In this article I would like to have a look at the doctrines of grace. We will have a detailed study of the five points of grace as well as its contemporary the five points of Arminianism.
 

There are two systems of beliefs in the religious world that are totally opposite each other in their doctrinal stand. These systems deal with our whole attitude and relationship with Christ. The two systems are - Arminianism and Calvinism.
 

Let's look into the history of these systems before getting into their meanings and scripture to support our beliefs. Remember - Neither system is new - it's just that these two men put the already existing beliefs into an organized system for easier study and teaching and remembering. And even then - it was not the man themselves that started calling them by these names - it was their followers - those that came later and put a name to the system of doctrines each man so strongly believed in.

It was a Dutch theologian named Jacob Hermann who lived from 1560 to 1609 (he was better known by the Latin form of his last name - Arminius) that, although he was brought up in the Dutch reformed tradition - which held to Calvinistic views although at that time that term was not in use, he leaned toward the humanist doctrines of Erasmus - an Arminian type of system already in use. He had serious doubts about sovereign grace as taught by the reformers.
 

His followers - called Arminians and Remonstrants, expanded his teachings and shortly after his death in 1609 put together his doctrines into a system of five points that would become known as the five points of Arminius. Note that it was Jacob Arminuis' followers that actually systemized their beliefs. They then took these five point to the government of Holland hoping to have these doctrines established as the doctrines of the state church.
 

The churches of the Netherlands, along with other major Protestant churches of Europe followed to the Reformed Doctrines of the Belgic and Heidelberg Confession - which were more Calvinistic in their beliefs, even though these doctrines had not yet officially been formulated into that named system. Remember - this was shortly after the Protestant reformation when most Protestant churches were very sound in most doctrines - with the exception of church doctrine for one. In fact it was this rise of Arminianism as an organized system that infiltrated the truths taught in most churches of that time and over the years since has all but destroyed all of them, and has seriously damaged many Baptist churches.
 

The Arminians were determined to present to the Dutch Parliament with a Remonstrance.
 

So a carefully written protest of the reformed faith was submitted to the state of Holland. In 1618 a national synod of the church was convened in Dort to examine the teachings of Arminius in the light of scripture.
 

There was 154 sessions studying these doctrines over a period of 7 months. So there was a very thorough, detailed study of each point. Nothing was overlooked. Much to their credit they found the five points of Arminius contrary to scripture and declared them heretical. They reaffirmed the doctrines already held to by their own church as well as most of the Protestant Reformers.
 

At the same time the church reaffirmed the position held by the Protestant Reformers as consistent with scripture, they formulated a system known as the five points of Calvinism in honor of the great French theologian - John Calvin. Note here: John Calvin himself had nothing to do with the formulating the system called by his name - although in his teachings he did stress these very five points. John Calvin himself had been dead for many years.
 

It also must be noted that these men made this system of five points of Calvinism in direct answer to the five points of Arminianism. In other words - if there had been 7 points of Arminianism then when they formulated the doctrines of Calvinism they would have found 7 points of Calvinism to answer the 7 points of Arminianism!!
 

The reply of the synod of Dort to the heresies of Arminius have been set forth in the form of an acrostic - forming the word Tulip. The five points of Calvinism is thus:
 

T - Total depravity of man
U - Unconditional election
L - Limited atonement
I - Irresistible Grace
P - Perseverance of the saints
 

As you note we take the first letter of each point and put them together to form the word T.U.L.I.P.. This is just for convenience sake for ease of remembering.
 

Since we will be studying in detail what the reformation theologians of Dort meant by these five points - let's first take a look at a summary of the five points of Arminianism - which these same people rejected to their credit - as heresy. Here they are:
 

1. Free will -
2. conditional election
3. universal atonement
4. obstructable grace
5. falling from grace
 

Let's look at the definitions of each point as stated by those who made them up.
 

But before getting down to that I would like to make some comments. As I mentioned before, these five points of Arminianism does have verses that people do use to back them up - and in a few cases seem hard to refute until you understand two things.
 

One - the three basic rules of interpreting scripture. That is -
 

(1) Never interpret one verse on a given subject in a way that contradicts what the Bible as a whole says about that subject.

(2) Never interpret an obscure verse on a subject to contradict other much clearer verses on the same subject.

(3) Never take a verse out of the context of it's surrounding verses.
 

Two - we must understand that many times the Holy spirit inspired Bible is talking to unsaved people - or newly saved people. If He is - then in the Bible's own words it uses "milk of the word" (which typifies easy to digest or understood words) instead of "meat" (which typifies harder to digest or understand words) which would be used for a more mature Christian. Even many Christians who have been saved for years do not mature much in Christian knowledge. Some never get beyond the "baby stage" in spiritual knowledge - while others progress on to childhood or beyond - or is of "full age" as the Bible terms it. Just like in physical life there are a number of stages, so is there in our growth in spiritual matters. These stages are - A babe in Christ, childhood as one matures and learns more, adolescence and on to adulthood. Only the fully mature - or the adults will understand the solid meat of scriptural matters. Most of the Bible is written to those not yet very mature in scriptural doctrines so uses easy to understand words that appear very "Arminian" at first. But then there are other places in scripture that talks to the more mature Christian and these scriptures are very "Calvinistic" in their doctrine. So unless one wants to stay a "babe" in Christ all their life they should consider all scripture not just those with an "Arminian" slant to things.
 

Later In this study I will show how these Arminians take scripture out of context to support what they believe, telling us it is saying what it is not saying at all although on the surface it may seem to be saying what they claim. To do this, they must leave all the teachings of man's depravity and all the rest of these truths found in what we refer to as the "five points of Calvinism" out, as well as the influence of the Holy spirit in our heart which in return influences our thinking which in turn influences our lifestyle. They do not have any understanding of God's work in us motivating us to do His will - why? Is it because they don't have God in them?
 

This level of knowledge is all according to the measure of faith God gives each individual. Let's look at some scripture to make thatclear. First concerning the milk of the word for immature Christians. Let's take a look at these scriptures to see what they say about the milk of the word verses the solid meat.
 

1 Corinthians 3:2 -- have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.
 
 
 

Hebrews 5:12-14 -- for when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again whichbe the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For everyone that useth milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

we read about the different measures of faith different people get in:
 

Ephesians 4:7  --  But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ
 

There are many people who never grow beyond the infant stage spiritually - hence they must be spoken to as a babe with simple words(doctrines) easy to be understood - Not in meat (hard doctrines) that only a mature Christian can understand. And that is what Christ and his disciples did in much of the Bible. In other places he spoke to those who are mature and only those God gives that maturity will ever accept what is said in those places.

This is why we should never say flatly that a person who does not see things as we do are not saved, Even though there are scripture to point in that direction - like:

ISAIAH 8:20 -- To the law and to the testimony if they speak not according to this word it is because there is no light in them.
 

That is pretty plain. And yet we do have the verses we read above about God giving knowledge in different measures to different people. So we cannot come to a solid conclusion to just who is saved and who is not. We must just leave that to God - who is saved and who isn't. HOWEVER - I have stated before and will repeat this - Birds of a feather should flock together. In other words - robins should flock with robins - crows should flock with crows. In our Christians flocks a Pentecost should flock with the Pentecost and Baptist should flock among their own kind - whichever kind that is since there is so many different flock of Baptists even. In searching out a church we must be very careful which flock we get involved with. But still We haveno business condemning or lashing out at those who do not believe all we do. At the same time we should not condone them either. We all can be friends - but not buddies around the word. To do that we would have to comprimise our own beliefs. Let them alone - but don't join them in fellowship or study. God does order us "to come out from among them and be ye separate". And we should. We should teach against their heresy, but leave them personally alone. If we went to them and admonished them too often and too strongly for their belief they could claim that we were persecuting them. Something a Christian should never be guilty of.
 

We will end this chapter with this thought and next chapter we will get down to studying what Arminians believe and some scripture they use to support that belief. Then we'll see how those who coined the Calvinistic system did so to counter the harm done by the five points of Arminianism.
 
 

In this chapter we will get down to the study of the five points of Arminianism - they are by name:
 

1 - Free will: The first point of Arminianism was that man possesses "free will". They believed that the fall of man was not total, holding that there was enough good left in man for him to will to accept Christ unto salvation.
 

2- Conditional Election: Arminianism further teaches that election is based upon the foreknowledge of God as to who would believe. In other words man's act of faith is the "condition" for his being elected to eternal life. Since God foresaw him exercising his "free will" in accepting Christ as Lord and Savior God then elected him to salvation on that basis.
 

3- Universal atonement: Since it was their further conviction that God loves everybody, that Christ died for everyone, and that the Father is not willing that any should perish, Arminius and his followers held that redemption (used casually as a synonym for atonement) was general. In other words the death of Christ provided grounds for God to save all men. However, each individual must exercise his free will to accept Christ in order to be included under Christ's salvation.
 

4- Obstructable grace: Arminians also believed that since God wanted all men to be saved, He sent the Holy spirit to woo all men to Christ. However - since man has absolute "free will" he is able to resist God's will for his life. The Arminian order being that man exercises his own will first, then he is born again. Although the Arminian says he believes that God is omnipotent, he insists that God's will to save all men can be frustrated by the finite will of man on an individual bases.
 

5- Falling from Grace: Falling from grace is the logical outcome of the preceding portions of the system. If man cannot be saved by God unless it is man's will to be saved, then man cannot continue in salvation unless he continues to will to be saved.
 

You can see that these are just the complete opposite to the five points of Grace with the acrostic known as TULIP. It is apparent the five points of Calvinism was intended as a direct answer to the five points of Arminianism. We can see clearly the "lines of battle" - so to speak as drawn by both camps.
 

Let's compare the two forms of theology:
 

Point 1: The Arminians say that man's will is free to choose either the word of God or the word of Satin. Salvation then is dependent upon man's work of faith.

Calvinism - responds that unregenerate man is in absolute bondage to Satan, and wholly incapable of exercising his own will freely to trust in Christ. Salvation then is dependent on the work of God who must will to give man life before he can believe in Christ.
 

 Point 2: Arminianism: held that election was conditional. They believed that God elected those whom He "foreknew" would believe unto salvation, so that foreknowledge was based upon a "condition" established by man.

Calvinism: Held that "foreknowledge" was based upon the purpose or plan of God, so that election had no basis in some fancied condition on the part of man, but was the result of the free will of the Creator apart from any foreseen "work of faith" in spiritually-dead man.

NOTE: that the second position of each side is the natural outcome of man. If man does have "Free will", and is not in bondage to Satan and sin, then he is able to provide the "condition" whereby God may elect to save him. However, if man does not have free will, but is actually in bondage to Satan and sin, then his only hope is that God has chosen of HIS FREE will to elect him to salvation.
 

