Can God’s Grace Be Resisted?

Posted on May 3, 2018 by russellmckinney

“Calvinism” series: (post #5)

The “I” in the T-U-L-I-P acrostic that sums up the five core points of Calvinism is “Irresistible Grace.” The thrust of this particular point is that if God chose an individual in eternity past to be a part of the elect, that individual will at some time in life place belief (faith) in Jesus and thereby get saved. The idea of God choosing a person for salvation and Jesus dying for that person’s sins, only to have that person continually reject Jesus until physical death, is unthinkable to Calvinists.

With that said, the problem that Calvinism has in this area is the fact that numerous passages of scripture teach that God’s call to repentance/salvation can be rejected until the individual’s dying breath. Here are a few examples (all from the N.K.J.V.):

  • Genesis 6:3: And the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.” (This meant that 120 years later the great flood would take place wherein all those who rejected the Holy Spirit’s striving in regards to conviction and salvation would be drowned.)
  • 2 Chronicles 36:15-16: And the Lord God of their fathers sent warnings to them by His messengers, rising up early and sending them, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place. But they mocked the messengers of God, despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against His people, till there was no remedy. (It’s obvious that those Jews of Judah rejected God’s call to repentance.)
  • Proverbs 29:1: He who is often rebuked, and hardens his neck, Will suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy. (Don’t miss the fact that the person’s destruction comes only after multiple rebukes.)
  • Isaiah 30:15 (Isaiah speaking to the Jews of Judah): “For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: ‘In returning and rest you shall be saved; In quiteness and confidence shall be your strength.’ But you would not.”
  • Isaiah 65:2 (God speaking to Judah): “I have stretched out My hands all day long to a rebellious people, Who walk in a way that is not good, According to their own thoughts.” (The imagery is God standing all day long with outstretched hands ready to embrace the Jews of Judah, but them rejecting His offer.)
  • Jeremiah 35:15: (God speaking to Judah): “I have also sent to you all My servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, ‘Turn now everyone from his evil way, amend your doings, and do not go after other gods to serve them; then you will dwell in the land which I have given to you and your fathers.’ But you have not inclined your ear, nor obeyed Me.” (God didn’t just send Jeremiah in His efforts to get the Jews of Judah to repent; He sent many prophets and other types of servants.)
  • Acts 7:51 (Stephen speaking to the Jewish Sanhedrin): “You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you.” (The term “stiff-necked” describes an ox or other type of work animal that defiantly refuses to bow its head in submission so that the head can be placed in a work yoke. Notice that Stephen told those Jews, “You ALWAYS resist the Holy Spirit.”)
  • Acts 13:46: Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles.” (This was the great turning point in the Christian movement as God’s primary emphasis in the spreading of the gospel was passed from the unbelieving Jews to the more open-minded Gentiles.)
  • Romans 10:21: But to Israel he says: “All day long I have stretched out My hands To a disobedient and contrary people.” (Here Paul quotes Isaiah 65:2, with the imagery remaining the same.)

These passages prove that the grace (unmerited favor) God offers can be rejected. And, of course, there are many other passages that can be cited. 1 John 2:2 says that Jesus is the propitiation (the appeasement) for the sins of the whole world; and yet the whole world’s sins aren’t forgiven. 2 Peter 3:9 says that God isn’t willing that any should perish; and yet millions do just that. 1 Timothy 2:4 says that God desires all people to be saved; and yet the vast majority of them die lost. In John 12:32, Jesus says that by way of His crucifixion He will draw all people to Himself; and yet only a relative few actually come to Him. How then can God’s saving grace possibly be described as irresistible?

Calvinists do interpretative gymnastics around this plain-as-day problem by making a very important distinction. Really, their entire notion of “Irresistible Grace” rests upon this distinction. The distinction is: Calvinism maintains that there are two separate categories of God’s call to salvation. First, there is a general, outward call that God extends to everyone who hears the gospel. This call can be rejected. (In fact, it always is.) But, second, there is a special, inward call that the Holy Spirit only extends to the elect. This call cannot be rejected as the Spirit grants to each of the elect the irresistible desire to place belief (faith) in Jesus as Savior and compels the person to act upon that desire.

Well, this claim that there are two different types of call to salvation, and that one type is irresistible for the elect, is certainly a key one in the whole debate concerning Calvinism. It goes without saying that a claim like that had better be verified by scripture. And so what passages do Calvinists use to support the claim? Here is a list of 20 of their favorites (all from the N.K.J.V.):

  1. John 1:12-13: But as many as received Him (Jesus), to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
  2. John 6:37,39: “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out…This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.”
  3. John 6:44: “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.”
  4. John 6:65: And He said, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.”
  5. John 15:16: “”You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.”
  6. John 17:1-2: Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come, Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him.”
  7. Acts 13:48: Now when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.
  8. Acts 16:14: Now a certain woman named Lydia heard us. She was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God. The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul.
  9. Acts 18:9-10: Now the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision, “Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city.”
  10. Romans 8:29-30: For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.
  11. Galatians 1:15: But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace…
  12. 1 Thessalonians 2:12: that you would walk worthy of God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.
  13. 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14: But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
  14. 1 Timothy 6:12: Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
  15. 2 Timothy 1:8-9: …but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.
  16. Hebrews 3:1: Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus,
  17. Hebrews 9:15: And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.
  18. 2 Peter 1:10-11: Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
  19. Jude, verse 1: Jude a bondservant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, To those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ:
  20. Revelation 17:14: These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.

When read through the lens of Calvinism, these passages do seem to make Calvinism’s case for “Irresistible Grace.” However, when read through a non-Calvinist lens, the ABSOLUTE MOST that can be said of the passages is that they might be taken to imply the existence of a different type of call to salvation. Let’s be clear: The passages certainly don’t come right out and teach a special, inner call that is only heard by the elect. Even more than that, there are other perfectly plausible interpretations for each passage. Here’s how a non-Calvinist would explain them:

