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
No, South Africa is primarily Anglican. Your "awareness" is somewhat lacking. Couldn't be your Bias, could it? Nah, I doubt that....
As far as "Geographic prevalence" goes, Calvinism is the dominant Protestant Religion in the Reformed heartland of Switzerland, and the "Presbyterian Switzerland" of South Korea.
Purely as a side-note, both of which have some of the most restrictive Anti-Abortion Laws on their respective Continents:
I'm sure that's purely a coincidence.
I'm sure it is also a coincidence that in terms of Economic Freedom, both Switzerland and South Korea are models to the entire world (one-third of all liquid assets in the world are stored in Swiss Banks)... and in terms of Gun Rights, John Calvin's Switzerland puts everyone to shame.
Switzerland hasn't fought a War in 500 years, not since John Calvin was Chief Pastor of Geneva. They never meddle in anyone's affairs... and everyone has an Assault Rifle. Violent Crime is practically non-existent, of course (despite the fact that minor recreational drugs are mostly legal for home usage).
Pro-Life. Pro-Capitalist. Every Household an Arsenal of fully-automatic weaponry. Almost no Violent Crime. No Wars -- ever. A Gold-Standard Currency which the entire world Banks on. All very Calvinistic.
Sounds awfully terrible to me.
How about you, "Duck"? Put your money where your Bias is, bucko.
Or pardon us while we laugh at you. "Dour Calvinists" do have a sense of humor, after all.
I think the South Africa argument is goofy. But I thought you guys considered Anglicans to be Calvinists based on the 35(?) Articles.
IF a group want to join a denomination and the pastor wants to affiliate with an established church body , and if then he is asked to affirm all the pillars of that church and he affirms them to the leaders even though he does not believe them is that no a lie?
Baptists have independent churches. The AOG . like the UM or the COTN do not.
It is one thing to have occasion to change a doctrinal stand after membership, it is another to to lie to get the affiliation .
The AOG say CLEARLY that their are NON negotiable . That is a very clear statement on what they want taught in their churches.
We affirm that we will "support and uphold" them.
The intent of the originator was that they not be optional. If I remember correctly, they are listed as founding documents and are not able to be changed.
But they do require "interpretation"....especially the Christian perfection article.
It doesn't mean you disavow the article.
How would an AOG reinterpret "tongue evidence?" I don't know. I'd have to see how they've written it; see how restrictive they've actually made it.
A few months ago ~you~ understood this as distinctly "amillennial" (as are all the early creeds).
Now you want to try to "interpret" this "premillennially"?
No "if's", "and's", or "but's" about it, x, "from thence he shall come to judge the living and the dead" can only be "post"-millennial (Amillennial/Postmillennial) as you honestly acknowledged a few months ago.
...now, back to the regularly scheduled programming...
Jean
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