Saints, I felt led to mention this branch of theology that has crept into the church over the past several years. I first thought that it's influence was limited, but the more I learn about our present day church, the more I see Calvinism has made its way into nearly every modern church. Perhaps not in its fullest form, but parts of it. Please don't click away. This is very important to your salvation and to you being raptured. Did you know that John MacArthur was a Calvinist? He's probably the most visible and famous one of late. Oddly enough I wrote this post on Saturday and on Sunday the pastor I love to listen to spoke on the very same thing! Here's a link to his sermon if you're interested.
Calvinism is a branch of Protestant theology that emerged from the teachings of the 16th-century reformer John Calvin (1509–1564), a French theologian and pastor during the Reformation. At its core, Calvinism emphasizes the sovereignty of God, the authority of Scripture, and the total dependence of human beings on God's grace for salvation. Sounds good, doesn't it? But let's dive a little deeper.
The Five Tenets of Calvinism: T.U.L.I.P.
These are often summarized using the acronym TULIP
1. T – Total Depravity
Human beings are completely affected by sin in every part of their being—mind, will, emotions, and flesh. No one can choose God or do good without divine intervention.
Human beings are completely affected by sin in every part of their being—mind, will, emotions, and flesh. No one can choose God or do good without divine intervention.
2. U – Unconditional Election
God's choice to save individuals is based solely on His will and not on any foreseen merit, action, or decision on the part of the person. Salvation is not earned or even initiated by us—it's a result of God's sovereign grace.
God's choice to save individuals is based solely on His will and not on any foreseen merit, action, or decision on the part of the person. Salvation is not earned or even initiated by us—it's a result of God's sovereign grace.
3. L – Limited Atonement (also called Particular Redemption)
Christ's death on the cross was specifically intended to save only the elect (those God has chosen). Jesus didn’t just make salvation possible—He actually accomplished it for those whom He came to save.
4. I – Irresistible Grace
When God calls someone to salvation (the "effectual call"), that person cannot ultimately resist. The Holy Spirit changes the heart so that the person freely and willingly responds in faith. The person has no choice.
5. P – Perseverance of the Saints
Those whom God has elected and drawn to Himself will continue in faith and will not fall away. True believers may stumble, but they will persevere to the end because God preserves them. Once saved, Always Saved
Christ's death on the cross was specifically intended to save only the elect (those God has chosen). Jesus didn’t just make salvation possible—He actually accomplished it for those whom He came to save.
4. I – Irresistible Grace
When God calls someone to salvation (the "effectual call"), that person cannot ultimately resist. The Holy Spirit changes the heart so that the person freely and willingly responds in faith. The person has no choice.
5. P – Perseverance of the Saints
Those whom God has elected and drawn to Himself will continue in faith and will not fall away. True believers may stumble, but they will persevere to the end because God preserves them. Once saved, Always Saved
First of all, yes, they have Scriptures to back up what they believe, and in truth, if you don't know the totality of the Bible, you could easily say, "yeah, that makes sense." The problem with these Calvinists is that they look at God through the lens of TIME, whereas our God exists outside of time. That is why some passages in the Bible seem to contradict each other in terms of election to salvation.
Why am I bringing this up? This belief can lead to some horrific results
1. Some people may believe that they are not chosen and cannot ever be saved so they will not accept Jesus no matter how much they are led to
2. People who believe they are chosen by God and are saved believe they are "special" which can lead to arrogance.
3. People who believe they are God's chosen and are saved believe they can never lose that salvation, no matter what sins they commit or wicked lifestyle they choose. This particular idea has crept even into churches who don't believe in Calvinism, and it is a highly deceptive belief that will lead many to hell.
Here are the problems with Calvinism (taken from this Article, the author of which did a great job, including listing many Scriptures for your reference!)