  1. John 1:12-13: Calvinists make much of the fact that the children of God do not become so by “the will of the flesh” or by “the will of man.” But even non-Calvinists agree that no individual can will himself or herself to be saved. Certainly God is the only one who can impart salvation. Therefore, any individual’s salvation is “of God.” Actually, this passage can be used to refute Calvinism. Notice that verse 12 doesn’t say of Jesus: “But as many as He gave the right to become children of God, they receive Him and believe in His name.” (That’s what Calvinism teaches.) Instead, the verse says: “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.” The point is, the right to become the children of God comes only after the receiving/believing.
  2. John 6:37,39: This quote simply means that God, in eternity past, gave Jesus the elect. It says nothing concerning how the elect were chosen to be the elect.
  3. John 6:44: While it’s true that no one can come to Jesus unless God draws the person, Jesus Himself (God the Son) said that He would draw all people to Himself by way of His crucifixion (John 12:32).
  4. John 6:65: While it’s true that no one can come to Jesus unless God the Father grants it to be so, it seems clear that God the Father grants the right to everyone because He desires that everyone be saved (Isaiah 45:2; 1 Timothy 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9).
  5. John 15:16: It can be argued that Jesus is speaking here specifically to His chosen 12. He sought them out, not the other way around. It can also be argued that His words have to do with their service as opposed to their salvation.
  6. John 17:1-2: There is no doubt that the elect were given to Jesus in eternity past. There is also no doubt that He is the one who gives them eternal life. But the passage doesn’t say anything about the elect receiving a special, inner call to salvation that those who aren’t elect don’t receive.
  7. Acts 13:48: This verse merely proves that each member of the elect has been appointed to eternal life. As was the case with John 6:37,39, it doesn’t explain how the elect became the elect.
  8. Acts 16:14: Yes, God opened Lydia’s heart so that she could heed Paul’s words, but the fact is that God has to open anybody’s heart before the person can get saved. As Romans 3:11 says, no one naturally seeks after God. God does this opening of the heart by way of the Holy Spirit bringing conviction of sin upon the person and urging the person to heed the gospel.
  9. Acts 18:9-10: Even if we assume that God was referring to citizens who hadn’t yet heard the gospel, the passage can be understood simply as evidence of God’s foreknowledge concerning the elect. The Bible is clear that God has known from eternity past the names of the elect (His people). That is not in dispute. The question, as always, is, how did the elect gain their status? This passage offer no answers to that question.
  10. Romans 8:29-30: The only thing this passage says in relation to God’s call to salvation is that the elect from eternity past are guaranteed to hear it. But we have every bit as much right to say that the call in question is the general call that goes out to the world rather than some special, inner call that goes out only to the elect. Also, the passage teaches that each member of the elect is someone whom God foreknew. But that might just mean that God, from eternity past, foreknew that the person would place saving belief (faith) in Jesus.
  11. Galatians 1:15: Paul being separated by God from his mother’s womb simply means that Paul, like the prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1:5), was set apart from the womb for a specific service to God. It says nothing about the basis upon which Paul was saved and separated for service. As for Paul being called through God’s grace, that can accurately be said of anyone.
  12. 1 Thessalonians 2:12: The argument can easily be made that God calls everyone into His kingdom and glory, even though the majority do not respond to the call.
  13. 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14: This passage can actually be used against Calvinism. I say that because here, for once, Paul actually takes the time to explain how those Christians were called. And how were they called? They were called by the gospel that Paul and his group had previously preached in Thessalonica. You see, that is far different from them being called by way of some special, inward, irresistible call that only the elect receive. To be called by the gospel is to hear the gospel and respond wisely to it.
  14. 1 Timothy 6:12: Here again the argument can be made that God calls everyone to eternal life, not just the elect.
  15. 2 Timothy 1:8-9: There is no doubt that the elect have been both saved and called. They were also granted grace in Jesus before time began. But this passage says nothing about the basis for the salvation (i.e. foreseen voluntary belief vs. instilled belief). And the call the passage speaks of could conceivably be the general call to salvation that God extends to everyone.
  16. Hebrews 3:1: Here the elect are described as “partakers of the heavenly calling,” but that could be taken to mean simply that they have heeded God’s general call to salvation — which would have to be classified as a “heavenly” calling — whereas others have not.
  17. Hebrews 9:15: Again, the calling in question could be the general call of salvation that goes out to everyone.
  18. 2 Peter 1:10-11: This passage really doesn’t give us any insights into the Christian’s calling and election. The primary meaning of the passage has to do with the Christian having the assurance of salvation.
  19. Jude, verse 1: No one denies that each member of the elect are called, sanctified, and preserved, but that doesn’t prove some kind of special, inner call only heard by them. A non-Calvinist would say that Jude is referring to people who heard God’s general call to salvation and responded to it. God, accordingly, having foreseen their voluntary response to the call, chose them as part of the elect in eternity past and sanctified and preserved them the way He did each member of the elect.
  20. Revelation 17:14: Here again, no one denies that each member of the elect can be described as “called, chosen, and faithful.” However, this is yet another verse that doesn’t speak to the issue of how the elect were chosen in eternity past. And as for them being called, God calls everyone to salvation, and that includes the elect. It’s just that only a low percentage respond to the call. But those whom God foresaw responding became His chosen/elected in eternity past.

What the Bible does teach is that everyone on planet earth has a legitimate chance to get saved. First, everyone is born with an inner conscience that points them to God. Romans 2:14-15 describes this as showing “the work of the law (God’s law) written in their hearts.” Second, everyone has the object lesson of creation that points them to the Creator. Romans 1:20 and Psalm 19:1-6 even go so far as to teach that creation itself is profound enough evidence for God’s existence that all people are “without excuse” if they do not know Him. Third, Acts 14:17 says that God hasn’t left Himself without a witness in that He has given rain and fruitful seasons. Fourth, John 1:9 says that Jesus Himself “gives light” to everyone who comes into the world.

What the Bible doesn’t teach is that there are two different types of the call to salvation. What Calvinism describes as the outward, general call is in actuality the only call mentioned in the Bible. This call is “a heavenly calling” (Hebrews 3:1) to “eternal life” (1 Timothy 6:12) into God’s “kingdom and glory” (1 Thessalonians 2:12). In this New Testament age, this call comes first and foremost through the hearing of the gospel message (2 Thessalonians 2:14; Romans 10:8-15).

Think about this: Calvinism would have us believe that God goes through the formality of extending a general call to salvation out to billions who have no chance of heeding it and getting saved. Why would He do such a thing? The Calvinist’s answer is that He does it to make sure that He has no blood on His hands (so to speak) when He sends all those people to hell. It’s as if God is saying to each doomed individual, “You’re about to bust hell wide open, but you can’t blame Me. I called you to salvation, but you didn’t respond.”

The problem, of course, with this idea is that the Calvinist has to conveniently overlook the fact that Calvinism’s teaching about “Total Depravity” means that God’s general call goes out to people who are so spiritually dead that they can’t even hear it. You talk about a meaningless gesture! Is this the best God can do in regards to Him justifying Himself for sending millions to hell? Seriously, His universal call for sinners to repent and believe is meaningless if salvation is determined solely by Him apart from the free will of individuals.

I think about that story of the Roman centurion whose servant was healed by Jesus (Matthew 8:5-13; Luke 7:1-10). Verse 9 of that passage tells us that Jesus marveled at the centurion and said, “I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!” If Calvinism is true, isn’t it odd that Jesus would have marveled at that man’s faith? After all, Calvinism claims that a person’s faith must be given by God. So, why would Jesus praise a man’s great faith if He knew that the fellow only had the faith because God had granted him an extraordinary measure of it?

Along the same lines, Jesus marveled at the unbelief of the citizens of Nazareth (Mark 6:1-6). Again, that’s strange. What was He expecting when He went there? Didn’t He know ahead of time that those people hadn’t been chosen as part of the elect and therefore weren’t going to sense God’s special, inward, irresistible call to salvation?

In conclusion, let me say again that what Calvinism can’t explain away is that even a causal study of the Bible will show that scripture is filled with characters who patently rejected God’s offer of salvation. Calvinism is therefore forced to justify its doctrine of “Irresistible Grace” by inventing a secondary, inner call to salvation that only goes out to the elect and is irresistible to them. As I’ve explained, though, it takes a lot of supposing and speculating to find that other type of call in scripture. It reminds me of how words such as “world,” “all,” and “everyone” have to be redefined in order for Calvinism to work. I dare say that if you gave Bibles to 100 people who knew absolutely nothing about the book, and said, “Read this” not one of those 100 would end up a Calvinist. You see, it takes untold hours of study and the redefining of several simplistic words to be a good Calvinist.

