Reformed or Deformed?

Caution:  The information below will shock many.

Many people today choose to call themselves "Reformed" and they are proud of this distinction. Many denominations and churches call themselves "Reformed" and the word is even used in the name of some of these organizations like the Dutch Reformed Church for instance.  For most Christians we have been told over the years that the Reformation was a good thing so why shouldn't Christians, churches and denominations not proudly display their affinity for the Reformation?

The rhetoric today by those who lead today's "Reformed" movement would lead us all to believe that being "Reformed" is a great legacy and something to have pride in.  The reality and the facts surrounding the Reformation might shock you.  The Reformation was an unmitigated mess!  It was as much a deformation as it was a reformation.                                                                    

What made the Reformation so bad?  Why is it a bad legacy to be tied to?  The answers to these questions simply lie in the obvious facts.  History records the Reformation's shocking foundations. There were many reformers but three of them in particular founded the reformation as we know it today and two of the founders have people who actually use their names to identify their Christian affiliation (Lutherans, Calvinists).  The three men were who founded and contributed most to the Reformation were Martin Luther, Huldrych Zwingli and John Calvin.  In some circles these men are much revered because their treachery is simply ignored or not known.

As you read what follows please remember that Jesus said we would know "them" by their fruit:

“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them." Matthew 7:15-20 NIV

Martin Luther is known best for his nailing of the 95 theses on the door challenging the Roman Catholic Church.  For this I guess we all owe him some thanks.  I can grant him credit for doing what he did but not too much because I believe that someone else would have risen up and done the same thing but maybe in a much better way.  The problem with Martin Luther is that his actions after nailing his theses produced fruit that is unacceptable for any Christian let alone a leader of what some regard as the greatest move of God since the rise of the New Testament church.

Martin Luther's first intention was to effect change in the Roman Catholic Church and there certainly was no harm in this.  The Church was hemorrhaging with bad doctrines, beliefs and practices. When Luther's attempts to reform the Roman Catholic Church from within failed he attempted to reform the Church from the outside.  It was too bad that Luther did not simply found a movement that was a restoration to the New Testament church.  Restoration of the New Testament church would have meant bringing forth a new wineskin.  Instead Luther chose the "reformed" route which means that he kept much of what Catholicism was and rejected only some of its bad doctrines.  Some of these bad doctrines he used as building planks for his new "reformed" movement.

These false doctrines held by Luther have too often been glossed over and ignored. These false doctrines include the belief that one must be baptized to be saved and that infant baptism must be done for babies.  He also believed that the sacraments were part and parcel of salvation.  He stated:

"Namely, that the forgiveness of sins, life and salvation are given to us through these words in the sacrament.  Because, where sins are forgiven, there is life and salvation as well."

Even most Calvinists believe that Luther taught consubstanation which is the doctrine that says that the physical body of Christ is present ‘in, with, and under’ the bread of the Lord’s Supper. Luther believed and taught the veneration of Mary and even insisted that Mary was a virgin all her life.  He even believed in the "Immaculate Conception" heresy which states that Mary was born without any original sin and was saved from birth.  Luther also endorsed the Catholic Rosary.  Luther must be held accountable for believing and teaching these gross heresies.  

Clearly Luther rejected only some of Roman Catholicism's heresies and then founded the reformation on some of the others.  Is that Reformed or Deformed?  Luther attacked the Catholic Church for promoting a salvation by works but then he carried the same practice into the formation of the Reformation.  He taught salvation by faith but then believed that works like baptism and sacraments were mandatory for salvation.  Sadly, the Reformation was founded on Luther's "works" foundation.

Luther's faults don't end in his beliefs in bad doctrines and his desire to build the Reformation with these doctrines in tow.  No indeed, Luther stirred up his followers to exterminate the Anabaptists who simply believed in rebaptizing those who came to faith as adults. For ten long years Luther's  

followers tortured, imprisoned and killed thousands of Anabaptists. Bad fruit?  Yes.  Reformed or Deformed?

Now modern day "Reformed" folks simply ignore the facts I have stated above or defend Luther and his persecutions on the weakest of grounds.  For instance, they make statements about Luther's persecution of the Anabaptists that sound like this:  "This was the way that these kind of issues were handled during that time in history."  Really?  Murder, mayhem and persecution over baptism?  The Father of the Reformation did not know what the Bible says about murder and about being at peace with everyone?  Excusing Luther's actions borders on the ludicrous.  How can he be given credit as being a great theologian when he did not even understand Christ's commands to love and pray for his enemies?  Yet those that are saturated in today's "Reformed" movement defiantly defend the man.  Reformed or Deformed?

Jesus warned his disciples what the religious rulers of the day would do to them:

They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God. They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me.  John 16:2-3

How sad that the same accusation can be leveled at Luther, his followers and other reformers too because they too put other Christians to death thinking they were doing the will of God.

There is much more on Luther that could be stated here but I want to move to Huldrych Zwingli. Luther and Zwingli were co-initiators of the Reformation.  Like Luther, Zwingli believed in all the same false doctrines except he held a minor difference on the Lord's Supper.  Like Luther, he and his followers also persecuted the Anabaptists.  By the way, why did Luther and Zwingli persecute the Anabaptists?  The Anabaptist's "crime" was that they did not baptize their infants and they re-baptized adults when they came to faith in Christ.

