Posted on 07/25/2002 7:23:40 AM PDT by xzins
THE WRONG TEACHINGS OF MAN
According to the Canons of Dordt (Third & Fourth Heads of Doctrine -- Article 11), "But when God accomplishes His good pleasure in the elect, or works in them true conversion, He not only causes the gospel to be externally preached to them, and powerfully illuminates their minds by His Holy Spirit, that they may rightly understand and discern the things of the Spirit of God; but by the efficacy of the same regenerating Spirit He pervades the inmost recesses of man; He opens the closed and softens the hardened heart, and circumcises that which was uncircumcised; infuses new qualities into the will, which, though heretofore dead, He quickens; from being evil, disobedient, and refractory, He renders it good, obedient, and pliable; actuates and strengthens it, that like a good tree, it may bring forth the fruits of good actions."
Article 12 states: "And this is that regeneration so highly extolled in Scripture ... which God works in us without our aid. It is evidently a supernatural work, most powerful, and at the same time most delightful, astonishing, mysterious, and ineffable. All in whose heart God works in this marvelous manner are certainly, infallibly, and effectually regenerated, and do actually believe."
Article 22 of The Belgic Confession states: "We believe that, to attain a true knowledge of this great mystery, the Holy Spirit kindles in our hearts an upright faith, which embraces Jesus Christ with all His merits, appropriates Him, and seeks nothing more besides Him."
John Calvin, in his Institutes of the Christian Religion, writes that God "has given the true knowledge of Himself in an internal manner, by the illumination of His Spirit, without the intervention of any preaching."
Calvinism teaches that those who are not of the elect "cannot believe, even though he hears the external preaching of the Word and perhaps reads it for himself many times!" In the elect, however, "the Holy Spirit works IRRESISTIBLY, regenerating him so that he understands fully that he is a sinner and needs God, and, therefore, wants to be saved and to believe" (Dr. Edwin H. Palmer, The Five Points of Calvinism, p. 48).
"Thus, the once dead sinner is drawn to Christ by the inward supernatural call of the Spirit who through regeneration makes him alive and creates within him faith and repentance. The special inward call of the Spirit never fails to result in the conversion of those to whom it is made. This special call is not made to all sinners, but it is issued to the elect only! The Spirit is in no way dependent upon their help or cooperation for success in His work of bringing them to Christ. It is for this reason that Calvinists speak of the Spirit's call and of God's grace in saving sinners as being 'efficacious,' 'invincible,' or 'irresistible.' For the grace which the Holy Spirit extends to the elect cannot be thwarted or refused, it never fails to bring them to true faith in Christ!" (Steele & Thomas, The Five Points of Calvinism, p. 49).
VERSUS THE HOLY TEACHINGS OF GOD
Is Calvinism's doctrine of Irresistible Grace a valid teaching in light of God's Word? Let us again ask some important questions and seek their answer from the inspired Scriptures.
QUESTION
This doctrine teaches that the Holy Spirit gives faith to the elect even before they have heard the gospel. Indeed, it maintains one cannot either understand or accept the gospel unless he has first been given faith to do so. Is faith something imposed irresistibly upon the elect, or does it come from hearing and accepting the Word of God?
Romans 10:17 ..... "So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ." "But many of those who had heard the word believed" (Acts 4:4).
John 20:30-31 ..... "Many other signs therefore Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name."
John 17:20 ..... "I do not ask in behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word." "Send to Joppa, and have Simon, who is also called Peter, brought here; and he shall speak words to you by which you will be saved, you and all your household" (Acts 11:13-14).
Acts 18:4, 8 ..... "And he was reasoning in the synagogue every Sabbath and trying to persuade Jews and Greeks. And Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord with all his household, and many of the Corinthians when they heard were believing and being baptized."
James 1:18, 21 ..... "In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth .... Therefore, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls." "Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you" (I Corinthians 15:1-2).
Romans 1:16 ..... "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek."