In closing, let me say that nobody ever summed up the whole issue of the call to salvation any better than Jesus does in Matthew 22:14. There, He says, “For many are called, but few are chosen.” That means that God’s call to salvation goes out to everybody, but only a low percentage respond to it. Those few are “the elect,” them having been chosen in eternity past to be “the elect.” And why were they chosen? It was because God in His foreknowledge saw them voluntarily responding to the call. That, when everything is said and done, is how God’s call to salvation works, and we really have no right to make it any more complicated or convoluted than that.

Posted in Belief, Calvinism, Faith, Grace, Repentance, Salvation, Series: "Calvinism" | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Did Jesus Die for Everybody?

Posted on April 30, 2018 by russellmckinney

“Calvinism” series: (post #4)

Years ago, I attended an evangelism/missions service that was part of a multi-night crusade sponsored by our local S.B.C. Association. The guest speaker for the crusade was a fellow S.B.C. pastor who had gained a fair amount of prominence in our state of North Carolina. However, despite the fact that he had quite a bit of pulpit presence, I remember nothing about the man’s sermon except for one statement he made about halfway through it. As a sidenote to the main topic of his sermon — the comment was actually just something of throwaway line that he worked in for no apparent reason — he said, “Jesus didn’t die for the sins of the world anyway; He died for the sins of the elect.”

I knew immediately that the statement didn’t sound right, and I looked around to see if anyone else in the audience was as shocked by it as I was. Even though some of them no doubt were, all I saw were poker faces. I didn’t understand much about Calvinism at the time, and so I didn’t know that the statement was a dead giveaway that the guest preacher was a Calvinist, but I sure know it now.

Calvinists do not believe that Jesus died for the sins of the entire human race. Instead, they teach that He died only for the sins of the elect. They refer to this doctrine as “Limited Atonement.” And as you might guess, it is the “L” in Calvinism’s T-U-L-I-P acrostic.

Calvinists contend that if Jesus died for everybody’s sins, then everybody would get saved. They say that it’s absurd to talk about Jesus dying a sacrificial death that would, in the end, be rendered pointless for the vast majority of people for whom it was done. In the Calvinist way of thinking, such a thing would be an affront to God’s sovereignty because it would give individuals, rather than God, the final say in salvation.

Calvinists are also quick to point out that most Christians, whether they admit it or not, believe in a limited atonement. They base this upon the fact that most Christians, with the exception of those who hold to the false doctrine of Christian universalism, agree that Jesus dying on the cross certainly doesn’t mean that every sinner is going to heaven. Therefore, to the Calvinist, the difference between Calvinism’s “limited atonement” and the “limited atonement” of non-Calvinists is really just a matter of semantics.

But what does the Bible teach about Christ’s death? Does it teach that Jesus only died for the sins of the elect? Or, does it teach that He died for the sins of “the world,” with the term “the world” referring to the entire human race beginning with Adam? Well, I’ll ask you to read the following list of passages carefully (all from the N.K.J.V.), taking special note of not only where I’ve added emphasis to certain words but also the thoughts I’ve included following each reference:

  1. Isaiah 53:6: All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. (Calvinists either interpret the two uses of “all” in this verse as referring exclusively to the elect, or they would have us believe that the first group of “all” is not the same as the last one.) 
  2. Matthew 11:28: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Calvinists would have us believe that only the elect labor and are heavy laden.)
  3. Luke 19:10: “…for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Calvinists certainly believe that “that which was lost” covers the entire human race, but they have to interpret this quote from Jesus to mean, “…for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save THE ELECT.”)
  4. John 1:29: The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (Calvinists are forced to define the term “the world” to mean humanity in terms of GENERALITY rather than in terms of EVERY SPECIFIC INDIVIDUAL.)
  5. John 3:16-17: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (Here again, Calvinists must use a definition of the term “the world” other than the obvious meaning of it.)
  6. John 4:42: Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world. (Again, this requires the Calvinist to redefine the term.)
  7. John 6:51: “I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world. (Here goes the redefining again.) 
  8. John 12:47: “And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. (It’s redefining time again.)
  9. John 17:20-21: “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. (It’s the same interpretative problem “the world” always presents for Calvinism.)
  10. Romans 5:18: Therefore, as through one man’s (Adam’s) offense judgement came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s (Christ’s) righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. (Since Adam’s sin brought judgment to EVERY member of his race, consistency in interpreting this verse demands that Christ’s death brought salvation, potentially, to EVERY member of Adam’s race.) 
  11. Romans 8:31-32: What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? (Calvinists are forced to say that “all” refers only to Paul and the Christians of Rome.)
  12. 2 Corinthians 5:14-15: For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all… (This time they are forced to say that “all” refers only to Paul and the Christians of Corinth.)
  13. 2 Corinthians 5:18-19: Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. (It’s the interpretative problem of “the world” again.)
  14. 1 Timothy 2:5-6: For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time,… (This particular “all” is much more difficult for Calvinists to explain away because Paul is writing specifically to Timothy rather than to a church or a group of Christians.) 
  15. 1 Timothy 4:10: For to this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe. (This verse delivers a major blow to Calvinism’s doctrine of “Limited Atonement” because it speaks of two distinct groups of people: those for whom Jesus is their potential Savior and those for whom He is their actual Savior.) 
  16. Hebrews 2:9: But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone. (Now Calvinists don’t just have to redefine “all” and “the world”; they have to also redefine “everyone.”)
  17. 2 Peter 2:1: But there were false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. (Don’t miss the fact that Peter says that Jesus BOUGHT this group of lost, false prophets who were nevertheless still headed for destruction. In New Testament doctrine, such a buying equates to the word “redemption.” The clear meaning is that Jesus died to pay their sin debt and, thus, potentially redeem these men out of their bondage to sin. But the men hadn’t believed in Him as Savior and so the fact that He had “bought” them didn’t do them any good in regards to their salvation. You see, even though Christ’s death was SUFFICIENT to pay everyone’s sin debt, His death is only EFFICIENT to pay the sin debts of those who believe in Him as Savior. By the way, Calvinist John MacArthur, in his The MacArthur Study Bible, attempts to explain away the plain meaning of this text by resorting to the idea that Peter was using the words “who bought them” in sarcastic mockery.)      
  18. 2 Peter 3:9: The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. (Here again the Calvinist has to irreparably damage the meaning of “all.”)
  19. 1 John 2:1-2: My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world. (In my opinion, this passage delivers the greatest blow to Calvinism’s doctrine of “Limited Atonement” because in it John uses the words “our sins” to refer to Jesus dying for the sins of Christians/the elect, but then he quickly adds in that Jesus also died for the sins of everybody else as part of “the whole world.”)
  20. 1 John 4:14: And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. (In light of how John defines “the world” in 1 John 2:1-2 where he makes a distinction between the sins of Christians and the sins of the world, are we supposed to believe that just a few verses later in the same letter he has a different definition in mind for “the world”? For that matter, isn’t it only logical that we take John’s definition from 1 John 2:1-2 and also apply it to all the times he uses the term in his gospel?)  

