Genesis Chapter 3 Continued (Fourth Try)

I think we ought to focus, initially at least, on the temptation account in vv.1-7, especially what is known as "the Lie."

These verses present what may very well be the most significant data concerning Satan in the entire Bible. It is the Bible's own introduction of Satan. It sets the sin-scene for the entire Bible.

The Genesis 3 story shows us how Satan ordinarily works his deadly deceptions: he tampers with the Word of God to produce a roundabout suggestion that the Creator is never to be feared. He gets sinners to think that an unbelieving, disobedient, Creator-ignoring spirit is actually okay.

In an obvious sense, modern Christianity has just largely bought into Satan's lie and called that the gospel. It's a "Don't worry: Be happy" pseudo-gospel. It's the pseudo-gospel of "I'm okay; you're okay." It's the pseudo-gospel which ultimately regards God as little more than the happy, sentimental character on a smiling-face button.

According to the Book of Proverbs, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. This verse necessarily declares that if you bypass the fear of God, you are a fool. Period.

My concern here is that a kind of Positive Mental Attitude (PMA) has been substituted for real faith. It is an almost unfathomably nasty deception. It is the wide-doorway deception which the Lord Jesus warned about. It involves denying the bad news of sin. That, in turn, feels somewhat like good news--and presto, ladies and gentleman!--we have a kind of "doorway experience"!

The whole thing is a non-saving farce. The poor hypocrite who is trying to substitute PMA for really knowing God--knowing the Lord for real--has never really embraced the Good News of the Atonement. He just hasn’t ever really faced the bad news of the Fall.

In short, he has never really repented. He has missed the narrow doorway of true salvation. The only reason why he believes he is saved is because he is an unbeliever. (Think about that ugly little paradox for a while.)

According to the Lord Jesus Himself, the wide-doorway experience is a lot more common than the narrow-doorway experience.

Dressing up your religiosity with the name "Jesus" doesn't fix the problem. There are a lot of folks who get sentimentally religious around Christmas time. Some of them even think Santa Claus is a sad departure from the true story of Christmas. They prefer nativity scenes over sleighs and reindeer. But some of these same folks think of Jesus as though He is just the porcelain baby in the nativity scene. They don't really know Him at all. They are actually idolaters. They have never really repented in the fear of God. (Many of them even realize this--sort of--at some level of their deceitful and desperately wicked hearts. But they have never realized it in the awful way of repentance.)

What I am ultimately saying in this introductory discussion of the Fall is that the Lie of Eden infects the souls of Adam's offspring. Having embraced the Lie in a racial way in the Fall (Adam is the Hebrew word for man, of course), they are stuck in it. If they make strictly halfhearted "efforts" to seek the Lord in the gospel, Satan just reiterates the "Don't worry: Be happy" lie in their souls. This blocks conversion. In effect, it blocks conversion by falsely approximating it!

In a very real manner of speaking, it is Satan's job to block conversions. And he is very, very good at his job. Don't kid yourself about that. Examine yourself to see whether you are really in the faith at all. That's not merely my admonition. It is Paul's own imperative, Paul's own warning.

Notice that if the "Don't worry: Be happy" LIE of Eden infects the souls of all Adam's offspring, if it is a demonic thing which now infests the race of man, it will prevent a sinner from seeking the Lord in the only way which even counts as seeking. ("You shall seek Me," the Lord said through Jeremiah, "And you shall find Me on the day that you shall seek Me with your whole heart.") This accounts for the strange verse in Romans 3 which says that there is NONE that seeketh after God.

This opens up all sorts of theological questions which are terribly important. If we really care about our own souls, we will dare to study the Fall, we will dare to try to understand what is really going on in the race of man and how it really traces back to the Lie of Eden. If we really love the Lord Jesus, if we really want to serve Him in the gospel, we will want to study the Fall and its demonic effects in order to become more competent spiritual warriors for the Lord Whom we confess with our lips.

This stuff, then, is monumentally serious. If anyone loves not the Lord Jesus, let him be accursed.

In a later post, I will offer some more specific analysis of what Satan actually said to Eve. Eventually I will show Freepers the very spooky theological implications of what Satan said.

I will show you from this why I am Calvinist. I will show you why even though I love Arminians, I definitely do loathe Arminianism with every fiber of my being.

9 posted on 4/12/02 7:30 AM Pacific by the_doc ---------------------------------------------------------

Anyway, the next thing to notice is that that the Lie In Eden really is a counterfeit of the gospel itself!

Notice how Satan "Christianized" his pagan lie in the encounter with Eve. He promised Eve eternal life and exemption from punishment through the forgiveness of her sin (Genesis 3:4). He suggested that all of the pleasurable things of Creation were specifically intended for her happiness (Genesis 3:6a). He displayed his uncanny wisdom and offered her the same if shew would follow his lead (Genesis 3:6b). He specifically promised that she would acquire a discerning conscience through her determination to govern herself under his overall guidance (Genesis 3:5b). He even promised that she would be godlike (Genesis 3:5a).

Every single one of these points has a correspondence with things which we find in the real gospel.

Now, what do you suppose we should make of that in regard to the deception character of Satan's lie? (I have some thoughts on this, as you already realize!)

MORE TO COME LATER the_doc http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/664598/posts?page=143#143 ---------------------------------------------------------

In the middle of that lengthy re-post, I demonstrated that the Lie of Eden was a phony gospel. (Lurkers who haven't read that demonstration ought to go back and read it before going further.)

This idea that the Lie of Eden was a kind a phony gospel is important in Biblical theology. When we say that our status in Adam needs to replaced by a new status in Christ, we are actually saying that the phony gospel through which we became lost has to be replaced in our souls by the True Gospel; the one which saves!