Then Zwingli and his alliance applied a food blockade against some Catholics and he took up arms along with his "reformers" to do so.  He died on the battle ground with sword in hand prompting the "compassionate" Luther to say upon hearing of Zwingli's death:  "he got what he deserved...His death proved I was right and he was wrong." Reformed or Deformed?

John Calvin became the most famous of all the reformers and today many people associate their lot with him by referring to themselves as "Calvinists".  Calvin is considered a second-generation Reformer and it was he who set in to stone most of the "Reformed" doctrine held to today.  John Calvin was influenced some by Luther but even more by Augustine.  He developed the doctrines that we all call "Calvinism" these days which are even now revered and adopted by those who are Reformed.

Calvin also held to several heresies too.  Like Luther and Zwingli he believed in Infant Baptism for instance.  He also believed that the sacraments were equal to God's word. Calvin also believed in the heresy that Christ suffered in hell after his death on the cross despite the fact that Jesus said "It is finished" and there is no Biblical evidence for such a ridiculous doctrine.

Beyond his heresies, John Calvin also believed in mixing the kingdom of God with man's governmental institutions.  He and his top cronies seized control over the city of Geneva where Calvin became known infamously as the "Pope" of Geneva because of his despotic rule over the city. Like Augustine before him he instituted forced church attendance.  He also instituted multiple extremely legalistic laws over the people of Geneva and these included some of the most ridiculous laws ever concocted like how many dishes you could have or how high a woman could wear her hair. Here are a few examples of the penalties that came about:

• Three men who laughed during a sermon were imprisoned for three days.
• A child was whipped publicly for calling his mom a thief.
• A girl who struck her parents was beheaded.

There are many more crazy examples about the laws and regulations that Calvin and his cronies put on the good citizens of Geneva.  Calvin formed a "Nazi" like secret police who made sure that every home was compulsorily searched and examined.  Compulsory church attended was monitored by watchmen who made sure that people attended services at Calvin's approved churches.  From 1541 to 1546 Calvin's stooges executed 58 people and 76 people were exiled from the city. Who wants to be a Calvinist now? Can you smell the bad fruit?  Reformed or Deformed?

Those of the Calvinist "Reformed" persuasion have for years persecuted other believers. There are many documented examples but I will share only some of them here.  The Puritans were "Reformed" and they believed anyone who was not Anglican was a heretic.  They adopted their own faith as the only State approved religion in New England.  In 1650 the Quakers came to New England and were persecuted for insisting that they be allowed to pr   actice their faith.  The first Quakers had their

belongings seized and destroyed.  Others were beaten, whipped and imprisoned.  Many were expelled and literally sent back to England.  Some Quakers were even executed only because of their faith. Other Christian groups were persecuted harshly by the Reformed Puritans including the first Baptists that came to America. The Baptists were even charged with child abuse by the Puritans for refusing to baptize their infants.  Reformed or Deformed?

Historians tell us that the Dutch Reformed Church was a major contributor to the continuance of racist Apartheid in South Africa.  Some church groups over the years holding to Calvinism have been exclusive and have taught that only their church was accepted by God.  This includes Witness Lee's "Local Church" among others which held Calvinist beliefs and who eventually claimed that they were the only true church.  More bad fruit with roots firmly planted in the reformation.

In recent years some Reformed groups have hit the news cycle.  This includes the Westboro Baptist Church who protests the funerals of U. S. soldiers who have fallen in battle and they hold up signs saying "God hates fags".  Their website states that they are 5 point Calvinists.  A church in Texas with ties to Calvinist doctrine has also been in the news recently for their cult like activities.  The church of Wells of Wells, Texas restrained some of their people from seeing family members among other things that cults are prone to do.  Many Calvinists point out that these kinds of churches are Hyper-Calvinist not Calvinist.  That may be true but aren't all Hyper-Calvinists Calvinists first?  No one just becomes a Hyper-Calvinist.  Their entry point is being a Calvinist first.  This is the slippery slope traced all the way back to the Reformation.  It is clear that Calvinism leads to exclusivism and even persecutions of others solely on their theology.

Even among the newly coined "New Calvinists" there are problems.  Recently, the well-known Mars Hill Church which had been the third fastest growing large church in America closed its doors after its Superstar "New Calvinist" pastor, Mark Driscoll, was criticized for being arrogant and power mongering.  Driscoll admitted his theology came from Luther and Calvin.  Even self-proclaimed Calvinist Samuel James admits that Calvinism today has too many bullies.  Reformed or Deformed?

Finally we get to the "new" reformed doctrines that are so controversial today.  In addition to their involvement with persecutions and believing in heresies, our three heroes also developed "new" troubling doctrines.  Martin Luther believed that man did not have free will.  John Calvin was the most prevalent of the three, coming up with doctrines including Limited Atonement and My question to all is why would anyone anchor their theology on what these guys believed in and taught given the bad fruit they exhibited in their reprehensible actions and their belief in obvious heresy?  Reformed or Deformed?

Jesus said that we would know them by their fruit.  The fruit of the Reformed movement from the Reformation all the way to today is clear---it stinks.  This bad fruit and the theology that proceeds from it should be roundly rejected.  Today's Christian needs to heed our Lord's warning and judge the theology by the fruit of its founders.