Now, to be fair, I should mention that there are a handful of passages that do depict Jesus as dying for a highly specific group of people. First, Acts 20:28 and Ephesians 5:25-27 say that Jesus loved “the church,” gave Himself for her, and purchased her with His own blood. Second, in John 10:11,15 Jesus talks about dying for “His sheep.” And, third, Matthew 1:21 says that Jesus will save “His people” from their sins. Obviously, though, Jesus dying for EVERYBODY would certainly include the one group known as “the elect” (“the church,” “His sheep,” “His people”).

In conclusion then, the truth is that Christ’s death was sufficient for all but only efficient for those who place saving belief (faith) in Him. Said another way, He is the potential Savior of all but the actual Savior only for those who place belief (faith) in Him. This is what the Bible teaches in total, and any passages that might be taken to teach otherwise must be interpreted in the light of it. Speaking for myself, I think Calvinism’s “Limited Atonement” is the scripturally weakest of its five T-U-L-I-P points.

Posted in Calvinism, Christ's Death, Salvation, Scripture, Series: "Calvinism", The Bible, The Gospel | Tagged , , , , , | 11 Comments

“Christian Verses” Podcast: Acts 13:36

Posted on April 28, 2018 by russellmckinney

Have you ever thought about the fact that you are a part of a specific generation? For example, I was born in 1966. By birth, that makes me a part of a certain generation of people. And as a part of that generation, God wants me to serve that particular generation. This doesn’t mean that He doesn’t want me to serve all generations, but it does mean that I’m definitely supposed to do my part for my generation. This is the subject of this week’s podcast as Malcolm and I use the life of David, and how he served his generation by the will of God, as a launching point for our discussion. Here’s the link:

https://soundcloud.com/user-185243867/christianverses2018014

Posted in "Christian Verses" podcast, God's Will, God's Work, Service | Leave a comment

What Does It Take to Become One of God’s “Elect”?

Posted on April 27, 2018 by russellmckinney

“Calvinism” series: (post #3)

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father… (1 Peter 1:1-2, N.K.J.V.)

Make no mistake, it’s a good thing to be one of God’s “elect.” The way the Bible uses the word, to be “elect” is to be “chosen” by God (1 Peter 2:9). Consider the following examples from scripture:

  • Israel is God’s elect/chosen nation. (Isaiah 45:4)
  • Jesus is God’s elect/chosen Messiah. (Isaiah 42:1; Luke 23:35; 1 Peter 2:6)
  • The unfallen angels are God’s elect/chosen angels. (1 Timothy 5:21)
  • Christians are God’s elect/chosen people. (Matthew 24:22,24,31; Mark 13:20,22,27; Luke 18:7; Romans 8:33; Romans 11:7; Colosians 3:12; 2 Timothy 2:10; Titus 1:1; 1 Peter 1:2; 1 Peter 2:9-10; 1 Peter 5:13; 2 John v.1,13)

Actually, the fact that Christians are elect/chosen by God gets even better. Try to wrap your mind around the list of blessings that Christians enjoy. The word “ancient” doesn’t even begin to do justice to how far back these blessings go:

  • In eternity past, the elect/chosen were chosen for salvation. (2 Thessalonians 2:13)
  • In eternity past, the elect/chosen were chosen in Jesus. (Ephesians 1:4)
  • In eternity past, the elect/chosen were “given” to Jesus. (John 6:37,39; John 17:2,6, 9-12).
  • In eternity past, the elect/chosen were given grace by God. (2 Timothy 1:9)
  • In eternity past, the elect/chosen were promised eternal life. (Titus 1:1-2)
  • In eternity past, the elect/chosen were appointed (ordained) to eternal life. (Acts 13:48)
  • In eternity past, the elect/chosen were saved and called according to God’s own purpose and grace. (2 Timothy 1:9).
  • In eternity past, the elect/chosen were predestined for adoption into God’s family. (Ephesians 1:5)
  • In eternity past, the elect/chosen were predestined to obtain a heavenly inheritance from God. (Ephesians 1:11; 1 Peter 1:3-5)
  • In eternity past, the elect/chosen were predestined to be conformed to the image of Jesus. (Romans 8:29)
  • In eternity past, a kingdom was prepared for the elect/chosen. (Matthew 25:34)

Okay, so God has an elect, Christians are that elect, and it’s awesome to be a part of that elect. Still, though, the theological question that must be asked is: “Way back there in eternity past, what was the basis upon which the elect got elected?” Well, two possible answers have been proposed.

Answer #1 goes like this: God chose the elect in eternity past based upon the fact that He looked down through history and in His foreknowledge saw each one of them making the unaided, completely voluntary decision to place saving belief (faith) in Jesus. In other words, God chose the elect only after He foresaw them choosing Jesus. This is the answer non-Calvinists give.

Answer #2 goes like this: God unconditionally chose the elect based upon His sovereignty, and His choosing had absolutely nothing to do with any foreseen belief (faith) on their part. Much to the contrary, their belief (faith) is the result of their election rather than the cause of it. This is the answer Calvinists give. Accordingly, the “U” in Calvinism’s T-U-L-I-P acrostic refers to “Unconditional Election.” (By the way, this Calvinist definition of Unconditional Election makes perfect sense in view of what we learned in the previous post about the definition Calvinists give for total depravity: “A dead person can’t make a decision.”) 

Based upon Calvinism’s answer to the question of how the elect became the elect, non-Calvinists assert that Calvinism makes God out to be a biased, prejudiced God who was playing favorites even before He created the heavens, the earth, and the human race. They say that the inescapable result of God arbitrarily picking an elect for salvation is that anyone who didn’t get picked is therefore doomed to be born, live, die, and spend eternity separated from God in a fiery torment. After all, if an individual who is “dead in trespasses and sins” has no ability of his own to place saving belief (faith) in Jesus, and if God decided in eternity past that the individual wasn’t one of the elect, that really doesn’t leave any hope, does it?

Calvinists, for their part, are loathe to admit that the flip side of God choosing some for salvation is that everybody else fell into the damnation category by default. They know that God showing such partiality contradicts multiple passages of scripture (Deuteronomy 10:17; Acts 10:34-35; Romans 2:11; Ephesians 6:9, etc.). Despite their attempts to downplay the issue, however, the conclusion remains self evident as surely as one fact follows the other. Even John Calvin wrote in Book III, chapter 23, of his Institutes of the Christian Religion:

…Not all men are created with similar destiny but eternal life is foreordained for some, and eternal damnation for others. Every man, therefore, being created for one or the other of these ends, we say, is predestined either to life or to death.

Of course, the problem with the whole notion that God, by His own choice, foreordained eternal damnation for the majority of the human race is that it cuts directly against all the Bible passages that plainly teach that He desires everyone to get saved. Here are those passages (all from the N.K.J.V.). Pay careful attention to the section that I’ve highlighted from each verse:

  • Ezekiel 18:23: “Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?” says the Lord God, “and not that he should turn from his ways and live?”
  • Ezekiel 18:32: “For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies,” says the Lord God. “Therefore turn and live!”
  • Ezekiel 33:11: “Say to them: ‘As I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?'”
  • Matthew 18:11-14: “For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost. What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying? And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.“
  • John 3:17: For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
  • 1 Timothy 2:3-4: For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
  • 2nd Peter 3:9: The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. 

