"For it is written,
that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid,
the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the
bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the
freewoman was by promise. Which things are an
allegory: for these are the two covenants; the
one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to
bondage, which is Agar."---Galatians 4:22-24.
Here Paul likens
Isaac's birth to the New Covenant relationship, and
Ishmael is compared to the Old Covenant. How
do the Covenants relate to these two sons of
GOD told Abraham he would have a son by Sarah.
Because Sarah was past age, Abraham did not believe
it possible for the promise to be fulfilled. So,
falling back on the old-covenant principle of trying
to do it in human strength and devising, Abraham
took a concubine, Hagar the maid, to help things
The son born of
this arrangement was compared to the old-covenant
idea of "we will do."
When Isaac was
born of Sarah, it was a miracle of grace. GOD
actually brought supernatural life into a dead womb
so that Isaac could be born. This represents the re
- generating miracle of grace that makes obedience
possible under the New Covenant.
It does not depend
on poor promises of man, but on the unfailing
assurance of GOD. "I will put My laws into
their mind, and write them into their hearts: and I
will be to them a GOD."-----Hebrews 8:10-12.
Only by the
indwelling miracle grace of GOD can the law be
One fact appears in this allegory of the two
covenants. The child of promise represents the New
Covenant because Abraham obeyed GOD and followed His
instruction in begetting that miracle child.
Those under the
New Covenant are those who obey GODs Commandments.
Ishmael represents dis -obedience to GODs way.
Commandment - breakers are the ones who are
operating under the old covenant.
"For if the first
covenant had been faultless, then should no place
have been sought for the second. For finding fault
with them, He saith, Behold, the days come, saith
the LORD, when I will make a New Covenant with the
house of Israel and with the house of Judah."---Hebrews
Notice that is was
the people that were faulty in this covenant
relationship. They had promised GOD to obey [Exodus
19:5-8] to keep the Ten Commandments which are the
words of the covenant [Exodus 34:28].
It was ratified by
the sprinkling of animal blood [Ex.24:7]. The poor
promises of the people failed because they tried to
obey in human strength alone.
In comparison, the
New Covenant was instituted and ratified by the
blood of JESUS at His
death [Hebrews 12:24; Matthew 26:28]. It went into
effect when He died.
"For a testament [covenant] is of force after men
are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all
while the testator liveth."----Hebrews 9:17.
Now get this about
the New Covenant: "Though it be but a man's
covenant, yet if be confirmed, no man disannuleth,
or addeth thereto."---Galatians 3:15
This means that
after the death of CHRIST, nothing could be added to
or taken away from the New Covenant. This is why
JESUS introduced the Lords supper on Thursday night
before He died - so that it would come under the New
Covenant [Matthew 26:28].
But think about
this question, and do not miss the importance of it.
When did Sunday-keeping begin? All will answer:
"after the resurrection of JESUS." Then it could not
be part of the New Covenant. Nothing could be added
after the death of JESUS, the Testator.
People come and say that the Sabbath belongs to the
Jews and the old covenant. Where does it say in the
Bible that the new covenant was made with the
Gentiles? It doesn't. "Wherefore
remember, that you being in time past Gentiles in
the flesh..........That at that time you were
without Christ, being aliens from the Commonwealth
of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of
Next we want to
mention the "ARK" of the New and the Old Covenant.
Moses was only given a copy of what was already in
heaven [Heb 8:1-5] which included the ark and the
tables of the covenant [Heb 9:4].
From the New
Testament [Covenant] we can clearly see that the Ten
Commandments play a major role in the day of
judgment [Revelation 11:18,19]. It is inclusive of
the Seventh Day Sabbath of the fourth commandment,
the LORDs day [Revelation 1:10]. [aka Saturday].
stop breaking the Ten Commandments! JESUS found them
so important that He even kept the Sabbath Day holy
in His deathbed after the crucifixion from Friday
night till after Saturday night. He did not think it
nailed to the cross! He also taught that the
Sabbath is of such great importance that it must be
kept even in the flight from persecution [Matthew
stop breaking the Sabbath! John the last disciple at
Patmos in A.D. 90 that is 60 years after the
crucifixion was in vision on the Lord's day
[Revelation 1:10] and the only biblical Lord's day
is the Sabbath, aka Saturday of which JESUS is Lord
[Matthew 12:8] and Christians that break the
commandments and teach others to break them, would
be in danger of the judgment.
Because we are under the New Covenant by our act of
faith in accepting the promise of GOD to write His
Law into our hearts, we are no longer "by nature the
children of wrath, even as others" [Eph.2:3], but
the children of promise.
The figure is apt.