Point 3: Arminianism: insist that atonement - or redemption as they also call it - is universal. They believe that - Christ died to save no one in particular, but only those who exercise their free will and accept His offer of eternal life. Hence His death was  to a large extent a failure since those who reject Christ will go to hell.
 

Calvinism: insists that Redemption is particular, which is to say a limited atonement was made by Christ at the cross. We believe that: Christ died to save particular persons who were given Him by the Father in eternity past. His death was therefore, a one hundred percent success, in that all for whom He died will be saved, and all for whom He did not die will receive "justice" from God when they are cast into hell. Just by this comparison - it is not hard to discern who is right.
 

Point 4: Arminians: continues by stating that although the Holy spirit seeks to woo all men to Christ (since God loves all mankind and wills to save all men), still, since the will of God is bound by the will of man, the spirit can be resisted by man if man so chooses. Since man alone can determine whether he will be saved or not, it stand to reason that God at least "permits man" to obstruct His Holy will. He is willing to be impotent in the face of man's will so that the creature may "be as God", just as Satan promised Eve in the garden. Can't you see how foolish this is - for God to give up His power, His authority to allow He the creator to be in subjection to those He created!! That is so foolish it is hard to believe anyone could believe that!!
 

Calvinism: replies that the grace of God cannot be obstructed, but the Lord's Grace is irresistible. This does not mean that God crushes man's obstinate will like a giant steam roller! He doesn't have to! He just puts a new (Holy) spirit in us, that is what responds to God.
 

Irresistible Grace is not grounded in the omnipotence of God, although it could be if the Lord so willed, butin the gift of life known as "regeneration" - being born again of God. All dead human spirits are drawn irresistibly to Satan, the god of the dead - all living human spirits (born again of God) are drawn irresistibly to God, the God of the living. Our Lord simply gives His chosen ones the spirit of life! (Himself - the rebirth) The moment He does so our spiritual polarity is changed. Where we were once "dead in trespasses and sins" our polarity was oriented to the devil, now we are made "alive in Christ Jesus" - our polarity has changed and oriented to God.

Another big difference between Arminianism and Calvinist become apparent here. Arminians say that the order of events is:
 

(1) Man's work of faith,

( 2) God's gift of life.
 

Calvinism: declares that the order of events is:
 

(1) God's gift of life - then

(2) saving Faith that comes from that gift of life.
 

Point 5: Arminianism: they conclude (quite logically) that since man is saved by his own act of free will in accepting Christ, he can be lost again, by changing his mind about Christ. Most add that he can lose his salvation by committing some sin, since Arminianism is a "works" theology - at least to the extent that man must exercise his own will in order to be saved. They call this - "falling from grace." They also go on to say that they can repent, return to Christ and be "saved again". He could do this over and over during his life right up until he dies.
 

Calvinism : replies - since salvation is entirely the work of the Lord, and man has absolutely nothing to do with "getting saved" in the first place, it is obvious that "keeping saved" is also the work of God, apart from any good or bad on the part of His elect. The saints will "persevere" for the simple reason that God promises this, assuring us that He will finish the work He has begun in us. Hence our belief in: the Perseverance of the saints.
 

You will note one outstanding point about the beliefs of the Arminians. That is that they totally leave out the work of the Holy spirit in us. Instead the changes brought about is a result of our own decisions. They know - nor understand nothing of the entering of the Holy spirit in a person or the influence the Holy spirit has on us that causes a person to come to Christ in obedience. This despite the fact they talk about being born again - or the Holy Spirit's work-in us - but their usage of these terms is completely alien to the Bible teaching. They believe that the Holy spirit comes into us AFTER we make a decision to allow God to save us. That the Holy spirit entrance is a special event after we are born again that causes super feats by the recipient. They look on the call of God as an OUTSIDE call like you or I would call a person - and then that person can either respond to the call or reject the call.
 

The Calvinist believes the Holy Spirit takes up residence in us - this is called being "born again" - also called 'regeneration" - and this Holy spirit that now resides in us acts as a new nature that influences us to respond to God in a positive way - accepting Jesus in Salvation and in obedience to His laws.
 

Another thing to note - who gets the credit - or glory when one does respond? Under Arminianism beliefs Of course the answer is - man. He does it all and God is rendered less than man because He can't do anything to man unless man lets Him, making man the god. Surely you can see what blasphemy that is!!
 

Who gets the credit - or glory - under Calvinism? The answer is not hard to see. God does. He is the instigator of salvation right from the start - out in eternity past, and follows through on it in each individual as he lives out his life. We have absolutely nothing to do with it!! Praise God!!
 

For awhile let's take a look into the the will of God in connection with the five points of Grace.
 

When we speak of God's will it is the expression of His omnipotent and omniscient being. In other words His all powerful, and unchangeable being.
 

If God is omnipotent, as the scriptures testifies, He will achieve all that He purposes, and if He is omniscient, He will make no mistakes in his original plan, nor will He ever find it necessary to alter His original purpose. When God finalized His plans and set them in motion at His determinate counsel He did so with no intentions of ever changing any part of that plan.(this is where God's permissive will believers go wrong) Even where there has been changes, that change was all part of that original plan. For instance - the change between the Old and New Testaments, did that change come about because God at some time or other realized the Old Testament was not working and came up with a new one? Not according to scripture. That change was as much planned as anything else. The change to a new plan was talked about many times in the Old Testament. Remember:

Acts 15:18 -- "known unto God are all His works from the beginning of the age."
 

Benjamin Warfield (a well known Bible teacher of bygone years) made this statement - and I agree 100% with it:

Quote: "In the infinite wisdom of the Lord of all the earth, each event falls with exact precision into its proper place in the unfolding of His divine plan. Nothing, however small, however strange, occurs without His ordering, or without its particular fitness for its place in the working out of His purpose; and the end of all shall be the manifestation of His glory, and the accumulation of His praise. This is the Old testament as well as the New Testament philosophy of the universe - a world-view which attains concrete unity in an absolute decree, or purpose, or plan, of which all that come to pass is but its development in time." Unquote.
 

This is really absolute predestination that he is implying, that God ordains every minute thing that happens. And in fact for things to happen in a smooth orderly fashion as we would expect from God that's the way it must be. If the Permissive will of God were true, things would not run so smoothly because God would be forever thwarted by the refusal of rebellious man not doing as God bid them do, and He would be forever running about trying to find an alternative way to get His plans carried out. Many do believe in God's permissive will to answer how God lets certain terrible things happen and still claim God the good God that does not cause or in anyway have anything to do with sin that the intellectual mind likes to adhere to. This belief certainly does not show a sovereign God in a sovereign way. If God bows to man's will or failures in any way shape or form, or is controlled by the events of His own creation, then He is not sovereign. If God tells someone He would prefer him to not do this or that, or that He would prefer him to do this or that and that person not do it as God wanted, then God says in essence - "Well if you insist in rebelling and doing it your way I by my permissive will let you have your way " - then God is not being sovereign. He is bowing to man's will to let him go against God's will, what He had planned from eternity. Not only that He would have to go looking for another way of getting done what He wanted this person to do and refused to do, or God's will might even be thwarted completely.. That is totally unacceptable in understanding a sovereign God!
 

No - I believe God has everything planned - even man's rebellion, which might seemingly, on the surface, frustrate God's plan - but in fact doesn't because God has taken all this into consideration and has fit everything, even one's rebellious period into His eternal plans and purpose. Jonah is a good example. Did Jonah frustrate or hold up God's plan in his rebellion, or did God plan the rebellion and fit it into His schedule of events. I don't think the answer to that is hard to come by. Could one of the purposes of putting Jonah's rebellion in this part of his life be that He planned to include the story of Jonah in His writings we call the Bible as an example to us?
 

Therefore as we shall see - whatever comes to pass in the history of mankind does so because it was planned to do so by God as it suited His eternal plan or purpose.
 

If anything takes place contrary to God's will - or changed because in the opinion of some finite creature God's way is not right - then Satan or even man must be equal to or even superior to the creator who claims to be omnipotent and wholly irresistible. You know that cant' be right.
 

On the other hand - if the determinative will of God reflects His immutable nature, it can neither be obstructed nor cancelled.
 

Therefore whatever comes to pass in any part of creation, at any time of history, does so because the omniscient God at least knew it would be a possibility and wills it as a reality by His omnipotence, and established it, or fits it into His own divine plans and purpose, His own schedule of events. That is why nothing happens that surprises God. He has considered everything - and fit all that He wants to happen into his eternal plan. His plans are not thwarted or forced off schedule by man's rebellion forcing God to press on with other plans or argue with His first choice, begging him to do His bidding. We must decide in our own mind if God is sovereign. If He is we can expect God to do things His way and not even consider man's wants or opinions. If God is not sovereign then man may get his own way in the events of the earth. What a pitiful situation we would find ourselves in if this were so.
 

God is sovereign whether we want to admit it or not, and that is the way He operates, carrying out His will according to His purpose throughout His creation.
 

There is no conflict between these mighty works which manifest God's holiness, righteousness and His wrath, and those glorious works which display His grace, love and forgiveness.
 

If we study closely we'll find that In the light of the whole of scripture God will be seen as consistent as He damns some and forgives others as He displays His sovereign grace - freely forgiving all whom He chose "In Christ Jesus" before the foundation of the world.
 
 
 

As the only truly free agent in all eternity - who alone is not influenced by any creature or outside force - God can bluntly say:
 

Romans 9:15 -- I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassionon whom I will I have compassion.
 

As the only being in time or eternity with absolute freedomto do as He sees fit - God has laid out a plan which includes both election & reprobation. Paul says in:
 

Romans 9:10-13 -- And not only this, but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even our father, Isaac (for the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the Purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of Him who calleth), it was said unto her, the elder shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.
 

In other words without taking into account either good or bad in these two men, God made Jacob an object of His love while Esau the object of His wrath.
 

Why? The answer is there - So that His purpose - or divine plan - in keeping with election might stand.
 

God does not make any apologies for the fact He determined to let most men spend eternity under His wrath, giving them exactly what they deserved while He has also determined to ordain others who are equally deserving of wrath display His nature of grace and mercy in the presence of the elect angels. Like Paul says in:

 Thessalonians. 5:9  -- For God hath not APPOINTED us to wrath, but He hath APPOINTED us to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ
 

Who is the US God has not appointed to wrath, but to obtain salvation instead. I don't think it hard to see he is talking about Christians, those born again of God's Holy spirit. He includes himself, as well as those he is talking to, and any believer in the future who would read what he wrote here. We see clearly that some are not appointed to wrath but are appointed to obtain salvation. By saying this he clearly implies that there are others that are appointed to wrath, and are not appointed to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ. We will confirm that in another scripture below.
 

