The Drooping TULIP - Part 1 (CALVINISM ON TRIAL - TOTAL DEPRAVITY)

CALVINISM ON TRIAL - PART ONE

DOES YOUR PASTOR OR CHURCH PREACH THE WORKS DOCTRINE OF CALVINISM? IF SO YOU MUST READ THIS!

AMAZING GRACE

It is so amazing that John Newton penned such an incredible hymn, with such solid truths from the Word of God, yet a staunch Calvinist. There are so many that have an opinion about Calvinism yet know so little about it. Calvinism is essentially a doctrine that backloads the gospel regarding salvation. A Calvinist will simply say - "In the end, if you have not produced fruit that points to being really born-again... saved; Well... it's not that you were saved and then lost it - it's that you were never saved, to begin with!" Thereby believing they hold a position of “Once Saved Always Saved” or what is called “Eternal Security;”

If one thinks it through, and uses the plumbline of scripture, contextually, 5-Point Calvinism gives off the strongest impression of “bait and switch” of any of the Conditional Salvation messages taught and/or preached. It appears on the surface to be a grace message but deceivingly is about you modifying your behavior to prove, and/or maintain one's salvation.

Whereas, if you are from the Arminian Camp, they flat out front-load the salvation message and declare right up-front - if you don't have the fruit (something to show for it), regardless if you believe in the heart and confess with your mouth (Rom. 10:9-10), you are simply not saved...period! This is the position of the Greek Orthodox, even though they will argue otherwise.

Then... there is the subject of Grace! Free Grace! The “free gift” of never-ending eternal life, never to be lost, given unto them that believe. ALL made available by the unmerited favor of God and the SOLE work of Jesus on our behalf.

Many believers, as well as members of Churchianity, know The song "Amazing Grace… that saved a wretch like me!"

Which does bring me to the word WRETCHED!

Talk about wretched... the 5-points of Calvinism is religious wretchedness clothed in fig leaves, rather than skins of animals. (Referencing Adam and Eve's vain attempt, steeped in human effort and works, to cover their nakedness. Genesis 3:7,21)

I will be posting a series of posts that correlate with each letter of the acronym T-U-L-I-P. (TULIP being the 5-Points of Calvinistic dogma and thinking.)

TULIP can be clearly exposed for what it is; A church doctrine birthed out of Catholicism that has become today’s catechism for most all protestant churches. Although some, possibly many, will disagree, with the premise that Calvinism is a dogma clearly built on poor hermeneutics of scripture. Some may think – “How can I say Catholicism?” Easy… All the early clerics of the Reformation movement were originally raised up in the Catholic faith, then broke away. Or did they? (Some did not - Martin Luther for one. However, I am more aligned with Pastor Luther's thinking than I will ever be with all the other Christian "isms" in the world.) The simple truth that cannot be denied is that Catholicism is the epitome of reliance on the Lordship (works) Doctrine regarding Soteriology (doctrine of Salvation).

Another side note> Catholicism and all of the variants that exist today are really a by-product of man-made doctrine and dogma birthed out of the many church councils through the ages. Don't get me wrong... much good came from the various church councils that were conducted by the early church fathers. However, there is a resounding, HOWEVER! Their intent was always regarding the best interests of the Church, the Bride of Christ. However, it did not always accomplish the task at hand. The councils were often overshadowed by self-interests and man's innate ability to inject themselves where it should only be Jesus and Jesus ALONE!

The structure of Calvinism is built on the faltering foundation of the acronym called TULIP.

It stands for:

(T)otal Depravity

(U)nconditional Election

(L)imited Atonement

(I)rrestistible Grace

(P)erserverance of the Saints

Do keep in mind they do not really mean what they say!

So here we go with PART ONE:

Total Depravity – Basically we are all in this train wreck together.