We become children of GOD by the sacrifice of our
Lord who died for our sins, which is the
transgression of the Law. By accepting through faith
GOD's promise of a new covenant relationship. Isaac
also was a child of promise, an answer to an act of
faith on Abraham's part. Blending the two ideas,
Paul really comes to the climax of his allegory with
these words: "Now we Brethren, as Isaac was, are the
children of promise."
Abraham's act of
faith in believing GOD'S promise was counted him for
righteousness. Our act of faith in believing GOD'S
promise is counted unto us for righteousness. That
is the way we acquire true righteousness, new
"And why did the LORD make His promise to Abraham?
Because that Abraham obeyed My voice, and kept My
charge, My Commandments, My statutes, and My Laws."
[Gen.26:5]. JESUS came to die so that these may find
fulfillment inside us [Romans 8:3+4].
And how are those
described who are literally waiting to be taken to
Jerusalem who is above? "Here are they that keep the
Commandments of GOD, and the faith of JESUS."
[Revelation 14:12]. No, Paul in Galatians does not
teach freedom from the Law of GOD. He teaches
freedom from the bondage of sin, freedom from
transgression of the Law of GOD, through JESUS
CHRIST and the new covenant relationship. Breaking
the bondage and law of our inherited sinful nature.
There are websites that insist that the new
covenant belongs to the literal nation of Israel
rather than the new 'spiritual' nation. Yet their
indexing shows that they also list at the same time
sites that are called "New Covenant churches" who
are Christians who do not belong to the literal
nation of Israel. What a confusion! The Bible calls
usually misquote Jeremiah 31:31 where it does not
say that GOD will make the new covenant with the
nation of Israel, but with the house of Israel.
There is a big difference. The confusion started in
the 1830's with the new Dispensationalists and the
Scofield reference Bible.
GOD had set the nation of Israel an ultimatum to
finish with sin by accepting the Messiah [Daniel 9]
which is CHRIST the Saviour from sin [Matthew 1:21]
which they rejected.
"And so all Israel
shall be saved: as
it is written, There
shall come out of
Sion (Zion) the
Deliverer, and shall
The context of
this chapter makes
it very plain that
Paul was not talking
about Israel after
the flesh. Who
is Israel who will
be saved? Paul
had just finished
spelling it out in
he described how the
Gentiles would be
grafted into the
As the Gentiles
(represented by the
wild olive tree)
were grafted in,
they began to
partake of "the root
and fatness" of the
natural branches, "
or Jews (verse 21),
were cut off because
of unbelief, and
were accepted as
In Galatians 3:29
Paul said, "And if
ye be Christ's, then
are ye Abraham's
seed, and heirs
according to the
The picture grows
clearer still as we
read Romans 9:6-8.
"For they are not
all Israel, which
are of Israel:
they are the seed of
Abraham, are they
is, They which are
the children of the
flesh, these are not
the children of God:
but the children of
the promise are
counted for the
So it is faith that
makes one a
not the accident of
In the new birth
that places Jew and
Gentile into the
spiritual family of
God, all of whom
will be saved.
Jesus came to
break down the walls
of partition. There
is now no difference
between Jews and
Gentiles. That is
why James could
greet all the 12
tribes of Israel
[James 1:1] because
we are now all under
the heading of
Salvation is of the
Jews, Jesus said.
The Gospel of
is a matter
of propitiation, a ransom, whereby our sins were
washed away by Christ's bloody death, which was
offered as a payment to satisfy God's holy law.
by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own
blood he entered in once into the holy place, having
obtained eternal redemption for us." Heb.
Works are important but they follow after salvation
and are the product of Salvation rather than the
means of it in the new covenant. [Rom 4:3,4 Eph
2:8-10 Rom 11:6].
The difference between saying that Salvation is by
faith without works and that works follow and saying
that Salvation is by faith with works or faith plus
works is the difference between the true and the
false Gospel of Grace and the new covenant.
popularized by Augustine [Roman Catholic] and Calvin
[Protestant] and developed into a theology called
TULIP which stands for: 1.]Total depravity
2.] Unconditional Election 3.] Limited
Atonement 4.] Irresistible Grace 5.] Perseverance
of the Saints. The once saved always saved doctrine
can be traced back to Gnosticism of the 2nd and 3rd
Gnosticism was a religious movement that flourished
during the second and third centuries A. D., and
presented a major challenge to Christianity. Most
Gnostic sects professed Christianity, but their
beliefs differed sharply from those of the majority
of the early Christians. The term Gnosticism is
derived from the Greek word gnosis ("revealed
knowledge"). The Gnostics taught that sparks or
seeds of the Divine Being were imprisoned into
certain human beings. Reawakened by knowledge, the
divine element in humanity can return to its proper
home in the transcendent spiritual realm.
The gnostics divided mankind into three
categories: the spiritual (pneumatic), the
carnal (hylic), and the in-between (psychic).