Thanks be to God because he released to us the "Great Awakenings" beginning in the early 18th century and it started a restoration of New Testament theology in the church which has impacted the church in America in a very positive way.  Still Reformed theology and Calvinism live on today and has become stronger in recent years. Therefore we should not be deceived or unaware of the contemptible acts that took place in the Reformation and the legacy of corruption that sprung from it.  Neither should we keep silent about these things for all men deserve to know the truth.

So Reformed or Deformed?  Let the facts speak for themselves.

(Check out my many tweets on Twitter at #confrontcalvin).

Fifty Shades of Pink's Election

Unconditional Election is the central theme of Calvinism.  It is the belief that God predetermined every man's spiritual destiny before the world was created.  The doctrine states that God chose some to be saved while others he predestined to hell without any human participation in the matter.  

A. W. Pink is one of Calvinism’s best known authors and experts on Calvinism’s doctrines including Election.  In the first chapter of Pink’s book “Doctrine of Election” he writes about the doctrine of Election which many feel is the foundation for believing in Calvinism.                          

Pink’s take on the Doctrine of Election should be read with great interest as he admits that the Doctrine of Election has some very questionable aspects.

“It is a difficult doctrine, and this in three respects.  First, in the understanding of it.  Unless we are privileged to sit under the ministry of some Spirit-taught servant of God, who presents the truth to us systematically, great pains and diligence are called for in the searching of the Scriptures, so that we may collect and tabulate their scattered statements on this subject. It has not pleased the Holy Spirit to give us one complete and orderly setting forth of the doctrine of election, but instead "here a little, there a little"—in typical history, in psalm and prophecy, in the great prayer of Christ (John 17), in the epistles of the apostles. Second, in the acceptation of it.”

Pink’s own take on the Calvinist doctrine of Election is very telling and remarkably chilling at the same time.  There are millions of Calvinists who believe a doctrine that has all the characteristics of another gospel.                                                                                                                                      
I will review Pink’s disturbing passage above from his book and it will be quite clear as to why

Pink's statements are so important to evaluate.

First, Pink admits that the doctrine is difficult to understand.  I certainly do not argue with his take on Unconditional Election because his confession is exactly what troubles me.  He is saying that it is not easily understood nor easily imparted.  True doctrines of scripture are not difficult or hard to understand.  True doctrine is easily imparted.  The Bible’s most precious and important doctrines are not difficult, not hard to understand and are easily imparted. Pink does us the favor of admitting that the doctrine is convoluted, misconstrued and lacking in actual substance.

Secondly, Pink admits that one needs to have a special teacher to teach the doctrine. One wonders what John and Peter would have thought since Acts records that they were unlearned and untrained men.  His statement is confirmation that this doctrine is remarkably shady in all respects.  If the only way to learn the doctrine is through a special teacher, it raises a clear red flag that the doctrine is questionable.  Imagine saying that one needs to have a special teacher to know the doctrine of the cross or regarding the resurrection for instance.  The fact is that the true doctrines in Holy Scripture are clearly stated and don’t require any “special teacher” except the Holy Spirit himself.

I have to agree with Pink that the only way anyone could ever come to believe this doctrine is by some kind of heavy indoctrination.  Reformed systematic indoctrination which is precisely what is happening today in Calvinistic churches.  Like the false doctrines of cults, indoctrination is the only way to get people to believe unscriptural doctrines.  You could give a million people the Bible and they would never concoct Calvinism's Election doctrine but teach them how to connect-the-dots and people will learn anything no matter how alien to scripture it is.

Thirdly, "great pains and diligence" is apparently what is required to figure this doctrine out.  I can heartily agree with Pink's confession on this too.  A doctrine this weak requires a great many pains to make it work even a little bit.  But I must ask, does one need to take great pains and diligence to know how powerful the blood of Christ is for us?  Of course not because Bilical understanding regarding the blood like all true foundational doctrines is clearly laid out in scripture.

Fourth, he mentions that one must “collect and tabulate their scattered statements on the subject” which is full proof that the passages of scripture used by Calvinism have to be knit together in some hodgepodge manner to build this doctrine.  He even uses the word “tabulate” to describe the methodology for coming up with this doctrine.  It is appalling that Pink uses a math term to illustrate how one understands   Calvinist Election.  This is not a term that speaks well of the doctrine's undeniable existence in scripture.  In other words, one must add up all the indoctrination in order to know it because apparently the doctrine is shrouded in some kind of dark cloud.  Why would God do that?                                

Imagine using the term “collect and tabulate” to describe how the doctrine of justification works for instance.  There is no need to collect and tabulate as one just needs to turn to Romans 5. Paul lays it out clearly and there is no need of collection and tabulation which is how a true Biblical doctrine should be identified in scripture.

Fifth, he states that it did not please “the Holy Spirit to give us one complete and orderly setting forth of the doctrine of election” to which I have a few significant responses.  This statement does not sound like the Holy Spirit to me since Jesus introduces us to Him as the one who reveals all truth to us. Therefore it begs the question as to why the Holy Spirit would hide a significant doctrine since he always clearly lays out every other legitimate doctrine in scripture.  Jesus portrayed the Holy Spirit as such:

When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.  John 16:13

It is easy to conclude then that Calvinism’s doctrine of Election is not a Holy Spirit breathed doctrine at all for if the Spirit had been pleased, he surely would have given at least one complete and orderly teaching in scripture of the doctrine.

