecorded incidents when he said, “¹⁶ If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that.” ( 1 John 5:16-17)   I repeat; early death of sinning Christians negates both the main idea of the Perseverance of the Saints and the implication true Christians will continue in the earthly sanctification process.

The Apostle Paul gives a reason for the believer’s loss of growth in practical sanctification, and the sometimes lethal consequences of allowing oneself to drift away from the Lord. This scripture was written to the Corinthians whose practice at the communion service had been corrupted from honoring the Lord’s atoning death, and in anticipation of His soon return.

So, the Apostle wrote;” ²⁷ Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. ²⁸ But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. ²⁹ For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. ³⁰ For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. ³¹ For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. ³² But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.”

To paraphrase what Paul wrote, we can say, “You are not really participating in the communion service unless you are remembering Christ, who made your salvation a reality by dying in your place. Continually missing the vital experiencing again of His Presence and the joy of your salvation is having dire consequences among you! Many are weak, sick and many sleep! (note the incremental nature of these corrections from the Spirit! The progressive severity is meant to bring believers back to Christ, not to merely punish).

It should be concluded from these scriptures that the believer has a large part in his own sanctification and the law of sowing and reaping has not been rescinded, even though we are under grace.

The Apostle Peter urged a continuation in the spiritual life which he promised would reap great eternal rewards. Yet he also spoke of those who neglect the means of growth in Christ. Did he suggest they weren’t saved? Or that they had lost their salvation? Not at all, but he does teach the true source of their lack of progress.

2 Peter 1:5: “But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, ⁶ to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, ⁷ to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. ⁸ For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.¹⁰ Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; ¹¹ for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly

Note verse 9, which does not say these blind, stumbling brothers are mere shams and lost after all. Rather, chief among their spiritual defects is forgetting the most important thing in their lives: the fact that they have been cleansed from their sins! One can easily see how such forgetfulness is promoted by an incorrect communion experience. Stumbling occurs when one is spiritually blind and forgetful of one’s own eternal standing before God because of Christ.

Believers can become discouraged and exhausted by spiritual defeat in their own lives. This leads to fleshy resolves, foolish oaths or even abandonment of any outward action associated with a life of faith. Poorly instructed “teachers” use such failures to highlight misunderstood scripture, which seem to teach a believer can lose their salvation.

Like all error, there is some truth here. But let us be clear such “loss of salvation” is usually the nullifying or abandonment of the sanctifying process. Thus, Paul warned the Galatian Christians, (who were already saved forever by grace) of the dangers of “falling from grace”. He was cautioning them not to try and add some work to Christ’s already completed work of atonement to make themselves acceptable to God. If they allowed themselves to be circumcised, they were accepting the obligations of the Law to gain God’s favor, something they already had fully in Christ! A similar ploy was used on Eve by the Serpent,” You shall be as God.” She and Adam were already like God, and the believer is already saved forever.

An Old Testament example of a righteous person who completely failed God in his earthly life is Lot. He stands in sharp contrast to Abraham, although they both had the same saving faith. Abraham was just as weak as Lot, but he continued to grow in grace while Lot pursued earthly goals which led to a life of spiritual disaster. One could easily build a scriptural case against Lot’s salvation by simply compiling his fleshy deeds and listing the many spiritual actions missing from his life. Yet Peter, writing by the Holy Spirit hundreds of years after Lot’s sorry earthly tale was completed, called him “righteous” and even “Godly”. (2 Peter 2:7) Imputed righteousness given us because Christ took our sin, is only visible to men by our outward actions. God, however, sees the heart and true righteousness from Christ.

Perhaps it’s the difficult cases like Lot’s which prompted the Apostle Paul to remind us when we are trying to discern whether a fellow human being is a true believer or not; “¹⁹ Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.”

In context, Paul wrote this because some “teachers” were saying things which undermined the truth of salvation. This was having a deleterious effect on the weaker brothers, leading to shoddy life styles. So as always, Paul reassures instead of condemning,and urges a clean-up of life since God’s promises are true and He has not forgotten the weakest believer. Believe again the promises of God and leave bad habits of spiritual childhood. Let us grow!

