I, Robot?

Soon after shifting into the Calvinist camp, one of the first arguments I encountered against my theology was "Calvinism makes man into a robot."

At first glance, this argument sounds logical; for if God has predestined every single detail of everything that happens in Creation (up to and including who is saved), how then can humanity be anything but bunch of robots?

By our very experience in life, we can see that we do make choices. That is, we make real choices that result in real consequences. Yet, somehow in a way that I do not understand, all of our choices are made freely, and yet, preordained by God before the foundation of the world.

To demonstrate this how God's decree and men's choice work together, I ask you to consider the following example from Acts 27:

During Paul's voyage to Rome by Sea, the ship encountered a terrible storm. During the storm Paul tells the sailors that an angel visited him by night and told him that no one would perish, yet the ship would be lost. Later on, some of the sailors decide to escape on a small boat, but Paul tells the Centurion and the soldiers "unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved." The soldiers decide to heed Paul's warning and cut the ropes to the small boat and abandon their escape plan. Later the ship wrecks and all 276 souls survive just as the angel foretold.

In this narrative we can get a glimpse of how the choices of men and God's sovereign decree work hand in hand. Paul knows that no lives will be lost because the angel of the Lord told him so, yet, Paul takes action when he sees the men act in a way that will lead to disaster.

Every person on the ship was making choices -of their own volition- concerning everything they were doing. Every choice they made had a potential outcome; yet out of all the possible outcomes, of all the choices that were being made by every person, the final outcome was, in fact, that which God revealed to Paul.

Concerning this passage, the great Baptist theologian John Gill has written:

"[T]his teaches us that the end and means, in the decrees of God, are not to be separated; nor is any end to be expected without the use of means; and means are as peremptorily fixed, and are as absolutely necessary, and must as certainly be accomplished, as the end."

As Gill has stated, God decrees the end and the means to bring about the appointed end. There's not one choice we will ever make, nor action that we will ever undertake that will fall outside of God's providential control. God's control includes actions good and evil alike.

As a matter of fact, the most heinous act in history -the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ- was the totally the fault of wicked men, and yet, predestined by God to take place! (see Acts 2: 22-23) Though men intended to murder Jesus out of the evil in their hearts, God planned Christ's death to redeem His people from their sin.

Even in spite of the example I have given from Acts 27, some will protest that God simply foresaw the outcome of Paul's situation. Likewise, they will also say that God simply foresees who will choose to be saved and who will not -and that He predestines everything accordingly. Many will do this with the intention of "getting God off the hook" for not choosing to save every human being.

Dr. Wayne Grudem explains why the idea of the predestination based on foreknowledge is incorrect:

"The idea that God's predestination of some to believe is based on foreknowledge of their faith encounters still another problem: upon reflection, this system turns out to give no real freedom to man either. For if God can look into the future and see that person A will come to faith in Christ, and that person B will not come to faith in Christ, then those facts are already fixed, they are already determined.

If we assume that God's knowledge of the future is true (which it must be), then it is absolutely certain that person A will believe and person B will not. There is no way that their lives could turn out any differently than this. Therefore it is fair to say that their destinies are still determined, for they could not be otherwise. But by what are these destinies determined? If they are determined by God himself, then we no longer have election based ultimately on foreknowledge of faith, but rather on God's sovereign will. But if these destinies are not determined by God, then who or what determines them?

Certainly no Christian would say that there is some powerful being other than God controlling people's destinies. Therefore it seems that the only other possible solution is to say they are determined by some impersonal force, some kind of fate, operative in the universe, making things turn out as they do. But what kind of benefit is this? We have then sacrificed election in love by a personal God for a kind of determinism by an impersonal force and God is no longer to be given the ultimate credit for our salvation." (From Grudem's Systematic Theology Ch. 32)


Are we really robots? No... The Apostle Paul said we are clay -and the Potter has the right to do with the clay as He sees fit!

You will say to me then, "Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?" But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, "Why have you made me like this?" Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? (Romans 9:19-21 ESV)

Soli Deo Gloria!

Photo from Wikipedia.

It Depends Not on Human Will

Once upon a time, I was researching some theological issues that were on my mind. In particular I was interested in Freewill. So I typed the word "freewill" (and other variations) into my Bible software to search and see what the Bible taught about the subject. Several hits came up and I read them all in context.

Do you know what I found?

I found lots of verses in the Bible where the word "freewill" was used. Almost everyone of those references were about "freewill offerings." I also found a single passage in Ezra 7 where king
Artaxerxes made a decree that "all they of the people of Israel, and of his priests and Levites, in my realm, which are minded of their own freewill to go up to Jerusalem..." (v:13 KJV)

Do you know what I did not find?