Sixth, he admits that the doctrine is put together “here a little, there a little"—in typical history, in psalm and prophecy, in the great prayer of Christ (John 17), in the epistles of the apostles.”  In other words, Pink admits here that the doctrine is extrapolated by pulling short snippets out of their original context in scripture.  “Here a little and there a little” is not a good foundation for a doctrine of the magnitude that Calvinism has made Election.  We all know false doctrines that are built with this kind of approach to theology.  The only passage he mentions is John 17 and this is laughable because this passage is clearly about God choosing some men to be his apostles and to preach the gospel but has nothing to do with the election of some men to be punished in hell.

Based on Pink's own take of  Election we should be very skeptical of this Calvinist doctrine of election.  Even Pink after his own many years of taking great pains to understand the doctrine admits that it has significant problems.  Calvinism's Election is a doctrine by the “connect-the-dots”

approach.  All cults have doctrines that meet the same criteria that Pink poses in his statement above. One would have hoped for more from a doctrine that is unfortunately believed by far too many and is the foundation for the five points of Calvinism.

Darrell Brantingham

(Check out my pithy comments on Calvinism on my Twitter account @confrontcalvin.)

Choosing To Believe Biblical Election

Choosing Calvinism’s doctrine of Election is what devoted Calvinists do and they do so without any clear passage of scripture that fully explains the doctrine they believe in. The Calvinist’s choice to believe Unconditional Election is really a mystery especially for those that teach such a notion.  How can someone who teaches others not see how absolutely void of scriptural foundation Unconditional Election is?  Even the revered Calvinist author, A. W. Pink wrote that Calvinist election is based on “scattered statements” and has to be built “a little here and a little there.”                             

The facts are these.  Election does exist in the Bible.  However, the key to understanding “Election” in the Bible is to understand that God makes different kinds of elections (choices) in scripture according to his purposes. There are at least four uses of "election" that I find in scripture and there could be more than four.  A scriptural example is included below for each kind of election that I see in scripture:

Our first usage of election is God's choice to send Jesus to the world that he might save the world:

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16                         

Secondly, God has elected that all men have an opportunity to be saved and this is backed by many clear scriptures.  This is God’s second election.  Here are just two of many of these passages found in scripture:

1 Timothy 2:4-6
This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people.                                                                               

2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

Thirdly, God elects different people and even nations to fulfill his many purposes on earth.  These purposes include gifting, calling and ministry.  For instance, God chose an entire people group to become a nation to show forth his goodness and he called this nation “Israel”.

God also chose certain men to be his leaders and prophets in the Old Testament.  For example, God chose Jacob to be a father of Israel while not choosing Esau (Romans 9:13).  God chose Christ's disciples specifically to build his church upon (John 17).  God chose some to be apostles and others to have other kinds of specific ministry callings (1 Corinthians 12:29).  There are hundreds of scriptures that depicts God choosing folks for his purposes and most of these are conditional in nature.  An example of God choosing for a purpose is:        

“For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. 
Deuteronomy 7:6                                                                    

Fourth, God has elected that those who have been born-again will have access to participate in all the glorious promises of God.  Those who do not believe in Christ and his completed work will never have access to these promises.  God has chosen only those who believe to experience his marvelous promises.  These passages are usually the ones that Calvinists try to make about salvation but this is clearly erroneous.

The fact remains after all the rhetoric that there is not even one scripture where one finds that election is tied to language about salvation.  However, there many election passages which speak of God’s purposes for those who have been born again.

The passage below is often used by Calvinists as proof of election for salvation but this is simply faulty exegesis of the passage.  The passage below is written to those who are already saved and speaks of God’s election for those who are born again to apprehend God's awesome purposes for them:                                                                                                                                      

Ephesians 1:3-4
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. (This passage is written to the “holy and faithful” and is about the purposes that God has for all those who are saved already.)

These four elections are what I see about election in scripture.  The various mentions of election are sprinkled about scripture according to the purpose of the passage.  One should never make take every use of the words "election" or "chosen" as having the same purpose because they clearly do not.  The context of the passage must be considered and this is Calvinism's greatest error because they do not take into account the actual context of the passage when exegeting scripture.

There is no justification for Calvinism’s Unconditional Election in scripture!
   

For as convincing as the above explanation of the uses of "election" in scripture, the greatest argument against Calvinism’s Election is the fact that there is not even one passage that states that God has chosen some for salvation and some to be damned---NOT ONE!   

Darrell Brantingham                        

(Check out my Twitter account @confrontcalvin)

Celebrate Christ's Completed Work!

We live in a day when the amount of information coming at us is an incredible overflow.  We are literally inundated with information coming at us from every direction including books, the internet, radio and TV.  It is truly information overload and this is just as true in the Christian community as it is in secular society. Unfortunately this leads us to distraction from what is really most important. What is most important?  Jesus and his completed work is the answer! 

Recently I tweeted that Christ's work of redemption at the cross and resurrection was the true gospel. A Calvinist responded: "That is pretty basic stuff." Apparently to him Christ's work was no big deal and nothing to get excited about.  We need to be careful that we do not become so lukewarm that we take for granted what Christ has done for us.                                                                          

Christ's completed work changed the world in a way that nothing has ever done and it has changed us too.  But if we are distracted by much lesser things then Christ's completed work becomes "ho-hum" and no big deal to us.  This is not good.  We need to remember Paul's admonition to the Corinthians:

But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 2 Corinthians 11:3 

Our pure devotion to Christ includes our understanding and devotion to his glorious completed work.

