Posts Tagged ‘Calvinism’
What is “federal headship”?
Question: I really enjoy the content you put out. Very straight and to the point. What do Calvinists mean when they talk about “federal headship?” I’ve heard someone mention this in a podcast in an episode on Calvinism. I had not heard the expression until listening to the podcast. Answer: Calvinists believe that Adam’s sin…
Read MoreIrresistible Grace
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Irresistible-Grace.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Matthew 23:34-39 I. John Calvin and his followers believe that God is so totally sovereign in His will that no one can change His creation. He is all powerful and irresistible A. The Westminster Confession of Faith states, “God from all eternity, did … unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass.”…
Read MoreWhat Calvinists call “the Finished Work of Christ”
by Terry Wane Benton The Calvinists are often heard making of “the finished work of Christ” something that was never intended. They say there is nothing we can do to be saved. They say all doing is “finished” by what Christ did on the cross. But that is a misuse of the verses. Sure, Christ…
Read MoreThe Sovereignty of God
by Gene Frost Sovereignty is the state of being sovereign, which is to be “above or superior to all others; chief; greatest; supreme.” We illustrate: In all the realm, the king was sovereign. There was no one holding greater rank, with greater authority, or greater power. He willed that on a certain day, from the…
Read MoreCalvinism in Romans 9
by Matthew W. Bassford If there is any passage in the Bible that Calvinists love, it is Romans 9:6-24. Upon a casual reading, it seems to confirm the Calvinist doctrine of predestination. It talks at great length about God’s mercy and God’s choice being the deciding factors in human existence, and in the context, Paul…
Read MoreCalvinism and the Great Commission
by Wayne Jackson John Calvin (1509-64) was a religious reformer and theologian. The basic premise of his theology was the absolute sovereignty (right to reign) of God, out of which evolved his misguided theory of “predestination.” The Swiss reformer believed that human “free will” was destroyed by man’s “original sin”; thus, the innate power to…
Read MoreConfusing Mercy with Justice
by Matthew W. Bassford The other Sunday, I was approached by one of the younger sisters at church. She had a couple of questions. They involved hypotheticals that many of us have encountered before. What about the tribesman in the Amazon jungle who never gets to hear about the gospel? What about the man who…
Read MoreCan Men Change God’s Will?
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Can-Men-Change-Gods-Will.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Daniel 4:28-37 I. A difficulty those raised in Calvinist beliefs is resolving the idea of God’s sovereign will with the actions of men. A. To many Calvinists, God’s will is immutable (unable to be changed). The idea that men might do something to alter God’s decisions is inconceivable. B. This is…
Read MoreA Tale of Two Gods
How Calvinism’s God and the Bible’s God are Two Very Different God’s by Ben Giselbach One very popular denominational preacher and writer, John Piper, is famous for saying that “all things” – even down to the subatomic level – “are ordained, guided, and governed” by God. [1] The idea that God determines everything can be traced back…
Read MoreThe Sovereignty of God
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/SovereigntyOfGod.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: I Timothy 6:13-21 I. When looking at the history of the development of the denominational world, one issue that has significant impact revolves around understanding God’s sovereignty. A. Sovereignty is being above or superior to others; to be chief, greatest, or supreme. B. The question is: Can God be sovereign if…
Read MoreWhat should I do about a person who is trying to push Calvinism in our congregation?
Question: There is a young man that I go to church with who tries to teach me that Calvinism is true and that you can’t lose your salvation. I used to believe what he teaches, but I stopped believing it. He even laughs when talking about people being prepared for destruction or God’s wrath being…
Read MoreIs Salvation Assured?
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/IsSalvationAssured.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: I John 2:15-25 I. During the Reformation, a man named John Calvin came up with a system of belief that has impacted a large portion of the denominational world. A. The ideas were not original with Calvin. He based his work on many that preceded him. B. What Calvin did was…
Read MoreThe Sovereign Love of God
An Examination of Romans 9 by Bruce Reeves Introduction June 23,24,26,27, 2005, Bruce Reeves debated Calvinistic Baptist Gene Cook on the campus of the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, Arkansas. The first two nights Mr. Cook affirmed, “The scriptures teach that the alien sinner is forgiven of his past sins by faith only, before…
Read MoreIf Christ died for all, then that means all died. Do you really believe that?