The spiritual Christians were a special or higher
class than the ordinary Christians. They were said
to be saved regardless of what they did because they
had received, as the elect of the good deity, a
divine spark into their beings that allowed them to
be redeemed. This teaching is strikingly similar to
the Calvinistic doctrine that God elected some
people to be saved and others to be lost.
and Calvinists taught that any sinful action
does not affect their eternal salvation. The
dualistic Gnostic teaching was illustrated by
comparing their spiritual nature to a pure
golden ring and their material body to a pile
manure. The ring can be placed into a pile of
dung, but is not affected by the filthiness of
the dung. Its purity remains unchanged.
Both agree that there is nothing
that can cause a saved persons to loose their
salvation. The Gnostic took this teachings to
its ultimate conclusion by pursuing their own
lust and passions without restraints.
Calvinists, however, believe that Christians who
are saved grow in sanctification, though they
would not lose their salvation, if they did not.
The similarities outlined above
between Gnosticism and the Calvinistic doctrine
of "Once saved, always saved," are too numerous
to be ignored. They serve to remind us that the
teaching of eternal security is pagan in its
origin and stands in open opposition to the
teaching of the Bible.
Calvinism is a theology that was developed by
John Calvin in the 1500s. He presented this
theology in his Institutes of Christian Religion,
which subsequently became the cornerstone of
Presbyterian and Reformed theology. It is also
called TULIP theology. Calvin himself did not use
the term TULIP to describe his theology, but it
is an accurate, though simplified, representation
of his views, and every standard point of TULIP
theology can be found in Calvin's Institutes.
A Summary of TULIP Theology [also known as OASIS:
"Once saved always saved"]
Total Depravity: Man is totally
corrupt and dead in his sin so that he cannot even
respond to the
gospel unless God sovereignty enables him, which
only happens if he is one of the elect.
Unconditional Election: God
unconditionally chooses who will be called to
believed that God also chooses who will go to hell.
"[God] devotes to destruction whom he
pleases S they are predestinated to eternal death
without any demerit of their own, merely by his
sovereign will. S he orders all things by his
counsel and decree in such a manner, that some
men are born devoted from the womb to certain death,
that his name by glorified in their
destruction. ... God chooses whom he will as his
children S while he rejects and reprobates
others" (Institutes of Christian Religion, Book III,
Limited Atonement: The death of Christ
was only for those God will call to salvation.
denounced the universal offer of the Gospel. "When
it appears that when the doctrine of
salvation is offered to all for their effectual
benefit, it is a corrupt prostitution of that
which is declared to be reserved particularly for
the children of the church" (Institutes, Book III,
Irresistible Grace: God's call to the
elect is effective and cannot be resisted. "That
time, have faith given them by God, and others have
it not given, proceeds from his eternal
decree; for 'known unto God are all his works from
the beginning,' etc. (Acts 15:18; Ephesians
1:11). According to which decree he graciously
softens the hearts of the elect, however hard,
and he bends them to believe; but the non-elect he
leaves, in his judgment, to their own
perversity and hardness" (summary derived from the
Synod of Dort).
Perseverance of the Saints: Those who
are elected and drawn will continue in the faith.
God hath accepted in the Beloved, and sanctified by
His Spirit, will never totally nor finally
fall away from the state of grace, but shall
certainly persevere to the end; and though they
may fall through neglect and temptation, into sin,
whereby they grieve the Spirit, impair their
graces and comforts, bring reproach on the Church,
and temporal judgments on themselves, yet
they shall be renewed again unto repentance, and be
kept by the power of God through faith unto
salvation" (Abstract of Principles, 1858).
SOME INTRODUCTORY POINTS
John Calvin has caused great and unnecessary divisions among God's people
because of his errors, and few things have hindered
biblical evangelism more than Calvinism. It almost
killed the Baptist churches of England
in the 18th and early 19th century. Among
Calvinists, evangelism is done IN SPITE OF
Calvinism, not because of it. Baptist historian
Thomas Armitage wrote: "William Carey's 'Inquiry
into the Obligations of Christians to use means for
the Conversion of the Heathen' was published in
1792, but found few readers and produced
little effect. To most of the Baptists his views
were visionary and even wild, in open conflict with
God's sovereignty. At a meeting of ministers, where
the senior Ryland presided, Carey proposed that at
the next meeting they discuss the duty of attempting
to spread the Gospel amongst the heathen. S Ryland,
sprang to his feet and ordered Carey to sit down,
saying: 'When God pleases to convert the heathen,
he will do it without your aid or mine!'"
Things were not much better when Spurgeon took his
first pastorate in 1854. This situation is described
in Spurgeon vs. the Hyper Calvinists by Iain Murray.
