The Calvinism puzzle.

Most of my previous arguments came from Hebrews where I argued that Jesus paid for all sins, except the sin of unbelief, which I thought must be the unforgivable sin.

I had heard the "say the prayer and raise your hand if you did" probably a thousand times. I figured that it was on humans to choose and either be blessed or be condemned for the choice you make.

Then, I actually started reading the Bible and the Bible demanded that I address the many contradictions in my thinking. I observed the many times God chose and wrote them down. The process continued for a number of years until I could not deny the Supremacy of God in all things.

 

For me, the conversion to Reformed Theology (Calvinism) started when I studied the Reformation. I wanted to know what views Luther, Calvin, Knox, and the other Reformers held. This led me to Ligonier.org, where I read a lot of material from R.C. Sproul. As I came to understand the five "Solas", I realized that our salvation is entirely in God's hands. The passages about how fleshly men actually hate God really hit me. Unless men are drawn to Christ, they will not go to Him on their own.

To be completely honest, I still have a little trouble wrapping my mind around some Calvinist doctrines, and I am not very good at defending the views. That being said, I believe the doctrines are supported by Scripture, and I will grow to understand it better.

 

Experientially, I wanted nothing to do with god or religion before my salvation. Then God called me and made me an offer that I could not refuse and transformationally changed me. Thus I selected a church near my home and struggled to reconcile their excellent Wesleyan Holiness teaching (Church of God of Anderson Indiana) with my personal (hyper-monergistic) soteriological experience. Studying scripture eventually led me to 4 truths that agreed with both scripture and my personal experience:

1. People are no darn good. (T)
2. It isn’t about US; Like Corrie Ten Boon said “God does as He pleases and He does it right well”. (U)
3. God just does, He doesn’t TRY and He doesn’t stop to ask permission. (I)
4. God finishes what God starts. (P)

I eventually discovered that there was a name for these truths that I had discovered studying Scripture in a Wesleyan Arminian church … Calvinism. I also learned that there was a Fifth point (L).

I had never given any thought to who else Jesus died for on the cross. It always seemed enough to know that He had died for me. Who else He chose to die for always seemed more HIS BUSINESS than my business. Given the other 4 points, (L) makes sense, it just feels like “none of my business telling God whose sins to die for and whose sins to not die for”. Since the Bible implies but is never explicit (it actually offers verses supporting both sides), I still prefer to leave that one alone.

 

See the errant thinking is that somehow its not entirely in Gods hands if God sovereignly chose the have man choose. That is a fallacy

 

I was saved at the age of 10, at a Methodist Youth Fellowship meeting, where the man came out and "had a message to share with us".

I had no Bible or church of any kind, until my early twenties.

A man gave me 500 sermonists on Salvation, sinners are dead, The Lord's churches, and Authority in Baptism. It all seemed right and when the Preacher turned from text to text to text and THEN said, "Here's what God says", I picked up on things rather quickly.

Why not? The Holy Spirit had been with me as I traveled out to believe I came from a monkey, back to hearing for the first time that there was a Book called, "Genesis" and Two Testaments, in the Bible, and four Gospels...I didn't know.

I was handed the works of C.D.Cole, then had T.P. Simmons' book assigned in Bible College.

I saw a Billboard Ad for Lexington Baptist College and decided to "go to learn what I'd missed in Sunday School".

Sure enough, I heard the name, "Abraham", for the first time, there, etc.

The Lord called me to preach and I've done supply preaching and Vacation Bible Schools for the kids.

We are currently IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS through the Good News Club.

I teach devotion on Sunday Mornings and have "a work", online,
and discuss the Index to Revelation, here: at WordPress.com

The regular WordPress, with 600+blogs, and 612 followers, is here Aware of The Godhead

Enter your email address and receive notifications of new posts by email & be Aware of The GODHEAD. It is mostly John Gill adapted for the internet and the modern reader.

To me, the works of these men, A.W. Pink, James Petigru Boyce, etc., and those of my Teachers at school and Preacher friends and, believe it or not, "The BIBLE", is what I consider I am, as opposed to, "A Calvinist", although, I get it.

I put in those 600+ blog posts "What I Believe" and it is a work in progress.

I consider my participation on Forums a ministry.
"Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few: pray ye, therefore, the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth laborers into his harvest."
Luke 10:2

No "puzzle".

No reason to leave "Calvinism", since I first heard it.

King James Bible
"Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go?
thou hast the words of eternal life." John 6:68

No reason to leave The Lord's Kind of Church, where I first heard it.

My current church home, Bryan Station Baptist Church, was founded in 1786 and still believes the same as it has through 40-something Presidents (Kentucky was not yet a state and John Handcock was President).

We are Missionary and have started several works throughout the states, including my first home church, and around the World.

