Problems with Universal Arminianism

I came across this excellent article today at Banner of Truth and it encapsulates, in one nice, tidy package, what’s wrong with Arminian theology. I felt it would be good to post here.  Enjoy!!

 

Problems with Arminian Universal Redemption By Joel Beeke

The Arminian view is by far the most popular of the four views of the atonement in the Christian church today. However, serious objections must be lodged against Arminian universal redemption, among which are these:

• It slanders God’s attributes, such as his love. Arminianism presents a love that actually doesn’t save. It is a love that loves and then, if refused, turns to hatred and anger. It is not unchangeable love that endures from everlasting to everlasting. It provides atonement for all, but then withholds the means of grace that would make that salvation effectual in all lives. Are we to believe that Christ died for everyone in the deepest jungle and the darkest city, but his love doesn’t provide the missionaries, preachers, or sermons that would make his death effectual?
• It slanders God’s wisdom. Why would God make a plan to save everyone, then not carry it out? Would he be so foolish as to have his Son pay for the salvation of all if he knew that Christ would not be able to obtain what he paid for? Some say he didn’t realise the consequences; he saw far enough to provide atonement, but couldn’t see that some wouldn’t take it. Does not that assertion slander the wisdom of God? Could God plan and provide atonement, but not realise that his atonement would not be accepted?

  I would feel foolish if I went into a store and bought something, then walked out without it. Yet Arminianism asks us to believe that this is true of salvation — that there was a purchase made, a redemption, and yet the Lord walked away without those whom he had redeemed. That view slanders the wisdom of God.

• It slanders God’s power. Arminian universalism obliges us to believe that God was able to accomplish the meriting aspect of salvation, but that the applying aspect is dependent on man and his free will. It asks us to believe that God has worked out everyone’s salvation up to a point, but no further for anyone. The implication is that God has built the bridge of salvation between him and us, and we have only to walk over it by accepting his terms of salvation through a free act of the will. ‘God does his part,’ Arminians say, ‘and now we must do our part.’

  Calvinists respond by saying that this makes salvation dependent on the will of humanity, thereby reducing God and his power. Instead of our coming to God with our withered hands and saying, ‘If Thou wilt, Thou canst make us whole,’ this view has God coming to us with a withered hand, a hand that is not strong enough to save anyone, and saying, ‘If thou wilt, thou canst complete this salvation; thou canst make me whole.’ In essence, modern evangelistic sermons often take such an approach: ‘God has done much, but he needs you to complete the job.’ Does that way of thinking not slander the all-sufficient power of God? It makes God dependent on the will of man.

• It slanders God’s justice. Did Christ satisfy God’s justice for everyone? Did Christ take the punishment due to everybody? If he did, how can God punish anyone? Is it justice to punish one person for the sins of another and later to punish the initial offender again? As Augustus Toplady said,
  

  Payment God cannot twice demand;
  First at my bleeding Surety’s hand,
  And then again at mine.

  God can’t and won’t demand payment twice. Double punishment is injustice.

• It disables the deity of Christ A defeated Saviour is not God. This error teaches that Christ tried to save everyone but didn’t succeed. It denies the power and efficacy of Christ’s blood, since not all for whom he died are saved. Hence, Christ’s blood was wasted on Judas and Esau. Much of his labour, tears, and blood was poured out in vain. In other words, he will not see of the travail of his soul and be satisfied (Isa. 53:11) on behalf of many for whom he died. There will be many miscarriages — those with whom he travailed in soul yet who will not ultimately be saved. Does such defeat not make Christ less than God? No wonder Charles H. Spurgeon called this a ‘monstrous’ doctrine.¹
• It undermines the unity of the Trinity. Just as parents must work together to run a family effectively, so the triune God co-labours in each of his persons with identical purposes and goals. One person cannot possibly have in mind to save some that another person has not determined to save, but Arminian universalism implicitly teaches just that. It denies the Father’s sovereign election, since Christ would have died for more than God decreed to save, thereby making Christ seem to have a different agenda from that of the Father. That would have been anathema to Jesus, who asserted that his entire redemptive ministry was consciously designed to carry out a divinely arranged plan (John 6:38-39). T. J. Crawford writes,
  

  The atonement originated in the love of God. It is the consequence and not the cause of God’s willingness to save sinners. In this light the Savior Himself is careful to present it. Instead of ascribing to His Father all the sternness and severity, and claiming as His own all the tenderness and compassion, He takes special pains to impress us with the assurance that the purpose of His mission was to proclaim the loving message and to execute the loving will of His Father who is in heaven.²

  In the atonement, we are not running from the Father, who as a stern Judge is ready to condemn us, to the Son, who is more gracious than the Father. Rather, in the atonement we have a way to run to the Father and rest in him, for Christ’s sake, the way a child runs to and rests in the lap of his or her father.