Strangely, Calvinism is forced to interpret these passages to mean that even though the vast majority of Adam’s race are going to spend eternity suffering in flame and torment, God sure does hate it, takes no pleasure in it, and wishes He could do something about it. But unfortunately for Him, He can’t offer these people a legitimate chance to get saved because He only affords that luxury to His chosen ones. Therefore, His hands are tied. Does this interpretation sound absurd to you? It should, because it is.

And so, how do Calvinists explain this colossal problem with their theological system? They say that God choosing to save anyone (even a low-percentage remnant) from Adam’s sin-ruined race shows His great love, mercy, and grace because by rights He could have let the entire race remain eternally dead in trespasses and sins and separated from Him. In this way, Calvinists focus upon the good news concerning the elect rather than the bad news concerning everybody else. To them, God doesn’t come off looking like an unjust God who refuses to flip the “on” switch inside billions of people so they can at least have the chance to get saved. Instead, He comes off looking like a merciful, loving God who got left with the biggest mess of all time through no fault of His own and was kind enough to pull millions out of it.

This circles us back around, again, to the fundamental question: “Way back there in eternity past, what was the basis upon which the elect got elected?” The Bible answers this question by giving us 1 Peter 1:2. There we’re told that the elect are elect “according to the foreknowledge of God the Father.” This means that everything — and I do mean everything — rides upon the issue of just how much is involved with God’s foreknowledge.

Clearly, God is omniscient. He has all knowledge, and this knowledge includes all knowledge concerning future events. The proof texts for this are numerous (Isaiah 42:8-9; Isaiah 46:9-10; Psalm 139:16; 1 Samuel 23:10-12; Luke 22:31-34; Acts 15:18, etc.). Furthermore, Acts 17:26 says that He has determined the preappointed times and boundaries of every nation upon the earth, and Acts 11:13-14 even proves that He has a foreknowledge of who will be saved. But should God’s foreknowledge be defined simply as Him having knowledge beforehand? Or, is there more to it than that? Calvinists say there is more to it, a lot more.

Calvinists point out that the word “know” is at the heart of the word “foreknowledge,” and they define God’s foreknowledge as Him making the deliberate choice to “know” certain individuals eternally. From that starting point, they cite the Bible’s many passages where “know” is used to describe an intimate, deeply personal relationship. For example, in Jeremiah 1:5 God says to Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you” (N.K.J.V.). Admittedly, God seems to be describing much more there than Him merely having a beforehand knowledge of the decisions, deeds, and details of Jeremiah’s life.

God speaks of having this same kind of relationship with Abraham when He says of Abraham, “For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice, that the Lord may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him” (Genesis 18:19, N.K.J.V.). In the New Testament, Jesus uses “know” in this same way in John 10:27, where He says of His followers, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me” (N.K.J.V.). Paul does the same thing in 2 Timothy 2:19 when he says, “The Lord knows those who are His” (N.K.J.V.). He also does it in Romans 11:2, where he describes the Jews as the people whom God foreknew.

But then, in the other corner, we have Acts 2:23, which says of Jesus:

Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; (N.K.J.V.)

The simple meaning of this verse is that God knew ahead of time that Jesus would be delivered to death on a cross. What the verse doesn’t teach is that God the Father made the crucifixion happen. In other words, He didn’t betray Jesus, arrest Him, nail Him to the cross, or cause anyone to make a choice they otherwise wouldn’t have made. Instead, He merely knew beforehand what choices and actions people were going to display, and in His sovereignty He used it all in His plan to have Jesus die as a substitutionary sacrifice. Being able to use the freewill choices and actions of others is not the same thing as causing those choices and actions.

In the end, I’m willing to concede that God “knowing” individuals from eternity past probably does involve more than Him just having an exhaustive file on their lives ahead of time. Certainly, He has those files, but some type of intimate, personal relationship does seem to be included in the files of the elect. However, in no way, shape, or form does this mean, as John Calvin contended, that God has foreordained eternal life for some and damnation for everybody else. To the contrary, not only does God want everyone to get saved, He provides them with all they need to have legitimate chance to do so. Those verses I listed earlier are irrefutable.

So, based upon those verses, we’re left with the logical conclusion that the individual’s foreseen belief (faith) in Jesus must have been the deciding factor in God choosing the individual to be one of the elect. And, no, this does not mean (as Calvinists claim) that the individual, rather than the Lord, is responsible for salvation. Remember that the Bible describes salvation as a gift (Ephesians 2:8), and when a person accepts a gift the person doesn’t get the credit for the gift. It is God who must always be given credit for an individual’s salvation because, let’s face it, He invented salvation. Please, though, let’s not depict Him as the type of God who only offers the gift to certain people — people whom He favors for reasons unbeknownst even to them. That’s the God that Calvinism presents, but it’s not the God of the Bible.

Posted in Belief, Calvinism, Election, Faith, God's Love, Salvation, Scripture, Series: "Calvinism", The Bible, The Gospel | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Can a Dead Person Make a Decision?

Posted on April 25, 2018 by russellmckinney

“Calvinism” series: (post #2)

And you He made alive who were dead in trespasses and sins… (Ephesians 2:1, N.K.J.V.)

And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together, with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses… (Colossians 2:13, N.K.J.V.)

These two verses plainly teach that Christians were “dead in trespasses and sins” before being made alive in Christ. Calvinism defines this state of death as “total depravity,” the term which serves as the “T” in the T-U-L-I-P acrostic. Consequently, Calvinists say concerning a lost person making the decision to place saving belief (faith) in Jesus, “A dead person can’t make a decision.” In this way, Calvinism equates “total depravity” with “total inability.” This leads Calvinists to two conclusions. First, mankind’s freedom of choice has been forfeited since the fall into sin in the garden of Eden. Second, salvation is 100% of God.

Someone says, “But the individual has to play at least some role in salvation because he has to provide the saving belief (faith) that leads to the born-again experience.” Calvinism’s answer to that is, “No, the saving belief (faith) itself is actually a part of God’s gift of salvation.” You see, Calvinists do not dispute the fact that the sinner must make the personal decision to place saving belief (faith) in Jesus in order to get saved. However, it is their contention that God has to first sovereignly regenerate the dead sinner to the point where the sinner has the spiritual life to make the decision.

Putting it another way, Calvinism teaches that God has to first create the born-again experience within the person before the person can arise from being “dead in trespasses and sins” and therefore have the ability to place the belief (faith) in Jesus. As Arthur Pink, one of the most famous Calvinists who ever lived, wrote in his book, The Sovereignty of God, “Faith is not the cause of the new birth, but the consequence of it.” This is why non-Calvinists often criticize Calvinism by saying, “Calvinists believe that you have to get saved before you can get saved.”