Furthermore, believing the Truth (faith) has to replace believing the Lie (God-hating, Truth-suppressing wickedness [Romans 1:18-32]).

18 posted on 4/13/02 8:54 PM Pacific by the_doc ---------------------------------------------------------

The real problem is that reprobates prefer to go to hell. They hate God. They'd like to get as far from God as possible. God grants them their wish, so they have no cause to complain.

Someone might say: But how can this be so? They say they want to go to heaven rather than to hell.

In the first place, it's because they do not know the real God (and don't even want to know Him). They want to go to the heaven of their imaginations, the dwelling place of the God of their imaginations.

There is another reason why their choosing faculty is discovered to be perverse. It's because the gospel of REAL faith--not the phony kind which is so common in our day--does not merely present a choice of heaven versus hell. It actually presents the choice of this world versus the World to Come.

And the reprobate will always choose this world. He is choosing hell. This world is, in fact, the ante-room of hell. It will soon be burning.

22 posted on 4/14/02 8:38 AM Pacific by the_doc ---------------------------------------------------------

In an earlier post, I said that the Truth contained in the Lord's gospel has to replace Satan's Edenic Lie in the souls of sinners.

What do I mean by replacing the Lie? Well, the idea actually means several things. For our present purposes, I would say that the Truth has to replace the individual's inborn and perniciously stupid disregard for the True and Living God.

The attitude which all lost sinners have toward their own Creator is completely idolatrous. If they have any thoughts concerning a Creator, they have fleeting and/or completely stupid thoughts of Him. In other words, they never really think of HIM at ALL.

Paul's sermon on Mars' Hill underscores this problem. He pointed out that the Athenians had an altar to a God Whom they did not even know! (The Athenians probably thought they were pretty shrewd in trying to "cover their bases." But their approach was utterly inadequate!)

What I am saying is that the "Don't worry: Be happy" lie of Eden--which specifically said that the Creator does not need to be feared, much less obeyed perfectly, has somehow demonically infected the souls of the entire Adamic race. The children of Adam are unblieving, God-ignoring fools.

(In the Fall, Adam [along with his wife, who was one with him] spurned the Creator whom he actually knew personally. And Adam, together with his wife, constituted the entire human race. So, the entire human race spurned God. This infuriated God against man. In other words, it was a racial crime--since every human being other than Jesus Christ Himself was obviously in Adam in a racial sense, to use the language of Romans 5:12f, at the time of the Fall.

I realize that a lot of people complain at the idea that God would suffer the entire family of Adam to fall under an utterly awful condemnation when all but two members of the racial family remained unborn, but that is precisely what happened. God holds Adam's offspring accountable for a crime which they committed in Adam. God is angry against man.)

God has given Adam's offspring over to some kind of demonic power, to an evil power immediately associated with the Lie. The Eternal Power and Divine Nature of our universe's Creator ought to be obvious from natural revelation, but lost sinners have a depraved incapacity for taking natural revelation seriously. Having spurned the knowledge of God in Eden--when man did know God--God has given them them over to what they wanted--which is to NOT know God!

In other words, the Lie is deeply embedded in the souls of Adam's natural offspring.

40 posted on 4/14/02 7:22 PM Pacific by the_doc ---------------------------------------------------------

In Eden .... man fell into pride. In this case, pride cometh before God's CURSE.

For overall housekeeping purposes, I want to take this opportunity to repost a reply I made to WM on the other Genesis 3 Thread.

How Arminian! According to Calvinism as presented here, there is no such thing as a halfhearted effort to seek the Lord -- it is all or nothing, and there is no way Satan can block a conversion, which must irresistibly follow regeneration. (Nor could Satan block regeneration.) Perhaps you mean "fakes conversion" instead of "blocks conversion". (How is that for logical charity, OPie?)

Your're right that the Bible doesn't regard halfhearted seeking as seeking at all. It's because halfhearted seeking is definitely not going anywhere.

But notice again the reason why it is not going anywhere. It's because the whole thing is demonic.

Your comment that I should have said "faked conversion" rather than "blocked conversion" is interesting in that it allows me to point out that a faked conversion is a blocked conversion.

You see, we are actually just talking about what one might call "failed conversions." And the distinction between one failed conversion and another is not really consequential at all, since all failed conversions are blocked conversions.

What I mean is that the element of fakery which blocks all conversions in the unregenerate sinner is the Lie in the soul. Sometimes the unregenerate sinner is conspicously religious. Sometimes he is not. But the problem is still the Lie.

I will add that so long as the Lie is allowed to remain demonically resident in the soul, Satan always can and always does block true faith. He always can and always does block the knowledge of God. The unregenerate sinner doesn't really want to know the True and Living God. He hates Him.

Fully supernatural power must displace the Lie, because the Lie is not merely objective stuff, but fully demonic. This is why 1 Corinthians 2:10-14 points out that the Third Person of the Trinity (the Spirit) has to go ahead of the Second Person (the Truth) when a soul is targeted by God for conversion.

In other words, regeneration precedes conversion. And yes, it always produces conversion. This is the only scenario in which Satan does not, indeed, cannot--block conversion. It's because He cannot block regeneration.

(See also Genesis 3:1-13. The Spirit positioned Himself over the chaos of the materials of Creation before God's Word produced light in the Creation.

Salvation, the new Creation, is all Trinitarian stuff, just as the original Creation was.)