  Then, too, Arminian redemption divides Christ from Christ, as it were. Calvinism insists that Christ’s entire priestly work must be viewed as a harmonious whole. His expiation by atoning death and his priestly intercession are co-extensive. What an oxymoron it is to maintain that Christ died for everyone but intercedes only for some (John 17:2, 4, 6, 9, 12, 20, 24).

  Finally, Arminian redemption disavows the saving ministry of the Holy Spirit, since it claims that Christ’s blood has a wider application than does the Spirit’s saving work. Any presentation of salvation that makes the Father’s or the Spirit’s work in salvation lag behind Christ’s work contradicts the inherent unity of the Trinity. The Father and the Son are one. The Spirit and the Son are one. Christ cannot possibly have died for those whom the Father did not decree to save and in whom the Spirit does not savingly work. God cannot be at odds with himself. Arminianism is inconsistent universalism.

• It rejects all of the other points of Calvinism. The Arminian view of the atonement rejects the doctrine of man’s total depravity, teaching that man has the ability within himself to receive and accept Christ. It rejects unconditional election, teaching that God elects on the basis of foreseen faith. It rejects irresistible grace, teaching that man’s will is stronger than God’s. It rejects perseverance of the saints, teaching that man can apostatize from the faith. J. I. Packer says,
  

  It cannot be over-emphasized that we have not seen the full meaning of the cross till we have seen it as the centre of the gospel, flanked on the one hand by total inability and unconditional election and on the other by irresistible grace and final preservation.³

• It detracts from the glory of God. If God does everything in salvation, he gets all the glory. But if God can only do so much and not everything, then the person who completes the bridge gets at least some glory. That is why there is so much emphasis in mass evangelism on the free will of man. The glory of God is not exalted, and neither is the glory of Christ lifted up for providing a perfect and complete salvation. We are told of the free will of man, without which salvation cannot be put into effect. We are told to exercise our free will without being told that this will is in bondage due to our depraved nature. We cannot freely choose God and salvation on our own. We cannot complete the bridge. God completes the bridge, as we are told in 1 Corinthians 1:18-31, so that ‘no flesh should glory in his presence.’ Universal atonement exalts the will of man and debases the glory of God.
• It undermines thankfulness and assurance. Why should I thank God for something that I achieved? If the Lord Jesus did no more for me than he did for Judas and the inhabitants of Sodom, why should I thank him rather than myself? And if there are some for whom Christ died who are in hell today, how can I be sure the atonement will atone for me?
• It perverts evangelism. We repeatedly hear today in evangelistic messages: “Christ died for you. What will you do for him?’ But do we ever find in the Bible that someone is told personally, ‘Christ died for you’? Rather, we find the work of Christ explained, followed by a call to everyone: ‘Repent and believe the gospel.’ The message is not ‘Believe that Christ died for you’ or ‘Believe that you are one of the elect.’ It is ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.’
• It disparages the intrinsic efficacy of the atonement itself. Arminians teach that Christ’s work induces the Father to accept graciously what Jesus accomplished in the place of a full satisfaction of his justice. It is as if Jesus persuaded his Father to accept something less than justice demanded. That is why Arminius claimed that when God saved sinners, he moved from his throne of justice to his throne of grace. But God does not have two thrones; his throne of justice is his throne of grace (Psa. 85:10). Arminianism forgets that the atonement does not win God’s love but is the provision of his love. In that provision, Christ paid the full price of justice. He did not make a down payment on the debt owed; he paid the full price of sin so that the Father as Judge could justly cancel the debt (Heb. 10:14-18).