Question: In your rebuke of Thayer’s Greek Lexicon, you used the passage of II Corinthians 5:4-15. “For the love of Christ compels us, that if one died for all, then all died.” If “all” means the whole population of the world, then the whole population has died (which in the context of scriptures have died to…
Read MoreI realize now that the church I’m going to teaches Calvinism. Should I go or stay?
Question: I grew up in the Catholic church but then I converted to Protestantism. When I converted I discovered the true love for Christ, and I started changing my lifestyle. For the first time, I felt hungry to learn about God’s Word, and it also made me into a better person. The only problem is…
Read MoreTotal Hereditary Depravity and Ezekiel 18:20
by Bryan Sharp “The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself” (Ezekiel 18:20). Guilt is never transferred from one…
Read MoreTotal Depravity or Total Inability
by Terry W. Benton Calvinism is commonly summarized and remembered by the use of an acrostic formula using the word TULIP. The first letter stands for “Total Depravity” or “Total Spiritual Inability”. Let me let a Calvinist explain what is meant by this term. “Total depravity is a concept that everyone including the elect and…
Read MoreDoes God already know who will be in heaven?
Question: Does God already know who will be in heaven? Based on Revelation 13:8, I think He does. Answer: There are two ways Revelation 13:8 can be translated: “All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation…
Read MoreIf God is sovereign, why does He express sorrow when men are bad? If God knows of everything, why did He repent?
Question: If God is sovereign, why does He express sorrow when men are bad? If God knows of everything, why did He repent in Genesis 6:5-7 and Exodus 32:12? Answer: People have a hard time dealing with the infinite. An age-old puzzle is “If God is so powerful, can He create a rock that He…
Read MoreDoes Romans 9 support Calvinism?
Question: I have been worrying over Calvinism. Could you help me understand Romans 9:20-22 and Romans 9:11-16? In verse 13 you can read of Esau being hated which is after verse 12 where you can read about the older will serve the younger. Calvinist may use this to support their beliefs. What is meant in…
Read MoreDid Jesus die only for the saved?
Question: Can you tell me what exactly our Lord meant when he said in John 10:15 about laying down his life for the sheep? Was that exclusively for the sheep and not the goats, as the Reformed Christians believe? Some Calvinistic doctrine rings true to me. I have some of their literature and preaching tapes…
Read MoreSpiritual Illumination
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/SpiritualIllumination.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: II Corinthians 3 I. What does it take to understand the Bible? A. I had one woman object to an article stating that the Ten Commandments were not directly in effect because they were a part of the Old Law. 1. She told me to read several verses which stated not…
Read MoreHe Cannot Sin
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/HeCannotSin.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: I John 3:1-10 I. It is amazing the lengths people reach to avoid responsibility for sin A. Often the same groups who teach that people cannot help but sin because they are born sinful also teach that once saved they cannot sin. B. It is a difficult deception to hold on…
Read MoreFour Facts Fatal to Original Sin
by Larry Ray Hafley via Guardian of Truth; December 6, 1984; Vol. XXVIII, No. 23; pp. 713, 716 The doctrine of original or Adamic sin states that every person is born in sin. Because of Adam’s sin, all men are corrupt and guilty of sin at birth. Note the testimony of the Philadelphia Confession of Faith:…
Read MoreWas David a Sinner at Birth?