I did not find one didactic passage of Scripture in which a Prophet, The Lord Jesus, or an Apostle laid out any doctrine about God giving man an autonomous freewill that is immune to the influence of the Fall of Adam, in which man could therefore freely choose to accept or reject Jesus.

Let me restate that for clarity: I did not find one place in the Bible were anybody taught about God giving man a "freewill to accept Him or reject Him," nor did I find anything in the Bible about God having to "respect man's freewill choice" as I have heard proclaimed by many modern Evangelicals. The fact is, there's no such teaching in Scripture.

The popular Christian doctrine of "freewill" is a phantom doctrine. It's amazing to me how some Evangelicals place so much doctrinal emphasis on "freewill" when there's not one didactic passage in all the Bible they can point to in support of their theories about it! Please bear in mind that I made this discovery not by reading something a Calvinist wrote, but while I was a Semi-Pelagian!

With my denial of the popular conception of Freewill, am I then saying man is an automaton? To answer that, I shall quote the great Puritan scholar John Owen:

"We grant man, in the substance of all his actions, as much power, liberty, and freedom as a mere created creature is capable of. We grant him to be free in his choice from all outward coaction, or inward necessity, to work according to election and deliberation, spontaneously embracing what seemeth good unto him. Now, call this power free-will if you, or what you please, so you make it not supreme, independent, and boundless, we are not at all troubled." -A Display of Arminianism Ch. 7

We have a liberty to make choices, but those choices will always be dictated by our nature and will never escape God's Providence. If, as the Bible clearly teaches in Romans 6, lost men are slaves unto sin, how then can he have a "freewill" to choose to be saved? Slaves are not free! Those who are slaves to sin must be freed in order to become servants of Christ!

Most Christians will proclaim that salvation is of the Lord. They will affirm that God is to get all the credit. However, almost always, they will qualify that by saying something like "but God has given each human a freewill to choose or reject Him."

What does the Bible say about man's will in relation to being saved? I will provide two very clear statements:

He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:11-13 ESV)

Here John shows us that people are Born Again not because of their bloodline, nor because of their own will, but by the will of God!

In Romans 9, when Paul is discussing why God chose and loved Jacob and yet rejected and hated Esau, Paul says this:

What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means! For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. (Romans 9:14-16 ESV)

Note that last sentence! Paul clearly states that "it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy"!!

We see from these two passages that God is in total control of salvation. God, by the preaching of the Gospel and power of the Holy Spirit, brings dead sinners to life through regeneration thus liberating their fallen, sinful, rebellious will so that they may then freely choose to repent and follow Christ! In this way it is God alone who receives all the praise and glory for the salvation of a sinner.

It is solely because Christ is the author and finisher of our faith that Paul can say:

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV)

(It must also be noted that it's not just Reformed theologians who believe man's will is not autonomous. There are many branches of science in which the existence of freewill is debated.)

Soli Deo Gloria!

Save the Babies and Natives!

Wanna see more people saved? According to some, here's what we need to do:


# 1. We need to bring home all the missionaries and stop preaching the Gospel!

According to many modern Evangelicals, God would never condemn a person who has never had the chance to hear the Gospel. For these well meaning Evangelicals, sin isn't the issue. No, for them it's whether or not a person has a chance to hear the Gospel -and then reject it- that sends the person to Hell.

If this theology is true, we have to conclude that it's actually by the preaching of the Gospel that people are being condemned! We must also conclude that all the tribes in Asia -with no Gospel witness- actually have a better chance of seeing Heaven than people in the U.S.A. with the Gospel being preached on almost every corner!


# 2. Support abortion!

That's right! A gentleman in my old denomination (the Church of God of Prophecy) once told me that he would not oppose abortion because he believed all aborted children go straight to Heaven! He actually said that it would be better for them to be aborted, than to be born into this world and perhaps have a chance to grow up and reject the Gospel!

Therefore Christian, if you want to see more people saved: support Planned Parenthood! Go out and hold "pro-choice" signs instead of witnessing and handing out gospel tracts. Write your representatives in government and tell them to protect Roe vs. Wade!

Reality Check:

Does anything sound strange about these proposals?

Yeah... I agree. They're absurd!

The question of what happens to aborted infants and those dying in infancy is a hard question that is often very sensitive and hurtful for those who've lost a child.

My personal belief is that the infants are redeemed -by God's Grace alone. Many Reformed theologians have also affirmed the same. However, it must be noted that if they are saved, it's not because they have no sin -for they are guilty of Original Sin imputed from Adam- but because God is Sovereign.

God is providentially in control of the situation. Because I do not believe Salvation hinges solely upon human choice and freewill, I fully believe that God is able to regenerate these infants and bring them to saving faith even in the womb in such cases. (Even in spite of my views here, I believe we need to oppose abortion because it is an abominable evil!)