Arminianism, then, is ultimately inconsistent universalism, as John Owen showed powerfully in his A Display of Arminianism. Owen explains the fallacy of the Arminian view of the divine design of the atonement as follows:

God imposed his wrath due unto, and Christ underwent the pains of hell, for, either all the sins of all men, or all the sins of some men, or some sins of all men. If the last, some sins of all men, then have all men some sins to answer for, and so shall no man be saved. If the second, that is it which we affirm, that Christ in their stead and room suffered for all the sins of all the elect in the world. If the first, why, then, are not all freed from the punishment of all their sins? You will say, ‘Because of their unbelief; they will not believe.’ But this unbelief, is it a sin, or not? If not, why should they be punished for it? If it be, then Christ underwent the punishment due to it, or not. If so, then why must that hinder them more than their other sins for which he died from partaking of the fruit of his death? If he did not, then did he not die for all their sins.⁴

 

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Notes:

1. Autobiography, Volume 1: The Early Years (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1962), p. 172. This chapter from The Early Years is also available in booklet form from the Trust, A Defence of Calvinism.

2. The Doctrine of Holy Scripture Respecting the Atonement (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1954), p. 192. My heartfelt thanks to David Murray for several thoughts contained in this article.

3. Quoted in John Blanchard, The Complete Gathered Gold (Darlington, England: Evangelical Press, 2006), p. 35; cf. Ronald Cammenga and Ronald Hanko, Saved by Grace: A Study of the Five Points of Calvinism 2nd ed. (Grandville, Mich.: Reformed Free Publishing Association, 2002), pp. 122-123.

4. The Works of John Owen, Volume 10 (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1967), pp. 173-4.

Taken with permission from the October 2009 Banner of Sovereign Grace Truth. Note 1 added.

 

Answering a Call

Hello, everyone! It’s been 7 months since I last posted here on my blog.  Many things have happened since then: a new U.S. president, an alleged new direction for the United States, a job loss for me and a searching of my soul for what God would have me do.  I’ve had many, many thoughts go through my mind, but have not had a whole lot of time to put them down in blog-form.  One of the culprits of this, of course, if Facebook.  My thoughts are posted there many times a day, but with very little, if any, explanation.

This particular post is more personal than previous posts. Instead of sharing my feelings about Obama (and there are plenty, believe me) or discussing theological issues about which I’m passionate, I’m going to share what God has been dealing with me about for over 18 months, even prior to my job loss earlier this year: His call on my life.

I believe that God has called me into full time ministry of some kind. Given my musical ability, I can assume that music will be a part of this calling.  However, I cannot rule out that one day I might take on other roles.

As I said, this call has been ‘nagging’ me for over 18 months and in some sense, I feel it has been there my whole life. Through the years, God had opened other doors in my career, so I felt good that He had me where He wanted me. What I’ve since come to realize is that God was preparing me for this next big step in my life- full time ministry.

I am answering this call and making it public here on my blog.

In light of this, I have applied and been accepted to Southern Seminary in Louisville, KY and will be utilizing the extension class schedule here in Nashville.  I feel that to effectively lead and serve God’s people and to be able to further develop my theological roots, I needed to attain at least a Masters level in Theology.   So, I begin classes Monday night.

I have to tell you, this is a total step of faith for me and my family. I’m still without a steady income due to the layoff in February, but for some reason, I can feel the hand of God moving me to take this step. It’s really unexplainable and somewhat uncomfortable. If you know me, I like to have ALL my ducks in a row before moving into something new. This is unlike anything I’ve done before.

I’m posting this so that you can pray for me. That is the #1 thing I’m asking you to do- PRAY! I’ve seen seemingly impossible things accomplished with prayer, not that we’re to pray only to get something (see my post on PRAYER). God answered these particular things on His timetable, but allowed our prayers to be used.  So, I covet your prayers.

I’m also posting this to let you know my PayPal address in case God moves you to (yes) donate to the seminary cause!   Like I said, I’m not sure where the funds are coming from to pay for this semester, but the good news is that I’m only taking one or two courses, not a full load.  So, the cost is not as high as some would think.  My PayPal address is: DTJ612@aol.com

I’m moving ahead with this call and I thank you for your prayer support during this time. I will return soon with more thoughts about God, life, politics and whatever else comes to mind!

Solus Christus!

David

 

2009 in God’s Hands

I wanted to let everyone know that my position was eliminated in February due to cutbacks at my company. So, my mind has been reeling with all kinds of thoughts, including this blog. If you were wondering “where I went”, please know that I will be back soon with more thoughts about God, politics and life in general!

If you are so inclined, I would certainly appreciate your prayers during this time as I seek God’s face and find the next step on my appointed journey.

I do not rely on the president, for sure.

I cannot rely on my employer.

I do not rely on my family, though their love and continuous prayers brighten every day of my life.

