Posted on 09/07/2003 6:36:06 PM PDT by nobdysfool
The Christ of Arminianism
The Bible warns us that in the last days in which we live there will be many false Christs-those who claim to be Christ but who are imposters. Jesus said, "Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying I am Christ; and shall deceive many." (Matt. 24:4-5). We who profess to be Christians must take heed. We must be very careful that we are not deceived. Our calling is to trust, love, and follow the true Christ and Him only. We may have nothing to do with the false Christs who are so numerous in our day.
We know about the Christ of the cults and other religions. He is a good man, a prophet, the first creation of God, a great spirit, a divine idea, or even a god himself. But he is not true and eternal God. He receives his existence from another who is greater than he. He is not the Christ of the Bible. We are not deceived by this Christ. He is a false Christ.
We know about the Christ of Roman Catholicism. They profess that He is true God. He suffered and died for the forgiveness of sin. He arose again, ascended into heaven, and is coming again. But he is not a complete Savior. The Christ of the Roman Catholics can not save sinners without their own good works and the intercession of priests. He is not the Christ of the Bible. We are not deceived by this Christ. He is a false Christ.
There is, however, another false Christ who is much more dangerous than the Christ of the cults and the Christ of Roman Catholicism. He has deceived people for many years and he continues to deceive millions. This Christ is so dangerous that, if it were not impossible, he would deceive the very elect (Matt. 24:24). He is the Christ of Arminianism.
This false Christ is extremely dangerous because in many ways he appears to be the True Christ. They say that he is true God, equal with the Father and the Holy Spirit. They say that he died on the cross to save sinners. They even say that he saves by his grace alone, without the work of man. This Christ will have nothing to do with the Christ of the cults and the Christ of Roman Catholicism.
But watch out! Be warned! The Christ of Arminianism is not the Christ of the Bible. Do not be fooled!
1. The Christ of Arminianism - loves every individual person in the world and sincerely desires their salvation.
The Christ of the Bible - earnestly loves and desires the salvation of only those whom God has unconditionally chosen to salvation. (Ps. 5:5, Ps. 7:11, Ps. 11:5, Matt. 11:27, John 17:9-10, Acts 2:47, Acts 13:48, Rom. 9:10-13, Rom. 9:21-24, Eph. 1:3-4)
2. The Christ of Arminianism - offers salvation to every sinner and does all in his power to bring them to salvation. His offer and work are often frustrated, for many refuse to come.
The Christ of the Bible - effectually calls to Himself only the elect and sovereignly brings them to salvation. Not one of them will be lost. (Isa. 55:11, John 5:21, John 6:37-40, John 10:25-30, John 17:2, Phil. 2:13)
3. The Christ of Arminianism - can not regenerate and save a sinner who does not first choose Christ with his own "free will." All men have a "free will" by which they can either accept or reject Christ. That "free will" may not be violated by Christ.
The Christ of the Bible - sovereignly regenerates the elect sinner apart from his choice, for without regeneration the spiritually dead sinner can not choose Christ. Faith is not man's contribution to salvation but the gift of Christ which He sovereignly imparts in regeneration. (John 3:3, John 6:44 & 65, John 15:16, Acts 11:18, Rom. 9:16, Eph. 2:1,Eph. 2:8-10, Phil. 1:29, Hebr. 12:2)
4. The Christ of Arminianism - died on the cross for every individual person and thereby made it possible for every person to be saved. His death, apart from the choice of man, was not able to actually save anyone for many for whom he died are lost.
The Christ of the Bible - died for only God's elect people and thereby actually obtained salvation for all those for whom He died. His death was a substitutionary satisfaction which actually took away the guilt of His chosen people. (Luke 19:10, John 10:14-15 & 26, Acts 20:28, Rom. 5:10, Eph. 5:25, Hebr. 9:12, I Peter 3:18)
5. The Christ of Arminianism - loses many whom he has "saved" because they do not continue in faith. Even if he does give them "eternal security," as some say, that security is not based upon his will or work but the choice which the sinner made when he accepted Christ.