For the "innocent native" in Asia, I believe the situation is much more dire. The native would be not innocent at all. In actuality, he's guilty not only of Original Sin, but also of committing actual sin. Because these people have a conscience and God's law is written upon their heart, the fact they have never heard about Christ is no excuse. I believe these people will be lost unless they repent and believe in Christ.

In conclusion, no matter what happens in these cases, I believe whatever God does: He is right!

Will Christ Know You?

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness." (Mat 7:21-23 ESV)

Friend, I don't know about you, but to me this is one of the most ominous passages of Scripture in the Bible! To think that a person might live out their days, believing they are a Christian, only to eventually hear Christ say "I never knew you; depart from me you worker of lawlessness" ought to cause all of us to "be all the more diligent to make [our] calling and election sure"! (2 Pet 1:10 ESV) It matters not to me whether ye be a pastor or a youth group member, the Bible is clear that you should "examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith" (2 Cor 13:5 ESV).

As a Calvinist, some might wonder why I would even bring up such a scary passage of Scripture. I mean, after all, isn't this a proof-text against our understanding of Perseverance? Doesn't this prove that true Christians can be truly saved and later forfeit their Salvation and be cast away at the judgment? No. I don't believe so...

One thing about this passage that I want to call your attention to, is that Jesus says that He will tell the workers of lawlessness "I never knew you." For Christ to say this is very interesting. As God, we know that He actually has perfect knowledge of all sinners and saints that have ever lived, or that will ever live. When Christ tells them that He "never knew" them, the type of knowledge in which He is speaking cannot possibly be the knowledge in which He has from Omniscience, or else Christ would be lying. Therefore, Christ must be speaking in some other sense of the word.

Have a look at John 10: 14-15. Jesus said:

"I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep."

Here we see Christ proclaim that he KNOWS His sheep and that His sheep KNOW Him. The Greek word for "know" in these verses is "ginōsko." Strong's Concordance defines it as "to 'know' (absolutely), in a great variety of applications and with many implications." Our Lord takes things even further when He says that that this mutual knowledge is "just as the Father knows me and I know the Father." This is obviously speaking of a close relationship, and a very intimate realtionship at that.

Those who believe that the "workers of lawlessness" in Matthew 7 were at one time true Christians, now have a problem. When Jesus tells them "I never knew you," the word for "know" is the very same Greek word used in John 10: 14. In addition, the problem is multiplied when we understand that the word for "never" is the Greek word "oudepote" which Strong's defines as meaning "not even at any time, that is, never at all: - neither at any time, never, nothing at any time." In essense, Christ is saying is "Never at any time -never at all- did I know (have a close intimate relationship with) you, depart from me you workers of lawlessness."

If in John 10, Christ says, that He knows His sheep and His sheep know him, I ask now (as I have asked in previous articles): Can Christ lie? Is there duplicity in the Godhead? If these people had ever been a part of Christ's flock, would Christ be able to tell them that He never at any time knew them at all? Obviously not. He would have to say "I once knew you, but now I do not" or "I knew you at one time, but I forgot you."

By examining the Greek words in these passages, we see that the people who Christ will tell to depart are those within the visible church that profess to know Christ, but were never Born Again. Had they been one of His sheep, He would know them on that day. Had they truly known Christ they would have followed Him (John 10:27) and would not have been "workers of lawlessness."

Now, I want to draw your attention to John 10: 27-28, where our Lord says:

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.

As I have noted in a previous article, Christ clearly teaches that a person whom He knows (ginōskō) will follow Him and they will "never perish". The Greek word for "never" in this verse is a bit different from the word used in Matthew 7: 21-23. Here the Greek word is "oo may." Strong's Concordance defines the word as "a double negative strengthening the denial; not at all: - any more, at all, by any (no) means, neither, never, no (at all), in no case (wise), nor ever, not (at all, in any wise)." Here Christ is telling us that it is utterly impossible for one of His sheep to perish.

When we compare Matthew 7: 12-23 to the passages I cited from John 10, we can clearly see that the truly redeemed cannot perish. Those who will be told to depart were never known to Christ in the sense of having a New Covenant relationship with Him. For Christ to tell a single one of His sheep to depart, would be for Him to contradict everything He says in John 10: 27 & 28. It would also contradict what He says in John 6:37, because there he plainly declares "All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never [oo may] cast out."

Dear reader, I now ask you: Does Christ know you? Do you know Christ? Will Christ know you on that Day? If so, your life will demonstrate it. You will follow Him; you will obey Him; you will do His Father's will; you will abide in Him! If you are in Him and He is in you, you can be assured that you will never perish. If He knows you today, He will know you then. If you are a pretender; if you are a worker of lawlessness hiding behind your outward show of "good works," you are not fooling Christ and on that day he will surely say unto you "I never knew you, depart from me you worker lawlessness."