Many Calvinists opposed Spurgeon and denounced
invitations for sinners to come to Christ. For
example, one Calvinist publication warned, "...to
preach that it is man's duty to
believe savingly in Christ is absurd" (Earthen
It is important to understand that Calvinism is an
unsettled theology. Calvinists are seriously divided
among themselves and always have been. There is
Supralapsarianism vs. Sublapsarianism vs.
Supralapsarians hold that God decreed the fall of
Adam; the Sublapsarians, that he permitted it"
(McClintock & Strong). The Calvinists at the Synod
of Dort were divided on many issues, including
lapsarianism. The Swiss Calvinists who wrote the
Helvetic Consensus Formula in 1675 were in conflict
with the French Calvinists of the
School of Saumur. The are Strict Calvinists and
Moderate Calvinists, Hyper and non-Hyper (differing
especially on reprobation and the extent of the
atonement), 5 pointers, 4 pointers, 3 pointers, 2
points. In America Calvinists were divided into Old
School and the New School. As we have seen, the
Calvinists of England were divided
in the 19th century.
Whenever, therefore, one tries to state TULIP
theology and then refute it, there are Calvinists
who will argue with you that you are misrepresenting
Calvinism. It is not so much that you are
misrepresenting Calvinism, though. You might be
quoting directly from various Calvinists or even
from Calvin himself. The problem is that
you are misrepresenting their Calvinism! There are
Calvin Calvinists and Thomas Fuller Calvinists and
Arthur W. Pink Calvinists and Presbyterian
Calvinists and Baptist Calvinists and many other
sorts of Calvinists. Many
Calvinists have never read Calvin's Institutes of
Christian Religion for themselves. They are merely
following someone who follows someone who allegedly
Calvinists believe that they have the right to
reject or modify some parts of or conclusions of
Calvin. We also have the right to reject the entire
thing if we are convinced that it is not supported
It is not wise to follow John Calvin; he was unsound at the very
foundation of the Christian faith. Calvin never gave
a testimony of the new birth; rather he identified
with his Catholic infant baptism. Note the following
quotes from his Institutes: "At whatever time we are
baptized, we are washed and purified once for the
whole of life" (Institutes, IV). "By baptism we are
ingrafted into the body of Christ ... infants are to
be baptized ... children of Christians, as they are
immediately on their birth received by God as heirs
of the covenant, are also to be
admitted to baptism" (Institutes, IV).
Calvin was vicious toward his enemies, acting more
like a devouring wolf than a harmless sheep.
Historian William Jones observed that "that most
hateful feature of popery adhered to Calvin through
life, the spirit of persecution." Note how he
described his theological opponents: "...all that
filth and villainy...mad dogs who vomit their filth
against the majesty of God and want to pervert all
religion. Must they be spared?" (Oct. 16, 1555). He
hated the Anabaptists and called them "henchmen of
Four men who disagreed with him on who should be
admitted to the Lord's Supper were beheaded,
quartered, and their body parts hung in strategic
locations in Geneva as a warning to others. He
burned Michael Servetus (for rejecting infant
baptism and for denying Christ's deity). Calvin
wrote about Servetus, "One should not be content
with simply killing such people, but should burn
God does require His people to choose between Calvinism and Arminianism! The Bible says
"prove all things; hold fast that which is good" (1
Thess. 5:21). The Bible itself is the test of truth,
not some man's systematic theology. We have the
right and responsibility to test every theology by
the Bible, and we are free before the Lord to reject
any part of it or even all of it. We do not have to
make a choice between human
theologies. I can stand strictly and exclusively
upon the Bible itself. It is the sole authority for
faith and practice. Many Calvinists won't allow
that, though. James White, author of "The Truth
about the King James Bible Controversy" and he
urged us to "defend Arminianism."
If he is not a Calvinist, he is surely an Armenian.
Some of the things that we appreciate about Calvinism. Though
we do not agree with Calvinist theology, there are
many things that we appreciate about Calvinism,
especially in contrast to the shallow, man-centered
theology and evangelism that is so popular today
even among fundamental Baptist churches. Four things
come to mind:
First, Calvinism exalts God as the sole Author of
salvation and gives glory to Him alone. In this, it
is exactly correct and perfectly biblical and right
on target. There is no salvation apart from God.
There is no good in man and there is nothing he can
do to achieve his salvation. It must be of God
entirely. Except that God in His mercy and grace has
provided salvation in Christ and has drawn men to
this salvation, convicting them and enlightening
them and granting them faith and repentance (which
are both gifts of God), no man would be saved. All
glory to God.