1. Calvinism denies man’s free will to obey or disobey God, which is the basis of man’s responsibility and accountability, as taught by the Bible
2. Calvinism denies that each individual is responsible and accountable for their own sins committed in their own life, and will not be damned for the sins of anyone else, as the Bible teaches:
3. Calvinism denies that Christ died for everyone and His unlimited atonement is available for everyone and that those for whom Christ died can still perish if they reject Him as the Bible teaches.
4. Calvinism denies that God loves everyone and wants all sinners to repent and be saved as taught by the Bible:
5. Calvinism promotes Once Saved Always Saved and denies the possibility of falling away from the faith as taught by the Bible
Martin Luther said, “Be a sinner and sin boldly… No sin can separate us from Him, even if we were to kill or commit adultery thousands of times each day.”
Westminster Confession of Faith said, “They whom God hath accepted in His Beloved, effectually called and sanctified by his Spirit, can neither totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace; but shall certainly persevere therein to the end, and be eternally saved.”
Westminster Confession of Faith said, “They whom God hath accepted in His Beloved, effectually called and sanctified by his Spirit, can neither totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace; but shall certainly persevere therein to the end, and be eternally saved.”
6. Calvinism denies man’s role, responsibility, and choice to cooperate with God in regeneration or in the changing of his heart as taught by the Bible
7. Calvinism denies that there is deliverance available from all sin in Jesus Christ, or the possibility of overcoming sin in this life by the grace of God as taught by the Bible
8. Calvinism denies that man’s choice to repent of all his sins is a necessary condition of forgiveness, but rather teaches that once saved we are no longer obligated to follow any moral law—especially the Ten Commandments or ethical teachings of Scripture. (Antinomianism), as opposed to what the Bible teaches
I was shocked by this quote from Spurgeon!
Charles Spurgeon said, “You must not expect that you will be perfect in ‘repentance’ before you are saved. No Christian can be perfect. “Repentance” is a grace. Some people preach it as a condition of salvation. Condition of nonsense! There are no conditions of salvation. God gives the salvation himself…”
9. Calvinism states that God is the author of sin and the sovereign cause of its entrance into the world
Martin Luther said, “Since, therefore, God moves and does all in all, He necessarily moves and does all in Satan and the wicked man…”
Martin Luther said, “God worketh all things in all men even wickedness in the wicked…”
John Calvin said, “Whatever things are done wrongly and unjustly by man, these very things are the right and just works of God.”
So what do we do with all these Bible passages that talk about how God foreknew us and predestined us to be conformed to the image of His Son and uses some people for good purposes and some for ignoble purposes?
Calvinism looks at the Bible and God through the lens of Time. God is outside of Time. When He looks at you and me and the Earth and everyone on it, He sees the END of it all. He also sees the Beginning and everything in between. It's like an author of a book. I can pick up one of the novels I've written off the shelf and flip through it. Each page represents a point in time, a particular scene in someones life, but I already know the ending of the story. I'm outside of the story.
God is the same way. Before He even formed you in your mother's womb, He already knew whether you would choose Him. He already knew everything you would do in your life and everything that would happen to you! So, when He says, He foreknew and predestined you to be saved, it's because He already knows you're going to accept Him.
To believe in anything else is to say that mankind has NO FREE WILL. If that is true, then why did Adam and Eve sin in the Garden? They were already pure and holy and walking with God. Why did He give them free will? The Bible is clear. There are thousands more Scriptures that tell us how much God loves the entire world and how Jesus came to save whosoever would believe in Him.
Calvinism is a dangerous theology. The Jesus in Calvinism is not the real Jesus. The Jesus in Calvinism offers salvation only to a limited few and gives them zero choice in the matter. The Jesus in Calvinism saves those He chooses and doesn't care how they live their lives or how wicked or sinful they are after salvation.
I'm sorry, but that isn't the Jesus I know. So, be careful. My fear is that if you are clinging to the wrong Jesus when the trumpet blows, you may not be called up!