Christ is indeed a scandal to the unregenerate, and would be to all men if God had not chosen to regenerate some - which causes repentance and faith in His word. Peter says this about the Savior in:
 

1 Peter 2:8 -- A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense, even to them who stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.
 

Yes, Jesus, God and even the Bible is an offense, a stumbling block to an unsaved person. There is the instructions from God on how God wants us to live and conduct ourselves. But we by nature do not want to live that way - in fact can't. And there is the scripture I mentioned a moment ago - that they who find Jesus a rock of offense, stumble at the word, disobedient, were appointed to that walk of life. Notice the change of person - from us - to they.

When Paul wishes to show how God ordained some men to salvation, wholly apart from any good qualities on our part - whereas He appointed others to condemnation - he says in:
 

Romans 9:17 -- The scripture saith unto Pharaoh, even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might show my power in thee, and that may name might be declared throughout all the earth.
 

In other words, for His plan - God needed someone to carry out this plan He had for Moses and the people of Israel. For His plan He needed a Pharaoh - so he ordained his conception and birth - making sure it was not someone else conceived instead of this particular person.

When did God come up with His idea of raising up Pharaoh for this plan - as it was carried out? Or did He just twinkle His nose or snap His finger and created Pharaoh on the spur of the moment to fulfill a need that suddenly arose? I agree, that is foolish. His plan for this event had to start long before the actual happening. Long before his birth even. In fact it had to take place back in eternity. Why? For this reason. For Pharaoh to be who he was - that individual, he would have had to have the exact parents he had, the seed joining that this particular man was conceived from had to take place at the exact time it did and out of all the millions of sperm cells that could have caused conception God made sure it was the one that conceived this particular person. That is a fact of life. You can see what I mean that God plans the most minute detail of our life?

And not only this, Pharaoh's parents had to be the very couples that caused his conception, and their parents in return had to be the exact people they were to create the parents for Pharaoh - and that goes all the way back to Adam and Eve. So it is very clear that the "raising up of Pharaoh" was planned at the determinate counsel just like everything else was. This is also very true of each and every one of us. Our own birth had to be planned back in eternity past - just like Pharaoh's.
 

Despite the fact poor Pharaoh was ordained to his roll in those affairs, God did not force Pharaoh to act as he did - He just set up the circumstances and gave Pharaoh the appropriate character for the occasion - and along with his human nature he just naturally fell into the path God had prepared for him, and at the same time fulfilled God's eternal decree.
 

Before God laid out the heavens and earth, He determined that every creature and every act of history should be to His glory & honor and to no other. He also determined that: at the name of Jesus every knee should bow of things in heaven, and things on earth, and things in the underworld, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord - to the glory of God the father.
 

Philippians 2:10 -- hat at the name of Jesus every knee every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father
 

To those who find fault with God's eternal decree, Paul warns them in this manner:
 

Romans 9:20-23 -- Who art thou, O man, who repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why has thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonor? What if God, willing to show His wrath, and to make His power known, endured with much long-suffering the vessels of wrath fitted (ordained) to destruction; and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had before prepared(ordained) unto glory, even us whom he hath called.
 

In short, God is the potter mentioned here that has ordained that and created some of His creatures to be fitted - ordained - to be vessels of dishonor whose end would be eternal damnation. Others - would be ordained to be vessels suited to bring glory to God and ordained to spend eternity in heaven. Ordained to that purpose and created for that purpose.
 

Boy - If Paul preached like that in most churches of our day - and this includes all too many Baptist churches - he would not last long - or if a visiting pastor he would not be asked back to preach for them again. This kind of preaching is not tolerated in all too many so called Baptist churches of our day. Just ask our own Pastor - he left the ABA because he could not agree on doctrines held by the ABA and he knew if he stayed he would be not too gently asked to leave.
 

I know of 2 missionaries in the Philippines - and also at least one American missionary I believe he was in Mexico - the ABA ceased to support these missionaries because they taught these very doctrines we are studying - Calvinism. The missionaries had come to see these truths after being sent to the mission field and endorsed them. The ABA informed them to get back in line with their own teaching which did not include Calvinism - or they would cease their support. These good - Godly men felt that it was more important to teach the truth so kept on with their teaching. The ABA true to their word just pulled the rug out from under them so to speak - leaving them high and dry with no support. The two in the Philippines were able to continue on with their work because they already had a fairly large congregation able to support them, with difficulty, but they stuck it out. The American in Mexico was forced to return to the USA. The last I heard he was still trying to drum up support so he could go back. This was the latter part of 2001 and into 2002.
 

I know of at least one other that knows better - but because he is afraid of having support withdrawn - he refuses to teach these precious doctrines of grace - or leave the ABA voluntarily. This kind of person will have their own kind of award waiting them when they meet Jesus - only it's a reward I personally would not be looking forward to.
 

No wonder the scriptures say things like this recorded in:

ISAIAH 55:8-9 -- My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.
 

There is no doubt the way of God is not the way that seems right unto man. Instead - the way that seems right to man is actually the way of Satan - and ends in eternal death. Read that in:
 

Proverbs 14:12  -- There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
 

Man may connive and scheme trying to counter the plans of God using the plans of their own god - Satan. But they cannot change the plan of God one iota, those plans that God has already foreordained, that is, all history from the largest event to the smallest detail.
 

As a result we can rest assured that the plan God laid out guarantees that the "all things" of history will work out together for the good of the elect of God. We - the elect - can face our enemies who have tried to destroy us - as well as distressing and painful events. We can say with Joseph:

GENESIS 50:20 -- Ye thought evil against me, but God meant it unto good.
 

Or - like Nebuchadnezzar who said this:

DANIEL 4:35  -- All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing! Jehovah doeth according to HIS WILL in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth, and none can stay his hand, nor say to Him, what doest Thou?
 

It would do us good if we would come to that conclusion too. It would save us heartache because if we don't see and acknowledge this fact we will inevitably rebel against God - to our sorrow. Just like Nebachadnezer had to suffer for his unbelief .
 

Loraine Boettner summed it up this way: "Everything was infallibly determined and immutably fixed by God from the beginning, and all that happens in time is but the accomplishment of what was ordained in eternity."
 

This is a person who knows God's word!! For listen to what GOD says in - virtually the same thing:
 

Isaiah 46:9-11  --  I am God and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done. My counsel shall stand and I will do all my pleasure! I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass. I have purposed it and I will also do it.
 
 
 

How ego withering!! How the natural mind hates such teachings - the doctrines of sovereign grace and retribution! How man's heart rebels against the decrees of Almighty God who rules without His immutable will ever being seriously questioned. How man hates to be told things like what's found in:

Proverbs 16:9  --  A mans's heart devises his way, but the Lord directs his steps.
 

Man sure hates the idea that he doesn't have his way - but God does even when seemingly man is getting his own way. Man hates this idea so he creates his own God that he can tell what to do. A God that loves everybody and puts up with their shenanigans as perfectly ok or forgivable - a god that just winks at his worst actions and passes it off as some harmless prank. A God that gives in to all powerful man. Sinful man just cannot tolerate a God who says things like in:
 

Isaiah 6:9-10  --  Go, and tell this people, hear ye indeed, but understand not! See ye, indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy; and shut their eyes: lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and be converted, and be healed.
 

Yet this is our God - the God of both the Old and New Testament.

Like Luther said: "This mightily offends our human nature, that God should, of His own mere unbiased will, leave some men to themselves, harden them, and then condemn them; but He has given abundant demonstration - and does continually - that this is really the case, namely, that the sole cause why some are saved and others perish proceeds from His will the salvation of the former and the perdition of the others.
 

That is clear as found recorded in:

Romans 9:18 -- He hath mercy on whom He will have mercy, and whom He will He hardeneth.
 

Can't get much plainer than that!!
 

God's word is His power unto salvation to all who believe. God determines who will believe and who will not. That is clearly stated in:

Isaiah 55:11 --  So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth. It shall not return unto me void, but is shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper whereto I sent it.
 

Note that: The will of God is accomplished by the word of God whenever it is sent forth. That is why one person will be saved - and another just as equally intelligent is not saved when God's word is proclaimed. God's word worked out God's will to salvation in the one - while in the other God's word worked out God's will to his condemnation. All determined by God before the foundation of the world at God's determinate counsel who would benefit and who would be condemned.
 
 

We will now get started into the five points of Calvinism, although we will look at one of the 5 points of Arminianism to show the scripture they use - or abuse - to prove their point - that in reality although the scriptures they use may seem at first casual glance to support them, but when looked at in light of all scripture they mean something quite different.
 

FREE WILL:  Is their first point and rallying ground. It is also the last and hardest idea to get out of one's mind after being saved even. Man just does not want to give up the idea he has to do some thing in order to either qualify for heaven or at least make his lot more sure with God by his own goodness.
 

FREE WILL:  Their definition is this: Man's depravity as a result of the fall, is not total, but partial. Man has not lost the faculty of self determination, nor the ability to freely will that which is good in the sight of God.
 

As a result of this they contend that man is the author of repentance and faith unto salvation since the human will is viewed by the Arminian as one of the causes of regeneration if a man freely wills to co-operate with the Holy spirit. It's all up to the decision of each individual.
 

Scripture they use to back up their belief: The first and foremost of course is that very familiar verse:
 
 
 

JOHN 3:16 -- For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish. But have everlasting life.
 

There are two points here that the Arminians grab hold unto like a drowning man a straw:
 

1) the expression "God so loved the WORLD." Of course they take this literally and contend that this means everyone in the world without exception. But as I said before we cannot just interpret words as they first appear - they must be taken in context of surrounding verses as well as take into account of other uses of that word.

The word world is used in a number of different ways. It can be used as the planet we stand on, and is used in that way in different places in the Bible. Is that the way it is used here? No it isn't - that is obvious from the text. Other uses of the word world is - "the world of the Godly" and - "the world of the Ungodly"
 

Is either of these uses the way it is meant in John 3:16. It could - possibly talking about the world of the Godly. But I don't think so. I do think it is talking about the world population - but only in a general sense - not the world population without exception.
 

Consider this. In Old Testament days salvation was for the most part strictly open to the children of Israel - the Jews. Gentiles were left out of the salvation plan with very few exceptions. And even among the Jews just because one was a Jew did not mean they were saved and going to heaven. In other words salvation was open to the Jews only in a general sense - not without exception. In Old Testament writings it was promised that when the Messiah came that salvation would become open to the Gentiles. As Jesus (the Messiah) walked about this world He did make it clear that salvation was now open to all nations, creeds and tongues throughout - what? THE WORLD!! So now people throughout the world can be saved - but not everyone without exception any more than Jews without exception were saved and went to heaven. No It does not say all this in that one verse John 3:16 - but if we read the Bible from cover to cover that is the conclusion one comes to when ALL scripture is taken into account.
 