How do we know that we know Christ? That's simple. The Apostle John has addressed this question also:

"And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says "I know him" but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked." (1 John 2:3-6 ESV)

Soli Deo Gloria!

Thoughts on Conditional Security and Predestination

As I am able, I plan to continue pointing to reasons why I believe that a true Saint of God cannot forfeit his/her Salvation. In this article I want to write about a controversial, but Biblical, doctrine known as "Predestination."

The passage I want to look at today is one that I would often skip over -or explain away- back when I was an Arminian. The passage is Romans 8: 29 & 30 (ESV):

29. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

Notice if you will that this passage says "those WHOM [God] foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son." What this passage says is very plain. Some will counter by saying that it means that God used his omniscience (or prescience) to see what was going to happen (what men would choose concerning Christ) and then planned everything accordingly. I used to believe this too, but after thinking about it and studying the Reformed perspective, the Arminian scheme no longer makes sense.

First of all, it says "WHOM He foreknew," not "WHAT He foreknew". Of course God has foreknowledge of all facts past, present, and future; however, this passage is speaking of God foreknowing PEOPLE, not just the facts about people. It speaks of God having a intimate personal knowledge of a person. You will recall that the Bible says Adam "knew" Eve and she conceived. This is the same idea in Romans 8: God had an intimate personal knowledge and relationship with the Elect before the world began (c.f. Eph. 1:4 & 5). For example, look at what God said to Jeremiah:

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations." Jeremiah 1:5 (ESV)

Secondly, I would like you to notice the progression of Paul's statement concerning those whom God has foreknown and predestined to be conformed to the image of Christ. Theologians have called this the "Golden Chain of Salvation". In this passage we see those whom God predestined (a.k.a. the Elect) would be "called," "justified," and "glorified." Had Paul thought there was a chance of God's Elect forfeiting Eternal Life, he would not been able to write like he did in this passage. Had Paul been an Arminian (pardon the anachronism), the passage would have read much differently.

The "Conditional Security Version" of this passage would read like this:

Those whom God foreknew would choose to be saved he also predestined to the possibility of being conformed to the image of his Son, in order that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. And some of those whom He predestined He also called and some of those whom he tried to call hopefully will choose to be saved so they can be justified, and of those who might be justified, peradventure some of those could be glorified unless they mess it up somehow.

Thirdly, when it comes to Predestination, it doesn't make sense to say that God "looked into the future" to see how men would act and then predestined them accordingly. If that scheme was true, it would make God a mere observer who was bound to predestine (and then create) things based upon that in which He had no ultimate control. If God simply "looked into the future" and saw how things were already predestined to occur, why then would he have to predestine anything?? The notion of "prescient predestination" is illogical, untenable, and an insult to the Sovereignty of God!

Fourthly, the Arminian must admit that even if men are predestined because God looked into the future, then people are already predestined to go to Heaven or to Hell, from the foundation of the world, whether they like it or not! Ultimately, the Arminian (and Open Theist) schemes are simply ways to deny that God is Sovereign determiner of "all things whatsoever come to pass." (See 1689 Baptist Confession Ch 3)

I believe the Arminian view of God (whether they realize it or not) teaches that God leaves salvation up to chance. However, the God of the Bible, by His very nature, cannot leave anything to chance. In fact, Proverbs 16:33 (ESV) tells us that "the lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD"!! As R.C. Sproul says, "chance is not a thing: chance is nothing!" If the eternal destiny of one microbe is left to chance or luck; if one atom in the entire Universe is not under the control of it's Creator, if chance or luck play any part in God's plan of salvation, then God is not Sovereign and our entire belief system is a flimsy house of cards.

The fact is, God already knows who will -and who will not- be saved. Even some Arminians will admit this fact. God can know these things not simply because of His prescience, but because ultimately, it was His choice! He chose whom He chose for His own reasons and for His own Glory. Ephesians 1: 5-6 (ESV) confirms this:

"He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved."

You see, the plan of Salvation is an infallible PLAN of Salvation. God's not sitting up in Heaven wondering how things are going to turn out. Nay my friends, God is in control and things will turn out exactly as He has decreed.

Those whom God set his affections upon in eternity past have been Predestined to salvation and will be infallibly Called, Justified, and Glorified; none of the Elect will ever perish! Christ will be the firstborn among many brethren because His Father has ordained it to be so! If we serve a Sovereign God, how can His plan to redeem His people go any way but according to His perfect plan? How can the Good Shepherd lose any of His sheep?

Sol Deo Gloria!

Answering the Reformed Challenge

The Reformed Mafia has been placed under arrest! We have been placed in the dock by J.C. Thibodaux to answer for the crime of preaching the doctrine known as Perseverance of the Saints! (see this also) It's a most interesting case because the evidence that Mr. Thibodaux has brought against the Mafia is not something we have said or written, but rather, his own eisegesis of Matthew 5:27-30, Hebrews 4:9-11, Revelation 22:18-19! He believes these three passages are somehow the death of the Reformed doctrine of Perseverance.