Thank you. This helps a lot and answers some questions for me. I always thought how could you always be saved “once saved always saved”. When you are bluntly doing things that are not of God ie: adulterous relationship. My husband said “maybe they were never truly saved then.” But if they showed lots of fruit in their lives before and you know they were walking then walked away….were they really saved at all??! I think they were. But then they turned away. I hope this makes sense But what you posted made a lot of sense and yes I’ve seen this in the church.
ReplyDeleteMost Welcome. All glory to God who leads me. I do believe one can walk away from the faith as depicted in many Scriptures. Yet there are tares among the wheat.. false converts as well. I need to post again about OSAS (Once saved always saved) and how dangerous it is to believe this as MOST churches do these days.
DeleteGreetings Precious Sister in Chist,
ReplyDeleteI agree with much of what is said here Sister. You know my stance on OSAS, never believed that. Yet there is a core belief I hear from, some, in this arena, that is, the solid teachings about the Sovrignty of Jesus Christ, and the Trinity. I like a lot of what Voddie Baucham say's at times, yet when I listen to him, I understan the he is amellenialist, which I do no align with. I'm a premy :). Yet his reverence and humility before God I do like. I posted a 20 min speach of his Saturday, lol, the same day you were working on this, that to me was a very trustworthy view of the church today and God's soverignty. You can check it out if you like.
So please understand, I am not in disagreement with you here. I do not align myself with the Calanist view, though I've never really studied all their beliefs. So this is a good word for me, I'll look a bit deeper into them.
I do have a question on ; ( under "problems with Calvinism")
#2 the last part " we are not be damned for enyone elses sin".
Me; no, we are not damned for the sins of others, unless this refers to original sin ?
I love your explanation at the end of what it means that God see's the end results of our lifes decisions. Like knowing the ending of the book ! That is exactly the way I always discribe it. His total omniscience.
I did not listen to the video. I will when I have more time.
And if i can remember, I'm going to try and find the quote from Spurgeon, seems like that might be taken out of context. Doesnt sound like him ?
Blessings Sister
Blessing Sister.
I caution you, Brother, to beware of Voddie Bauchman. He is a Calvinist. Yes, I'm sure he preaches many good things too and many Scriptural things as did John MacArthur, but to be off on so huge a doctrine is frightening. As far as being damned for others sins, I believe what is meant by that is that God can damn a person to hell even before they were born just because of the fall of humanity and the sin of Adam and Eve. I double checked that Spurgeon quote and yes, it appears he said that. If you find it has been taken out of context, please let me know so I can make a correction! Blessings!
DeleteYeah so I agree MaryLu. There is always more behind the curtain. All 6 out of 7 churches in Revelation were rebuked sharply, and the 7th will suffer persecutions. The wolves are literally everywhere. Funny too, Bauchams speech was titled " The Church Era is Over". Well he is right about that. I dont know if this is just another branch where the leaders, the old timers still hold to all of the hard nose roots of Calvanism. Thats terrible. I do know that niether McArthur or Buaucham hold to the "sin all you want" theory. And I think the readers here get the impresion that most of these people run around living sinful lives. I have heard both of them talk about repentance. I'm not really a fan of McArthur. I always kept my distance because of OSAS and amillenialism.
DeleteMy Sister is in an old fashioned Baptist church that believe OSAS, but you will never attend a church meeting there when the Pastor is not talking about sin or repentance. But I appreciate their Pastor for being tough, and preventing fals teachings coming in. But they seem to lack the Spirit of the word at times. KJV only and only song of Psalms and Hymns.
I have a friend, I've mention a few times. He was in the Old Pastors Penecostl Church before me. Now he goes to the church I left ! His older brother, is very ill with a multitude of issues, and serious dementia. He was once a brilliant builder, awesome guy. Now his wife has to dress him and feed him. I was at the friends house and the sister in law called and asked for help with the tractor so she could mow. But he was to busy to go. I said why dont we go early tomorrow, Sunday, and he said, Joe its Sunday, I gotta go to church, I said wouldnt tending to your brothers needs be church ? He said , what about my family. I said they know where the church is. So we packed some tool a went to the brothers house and fixed the tractor :) Thats the reason I posted Bauchams message, so my friend might see it. I'm gonna leave the link. ( I dont know if you can open it like this ?) And I encourage you to view it. 19minutes, made me cry.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZi1QR24IgQ
In Jesus name we pray.