The Christ of the Bible - preserves His chosen people so that they can not lose their salvation but persevere in the faith to the very end. He preserves them by the sovereign electing will of God, the power of His death, and the mighty working of His Spirit. (John 5:24, John 10:26-29, Rom. 8:29-30, Rom. 8:35-39, I Peter 1:2-5, Jude 24-25)
As you can see, although the Christ of Arminianism and the Christ of the Bible may at first seem to be the same, they are very different. One is a false Christ. The other is the true Christ. One is weak and helpless. He bows before the sovereign "free will" of man. The other is the reigning Lord Who wills what He pleases and sovereignly accomplishes all that He wills.
If you believe and serve the Christ of Arminianism, you must recognize the fact that you do not serve the Christ of the Bible. You have been deceived! Study the Scriptures and learn of the True Christ. Pray for grace to repent and trust Christ as your sovereign
If God "chose" who will be saved and will "not be saved" "Sovereignly, then why did Jesus tell his disciples to "Go into all the world, and preach the gospel to EVERY CREATURE, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you, baptizing them in the name of The Father, The Son, and The Holy Ghost"?
What you're saying is that Jesus told His disciples to do something that would absolutely worthless, waste of time, and even blasphemous since it is God who will choose who is saved, According to "The Gospel According to nobdysfool".
Heretics always choose which parts of the Bible they want to believe and those parts that they "Sovereignly" decide not to believe because it destroys their "religion".
The Catholics can stick up for themselves, no doubt, and if this thread lasts for any length of time, you'll deserve what you get from them.
Don't strain too hard. That the Roman Catholic Church is an apostate group is a position held by the Reformed for centuries. The pretty much hold the same view of us. They pretty much stay out of our threads as we pretty much stay out of theirs.
So, let the Catholics 'stick up for themselves' if they feel it necessary, but I doubt most of them feel threatened by this article.
This is a weak, tired argument. The message needs to be heard!
Might I suggest you study Romans 8 and 9
You mean just like you chose that verse with grievous disregard to its context?
That's not very logical. He commands us to do what he commands because what he commands is the RIGHT and holy thing to do. Being perfectly holy, he could do no other. Really simple as always... either God is in control or you are. I'll take the latter, thanks.
The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.
Notice that "the Lord is patient toward you." Who is "you"? In Ch. 3 vs 1, Peter says that his letter was to "you, beloved". In Ch 1 v1, we see the addressees
To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ
So, we see that this is addressed to belivers. The apotle's point here is that he doesn't want any of His believers to perish, so He will wait until His work is finished. This is certainly consistent with John 6:35-65.
Isa 8:20 To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.
Amen. The Lord is faithful. He did not elect men just to abandon them in a 'rush to Judgement.' The elect will be brought to repentance down to every last man. Let the scoffers scoff.
Amen. The Lord is faithful. He did not elect men just to abandon them in a 'rush to Judgement.' The elect will be brought to repentance down to every last man. Let the scoffers scoff.
This is not the "Gospel According To Nobdysfool". This is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Word of God. Any Gospel I'd write wouldn't be worth a plugged nickel, unless the Holy Spirit inspired me the same way He did Paul, Peter, and the others, and even then, it wouldn't be included in the Bible. So let's stop the wild accusations and insults. Your problem is with the doctrine, not with me. Let's keep it in that realm, OK?
That God has chosen, before the foundation of the world, those whom He will save, does not set aside the command to preach the Gospel. The biggest reason is, we don't know whom He has chosen. He hasn't, and will not share that information with us. He is under no obligation to do so. So, we preach. God uses that which we do in obedience to Him to accomplish His purpose in bringing those whom He has chosen to repentance and faith in Him.
There is nothing blasphemous in that. That's a ridiculous charge to bring. I think you need to begin reading your Bible again. You missed some things.
My money's on all three....:o)
Change "has chosen" to "knows" and "He will", to "will be saved", you will then have it right. Come on boy get with the program. :)
BigMack
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