The prosecutor seems to believe he has an air tight case against us. However, the Mafia, acting as their own attorneys, have already began to dismantle the prosecution's evidence and it looks as if the whole case against the Mafia is beginning to crumble (please see the links to their responses below).

I may take some flak from the Prosecution for what I am about to do, but I have decided that I would rather approach this case, not by swinging at his supposed proof-texts, (others in the Mafia are doing a good job of that already), but by showing Mr. Thibodaux a couple things that our Lord said which prove his interpretation of the aforementioned passages cannot be correct. In fact, I intend to show solid proof that a true Christian cannot forfeit the gift of Eternal Life.

Have a look at John 10: 26-30 (ESV) for example. Jesus said:

"But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one.”

Did you get that? Did you see what Jesus plainly said? It reads very "Calvinistic", eh? His Sheep hear His voice, they follow Him, they are given Eternal (not temporary) Life, and "they shall NEVER PERISH." Neither can anyone snatch them out of His or His Father's hand!

This passage is crystal clear. TRUE Christians (Christ's sheep) will never perish (underline the word NEVER in your Bible!). Christ, with His own words, totally overthrows any possibility of the the true believer losing his/her Salvation. If no other passage in the Bible said a single solitary thing about the security of the Christian, this one passage alone is enough for us to contend for the doctrine of Perseverance forever and ever.

Not enough? Okay. Look at John 6: 35-40 (ESV):

Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day."

There's that word NEVER again!!! If Jesus himself says that all the Father gives to Him will come to Him, and those who come to Him will NEVER be cast out. How can anyone dispute that? Can Christ lie? Can the Good Shepherd lose any of His Sheep? It doesn't appear to me that Jesus believed any such thing! If Mr. Thibodaux's interpretation is correct, then Christ has lied to us in these two passages. However, because Christ never lied, and because there are no contradictions in Scripture -and no duplicity within the Godhead- I have to conclude that the passages Mr. Thibodaux has presented against us cannot possibly support his position. Whatever the passages do teach, it cannot possibly be that a true Christian can forfeit the gift of Eternal life.

Here's my challenge to Mr. Thibodaux. As a former Arminian (who can totally relate to where you are coming from), I would like to purchase and send you either a copy of the book called "Why I am Not An Arminian", or a copy of the Amazing Grace DVD: which ever you chose. All I ask is that you actually read (or watch) it. No strings attached. No reply needed. If your position is truly what the Bible teaches, you have nothing to fear from what I am offering you. Please email me at rhettswhips@yahoo.com if you would like to take me up on the offer.

Mafia Responses to the Challenge:

Gordan: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3,

Josh: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4,

I'll continue to update the responses from the Mafia as they are posted!

I would also like to submit the following resources to those open to studying this controversial topic with an open Bible and an open mind:

• Chapter 26 of R.L. Dabney's Systematic Theology
• Chapter 38 of J.P. Boyce's Abstract of Systematic Theology
• Chapter 17 of the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith

Soli Deo Gloria!

A Perversion of Perseverance

Of all the doctrines I ever despised in the past, the doctrine of Eternal Security, or "Once Saved, Always Saved," had to be at the top of the list.

I can remember teaching Sunday school during my days in the Church of God of Prophecy, ranting and raving about how Baptists in particular "believe a person can get saved and live like the devil for the rest of their life and still go to Heaven."

To make matters worse, I could look around and see plenty of examples of Baptist folks who were not living up to the faith they professed on Sunday morning. I had seen people who professed faith in Jesus and later became hard hearted "backsliders," therefore I had all the evidence I needed to repudiate the doctrine of Eternal Security -or so I thought....

When I finally decided to investigate the doctrine of Eternal Security, it was because I saw some things in Scripture that I couldn't reconcile with my old semi-Pelagian theology. I began a journey to seek after truth, instead of what fit the mold of my theological tradition. I wanted to understand why seemingly decent Christian people believed that their salvation was eternally secure, while others seemed to use it as a cloak for their sinful living.

I began my search to understand Eternal Security by getting a copy of Charles Stanley's Eternal Security: Can You Be Sure?. I had thought Stanley would be a good source because much of what I had heard him teach sounded okay. As I read his book, some of the arguments made sense to me. Some almost convinced me. Then I hit a big snag...

The snag was in chapter 8. It was there that I could no longer follow Stanley's line of reasoning. You see, in chapter 8, Stanley argues that once a person has made a profession of faith, the person can go as far as totally losing all faith in Christ and yet be Heaven bound!