I only rely on God and His sovereignty. Times like the present are perfect moments for God to shine and for us to listen and follow Him. I’m so glad He has things mapped out. (I simply wish He’d reveal His plan a little more quickly!!)

Goodbye for now.

Solus Christus!

David

 

Zune-less!

Well, I thought it was just mine, but apparently all 30GB Zunes decided to quit overnight.  I was in the middle of an R.C. Sproul podcast as I was drifting off to sleep about 1 a.m. and it just quit… midstream!

The Zune will not reboot or reset. It cannot be synced or wiped.  All I have is a Zune boot screen with a full status bar.  Nothing changes no matter what I do.  So, now I know that Microsoft is aware of the problem, as it has happened all across the fruited plain and beyond.

For those stopping by for answers, you’ll find some relief here, but no firm solution yet. Here are a couple of links I’ve found.

http://www.zune.net/en-US/support

http://gizmodo.com/5121311/30gb-zunes-failing-everywhere-all-at-once?skyline=true&s=x

In a more upbeat note, Happy New Year, everyone!   Looking forward to all God has planned for me, my family, my church and my small group.  It has been a growing year for me personally and I hope to cross many milestones in 2009 spiritually and musically.

Enjoy the new year and remember that no matter what, it is God who is in control!

David

 

The Necessity of Prayer

As a believer in Christ, reformed in my theology, I often come across people who will pose interesting (and sometimes very tough) questions about the NEED to pray.  “After all,” they say, “if God is sovereign and has everything planned out anyway, why pray?”

When discussing these deeper theological issues with anyone, I’ll be the first to admit that it took me quite some time to come to a solid belief on this issue.  This, even while embracing the doctrines of grace taught in scripture, gave me pause.  It still does from time to time.

What seemed most troubling for me was the issue of praying for those we wish to be saved.  Scripture clearly teaches that salvation belongs to the Lord (Ps. 3:8, Rev. 7:10).  We also know that God is the AUTHOR of our faith (Heb. 12:2).  It’s all up to Him! So why do we pray when the very act of election is up to God? “Isn’t this a mere exercise in futility?”, my friends would ask. “What good does it do to pray?”  Good question.  And there’s a really good answer!

I think that prayer is extremely important, but not for reasons we usually think.  Most evangelicals in the western world have become so accustomed to praying FOR something to GET something.  We pray that God will DO something FOR us.  This is not a bad thing, but for many, it has become the main reason we pray- to GET SOMETHING.  But how many times do we pray for God’s will to be done- even when it means our friend dies of cancer, or some tragedy strikes; when our agenda is not advanced?  Whether most of us admit it or not, we have a tendency to view God as a cosmic Santa Claus, completely willing and able to dole out the free gifts.  “All we have to do is ask,” we’re told.  Many TV evangelists, in an effort to get more cash in their coffers, promise that if you have enough faith, pray and send money- God will ‘pour out his blessings’ on you.  “If He doesn’t… well, apparently you didn’t have enough faith.”  (Don’t you just wish they’d offer a money back guarantee??)  Clearly, this is bad theology and is not taught in scripture. (This gets into the word/faith movement and false prophets of the health/wealth gospel, so I’ll leave this topic for now… but realize that it does involve the abuse of prayer, and hence why some nonbelievers see Christianity as lame.)

Don’t get me wrong. I believe there are numerous scriptures that support the fact that we are to petition God.  I believe God wants to hear from his people in feast or famine, in need or not.  But is this the #1reason to pray- to get things from God?  I believe this view of prayer stems from bad theology, pelagian thought and a very human-centered reality where God is there for the pleasure of mankind- not the other way around!  We would do well to remember what James said in chapter 4 of his letter:

James 4:3
You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.

So, what would be the primary reason to pray? Why is prayer so important, if not to get things from God?  I was reading Spurgeon yesterday.  And once again, I was amazed at how he explained the reason we are commanded to pray:

The act of prayer teaches us our unworthiness, which is a very salutory lesson for such proud human beings as we are. If God gave us favors without constraining us to pray for them, we should never know how poor we are, but a true prayer is an inventory of wants, a catalogue of necessities, a revelation of hidden poverty. While it is an application to divine wealth, it is a confession of human emptiness.  The most healthy state of a Christian is to be always empty in self and constantly depend upon the Lord for supplies, to be always poor in self and rich in Jesus. Prayer is in itself, apart from the answer that it brings, a great benefit to the Christian. As the runner gains strength for the race by daily exercise, so for the great race of life, we acquire energy by the hallowed labor of prayer. An earnest pleader comes out of his closet, even as the sun rises from the chambers of the east, rejoicing like a strong man to run his race.  Prayer girds human weakness with divine strength, turns human folly into heavenly wisdom, and gives troubled mortals the peace of God.  We know not what prayer cannot do! We thank You, great God, for the mercy seat, a choice proof of Your marvelous loving-kindness. Help us to use it in the right manner throughout this day!