• Churches Organized by Bryan Station

Messages by my first Pastor, if you want to know "how I cut my teeth"

Speaker: Bill DeRossitt

Will you be His Disciple

Have we Left our First Love

Do we Hunger for God

Message by my current Pastor, i.e., Sound and Balanced, Informative, and Compassionate:

0.0.10 ALARM #22:
“GIVE ME A GOOD REASON YOU WANT TO GO TO HELL” or BOW YOUR HEAD!

His message; Pastor Brent Spears: "A Passion For Souls" (Proverbs 11:30)
"The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he that winneth souls is wise."

We might as well take a loaded gun to people’s heads.

begin at 24:00 minute mark.

“Decisional Regeneration”

Can you be Eternally Saved by just “deciding to”, signing a Commitment Card, or even “Praying”?

Can anyone, “Make a Decision” for Christ??
or “Make Jesus your ‘Lord'”?

You may think you have done some of these things and yet still do not “feel” saved.

Well, it may not be “Well with your soul”, so BE SURE.

YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN.

Go to my Facebook page to view the video:

See “June 12th”

登录或注册即可查看 "A Passion For Souls" (Proverbs 11:30)

I am a "225-point" "Calvinist, since I believe there are many more points to God's Eternal Work of Salvation, thus the blog site, and yes, Those Points, and the rest of The Bible all Harmonize, Supernaturally.

At: Aware of The Godhead:
My Subject is ETERNAL LIFE,
as PROMISED and
REVEALED to MANKIND,
by The ETERNAL GODHEAD,
God The Father,
God The Son &
God The Holy Spirit,
in Their ETERNAL
WORD of GOD,
The HOLY BIBLE.

AWARE of The GODHEAD
is an EXALTATION of
The One and Only
True and Living
GOD of THE BIBLE,
in order for you
to Become:
AWARE of The GODHEAD,
from Eternity Past
to Eternity Future,
IN THE BIBLE.

From ETERNITY PAST,
ALMIGHTY GOD
WAS PLANNING
The ACTS of CREATION
and
THE PLAN of SALVATION.

The Entire THEME
of The BIBLE is JESUS CHRIST
and
The BIBLE is Written to Show:

The ACTIVITY of ALMIGHTY GOD
in the ETERNAL
SALVATION of the SOUL.

The ETERNAL
SALVATION of the SOUL
is The ACTIVITY
of ALMIGHTY GOD
&
GOD HAS SAVED SOULS
through "THE WAY",
THE SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST
in the SAME WAY;
from the fall of the first man,
and GOD WILL SAVE SOULS
through "THE WAY",
THE SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST,
Until Jesus Comes Again.

GOD SAVES SOULS, NOW,
And GOD WILL SAVE SOULS
in the SAME WAY;
Until the End of the World,
at the Second Coming of Christ,
through
"THE WAY", JESUS CHRIST.

The Eternal
Salvation of the Soul
is the FULFILLMENT
of an Agreed Upon
and
Covenanted Activity
of Almighty God,
as it was a Covenant Compact
from Eternity Past,

Among and Between
The GODHEAD;
GOD the FATHER,
JESUS, GOD The SON
and
GOD The HOLY SPIRIT;
in which Each Divine Person
of The Eternal Godhead
Agreed to take His Part
in the Administration
of the Gift
of man’s Eternal Salvation,
AS SHOWN IN THE BIBLE
and
by THE GRACE OF GOD
UPON HIS CHILDREN,
throughout Recorded Time.

I go with The Bible and John Gill's understanding of Reprobation, but again, we are Missionary.

Local, Missionary, Landmark. Baptist History Homepage.


Baptist History Homepage

LANDMARKISM
"Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set." Proverbs 22:28

"Truly the old landmark once stood, and having fallen, it was deemed proper to reset it."
(The Baptist Encyclopedia, 1881, p. 868.)

"[T]here are many elements in Baptist history which bear an obvious and direct relationship to the tenets of the Landmark system and which clearly demonstrate that the architects of the movement, 'the Great Triumvirate,' were building on a foundation in Baptist life which was already laid." - LeRoy B. Hogue, "The Antecedents of Landmarkism".

Baptist History Notebook
By Berlin Hisel
Waldensian Confessions of Faith
Waldenses Confession of 1120


I'm certainly not interested in "leaving", I am more, unashamedly, included to point folks my way.

I work with Homeless folks every day, in and out of my home,
and I ask them, "Do you think Jesus will Come Back today?"

 

Ironically in Protestantism the “five solas” are filtered through the lens of the Baptist and the “Reformed” and not Luther and Lutheran soteriology, etc. Oh, the irony.

*News flash Calvinist … no Luther was not a Calvinist.

 

We are Lutheran
These five “solas” (only’s) are statements that came out of the Reformation to describe what a Lutheran church is:

SOLA SCRIPTURA - Lutherans stand on Scripture as their foundation of faith.
SOLA FIDE - Lutherans believe faith alone saves apart from works.
SOLA GRATIA - Lutherans believe that it is only by God's grace that we are saved.
SOLUS CHRISTUS - Lutherans believe that it is through Christ's work alone that we are saved.
SOLI DEO GLORIA - Lutherans believe that the glory for our salvation goes to God alone.

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church - Beliefs