Here are some passages (all from the N.K.J.V.) that Calvinists cite to support their idea that God has to impart the saving belief (faith) to the sinner who is dead in trespasses and sins:

  • John 1:13: But as many as received Him (Jesus), to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
  • John 5:21: “For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will.”
  • John 6:65: And He said, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.”
  • John 8:43,47: “Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word…He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God.”
  • John 12:39: Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again: “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, Lest they should see with their eyes, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.”
  • 1 Corinthians 2:14: But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
  • 2 Peter 1:1: Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.

Now, to be clear, the Bible does teach that each person has the nature of sin coursing through him from the moment of conception (Psalm 51:5). This means that the person doesn’t become a sinner by committing acts of sin, but rather that he instinctively chooses to commit acts of sin because he is a sinner (Romans 3:9-23). Him being conceived a sinner is the inevitable result of him being a byproduct of Adam’s sin-corrupted seed (Romans 5:12; 1 Corinthians 15:21-22). And it is because the individual is a sinner by conception that he can rightly be described as being “dead in trespasses and sins.”

What must be understood, however, is that there is a difference between being spiritually dead and physically dead. A good passage here is Ephesians 2:1-3. As you read these verses, notice the things “dead” men can do:

And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. (N.K.J.V.)

Along the same lines, in John 4:23 Jesus tells the lost Samaritan woman:

“But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth: for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.” (N.K.J.V.)

What’s odd about that last quote is the fact that Jesus didn’t say to that lost woman, “The Father knows that you are dead in trespasses and sins, and a dead person can’t worship or do anything else spiritually.” No, what He did was make a distinction between true worship and false worship. Obviously, then, people who are “dead in trespasses and sins” can offer false worship. But Calvinists act like a person who is “dead in trespasses and sins” might as well also be physically dead.

On this same subject, consider the following passages (all references from the N.K.J.V., emphasis mine):

  1. In Matthew 23:37 (and Luke 13:34), Jesus mourns over the fact that the inhabitants of Jerusalem would not let Him gather them to Himself as a hen gathers her chicks. He says, “I wanted to gather your children together…but you were not willing.”
  2. In John 5:40, Jesus says to a group of lost Jewish religious leaders, “But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.”
  3. In Acts 26:28, Agrippa displays his free will in refusing Jesus or believing in Him when he says to Paul, “You almost persuade me to become a Christian.”
  4. In Luke 15:18, the prodigal son exercises his free will when he says, “I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you.'”
  5. In Genesis 4:5-8, God offers forgiveness and salvation to Cain, but Cain exercises his free will, refuses to heed God, and ultimately dies lost. (Jude verses 11-13)
  6. In Deuteronomy 30:15-20, Moses offers God’s blessing or cursing upon the Israelites. They had a freewill choice which one they wanted.
  7. In Joshua 24:1-28, Joshua makes the same offer to another generation of Israelites, and they had the same freewill choice to make.
  8. In Isaiah 1:18-20, Isaiah makes the same offer to the Jews of Judah.
  9. In Exodus 35:21, we read about the Israelites “whose spirit was willing” to obey the Lord in bringing the articles to be used in the building of the Tabernacle.
  10. In 1 Chronicles 29:5, David asks the question, “Who then is willing to consecrate himself this day to the Lord?”

Let’s be honest, any offer of salvation that is made to a person who doesn’t have the innate ability to accept it is little more than a taunt. Even more than being a taunt, it’s downright cruel for God to command belief (faith) from individuals who can’t give it. If salvation is a gift (which it is), what kind of sick God would sing the gift’s praises to corpses/skeletons who can’t possibly hear what He is saying, let alone actually accept the gift?

For example, Jesus might as well have said to those inhabitants of Jerusalem, “Oh, if only you weren’t dead in your trespasses and sins, I could gather you together as a hen gathers her chicks.” He might as well have said to those lost Jewish religious leaders, “Boy, spiritual life is great! It’s such a shame that you can’t have it because you are incapable of making the decision to receive it.” Moses, Joshua, and Isaiah might as well have said to their audiences, “You can have God’s blessing or God’s cursing. Oh, wait, you’ll have to take the cursing because you are still dead in your trespasses and sins. Sorry about that. Didn’t mean to get your hopes up.”

By the way, anytime a passage speaks of Jews not being willing to come to Jesus so that He could give them life, we should keep in mind that the Jews were God’s chosen, covenant people from Old Testament times. Therefore, the question becomes, “Shouldn’t these people have been among ‘the elect'”? Clearly, though, a wide swath of them weren’t. As John 1:11 says: “He came to His own, and His own did not know Him” (N.K.J.V.).

Of course, we shouldn’t overlook the opening part of that verse, either. It says that Jesus came to His own. Why is that important? It’s important because there’s no disputing that it is God who has to take the initiative in coming to those who are “dead in trespasses and sins.” As Romans 3:11 says: “There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God” (N.K.J.V.). (Other passages that prove this point are Matthew 16:13-17, John 3:27, and John 6:44,65.) But once God has started dealing with an individual, the individual’s free will does come into play.

The classic passage on this is the story of Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve sinned by eating the forbidden fruit. In doing so, they became “dead in trespasses and sins” (Genesis 3:1-7). This spiritual death caused them to hide from God rather than run to Him (Genesis 3:8) as the desire to avoid Him and remain spiritually dead showcased their depravity.

But God, in His mercy, grace, and love, began the process of reconciling Himself to them by seeking them out and calling to Adam (Genesis 3:9). It was at this point that Adam and Eve’s free will came into play as they could either accept God’s call or remain hidden. After all, even though God knew exactly where they were all the time, He wasn’t going to drag them out of the bushes and make them talk to Him.

Thankfully for all of us, Adam spoke up and began a conversation with God, one in which Eve also participated (Genesis 3:10-13). This proves that even in a fallen, sinful, depraved state — one in which God hasn’t yet altered the individual in any way — the individual can make a decision to accept God’s call or shun it. In other words, “total depravity” isn’t the same as “total inability.” What “total depravity” really means is that the sinner cannot save himself by way of his supposedly “good” works. He can’t do this because, in reality, none of his works are actually “good” (Isaiah 64:6-7; Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 3:10-18; 1 Corinthians 2:14; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:3-7).

One final objection the Calvinist might offer to all this is Hebrews 12:2, which says: “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith…” (N.K.J.V.). Calvinists love to point out that the Greek word translated as “author” can be translated as “originator” or “source,” the implication being that the individual has no faith of his own to place in Jesus but only has faith that Jesus originates in him. The fact is, though, that the Greek word in question, archegos, primarily denotes someone who takes the lead in an endeavor. This explains why the same word is also translated as “captain” (Hebrews 2:10, N.K.J.V.) and “Prince” (Acts 3:15, 5:31, N.K.J.V.)

Here again, there’s no question that Jesus has to take the lead in getting the sinner saved, just as God took the lead in seeking out Adam and Eve. But does this mean that the sinner merely becomes a hand puppet in the process, one with no free will of his own? No, it doesn’t. Notice that even the Hebrews 12:2 verse opens with the words “looking unto Jesus.” Those words are very important because that “look” is the sinner’s part, the part that Jesus won’t do. This, then, is how salvation works. You can’t do Jesus’ part, and He won’t do your part.

