Sovereign Grace and freewill - Bible verses Calvinists
Contents
1 INTRODUCTION 3
2 THE TERRIBLE DECREES 4
3 REFORMERS 6
3.1 COMMON CALVINISTIC DOGMA 6
3.1 CHARLES SPURGEON - GRAMMATICAL GUNPOWDER 7
3.2 ARTHUR W PINK – ‘IT MUST BE…’ 7
3.3 GRUDEM – CLOSET CALVINISM 8
3.4 SUMMARY 8
4 BORN BAD OR NOT 9
4.1 THE STATUS OF CHILDREN. 9
4.3 THE HUMAN RACE 10
5 CAUSE OF SIN 11
6 INHERITED SIN OR NOT 12
6.1 MISUSED TEXTS. 12
7 HUMAN CHOICE – FIXED OR FREE 14
8 CONCLUSIONS 15
1 Introduction
Brief history
In the 5th century BC the dominant theologian of the time was Augustine, the Bishop of Hippo in North Africa, The mountain of his writing shaped the church which is now known as the Catholic church, In15xx an Augustinian monk sparked a major revolution in church history which became known as the Reformation, The most dominant leader of the reformation was a man named John Calvin who wrote the book “The institute of the Christian Religion”. The ideas in this book dominate high reformed thought to this day. In 1618 two Dutchmen published 5 disagreements with the prevailing reformed theology. This became known as the remonstrance. Today, denominations in Europe are based either on the high reformed thinking or line themselves with the remonstrance position.
Since the remonstrance a gargantuan amount has already been said and written about the difference between the opposing positions. The fundamental ideas on both sides seems to be derived from understanding or interpretation of the idea of ‘ORIGINAL SIN’
Therefore this study is largely a trawl through to Old and New Testaments to compare reformed views with actual biblical evidence.
All Bible quotations are from the authorized King James Version
2 The Terrible Decrees
John Calvin – Condition of Babies Institutes Reference
… hence even infants bring their condemnation with them from their mother’s womb, suffer not from another’s, but their own defect….and therefore cannot but be odious and abominable to God.
Book 2, Ch 1, Section 8
"I admit that in this miserable condition wherein men are now bound, all of Adam's children have fallen by God's will." Book 3, Ch 23, Section 4
God ... arranges all things by his counsel, in such a way that individuals are born, who are doomed from the womb to certain death
Book 3, Ch 23, Section 6
"Again I ask: whence does it happen that Adam's fall irremediably involved so many peoples, together with their infant offspring, in eternal death unless because it so pleased God? ... The decree is dreadful indeed, I confess. Yet no one can deny that God foreknew what end man was to have before he created him, and consequently foreknew because he so ordained by his decree." "And it ought not to seem absurd for me to say that God not only foresaw the fall of the first man, and in him the ruin of his descendants, but also meted it out in accordance with his own decision..”
Book 3, Ch 23, Section 7
John Calvin - The cause of Original Sin ?
"...it is utterly inconsistent to transfer the preparation for destruction to anything but God's secret plan." "..God's secret plan is the cause of hardening." Book 2, Ch 23, Section 1
some are preordained to eternal life, others to eternal damnation; and accordingly, as each has been created for one or the other of those ends, we say that he has been predestined to life or death.” Book 3, Ch 21, Section 5
"We call predestination God's eternal decree, by which he compacted with himself what he willed to become of each man. For all are not created in equal condition; rather, eternal life is fore-ordained for some, eternal damnation for others." Book 3, Ch 21, Section 5
"Therefore, those whom God passes over, he condemns; and this he does for no other reason than that he wills to exclude them from the inheritance which he predestines for his own children." Book 3, Ch 23, Section 1
"With Augustine I say: the Lord has created those whom he unquestionably foreknew would go to destruction. This has happened because he has willed.” Book 3, Ch 23, Section 5
God not only foresaw the fall off the first man, and in him the ruin of his posterity: but also at his own pleasure arranged it.”
