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
Nor does it take a genius to see that the assertions in this article speak harshly of the theological precepts to which you adhere. You have a vested interest in the article being anything but true.
Some Christians even took patience to explain their positions, yet rather than discussing these things in Christ, they are promoted towards frustration by those claiming to promote Calvinism only.
The first posts we received from non-Calvinists were that we 'deserved what we would get' (wimpycat), that we were blasphemers and heretics (webber), that we should 'get with it' (BigMack), and that we are 'being used by the Adversary to attack the faith' (YOU, Cvengr).
That doesn't sound like patient explanation to me.
Don't tell me,..Calvinism? ;^)
Don't tell me,..Calvinism? ;^)
I get it...I get jokes...hehe...
Matt 11:25 BEGINS WITH: "At that time Jesus answered and said, "I thank Thee, O Father, LORD of Heaven and Earth, because Thou has hid these things from the WISE and PRUDENT, and hast REVEALED them unto BABES."
vs 26 - "Even so, Father: For so it seemed GOOD in Thy sight.
Now let's quote verse 28 which you so conveniently decided to leave out: vs 28 - "Come unto me ALL YE THAT LABOUR AND ARE HEAVE LADEN, (Noticed Jesus said "ALL"), and I will give you rest. In Verses 29-30 Jesus is still addressing the "ALL". He says: vs 29 - Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. (The word for "Rest" in the original Greek is "`anapausis" which the same word that Jesus used when He told the Pharisees and Sadducees of His time that they will never enter into His Rest) Which meant they would never find salvation.
You still haven't answered who the terms "World" and "Whosoever" used in John 3:16 & 17. Why have you "predestinationalists" chosen not to anwer me on these verses? Does it make you feel uncomfortable? And Please, if you're not going to answer me about these verses, don't bother replying at all. By your editing out verses which do not support your "Blasphemous" viewpoint, you have already shown to me that you are nothing but a "Cult"!!
You are ignoring my point, Cvengr. I provided direct refutation of an assertion you made against us, one with implications of malice on our part, and you respond as though I'm taking personal offense to the comment I referenced.
Your 'simple discerning observation' implied that Satan himself is the driving force behind Calvinism. This was your first response to this article. No patient attempt to explain your position, just painting Calvinism with the wide brush of apostasy without a hint of support.
I'm not reading into it...it's there for all to see, as is my response to your accusations.
Truth is Truth, C. Do you find nothing wrong with Catholicism? I do. I also find things wrong with Arminianism. It matter greatly whether or not we serve the Christ of the bible. I won't even ask if you agree, because if you are a Christian - a priori - you must agree with that statement.
As for name-calling beginning in post 1, please supply us with your definition of name-calling. This is post 1, in its entirety:
I know this debate is old, but this still deserves to be said, again and again.1 posted on 09/07/2003 9:36 PM EDT by nobdysfool
Once again, you lied. There was no name-calling in post 1. The name calling began in post 5, posted by webber, the person you were trying to defend. Seems your good graces are somewhat selective. You chose the wrong horse to back in this race, and you haven't got the integrity or the honesty to admit it. You have called me names, you have several times tried to impune my character and my integrity, and stated that I should repent. Repent for what? Withstanding you? It is not I who needs to repent, it is you. The only name that I've called you is the one which fits, based on easily verifiable facts: You are a Liar. As such, by your own reasoning and posts on this and other threads, you cannot be in right standing with God, because Liars do not inherit the Kingdom of God!
Now, there is a matter that you need to attend to, and it keeps growing and growing because you refuse to admit your guilt, and your error. It is not going to disappear, until you do the Christian thing, that which is right, and repent and ask forgiveness for your character assassination, your lies, your slander and libel, and your proud insistence that you have wronged no one, when it is plain to see to all here, lurkers and participants alike, that you are guilty as charged. You have no credibility here, Cvengr. Your credibility is a vapor, which has disappeared like the morning mist. You have one means, and one means only of restoring that credibility. The choice is yours: Repent, ask for forgiveness, and be restored, or continue in your pride and self-deception, and remain "soulishly" out of fellowship with both God and us.
DUH. I think a God who knows "Everything" would also know who it is that will eventually accept Jesus Christ as Savior and LORD, so of course they were "chosen" before the world began. That's not "sovereign" predistination, that's knowing ahead of time who would confess their sins to God the Father, and receive Jesus Christ as LORD and Savior.
If God Almighty is the one who "Sovereinly chooses" who will be saved, then, if He is also a "Just" God, should not condemn, or Judge any unbeliever because he had no choice but be an unbeliever because according to "your gospel", man cannot choose Jesus. So neither can God cast the unbelievers into the "Lake of Fire". BUT HE DOES! Which means your "religion" makes GOD UNJUST, UNHOLY, UNMERCIFUL, UNGRACIOUS, UNLOVING..... and I for one DO NOT BELIEVE THAT! So that means your "sovereign predistination" religion is Blasphemy, Heresy, Abomination, Lies, of the Devil, Apostacy!!
Do you know what a conditional statement is? A conditional statement is one in which the effect requires a specific and explicit cause to bring it about. As an example, take the following conditional statement: If you have a Y chromosome, then you are a male. There is a necessary condition that must be met (Y chromo) for you to achieve the effect (being a male).
Now, let's look at the latter half of John 3:16. Whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. This can easily be restated as a conditional statement: IF you believe in Him, THEN you shall not perish. The condition to be met is belief in Christ. The statement speaks NOTHING to the ability/inability of man (vis a vis his willingness) to believe in Christ. Thus, the latter half of this verse does not hold any bearing on the issue of man's depravity or God's election. As to the former half, if I told you I've travelled around the world, does that mean I've actually physically been to every point on its surface? The word translated 'world' here (kosmos) is the same as in Mark 16:15 (And he said unto them, Go ye into all the whole world, and preach the gospel to every creature). Are we required to visit every physical point on the surface of the earth in order to fulfill this commission? Same word is used in John 4:42 to describe Jesus as the Savior of the world...but it is abundantly clear that some will not in fact be saved but will perish.
I posted the verses I did from Matthew 11 because they were relevant to the topic at hand. Since you wish to argue the context negates the interpretation (which is amuzing in light of your silence on 2 Peter 3:9 in context), I will simply refer back to my explanation of conditional statements, which verses 28 and 29 both are.
Why have you "predestinationalists" chosen not to anwer me on these verses? Does it make you feel uncomfortable? And Please, if you're not going to answer me about these verses, don't bother replying at all. By your editing out verses which do not support your "Blasphemous" viewpoint, you have already shown to me that you are nothing but a "Cult"!!
I did not 'edit them out' nor did I intend to hide anything which might somehow damage my position. Now that I have answered your boisterous charges, I await your explanation regarding 2 Peter 3:9.
You still haven't answered who the terms "World" and "Whosoever" used in John 3:16 & 17. Why have you "predestinationalists" chosen not to anwer me on these verses?
Please see my 53 above. You were answered...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.