So, when I pray FOR something, I’m first and foremost admitting my dependence on a Sovereign God! My desire to see my friends come to know the Lord should always be secondary to desiring God’s will! My desire for my friend’s cancer to be healed should always give way to wanting God’s sovereign will in my friend’s life, trusting in His ultimate plan and realizing my utter dependence on His power over the situation.

When we pray, we should not have a selfish “gimme, gimme, gimme” attitude, as we’re all inclined to have because of our fallen nature.  We should first and foremost seek the will of God in any situation and realize the real reason we’ve been commanded to pray- to remind us of Who is really in control of everything!

Soli Deo Gloria!

David

 

Obama’s Presidency = The JOKER PARADE

Eerily similarities exist between reality of an Obama administration and this Tim Burton clip from 1987’s BATMAN.  Classic bait-and-switch! It’s all fun and tears of joy and inspiration until they find out the truth that socialism doesn’t work!  America, God help us!

For those of you that actually watch the vid, note the following…

1. Deceive by offering free money (look how happy everyone is!!)
2. Stifle the ‘little people’ while saying he’s helping them (the joker actually gases them)
3. Hates and eventually destroys the military. (the joker actually shoots down the Batwing)

Praying for America (and you should too),

David

p.s. Some of you video editors out there… would love to see O’s head on the joker somehow. That would be…poignant, don’t you think?

 

Election ‘08- God’s Will Was Done!

Romans 8:35-39 reads:

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?  As it is written,

“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.  For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor RULERS nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

In my finite human mind that is reeling right now, I cannot fathom how God’s plan might include President Obama.   I do know, however, that the Sovereign God of the universe is still in control!

Atheists and agnostics, you’re on your own.  You might even be thinking Obama is your Messiah for all I know.  As for me, I am taking comfort in the words of Paul above. My future is eternally certain regardless of who is in the White House and regardless of the havoc he will bring this nation.

I’m praying for my nation and for my family tonight like never before.  We’ve ushered in change alright. I fear we’ve also sold what was left of America’s soul down the river. But like I said, my focus has got to be on the One whose ultimate will was accomplished in this election- Almighty God.

“Praise Him from Whom all blessings flow!”

David

 

November 4- The eve of Socialist America? USSA?

Just some random thoughts today about the direction of our country.  I’m trusting God’s sovereignty in this election and will blog about that soon.  But quickly, my deep rooted belief that all things are directed by God and for God’s glory is the driving force in my life.  So ultimately, this election is up to God and not us.  As citizens of this great country, however, we do have the privilege (not the right) to vote our leaders in or out.  Herein lies the context of the remainder of my post.

This season, I’ve pretty much laid low on Obama, McCain, Biden and Palin.   I’ve probably said more about who I’m against than who I’m for.  This is intentional.  No one, except maybe Sarah Palin, has me riveted this election cycle.  Both of the major candidates are liberal.  This has been a very interesting election season.  I’ve seen the debates- all of them.  I’ve listened to pundits.  I’ve watched McCain use kid gloves with Obama and Obama swoon crowds with his empty rhetoric.  I’ve seen what you have seen: the creation of a candidate with little substance, big talk and socialist ideals; a hugely successful marketing campaign called Barack Obama.  So now, we have a choice between a classic democrat (McCain) and a textbook socialist/Marxist (Obama).  Where is the conservative candidate?

So, if I am to believe what ABC, NBC, CBS, PMSNBC, BSNBC and the rest of the liberal media tell me,  America’s OK with socialism????  At this point, it seems so.  But I have to remind myself that aside from a small minority who actually know what Barack stands for, most of the Obama supporters are voting for him because of race or the free money he’s promising.  They feel they are somehow being deprived of rights, money and free rides.  Take this clip from the Howard Stern show, for example.  These people interviewed have absolutely no clue and should stay as far away from the polls as possible!  This is an outrage!  These are the people that flunked out of 5th grade civics class!!  And they’re actually voting??

So today, the latest is that Barack’s socialist ideals have been ‘exposed’ or somehow just now brought to light?  What?  Look at the guy’s record!  He’s been a socialist all his life!  Early on in his political career in the Illinois state senate, listen to what he had to say. Barack Obama not been hiding his socialist agenda, but rather flaunting it!!  And just like the Pied Piper of Hamlin, he’s trying to lead us down a path to a socialist, communist state. And we call this HOPE?????  Please!  I call it despair!  I honestly believe in my gut that America is drunk on the rhetoric of Obama, ready to get Bush out at any cost- literally ANY COST! Even their own freedoms.

Barack Hussein Obama is dangerous.  His origin is in question.  His loyalties are shady and not in this country’s best long term interest.  His economic models pit class against class, rich vs. poor, corporate vs. little guy.  His foreign policy indicates he wants to negotiate with rogue terrorist nations without preconditions. He believes in essentially waving the white flag and pulling out of Iraq prematurely despite what commanders on the ground have said- “THE SURGE IS WORKING!!!” He wants a bigger federal government with more programs, more funding (higher taxes from you and me) and more power. Isn’t this diametrically opposed to what America was founded on?  Smaller government, lower taxes, the American dream, etc.?

Obama’s plan?  This is NOT hope at all! It’s HYPE! Funny he uses the word “HOPE” as if a socialist, pacifist America will be able to continue it’s rich, free tradition of capitalism and the American dream.

America, wake up before it’s too late!  Next Monday night could be the eve of the USSA!

Peace and HOPE… REAL HOPE!

David

 

Synergistic Salvation? Lending God a Hand

I read this again today and was impressed to post it to my blog…

I can’t take credit, but this is a great treatment of the idea of synergism by Patch Blakey.  In theological terms, synergism stands juxtaposed to monergism and teaches that God and man work together in the work of salvation.  Most, if not all, Arminians believe that we work with God to secure our own salvation (i.e. make a choice of our own free will, etc.).  Some Arminian Christians go further and believe that one must continue to work to KEEP salvation.  I can’t fathom the nervous unrest this thinking must produce in the hearts and minds of my Arminian brothers.  But, I guess a works-based salvation necessarily requires a works-based retention of that salvation. How depressing! Glad my Bible reads, “…not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us…” (Titus 3.5) This must not appear in some bibles or something!

Anyway, here’s a great article by Patch Blakey that I found last year.  Enjoy…

Synergistic Salvation

Patch Blakey

Unbelieving man clings to his human autonomy. This is not strange, considering that he is at enmity with God, loves the darkness rather than the light, and seeks his own way which ultimately leads to physical death. Unregenerate man is dead in his trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1). As a result of being a son of Adam (Rom. 5:12), and because of his own sin (Isa. 59:2), unbelieving man is separated from God. The root cause of this human autonomy is pride.

Now what should strike us as odd is that many Christians cling to their human autonomy. Despite the fact that they verbally acknowledge that God was the One who saved them, when pressed on the point, they generally tend to say that it was by the exercise of their own free will that they were saved. In other words, as the teaching goes, God made salvation possible, but man had to exercise his sinful free will to believe the gospel, resulting in his salvation. This is most assuredly a synergistic approach to salvation.

Synergism is a process where two or more organisms achieve an effect of which each is individually incapable. Many Christians teach and believe that God is incapable of saving anyone apart from their choosing to be saved, and that man is incapable of saving himself apart from the atoning work of Christ. But together, as a sort of cosmic team, man can be saved. This is theological synergism, which only serves to preserve man’s sinful human autonomy, and at the very point when God makes a sinful man into a new creature. We’ve imported into our theology of salvation the very poison that resulted in mankind needing a savior in the first place.

The Apostle Paul wrote, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Cor. 5:17). And again, he stated, “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature” (Gal. 6:15). What God desires is a new creature, not the same old sinful one. Otherwise, from what were we then saved?

Now the Bible makes it clear that God is the Creator, the source of all life. Only God creates new life. Let’s look at some examples. Moses recorded the creation of Adam like this, “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (Gen. 2:7). It should be noted in this first formation of new life, that Adam did not exercise his free will to help God create him. In fact, Adam used his free will after creation to seek death, not only for himself, but for the whole world.

Another example is found in the prophecies of Ezekiel when the Lord carried Ezekiel and set him down in the valley of bones. God commanded Ezekiel to prophecy to the bones, “Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the Lord” (Ezekiel 37:56). A couple of points to note: first, the bones were dead until God gave them life. Second, the bones did not have any say in whether they would be given life or not. God didn’t even woo the bones to try and get them to come to Him for life. He decreed life, and they lived.