What is his completed work?

You can look at all Jesus did as his completed work from his incarnation, all the way through to him sitting down at the right hand of the Father immediately following his ascension.  You could also narrow it down to his work on the cross and resurrection too.  For the purposes of this article, I am going to focus on Christ's completed work accomplished from the cross through his reclining at the right hand of the father.

Christ's Work at the Cross                                                                                                

Christ's completed work at the cross is truly most amazing and deserves its own full attention.  Of course there have been volumes of sermons, articles and books written on Christ's work at the cross. I pray however that we do not ever take this work for granted in favor of a more "captivating" side doctrine or Bible truth.  Christ's work at the cross should never be taken lightly or forgotten.

What Christ did at the cross is truly amazing!  He made atonement for our sins and redeemed us.  He defeated sin and the devil:

"He himself bore our sins" in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; "by his wounds you have been healed."  1 Peter 2:24

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.” Galatians 3:13 

Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, Hebrews 2:14

When Jesus died, we died with him.  This is a most powerful dynamic that many Christians don't know, value or apply to their lives.

For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. Romans 6:6-7

As you read the above passages, I pray that you are filled with awe and wonder instead of thinking that you have heard it so many times.  If you find yourself not impressed with these scriptures it could be that you have lost the greatness of Christ's completed work having been distracted by many other things in your life.

Christ also brought us close to God through the cross.                                                  

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.  Ephesians 2:13 

Through the cross we received atonement for our sins and the propitiation of our sins.  Propitiation is a huge word with an even bigger meaning. Propitiation means that God was appeased and satisfied so that the judgment of death was acquitted for us.  See the scripture below:

...we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world. 1 John 1:1-2 

We could go on and on here and we have only touched the tip of the mountain in terms of what Christ did for us through his ordeal of being crucified.  Suffice it to say that Christ being crucified for us and its ramifications can never be overstated.                                                    

I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. Galatians 6:14             

When Jesus cried out "It is finished" at the cross he finalized his work at the cross and it was significant because he had paid a price that cost him everything and the punishment he took on in his battered body was only a microcosm of the horror of sin that he had taken on in his innocence.  He quite simply died due to the crushing weight of the sin of all mankind that was laid upon him.

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21

The Resurrection

Though it was finished on the cross, Christ's completed work or redemption for man was not yet done.  Christ would need to rise from the dead.  The cross and resurrection were the perfect "one - two" punch that man needed desperately.  In fact, the two worked together to give man victory over death.  Together they took care of our death problem which was man's primary consequence of the fall. The cross made us dead but the resurrection raised us up to new life and this life we now have is the life of the Son.

...just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.  For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. Romans 6:4-5                      

And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, Ephesians 2:6

The cross took care of the old man (old nature) by putting him to death.  Our resurrection with Christ gave us new life and made us a new creation.  Jesus proved his resurrection by appearing to his disciples over a forty day period.  Like Christ's work at the cross, there is so much more to share on his resurrection.  But we proceed to the final point of Christ's work.

The Ascension

For some the ascension of Christ might seem a lesser subject than the cross and resurrection but the ascension should never be looked on apart from the cross and resurrection anyway.  It is clearly tied only to what Christ had already accomplished.  An ascension by Christ would have meant little to us had Christ not endured the cross and beat death at the resurrection.  The ascension of Christ is simply the progressive flow of the completed work and it is worthy of mention and remembrance.

There is something so glorifying of the Lord Jesus that is in the ascension for through it we see the triumph of God.  The ascension is the celebration of the victory at the cross and resurrection.  It is therefore worthy of mention because Christ gets the glory for his work of redemption for man.

Therefore it says, "WHEN HE ASCENDED ON HIGH, HE LED CAPTIVE A HOST OF CAPTIVES, AND HE GAVE GIFTS TO MEN." Ephesians 4:8

After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. Mark 16:19 

 After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. Hebrews 1:3                          

Jesus reclined at the Father's right hand having done all.  He had accomplished all that the Father had given him to do.  He had come born as an infant to be clothed in humanity.  He had ministered to those in need and he had taught his disciples in preparation for them to lead the church and preach the gospel.  He had endured the cross for the joy set before him.  He rose from the dead after three days and then ascended to God's right hand in victory and majesty, having done all.                    

What a time in heaven it must have been to witness Jesus taking his victorious seat at the right hand of the Father! How the angels and saints must have roared in thunderous worship and praise!  Jesus had accomplished the most important work that would ever be done in the history of the cosmos.  He had earned glory and honor and God would give him a name above every other name.              
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,  Philippians 2:9

So friend, get excited again about Jesus and his completed work for it is the great theme of scripture. His completed work makes us complete too!

Darrell Brantingham

(Read my pithy tweets on Twitter @confrontcalvin)

Calvinism: Another Gospel?

Calvinism has radically changed the traditional Biblical gospel to a gospel bearing a man’s name and a questionable man at that.  I’ll cover Calvin’s short comings in another article but for now I want to focus on what the differences are between the traditional Biblical gospel and that which Calvinism offers up.