Yes, I know... some of these Calvinists don't seem to believe in all the tenants of Calvinism. At least that's good. And I'm always a fan of repentance! Particularly when some pastors today are preaching that if you repent, it's a work and you won't go to heaven! Ridiculous.
DeleteI'm so sorry about your friend's brother, but good for you to explain to him that helping a brother in need is CHURCH.. not only going to a building and listening to a sermon! Glad he listened to you! Blessings!
Hello Sister in Christ,
ReplyDeleteI have heard of Calvinism and I didn’t know too much about it then, but now I was startled to learn how it is associated with Christianity but in a distorted and of course, misleading manner.
Before I comment further, please understand that I am in no way intelligent in terms of being a prodigy or an Einstein-level whiz. In other words, some things that should be easy to comprehend, I may misinterpret, like in how I will be analyzing the details in your post shortly. I guess if I was a genius, I probably wouldn’t know God the way I do now, probably would be lukewarm due to worldly admiration, and maybe not even come across your blog, which I felt is a major source that transformed me into growing closer with Jesus.
Now with the comment, reading the TULIP made me feel appalled at some of its teachings, particularly such as Jesus will save only a “chosen” few and that people generally has no free will. Moreover, in the nine points you brought up, such denial of Biblical facts is very dangerous, in fact very certain to be costly. How people can still sin however they please after “believing” they are saved, and that God is the primary cause of all sin, these are just blasphemous notions, in my opinion.
From what I know about Jesus based on my own studies, I learned and believe the following things:
1. Jesus is the Son of the Almighty Living God who came to pay for everyone’s sins, not just those who are “special” to Him, as Calvinism teaches.
2. Jesus taught that “there is no one righteous,” for “all have sinned and thus fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 10 & 12)
3. Jesus said “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Nobody comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6)
4. Jesus offers salvation to anyone who is willing to Believe, Accept, Follow, and Obey Him.
5. Jesus/God loves sinners, but He despises sin. However, He is willing to forgive if we confess our sins and repent.
6. Jesus taught us that an important duty for us as imperfect beings is to forgive, and let Him be the one to bring about true justice.
7. There is only one true living God, all other gods are false (1st Commandment) and his Son Jesus Christ paid a price that we could never afford to pay; therefore, “by His wounds, we have been healed.” (1 Peter 2:24)
These are just some of my current form beliefs in the Lord and during my evening prayers before retiring to bed, I would reflect on the day’s events and give thanks, as well as reflecting on any sins and confessing them. I feel it is a good habit that whenever I sin, I resort to confessing and asking for forgiveness whenever I can for I know I have fallen into temptation and am not proud of it at all. It bothers me how people who accept Jesus still sin and treat it as no big deal for their salvation is secure, as Martin Luther stated.
Speaking of salvation, something I have been wondering about is, is it really true that salvation can be gained, but can also be lost? It can be lost if people willingly fall away from the Lord and no longer show any regard to what is considered holy in God’s eyes - is this true Sister? Do you think that this is a category of people who try to play God for a fool by thinking they can act holy until they feel salvation is guaranteed, and then gradually resort to apostasy thinking God would not care too much since they are already “saved” and the fact that humans still sin even if they have become anew person?
Thanks Sister for the warning of dangerous teachings. I hope my current beliefs above are consistent with the Lord’s expectations for I am so ready to leave this world and everything else behind to finally find peace and love in Heaven. Speaking of which, there is exactly 50 days until Rosh Hashanah, which I seriously hope is finally the appointed time in view of the Two-State Solution being a harbinger of the Daniel Covenant. Blessings from a Brother in Christ.