Second, Calvinism humbles man and gives him no role
in salvation and nothing to glory of. This is the
flip side of the previous point, and in this,
Calvinism is perfectly scriptural. The Bible gives
man nothing whatsoever of which to glory. Salvation
is entirely of God and nothing of man. Romans 4:2
says that if Abraham's salvation were not entirely
of God he would have something to boast of, but of
course that is impossible because no man can ever
boast of anything before a thrice holy God. Even
man's righteousness, his very best deeds, is but
filthy rags before God (Isaiah 64:6).
Third, Calvinism gives eternal security to the
believer. Calvinism promises eternal security to the
believer, because it knows that (1) salvation is
entirely of God's grace and thus depends nothing
whatsoever on man's puny works whether good or bad,
(2) God has elected and ordained the saved person to
a glorious eternal inheritance,
and (3) the saved persevere in the faith through the
effective working of the indwelling Holy Spirit. In
this it is right on target.
Fourth, Calvinism teaches that the elect will give
evidence of their calling. The Calvinist knows that
salvation produces a dramatic change in a person's
life, and in this he is right on target. Any
"salvation" that does not result in a change of life
and direction and thinking and purpose is not a
CENTRAL ERRORS OF CALVINISM
1. Augustine and Calvinism turns theology into
Calvinism goes beyond biblical statements in an
attempt to systematize the mysteries of God. John
Calvin was a philosopher; his Institutes are
extremely philosophical. It was first written when
his mind was still filled with the
philosophy that he had studied as a Catholic priest.
Theology is simply believing and interpreting the
The Bible warns against philosophy and leaving the
simplicity of Christ (Col. 2:8; 2 Cor. 11:3).
And yet Calvinism is not simple; it is very
complicated. James White often makes the claim that
Dave Hunt doesn't understand Calvinism, even though
he of reasonable intelligence and hasstudied the
issue. This highlights the complexity and
philosophical nature of Calvinism. It results in an
elitist mentality. Consider some of the terms that
James White uses in his debate with Dave Hunt:
compatibalism, monergism versus synergism, electing
grace vs. irresistible grace, effectual calling vs.
general calling, effective atonement vs.
hypothetical atonement, libertarian
free will vs. the bondage of the will. Other
Calvinists speak of objective grace and subjective
grace, natural ability and moral ability, mediate
vs. immediate imputation of Adam's sin,
infralapsarianism, and antecedent hypothetical will.
We believe that Calvinism is more akin to philosophy
than to sound Bible theology.
2. The Calvinist system tries to reconcile things
that cannot be reconciled in this world.Consider
Acts 13:48 and Acts 13:46.Verse 48 is a pet
Calvinist verse: "And when the Gentiles heard this,
they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord:
and as many as were ordained to eternal life
believed." The Calvinist says, "See, here is a plain
statement that those who believe are those who are
sovereignly ordained to believe."
Yet in verse 46 we see a different story. "Then Paul
and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary
that the word of God should first have been spoken
to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge
yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn
to the Gentiles." Here we see that salvation is
associated with man's response to the gospel. These
Jews did not go to Hell because they were not part
of the elect but because they refused to believe.
Consider John 6:37 and John 6:40
Again, John 6:37 is a favorite Calvinist proof text.
"All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and
him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out."
The Calvinist finds his doctrine of sovereign
election and irresistible grace here.
Yet John 6:40 says, "And this is the will of him
that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son,
and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and
I will raise him up at the last day." This is not
Calvinism. Here the sovereign will of God is said to
be that each and every sinner who believes on Christ
will be saved. Here the sovereign will of God is to
allow men a choice in salvation, and a great many
other verses agree.
Consider John 6:44 and John 12:32
John 6:44 is another Calvinist proof text. "No man
can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me
draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day."
The Calvinist finds sovereign election and
irresistible grace here.
Yet John 12:32 says, "And I, if I be lifted up from
the earth, will draw all men unto me." Here we see
that God is drawing all men to Christ.
How can these seemingly contradictory things be
reconciled? Calvinism doesn't have the answer,
because its proposed solution ignores or twists too
many clear Scriptures.
We do not believe these things can be properly
reconciled in this present world. We should simply
let them stand and not try to force them into a
perfectly formed theological system. God truly
elects and man truly chooses. God elects and yet
every man is urged to be saved and every man can be
saved. God elects and yet sent His Son
to die for the whole world. God elects and yet does
not want any sinner to perish. All are equally true
and Scriptural, so let them stand.
3. Calvinism's doctrines are contrary to the plain
teaching of God's Word.
The Bible vs. the Calvinist doctrine that faith is a
Calvinism says that grace means man cannot do
anything, cannot even believe, because otherwise
grace would not be grace and the sinner would have
something to boast of.
First of all, this is unscriptural, because the
Bible plainly says faith and believing are not works
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that
not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of
works, lest any man should boast" (Eph. 2:8-9).