47 posted on 4/15/02 8:28 AM Pacific by the_doc ---------------------------------------------------------

Please notice that I said in my previous post that the Lie is demonic. It's not just a spiritually neutral idea. You need to appreciate that. In some way, Satan took over the entire race of Adam's offspring in the Fall.

This is the reason why the whole matter of original sin, with obvious hereditary depravity transmitted down the bloodline of Adam, is so WEIRD.

48 posted on 4/15/02 8:38 AM Pacific by the_doc ---------------------------------------------------------

(Hey, Satan is the "god of this world"--and that's quite awful enough--but he ain't God! The One True God is the One Who decides who is going to be saved. God is the One Who decides to regenerate a sinner or leave him in his sin.)

49 posted on 4/15/02 8:42 AM Pacific by the_doc ---------------------------------------------------------

What the Arminians on this thread need to realize is that Calvinism is merely affirming very clearly that evangelism and doctrinal discussions entail supernatural warfare, not merely intellectual matters.

We see supernatural forces behind the arguments and positions. We specifically notice 2 Timothy 2:26 and following.

The Arminians don't seem to think Satan is all that real, all that powerful in the souls of men. And they do not correctly apprehend the Trinity of God in His work of salvation.

54 posted on 4/15/02 2:53 PM Pacific by the_doc ---------------------------------------------------------

I'd like to continue with my inputs on this thread (see #7, 18, 40 and 46 for the main points of doctrinal background). In the present post I hope to start developing my explanation of why I said that although I can love Arminians, I can only hate Arminianism.

Let me start off by reaffirming something which I said in #7: The Lie of Eden was a counterfeit gospel. This counterfeit gospel entered God's Creation via a fallen angel. And it triggered God's CURSE against that angel and against the Adamic race.

Now, if we look at Galatians 1:8-9, we see something very interesting in Paul's warning to the Galatians. He says that if anyone, even an angel, should come preaching a counterfeit gospel, let him be accursed.

My point here is that there are Genesis overtones in what Paul is saying in Galatians 1:8-9.

Can you see this? I'll bet you can. If you are unsure of this, go back and read #7. The Lie of Eden really was a counterfeit gospel. It was the ruin of the Adamic race.

Faithful preachers of the True Gospel have to attack the Lie and displace it from the souls of sinners, not stupidly recapitulate the Fall through a reiteration of the Lie!

The above discussion ultimately explains why I hate Arminianism. It really is the Lie of Eden, as I will demonstrate in a series of posts now under development.

You see, topics like Mormonism have taken over this thread. Today's knowledgeable Christians (who do regard Mormonism as non-Christian) would tend to get the impression from reading this thread that Mormonism is the sort of false gospel which Paul is talking about. Okay, but all of the furor over Mormonism is actually a decoy of sorts. It misses the point which I think we need to see in Genesis 3. In my opinion, the real problem with which we need to contend is Arminianism.

If today's Christians were more solid on this point, a lot of the other arguments concerning the various offshoots of true Christianity would suddenly become moot. The real problem with Mormonism is that it is essentially Arminian.

In my subsequent posts, I will make good on my claim that I can prove that Arminianism is just the Lie of Eden, not the gospel. We need to get away from it, not just swap the Lie of Eden for the Lie of Eden and call it conversion. (The post which you are now reading is just a matter of housekeeping for this thread. I'd like for us to get back on topic.)

182 posted on 4/22/02 10:28 AM Pacific by the_doc ---------------------------------------------------------

Thanks for the comment. I think that it is very, very important to notice from Galatians 1:8-9 that erroneous presentations of the gospel are, to one degree or another, just recapitulations of the Fall.

This confuses people for the very reason that the Fall itself was a counterfeit gospel--not to mention the fact that the fallen Adamic race has what amounts to an inborn preference for the counterfeit gospel.

187 posted on 4/22/02 12:48 PM Pacific by the_doc ---------------------------------------------------------

I have not had much time for FR over the last several days, but I thought the Galatians 1:8-9 comment was important food for thought.

Arminianism is not an innocent doctrinal error. (In fact, I don't think there is such a thing.)

Please notice that I am not saying that all Arminians are lost. But if a person is trusting in the distinctive tenets of Arminianism for his salvation, he is not saved at all. (The fact that he may sprinkle the name of Jesus in the confession of his lips means nothing whatsoever.)

My bottom-line point is that an evil tree (bad doctrine) does not bear good fruit (salvation). The evil tree in this case, of course, was the tree of the Fall itself.

191 posted on 4/22/02 1:23 PM Pacific by the_doc ---------------------------------------------------------

But Arminianism definitely is a counterfeit gospel. You just haven't seen this yet.

Arminianism really is the Lie of Eden. (It is a very, very impressive deception!!!)

As I have been saying on this thread, the unregenerate sinner is polluted with a lie in his soul--and, Arminianism aside, that lie is the Lie of Eden.

The Lie of Eden blocks repentance. The Lie of Eden prevents the sinner from taking his Creator seriously. (To see what I mean, see again the first seven verses of Genesis 3.)

And this is what concerns me about Arminianism. It tends to encourage frivolous professionism and to call that frivolous experience saving faith.

Look at the way the Arminians have behaved on these doctrinal threads. It has been terrible.

223 posted on 4/23/02 3:34 PM Pacific by the_doc ---------------------------------------------------------

Just for fun, why don't you Arminians try to figure out from the text of Genesis 3 why I would argue that Armininianism is the Lie of Eden?

(I'm just trying to get you fellows to be more thoughtful. I think the exercise may prove to be interesting.)

226 posted on 4/23/02 4:37 PM Pacific by the_doc ---------------------------------------------------------

Someone asked:
"How does Arminianism block repentance? How does the Lie of Eden block repentance, for that matter? I thought that God blocked repentance (on the part of the non-elect--and of course, on the part of the elect, it's irresistible, so that's not blocked repentance either)?"