Posted in Belief, Calvinism, Choices, Faith, Salvation, Seeking Forgiveness, Series: "Calvinism", Sin, The Gospel | Tagged , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

What is TULIP Theology?

Posted on April 23, 2018 by russellmckinney

“Calvinism” series: (post #1)

I am an ordained minister in the Southern Baptist Convention denomination. Even though some Baptists actually resent being called Protestant, the S.B.C., with its 15 million members, gets categorized as the largest Protestant denomination in America. Therefore, it is highly significant that a 2012 poll conducted by Lifeway Research showed that 30% of S.B.C. pastors considered their churches Calvinist, and almost 60% were concerned about the growing impact Calvinism was having upon the denomination.

Calvinism, as you might not know, is not a denomination in and of itself. It is, instead, a doctrinal system of theology that has historically made its way into all sorts of churches and denominations across the globe. As Mark Oppenheimer wrote in a 2014 New York Times article:

The Puritans were Calvinists. Presbyterians descend from Scottish Calvinists. Many early Baptists were Calvinist….In the United States today, one large denomination, the Presbyterian Church in America, is unapologetically Calvinist. But in the last 30 years or so, Calvinists have gained prominence in other branches of Protestantism, and at churches that used to worry little about theology.

And so where did Calvinism originate? As you might guess, it originated with a guy named Calvin. John Calvin was a French theologian who lived in the 1500s. He was raised staunchly Catholic and was a brilliant scholar who studied to become a lawyer, but his path in life was radically changed when he converted from Catholicism to the new teachings coming out of Martin Luther’s Protestant Reformation.

There is some debate about the exact date of Calvin’s conversion, but it occurred sometime between 1529 and 1533. What is known for certain is that he published the first edition of his wildly influential Institutes of the Christian Religion in 1536. This was Calvin’s initial attempt at putting his doctrinal views into writing, but he would publish updates and new editions of the Institutes periodically for the rest of his life.

Scores of books have been written about Calvin’s life and ministry, but I’m not here to offer a biography of the man. What I want to do is devote a series of posts to examining the doctrinal system that ultimately arose from his teachings and came to bear his name. By the way, you should know that Calvinism also goes by the titles “the Reformed Faith,” “Reformed Christianity,” “Reformed Protestantism,” and “Reformed Tradition.” Basically, anytime you see the word “Reformed” in the name of a church, you are right to assume that the church is a Calvinist church.

But what exactly did John Calvin believe? The answer to that can be found in the acrostic “T-U-L-I-P.” From this, we get the term “TULIP Theology.” Calvin himself didn’t employ the acrostic, but those who adhered to his doctrinal system began to use it as a teaching device at some point after his death. As for the five doctrinal points the acrostic represents, those were first formally presented by Calvin’s followers at the Synod of Dort in 1618-1619. Those five doctrinal points are:

  • “Total Depravity” (represented by the “T” in “TULIP”)
  • “Unconditional Election” (represented by the “U”)
  • “Limited Atonement” (represented by the “L”)
  • “Irresistible Grace” (represented by the “I”)
  • “Perseverance of the Saints” (represented by the “P”)

Over the next few posts, I’m going take each of these terms one at a time, define it, and examine Calvinism in the light of the totality of scripture. And I’ll go ahead and tell you that what we are going to find is that Calvinism is wrong. It’s just wrong. It simply contradicts way too many easy-to-understand passages for us to label it as correct doctrine. So, tune in next time and we’ll get started by talking about “total depravity.”

Posted in Bible Study, Calvinism, Church, Doctrine, God's Word, Salvation, Scripture, Series: "Calvinism" | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“Christian Verses” podcast: John 17:18

Posted on April 21, 2018 by russellmckinney

In a prayer to God the Father, Jesus said of His disciples, “As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world” (John 17:18). But what does it mean to be sent into the world? Christian, have you ever asked yourself that question? I can tell you that it involves finding the ways in which the Lord wants you to minister in your specific spot of the globe. Malcolm and I discuss all this in this week’s podcast. Here’s the link:

https://soundcloud.com/user-185243867/christianverses2018013

Posted in "Christian Verses" podcast, Discipleship, God's Will, God's Work, Ministry | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Some Bible Basics About Gun Control

Posted on April 19, 2018 by russellmckinney

Unless you’ve been living in a cave, you know that gun control has become a major topic in American culture. Well, as with any topic, it is the Christian’s job to look to the Bible to gain God’s perspective on the issue. So, that’s what we’ll do in this post. My goal here is not to write the absolute last word on this subject. It is, instead, to merely offer the basics of what the Bible has to say about it.

Since the Bible was completed centuries before the invention of the first gun, we aren’t going to find a verse that says either: “Thou shalt own a gun” or “Thou shalt not own a gun.” Nevertheless, there are some definite Bible facts that can be applied to the topic. I’ll list five of them.

Fact #1: The Bible speaks of the use of many different kinds of weapons. Even though guns aren’t found in the stories of the Bible, other weapons certainly are. The list includes bows, arrows, swords, daggers, spears, and javelins. These were the “guns” of the ancient world.

In addition to these typical weapons, the Bible also speaks of atypical ones. David killed Goliath with a sling and a rock (1 Samuel 17:49-50). Jael killed Sisera with a tent peg (Judges 4:21-22; 5:24-27). An unnamed woman mortally wounded Abimlech by dropping a millstone on his head (Judges 9:50-55). Shagmar killed 600 Philistines with an ox goad (Judges 3:31). Similarly, Samson killed 1,000 Philistines with a jawbone from the fresh corpse of a donkey (Judges 15:15-17). Based upon all this, I think it’s safe to say that if the Bible were being written today, guns would be on the list of the weapons mentioned.

Fact #2: In no place does the Bible blame a weapon for the effect the weapon causes. As an example, I’ll use Herod Agrippa I’s killing of the apostle James. In Acts 12:1-2, we read that Herod killed James with a sword. (He either personally killed him with the weapon or ordered him to be executed with it.) But in Acts 12:20-24 we read that an angel of the Lord struck Herod and caused him to die a gruesome death. The point is that God had the angel strike the man, not the sword. If you really want to get technical about it, the Bible even relates the word of God to a sword (Ephesians 6:17; Hebrews 4:12).

There’s a saying, “Guns don’t kill people; people kill people.” While this saying has become something of a cliche’, it still holds much truth. The fact is that even if there weren’t any guns, someone who is bent on killing would find a way to kill. After all, there weren’t any guns in the days of Cain and Abel, but that didn’t stop Cain from killing his brother. You see, the true heart of the problem is the sinful, Adamic nature with which we are all born. Take that nature out of each of us and all killing will stop. But there’s simply no way to take out that nature, and we will all, including Christians, struggle with it until we pass into the afterlife.

Fact #3: The Bible depicts conflict and warfare as inevitable byproducts of living in a fallen world. In Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, the Bible says there is a time for every purpose under heaven. Shockingly to some, that list includes a time of war. Likewise, in Psalm 144:1 David actually praises God for training his hands for war and his fingers for battle.