Stanley compares salvation with getting a tattoo:

"If I choose to have a tattoo put on my arm, that would involve a one-time act on my part. Yet the tattoo would remain with me indefinitely. I don't have to have to maintain an attitude of fondness of for tattoos to ensure that the tattoo remains on my arm. In fact I may change my mind the minute I receive it. But that does not change the fact that I have a tattoo on my arm. My request for the tattoo and the tattoo itself are two entirely different things. I received it by asking and paying for it, But asking for my money back and changing my attitude will not undo what is done. Forgiveness/salvation is applied at the moment of faith. And its permanence is not contingent upon the permanence of one's faith."

Before I was a Baptist I rejected such theology and now that I am a Baptist I still reject such theology!!! In my opinion, this sort of nonsense is why the Southern Baptist Convention has millions of absentee members as well as churches full of false converts!

If Dr. Stanley's theory is true, then even Dan Barker, the faith healing evangelist turned apostate God hating atheist, is just as bound for Heaven as the most God fearing saint alive! Stanley's theology is pure Antinomianism. It's nothing more than "Easy believe-ism," plain and simple. Thankfully, I was able to find out that Stanley's version of Perseverance is not in line with the Bible, nor with historic Baptist theology. It is a perversion of perseverance.

Salvation is in no way analogous with getting a tattoo! A tattoo is only skin deep, but Biblical salvation is a work that takes place in the very soul of a man. For God himself tells us "a new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them." (Eze 36:26-27)

Salvation is not a "one time act" on our part: it's a new beginning! It's the temporal realization of what God planned to do in the life of an individual sinner in eternity past! It's a New birth! A life changing experience! Though Stanley's doctrine allows for a person to totally apostatize and eventually be saved, the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith says something quite a bit different:

"And though they may, through the temptation of Satan and of the world, the prevalency of corruption remaining in them, and the neglect of means of their preservation, fall into grievous sins, and for a time continue therein, whereby they incur God's displeasure and grieve his Holy Spirit, come to have their graces and comforts impaired, have their hearts hardened, and their consciences wounded, hurt and scandalize others, and bring temporal judgments upon themselves, yet shall they renew their repentance and be preserved through faith in Christ Jesus to the end." (LBCF 17:3) emphasis added

Stanley believes a person can totally lose his or her faith and still persevere, yet historic Baptist teaching says despite their shortfalls, the believer will be "preserved through faith in Christ Jesus to the end!!!" Quite a difference if you ask me!

Stanley's version of Eternal Security denies that God is "able keep [us] from falling, and to present [us] faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy! (Jude 24) It overlooks the fact that we "are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time" (1 Peter 1:5). Once a person has truly met Jesus Christ, they can never be the same. Apostates and those who forsake Christ for "another gospel" show that they were never truly saved to begin with! (1 John 2:19) "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new!" (1 Cor 5:17)

Our security is not based upon our ability to hang on and hold on, but rather we are secure because God is working to "make [us] perfect in every good work to do His will, working in [us] that which is wellpleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ." (Heb 13:21) God has not saved us so that we can live like the devil and abuse his marvelous Grace, but on the contrary, "we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." (Eph 2:10)

R.C. Sproul sums up my position well:

"The perseverance of the saints could more accurately be called the preservation of the saints... The believer does not persevere through the power of his unaided will. God's preserving grace makes our perseverance both possible and actual. Even the regenerated person with a liberated will is still vulnerable to sin and temptation, and the residual power of sin is so strong that without the aid of grace the believer would, in all probability, fall away. But God's decree is immutable. His sovereign purpose to save his elect from the foundation of the world is not frustrated by our weakness"

Rejoice dear reader! For if you have been truly saved, you can be "confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ!!!" (Phil 1:6)

Soli Deo Gloria!

The Wisdom of Chaplain Caskey

A Disciples of Christ minister by the name of Thomas W. Caskey was reluctant to join the Army at first. He was quite happy with his duties as pastor of a church in Jackson, Mississippi. After some persuasion from a high ranking friend in the Confederate Army, he was commissioned as Chaplain in the 16th Mississippi Cavalry.

Caskey found the chaplaincy to be a challenge. He had to learn to craft sermons that encouraged his men to be good soldiers and make his own ministerial supplies in the field. Apparently he was not satisfied to be a non-combatant and simply talk to men about being good soldiers; he also demonstrated being a good soldier in that he even took up arms! He was was nicknamed the "fighting parson" by the soldiers to which he ministered!

Something Caskey wrote really stood out to me today. I believe he was a wise minister in that he understood that we mortal men cannot presume to know the hidden councils of God. The following excerpt is from his memoirs. I believe the point is well made and should be heeded by those of us today who are tempted to think that we know God's hidden will:

"Some of my preaching brethren told the soldiers that our cause was just and that God would fight our battles for us. I never did feel authorized to make such statements. I believed our cause was just, of course, but I could see as clear as a sunbeam that the odds were against us, and , to be plain, I gravely doubted whether God was taking any hand with us in that squabble.