In the New Testament, Jesus had a friend, Lazarus who became sick and died. Jesus went to Bethany to raise Lazarus back to life. When Jesus commanded that the stone covering the tomb should be removed, Martha, one of Lazarus’ sisters, complained that Lazarus would stink, having been dead and buried for four days. But Jesus persisted, and when the stone was rolled away He prayed to His Father, “And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth” (John 11:43). Lazarus came forth from the grave alive. Again, it is instructive to note the pattern. Lazarus was dead, Christ spoke, and Lazarus came to life. No wooing, no choosing, no synergism; just God-given life.

Even in Jesus’ discourse with Nicodemus, Jesus rebuked this master teacher of Israel for not knowing that he must be born again to enter the kingdom of God (John 3:3-10). Now, what newborn ever contributed to his own conception by an exercise of his free will? In fact, Jesus made it clear to Nicodemus that it was God alone who gave life, “The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit” (John 3:8). If we had a part in our own salvation, then we would certainly know it, but then this would make nonsense of Jesus’ analogy.

Let’s be clear. We do have a will, but it is a human sinful will, full of pride and self. This is unredeemed man at his worst. As God’s new creation, we need to leave the old man behind, including our human autonomy, and deny as a heresy the idea that God has done His part, and that man must do his. Synergism has its place, but not in the biblical doctrine of Christian salvation.

Copyright © 2007 Credenda/Agenda. All rights reserved.

 

A Soft Answer to a Local Pastor

I really have grown a bit calloused to Arminian straw men.  I used to walk around with matches, but not anymore.  They’re not really worth it.

They knock on my door on a daily basis.  I drive down the interstate with them blaring on the radio some days.  Sometimes, I turn on the TV and they are standing in pulpits preaching quasi-gospel jibber jabber.  These straw men come in many forms, shapes and sizes.  Some of them even seem scary (hey, would that make them.. scarecrows?).  But one thing is true about them: all of them can be pushed over easily with truth.

I do my fair share of lurking in blogs without commenting.  Believe me, it’s tough to tie my tongue (or fingers) some days.  I see such ignorance out there, especially concerning Reformed doctrine, something that I’ve spent the better part of 11 years studying, hence abandoning my former Arminian ways.  In doing so, I’ve found something interesting:  the more ignorant someone is of Reformed thought, the more verbose and vitriolic they are in their blogs toward those of us who hold it- not always, but in general.

Such is the case with a local pastor here in Nashville, TN.  This particular pastor shows absolutely no knowledge of Reformed doctrine, but has managed to muster 95 Theses of his own why it’s wrong.  Now, giving credit where credit is due, let me say that he DOES preface his 95 Theses by saying he’s being sarcastic- like Luther was.  Well, I’m probably giving more benefit of the doubt than he deserves, but let’s chalk that up to my adherence to Proverbs 15:1!

After living 27 years steeped in Arminian thought, for whatever reason, God has brought me to a place where I am just now seeing the beauty of his eternal plan in the doctrines of grace.  I always gave myself a little credit for my own salvation- even while memorizing Ephesians 2:8-9 as a kid!  “I’m not performing works,” I reasoned. “I simply decided to choose Christ on my own because perhaps I’m smarter than some.” Wow.  I was wrong!!!!!  And so is this semi-Pelagian pastor in Nashville, who shall remain nameless in this post.

Most of the 95 Theses presented are completely laughable.  There is more straw in these straw men than I’ve seen in quite a while.  I originally read these back in July, but have finally come to the point that I feel they need to be rebutted in some sense.  Besides, I’m perhaps the only guy in town that read it.. OK… maybe two or three others, but…

His #14 goes like this:

14. Historically Calvinism has been found wanting and is only now making a comeback as the so-called “informed” prey upon the “uninformed”. (Some of these people actually hang out at Christian bookstores so that they can pounce upon new-believer-patrons!)

Tell me, pastor.  When, where, specifics.  What bookstore? This is usually called solicitation and is not allowed in most retail outlets.  Give me specifics.  Was this Nashville? And as far as history goes, ever heard of the Councils of Orange?  How about the Synod of Dort?  Wasn’t it Arminianism that was deemed heresy by the church?  Correct me if I’m wrong, but the Remonstrants were kicked out of the church as heretics.