Luke 8:11, 15 ..... (The Parable of the Sower) --- "Now the parable is this: the seed is the word of God. And the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance."
I Corinthians 1:21 ..... "God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe."
QUESTION
Calvinism's doctrine of Irresistible Grace teaches that you cannot resist the grace of God, nor can you resist His Spirit. What does the Bible say? (Can you resist the grace of God and can you resist the Holy Spirit?)
Revelation 3:20 ..... "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with Me." The Holy Spirit is a gentleman! He knocks at the door of your heart, he doesn't kick it down! Man has the choice to hear and open, or to refuse Him entrance.
Matthew 23:37 ..... "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem ... How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling."
II Timothy 3:8 ..... "And just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose (resist) the truth." "Thou didst bear with them for many years, and admonished them by Thy Spirit through Thy prophets, yet they would not give ear" (Nehemiah 9:30). "The angel of His presence saved them; in His love and in His mercy He redeemed them. But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit; therefore, He turned Himself to become their enemy, and fought against them" (Isaiah 63:9-10).
Acts 7:51 ..... "You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did." "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God" (Ephesians 4:30). "Do not quench the Spirit" (I Thessalonians 5:19).
QUESTION
Does God give His Holy Spirit to the elect before they have heard, believed and accepted the gospel (as Calvinism teaches), or does He bestow His Spirit only upon those who have accepted Christ?
John 14:17 ..... Jesus promises to send to His disciples "the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him."
John 7:38-39 ..... "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.' This He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive."
Acts 2:38 ..... "Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." "God has given the Holy Spirit to those who obey Him" (Acts 5:32). Peter says that the Gentiles received the same gift (the Holy Spirit) as the Jews did, "after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 11:17).
Galatians 4:6 ..... "And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba! Father!'"
Ephesians 1:13-14 ..... "In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation -- having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance."
Galatians 3:2 ..... "This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?"
Galatians 3:13-14 ..... "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us -- for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree' -- in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith." Calvinists would say that we receive faith through the Spirit; God's Word says we receive the Spirit through faith! Nowhere in the Word of God does it teach that the Holy Spirit directly, miraculously, and irresistibly opens and enters the hearts of unbelieving and unrepentant sinners and regenerates them against their will.
"The doctrine of the Direct Operation of the Holy Spirit in the conversion of man, sometimes referred to as 'special' or 'saving' or 'irresistible' grace; teaching that man is inherently depraved and cannot respond to the gospel without the direct intervention of the Holy Spirit; is man's doctrine, not Bible doctrine. If the Direct Operation of the Holy Spirit is true, then the logical implication is that the Word of God is insufficient in the conversion of the sinner. If the doctrine of Irresistible Grace is true, then it places the responsibility of salvation entirely upon God and destroys the responsibility of man to act. If Irresistible Grace is truly 'irresistible,' it destroys the 'free moral agency' of man" (David Gibson, Calvin's TULIP Theology).
-- Pope Xzins, ex cathedra
I had thought about trying to catch you sermonize if schedule permitted. Are you always in the pulpit or do you rotate with other/others?
nope, brother xzins, ex biblia.
Kindness, DrJ, you're 'sposed to have a :-) after those kinds of posts.
In fact, regeneration is applied by God's Spirit prior to the offer of salvation. That grace makes the individual able and willing to believe or accept the offer. Romans teaches that by nature no one seeketh after God. By nature, no one wants to be saved. Hence, no one can accept the offer of salvation unless they are regenerated and made willing to accept the offer. A salvation that can be accepted or rejected by a sinner is a salvation that is earned. This is so because it is predicated on the autonomous ability to accept the offer. Grace that is earned thereby is not grace.
A dollar bill that is rejected is still a dollar bill bill. But grace that is earned is not grace. If there was something in the person that gave them the power to accept the offer, then salvation would be predicated on the inherent ability to accept that offer. Salvation would be based on something meritorious in the individual. Hence, the gift would no longer be of grace.