"But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him
that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted
for righteousness" (Rom. 4:5).
Furthermore, this doctrine is unreasonable.
Salvation can be likened to receiving a gift,
accepting a pardon, and taking a life preserver. If
someone purchases a nice gift for me and I accept
it, do I have anything to boast of? If I am in
prison on death row for my crimes and the governor
mercifully offers me a pardon and I accept it, have
I done anything that I could boast of? If I am
drowning in the ocean and a boat pulls alongside and
offers to rescue me and I allow them to do that,
have I thereby had some part in my salvation from
drowning? Have I done
something I could boast of? Of course not. When the
sinner hears that Christ loves him and died for him
and rose from the dead and offers him eternal
salvation and the sinner receives that salvation,
that is not works. The sinner has nothing to boast
The Bible vs. the Calvinist doctrine of the total
depravity of man
The Bible teaches that man is morally corrupt (Jer.
17:9; Rom. 3:10-18) and dead in trespasses and sins
(Eph. 2:1) and spiritually blind (1 Cor. 2:14), but
it does not teach that man cannot respond to the
Gospel. It teaches, rather, that God enables men to
respond, giving them light (Jn. 1:9), drawing them (Jn.
12:32), convicting them (Jn. 16:8), calling them
through the gospel (2 Thess. 2:14), and commanding
them to repent (Acts 17:30) and believe on Christ
The Bible vs. the Calvinist doctrine of irresistible
Consider Cain. Gen. 4:6,7 -- "And the LORD said unto
Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance
fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be
accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at
the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and
thou shalt rule over him."
God spoke to Cain and urged him not to act on the
jealous anger that was burning in his heart, and yet
Cain resisted God's will and murdered his brother.
God gave Cain a choice.
Consider the world before the flood. Gen. 6:3 --
"And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always
strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his
days shall be an hundred and twenty years."
God strived with men before the flood and had Noah
preach to them for 120 years while the ark was
building, but they resisted God and rejected his
warning. God's will can be resisted and rejected.
Consider Israel of old. Rom. 10:21 -- "But to Israel
he saith, All day long I have stretched forth my
hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people."
We see that God wanted to save Israel and
continually reached to them, but God's salvation was
resisted and rejected.
Consider Israel of Christ's day. Matt. 23:37 -- "O
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the
prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee,
how often would I have gathered thy children
together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under
her wings, and ye would not!" John 5:40 "And ye will
not come to me, that ye might
Here we see that the sovereign will of the Son of
God, who desired to save Israel throughout her
history and who sent His prophets to her, was
Consider the unsaved of our day 2 Cor. 4:3-4 -- "But
if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are
lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the
minds of them which believe not, lest the light of
the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of
God, should shine unto them."
Here we see that men are blinded because of their
own unbelief and they are lost because they reject
the gospel. It is God's sovereign will to save every
sinner (1 Tim. 2:3-4; 2 Pet. 3:9), but sinners can
Consider the unsaved during the reign of the
antichrist 2 Thess. 2:10-12 -- "And with all
deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that
perish; because they received not the love of the
truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause
God shall send them strong delusion, that they
should believe a lie: That they all might be
damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure
Why will these sinners perish? The reason is stated
plainly, and it is not because they are not among
the elect. It is because they resist the Gospel and
reject the truth.
The Bible vs. the Calvinist doctrine of limited
God loves all men (Jn. 3:16).God has commanded that
the gospel be preached to every person (Mark 16:15).
God wants to have mercy upon all (Rom. 11:32).
God desires to reconcile all men to Himself (2 Cor.
The promise of faith by Jesus is for all (Gal.
Jesus was a ransom for all men (1 Tim. 2:6).
Jesus tasted death for all men (Heb. 2:9).
Jesus bought even unsaved false teachers (2 Pet.
God desires all men to be saved (2 Pet. 3:9).
Jesus provided propitiation for all men (1 Jn. 2:2).
The iniquity of all men was laid on Jesus (Isaiah
The Calvinist's doctrine of limited atonement is
contrary to the plain teaching of Scripture.
The book of Hebrews refutes the Calvinist or TULIP
doctrines of unconditional and "sovereign" election
and irresistible grace, that God sovereignly and
arbitrarily chooses who will be saved and
irresistibly and absolutely draws them so that on
one hand it is impossible for the non-elect to be
saved and on the other hand it is
impossible for the elect not to be saved. If this
were true, the Holy Spirit would not give such dire
warnings and exhortations to professing believers
about the possibility of apostasy, because if they
are elected they could not possibly perish and if
they are not elected, nothing they could do would
change their status.
Consider, for example, the following passages:
Consider Hebrews 2:3: "How shall we escape, if we
neglect so great salvation; which at the first began
to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us
by them that heard him."