I will briefly show what each gospel is about so that those who are new to Confronting Calvinism can get a foundation for the reason as to why one might want to confront Calvinism.

The Traditional Biblical Gospel

The traditional Biblical gospel is what the Bible truly teaches.  What is the Traditional Biblical Gospel?  It is that gospel which is so richly expressed throughout the New Testament.  It is not hidden in shadows or alluded to here or there.  It contains fully taught themes that are seen over and over again.  It is stark, clear and compelling.  No matter what it is called---it is the authentic gospel that comes vibrantly through reading the New Testament.                                        

The traditional gospel is that God sent his son to the world to save the world and whosoever believes in him will be saved:

John 3:16-18
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.

First we see that God sent his son to save the world.  Secondly, we see that people must believe to receive the rescue that God sent in his son.  These two great themes are both expressed over and over in scripture.  Here are some additional clearly stated passages that supports what John 3:16-18 proclaims in regards to Jesus coming to save all men:

3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God and one mediator between Godand mankind, the man Christ Jesus. 1 Timothy 2:3-5

14 For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. 2 Corinthians 5:13-15

9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9

There are many more of these passages in scripture.  The truth is that Christ died for all and saved all. So let’s return again to the second great theme of God’s plan for redemption and that is that men must believe in Jesus to be saved.  This is clearly stated in John 3:16-18 and it is stated over and over in New Testament scripture.  I can only share a few due to space.  Here is one of the clearest passages regarding the importance of believing:

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 11 As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.”
Romans 9:10-11

12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.  Acts 16:30-31                                                                                      

 40 For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”  John 6:40

 30 He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”  31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” Acts 16:30

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. Romans 1:16

What a great Biblical witness we have in the above scriptures and there are so many more!  The true Traditional Biblical gospel is that God sent Jesus to die for all and that whoever believes in him will be saved.  This is a simple snapshot of the true classic Biblical gospel.

However Calvinism challenges both of these major themes of scripture.  These truths are so prominent in scripture it is a wonder how anyone could think of challenging them or adding additional criteria to what salvation is and how it is received.

The Calvinist Gospel                                                                                                

First, the Calvinist states that God did not come to offer salvation to all in spite of dozens of passages that clearly say that it is exactly what happened.

Secondly, the Calvinist states that man cannot believe on his own despite all the dozens of scriptures that clearly state that man must believe.  What is crazy is that the Calvinist only has conceptual arguments and not one clear passage of scripture that proves that man has lost the ability to believe. Ask a Calvinist to turn to one passage that specifically says that God did not come for all men and he cannot do it.  Request a Calvinist to turn to just one passage that clearly states that God believes for man and you will find that he cannot do it.

Calvinists often cherry-pick a verse out of context to try to prove one of their concepts but these are either loosely related, inconclusive or not related at all to the subject at hand.  Still Calvinists do often challenge the traditional Biblical gospel and choose to do so without even one clear Bible passage.

So what is the Calvinist’s gospel?  They use an acronym called the TULIP to describe it:        

“T” stands for Total Depravity.  The idea here is that man is so depraved that he does not have the ability to believe.  The problem is that the Calvinist does not even one clear passage that states this idea.  What they do is weave a bunch of other doctrines they have with a few cherry-picked verses to come up with their foggy conclusion.  But where is that one clear passage of scripture that says “T” clearly and decisively?  They don’t have one.

“U” stands for Unconditional Election.  This idea is that God elected only some to be saved and it is accomplished without any condition.  Again, there is not one clear passage that states this. Not one!  Calvinists use a handful of passages to support the doctrine but none are clear and in each case the central theme of the passage is not about Unconditional Election for salvation. 

“L” is for Limited Atonement.  This disturbing doctrine is a kind of summary doctrine for Calvinists.  It states that Christ only died for the elect and not for all men.  Once again, there is not one clear statement in all of scripture that says anything like “Christ dies only for the elect.”  This doctrine like the others is based on sheer conjecture.

“I” is for Irresistible Grace.  This states that if one is elected by God to be saved, there is nothing that person can do to resist that grace and those that are not the elect don’t have any access to this grace.  Once again, the erroneous exegesis that the doctrines above have are continued for Irresistible Grace.  There is not one passage that clearly states this idea.  Grace is what it is and certainly not one scripture uses this phrase or even states it.  It is sheer theological fantasy.

“P” is for Perseverance of the Saints.  This is not really about how someone believes but has to do with how those once saved cannot fall away.  I am not going to address this here as this really is an issue dealing with those whom are already saved but I do not believe this Calvinist doctrine either.

What you can see in this article is that there is a clear traditional New Testament gospel that leads to salvation and it is clearly backed by copious amounts of scripture while the tenets of the Calvinism gospel are not justified by even one clearly stated proof passage.                   

The above is only a brief overview and I will have much more to write on all the above as time goes on.  I have only scratched the surface as it applies to TULIP.  It is important to know what Calvinism is so one can understand it and even help others that might be confused.

That which is clearly stated in scripture and often mentioned is a true theme of scripture.  That which cannot be clearly stated but is justified only by weaving a verse here and there pulled out of context with other doctrines cannot be accepted as a Biblical theme. This is the problem with Calvinism’s gospel.  I will have much more on this in future articles.                                                

Believe then in the true traditional Biblical doctrine found securely in scripture and recognize Calvinism for what it just might be: another gospel.                                        

Darrell Brantingham

(Check out my pithy tweets @confrontcalvin)

I Love The Gospel!