Demonic power operating in the soul blocks repentance. This is explicitly taught in 2 Timothy 2:26f. (The fact that this awful mess is ordained by God, and under God's sovereign control, is another matter in that same passage!)

"I don't see how the doctrines of Arminianism themselves could tend to encourage frivolous professions. Arminianism, at least "classical" Arminianism (the kind Arminius, Watson and Wesley espoused), doesn't espouse "say the sinner's prayer and you're saved--don't go by feelings, just pound your will into submission!" That's more a debased Baptistic view of things (the more Southern Baptist sort, not really Reformed or Fundamental or even Free Will...). But you are somewhat correct--due to the predominance of Arminian churches here in the US, there are probably more ostensibly "Arminian" Christians than Calvinist Christians (not to say that there are not ostensibly "Calvinist" Christians who really aren't saved, either)."

And I will acknowledge that being a professed Calvinist does not equal salvation.

But these are not want I am talking about. Please see my most recent post (#226).

"Doc, when we bring up Servetus and use him as a reason why Calvin was a wicked man, besides the off-base attempts at defending Calvin ("Oh, he actually wanted the sentence commuted! Really"), usually there are intermixed cries that God used him anyway, or to look past his character at what he's saying--in essence, to avoid ad hominem attacks. Please do us, or at least me, the same turn. (Note that I've never said that Calvin was unregenerate, although I definitely am not thrilled with his involvement with Servetus.)"

You are being stubborn by insinuating that Calvin was "wicked" and then turning around and saying that maybe he was regenerate after all.

The problem is not that a regenerate individual cannot sin, but that you are being hypocritical in ways which you have have not even recognized. Calvin's error was that of continuing the Romanist error of church-statism. I will stipulate that this was, in and of itself, a pretty monstrous error. But there is no reason to believe that you would not have made precisely the same mistake if you had lived in 16th Century Europe.

In the final analysis, I am not so much interested in defending Calvin's honor as I am interested in warning you of this hypocritical bias against a pretty good Christian.

And I will say again that you Arminians have behaved badly. The way you guys tried to use the Servetus story, with a dishonest slant, is an example of this--albeit a minor example. (Many of the Arminian posts have been filled with viciously malevolent lies attacking us. It's almost non-stop slander.)

228 posted on 4/23/02 5:04 PM Pacific by the_doc ---------------------------------------------------------

Spurgeon is famous for his statement "Calvinism is the gospel in its purest form."

For reasons which should eventually become clearer, I believe that Spurgeon was correct. In the present post, I will simply maintain that Spurgeon's statement was correct. (As I have already indicated, we'll look at the proof later.)

What I want to do in this post is to show you what Spurgeon's statement is actually declaring.

It turns out that there are two different ways to read Spurgeon's statement. There is a soft way to read it, and there is also a decidedly more harsh way to read it. I believe both readings have merit. (See below.)

In the first place, you need to keep in mind that Spurgeon never maintained that an Arminian is surely lost. He actually affirmed that one does not have to be a Calvinist in order to be saved. (I have never met a Calvinistic Baptist who would disagree with Spurgeon about this!)

What is my point in telling you this? It is to point out that Spurgeon's statement to the effect tbat Calvinism is the "purest form" of the gospel is admitting the doctrinally important possibility that an Arminian can be saved in the overall gospel but still be confused concerning some of the doctrinal particulars of the gospel!

How could Spurgeon have realized that an Arminian can still be a true Christian? Well, the Bible nowhere says that a person has to get all of his doctrinal p's and q's straight before he is converted. Spurgeon knew that. Besides, Spurgeon himself was converted to Christ before he became a Calvinist as such. And there is no reason whatsoever to doubt Spurgeon's prior conversion.

On the other hand, it is ominously significant that Spurgeon was not converted to Christ by the preaching of an Arminian theology of gospel conversion.

This is so significant that I want to say it again and go on to explain it. Although Spurgeon did not become a Calvinist per se until a short time after his conversion, he had not been converted by the Arminian position.

Let me explain this by pointing out that Spurgeon was converted in a Primitive Methodist church under the preaching of a lay preacher who did not present the standard invitation of the 19th Century Arminian preachers. No one in that little church told Spurgeon or even implied to him that if he would walk an aisle and make a public confession of Christ and get baptized and join a local church, then these works would surely amount to saving faith.

This is important--especially when we realize that there are Protestant preachers who do teach/imply such things. They were on the scene in Spurgeon's day, and they became even more common in the 20th Century!

The lay preacher whose unctuous presentation of Christ stirred young Spurgeon's soul was not one of these hirelings. The fellow was not just trying to get members for the visible Body of Christ!

Why do I think the pejorative term "hireling" is appropriate for describing a lot of ministers? It's because the Christian ministry is too much of a career for them--a career in which visible success equals visible "converts." This is why the hirelings naturally learn the tricks of gospel huckstering from the likes of the 9th Century heretic Charles Finney.

Sadly, we Calvinists notice that today's "hireling evangelists" use Finney's tricks over and over and over in our day. Most people think this is perfectly okay. But it's not okay. It is a dangerous mess.

Why do I say that? It's because it is a throwback to Romanism. The fact that certain works (e.g. profession of faith and joining a local church) are the necessary fruits of true faith does not give us the right to say that the doing of certain works constitutes true faith. (That is the essential error of Romanism!)