Book 3, Ch 23, Section 7
"Even though by God's eternal providence man has been created to undergo that calamity to which he is subject, it still takes its occasion from man himself, not from God, since the only reason for his ruin is that he has degenerated from God's pure creation into vicious and impure perversity." Book 3, Ch 23, Section 9
Calvin’s Contradictions
Fall decreed by God Fall NOT decreed by God
"...salvation is freely offered to some while others are barred from access to it". Book 3, Ch 21, Section 5
"We call predestination God's eternal decree, by which he compacted with himself what he willed to become of each man. For all are not created in equal condition; rather, eternal life is fore-ordained for some, eternal damnation for others". Book 3, Ch 21, Section 5
"...it is utterly inconsistent to transfer the preparation for destruction to anything but God's secret plan." "..God's secret plan is the cause of hardening". Book 2, Ch 23, Section 1 "Man falls according as God's providence ordains, but he falls by his own fault". Book 3, Ch 23, Section 8
"Even though by God's eternal providence man has been created to undergo that calamity to which he is subject, it still takes its occasion from man himself, not from God, since the only reason for his ruin is that he has degenerated from God's pure creation into vicious and impure perversity." Book 3, Ch 23, Section 9
"Moreover, the Wicked bring upon themselves the just destruction to which they are destined". Book 3, Ch 24
"The very inequality of his grace proves that it is free." Book 3, Ch 21, Section 6
"...God could foresee nothing good in man except what he had already determined to bestow by the benefit of his election,.." Book 3, Ch 22, Section5
God “Predestines people to damnation” !! No – God “Passes Over”??
Some are preordained to eternal life, others to eternal damnation; and accordingly, as each has been created for one or the other of those ends, we say that he has been predestined to life or death.” Book 3, Ch 21, Section 5
"...we say that God once established by his eternal and unchangeable plan those whom he long before determined once for all to receive into salvation, and those whom, on the other hand, he would devote to destruction. ...he has barred the door of life to those whom he has given over to damnation." Book 3, Ch 21, Section 7
God not only foresaw the fall off the first man, and in him the ruin of his posterity: but also at his own pleasure arranged it.” Book 3, Ch 23, Section 7
"Therefore, those whom God passes over, he condemns; and this he does for no other reason than that he wills to exclude them from the inheritance which he predestines for his own children." Book 3, Ch 23, Section 1
3 Reformers
3.1 Common Calvinistic Dogma
"The whole human race existed as one moral person in Adam; so that in Adam's sin we sinned, we corrupted ourselves, and we brought guilt and merited condemnation upon ourselves. Adam's will was the will of the species, so that in Adam's free act, the will of the race revolted against God and the nature of the race corrupted itself."
"Unconscious infants, dying without baptism, are damned by virtue of their inherited guilt."
"From this condemnation no one is exempt, not even newborn children."
Doctrine of Augustine, 5th Century A.D.
"Even children, dying un baptized, are lost."
Martin Luther
The sin of Adam is the immediate cause and ground of inborn depravity, guilt, and condemnation to the whole human race."
A. H. Strong, Systematic Theology
"Every man is guilty in Adam, and is consequently born with a depraved and corrupt nature. And this inner corruption is the unholy fountain of all actual sin."
L. Berkhof, Systematic Theology
"Original sin is the corruption of man's nature, whereby he is utterly indisposed, disabled and made opposite to all that is spiritually good, and wholly inclined to evil, and that continually."
Larger Catechism
we assuredly gather it was His everlasting determination so to do; and consequently that He reprobated some from before the foundation of the world A W Pink ‘The Sovereignty of God pp 83-84
If then God has foreordained whatsoever comes to pass then He must have decreed that vast numbers of human beings should pass out of this world unsaved to suffer eternally in the Lake of Fire.
A W Pink ‘From The Sovereignty of God in Reprobation Chapter 5
"From this original corruption whereby we are utterly indisposed, disabled and made opposite to all good, and wholly inclined to all evil, do proceed all actual transgressions."
Westminster Confession
3.1 Charles Spurgeon - Grammatical Gunpowder
The following text relates to a common problem. ‘Words do not mean what they say’. This argument is often used to explain away a biblical text that is contradictory to a desired dogma. Spurgeon destroys such fallacies as shown below.
3.2 Arthur W Pink – ‘It Must be…’
Arthur W Pink’s wrote many books where his forthright views make Calvin himself look a bit soft. Never mind the secret council of God’s will. No, ‘IT MUST BE’ declares Pink.
