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Index To All Sections
Emphasis Mine In Bible Verses
When the Gospel Becomes a Lie
The Bible places a great deal of importance on preaching as it is the primary means by which the Gospel is communicated.
Jesus Himself instructed His disciples to "go into all the world and teach the Gospel".
Paul wrote that it is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:15-16).
Christians who do not hold to reformed beliefs takes verses like John 3:16 very seriously thus can in good conscience tell a non believer that God loves them enough to send His Son to pay the price for their sins and if they believe this, repent of their sins and obey the Father/Jesus' commands they will become part of the Father's coming kingdom.
It is a completely different story when a Calvinist shares the Gospel with nonbelievers simply because he doesn’t have a clue as to which (if any) of those he is speaking to are the elect. He cannot, with any integrity whatsoever and without crossing his fingers behind his back, tell people to "believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and they will be saved'.
ANY attempt to persuade an unbeliever to repent and come to faith in Christ conveys the impression that he can choose to do so. If, as Calvinism believes, God has limited the offer to only a select few it is absolutely inexcusable to stand before an audience of any size and tell them that God will save them if they will put their trust in Christ.
In fact in light of Jesus’ prediction that few will find the way it is safe to assume that the vast majority of people that a Calvinist preaches the Gospel to are being told something that simply isn't true.
See The Message of the Bible Salvation And Repentance - The Forgotten Message.
Hope Trumps Honesty
In an article entitled An Evangelistic Five Point Calvinist is Possible John Rothra (Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Divinity) says (All Emphasis Added)
We can share the Gospel with everyone and pray that they accept Jesus because we know that there is a chance they just might come to believe!
(The "might" means they just might be one of the elect) He goes on to say...
As a "five pointer," I can say with confidence that I do not know if the next person I come across is a believer or an atheist. I do not know if they are elect or reprobate. What I do know is that I must share Jesus with them and give them an opportunity to respond.
And
From our perspective there is a 50/50 chance the person we encounter may be elect, but a 100% chance that without Christ they will die in their sin. There is a 100% guarantee that if nobody shares the Gospel with them, they will not be saved (Rom 10:17). [01]
And here is what makes no sense. The second point of Calvinism is “Unconditional Election”. Correct me if I am wrong but the word unconditional means without conditions or limitations. However, if as John Rothra says ‘they will not be saved if nobody shares the Gospel with them’ means a persons salvation is dependent on hearing the Gospel. It is conditional.
The Calvinist site Gotquestions.org further adds, (Emphasis Added).
The Gospel is to be preached to everyone, because it is the power of God to salvation for all who believe (Romans 1:16) and it is the means that God has ordained by which the elect will be saved (Romans 10:14-17). Also, the evangelist does not need to tell the unbeliever that "Christ died for your sins" specifically. All he needs to proclaim is that Christ died to pay the penalty for sin and provide a way for sinners to be reconciled to a holy God. Believe in Him and you will be saved... [02]
There are a myriad of things wrong with the above statement
1.) In the first place Romans 10:14-17 does not say the preaching of the Gospel is the means that God ordained “by which the elect will be saved”.
How then are they to call on Him in whom they have not believed? How are they to believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher? But how are they to preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written: “how beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!” However, they did not all heed the good news; for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?” So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. (Romans 10:14-17 NASB)
Much to the contrary the verse immediately before the ones quoted (i.e. verse 13) reads
Paul used the Greek word pas many times. For example,
What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all (Gk. pas) under sin; (Romans 3:9 NASB)
Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all (Gk. pas) mankind, because all (Gk. pas) sinned— (Romans 5:12 NASB)
If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all (Gk. pas) people. (Romans 12:18 NASB)
See more about the word ‘all’ in Limited Atonement
2.) In the second place, considering the majority of people are not the 'elect' telling your audience to "believe in Him and you will be saved means there is much more than a 50/50 chance it is a flat out lie as far as most of the audience is concerned.
3.) Thirdly, when have you ever heard any evangelist or preacher depersonalize the message to the point it conveys nothing more that a general statement that Christ died to pay the penalty for sin. On the contrary the effort is always made to convince the hearer/s that they themselves are sinners who desperately need to repent and be saved.
Certainly the first evangelists did.
Were Peter, Paul, and Silas Guilty of the Same Deception?
Acts 2:37-38
tells us that on Pentecost when the crowd in Jerusalem heard what Peter had said they were deeply affected and asked Peter and the rest of the apostles what they should do. Peter's reply directed at every single person in the audience was ...
Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive (Gk. lēmpsesthe) the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:38 NASB)
The phrase will receive is the future indicative tense - which describes things that will or are likely to occur at a future time. The exact form of this verb is used four other times. In each case it describes the certainty of what will happen,
And whatever you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive (Gk. lēmpsesthe) it all.” (Matthew 21:22 NASB)
I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, you will receive (Gk. lēmpsesthe) him. (John 5:43 NASB)
Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive (Gk. lēmpsesthe), so that your joy may be made full. (John 16:24 NASB)
but you will receive (Gk. lēmpsesthe) power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and Samaria, and as far as the remotest part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8 NASB) [03]
In other words, If only the elect among them were able to repent and believe, Peter was a barefaced liar when he told them they (all of them) would receive the Holy Spirit
Acts 16:30-31
Similarly, Paul and Silas did not beat around the bush when asked by the Philippian jailer what he had to do to be saved. Their reply was almost identical to Peter's on the day of Pentecost (above)...
Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will (Gk. sothese) be saved, you and your household." (Acts 16:30-31)
Sothese, a future indicative verb but in the passive tense, is also used in ...
And he reported to us how he had seen the angel standing in his house, and saying, ‘Send some men to Joppa and have Simon, who is also called Peter, brought here; and he will speak words to you by which you will (Gk. sothese) be saved, you and all your household.’ (Acts 11:13-14 NASB)
that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead you will (Gk. sothese) be saved; [04]
Unless they KNEW beyond a shadow of doubt that their listener/s were numbered among the elect how could Peter, Paul and Silas have said what they did?
Praying for the Lost
John Piper founder of desiringGod.org says this (Emphasis Added)
God always correlates, in his eternal decrees, the election of a person and the evangelization of that person, just like he correlates events that he has decreed and the necessary prayers for those events. Now, that correlation means that the decreed event won't happen without our decreed prayers. [05]
I take this to mean that the only people God 'elects' are those whom He knows will actually hear the Gospel message?
Once again I have to bring up the fact that the second point of Calvinism is “Unconditional Election” i.e. without conditions or limitations. One quite simply cannot have it both ways. Either every individual's salvation or damnation has already been predetermined, or their salvation is dependent on hearing the Gospel.
Additionally, unless Paul had was in the dark regarding unconditional election his "prayer to God" for the salvation of his fellow Jews was an exercise in futility is many of their cases as any prayer for those who have not been elected accomplishes nothing.
been one has to wonder why
Why then did Paul pray for the lost? In the opening verse of the tenth chapter of Romans Paul said his "heart's desire" and his read the final verses of the preceding chapter in order to establish context).
And that is not all - Not only does the Calvinist pray-er or preacher not know who among those he is speaking to is one of the elect but he cannot know if he himself is saved.
How Can Any Calvinist KNOW He is Saved?
John Murray who for many years was teacher of systematic theology at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia says it is possible to exhibit all the outward signs of faith - but yet not be genuinely saved (Emphasis Added
The Scripture itself, therefore, leads us to the conclusion that it is possible to have a very uplifting, ennobling, reforming, and exhilarating experience of the power and truth of the gospel, to come into such close contact with the supernatural forces which are operative in God's kingdom of grace that these forces produce effects in us which to human observations are hardly distinguishable from those produces by God's regenerating and sanctifying grace and yet not be partakers of Christ and heirs of eternal life. [06]
Certainly an observer can be fooled by a person's outward signs of faith in Christ but the problem is that the person concerned can be fooled as well. If salvation is solely of God and it is entirely His decision whether or not to extend His saving grace to any individual, then no one can know with any degree of certainty that he or she is a recipient of that grace.
Your "faith" may be just the result of fervor stirred by persuasive preaching or your own human reasoning. It may be a temporary phase which you might, in time, grow out of.
Your "born again" experience may be the result of a mystical experience the likes of which are experienced by people of many faiths and persuasions.
John Rothra offers one way to know if someone is one of the elect (Emphasis Added)
We do not know who it is God chose to save. We do not know if the person we encounter is elect or not merely by looking at them. The only time we become privy to this information is after the fact, either after they confess their faith in Christ alone, by which we know they are elect, or after they die without faith in Christ, by which we know they are not elect. [07]
Not true!
There have been many who have "confessed their faith" in Christ as Savior then fallen away some time later. Because Calvinists claim that a person who falls away from the faith was never really saved in the first place nobody can claim they know who the elect are based on them making a confession of faith.
John Murray does not agree that a person confessing their faith in Christ alone tells us that "they are elect". In his book - Redemption Accomplished and Applied, he says Jesus
set up a criterion by which true disciples may be distinguished" and that "criterion is continuance in Jesus' word". (All Emphasis Added). [08]
In other words, only a genuinely saved person - a "true disciple" will endure to the end. But according to the Bible this is not true. The Scriptures issue warnings against falling. What is important to note is that one has to be in the faith before one can fall from it.
Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall. (1 Corinthians 10:12)
But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, (1 Timothy 4:1 NASB)
Additionally, if people are saved because God chose them to be so from the foundation of the world why do numerous passages liberally sprinkled throughout the New Testament warn believers to be careful about not wandering from the faith and not falling from a secure position. If the Father Himself is enabling believers to persevere, what exactly is the point of not only warning them but doing so repeatedly and emphatically. Those who are genuinely saved supposedly cannot do otherwise. See The Warnings in Perseverance of The Saints
Speaking about overseers in the church Paul said he should not be (his words very applicable to John Calvin himself who was a fairly new convert when he wrote ‘Institutes of the Christian Religion'. HERE (Scroll down slightly)
"... a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil. And he must have a good reputation with those outside the church, so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. (1 Timothy 3:6-7 NASB)
The word 'convert' was translated form the Greek neophutos which means 'newly planted'. According to Calvinism the only way this newly planted convert could fall into condemnation or reproach would be if he wasn't a genuine convert in the first place. Yet this man who was apparently not a ‘true convert’ became an overseer in the church.