I told some of the preachers who were making that point in their sermons that they were taking a big risk. I asked them what explanation they would give, if we should happen to get thrashed. I told them such preaching would make infidels of the whole Army, but I didn't want to checkmate the ministry in case we should come out second best.

I think a preacher should always leave a wide margin for mistakes when it comes to interpreting the purposes of God outside what has been clearly revealed in the Scriptures. It is not good policy for a one-horse preacher to arbitrarily commit the God of the Universe to either side of a personal difficulty anyhow.

I told the soldiers plainly that I didn't know exactly what position of God would take in that fight. The issue was a personal matter between us and the Yankees, and we must settle it, as best we could, among ourselves."

Looking back, we can see that Chaplain Caskey was justified in his cautious approach to the subject of discerning God's will during the South's War for Independence. Caskey was correct in telling his fellow chaplains that preaching that God would fight their battles could have negative consequences if the South was to lose the war. There was a risk that the men could become bitter and disillusioned about God if their campaign was not successful.

I know of a Pentecostal pastor who had a deadly form of cancer. Naturally people all around them were praying for God to intervene in his situation and heal him of the cancer. They were convinced God would heal him. I even heard his wife say they were "claiming the healing in the name of Jesus." They were certain the will of God was for him to be miraculously healed, but they were wrong. The pastor died from the cancer, and a while later, his widow began living a life of outright sinful rebellion to what God had clearly revealed in Scripture!

Perhaps this would not have happened had they taken the Biblical approach and prayed "Lord, thy will be done" instead of presuming to know what God had not revealed. I fervently believe we must heed Chaplain Caskey's advice and be extremely careful that we don't put words in God's mouth or get caught up in acting as if we know the hidden councils of God. To do so may have dire consequences.

What are God's future plans for the United States? Will the South rise again? Will America win the so-called War on Terror? Will God heal a person of cancer? When will Christ return?

Quite honestly: I don't know the answers...

However, I am convinced that whatever God purposes to do -He is right! I dare not even speculate about the hidden council of God. In fact, it's really none of my business. I am responsible to teach, preach, and obey those things in which God has clearly revealed in the Bible.

"The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law." -----Deuteronomy 29:29

(This article can also be found on my Confederate Chaplain blog)

Information on Chaplain Caskey found in the book Faith in The Fight: Civil War Chaplains

Aspects of Faith and Evangelism

In our modern age, people have gotten the idea that true faith can be created in sinners through the craftiness of man's speech, or that conversion can be accomplished by making the message of the Cross palatable to sinners. Others may think that saving faith is generated by being able to employ apologetics to convince sinners concerning the accuracy of Biblical data. Charismatic Christians sometimes insist that miracles and/or manifestations of the spiritual gifts are needed to create saving faith in sinners.

I once had the idea in my head that if I were only able to "say the right thing", "play the right song", or somehow make the Gospel attractive enough, then people might decide to be saved. After some trial and much error, I found out that I was wrong! I have come to understand that none of these things alone (or combined) are what actually "flips the switch" in the heart to cause the sinner see he's lost and in need of Christ.

As my theology has shifted to the Reformed view, and I've gained a different understanding of God's working in the salvation of sinners. I have come to accept the fact that none of the things I have mentioned can create saving faith in a sinner apart from God's sovereign action in the heart of the person! I've learned that true saving faith is a gift of God, not something sinners possess within themselves. Such conclusions often lead to people to ask me questions like "why do we need to preach if it's God that is the one responsible for causing a person to believe?"

I believe in order to better understand the importance of preaching, witnessing, apologetics, and even miracles in regards to evangelism, we must first understand what saving faith is -and just as importantly, what it is not as well! To illustrate, I want to refer to the teaching of Dr. R.C. Sproul as found in the book What is Reformed Theology?.

In a chapter entitled "Committed to Faith Alone", Dr. Sproul discusses the different aspects of genuine saving faith. Of interest to this article is where he writes, "Early Reformed Theologians customarily distinguished among various aspects of saving faith. For the most part they discerned three chief aspects known as notitia, assensus, and fiducia."(emphasis added)

It is these three aspects of faith -and their relationship to evangelism- that I would like to address in this article. Before I do, I want to take a moment and try to define the three words Dr. Spoul has used above. Please try to gain an understanding of the terminology, otherwise it may be hard to follow the rest of the article:

• Noticia is knowledge of the data of the faith. Certain facts must be known before saving faith can be present. Dr. Sproul writes "For Example, we must believe in God, and the person and work of Jesus Christ to be saved. This is the data (notae) of the faith. Without belief in the truth claims of Christianity, saving faith is absent."
• Assensus is intellectual assent. This is more than just awareness of the facts and data concerning the faith. Dr. Sproul writes, "one must also assent mentally (assensus) to the truth of the information. Saving faith gives intellectual assent to the truth of Christ's deity, atonement, resurrection, and so forth. We do not believe in what we believe to be a myth."
• Fiducia is cognitive, effective volitional faith. According to Dr. Sproul, "Fiducia [is] a personal trust and reliance on Christ, and on Him alone for one's justification. Fiducia also involves the affections. By the power of the Holy Spirit, the believer sees, embraces, and acquiesces in the sweetness and loveliness of Christ."