Mankind is completely jacked up by sin in all that it is and all that it does (in nature - wholly fallen - in need of what Jesus did on the cross) AND, is truly bad as it could be. (Do keep in mind that Calvinism has a bad hang-up with saying one thing but meaning something entirely different.) Calvinism goes on to further imply that this total depravity means that the unregenerate will not, of their own free will, choose to receive Christ. (Keep in mind that Calvinism, in general, teaches that sin destroyed man's will to never ever do anything but evil. However, not all Calvinists think the exact same thing regarding TD. Here is a link to an interesting take on TD - Check it out. )

Nope... we don't have it in us. We prefer the dark so much that we have no ability to do good. Well, kind of true. Depends on what kind of good we're talking about.

Do take into consideration that no good we could ever perform will please God. However, there is some good we as lost individuals can do. Look at these verses:

Mat 7: v11. If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

Rom 2: v14. For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:

These verses declare that there is some good that can come from the heart of man, just not the good required to please God. There can also be a seeking for good that can occur. Take for example the Samaritan woman at the well, and her village. She declared what she knew the Messiah was to be. The village even did. A group of pagan worshipers had a better grasp on who the Messiah was to be, and what He would look like to the seeker than even His own disciples did.

The broad assumption that man is only able to do evil and is unable to have free will to choose, is scripturally unsupported. By the way, it is very much a part of the humanistic philosophy that later emerges in and among Evolutionists/Atheists.

• Don't get me wrong... the following is true that the unbeliever is deceitful and wicked (Jer. 17:9), full of evil (Mark 7:21-23), loves darkness rather than light, and does evil (John 3:19), does not seek for God nor does any good (Rom. 3:10-18), is ungodly (Rom. 5:6), dead in his sins (Eph. 2:1), by nature a child of wrath (Eph. 2:3), cannot accept or understand spiritual things (1 Cor. 2:14), and a slave of sin (Rom. 6:16-20).

HOWEVER, a different picture emerges (in context) if one will just study and read what is laid out in scripture.

Romans 2:14-15

14 For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: 15 Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)

Wait a minute! You mean unbelieving Gentiles can by nature do the things contained in the law? (Meaning the law of Moses) Kind of like the character in scripture known as Cornelius

(Acts 10 – just read all of chapter 10) Or, better yet when it says, "if you being evil know how to give good gifts unto your children..." (Matthew 7:11, Luke 11:13) Or, that John 5:39-40 clearly implies that it is not that man CAN'T come to God, but that they WON'T (as in choose) to come to God.

John 5:37-40 And the Father who sent Me has Himself testified about Me. You have never heard His voice nor seen His form [His majesty and greatness—what He is like]. You do not have His word (Scripture) abiding in you [actually living in your hearts and minds], because you do not believe in Him whom He has sent. You search and keep on searching and examining the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and yet it is those [very Scriptures] that testify about Me; and still you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life. (AMP)

Or, how about when Laban in Genesis 31 is chasing down Jacob to recover his stolen false idol.

The night before catching Jacob the God of Jacob speaks to Laban the following:

Gen. 31:24 And God came to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said unto him, Take heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad. Then Gen. 31:29 It is in the power of my hand to do you hurt: but the God of your father spake unto me yesternight, saying, Take thou heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad.

Here we have a complete pagan worshipper that could have killed Jacob but chose not to. He could have spoken bad, but he chose not to. (Read the rest of Gen. 31 to get the additional context that they made covenant with each other.)

So here we have it! Total Depravity crumbling to scripture taken in context. Here we have a complete substantiation of Total Depravity being a total twisting of scripture to bolster the man-made fatalist view that man cannot never seek God. Yes, we are lost to sin, but as we have seen in scripture it is recorded that there are unregenerated men and women that may seek God and find Him!

So far, I'm not even a 1-point Calvinist.

An excellent additional source of writing comes from Pastor Bryan Boatman of Bible Baptist Church in Beeville, TX. It is worth listening to the audio. The link is below:

http://bbcbeeville.org/2017/03/3017/

Part Two – (U)nconditional Election will post soon!

Yours always in Jesus,

Brent Hartford