More to the point of our present discussion, we must never imply that every seemingly positive thing which a wickedly, demonically confused sinner might do in response to a sermon is a thing of regeneration. The parable of the tares warns us that this is not the case! The tares are demonic counterfeits in the visible church. They are planted by the Enemy, not by the Spirit of God.

This is why I believe that it is important to affirm that the Spirit of Christ must regenerate unto conversion!

The tares are spiritually dead folks who might very well look like they are alive to God--when, in fact, they are actually Adamic-Satanic idolaters who HATE the God of the Bible. Whatever spirit they have, it ain't the spirit of Christ. And since they are arrogantly presenting themselves in the temple of God as saved when they are not, the spirit of the deception is necessarily an antichristian spirit.

Do we just throw these folks out of our churches? No, if they behave themselves, we leave them alone. Trying to root them out will create more problems than it solves. But we definitely can preach about the problem of the antichristian deception! We can point out that some folks are hypocrites who learn lipservice confessions concerning Jesus and God but who do not know the God of the Bible after all. And we can specifically point out from the parable that one of the specific reasons why the Lord says leave the tares alone is because He already intends to burn them in hell.

Notice from this that the tares scenario is a pretty scary scenario. We are limited in some ways as to what we can do about the tares; however, we certainly can sharpen the message which may have been so sleepy/sloppy as to allow them to be planted in our churches in the first place! We can do our level best to preach a gospel which attacks doctrinal confusion--including the doctrinal confusion of the Lie which facilitates spurious conversions, i.e., produces antichrists in our churches!

(In case you have missed this, let me clearly affirm that a lot of professing Christians don't really believe that Jesus is the Christ, that He is God in the flesh, that God is Triune. They just memorize confessions and hope that's good enough.)

One of the nifty things about this doctrinal powerful approach is that it automatically unmasks a lot of frauds. As a matter of fact, most of the antichrists will eventually get up and leave the church. (See 1 John 4:2.)

By far the best thing about doctrinally profound warnings is that it winds up converting some of the hypocrites! God wakes them up supernaturally for the very first time.

Now, let me summarize a few points about Spurgeon and his position that Calvinism is the "purest form" of the gospel.

You will notice from what I have said already in this post that I believe that Arminian preaching tends to produce spurious conversions. It tends to confuse folks into professions of faith.

This is nothing like what happened to Spurgeon. But he did not realize the significance of this until he thought about what really happens in conversion. And he did not think about that until the Lord taught him the doctrine of God's sovereignty in salvation!

It is also interesting that when the Spirit of God was pleased to instruct Spurgeon in this doctrinal area, Spurgeon saw the Truth of the Calvinistic position almost immediately. He quickly renounced the Arminian position and never turned back. As far as Spurgeon was concerned, the Truth of the matter was obvious in the Bible. And it explained his own experience beautifully.

Am I saying that a saved but confused Arminian will respond to sound doctrinal instruction as quickly as Spurgeon did? No, I'm not. The Spirit of Christ operated in a pretty spectacular way in Spurgeon. God had big plans for the young man. (Some Christians are not foreordained to the kind of conspicuous, even spectacular ministry which Spurgeon had. They slog along in the confusion of error because God is willing to let them do so.)

In other words, Spurgeon had to abandon the confusion of Arminianism which temporarily adulterated his understanding of the gospel. The Spirit of God was pleased to have Spurgeon get a purer understanding of the ways of God in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Understandably, Spurgeon even gave God the credit for having opened his eyes to the Truth of Biblical predestination.

But what about the professing Christians who are Arminian in their theology and doggedly determined to remain as Arminians? Well, some of them are regenerate but childishly happy with their (proud!) doctrinal confusion. We Calvinists need to be patient. But we should never be so "patient" (!) as to imply that their Arminian doctrine is surely okay. Heck, it's not okay. A lot of "Arminian Christians" are not even Christians in the first place.

We need to be clear about that. So, let me point out the other, more ominious implication of Spurgeon's statement concerning Calvinism and the gospel (see below).

The issues of salvation and damnation are much bigger than assensus; they are much bigger than one's merely intellectual understanding (which can involve profoundly weird self-deceptions). But inasmuch as the mind is the portal of the soul for the Doctrine of the gospel, I will be blunt in my warning about the importance of getting unconfused! If Calvinism is the gospel in its purest form, then Arminianism is the antichristian deception in its purest form.

This is why I have warned FReepers over and over and over that Arminianism is the Lie of Eden ITSELF.

Look again at what Satan said to Eve. Think about it a while. It's a pretty subtle point. But I'm afraid that I'm correct.

And this would go a long ways toward explaining why so many Arminians have behaved so badly, even repeatedly trying to get Calvinists thrown off FR. We infuriate the more rabid Arminians on FR precisely because we are correct.

Tomorrow I will explain why I say that Arminianism is the Lie of Eden. Please relax enough to be thoughtful rather than only stubbornly adversarial.

348 posted on 4/24/02 1:38 PM Pacific by the_doc ---------------------------------------------------------

You just aren't noticing which is the cart and which is the horse. If you will figure this out, you will get the order straightened out.

1 Corinthians 2:14 definitely teaches that a person who does not even have the Spirit of the Truth will never receive the Truth.

You see, [____] the unregenerate sinner actually hates the God of the Bible. This is why preaching, in and of itself, fixes nothing. Conversion is a supernatural phenomenon. So, puh-leez don't call this foolishness. (See again 1 Corinthians 2:14.)

357 posted on 4/24/02 1:59 PM Pacific by the_doc ---------------------------------------------------------

Someone asked:
"If Calvinism is the gospel in its purest form, why did God take so long to bother letting it out? And why do it's practioners have such a long history of failed Christianity in it's application in the world? Probably because it is not."

