Posted on 02/28/2010 3:40:57 PM PST by CondoleezzaProtege
"Some of the greatest evangelists in the history of the church have for the most part, been Calvinists."
(Excerpt) Read more at youtube.com ...
I’ve actually wondered that my self. If everyone is predestined to either Heaven or Hell and there is no free will, then why do they have ministries?
Just in case ~
Because God uses means to save us, and the preaching of the gospel is the means. So he told us to evangelize. So we do!
One might ask, if God says He will feed us, why do we go grocery shopping? Because that’s the main way He gets food into us!
The video is less than 10 minutes long and the theologians and academics interviewed do a great job of explaining how Reformed Theology sets a firm basis for evangelism, rather than remove its necessity.
You were eternally predestined to enjoy it.
Not being a Calvinist myself, this is very confusing to me. If one is predestined, despite how they live their lives or what they profess, what is this “means” you refer to? It seems fatalistic to me. I might as well live a debauched and “more fun” life, since it ultimately has no bearing on the outcome anyhow. If I’m wrong, please explain in terms a child could understand.
That is not the worst answer I have ever heard.
I had a Lutheran pastor accuse me of sounding like a Calvinist once, so I asked him to list what TULIP was and we could discuss how my comments sounded Calvinist (they didnt’). He couldn’t even give me “TULIP”, ‘Calvinist’ was just the worst insult he could think of. LOL.
Of course he also hated I was a woman with a degree in Biblical Studies, so...it was more of a personal thing, imo.
um because Jesus commanded us to.
I take trhat back. Our mission is to follow Jesus and if we do that then Jesus will make us fishers of men.
Of course, but imagine if GOD wasn’t behind the process and the conversion of souls relied wholly on human effort? You could argue it could make people work that much harder—but the doctrine of God’s Sovereignty reminds us that HE is behind the process and it is HIM that works *through* us. HE is the one preparing the hearts and minds of the chosen before they hear the Gospel—and He is the one orchestrating the missions themselves.
Imagine the horror of thinking everyone’s fate is in our hands and not GOD’s.
I haven’t watched the video, don’t intend to. BUT, this Calvinist evangelizes and I evangelize because God commands me to evangelize. All other reasons and excuses are unnecessary because of the one imperative.
It is true that a person is chosen. I believe that. However, God did not give me an elector detector. I also am freed from guilt that I “didn’t communicate well enough”. I do the best I can because God told me to do the best I can. It is up to Him whether my best is what brings people to Him.
“If I’m wrong, please explain in terms a child could understand.”
If God elected you to salvation before the foundation of the world, you will believe in Christ and bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit.
Calvinists neither teach nor believe that anyone living in sin is a Christian.
That is a common misconception.
We just believe that God is the one who is the first cause of our salvation. We love Him because He first loved us.
Some verses to consider:
1 John 4:19
We love Him because He first loved us.
Romans 8:28-30. Really, all of Romans 8 is good.
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 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.
Darn! I’m on my phone right now and can’t watch videos, I will bookmark it for later.
I’ve PMed you the link.
Do Calvinists believe in “once saved, always saved”, as many evangelicals do? Or can one “fall off the wagon” and lose their salvation, despite a conversion earlier in life? If one’s salvation can be lost, then how does that jive with predestination?
Despite not being a Calvinist, the video comments were excellent in regards to the “cherry-picking” and watering down of the Gospel that’s found in so many churches today. Perfect example is what’s going on in the ELCA now. Sure they’ll replace the conservatives that are leaving with more liberal types, but at what final cost? Scary to think!
Once saved, always saved. In the TULIP, it is point 5: Perseverance of the Saints. God perseveres with us and drags us into heaven.
There are many, many Scriptures to support this including, “For I am confident, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.”
Obedience to the creator of the universe: YHvH.
shalom b'SHEM Yah'shua HaMashiach
Or you were eternally predestined to eternal damnation and the tortuous fires of hell, for HIS good PLEASURE, according the Institutes. Is this a correct statement?
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