We often see that skeptics, athiests, agnostics, and pagans can have some knowledge of Biblical data (noticia), though they do not believe it to be absolute truth. Others may have noticia and believe the facts to be true (assensus), yet they may still lack a personal trust and reliance upon Christ to save them (in other words they lack fiducia). Dr. Sproul goes on to conclude that in order for there to be genuine saving faith, all three of the different aspects of faith must be present in a person.

In America, statistics show that a majority of Americans have the aspects of noticia and sometimes assensus as well. I commonly meet people who tell me they "believe in God" or even "believe the Bible is true", yet they lack the fruit that indicates they have any genuine saving faith. I have many family members who know some of the facts concerning Christianity -and even believe the facts are true- yet they will not repent of their sins or even attempt to live their lives for Christ! Tragically some of them actually believe they are going to Heaven because of their so-called faith!

The presence of noticia and assensus alone, will not get anyone into Heaven. The only thing these two aspects of faith qualify a person to be is a demon!! According to James 2:19, the devils believe; they even"fear and tremble!" Satan and his demons possess both noticia and assensus, (probably more than any human alive) yet they are in total rebellion against their creator and are heading for eternal destruction. Unfortunately, many people -including those who claim to be Christians- lack the fear of God that James says even the devils possess!

We might think that in the face of irrefutable evidence (or even by the witnessing of miracles) people would certainly place their faith in Christ. Though God may indeed choose to bring people to faith in coordination with such things, I have found that this is not always the case. I've seen that such evidence may lead people to have an increase of noticia, or even to some greater degree of assensus, but it does not always lead to fiducia in every case!

In Matthew 11:21, the Lord Jesus even proclaimed a "woe" against the people of Bethsaida because they had seen "mighty works" yet refused to repent! So there we see from our Lord's own mouth that "mighty works" do not always result in repentance and genuine faith.

For example: Many years ago God miraculously healed my sister-in-law of a disease that is incurable to modern medicine. The disease had disintegrated the "ball" of her hip joint. As a young child, the disease robbed her of the ability to walk and should have resulted in her never being able to walk again. However, at a doctor's visit after a prayer meeting was held at her grandmother's church, the doctors discovered there had been an actual restoration of the entire bone that had been destroyed by the horrible disease!! The stunned doctors involved could only attribute it to an act of God! God had done what was impossible for medical science!

Not only was my sister-in-law able to learn to walk, but before her death in a car accident at the age of 16, she had grown up to be a softball player and a cheerleader with no apparent effects of the childhood disease! This event was (and still is) a great encouragement to the Christians in the family, but even in the face of the irrefutable medical evidence, some people in the family have persisted in their sinful rebellion against God! The miracle indeed brought noticia and assensus to the doctors and members of the family, but not too many have shown any fiducia in spite of what God obviously did!

It is evident that in order for a person to have fiducia, there must be an act of God to give it to the person (see John 1:12-13 and Eph 2:8). We sow, we water, but it is God who gives the increase! (1 Corin 3:6) It is God who draws the sinner! It is God the Holy Spirit who makes our preaching effectual and enables the sheep to hear the voice of the Divine Shepherd.

This brings us to the fact that the work of Regeneration is monergistic -a work of God alone. Though they are a vital part of God's plan of Salvation -apart from the Holy Spirit bringing a spiritually dead sinner to life- no amount of argumentation, witnessing, apologetics, or even bona fide miracles can produce actual saving faith (fiducia) in the sinner. Regeneration and Conversion is not within man nor in his fallen will, but completely an act of God; for Paul declares "He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit." (Titus 3:6 ESV)

These things ought not to discourage us, but they ought to help us to understand that we have an important job to do! We should be honored that God has ordained to give us this vital role in His plan to redeem His Elect sheep. We are to preach Gospel and teach the truth in order to increase a person's degree of noticia and assensus, all the while trusting in the fact that it is God who produces fiducia in the person. All we need to do is be faithful to our calling to witness, evangelize, and support the work of foreign missions! If we are faithful to plant and water the seed, God will cause there to be an increase in which we -and all the angels of Heaven- will rejoice!

Soli Deo Gloria!