#17…

17. Today’s proponents of Reformed Theology have a strategy to overthrow the church through collegiate gatherings and youth outreaches, using lively music and the Internet (using blogs and myspace). This allows them access to kids they might not otherwise be able to reach (i.e. The kids in your church.)

Wow.  Didn’t know this, but this is GREAT!  I’d call this outreach and evangelism, pastor.   Something you clearly say doesn’t exist in your #33 and #49:

33. Calvinism is indifferent towards the souls predestined for hell.

49. Calvinism is often times unfeeling, cold, and calloused in its “evangelizing out of obedience” mentality – unconcerned about the result, because, after all – God chooses doesn’t He?

In other, more preposterous theses, this pastor is off the deep end mentally, and wading in the kiddie pool theologically:

57. Closet Calvinism steals words and their meanings, like… “Gospel, sovereign, grace, biblical, etc.” and redefines them.

58. Calvinism would have to agree that an aborted baby, a molested child, a rape young girl were all the good pleasure of God – or at least his evil agent, Satan was sent to do His dirty work.

59. Calvinism makes all human endeavor “Vanity! Vanity!”

60. Calvinism has no real understanding of prophecy.

65. Calvinism confuses God with the devil – God the human-manipulator!

75. Death, destruction, pain, suffering, sorrow, despair, hell and the grave – would all be friends of God.

89. Our enemies are not self, Satan, and sin – but God Who works the evil in us!

93. Calvinism makes all ministry – stupid!

OK… Enough nonsense!  Like I said, there’s plenty of straw to go around.  On the theological front, Mr. Nashville pastor extraordinaire takes scriptures out of context left and right to make his fallacious points:

77. If Jesus truly came to “seek and to save that which is lost” – would that not be the “children of wrath”?

Speaking of Luke 19:10, the Calvinist would say that we were all children of wrath.  Yes.  In John 3:36, we read,

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

I ask the good pastor… How can God’s wrath REMAIN on someone if it wasn’t there in the first place?  Paul says in Ephesians 2:3:

…among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body[1] and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

And who can forget Christ’s words in John 3:18…

Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already , because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

And that verse follows the famous John 3:16 that is taken out of context more than any other verse in scripture:

“God loved the world like so: He gave His only son so that WHOEVER WOULD BELIEVE in Him would not perish, but have eternal life.”

The WHOEVER there is always deemed by Arminian thinkers as an open invitation to make the choice to follow Christ on one’s own free will.  However, the WHOEVER mentioned in John 3:16 is a particular subset of people.  Certainly you wouldn’t say that someone that doesn’t believe would be saved, would you? So, in your estimation, WHOEVER means every man, woman, boy, girl and infant ever born.  Got it.  How, then do you reconcile the fact that there are those who HATE GOD and his plan? Did Jesus die for them? Must not have worked on them, then.  So, the Arminians leave us with a God that planned to save people, gave it a good college try, but failed. Foiled by human free will.  That’s thin ice, pastor!  When human free will and God’s sovereignty come face to face (as if that’s possible), you’d bet on human will.  I’d bet on God’s sovereignty!  And… pretty much.. you’d lose!

Going back to the whole “wrath” term you seem to be scared to death of… It seems pretty clear from scripture that we are all children of wrath until regenerated by the Holy Spirit.  That’s why again in Ephesians 2, Paul says…

4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

In the original greek, the word “Dead” means..  DEAD.  It’s no coincidence that Paul used it here.  So, when is the last time you remember a dead person doing anything, let alone making concious choices?

Pastor, it’s pretty clear who saves who.  God saves sinners according to his will, not ours (Rom. 9).  We don’t know who will be saved, therefore we evangelize.  We’re not in a club and true Christians aren’t arrogant.  We know the truth of the Gospel presented by the apostles and Christ.   We don’t leave church each Sunday wondering if our messages were ‘powerful enough to persuade’, we simply preach Christ and let God do His sovereign work.

Pastor, I believe you’re wrong in a big way.  But neither one of us will ever convince the other, I feel certain.  And hopefully, you’ll see this post as a soft answer to what I believe are plain silly statements about Calvinism and Reformed thought (there I go masking Calvinism again, huh?).

As the great preacher Charles H. Spurgeon once said…

Calvinism did not spring from Calvin.  We believe it sprang from the Great Founder of all Truth!

To which you would reply with #93:

93. Calvinism makes all ministry – stupid!

““Sigh““`  Whatever!

Soli Deo Gloria!

David