2) Another point the Arminian grabs onto in John 3:16 is - "whosoever believeth" in him shall not perish but have everlasting life. The problem is they change the meaning to - "whosoever wills to believe in him" shall not perish etc. They imply that as the meaning even if they do not point blank state that. But that is not what it says. It says "whosoever believes" - and I or any other Calvinist do not have any quarrel with that. Any person "who believes" shall not perish but have everlasting life. It is not a question of if we believe - it's how we come to believe.

That's the big question - where does the "stirring up" to believe come from? Ourselves - or from an outside source - like the Holy Spirit that John 3:3 clearly states needs to be born within us that enables us to believe? Isaiah 64:7 clearly answers that question.
 

ISAIAH 64:6-7  -- But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteusnesses are as filthy rags: and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. There is none that calleth upon thy name, that STIRRETH up himself to take hold of thee: for thou has hid thy face from us, and has consumed us because of our iniquities. But now O Lord, thou are our father: we are the CLAY, and thou our POTTER; and we all ARE THE WORK OF THY HANDS.
 

We are the clay - and God is the potter forming out of that clay the kind of vessel that fits His fancy - including a believer or a none believer in God.
 

Now let's go on with more scriptures the Arminian uses to prove their point:

ACTS 3:38 -- Repent and be baptized, every one of you, In the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins.
 

ACTS 16:31 -- Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved, and thy household.
 

ROMANS 10:9 -- If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
 

1 JOHN 3:23 -- This is His commandment, that we should believe on the name of His Son, Jesus Christ.
 

As you note each one of these verses gives a command to do something AS IF we could carry them out on our own. But can we? According to the scriptures we just read and many scattered throughout the Bible it is clear that we can not fulfill these demands made by God on the strength of our human nature. That is why Jesus said in John 3:3 that we have to be born with a new nature - the Holy Spirit to be able to carry out even the most simple demand of God - believe in God. This capability or inability is what divides a Calvinist from an Arminian - a Calvinist from a person who doesn't believe in the doctrines of Grace - and I could go even further and say - a religious person who has not been born again from a person who is truly born of the spirit of God - as John 3.3 states we must to be able to understand the things of God.
 

At first glance - just taking these verses into consideration it does look as if the Arminians do have a point. But as we look deeper into scripture and grow in grace and knowledge we begin to realize that there is a real big problem - these are not the only scripture verses that deal with salvation and when we see and compare these other scriptures that give a completely opposing view of what is taught in the others we must pause and rethink what we learned from just scriptures like we read above.
 

I will give an illustration - you have probably heard this before - it's been around for many a year - maybe even many a century. I will talk in the personal just for ease of talking. Suppose I was walking down this pathway I had never been on before. I was getting tired and needed a rest so when I came to this gate that led into a park I was quite interested in going in for rest. I could not see into the park but I did note an inscription on an archway over the gate that gave an invitation something like this: "Welcome - Come, all you that areheavy laden, and I will give you rest."
 

So I went in - and once in I realized the beauty of this park. None of which I was able to see until I stepped through the gate of the park. I then looked behind me at the gate and on the inside of the arch over the gate there was this inscription: "But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory."
 

And other inscriptions like it. This all made me realize that this trip past this very park was no accident. It was a work of God that had set up the circumstances that brought me here. Even the weariness I felt as I approached the gate that made a rest spot so attractive was circumstances set up by God to bring me into this place. I did not see any of this until I stepped inside the gate of the park. Outside I only saw the invitation. Then as I walked about the park I saw other inscriptions. Things like: "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is not power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God." And: "Blessed is the man whom thou hast chosen and caused to come unto me." Or: " I form the light, and create darkness: I make the peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things."
 

This all made me realize there is more to life and death than I thought - that this life is not just a series of happenings that occur by hapiskance - but is all a plan laid out by God, to the minutest detail, and that I am just a player in this plan of His.
 

But to a casual observer just passing "the park" they will never see any of this. The invitation tells nothing - it only invites "as if" we could make all the choices. But on closer observation, once inside the "Park" we soon realize that that just could not be so. It is all of God - the ruler of this "Park" as well as the universe about us.
 

What do we do - disregard one portion of scripture - the parts we don't like and just hold unto the parts we do like? That's not what the scriptures teach us to do. The Bible tells us that ALL scripture is God's word - or inspired by God - God breathed. This means that God put into the mind of His Holy men His own thoughts - and in return that man spoke and/or put into writing the words that God had put into his mind. That is clear from:

2 PETER 1:20-21 -- nowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man : but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
 

2 TIMOTHY 3:16 -- All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
 

We cannot disregard any scripture just because we don't like something about it. We must consider all scripture - comparing scripture with scripture. When we do we come up with a much different conclusion than if we just use the parts that suit our intellectual fancy.
 

This brings us to this big question: Do these scriptures that support Arminianism and the others that strongly support Calvinism contradict each other? If they do, then we have a real problem with our Bible and our belief in the God that it teaches.
 

Of course the Bible does not contradict itself. It is not wrong - it is how man interprets it that is wrong.
 

The question - and answer to this dilemma is this - does these scriptures that the Arminians use to support their doctrine really teach FREE WILL - OR something quite different such as - HUMAN RESPONSIBILITY & ACCOUNTABILITY.

I think a close observer would have to agree that it teaches - our responsibility and our accountability if we do not live up to those responsibilities. God will punish us if we don't.
 

There are 2 reasons for this observation -
 

(1) There is absolutely no scriptures that mentions man's free will - that expression is just a figment of the Arminianism's imagination.
 

(2) Arminians reason (contrary to scripture) that God has no right to hold man accountable to believe, nor condemn him for unbelief if his will is not free to believe or reject God.
 

Wow - A person is really stepping on dangerous ground to say God does not have a right to do what He pleases with His creation. It shows their lack of fear of God over the consequences of their beliefs.
 

Of course that is totally wrong. They should get a strong dose of what Romans 9 says. How one can read that chapter and say God does not have a right is beyond me. God takes the right whether we like it or not. It would be to our benefit if we accepted(resign ourselves to) that.
 

But this just shows the foolish thinking of the natural man. It shows his hatred of the sovereignty of God. That is that God does with his creation things that we may not like whether we like it or not.
 

For us to believe that God has no right to hold us accountable for our sins would be like saying it is ok for a kleptomaniac to steal - he should not be held responsible when caught or punished for his deeds because he could not help himself. Of course there are some do gooders who do believe that! That's why our world is getting in such a state because there are so many who think like that getting into a position of power who will not let people like that receive their just reward - be punished for their wrong doing. Mankind of all ages need discipline - and if they don't exercise self discipline then our society must exercise it on them and punish wrong doers. If we don't - or our society doesn't - then eventually God will step in - and if He does - watch out!!!
 

This demonstrates how perverted the natural mind has gotten. The natural man may think like that - but God does not. Each one of us will give account of himself to God, and those who reject God's word will be eternally punished in the lake of fire, burning with brimstone.
 

What is human responsibility and accountability? First I want to make it clear it is not the general meaning most of the pastors of our day give it. It is generally taught that God has done most of the work of salvation, yet He has left CERTAIN responsibilities up to us. And if we don't live up to them - What? We lose our salvation? That is going right back under the law - that man has to do something for himself to qualify or at least make his salvation more certain by his own good works. Giving depraved man who CAN'T do good in God's eyes any kind of responsibility of being good??? That's like giving a common man without any doctor's training the job of giving a man a heart transplant. It just does not work!! That's what depraved means - Man can't be good enough for God. Why? Because there is NO GOOD in man. If there is no good in man how can he do good?

No - I believe that we are responsible for keeping EVERY jot and title of the law or whatever God tells us to do or not to do, not just certain ones. And if we don't measure up to those responsibilities we can expectsome sort of retribution. But as we have learned in previous lessons we CAN NOT measure up to those responsibilities due to our depraved human nature - that is what the law was designed to teach us - that we can not keep the law to God's satisfaction. This would mean we would have to keep every single one of them from the moment we were born until we died. We just can not do that. But it is clear from scripture that we will be held accountable for where we fail.
 

UNLESS:
 

God steps in and regenerates us. This means that God puts His own Holy spirit in us and lives in our heart as a new nature. This process is called being saved - and also being born again. This new nature in us causes us to turn to the one who already has kept the law to God's satisfaction. The Lord Jesus Christ. He has done EVERYTHING to God's satisfaction and is willing to impute His righteousness to you if you are made willing to accept His righteousness in place of any of your own works (righteousness). He has kept the law totally to God's satisfaction and died on the cross and bore our retribution (punishment) for us if we have been made willing to accept His punishment for us by this new nature from God working in us.
 

Before leaving this subject of Free will I would like to make this observation. You can not mix "The Free Will of man" and "the Sovereignty of God" together. It has to be one or the other. Either God is Sovereign and controls everything in His creation including man - or - man has his "free will" which God cannot touch or interfere with unless given the permission to do so by the individual. Note this:
 

1) If God is sovereign and does to His creation whatever He wills without asking man's permission to do anything or taking into consideration his likes or dislikes then man does not have a "free will" to do anything outside the abilities of his sinful nature - which is held captive by the god of this world - Satan. So this leaves man with one ability - and that ability is only to sin - fall short of the demands of God - never able to meet the standard God has laid down in His book - The Bible. His will is limited - not free at all!

On the other hand:

2) If man has a "Free Will" then God has to wait on man to make up his mind to whether he will allow God do anything for him. If that is the case then God is not sovereign - is not in charge with Him the one in control of things - man is.

Surely even the least spiritually minded person can see that that is just not right. I pray that God will work in your heart and lead you to know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior.
 
 

Let's get on with the doctrines of Calvinism this book is all about. I will leave the rest of the five points of Arminianism because I believe them to be in error, so why study something that is wrong.
 

The first point of the doctrines of grace is: "The Total Depravity of Man".
 

The word Depravity as such is never used in the Bible. But the meaning behind it sure is, and that is what we should learn about. That is the problem with many people - pastors included - is that they talk a lot about different words including this one but never really get a true understanding of what it means. This is shown clearly when some pastors will talk about the "sovereignty of God" in one breath then in the next the "free will" of man. As I said before - that just does not work.
 

By the expression "Totally Depraved" we mean that man is completely unable to cope with his sinful state in order to gain or even contribute to his own salvation.  Man can not change his status from a guilty sinner to being innocent of any sin.
 

J.C. Riley another man of God of years gone by said this:

Quote: "The theologians of the Synod of Dort were fully aware theharm the five points of Arminianismwould do, therefore to counter that damage they formulated the first point of the five points of Calvinism to be a direct reply to the error posed in the first point of Arminianism." Unquote
 

Therefore we get "Total Depravity." As pointed out last week the Arminian definition of "Free will" is exactly the opposite to Calvin's definition of "Total Depravity."
 

What all does depravity mean. Let's look at it from different angles. Let's first make it clear what depravity does not mean.
 

Total depravity does NOT mean man is as bad as he possibly can be all the time - or even some of the time. We know that this is just not so. No one knows yet just how low man can sink. But I don't think it will be long before we will find out because as we see this world as God withdraws His influence from among the inhabitants of this world (less people being saved) you will see the morality of this world go lower and lower. We canseethis happening in our day. We know that in the worst of people there is some good according to human standards.
 

There are levels of good and bad in every person just as there are levels of faith and obedience in a saved person. All controlled by God the master potter who forms each one of us as He wills. In other words one person is not a stereotype of everyone else. We are all different with different levels of good/bad built into our character by God. It is still God who controls who is "good" in the eyes of the world, and those who are "evil" even in the eyes of the world.. The crooks, thieves, the embezzlers, the prostitutes, the pimps, the murderers, the dictators who kill people at will to ensure his own power, orconvenience like in the case of abortion - all have some worldly good. This evil/good among mankind is still under God's restraining control just as much as He controls who the intelligent people are and who the mentally retardedare - or who the rich or who are poor - or who the healthy are and those who will never rise from their bed and enjoy the joys of life. God controls all of this dishing out what He wills to whom He will.
 

We know that even in the worst of the worst of people there is a show of some human good and kindness while among the best there is still traces of the worst - all according to God's plan. This we must remember is strictly when man measures himself with other man, they see some good in each other. But we must also remember God does not see us as we see ourselves. God sees us and measures our "goodness" according to whether we kept the law in its totality. Remember James 2:10. Nothing short of that is acceptable.

Total Depravity - according to those who coined the phrase - such as Luther, Calvin and Knox meant that man was as BAD OFF as he could be, that he was beyond self help - not - AS BAD AS he could be. Note the difference here. The latter is the Depth of sin. Total depravity is NOT about the DEPTH of sin we have fallen into, nor is it the NUMBER of sins we have committed - but it is about our TOTAL INABILITY to help ourselves out of our sinful state, our inability to change ourselves so we can do some work for our salvation or at least contribute to that end. Our inability to change our self from a sinner to a none sinner once we have committed that first sin. Depth of sin does not make any difference - as we have already studied - all we need is one sin charged against us and we will never get to heaven on our own. Neither does it make any difference if we commit one sin or a zillion sins, or a zillion times a zillion. All it takes is ONE sin to separate us from God forever. One sin against us is not a deep depth of sin. But the inability to change our "guilty of sin" - therefore lost status - back to an "innocent of sin" status still is there. So note that difference and keep it in mind always.
 

Paul put it this way: "we are all born into this world dead in trespasses and sin". Because of this sinful status we are loyal to Satan - the god of the dead (spiritually). Paul speaks quite vividly of our sinful state from birth in:
 

EPHESIANS 2:2-3 -- Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
 

"Total Depravity "is also called "Total Inability." In fact I don't know why the men who coined this first point didn't stick with this word inability because as you see it describes exactly what we are talking about. There is no guessing its meaning or mistaking it. Total inability to deliver oneself from bondage to sin is grounded in this fact - his human spirit (nature) is dead (spiritually) from birth. Dead meaning separated from God (life), We understand inability associated with death, apply that to our spiritual status..
 

"Total depravity" means that man in his natural state is incapable of doing anything or even desiring to do anything pleasing to God. Until one is "Born Again" of the Holy spirit and we have God's Holy Nature living in us we are all the slave of Satan who drives (or causes) man to fulfill the desires of the flesh which always is in direct conflict to what God wants. The best of the best of men are only evil in God's eyes, because they are oriented to do human good for their own glory - or recognition - or Satan's - but never for the glory of God.

GENESIS 6:5 -- very imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually
 

Total Depravity declares that although man may think that his heart holds much "good", the Bible says
 

JEREMIAH 17:9 -- The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it?
 

From God's viewpoint men are under condemnation because they love that which is contrary to God - called sin. We are ALWAYS falling short of the glory of God.
 

To man's insistence that he still has a spark of good in his heart - that he can seek after God - the Bible answers in these blunt words that can't be refuted:

ROMANS 3:10-11 -- There is none righteous no not one! There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
 

These scriptures tell us very clearly how God from His exalted position of absolute righteousness and holiness sees us.

JOHN 3:19 -- This is the condemnation that light is come into the world, and men love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil.
 

Man is totally depraved in the sense that everything about his nature is in rebellion against God. Man in his own nature is loyal to the god of darkness - Satan - and loves that darkness rather than "The Light". (The Lord Jesus Christ) Just as the scripture we just read says.
 

Total depravity means that man will never of his own free will make a positive decision in Christ's favor, therefore his will is not free as the Arminians like to tell us.
 

Jesus himself says bluntly in:

JOHN 5:40 -- Ye will not come to Me, that ye might have life
 

Jesus knew what He was talking about
 

Why won't man come to Jesus? Because the will of an unsaved man is too caught up in the limitations of his own sinful nature - thinking of himself - not God - and controlled by the god of this world - Satan. See what Paul says in:

2 TIMOTHY 2:26 -- And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.
 

Remember to satisfy God's demands of perfection we would have to go through life from the cradle to the grave without one single sin charged against us. Yes - we may have our few successes where we succeed in refraining from committing some sin. But even then the strength and initiative to do that came from God. But whether from our own strength or God's that certainly is not enough to satisfy God's demand of perfection.
 

Even once born again - a person with God's Holy spirit dwelling in them, one cannot live this sinless life. So where does that leave an unsaved person - one without the Holy Spirit in them? The answer - in utter hopelessness - in other words - in total inability to do anything for himself. We sin once and all hope for our own self help is gone - long before we are old enough to understand that even if we ever could without the Holy spirit within us.
 

And what about the years before we were born of this Holy spirit when we sinned and sinned and never a thought about it because the Holy spirit was not there to convict us of our wrong doing. Oh yes - they count too.
 

Think on this. We understand from all this that there is no way for our sinful nature to avoid sinning and putting ourselves in a "guilty of sin" status and its resulting condemnation and punishment.
 

Then we observed that once we had committed that first sin that puts us in a whole new status - a guilty sinner. Once we have achieved that status there is no way we can ever change that. We can cry for mercy, we can work our selves to death, do all sort of penitence to make up for our wrong doing - all to no avail. WE ARE CONDEMNED SINNERS AND NEED A SAVIOUR - a substitute to take our condemnation and punishment for us - or carry it ourselves through all eternity in a devil's hell.
 

But let's go on and learn more meanings of Total depravity.

Total depravity means that the natural man is completely incapable of discerning (or understanding truth.) In fact - as the Bible says, unregenerate  man  (man without God's Holy spirit in him) thinks of the things of God as being ridiculous - or foolish. See that in:

1 CORINTHIANS 2:14 -- The natural man (our soul - or human nature) receives not the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him. Neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
 

We don't have to do much witnessing or be around the unsaved long before we can see how true that is.
 

"Total depravity" agrees with scripture when it says these things about man: man cannot see (understand, comprehend or know) the things which relate to the Kingdom of God without first being regenerated by the Holy Spirit. (Be born again)
 

A dead spirit perceives only the things of man and of Satan. That's why the Holy spirit inspired words of John says this:

JOHN 3:3 -- Unless a man is born agin, he cannot see (understand or comprehend) the kingdom of God.
 

Unborn children do not see light(or life around them). Dead men do not see the light(or life around them). Natural man - still with only his soul nature cannot see the light(Jesus and truth). Unregenerate men cannot comprehend the light (or the truth) - the things of God. WHY? Because "light" is spiritual intelligence - and they have no "light" in them.
 

They are the unborn dead (spiritually) who know only darkness untruth (false teachings, lies)
 

They are totally depraved - totally incapable of thinking, perceiving or doing anything pleasing to God until God sees fit to give them life and understanding and a desire to do God's bidding.
 

Faith follows the giving of life. The giving of life is at the will and initiative of God.
 

Notice the order of events as listed in:

EPHESIANS 2:4-5 -- God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love with which He loved us, even when wewere dead in sins, hath made us alive together with Christ ( by grace we are saved)
 

Man is not saved by some mythical act of his own free will. He is saved by grace - and we understand grace to mean the influence of God's Holy Spirit at work in us causing the changes in us - This is the "life" that God instills in us which in turn instills faith in that ones heart as a free gift. Read :
 

EPHESIANS 2:8-9  -- For by grace are ye saved through faith, and not of yourselves: it is the gift of God. It is not of works, lest any man should boast.

Paraphrased - " For by grace are ye saved - or - for it is by the influence of God's Holy spirit at work in you you are brought to salvation - and that is accomplished by faith which itself is a gift of God. It is not of your own efforts - because if it was too many people would boast about all their good works."
 

Observe closely - salvation is a free gift of God. It is not the rewards of the work of man. God has decreed that works of an individual shall have no part in our salvation - but works which only God Himself shall provide.
 

It is God's work through the gift of life (being born again of a new nature)
 

God regenerated us by inserting His Spirit/nature in us while we were still dead in sin and trespasses
 

Faith is also a gift of God. We are saved by means of faith - which is not of ourselves but the faith of Christ at work in us.
 

Total depravity insists man does not have a free will in the sense that he is free to trust Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
 

The first point of Calvinism in answer to its counterpart - The first point of Arminianism - teaches that the natural man is a slave of sin, that he loves that state and has no desire to change or leave it, that he is spiritually dead - separated from God irreparably on our part. That he can "hear" only the voice of sin.
 

UNLESS ------
 

God intervenes and gives him ears to hear and eyes to see - simply because it pleases Him to do so.

JOHN 8:43-44  -- Why do ye not understand my speech? Even because ye cannot hear my word? Ye are of your father the devil
 

Total depravity means that unregenerate man is so hopelessly enmeshed in sin - bound by Satan with the cords of spiritual death - he is wholly disinterested in the things of God.
 

When the time comes that these bonds are broken and we are born again with the Spirit of God - it is the work of God, who alone gives faith which initiates the desires to do, then does those things pleasing to God. Paul tell us in :

PHILIPPIANS 2:13 -- It is God who works in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure
 

God gives you the will to do and that drives you to do what He wants. He does not leave you a choice.
 

Remember the story of Lazarus whom Jesus raised from the dead. Jesus spoke the word for Lazarus to come forth. And he did. But he could not have heard the voice of Jesus, nor obeyed the command to come forth if Jesus had not at the same time given him the physical life to enable him to hear and obey Him. He was dead and needed life, and Jesus gave it to him.
 

So all who are spiritually dead in sin and trespasses cannot come forth unless God gives them the life to do so first.
 

Since dead men cannot will to receive life, but can be raised to life by the power of God at his will - by the same token natural(unregenerate) man cannot by the act of his mythical "free will" - will to have eternal life.
 

JOHN 10:26-28 -- But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
 

Note what Jesus said - you must be my sheep/elect first - in order to be able to hear and believe. The Arminian reverses that and reads it as - "you are not my sheep because you do not believe" Watch for those reversals because they can deceive you into believing error.
 

"Total depravity" declares that lost man's only hope is an election based on the purpose of God or plan of God. Only those who are "of God" hear the voice of God calling them forth (by name). Hear what Jesus said in:
 

JOHN 8:47 -- He that is of God (born of God's Holy nature) hears God's words. Ye therefore, hear not, because ye are not (born of) of God's (Holy nature)
 

This concludes the study of the first point of the doctrines of grace. Just a note though before leaving it. I personally make short work of he definition of "The total depravity of man" in this manner. I define "total depravity" in this way. Total depravity means "I can't - you can't - nobody can." Of course this refers to our inability to live a life pleasing to God and satisfy His conditions for entrance to heaven - so we must be born of this New Nature God insterts into us which in turn causes us to turn to the one who already has done this and will impute HIS righteousness to us when this work of  the Holy Spirit in us inserts this trust in Him - The Lord Jesus Christ.
 
 

Now we start into the study of the 2^nd point of the Calvinism.
 

This 2^nd point of grace(Calvinism) is referred to as unconditional election. It is remembered by the letter "U" in the title - which is the 2^nd letter of the word TULIP which we use to help remember the titles of each point.
 

This point is defined in several different confessions of faith of both Baptist and Protestants in almost identical terms. Some of these confessions of faith are:

(A) The Baptist confession of faith of 1689

(b) The Westminister confession of faith

(C) The 39 articles of faith of the Church of England

(D) The Heidelburg Confession of faith

(E) The Belgic confession of faith

(F) The Canon of Dort - which is what we studied earlier where Calvinism came from.
 

This is the official definition of all these confessions:
 

UNCONDITIONAL ELECTION:
hose of mankind who are predestinated unto life, God, before the foundation of the world was laid, according to HIS eternal and immutable Purpose, and the secret counsel and good pleasure of HIS will, hath chosen in Christ to everlasting glory, out of His mere free grace and love, without any other thing in the creature as a condition or cause moving him there unto.
 

Remember the Arminian looks on foreknowledge as being based upon the positive act of man's will(man saying yes to God's invitation) as the condition - or cause that moved God to elect him to salvation.
 

All the great Baptist confessions of faith - in agreement with Protestant reformers - declare that election is unconditional. It must be noted that at the time of the reformation the churches that sprang up out of that separation from Rome were quite sound in many important doctrines. Even the Church of England stood for many correct doctrines such as we are discussing. None of course believed in the church as we do - and that I believe is why each one of those churches that started out so strong after the reformation have all dwindled away into heresy. Why? Because they were not of Jesus Christ and therefore do not have the promise of God his blessings of perpetuity.
 

By God's foreknowledge it is understood to mean that God based His foreknowledge on His decree , plan, or purpose, what He knew what He was going to do from as far back in eternity is He Himself has existed - always. Foreknowledge - which is the expression of His will - not on some foreseen act - or positive volition on the part of man - such as man agreeing to accept Jesus as Savior.
 

I don't know how much experience any of you have had in witnessing or discussing in any way, the Bible with people . But the Arminian does believe this - and to an unlearned person it is hard to refute - that the reason God chooses - or elects people to salvation and still able to say the individual is the one who made the choice - is - they say that - God knows everything - so in past eternity He knew what everyone would do including who would accept Jesus as Savior and who wouldn't. So - God knowing that a certain person would become a Christian - accept Jesus and be born again - so - God elected that person to be saved in his lifetime on that knowledge - that the person was going to accept Christ anyway. Sounds good doesn't it? Maybe to the unlearned, intellectual mind - But it is not scriptural. As pointed out - it still leaves the choice up to the individual - and that is where the error is, and many more that follow it, originates from that error.
 

So to prove that let's turn to scripture to prove whether foreknowledge is based on the foreseen will & purpose of what man will do - OR - upon the will & purpose of God without any consideration of what man was going to do. Lets read:

ROMANS 8:28-29 -- We know that all things worked together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to HIS purpose, for whom He foreknew, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son;, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren, moreover whom He did predestinate, them He also called: and whom He called, them He also justified: and whom He justified, them He also glorified.
 

No mention of man being consulted here. In fact it is clear that all decisions were made according to God's own purpose and design.
 

Election - it is plain - is based on God's divine plan - so then it must also be founded upon the purpose of God, not upon the works of the elect. Let's go to:
 

ROMANS 9:11 -- For the children being not yet born, neither having done either good or evil, that the purpose of God might stand according to election, not of works, but of Him that calleth - it is written, 'Jacob have I loved, and Esau have I hated.'
 

Note different things here:
 

(A) God's hatred was of Esau the man         - and also -

(B) This hatred did not come about because of Esau's sin.

As Paul pointed out - God hated Esau before he was born and had not as yet committed any sin. Therefore it was Esau himself God hated - not his works only. It is a shame that even among many Baptist preachers they will not admit God hates the sinner as well as his sins. If God loves us He loves us from eternity past through eternity future - in other words - always. If He hates us He hates us from eternity past through eternity future - in other words - always. God never changes. He does not start love/hate  because of events. Love or hate was there in His purpose, in His foreknowledge and plans as things progressed from start to finish. Who God loves or who He hates are just as much in those plans as anything else.
 

In the scripture we just read Paul declares that the grounds of election was in God Himself. Which is the same as His will & purpose, and not some foreseen act of faith or some condition met - as the Arminians say. Election is unconditional - it must be for how can God put a condition there when man in his depravity - as we have already learned - can do nothing to merit (deserve) God's forgiveness, nor fulfil any conditions. Of course that is the problem - Arminians make the error of not believing in total depravity. And that error leads to many others.
 

The scriptures stress that God does not elect people to be saved because of some goodness - or greatness foreseen in them. On the contrary - God delights in using the weak, base, and useless in a way that guarantees that He alone will get the glory. Let's read:
 

1 CORINTHIANS 1:26-29 -- Seeing your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise! God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty: and the base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nothing things which are: that no flesh should glory in His presence.

This verse puts things in their proper perspective. God does not choose many who are rich, noble or highly intelligent. Look around us. Who are the ones out to mock and ridicule God's people? And yes even destroy Christianity if they could. But they can't - why? Because God won't let them. God promised this protection to His Church and His people, that although we may suffer setbacks and individual death - His people as a whole will never be wiped out from off the face of the earth.. Take a second look. What class are the truly saved of the world. Quite a contrast. It is generally - but not always from the poor and unlearned class of people that God has put His elect. In 1 Timothy we read: 
 

TIMOTHY 1:9  -- God hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.
 

How one can read that and still believe that man's salvation is conditional upon man making the decision is beyond me. I have even read articles where the writer states that making a decision, or accepting Jesus is not a work!! How foolish!! Anything that one can boast about doing is a work and can be left out as a possibility of a grounds of being elected unto salvation. Just read Ephesians 2:8-9 again. Even faith must be a gift of God.
 

Again - Our calling (election) is not conditional on something man does for God such as agreeing to say yes to God's invitation to salvation - but only according to God's own purpose. Election - is beyond doubt unconditional as far as man's own works are concerned.
 

But the bluntest - clearest statement about who does the choosing is made my the lord Jesus Himself - Let's go to:

JOHN 15:16 -- Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you.
 

Who made the choice - and when was it made - and why was it Jesus' choice instead of our own? We have not chosen Jesus - why? Because in our depravity that we have learned of before - we are unable to. Unable to have a positive act or thought toward God - but only to Satan.
 

When was the choice made? According to Paul - away back in eternity before He had made so much as one single thing. Read that in:

EPHESIANS 1:4 -- According as He hath chosen us in Christ before the foundation of the world.
 

These are all very clear - precise language - there can be no doubt to it's meaning - so let's believe what we read in scripture - not the Arminian abuse of scripture.
 

It is blasphemy for anyone to argue that man is capable, of his own free will, to make a decision for Christ. WHY? Because the Bible says other wise and for one to say one way other than what the Bible says makes the Bible a liar. This is hardly an act to gain God's favor or bless him for doing!!

Here is more scripture that is plain in it meaning:

John 6:44 -- No man can come to me except the Father draw him
 

Of course the question does arise - "doesn't Christ call everyone? And it is a question that I hope will be answered as we progress in this study.
 

Only those God saw fit to choose of His own free will - with no condition on their part - are given faith to believe unto salvation. Note what Luke says in:
 

ACTS 13:48 -- And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord; and as many as were ordained to eternal life, believed.
 

I think your answer to whether God calls everyone is make very plain in this verse before us.
 

The Lord Jesus insists that life & Faith are the works of God, not the work of man. He says in:
 

JOHN 6:29 -- This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom God hath sent
 

John 5:21 -- For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them: even so the Son quickeneth whom He will
 

I think that is very plain whose initiative it is that starts anyone on the path of salvation and everlasting life in heaven with God. God quickens us - which means to activate a new life in us.
 
 
 

In all fairness - an evangelist who says - "whosoever comes - will in no wise be cast out" - should include the proceeding words of Christ:
 
 
 

JOHN 6:37 -- All that the Father giveth me shall come to me.
 

If this statement is true - and of course it is - it is in the Bible - put there by men inspired by God to write it, then we must conclude that God does not call everyone since everyone does not come to Him. Either that or God made a promise He could not deliver on!! Do you want to make that accusation? I sure don't!!
 

But that is how the Arminians operate - leaving parts of scripture out, or changing the words about to say what they want it to say, or just plain ignoring scriptures that don't support their way of thinking. Is that the right - Christian thing to do?
 

Who is it that will not be cast out mentioned in what we just read? All who come to Jesus. Who then will come to Jesus? He says - all whom the Father giveth me.
 

The choice as to who will come to Christ lies with God. Not man.
 

A very good illustration of unconditional election was give by our Lordwhen He said to the leaders of Israel in:

LUKE 4:25-27 -- I tell you, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, but unto none of them was Elijah sent, save unto a widow of Zarepath, many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, save Naaman the Syrian.
 

Of course Jesus is referring to what happened as recorded in Isaiah 65:1
 

There was no condition in Naamon or the widow of Zarepaph one might describe as good. Yet God saw fit to act in free grace toward them. He bypasses those sticklers to the law - and through Grace( the influence of God working in us) brought salvation to those who would never have known Him other wise.
 

When Jesus spoke those words above - which in effect is unconditional election - there was that inevitable reaction to His statement. There was an explosion of hatred and disbelief on the part of His listeners. There always will be when you preach the cool water of God's word around the hot fires of Satan's people with all his lies and deception. Do you know what happens when you throw a bucket of water into a hot fire? Well brother, you are going to get a reaction. An explosion - a dangerous one. It all depends of course on the size of the fire - and how hot it is and the amount of water put unto the fire. But watch out if you ever do!!
 

A second thing we should note about what happens when water is put on a fire - that is that - either the water will snuff out the fire, or the fire will evaporate the water on contact.(that is what causes the explosion) One or the other, no question of that. The same thing happens when you bring the cool water of God's word in contact with un-regenarate people who only have the lies and falsehood (the fires of hell) to live by. And the result is a huge explosion of hatred against what they hear..
 

Read again what Jesus said. God choosing to act in Grace without some condition of good in the person. The explosion was that they tried to kill Jesus. Unre-genarate man has not changed one iota. Rebellious, sullen, bitter, Unre-genarate man hates any doctrine that will not give man at least part of the glory for him coming to know Christ. They like that little pat on the back and don't want to give it up!!
 

Another example: When Jesus had finished His discussion about the fact that He is the bread that come down from heaven - He finished with:
 

JOHN 6:65-66 -- Therefore said I unto you that no man can come to me unless it were given unto Him of My Father. From that time many of His disciples went back, and walked no more with Him.
 

What is it that caused these people to split with Jesus. The doctrine of depravity and election. A great way of weeding a lot of false followers from the church is just to mention either. I have an idea that is why God designed it thus.
 

Why the split?? Because Christ insisted that election is based on the will of God and not the will or capability of man. He smashed their ego-inflating notion that some condition of good existed in them that brought about their election.
 

If it were left up to man he COULD never - WOULD never believe. For man is too totally depraved - totally incapable - of being that which God demands of him - absolute perfection

.

JOHN 5:40 -- Ye will not come to Me, that ye might have life.
 

Left on his own to make a decision to be born again - saved - would be like asking a pig to decide to become a sheep - or a cow to become an elephant, even if in nature only. Do you think either would want to make that change, even if capable of making decisions? Of course not - they are geared up in every way including body style to fulfill the role they are already in - so no - even if they could decide themselves to change - they wouldn't want to become something they are not.
 

We humans have our own distinctive - sinful human nature - and we are no more interested than they in changing our nature to something we are not. Nor are we any more capable of making a decision to make such a move

--- UNLESS

God steps in and puts another nature in us - HIS OWN - even against what our own human nature wants. God's nature in us will then make us willing for that change. This new nature being put in us is what we call "being born again" and is what Jesus is talking about in JOHN 3:3 which tell us - "Ye must be born again".
 

We will close the study on this 2^nd point of Calvinism with this quote.

Tis not that I did choose Thee.

For, Lord, that could not be:

This heart would still refuse Thee,

Hadst Thou not chose me!

By: John Condor
 
 

Let's start our study of the third point of the doctrines of Calvinism. This third point is called "Limited Atonement" - but is also called by some - "Particular Redemption" - same doctrine. "Limited atonement" simply put means that Jesus died for only certain people - His elect that He had chosen for this purpose before the foundation of the world.
 

"Limited atonement" is the hardest point for people to believe. People just do not want to give up their natural instinct that Jesus died for every single person who ever walks this world of ours.
 

It is understandable why it is so hard for the human mind to get rid of this idea of a universal atonement - which is the way the Arminians term their belief that Jesus died for everyone without exception. The idea of Jesus dying for just a limited number of people goes against the very grain of the intellectual mind's concept of what God can do to us humans. On top of that of course is the bombardment from all around us from every side by most religions of the world including so called Christians - that teach Jesus died for all.
 

Even many who say they believe in Calvinism balk at this idea that Jesus did not die for everyone without exception of those who pass through this world of ours
 

This is where the expression " four point Calvinist" comes from. Many say they accept 4 of the 5 points but just will not accept this one - Limited Atonement. But the four point Calvinist poses a problem - one that I have seen and I have noted that others with any amount of experience have also seen. And that is that if you fail to accept any one of the 5 points of Calvinism then eventually - oh, it may take years, but eventually, that person will end up tossing them all into the garbage and in essence become an Arminian if not in fact. At the very best a so watered down Calvinist that you could hardly recognize him as such. He would not have any idea of the true meaning of any of these doctrines even though he may speak about them the real meaning alludes him. This is why I believe it is so important to understand what was meant by each point - from the men who coined this system.
 

Why do men fall away from this system if even one point is not accepted? I liken Calvinism (or the doctrines of Grace) to a building with five columns supporting it. That building is dependent on all five columns - take any one away and the whole building come crashing down. Oh - maybe not immediately - but eventually the strain on the other four columns will be so great they will collapse and the building will fall. This is true of the Doctrines of Calvinism. Either all five points are true, or none of them are. One is dependent on all the rest.
 

In what way is one dependent on the others? Let's take a look at the one under discussion. If Limited atonement is not true I think any thinking person would soon realize that if that is the case there can be no unconditional election. Why? Well - If there was an unconditional election that would mean that God did elect for His own purpose certain ones out of the world population - yet Christ died for everyone according to the Arminian!! So the vast majority of the people Christ died for are in fact going on to an eternity in hell - but the ones God elected were saved in God's own time and will spend eternity in heaven with God. And yet God and Jesus knew that this would take place all along. So any body with any thinking power would recognize that this can not be so. So they do one of two things - accept the fact Jesus died for only the elect of God - OR - God did not elect anyone. That salvation is totally up to the decision of each individual. So there goes the second column of Calvinism.
 

Now comes another dilemma. If salvation is up to the decision of each individual then he cannot be Totally depraved - for Total Depravity means that a person cannot make a decision like that on his own. So down goes column number three. Now they fall real fast - because we must see that if Total depravity is wrong, if unconditional election is wrong - if limited atonement is wrong - then salvation must be up to the decision of each individual - then irresistible grace is wrong because God only calls but has to leave it to the decision of the individual. And last of course is the Perseverance of the Saint. It only stands to reason if the decision is all left up to the individual to be saved - to stay saved also is up to the individual. In other words ifhis perseverance was up to himself.

So as you see now all five columns have come tumbling down - all because of the unbelief in the one fact - Our Lord Jesus Christ suffered and died for a select group of people - those same people that the Godhead had agreed to chose, ordain to salvation, elect, seek out in life and cause to persevere through life and eternity.
 

So once again I repeat - either all the five points of Calvinism/Doctrines of Grace are correct - or none of them are.
 

So the question is: When we speak of the meritorious work of Christ on the cross, do we rightfully say He died for all men equally and alike (as the Arminians say), or do we Calvinists more accurately state that Christ died for the elect only?
 

Let's see what the Bible has to say - and abide by its teaching - not base our conclusion on our emotions or denominational tradition on this vitally important issue.
 

Before going on to search scripture to see what it says I would like to make this observation on something I touched on back a bit.
 

If God died for everyone without exception then there are many whom Christ died for in hell right now, and many more in the future will end up there - and will be there for all eternity. Does that sound right to you???
 

Another thing we should consider along this line is this. If Christ died for everyone, what about those Old Testament unbelievers who were ALREADY dead and in hell long before Jesus died for their sins!! That would be absolutely pointless wouldn't it? And they are still there and will be throughout eternity. So you can see how limited the thinking of these Arminians are to be able to think in such an ungodly manner.  They are limited to the thinking of the inillectual mind - which falls far short of truth in spiritual matters.
 

Personally - and I admit this is my personal opinion - although I know of many others who share the same opinion - including C.H. Spurgeon - that this idea of people whom Jesus died for are now - or will, end up in hell is the grossest insult you can charge against Jesus Christ who suffered beyond human comprehension - and died in order for us NOT to end up there. This means also that Jesus was to a large extent a failure. The vast majority of those He died for are going to hell for eternity!!! What does that do to His credibility? Ruins it completely - how could you ever trust anything Jesus ever said or promised again? That is total - absolutely blasphemy. I don't know how anyone - especially one calling themself born of God could insult God so.
 

The biggest obstacle concerning how to believe on this matter comes from how we view the word world.
 

In the gospel of John the word world has special significance. This word can be used in any one of seven difference ways. Let's look at each of these 7 possibilities.
 

1 - in its classical sense - namely, the orderly universe about us.
 

2 - the earth itself
 

3 - the human inhabitants of this earth.
 

4 - mankind under the creator's judgement, alienated from this life in the ethical sense. (The world of the ungodly).
 

5 - the public or general population of the territory around which Jesus lived and taught - the Jews in particular.
 

6 - the kingdom of evil forces - angelic as well as human related to the earth. (The evil kingdom of Satan on this earth now including human as well as Satan's angels.(the earth and its system under Satan's control).
 

7- And finally the word world can be use to pinpoint the certain individuals picked out of every tribe and nation. Note: certain ones picked - but not every one in those tribes or nations without exception.
 

Lets go over that again in a little more detail - the word world could mean - to all that God has created concerning the universe we come in contact with - or to the earthen sphere upon which we dwell - or to mankind as a whole - or to the Palestinian contemporaries of our Lord - the Jews in particular - or, to the evil forces related to the earth and in rebellion against God - or, to persons selected out of every tribe and nation upon the face of the earth.
 

Where ever the word World is used it must be dealt with in the context of the surrounding text - and if still in doubt consider other scripture on the same subject elsewhere and never let one contradict the other - never let an obscure passage contradict the plain teachings found elsewhere.
 

This word world should be dealt with in much the same way as the word "all". These are two small words that are a large obstacle to gaining the true mean of a text because the reader can personally only assign one meaning to them despite the fact there are more than one meaning to the word as there is to most words in the English language,  and will not alter its meaning despite when obviously not meant in the context they are using them.
 

Let's take a look at an example: Let's read:
 

JOHN 12:19 -- Behold! The world is gone after him
 

Now - obviously it can not mean all of mankind without exception was following Jesus - for the speaker himself belonged in that category of belonging to the world, and he sure were not following Jesus, nor was everyone in the general population surrounding where Jesus was teaching following Him.
 

So we know that every human on the face of the earth was not following Jesus, and not even everyone of the local population - for the speaker also belonged to that category. .
 

So we must conclude that "the world" in this case includes only those - both Jews and Gentiles - who were from among the general population surrounding where Jesus was working at the time- who were identifying themselves with Jesus.
 