Brother, I am no genius either! Truly God calls those whom the world looks down on. :-) Anyway, your 7 statements are purely Biblical and truth! God has indeed shown you His Truth as you meditate on His Word. It is a great practice to repent for any and all sins we commit each day, even right after we commit them as the Holy Spirit convicts. Sometimes we may not even be aware of a sin, so I ask the Lord to forgive me of all those sins I don't even know about. Sometimes it could just be a bad attitude or a selfish motive. God knows. Repentance keeps our relationship with Jesus moving forward.
DeleteYes, I believe a person can lose their salvation. I can list hundreds of Scriptures which prove this. (maybe I'll do that soon). However, I believe it takes a purposeful intentional rejection of Jesus and the salvation He offers. In other words, the person willfully says that they no longer believe in Jesus and they reject Him and everything in the Bible. I don't believe this happens very often. Another way to lose salvation is to continue willfully and purposely living in sin day after day and not repenting or having a relationship with the Lord.
Like you, I'm so ready to leave this world. Hang in there, Brother! I'll see you soon!
Thanks for this important warning. I can bet that there are many “Christians” who may fall in this category and the only way to know is seeing if they say or believe anything that is close to the pointers you indicated here. For me, never will I agree that anyone can freely sin without remorse or believe that God tolerates and is the one who brought sin into the world. How these beliefs even exist really baffles me to the point that there are people who have the audacity to call themselves Christians or believers in Jesus! This is further reason why the Rapture has to happen soon so Jesus can weed out the “tares from the wheat” or the fake from the genuine believers.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I envision myself traveling back in time to warn my past self of whatever I thought was true (kindness and appreciation from others as an example) is secretly the polar opposite in disguise and that I have to give those up to avoid a grim consequence; that is, loving the ways of the world more than God and falling away from the faith due to being entranced by the “admiration” of people around me. Even though it happened only recently in real life, at least I was able to change with God having proven that He has witnessed my suffering and wanted me to find much better in Heaven provided that I trust and obey Him. I could see my past self as “every mistake I ever made, just waiting to happen.” Regardless, it does not really matter anymore since I no longer have that mindset and actually oppose it if I ever find myself thinking about it.
A thought came to my mind: is it true that Christianity had always been the primary means of God having the ultimate authority and credit of the creation of the universe, Earth, and human life, but due to the Devil’s ability to manipulate and deceive, this lead to the creation of multiple religions and/or beliefs, some of which its followers would do anything, even the unthinkable, to defend such beliefs? Could that be why many reject God and believe that other supposed religions are the main accurate ones to believe in and follow?
This is a different topic, but did you know that former President Obama turned 64 today? Something I read in an article long time ago is that some people alleged he may supposedly be the Antichrist. How would people make such a judgment back then (2009-2016 were the years of his presidency) when the End Times are still a while away? Making such a judgment now might make sense since we are very close to the End when the AC will reveal himself, but did this mean Believers (hopefully true ones) were already looking out for who the AC will be long time ago?
Speaking of the AC, I found some Scripture saying that he may be an Assyrian (Hosea 11:5 and Isiah 10:24) - could this give a clue as to the possibility that the AC be a prominent authority figure in the Assyrian region?
Believe me, I would love to go back in time and warn myself! I wandered far from the Lord and did horrible things which I deeply regret and am still suffering for. But everything has a purpose. And your pain has brought you closer to Jesus where He has comforted you with His love.
DeleteAbsolutely! It's the devil who has created all these fake religions and twisted beliefs, many of which have infiltrated the church. he's doing everything he can to get people to go to hell with him.
Yes, I've heard many say Obama is the AC, but I don't think so. He could be, I supposed, but in all truth, I really don't care who the AC is. I don't plan on being here. But yes, I do believe he will have some Syrian blood in him, according to Scripture. Either way, he's getting ready to step onto the scene. And we are getting ready to step off the scene!