You raise a curious and clever argument. Unfortunately, you are slipping dangerously into pelagianism. Be careful my friend.
Irrevelent ...Jesus gave that 100 dollar bill to the banker for your debt...it was marked paid in full...
So will the JUST God demand to burn in hell for an unpaid bill that his son already paid?
There are lots of folks that think they have saved themselves..to them Jesus says
Mat 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Would you point me to your "God is my co pilot" scripture?
Your post assumes the philosophical argument that guides calvinism and then uses it to justify irresistible grace.
The above post presents the bible information on times when grace has been resisted and then builds a doctrine.
So the cross accomplished nothing? It was only a bid on your soul? ...Going once going twice...oppps withdrawn from the auction?
I thought the debt was paid at the cross..do you have scripture to say it was not?
This evening our family read Psalm 11. In that Psalm, God is described as having eyes and eyelids. Other scriptures refer to the arms or hands of God. John 4 clearly teaches that God is a spirit and hence does not have a body like men. Which is true? There is an apparent contradiction. But we know that the Bible is consistent.
You read and cite scripture that supports what appears to be a teaching that God's grace can be resisted. However, we must interpret those verses you cite in light of other verses. You mention individuals rejected God and would have appeared to have successfully rejected his grace.
In Romans 9, Paul specifically deals with the issue of God's sovereignty in salvation. In v. 14 Paul says, "Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid." v. 15 ...but I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I ill have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth of him that runneth, but of God who shows mercy." In other words, one cannot become a child of God relying on the strength of their will.
v.18 "Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy and whom he will hardeneth." Wait a minute. My...you mean God actually hardens the hearts of men? And he has compassion only on those whom he wills? Yes. As a result some men will reject God, just as Pharoah actually rejected the pleas of Moses and Aaron. But who actually hardened his heart? Check Exodus and you will find that God did. And hence, we touch one of the greatest of mysteries. God hardens the heart of men, yet those men still remain absolutely responsible for his sin. Conversely, all those whom God has chosen will be saved. Romans 8:30 says "For whom he did predestinate, them he also called (called through the preaching of the gospel):and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified." There is no hint here that anyone chosen by God will be able to successfully resist Him.
Let's also look at John 6:37 and 39. "All that the Father hath given me shall come to me; and him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out." "And this is the father's will which he hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day."
The scripture says that all that the Father hath given unto the Son in the covenant of redemption will effectually come unto the Son. That leaves no room for being able to successfully resist the grace of God. All those given unto the Son in the predestinating grace of God, will ultimately come unto the Son. This is reinforced in v. 39 when the Lord states that of all that the Father hath given unto the Son, he would lose nothing. No room for being able to successfully resist the grace of God.
The only remaining question is whether those who are not predestinated actually receive a full free and unfettered offer of Christ in the gospel. That is a very difficult question, but the answer is yes. They receive a genuine offer but they are unwilling to receive that offer due to the fact that they are dead in their sins. And they are dead in their sins due to their own depravity and sinfulness. They only difference between the saved and the unsaved person is that God in his mercy willed that one would be a vessel of honor and the other a vessel of dishonor. The vessel of dishonor, however, has no claim of unrighteousness against God. Romans 9:20: Shall the thing formed say unto him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? v.21: Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel of honor and another unto dishonor. All this is that he might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy which he hath prepared unto glory. v. 23.
Therefore, the elect person will never be able to resist the will of God. The non-elect God has no compassion on, he actually hardens his heart as he rejects God. And in the end that condemned soul has no complaint against God for making him the way he is because God is absolutely sovereign in predestination to show mercy on whom He wills.
Arminians and pelagians will try to pull the threads of these doctrines apart. But that cannot be done. The gospel is an interdependent whole. Similarly, the Bible presents a complete tapestry of God's grace that cannot be picked apart according to our whim.
May God bless you.
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