In conclusion, let us look at the clearest statement Christ ever gave on the eternal state of anyone who has ever trusted the Son of God for salvation. It’s found in John 5:24 and like the blacksmith’s anvil, it has outlasted all the hammers of the Enemy throughout the centuries.

Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.

The weakest believer presently possesses eternal life, is promised he will not ever be condemned and has passed out of death (separation from God) and is right now in life.

Grow strong here, in this clear, fundamental truth of God and you are set to grow continually. Grab this mighty sword of the Spirit and slay all your doubts every time they lift their naysaying heads. And then use this light to discover new, life enhancing truths in the Word of God. Feed your soul the Word of grace, train your mind in the scriptures and share all good things with all, especially the saints of God.

Perseverance of the Saints is possible, but not automatic.

Preservation of the saints is of God and cannot fail.
   
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#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.

God's Word: Past, Present.Future

Flip Wilson was a very funny comedian of the '60-70's who often portrayed the money-grubbing, low-living Reverend Leroy on his TV show. His permanent alibi for his sinful life was, "The Devil made me do it!" This saying swept the country and made us all smile.

I'm thinking today,however, of his oft stated "vision" for his "church". He would describe his church this way, "We don't care what happened in the PAST, or what's gonna happen in the FUTURE! We're the church of WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW!"

Unfortunately, such a description fits many of our churches well. Let us determine to not settle for such a truncated vision of the church. Let us embrace Christ's promise to the Apostles on the eve of His departure:

 "But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.

14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”John 16:13

How much truth is made available to the church/Christian according to the Head of the Church, the Lord Jesus Christ? What part of "all" don't we understand?

Let us make it our personal goal to know all truth revealed by the SPIRIT thru the WORD via the APOSTLES and those other evangelists, preachers, and teachers provided by the Holy Spirit for the edification of the church. Let us learn how God wrought in the Past thru individuals and Israel.

 Let us learn how Christ birthed the Church from His wounded side to be his Bride forever and how all of the pieces of the "mystery" fit well together and are in absolute harmony in the now completed revelation of the written will of God.

The most important factor in us learning the complete will of God is our DESIRE to do so! Consider this promise of God to any willing soul:"Turn at my rebuke; Surely I will pour out my spirit on you;I WILL MAKE MY WORDS KNOWN TO YOU." Proverbs 1:23

And let us consider the wonderful example of Daniel who heard the Lord's Angel say,"Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words." Daniel 10:12

Way back there, Daniel wanted to know the future, all of it, and God honored his worthy desire. Shouldn't we have that same desire as we see the world system crumbling before from the "birth pains" of a new creation beginning in our time?

 God will honor our careful study of His Word and open His secrets to all who will truly seek them. Let the scoffers scoff but let us value God's wonderful revelation to us who seek His truth and glory!

When the Pressure Is Just Too Much

WHEN THE PRESSURE IS JUST TOO MUCH

The Apostle Paul told of his own experience with over-whelming pressure here in 2 Corinthians 2:8: "We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death."

COMMENT: At first glance, we may be amazed to learn the great Apostle is confessing to such pressure he even "despaired of life" and felt death was inevitable. After all, he had expressed and demonstrated tremendous faith in many other places.

It is he who taught in 1 Corinthians 10:13: "No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it."

So what is going on? Is Paul folding under pressure and thus giving the lie to his teaching in other places in scripture?

No, we can't believe such is the case. What we do believe is the absolute honesty of the Apostle in confessing to the fact of stress which all people experience. We are encouraged that what Paul successfully endured and overcame can be a blueprint for victory in our own battle with stress, even overwhelming stress.

The key to victory for the Apostle was finding meaning and purpose in unavoidable stress. Here's the conclusion he reached in the depths of his own painful experience:

"But this happened (this threat of imminent death) that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead."

So distress, real distress, spirit-breaking distress, is allowed in the believer's life so we will not count on ourselves (our personal strength, intelligence, education, wealth, friends, position) "BUT ON GOD, WHO RAISES THE DEAD."