I grew up in the Free Will Baptist denomination, which believes (as the name states.) we have 'free will' to accept or reject salvation. It's terrifying to see these bits of 'yeast' that show up even within respected churches and pastors. I know that no church/denomination/pastor is without their faults, but like you said that's why we need to be ROOTED in God's Word.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely! Stay in the Word of God. Make a habit of it. It's the only thing that will help any of us avoid these insidious deceptions! Thank you, Amy!
DeleteThis is a very perilous doctrine, especially with how it says God shows favoritism, how people can sin however they want even after believing they are “saved,” and that there is no such thing as free will.
ReplyDeleteI know of some Christians who I suppose believe in the Lord, but with certain talents they have (music for example), they showcase them and amass tens of thousands of views, likes, and followers on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. Seems like they may be leaning towards craving the admiration more than God, but how common (or rare should I say) that true Believers would even opt to “sell” themselves to the world. If it were me, I would just be happy for myself and not feel obligated to present a talent to the world obviously seek admiration and respect. Do you think this can get to a point where it gets to their head and they can abruptly disown anyone who has a problem with that? I am sure this can also apply to people who they once were on good terms with, and not just anyone.
I have seen prominent figures, specifically celebrities, singers, and even presidents give the sign that I do not know the name of, but it is a hand sign where the index and pinkie fingers stand while the thumb covers the middle and ring fingers that are touching the palm of the hand. Also I have seen the OK sign where it is associated with being symbolic of 666, or the Devil’s number. Do you think any display of this sign could indicate affiliation with the Devil, especially if they do it very often in public? I am sure there may be “Christians” who do it offscreen and people feel it is nothing troubling, but as true Believers, we should pay close attention to acts, behaviors, and gestures to determine if people may be falling away from the faith (assuming true Believers) or are in the process of revealing their real identities (demons in disguise).
I have also seen people who act or have appearances that I think God may frown upon, such as tattoos, piercings, and eccentric features all over them and there are also some people that may be associated with gangs or criminal factions yet they wear the Cross as a necklace. Is this some sort of deception to make people think they believe in and accept Jesus when their deeds possibly suggest the opposite? This is not to resort to judgment, but just to get clarification on how these people may be viewed by God.
I think we are all subjected to getting too full of ourselves and becoming arrogant with the talents God has given us. I imagine that some Christian musicians, pastors, writers, etc can amass a large number of "fans" and start thinking more highly of themselves than they should. But we don't know their hearts.. only God does, so I leave that up to Him.
DeleteRegarding hand signs.. yes. there are many that indicate the person is a satan worshiper or affiliated with the Freemasons that we, as believers, need to be aware of. And yes, if a person consistently offers this signal, they are not to be trusted.
I've seen some very evil musicians wearing crosses and to me, it's blasphemy. But it's a lesson for us. Just because someone wears a cross around their neck, doesn't make them a believer. As far as tattoos and piercings, it's possible the person had them done before they got saved. Yet, I'm not sure it is an indication that they aren't saved. It seems to be more a cultural thing than something done in defiance of God. Only God knows. For me, I will never get a tattoo because in the OT, it says do not mark or brand your body. That's good enough for me!
Yes, Leviticus 19:28, I know it by heart for I have seen body art too much to know it is a sign of “disrespecting” one’s own body. Even small erasable body art may still be disapproving in God’s eyes since it involves marking the body, which should represent the Body of Christ?
DeleteI have also seen some marks with the cross, Jesus, and I think the Virgin Mary as well. Regardless of the intent, whether it is well-meaning or not, a tattoo is a tattoo, but would temporary inkings be also viewed by God as forbidden?
Honestly, I have no idea. I would think temporary would be okay? I think we all just need to be careful about these things, esp things the Bible speaks of as being negative. Remember, we are not under the law in the OT.. such things as not eating shell fish and other dietary laws, also keeping all the feast days. These things Jesus set us free from from "having" to do. The moral laws are completely different. We are to walk in holiness. So, I'm not sure if a tattoo is a sin or just displeasing to God.? Either way, we should be careful and allow the Holy Spirit to lead us. :-)
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