This exhortation makes no sense in light of
Calvinist doctrines. If election is as the Calvinist
teaches and it is a matter of an individual being
sovereignly chosen by God, how could the elect
neglect salvation and how could the non-elect do
anything other than neglect salvation?
Consider Hebrews 3:12-14: "Take heed, brethren, lest
there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in
departing from the living God. But exhort one
another daily, while it is called To day; lest any
of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the
beginning of our confidence
stedfast unto the end."
If the elect are predetermined "sovereignly" and if
election has nothing whatsoever to do with the
sinner himself and if he is irresistibly drawn and
sovereignly kept so that he surely perseveres, what
could this exhortation possibly mean? How could the
sovereignly elected, irresistibly drawn elect depart
from God, and how could the
non-elect do anything other than depart from God?
Consider Hebrews 4:9-11: "There remaineth therefore
a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered
into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own
works, as God did from his. Let us labour therefore
to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the
same example of unbelief."
How could this exhortation possibly apply to TULIP
This passage says the rest of salvation is something
that every person must seek to enter into and all
are urged to do so, but the doctrine of "sovereign"
election teaches us that those elected to God's rest
are predetermined solely by God and they have no
choice in the matter and will assuredly enter into
Consider Hebrews 6:4-6: "For it is impossible for
those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of
the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the
Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God,
and the powers of the world to come, if they shall
fall away, to renew them again unto repentance;
seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God
afresh, and put him to an open shame."
If TULIP theology is true, why the exhortation? How
could the elect fall away? And how could the
non-elect do anything but fall away?
Consider Hebrews 10:26-29: "For if we sin willfully
after that we have received the knowledge of the
truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and
fiery indignation, which shall devour the
adversaries. He that despised Moses' law died
without mercy under two or three witnesses:
Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he
be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the
Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the
covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy
thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of
Again, if TULIP theology is true, why would such an
exhortation be given to professing believers? If
they are sovereignly elected, they will surely
persevere and if they aren't they surely won't.
According to Calvinist doctrine, it has nothing to
do with them or what they do.
If election is "sovereign" and "unconditional" in a
Calvinist sense and the believer has no choice
whatsoever in the matter of salvation, these
passages don't make any sense.
If, on the other hand, election involves an element
of foreknowledge (1 Pet. 1:2) and involves a
personal choice on the part of the sinner
("whosoever believeth," Jn. 3:15, 16; 12:46; Acts
10:43; Rom. 9:33; 10:11; 1 John 5:1; Rev. 22:17;
etc.), the exhortations and warnings in Hebrews make
perfect sense. Because if this is true, and we know
that it is because the Bible everywhere teaches it,
then the sinner, being given light from Christ (Jn.
1:9) and being drawn by Christ (Jn. 12:32) and being
convicted and enlightened by the Holy Spirit (Jn.
16:8) can, because of this gracious divine
enablement, either believe on Christ or not and it
is also possible for a sinner to come close to
salvation without actually possessing it. Therefore
he needs to be exhorted to believe on Jesus Christ
truly and sincerely and not to turn away before he
has been genuinely born again and indwelt by the
Holy Spirit and adopted into God's family.
Predestination in Ephesians 1:3-14.
This passage is a great hymn of
praise for the spiritual blessings God has bestowed
upon believers through Jesus Christ. Paul states
that God "chose us in him before the foundation of
the world, that we should be holy and blameless
before him" (Eph 1:4). Note that the "us" refers to
the Ephesians as a whole. God had predestined all of
them to salvation, without the exclusion of a single
God's criteria for choosing people
before the foundation of the world is that they
"should be holy and blameless before him." "Thus,
God predetermined the kind of character upon which
He would bestow all spiritual blessings in heavenly
places in Christ-namely, a character that would
represent a holy and unblemished life. In this way,
all have the opportunity to conform themselves to
the characteristics that God requires. When Paul
says, 'having predestined us to the adoption of
children by Jesus Christ to himself,' he is
stressing that God predetermined that those who
would be holy and without blemish would be adopted
An important thing to note when
studying the verses about predestination, is that
nowhere the Scripture indicates that predestined
believers will never fear that they might fall away.
"Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 1:18 about "those who
are perishing" and those "who are being saved." Both
phrases employ present participles, indicating that
the individual destinies are not yet 'sealed.'
Predestination applies only to the present
situation. The Bible tells of God predestining
people living at that time to what they are at
present, but not to what they shall or can only be."