There are people who at one time been fully persuaded that their faith was of strong - even of paramount importance in their lives. They demonstrated all the fruits of the Spirit and may even have spent time preaching the word but something went horribly wrong and they fell away. In at least one case that I remember reading about, an immense personal tragedy caused a person to fall away from God.
Unfortunately none of us can say with 100% certainty that we would not react the same way.
If you are a Calvinist, all you can do is keep "working" at it and hope like the blazes that you are not wrong and you are indeed one of God's elect. If you happen to be one of the elect, then you are assured of being able to persevere to the end.
Somehow that doesn't give me a very warm feeling.
What does give me security is what the Word of God tells us
These things have I written unto you, that ye may know (Greek eido) that ye have eternal life, even unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God. [1 John 5:13]
If you know (Greek eido) that He is righteous, you know (Greek eido) that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him. (1 John 2:29 NASB)
Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know (Greek eido) that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. (1 John 3:2 NASB)
We know (Greek eido) that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death. (1 John 3:14 NASB)
Eido literally or figuratively means to see and has been translated so in literally hundreds of New Testament verses. However, by implication eido means to know, or to be sure of as in 1 John 3:5 in which John uses eido to mean definitively 'know'
You know (Greek eido) that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin. (1 John 3:5 NASB)
John Calvin - Hope In An Unknown
It is claimed that John Calvin's several volume long Institutes of the Christian Religion explores both "knowledge of God" and "knowledge of ourselves" with "profound theological insight". He himself claimed that Institutes was meant to "aid those who desire to be instructed in the doctrine of salvation". Yet the tragedy was that far from being able to rest on the unshakeable promises of God, his only hope was that God had indeed selected him to be saved... something even he had no way of knowing. (All Emphasis Added)
I confess to live and die in this faith which He has given me, inasmuch as I have no other hope or refuge than His predestination upon which my entire salvation is grounded. I embrace the grace which He has offered me in our Lord Jesus Christ and accept the merits of His suffering and dying, that through them all my sins are buried; and I humbly beg Him to wash me and cleanse me with the blood of our great Redeemer so that I, when I shall appear before His face may bear His likeness. [09]
One more contradiction.
Calvin said his entire salvation was grounded in God's predestination however, he had no possible way of knowing whether or not he was predestined to salvation in which case what use was it to "humbly beg" God to 'wash and cleanse him with the blood of Christ so that when he appeared before Christ face he might "bear His likeness"
When the smoke clears the fact the Calvinist can only hope that the person they are talking with is one of the elect. And should the person actually repent and be baptized, they have to further hope that the person is not a false convert who will believe for a while and then fall away.
Continue On To Part IV - The Sovereignty and Character of God HERE
Sovereignty: Calvinists assume that God is not sovereign if a man has to ability to reject or ignore the Gospel. This is a very misguided view of what His sovereignty means.
Character: Isn't a deliberate crime committed by a person plain evidence of the moral character of that individual? In fact, doesn't the Bible itself tell us that the fruit of a tree is a clear indication of how good or productive the tree is. So why is it any different with God? On what basis are we to believe that our God is a just, holy and loving God? Because He said so? Not good enough. And no, this is not blasphemy. If you think about it, the Scriptures consistently make appeal to evidence to support it's truth claims. Which means that we use evidence to judge whether something is true or not.
End Notes
[01] John L. Rothra. An Evangelistic Five Point Calvinist is Possible.
https://www.johnrothra.com/know/theology/an-evangelistic-five-point-calvinist-is-possible/
[02] Got Questions Ministries. Limited Atonement - is it Biblical? http://www.gotquestions.org/limited-atonement.html
[03] https://biblehub.com/greek/le_mpsesthe_2983.htm
[04] https://biblehub.com/greek/so_the_se__4982.htm
[05] Interview with John Piper. Can an Elect Person Die Without Hearing the Gospel?
https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/can-an-elect-person-die-without-hearing-the-gospel
[06] John Murray. Redemption Accomplished and Applied. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, Reprint edition (December 12, 1955 Pg. 153
[07] John L. Rothra. An Evangelistic Five Point Calvinist is Possible.
https://www.johnrothra.com/know/theology/an-evangelistic-five-point-calvinist-is-possible/
[08]John Murray. Redemption Accomplished and Applied. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, Reprint edition (December 12, 1955 Pg. 151
[09] Steven J. Lawson. The Expository Genius of John Calvin. Reformation Trust Publishing (March 1, 2007). Page 17
[09] Steven J. Lawson. The Expository Genius of John Calvin. Reformation Trust Publishing (March 1, 2007). Page 17].
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