Self-reliance is our common area of greatest weakness. It may "work" in minor areas of our lives, but it will be crushed in the jaws of the realities of life.

Anyone can see faith in the God who raised Jesus Christ from the dead and is able to save us in life or death is far superior to our weak and fleshy resolves . Yet our natural tendency is to rely on ourselves. Thus it becomes apparent we we need help in this area: who are we going to trust, self or God?

God allows this test to happen again and again in the Christian life until we begin to see the wisdom of Christ in those strange sounding words (to our self-sufficient ears) of James 1:2:

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

Achieving maturity in the faith may involve many bumps and bruises along the path, but it is far superior to the cul-de-sac of immaturity. There we simply go round and round, like the disobedient Israelites wandering in the wilderness of sin. So let us make it our aim to become mature as our Father wants us to be, even while honestly admitting we have not yet "arrived".

As Paul said in Philippians 3:10-14:

10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

The rest of the original passage regarding Paul's experience with overwhelming pressure is found here:

10 He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, 11 as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.

LAST COMMENT: Perhaps the "deadly peril" Paul is referring to is not death. Could it be he is praising God for delivering him from self-reliance which is indeed a "deadly peril" to real faith in the living God?

May God also deliver us and the church from relying on man-made schemes which disregard the saving power of the Word of God.

Christian Failure

Can Christians Ultimately Fail to Live Life As Christians?

Our answer will probably reflect our theology (or gut instinct). Many systems of Christian thought immediately and resoundingly answer:NO! Their reply is based on the belief Christians will always consistently bear some fruit if they are true believers.

This also allows them to "dump" or disavow some who mouth their creeds but lack any visible deeds. Everyone wants to go with the "winners" on this matter, and these "losers" make us and our creeds look bad simply by association.

Yet in light of Scripture, the simple "no" is inadequate to cover the subject. For instance, what about the Christian who seemingly has lived a number of years producing "fruit" and yet suddenly (it appears) turns away from the faith? Was it all a sham? We all know some who once burned brightly for Christ, but now are simply smoldering in the debris of their own actions.

And then there are others who seem to imitate a yo-yo in their spiritual experience. They are cool to the things of the Lord until a crisis comes into their lives which motivates them to seek the Lord. Having been aided by God, in answer to their desperate prayers, they slowly drift away again until the next crisis brings them back.

So what does the Scripture say about all of these varying negative experiences? Can one truly be a Christian who fits these descriptions?

The Apostle Paul reminds us in 2 Timothy 2:19a (NKJV)

19a. "Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His."

The plain fact of the matter is Christians can fail, and fail visibly and miserably. We can fail so badly that we give up our hope in Christ, even though we are born-again and already possess eternal life (John 5:24).

When this spiritual collapse happens in the life of a believer, he goes into darkness and simply has no assurance within himself of his true standing with God.

2 Peter 1:9 "For he who lacks these things (Christian virtues coming from growth in grace) is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins."

Yet God knows who are His, even when we don't, as Paul stated to Timothy in 2:19.

Some teach true believers will always come back to God, even though they might fall into sin for a period of time. Alas, both experience and scripture argue against this view. Christians can live their earthly lives out in defeat and fruitlessness.

A strong statement, but one borne out by Paul's description of such cases at the judgment seat of Christ. This judgment is only about works and therefore, only true believers are present to be rewarded for their works for Christ. .Paul gives us a worst case scenario of one arriving there who has NO SPIRITUAL WORKS!
1 Corinthians 3:15: "If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire."

Let us rejoice in God who keeps His Word of eternal salvation to the weakest believer in all situations, whether in defeat or victory. Let us take heart when beaten and recover to win again for Christ by heeding the Apostle's admonition to all believers:

35 "Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. 36 For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise:37 “For yet a little while, and He who is coming will come and will not tarry." Hebrews 10:35-37 (NKJV)

Some will immediately say, "See! You have to do the will of God or you're not saved!" The answer to all such is that anyone who has ever trusted Christ to save them, has done the will of God by trusting Christ.

John 6:40 "And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

As soon as one believes, he becomes a possessor of eternal life. John 5:24

John 5:24 (NKJV)

24“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.