Actually the Calvinistic position can be found in the writings of Augustine (circa 400 A.D.). And there is evidence that Augustine was by no means the first Christian to understand the Biblical doctrine of predestination.

Even when the Roman Church went into apostasy between Augustine's day and the 16th Century, there were a large number of non-aligned Christians who kept alive Augustine's understanding of the doctrine of God's absolute predestination.

Have predestinarian Christian movements occasionally wandered away from the Truth of God's absolute sovereignty? Of course. The RCC is a good example. Then again, you are a living example of this phenomenon. So, don't blame the doctrine.

361 posted on 4/24/02 2:30 PM Pacific by the_doc ---------------------------------------------------------

Someone said:
"You know, maybe Servetus was converted to Christ on the pyre. I am sure that people like Calvin did pray for him."

But I don't think you understood what I meant when I said that Servetus got what he deserved. The fact is, no one deserves mercy from God. We are all brands fit for burning.

Maybe Servetus finally realized that he was getting what a sinner does deserve. Maybe he finally realized that he had lived his entire life as an unregenerate smart-aleck who had never had a real fear of the True and Living God. Maybe he realized that he had been a fool to think his execution as a martyr would be somehow "tolerable," somehow a lovely thing.

Being burned to death can sure jerk the slack out of a fellow, I guess. But as a physician, I would point out that conversions in the final moments of life are not very common.

367 posted on 4/24/02 3:36 PM Pacific by the_doc ---------------------------------------------------------

"Cursed be this 'love' and Cursed be this 'unity' for which the Word of God is put to the Stake."

424 posted on 4/24/02 7:28 PM Pacific by the_doc ---------------------------------------------------------

Satan, manifesting himself as the Serpent of Genesis 3, told man a single lie presented in two different forms. He said that man would not die for unbelieving disobedience. He re-stated the lie in a more alluring form when he said that man would achieve godhood by a God-defying determination to sin (i.e., to know the issues of good and evil, by evil experience, for himself).

One of the reasons why we know that we should regard this as a single lie presented in two different forms--other than the obvious parallel between the two statements!--is found in Romans 1:25. That verse literally says "for they exchanged the truth of God for THE lie."

Now, inasmuch as this lie was stated in two different versions, we need to realize that the second version is just designed to be especially seductive. The first statement of the Lie, claiming that man would not die for unbelieving disobedience, is the one on which I would like to focus.

This statement, when we fully appreciate what it is saying, is the one which unmasks Arminianism as a fraud. (Ah, but the whole thing is subtle! See again Genesis 3:1a!)

"Likewise, It is good to read the text of the Cannons of Dort aith the Retraction of Errors to see the issues as the participants saw them."

The Canons of Dort The Synod of Dordrecht November 13, 1618—May 9, 1619

First Head of Doctrine. Divine Election and Reprobation

FIRST HEAD: ARTICLE 1. As all men have sinned in Adam, lie under the curse, and are deserving of eternal death, God would have done no injustice by leaving them all to perish and delivering them over to condemnation on account of sin, according to the words of the apostle: "that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God." (Rom 3:19). And: "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," (Rom 3:23). And: "For the wages of sin is death." (Rom 6:23).

FIRST HEAD: ARTICLE 2. But in this the love of God was manifested, that He "sent his one and only Son into the world, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (1 John 4:9, John 3:16).

FIRST HEAD: ARTICLE 3. And that men may be brought to believe, God mercifully sends the messengers of these most joyful tiding to whom He will and at what time He pleases; by whose ministry men are called to repentance and faith in Christ crucified. "How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent?" (Rom 10:14-15).

FIRST HEAD: ARTICLE 4. The wrath of God abides upon those who believe not this gospel. But such as receive it and embrace Jesus the Savior by a true and living faith are by Him delivered from the wrath of God and from destruction, and have the gift of eternal life conferred upon them.

FIRST HEAD: ARTICLE 5. The cause or guilt of this unbelief as well as of all other sins is no wise in God, but in man himself; whereas faith in Jesus Christ and salvation through Him is the free gift of God, as it is written: "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God" (Eph 2:8). Likewise: "For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him" (Phil 1:29).

FIRST HEAD: ARTICLE 6. That some receive the gift of faith from God, and others do not receive it, proceeds from God's eternal decree. "For known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world" (Acts 15:18 A.V.). "who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will" (Eph 1:11). According to which decree He graciously softens the hearts of the elect, however obstinate, and inclines them to believe; while He leaves the non-elect in His just judgment to their own wickedness and obduracy. And herein is especially displayed the profound, the merciful, and at the same time the righteous discrimination between men equally involved in ruin; or that decree of election and reprobation, revealed in the Word of God, which, though men of perverse, impure, and unstable minds wrest it to their own destruction, yet to holy and pious souls affords unspeakable consolation.

FIRST HEAD: ARTICLE 7. Election is the unchangeable purpose of God, whereby, before the foundation of the world, He has out of mere grace, according to the sovereign good pleasure of His own will, chosen from the whole human race, which had fallen through their own fault from the primitive state of rectitude into sin and destruction, a certain number of persons to redemption in Christ, whom He from eternity appointed the Mediator and Head of the elect and the foundation of salvation. This elect number, though by nature neither better nor more deserving than others, but with them involved in one common misery, God has decreed to give to Christ to be saved by Him, and effectually to call an draw them to His communion by His Word and Spirit; to bestow upon them true faith, justification, and sanctification; and having powerfully preserved them in the fellowship of His son, finally to glorify them for the demonstration of His mercy, and for the praise of the riches of His glorious grace; as it is written "For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves." (Eph 1:4-6). And elsewhere: "And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified." (Rom 8:30).