Even Jesus said that wars must come to pass (Matthew 24:6; Mark 13:7; Luke 21:9). As a matter of fact, there are multiple instances in the Old Testament, particularly involving Israel’s conquering of the land of Canaan, when God commands Israel to go to war against other races of people. Furthermore, a sensible, intelligent argument can be made that guns, used rightly, help make the peace (Matthew 5:9).

Fact #4: Jesus Himself made some allowance that there are times when carrying a weapon is appropriate. On the night of His betrayal and arrest, just after His famous “last supper,” Jesus said to His disciples, “…he who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one” (Luke 22:36, N.K.J.V.). When the disciples answered Him, “Lord, look, here are two swords,” He said, “It is enough” (Luke 22:38). However, later that same night, as Jesus was facing arrest following His praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, He told Peter, “Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword” (Matthew 26:52, N.K.J.V.).

How can we explain Jesus’ seemingly contradictory attitude toward carrying a weapon? One possible answer is that even though He never intended to resist arrest or allow Peter and the other disciples to defend Him, He didn’t want to be arrested before He had a chance to do His final praying in the garden of Gethsemane. Another possible answer is that He wanted the disciples to understand that their circumstances were about to turn much darker and He wasn’t going to be around to protect them as He had been (Luke 22:37).    

Fact #5: God commands that each person be subject to his or her governing authorities. The origins of government can be traced all the way back to God’s new commands for Noah after Noah and his family disembarked from the ark (Genesis 9:6). Since then, God has been pro government, and the Bible teaches that He raises up rulers, puts down rulers, and grants power to whom He chooses so that His rulers can suit His purposes, whatever those purposes might be. Some of the relevant passages on this topic are: Psalm 75:6-7, Daniel 2:20-21, Daniel 4:17, and Matthew 22:15-22. God even called Nebuchadnezzar, the spiritually lost ruler who would lead the Babylonians in the conquering of Judah, His “servant” (Jeremiah 27:4-8; 43:10). Similarly, He called Persia’s Cyrus the Great, who also was lost spiritually, His “shepherd” (Isaiah 44:28).

Once we understand this relationship between God and government, it doesn’t surprise us to learn that God commands us to be subject to our governing authorities. Passages such as Romans 13:1-7, Titus 3:1-2, and 1 Peter 2:13-17 will never be popular among the rabble rousers of any day, but these passages really aren’t all that hard to understand. And gun control laws (or a lack of them) don’t cancel out the truth of what the Bible teaches about submitting to your government.

Are there times when God would have His people disobey their government by obeying God rather than men (Acts 5:29)? Yes, there are. A list of Biblical examples of believers who did just that would include: the Hebrew midwives of Moses’ day (Exodus 1:15-21); Moses’ parents (Exodus 2:1-2); Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego (Daniel 3:1-18); and Daniel (Daniel 6:1-10). As for citizens disobeying their government’s gun control laws, though, I’m not prepared to add that cause to the list.

In conclusion, let me state for the record that I’m not a “gun guy” or a member of the National Rifle Association. I’ve only shot two guns in my life — not counting b.b. guns — and I didn’t particularly enjoy either experience. With that said, though, I’m honest enough as a Bible teacher to share with you what I’ve shared in this post. As for my take on gun control laws, I see them as fine as long as they are well balanced and within reason. I would even say that we’ve reached a point where they are fairly necessary for living in this world where evil seems to be bubbling to the top more and more. Like so many of life’s issues, I think “balance” is the key word here, and my counsel to anyone would be that God really does have a will in all this if we are just open to finding it.

Posted in Current Events, Government, Gun Control, The Heart, War | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Before Genesis 1:1

Posted on April 17, 2018 by russellmckinney

“And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.” (John 17:5, N.K.J.V.)

Take your Bible and turn to its very first verse, Genesis 1:1. You’ll see that the verse begins with the word “In” (“In the beginning God created…”). Focus your eyes for a moment on that word “In,” and let your mind try to imagine the time of the beginning of creation. Got it?

Okay, now let your eyes drift to the left of “In” and focus on the whiteness of the page you find there. Do you know what you call that white space? Eternity past. That’s the time Jesus is referencing in our text verse. It’s a time before the creation of the heavens and the earth. It’s a time before the creation of Adam and Eve. At least some part of it is even a time before the creation of the angels. Way back there at some point in eternity past, it was only God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

I don’t know if you’ve ever studied the Bible passages that relate to eternity past, but it is absolutely amazing what all God did back there. So, I thought it would be good if I used this post to list the relevant passages and identify that work. Keep in mind that God did all of this before Genesis 1:1. Here goes:

  1. By way of His perfect foreknowledge of all history (Isaiah 46:9-10), He foreknew each person who would voluntarily place saving belief/faith in Jesus Christ. (Romans 8:29) (It is important to understand that having foreknowledge of a decision does not imply causation of that decision. For example, God the Father had a foreknowledge that Jesus would be delivered to the cross, but He didn’t make the Jews and Romans perform the deed: Acts 2:23; 1 Peter 1:20.)  
  2. He granted those foreknown believers grace, which refers to undeserved favor or unmerited blessing. (2 Timothy 1:8-9)
  3. He chose those foreknown believers to be “in Christ.” (Ephesians 1:4)
  4. He classified those foreknown believers as “the elect.” (1 Peter 1:1-2; Romans 8:33; Colossians 3:12; 1 Thessalonians 1:4; 2 Timothy 2:10; Titus 1:1; 2 John 1,13; 1 Peter 5:13; 2 Peter 1:10; Matthew 24:24,31; Mark 13:22,27; Luke 18:7 )
  5. He blessed those foreknown believers with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm in Christ, including the blessing of a heavenly inheritance reserved for each of them (Ephesians 1:3; 2:4-7; 1 Peter 1:3-5).
  6. He predestined those foreknown believers to be conformed to the image of Christ. (Romans 8:29)
  7. He wrote the names of those foreknown believers in a book called The Lamb’s (Christ’s) Book of Life. (Revelation 17:8; 13:8; 20:15; 21:27; Luke 10:20)

You see, Christian, your salvation is not some dicey, day-by-day, moment-by-moment, “hope so” standing you have with God. It is, instead, something that has been settled in eternity since before Genesis 1:1. As Acts 15:18 says: “Known to God from eternity are all His works.” And since those works include your salvation, you should rest in the scriptural promises of what God has already done for you, and live each day in the blessing, hope, and deep-settled peace those promises are meant to provide.

Posted in Assurance of Salvation, Belief, Calvinism, Creation, Eternal Security, Eternity, Faith, God's Foreknowledge, God's Omniscience, God's Sovereignty, God's Work, Grace, Heaven, Inner Peace, Reward, Salvation, Trusting In God | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“Christian Verses” podcast: Ecclesiastes 3:1 (Gun Control, part 2)

Posted on April 14, 2018 by russellmckinney

This week Malcolm and I finish finish up our two-part series on gun control. Whereas last week we simply had a personal conversation about the issue, this week we dive into scripture by starting with Ecclesiastes 3:1 and launching off from there. So, if you’ve got 30 minutes, I know we can be a help to you as we reference both the Old Testament and the New Testament to convey what the Bible teaches concerning this controversial subject.

https://soundcloud.com/user-185243867/christianverses2018012

Posted in "Christian Verses" podcast, Current Events, Gun Control, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment