Calvinism. None Dare Call It Heresy. Spotlight on the Life and Teachings of JOHN CALVIN. Bob Kirkland D.D.

Transcription

1 Calvinism None Dare Call It Heresy Spotlight on the Life and Teachings of JOHN CALVIN Bob Kirkland D.D. LIGHTHOUSE TRAILS PUBLISHING EUREKA, MONTANA

2 Contents Introduction 9 1/Where Calvin Got His Theology 13 2/John Calvin s Manner of Life 17 3/Changing the Meaning of Words to Promote a Theory 25 What Is T.U.L.I.P.? (A chart) 34 4/Using a Foolish Analogy to Support Calvinism 35 5/Created to Choose and to Reason 43 6/Distorting Scripture To Teach Heresy 57 7/Calvinism s Perseverance 73 8/No Assurance of Salvation 79 9/Think It Through! 85 10/In Conclusion 89 Appendix I: Should Christians Expose Error? 91 Appendix II: A Biblical Perspective on Salvation 95 Appendix III: A Biblical Perspective on Contending for the Faith 103 Endnotes 111 Scripture Index 119

3 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Acts 2:21)

4 INTRODUCTION TO CALL SOMETHING HERESY IS CLEARLY A strong accusation and should never be done flippantly. For something to be heresy, it must deviate from the fundamental teachings of the Bible. And nothing can be more serious than a deviation from the Gospel itself. Calvinism, as I will show in this book, does present another gospel. Scripture takes heresy seriously. According to Strong s Concordance and Thayer s Lexicon, heresy means a chosen course of thought or action, an opinion varying from the true exposition of the Christian faith, and a body of men separating themselves from others and following their own tenets. 1 Many Scriptures command us not to allow heresies or false doctrines to be promoted in the church. While Scripture clearly tells us this, it is often overlooked or even embraced for the sake of unity. In Titus 3:10, Paul says, A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject. Notice the word admonition. This is a word used when dealing with believers. Romans 15:14 refers to the Christian when it says, admonish one another. Second Thessalonians 3:14-15 says, And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company 9

5 Calvinism None Dare Call It Heresy with him, that he may be ashamed. Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother. Today, many churches, ministries, and seminaries are promoting Calvinism. The purpose of this book is to show that the teaching of John Calvin (i.e., Calvinism) is indeed heresy by the Bible s definition of the term. An immediate reaction by some will be to think I am suggesting that all Calvinists are going to Hell. While this is untrue, I will demonstrate that the Calvinist path to salvation becomes more difficult, if not impossible, to those who learn and follow its teachings. Consequently, many drop out and look to another path. Of course, there are many people who call themselves Calvinists who have little idea of what Calvinism actually teaches, or of its history. While Calvinist scholars claim that Calvinism is complex (and they have indeed created a complex system), the rudiments of it are very basic, and it can be readily understood. I have spent considerable time studying Calvinism over the past forty years with many additional concentrated hours prior to writing this book. So, in spite of its complexities, it is this ready understanding I am presenting in Calvinism: None Dare Call It Heresy. When developing any theological platform, it is essential to have a strong biblical foundation. In the case of Calvinism, it is built on the foundation of erroneous deductions on meanings of words. Of all the Calvinistic materials I have read, I have found continual contradictions by the writers, with the meaning of words of 10

6 Introduction the Bible being changed and redefined in order to make Calvinism work. John Calvin taught that God will be glorified by bringing billions of people into this world for no other purpose than having them burn in Hell for eternity. This alone depicts a view of God found nowhere in Scripture, and in essence misrepresents God but also creates a platform upon which another gospel has been built that is both fatalistic and makes the sacrifice of Christ no longer freely available to whosoever may come. Salvation is no longer a matter of choice. Furthermore, the Calvinist can never actually know if he or she is one of the elect thereby placing the Calvinist Gospel on a foundation of doubt rather than true biblical belief in the substitutionary sacrifice of Christ at Calvary. If that is not heresy, then what is? 11