FIRST HEAD: ARTICLE 8. There are not various decrees of election, but one and the same decree respecting all those who shall be saved, both under the Old and New Testament; since the Scripture declares the good pleasure, purpose, and counsel of the divine will to be one, according to which He has chosen us from eternity, both to grace and to glory, to salvation and to the way of salvation, which He has ordained that we should walk therein (Eph 1:4, 5; 2:10).

FIRST HEAD: ARTICLE 9. This election was not founded upon foreseen faith and the obedience of faith, holiness, or any other good quality or disposition in man, as the prerequisite, cause, or condition of which it depended; but men are chosen to faith and to the obedience of faith, holiness, etc. Therefore election is the fountain of every saving good, from which proceed faith, holiness, and the other gifts of salvation, and finally eternal life itself, as its fruits and effects, according to the testimony of the apostle: "For he chose us (not because we were, but) in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight." (Eph 1:4).

FIRST HEAD: ARTICLE 10. The good pleasure of God is the sole cause of this gracious election; which does not consist herein that out of all possible qualities and actions of men God has chosen some as a condition of salvation, but that He was pleased out of the common mass of sinners to adopt some certain persons as a peculiar people to Himself, as it is written: "Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad—in order that God's purpose in election might stand: not by works but by him who calls—she (Rebekah) was told, 'The older will serve the younger.' Just as it is written: 'Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.'" (Rom 9:11-13). "When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed." (Acts 13:48).

FIRST HEAD: ARTICLE 11. And as God Himself is most wise, unchangeable, omniscient, and omnipotent, so the election made by Him can neither be interrupted nor changed, recalled, or annulled; neither can the elect be cast away, nor their number diminished.

FIRST HEAD: ARTICLE 12. The elect in due time, though in various degrees and in different measures, attain the assurance of this their eternal and unchangeable election, not by inquisitively prying into the secret and deep things of God, but by observing in themselves with a spiritual joy and holy pleasure the infallible fruits of election pointed out in the Word of God—such as, a true faith in Christ, filial fear, a godly sorrow for sin, a hungering and thirsting after righteousness, etc.

FIRST HEAD: ARTICLE 13. The sense and certainty of this election afford to the children of God additional matter for daily humiliation before Him, for adoring the depth of His mercies, for cleansing themselves, and rendering grateful returns of ardent love to Him who first manifested so great love towards them. The consideration of this doctrine of election is so far from encouraging remissness in the observance of the divine commands or from sinking men in carnal security, that these, in the just judgment of God, are the usual effects of rash presumption or of idle and wanton trifling with the grace of election, in those who refuse to walk in the ways of the elect.

FIRST HEAD: ARTICLE 14. As the doctrine of election by the most wise counsel of God was declared by the prophets, by Christ Himself, and by the apostles, and is clearly revealed in the Scriptures both of the Old and the New Testament, so it is still to be published in due time and place in the Church of God, for which it was peculiarly designed, provided it be done with reverence, in the spirit of discretion and piety, for the glory of God's most holy Name, and for enlivening and comforting His people, without vainly attempting to investigate the secret ways of the Most High (Acts 20:27; Rom 11:33f; 12:3; Heb 6:17f).

FIRST HEAD: ARTICLE 15. What peculiarly tends to illustrate and recommend to us the eternal and unmerited grace of election is the express testimony of sacred Scripture that not all, but some only, are elected, while others are passed by in the eternal decree; whom God, out of His sovereign, most just, irreprehensible, and unchangeable good pleasure, has decreed to leave in the common misery into which they have willfully plunged themselves, and not to bestow upon them saving faith and the grace of conversion; but, permitting them in His just judgment to follow their own ways, at last, for the declaration of His justice, to condemn and punish them forever, not only on account of their unbelief, but also for all their other sins. And this is the decree of reprobation, which by no means makes God the Author of sin (the very though of which is blasphemy), but declares Him to be an awful, irreprehensible, and righteous Judge and Avenger thereof.

FIRST HEAD: ARTICLE 16. Those in whom a living faith in Christ, and assured confidence of soul, peace of conscience, an earnest endeavor after filial obedience, a glorying in God through Christ, is not as yet strongly felt, and who nevertheless make use of the means which God has appointed for working these graces in us, ought not to be alarmed at the mention of reprobation, nor to rank themselves among the reprobate, but diligently to persevere in the use of means, and with ardent desires devoutly and humble to wait for a season of richer grace. Much less cause to be terrified by the doctrine of reprobation have they who, though they seriously desire to be turned to God, to please Him only, and to be delivered from the body of death, cannot yet reach that measure of holiness and faith to which they aspire; since a merciful God has promised that He will not quench the smoking flax, nor break the bruised reed. But this doctrine is justly terrible to those who, regardless of God and of the Savior Jesus Christ, have wholly given themselves up to the cares of the world and the pleasures of the flesh, so long as they are not seriously converted to God.

FIRST HEAD: ARTICLE 17. Since we are to judge of the will of God from His Word, which testifies that the children of believers are holy, not by nature, but in virtue of the covenant of grace, in which they together with the parents are comprehended, godly parents ought not to doubt the election and salvation of their children whom it pleases God to call out of this life in their infancy (Gen 17:7; Acts 2:39; 1 Cor 7:14).

FIRST HEAD: ARTICLE 18. To those who murmur at the free grace of election and the just severity of reprobation we answer with the apostle "But who are you, O man, to talk back to God?" (Rom 9:20), and quote the language of our Savior: "Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own?" (Matt 20:15). And therefore, with holy adoration of these mysteries, we exclaim in the words of the apostle: "Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! 'Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?' 'Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?' For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen." (Rom 11:33-36).