8:28-30 from a Corporate Perspective
When we examine Romans 8:28-30 from
a corporate perspective, the meaning of Paul's
statements becomes clear. "Whom he foreknew"
simply means that God foreknew every individual
to whom He gave life. This passage does not
speak of the specific time at which God foreknew
certain specific individuals before they came
into existence, but of every person to whom He
"He also did predestinate to be
conformed in the image of his Son," simply means
that God predetermined and preplanned that every
human being would be like Christ, by living a
holy and righteous life.
"Those whom he did predestinate,
them he also called." God predetermined what all
human beings should be by calling them through
the Gospel to be what He wants them to be.
"And whom he called, them he also
justified." This statement refers to those who
actually responded to the call and received from
God the justification and finally the
"The Called According to His
Purpose," he provides a thorough exegesis of
Romans 8:28-30. First, examine the phrase, "whom
he called," it shows conclusively that the call
was issued to all, but only those who responded
came to be designated as "the called."
"Reference to believers as 'the
called' and 'the elect' does not in any way
imply the positive, unconditional reprobation of
other men. The corporate election of Israel to
temporal privilege did not constitute the
reprobation of the rest of the world, for the
way always was open for all men to become
proselytes and to share in the heritage of
Israel. Furthermore, Israel was called to be
God's channel of blessing for all mankind. In
like manner, the corporate election of the
Church does not constitute any reprobation of
the rest of mankind. To the contrary, the Church
is to be the vehicle of grace and salvation for
the world. The Israel of God comprehends all men
potentially, and the election of grace may be
realized in any man. 'Look unto me and be ye
saved, all the ends of the earth, for I am God,
and there is none other" (Isaiah 45:22). The
call is to all, and all who respond in faith to
God's universal call are 'the called according
to his purpose' and those whom he justified."
Next, the phrase, "whom he
justified," it shows that God has acted through
Christ to justify all men who will meet the
conditions for justification. He stresses that
the ground of this justification is the grace
of God but the condition is a believing,
obedient faith. Paul makes this point clear in
Romans 3:26, by stating that God "proved at the
present time that he himself is righteous and
that he justifies him who has faith in Jesus."
It is evident that God's justification is
offered, not arbitrarily to selected
individuals, but to al who have "faith in Jesus"
and obey the Gospel.
The function of predestination in
Romans 8, is not to teach that God arbitrarily
elects certain individuals to be justified and
glorified while condemning others to
destruction, but that believers have nothing to
fear, because nothing can separate them from
"the love of Christ" (Rom 8:85). This point is
made in Romans 8:31-32, the very verses that
follow immediately the passage about
predestination. Paul draws this conclusion from
what he said about predestination,
justification, and glorification: "What shall we
say to this? If God is for us, who is against
us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave
him up for us all, will he not also give us all
things with him?" (Rom 8:31). God gave his Son
"for us all," not for a selected few. Calvin's
notion of a limited atonement for a selected
few, is foreign to the teaching of the
Its acceptance stretches through much of mainstream,
Due to the
perhaps most prominent in the
Methodist Church. It is opposed
to Calvinism and closer to
Arminianism holds to the
2.Corinthians chapter 3
Paul writes in 2.Cor.3 that the letter of the
law kills but the spirit gives life. The Holy
Spirit brings conversion and as a representative
of Jesus writes the law in our hearts and minds.
With the mind we understand that the law of our
GOD is good, just, holy and spiritual [Romans
7:7-14] and from the heart we obey when GOD
supplies us with the love for it.
is now no longer we that can do it, but through
GOD and His power.
shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin,
that grace may abound? GOD forbid. How shall we,
that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
Know ye not, that so many of us were baptized
into Jesus Christ were baptized into His
death?.....even so we also should walk in
newness of life. [Rom 6:1-4]
the next chapter  Paul shows the struggle
with his old nature which we are left with. But
in chapter 8 shows the victory over sin just as
our Jesus overcame and then gives us the
clincher: "For what the law could not
do, in that it was weak through the flesh, GOD
sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful
flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the
flesh: that the righteousness of the law
might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the
flesh but after the Spirit." [Rom
8:3+4]. So we hope that we have answered with
the Scriptures of how we as Believers can keep
the law but walking after the Holy Spirit and
not after the fleshly lust of our fallen nature.
The allegory of Paul in Galatians also confirms
Note: The Abrahamic Covenant of circumcision has
been replaced by the circumcision of the heart, even
though it was given by the old testament:
"Cast away from you all transgression.....and make
you a new heart and a new spirit. A new heart also
will I give you; and a new spirit will I put within
you: and I will take away your stony heart out of
your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh."--Eze.18:31;36:26
Jesus and 666
Mark of the Beast
The New Covenant
Romans chapter 13
Romans chapter 14
The Lord's Day
The Ten Commandments
The Christian Catalogue
Our Lord Jesus in Heaven
Jesus and His Sheep
Spirit of prophecy
The Final Anti-Christ