Pinks logic is often used by modern Calvinist and directly contradicts their notion of original sin. I.E. Did Adam voluntary sin or was it prearranged?
Supra Lapsarian – Calvanist who believe God pre arranges every event and even the fall as described in Geneses was pre planned down to the very second.
Infra Lapsarian – Calvanists who believe that Adam fell by his own free will and only after this event did God pre plan who would be saved and who would be lost.
3.3 Grudem – Closet Calvinism
Modern Calvinism is the kind of Calvinism that A W Pink vigorously attacks. Pink belongs to the ‘Double Predestination’ school of thought. That is that God actively dams people to hell. I.E. Calvin’s terrible decree. This teaching often gets its proponents into a lot of heated debate and trouble. Hence it has been watered down and most modern Calvinists adhere the ‘Single Predestination’ view. That is God pre elects those who will be saved but ‘passes over’ those who wont be. The purpose of this teaching is to try and avoid the inescapable conclusion that God is the author of sin. Grudem is one of many who attempt to use circular logic to get themselves out of trouble as shown in the article below.
3.4 Summary
• Predestination is only mentioned 4 times in the Bible. Always referring to the future state of believers. The notion that every teaching has a positive and negative side, hence ‘proving’ Calvinistic predestination - has no biblical basis whatsoever.
• There is not one shred of evidence in the Bible for double or single predestination.
• The single predestination proponents still have the problem that those passed over have never had nor will have any chance of salvation. Teaching totally opposite to the Bible.
• Any version of Calvinistic predestination contradicts its own versions of the concept of original sin.
4 Born Bad or Not
4.1 The Status of Children.
The Calvinistic doctrine is that babies are born “odious and abominable” to God. The actual Biblical text not only makes no mention of this but says the opposite E.G no knowledge between good and evil. It is self evident that babies know nothing when they are born let alone the difference between good and evil. The Bible text states ‘For before the child shall know to refuse the evil’. Hence the Bible teaches that babies are born innocent, and they reach an age of accountability before they can willfully commit sin. Calvinism supports a major contradiction in that babies are born ‘Totally Depraved” (First of the 5 points of Calvinism) but are made clean by Infant Baptism. I.E. a work of man.
Jesus
Calvin’s Institutes
"And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." Matt. 18:3
… hence even infants bring their condemnation with them from their mothers womb, suffer not from another’s, but their own defect….and therefore cannot but be odious and abominable to God.
Book 2, Ch 1, Section 8
"But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 19:14
"I admit that in this miserable condition wherein men are now bound, all of Adam's children have fallen by God's will." Book 3, Ch 23, Section 4
"And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them. But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them and blessed them." Mark 10:13-16 and Luke 18:16-17
God .. arranges all things by his counsel, in such a way that individuals are born, who are doomed from the womb to certain death. Book 3, Ch 23, Section 6
Other Texts
“Moreover your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, and your children, which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go in thither, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it." Deuteronomy 1:39
"Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good. For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrers shall be forsaken of both her kings." Isaiah 7:15-16
4.3 The Human Race
"Original sin is the hereditary depravity and corruption of our nature…which first makes us subject to the wrath of God, and then produces in us works which the Scripture calls works of the flesh." Calvin
Ecclesiastes 7:29: "Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions
This text, one of many, confirms that God has NOT created man totally depraved, odious or obnoxious but as it says ‘upright’. Also ‘in his own image and likeness’. Hence without sin. The following texts show that no one is born a sinner. Born in sin meaning born into a sinful world.
Some Opposing Reformed Views
"I admit that in this miserable condition wherein men are now bound, all of Adam's children have fallen by God's will." Calvin Book 3, Ch 23, Section 4
"...God could foresee nothing good in man except what he had already determined to bestow by the benefit of his election" Calvin Book 3, Ch 22, Section5
Bible
"God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…And God saw everything that he had made, and…it was very good." Gen. 1:26, 31
"Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions." Ecclesiastes 7:29
"Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture."
Psalm 100:3
"God that made the world and all things therein…seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; and hath made of one blood all nations of men…For we are also his offspring. Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God…" Acts 17:24-26, 28-29
"Man…is the image and glory of God." I Corinthians 11:7
"Men, which are made after the similitude of God." James 3:9