REJECTION OF ERRORS The true doctrine concerning election and reprobation having been explained, the Synod rejects the errors of those:

FIRST HEAD: PARAGRAPH 1. Who teach: That the will of God to save those who would believe and would persevere in faith and in the obedience of faith is the whole and entire decree of election, and that nothing else concerning this decree has been revealed in God's Word.

For these deceive the simple and plainly contradict the Scriptures, which declare that God will not only save those who will believe, but that He has also from eternity chosen certain particular persons to whom, above others, He will grant in time, both faith in Christ and perseverance; as it is written "I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. (John 17:6). "and all who were appointed for eternal life believed. (Acts 13:48)". And "For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. (Eph 1:4)."

FIRST HEAD: PARAGRAPH 2. Who teach: That there are various kinds of election of God unto eternal life: the one general and indefinite, the other particular and definite; and that the latter in turn is either incomplete, revocable, non-decisive, and conditional, or complete, irrevocable, decisive, and absolute. Likewise: That there is one election unto faith and another unto salvation, so that election can be unto justifying faith, without being a decisive election unto salvation.

For this is a fancy of men's minds, invented regardless of the Scriptures, whereby the doctrine of election is corrupted, and this golden chain of our salvation is broken: "And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. (Rom 8:30)."

FIRST HEAD: PARAGRAPH 3. Who teach: That the good pleasure and purpose of God, of which Scripture makes mention in the doctrine of election, does not consist in this, that God chose certain persons rather than others, but in this, that He chose out of all possible conditions (among which are also the works of the law), or out of the whole order of things, that act of faith which from its very nature is undeserving, as well as it incomplete obedience, as a condition of salvation, and that He would graciously consider this in itself as a complete obedience and count it worthy of the reward of eternal life.

For by this injurious error the pleasure of God and the merits of Christ are made of none effect, and men are drawn away by useless questions from the truth of gracious justification and from the simplicity of Scripture, and this declaration of the apostle is charged as untrue: "who has saved us and called us to a holy life, not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time (2 Tim 1:9)."

FIRST HEAD: PARAGRAPH 4. Who teach: That in the election unto faith this condition is beforehand demanded that man should use the light of nature aright, be pious, humble, meek, and fit for eternal life, as if on these things election were in any way dependent.

For this savors of the teaching of Pelagius, and is opposed to the doctrine of the apostle when he writes: "All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast (Eph 2:3-9)."

FIRST HEAD: PARAGRAPH 5. Who teach: That the incomplete and non-decisive election of particular persons to salvation occurred because of a foreseen faith, conversion, holiness, godliness, which either began or continued for some time; but that the complete and decisive election occurred because of foreseen perseverance unto the end in faith, conversion, holiness, and godliness; and that this is the gracious and evangelical worthiness, for the sake of which he who is chosen is more worthy than he who is not chosen; and that therefore faith, the obedience of faith, holiness, godliness, and perseverance are not fruits of the unchangeable election unto glory, but are conditions which, being required beforehand, were foreseen as being met by those who will be fully elected, and are causes without which the unchangeable election to glory does not occur.

This is repugnant to the entire Scripture, which constantly inculcates this and similar declarations: Election is "not by works but by him who calls (Rom 9:12)." "And all who were appointed for eternal life believed (Acts 13:48)." "For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight (Eph 1:4)." "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name (John 15:16)." "And if by grace, then it is no longer by works (Rom 11:6)." "This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son (1 John 4:10)."

FIRST HEAD: PARAGRAPH 6. Who teach: That not every election unto salvation is unchangeable, but that some of the elect, any decree of God notwithstanding, can yet perish and do indeed perish.

By this gross error they make God be changeable, and destroy the comfort which the godly obtain out of the firmness of their election, and contradict the Holy Scripture, which teaches that the elect can not be led astray (Matt 24:24), that Christ does not lose those whom the Father gave him (John 6:39), and that God also glorified those whom he foreordained, called, and justified (Rom 8:30).

FIRST HEAD: PARAGRAPH 7. Who teach: That there is in this life no fruit and no consciousness of the unchangeable elect to glory, nor any certainty, except that which depends on a changeable and uncertain condition.

For not only is it absurd to speak of an uncertain certainty, but also contrary to the experience of the saints, who by virtue of the consciousness of their election rejoice with the apostle and praise this favor of God (Eph 1); who according to Christ's admonition rejoice with his disciples that their names are written in heaven (Luke 10:20); who also place the consciousness of their election over against the fiery darts of the devil, asking: "Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? (Rom 8:33)."

FIRST HEAD: PARAGRAPH 8. Who teach: That God, simply by virtue of His righteous will, did not decide either to leave anyone in the fall of Adam and in the common state sin and condemnation, or to pass anyone by in the communication of grace which is necessary for faith and conversion.

For this is firmly decreed: "God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden (Rom 9:18)." And also this: "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them (Mat 13:11)." Likewise: "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes , Father, for this was your good pleasure (Mat 11:25-26)."

FIRST HEAD: PARAGRAPH 9. Who teach: That the reason why God sends the gospel to one people rather than to another is not merely and solely the good pleasure of God, but rather the fact that one people is better and worthier than another to which the gospel is not communicated.

For this Moses denies , addressing the people of Israel as follows: "To the LORD your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it. Yet the LORD set his affection on your forefathers and loved them, and he chose you, their descendants, above all the nations, as it is today (Deu 10:14-15)." And Christ said: "Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes (Mat 11:21)."

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