There is nothing greater than the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Jesus is the central theme of all scripture and he is the central theme of the gospel.  Jesus is the embodiment of the love, mercy, kindness and justice of God.  The Father drew us to his Son by sending Jesus to take our place and to give his life to us.  He came out of love for the Father and out of love for every person in creation.

Even in Christ’s coming he brought mankind exactly what was needed in himself.  He brought light.  He brought life.  He brought grace.  He brought truth.  He brought what man was missing even before he gave himself to be taken up on the cross.  He brought the remedy for all man lost in the garden.  Jesus preached the gospel.  Jesus brought the gospel.  Jesus was the gospel. John speaks:

         In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in
        The darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:4-5

        Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given.
        For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
        John 1:16-17

Gospel means “good news” and that is exactly who Jesus was.  He was the good news when born in Bethlehem.  He was the good news when he grew up in the knowledge of God.  He was good news when he ministered to the lost.  He was good news when he healed all who were sick.  He was good news when he discipled his disciples.  He was good news when he was lifted up on the cross for man’s sins.  He was good news when he rose from the dead.  He was good news when he appeared to his disciples after his resurrection.  He was good news when he ascended.  He was good news when he sat down at the right hand of his father having completed his work of redemption.

There is no other gospel outside of Jesus and his completed work.  Men may add things to what the gospel is and they may take away from it but the gospel does not change.  Men may fabricate ideas and beliefs into what they think is the gospel but the gospel is not amended.  Men may follow doctrines that are accepted by millions but the gospel remains unaltered.

There have been many false gospels but one only true gospel and that is the gospel where Jesus in his fullness brought the good news with him and the good news of his completed and glorious work of redemption. 

I love the gospel!  I love the good news in Jesus.  I will contend for the true gospel.  I will confront any other gospel that comes to take the place of the true gospel.  We must beware that we do not believe any other gospel.

         But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the
         one we preached to you let them be under God’s curse! Galatians 1:8

Jesus delivered the gospel to us but how do we receive it?  The scripture is quite clear that we receive the gospel only by faith:

       For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to
       Everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the
       Righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “BUT THE
       RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.” Romans 1:16-17

 (Please check out my tweets on my Twitter account at @confrontcalvin.)

The Purpose of This Blog

Most blogs are created with some kind of purpose in mind and this is certainly the case when it comes to this blog.  As one might be able tell by the title of the blog, I intend to challenge the set of doctrines commonly called Calvinism.  The question therefore is how I even got here.  What provoked me to write a blog on this subject?

The truth is that in the majority of my forty plus years of being a Christian I had very little knowledge of Calvinism.  This is likely due to where I fellowshipped during most of my years.  My fellowship background was mostly in the Charismatic movement and included several years in the Vineyard Christian Fellowship association of churches where I pastored a church for over seven years.

During this time I don't ever remember Calvinism being preached from the pulpit and for that matter I never heard anyone specifically use the term Arminian when preaching either.  Over the years someone would mention to me something about whether I was a Calvinist or an Arminian.  I was often taken off-guard by such conversations and remember one conversation in particular where the person who initiated the conversation gave me his brief definition of the two viewpoints.  He said “Calvinism believes in the sovereignty of God---that God is in control while Arminians believe that man is in control”.  Now I had always believed that God was in control of his creation and was sovereign so I muttered my agreement about being a Calvinist because I believed that God was fully sovereign.

But the truth was that I really had no idea what Calvinism or Arminianism was.  When the issue arose I would simply declare that I was a Calvinist since I believed in God’s sovereignty.  As I reflect back I also remember being given a book here and there that today I would certainly consider to be Calvinist but at the time I never put it all together.  My interests laid in other areas over these many years.  I was interested in being who God called me to be as a teacher and pastor of people.  I fully believed that God was sovereign but I also always fully believed that God wanted every person to be saved and that he loved everyone.

About five years ago my understanding of Calvinism all changed.  The pastor of the church I attended invited me to breakfast one morning and proceeded to tell me that he was going to bring a sermon the next Sunday on a passage from scripture that showed that God chose some people for some salvation and others to be rejected and lost forever.  Then a couple of men that I knew began referring to a book that implied the same message that the pastor had taught that Sunday.  In both cases I had a major check in my spirit and I knew that what they were saying was not true because I knew that God was not like that and his plan was one of salvation for all who believed.  I fully believed God loved all men and wanted all men to be saved.  This prompted me for the first time in my life to understand that I was not a Calvinist and that I was truly opposed to this message that many now call Calvinism and some call “Reformed”.

Interestingly, I began to notice that from time to time in my home fellowship times where someone would mention something about being chosen by God.  Then around the room others would say something like “I am so glad God chose me.  I don’t know why he chose me but he did”.  I realized that I had heard these kind of comments before and I also realized how uncomfortable these kinds of statements made me feel.  These kinds of comments if carried out to a logical progression support the notion that God did indeed choose some for salvation and others to be punished in hell forever.

This prompted me to intensely study the doctrine.  As mentioned previously, had anyone asked me in the past I would have identified myself as a Calvinist but at this point I was not so sure about what I was.  I suspected that Calvin was linked to this doctrine that I was hearing about but I was not sure so I determined to study the theology from scratch through scripture. 