by Jimmy Mickells “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me” (Psalm 51:5). Those who teach and try to prove that one inherits the sin of Adam use this verse as a proof text. Does it really say that David was born a sinner because of what Adam did…
Read MoreUnconditional Election
by Terry W. Benton Understanding Purposeful and Temporal Election versus Unconditional Salvation Election The second point of Calvinism in the TULIP acrostic is “Unconditional Election”. It means to Calvinists that God picked Randy and not Bob, Suzie, and not Janet for salvation and that His election of Randy and Suzie was “unconditional”. That means that…
Read MoreTotal Depravity
TotalDepravity1TotalDepravity2 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Romans 3:9-26 I. John Calvin proposed a five part system to explain salvation A. It is generally remembered as TULIP, an acrostic from the first five letters of each point. B. Many denominations accept some or part of Calvinism without questioning whether those points are true. C. We are going to focus…
Read MoreWhat do you think of what T. B. Wilkinson wrote concerning Calvinism?
Question: I have read an article written by a member of a church of Christ writer called “By Nature the Children of Wrath” refuting the Calvinistic doctrine of total depravity. I would just like to ask whether you agree with the arguments offered in this article. If not, why not? May God bless you. Answer:…
Read MoreThe Consequences of “Imputed Righteousness” per Calvinism
by Dudley Ross Spears “Imputed righteousness” is an integral part of classic Calvinism. It is the doctrine affirming that the personal righteousness of Jesus Christ is instantly transferred to a sinner at the point of “saving faith.” Accordingly, the believer ceases to be the old vile sinner he was and forthwith becomes a new and…
Read MoreEternal Security
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2004/08/EternalSecurity.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: I John 2:1-6 I. A large number of denominations follow a set of teachings popularized by John Calvin in the 1400’s A. His teachings were not new. They actually date back to man named Augustine who lived in the 400’s. Augustine’s teachings were very influential in the formation of the…
Read MoreIrresistible Grace and Matthew 23:37
by Bryan Sharp In Matthew 23:37 Christ proclaims: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!” Jesus is bemoaning the fact that the people…
Read MoreThe Fall of Calvinism
by Gene Taylor The five tenets of Calvinism are so tightly and logically knit together that if you accept one, you must accept them all. Conversely, if you deny one, you must deny them all. The child of God can fall from grace (Galatians 5:4; Hebrews 6:4-6; Acts 8:9-24). The Perseverance of the Saints is…
Read MoreWhat do you think about this group who says believers cannot lose their salvation?
Question: I am not really sure you are familiar with the Grace Evangelical Society out of Dallas Texas, but I asked them the same question I asked you: “Is it possible biblically to be a ‘born again from above’ believer in Christ and be an active homosexual or live in an adulterous relationship?” Look at…
Read MoreIs Our Fate Predetermined?
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton I. Trying to grasp the concept of an infinite God sometimes causes finite man to make mistakes A. Consider this statement from the Presbyterian Confession of Faith (chapter 3, section 1): “God, from all eternity, did by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely and unchangeably ordain whatsoever come…
Read MoreHave to Sin
by Bryan Sharp God Has Never Given Man a Law He Could Not Obey. “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be…
Read MoreIs Judaism Calvinistic?
Question: Does the Jewish religion teach predestination, foreordination and election? Do they teach that David was born in sin? Do they teach that God hates some people before they were born just because He hated Esau before he was born? Answer: Modern day Judaism is divided into three main sects and several smaller fragments. According…
Read MoreI believe that once we are saved, nothing can cause us to lose our salvation
Question: Ephesians 4:30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Ephesians 1:13-14 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,…
Read MoreChristianity by Force
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton I. We live in a country where the choice of one’s religion is freely made. A. It is not that way in all countries, nor has it always been like this II. The Catholic church had a long history of compelling membership A. In his book, WHAT LOVE IS THIS, Dave Hunt writes and quotes:…
Read MorePredetermined Destiny
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Many people in this world believe in fate or destiny. They feel there is a specific role chosen for them which they must play, whatever their personal choice. John Calvin taught that God predestines some people to be Christians and, if so chosen by God, there is nothing that a person…
Read MoreCan I lose my way to heaven?
Question: Can I lose my way to heaven? Answer: Obviously, Paul thought that it was possible. “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have…
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