I committed to do what I had done in the past when hearing about other doctrines and that was to research and study what Calvinism was about.   I wanted to determine if this idea of being “chosen” was really what the Bible taught.  I took a quick look at a few websites just to get a basic understanding of Calvinism but mostly what I committed to do was to evaluate the premises of the doctrines of Calvinism on the basis of scripture.  To me, scripture had always been my sole arbitrator on what should be accepted as good doctrine and what should be rejected.

So I resolved to study with great intent and what I found astounded me!  Not only did I confirm that I was not a Calvinist---I also discovered that Calvinism stated many points that I considered to be unscriptural, false and even dangerous.  Immediately I was moved in my spirit by God to confront Calvinism.  I have spent the last few years studying Calvinism and most of my research has been devoted to evaluating Calvinism on the basis of scripture and scripture only.  This I did to ensure that my study would not be tainted by opinion but firmly determined by scripture.  During these years I stayed away from the normal resources available online or in books that dealt with Calvinism, pro or con.  I wanted to know for myself through scripture what Calvinism really was and why my spirit was so checked whenever I heard it discussed.

It was after a short time of this kind of study that I decided to write a five to ten page document that I could give to people to show why Calvinism was a bad doctrine and was to be avoided.  I intended to write the document over a few days and get it out to people who seemed interested in this theology.

However during this time my research took me deeper into the study of Calvinism and I continued to be astounded as to where the doctrines of Calvinism had come from and where they lead.  Calvinism was just not an “I’m chosen” party.  It implied much more about God including doctrines that inferred that God actually hates those he has not chosen and that God created evil and even was the initiator for men to sin and carry out vile and wicked acts. 

The document I was writing kept getting longer and I just could not seem to finish it.  I wanted people to know the truth about Calvinism.  This writing went to ten pages and then eighteen pages.  Over a bit more time it was twenty-eight pages and then finally over fifty pages and even today it grows.  As time goes by I keep seeing more and more on the subject of Calvinism. 

Over time I came to know Calvinism as a doctrine that was clearly unscriptural and dangerous.   I would lay awake at night and the Holy Spirit would show me additional errors that are in Calvinist theology.  More and more scriptures came to mind that clearly made Calvinism a folly and a disgrace to good theology.

Once my foundation was formed through scripture I did look at many websites regarding Calvinism and those that opposed it.  I read the arguments by Calvinist supporters on websites and in books and I became more and more convinced that what Calvinism is very poor theology. 

I noticed a systematic approach by supporters of Calvinism where scriptures used to support the doctrines of Calvinism were frequently taken out of context.  More than that I could not find Bible passages that specifically proclaim what Calvinists believe.  

I was convinced that Calvinism had nothing to do with the classic Christianity that I had always believed in and it was my study in scripture which was my solid foundation in supporting my findings.  My conclusion was that Calvinism did not reflect the God of the Bible that I had known for many years and actually misrepresents God's amazing character and attributes.

I want to make it clear here that I do reject Calvinism but I do not reject Calvinists because they too are people that God loves because he does love everyone.  I believe that Calvinists are saved like everyone else can be.  If they confess with their mouths that Jesus is Lord and believe in their hearts that Jesus rose from the dead then they are saved.  This is the real mark of whether one is a believer or not as specified in Romans 10.  Being saved does not mean that a person has a perfect understanding of the Bible and what it teaches.  Spending eternity with God is not a matter of passing some sort of a litmus test on what is scriptural and what not is scriptural. 

Salvation is simply receiving the free gift of salvation and believing that Jesus is Lord and Savior.  Look at the man who died on the cross next to Christ who asked Jesus to remember him in his kingdom.  Jesus received him into the kingdom and the man had no understanding of theology.  He simply knew Jesus was dying for his sin and he confessed it with his mouth and was saved.

Also I want to make it clear that I have no angst in my heart against Calvinists.  To this day I have good friends are Calvinists.  Yes, sometimes fellowship is a bit awkward with these folks but as long as we keep our conversation on Christ and his completed work we do just fine.  Calvinists are not bad people.  They are just confused by a doctrine that the enemy has perpetrated to cloud what true salvation is and to indict God as not being the loving and good God that he is.  It is a doctrine that the enemy successfully uses to divide God’s people.

I apologize now for those times when my writing in this blog or on my Twitter account seem too snarky or sarcastic for I know that they will from time to time.

I know that there will be those that attack me for my blog and Twitter posts and will condemn my intentions.  It is a price that one pays when one contends for the truth.  The Apostle Paul paid a severe price and I am willing to pay the price.

This blog allows me to fulfill my call to contend for the gospel and to preach the true and good gospel of the New Testament.  It will warn and perhaps prevent some to reject the faulty doctrines of Calvin.  My desire for this blog is that it would be a resource for those who want the truth about Calvinism and who may not have the hours to research it like I did.  I will also include links to other helpful sites.

As you read my articles I pray that you would be blessed by the good and true gospel that proves what a great and marvelous God we have.  I pray that the eyes of your heart would be enlightened to know Jesus and his completed work including the glorious purposes of God that he has chosen specifically for those who believe in him.

(Please check out my tweets on my Twitter account at @confrontcalvin.)