Notice: by looking at the text around the scripture we just read, why was it that so many were being drawn to Jesus? It was because they had just learned that He had raised Lazarus from the dead. That they liked and were willing to follow Him knowing He could do miracles. But remember what happened later when He started teaching Man's depravity and election. They changed their mind about following Him quite quickly.
 

JOHN 3:16 -- For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
 

As mentioned before the word world does provoke a lot of controversy in the interpretation of many verses - and that is true of this verse before us. The Arminian logically, without due regard to context or scriptures elsewhere - assumes that the word "world" here means all of humanity without exception because he believes in a post-destination election - which means destiny determined after God foresees men's work of positive volition toward Christ.
 

But Calvinists logically assumes "world" here to be people out of a variety of tribes and nations of the world - but not every individual of those tribes or nations. Who is right? Let's study closely to see what scriptures say - including the ones Arminians use to prove their point.
 

This Calvinist assumption grows out of the conviction that the scriptures teach that election is based on God's eternal purpose which is not influenced by any condition on the part of man since man's will is not free, but bound by Satan, sin and death.
 

If one believes that the Bible teaches that God is sovereign, His plan immutable, and His election unconditional, you would have to conclude that the atonement is limited to those whom God freely wills to make the objects of His grace - or favor as used in this case. But of course it is those He shows favor to that He chose - predestinated - calls and will glorify through another usage of Grace - The influence of God's Holy spirit living in our hearts.
 

The Arminian view insists that it is man's own act of faith that merits his being elected according to the foreknowledge of God.
 

If that is so - then man is saved by his own works - not by God's grace - because he has done at least one thing pleasing to God - stirring up faith to believe - and all on his own! Paul understood the error of this and says clearly in:

ROMANS 3:24 -- Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus
 

Let's return to John 3:16 for a moment. Ask ourselves this question: "For whom did Christ die?"
 

Backtrack the verse with:
 

Who is it that will not perish but have everlasting life?
 

Who will it be that believe, according to scripture?
 

Who then is included in the word "world"?
 

Nearly everyone will agree that the answer to the first question is - "whosoever believeth on Him" One can't very well dispute that - it is written right there in clear language as part of John 3:16.
 

The Arminian will answer the second question this way: "Whosoever, of his own free will, chooses to trust in Christ"
 

The Calvinist will answer this way: "Those whom the Father chose in Christ of HIS own free will God will cause to come unto Him".
 

Now note something amazing. Both Calvinist and Arminians agree that "world" in terms of those for whom Christ died - here means out of every tribe and nation but not tribe and nation as a whole, since every one knows that not all will trust in Christ.
 

The Arminian must at least agree that although the blood of Christ is sufficient in value since it is the blood of Christ, and His death is of infinite value in the eyes of God - it is still only efficient or effectual only so far as the elect are concerned - whether one believes in conditional or unconditional election.
 

Really - if one would only stop and think - the Arminian view of universal atonement does not make sense. I have already given reasons for saying this. We know that all are not saved despite what the Arminians says - that Jesus died for everyone without exception. His only way out of this dilemma of lowering Jesus work to almost nothing is to do something even worse - lower God to a nothing. How do they do this? By saying that the will of God is foiled by finite man - because Christ - according to them - wanted to save everyone - but couldn't because of finite man's all powerful will.
 

Where does that leave God? As nothing but a week failure - a weakling that no one could trust ever again to get anything done. I hardly think thinking along these lines is a way to gain favor with God!!
 

It would mean of course that God is not omnipotent, or sovereign - that Christ gained only a small victory at the cross, since far more of mankind has died in unbelief than those who have gone to glory through faith in the Savior's finished work at Calvary.
 

Then there is another verse that someone is bound to bring up - they remind us of this verse, or this part of it:

2 Peter 3:9 - The Lord is not willing that any should perish!
 

True - as far as it goes. But let's be fair and read the whole verse and adhere to the basic use of language and interpretation.
 

Begin by answering the question - "To Whom is this 2^nd epistle of Peter in which this statement is found directed to? Take a look at the apostle's introduction to this letter - who he is directing this letter to:
 
 
 

2 PETER 1:1 -- Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, TO THEM THAT HAVE OBTAINED LIKE PRECIOUS FAITH WITH US through the righteousness of God and our Savior Jesus Christ:
 

Jesus is talking to believers - both to the particular people who the physical letter was written to plus any one after, down through the ages who qualifies under - "TO THEM THAT HAVE OBTAINED LIKE PRECIOUS FAITH WITH US" - WHOSE FAITH RESTS UPON THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF God, and not on some condition of righteousness in and of themselves!! I doubt if Peter knew when he wrote that letter that it would become part of this book we know as the Bible. So directly was talking to this church - saved people. But the Holy Spirit took it further and added it to the Bible and by doing so includes you and I and all those down through Christian history who come under his express address -"to them that have obtained like precious faith with us".
 

The next question - What is the context of the passage around which the verse in question is found? Now let's read the whole verse:

2 PETER 3:9 -- The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to US-WARD, not willing than any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
 

Take a moment to study closely this scripture - Peter's statement is clear enough to an unbiased mind.
 

Give a fair answer to the question - "To whom is Peter addressing himself to when he uses the personal pronoun "US"? Does he mean everyone without exception - elect and lost alike?
 

Or - does his statement make more sense accepting that he is referring to the same "US" of 2 Peter 1:1 which we have already read about in the salutation of this letter.
 

The answer is obvious - Peter is speaking of believers ONLY when he says "US" - (or us-ward). Notice also that US-ward is the word just before the phrase the Arminians like so much to flaunt to prove their point. The answer to who he is talking to is right there - yet they just ignore that little detail. Is that practicing Christian honesty?
 

Why is the Lord long suffering? For the simple reason that He is not willing that any of "US" should perish - but that all of "US" should come to repentance.
 

We could read this verse in this manner - The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness: but is longsuffering to us, not willing that any of us should perish, but that all of us should come to repentance.
 

And "US" in each case is referring to the "US" of verse 1:1 we looked at.

I think an even clearer meaning of this passage could be made if we read this passage:" The Lord is not slack concerning His promise , as some count slackness: but is longsuffering to us of HIS elect, not willing that any of His ELECT should perish, but that all of His ELECT should come to repentance."
 

I think if we look closely this is exactly what the Holy Spirit through Peter is saying.
 

A short distance back we were looking closely at a couple of verses which are the strongholds of the Arminians - John 3:16 and 2 Peter 3:9.
 

But on looking closely at these two scriptures we find that we can't honestly use these verses to support the Arminian position at all. To do so one would have to totally abuse the basic rules of interpretation of both the English and Greek texts by taking it out of context, or by just misapplying its meaning to their advantage not caring it contradicts the plain teaching of scripture elsewhere. Not a very Christian thing to do!!
 

Peter's position here is plain - as everywhere else his position is that Christ died for "US" (the elect) and not for the whole world.

Peter agrees with Paul who wrote:

2 CORINTHIANS 5:21 -- For He hath made Him to be sin for US, who knew no sin: that we might be made the righteousnes of God in Him
 

ROMANS 5:8 -- But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
 

Again - who is the US? He can not be talking about the world for he says immediately after this that we were once sinners. The WE is the same as the US spoken of earlier. They had been sinners, and while yet sinners Christ had died for them. But it says while we were YET sinner - which implies that now they are no more sinners - but saved by what Christ had done for them. The WE that had been sinners are the US that are not sinners any more but saved ones whom Jesus died for. Very plainly talking about saved people only - not the world as a whole. Scripture never is talking about the world as a whole when it speaks of US, or WE - it is always about the person who is writing the letter and those identifying themselves with that writer - very plainly - saved people only, the same as he is.
 

The only definition of the word world as used in scripture, that will fit every passage dealing with the salvation of the elect - is men out of every tribe and nation - but not every single one out of those tribes or nations - in other words not all mankind as a whole.
 

ROMANS 8:31-33 -- If God be for US, who can be against US? He who spared not His son, but delivered Him up FOR ALL OF US, how shall He not freely give US all things? Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?
 

Who is the "US" in each case here. I think it is made clear in the last few words of these verses - "who shall lay anything to the charge of God's ELECT? Does it make sense that he would be talking about the whole world in the first part of these verses then suddenly without warning switch to talking about God's elect. Not one bit!! That is not a good use of language at all - and according to experts the Bible is an excellent book with excellent use of language.
 

Christ did not die for all men. Atonement is Limited - redemption is particular!! Only the elect was the object of God's love. Paul says specifically in:

EPHESIANS 5:25 -- Christ loved the church, and gave Himself for it (the church)
 

For the church - which is made up of saved people - not everyone that walks through this life.
 

The "all" for whom the Saviour died are the elect whom the Father chose to give Christ as His bride "Holy and without blemish" before the foundation of the world.
 

He did not elect us because were holy and righteous - or because He saw any righteousness in us or might in the future be in us - - but simply because of His own purpose and grace - without any other condition other than God wanted too. Paul says in:
 

EPHESIANS 1:4 -- That God hath chosen us in Christ before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame
 

Note that we are not chosen "because we are holy and without blemish before God" - but chosen "in order that" we will become Holy and without blemish before God. He is choosing us for the purpose of becoming Holy and without blemish. He will do what is necessary for us to become what He has designed for us. God has predestinated the circumstances that will lead each individual to what He has designed for that person.
 

We were predestinated "in love". No place in scripture is the term "loved by God" applied to anybody but saints. It is never applied to the world at large where the reprobate could be included.
 

On the latter - the world at large - the wrath of God abides. On the former - the world of the Godly - there is no condemnation.
 

Only the elect are the specific objects of the love of God. Let's take a look at:

GALATIANS 1:3-5 -- Our Lord Jesus Christ gave Himself for OUR sins, that He might deliver US from this present evil age according to the will of God our Father; to whom be the glory for ever and ever! Amen.
 

Who is the "OUR" and "US" here. I think a fair look at Paul's statement one would have to conclude that he is talking about US Christians - the elect. If he meant the population of the world as a whole then how could he deliver the whole population of the world out of itself? Foolish? You bet it is!!
 

There is a clear example that the Bible teaches limited atonement in the tenth chapter of John, our Lord identifies Himself as Jehovah, the Good Shepherd of Psalms 23. When He speaks of "His Sheep" it is obvious He is talking about those elect ones whom the Father gave Him for His own - He says in:
 

JOHN 10:14 - I am the Good Shepherd, and know MY SHEEP, and am known of MINE.
 

Who are the sheep who know Him and He knows in return. There can be no argument to the answer to that. His sheep are the believers - the elect ones - for the point Jesus started in John 10:14 is actually finished in verse 15 - let's go to that:

JOHN 10:15 -- As the Father knoweth Me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep
 

Who did He say He gave His life for? Very plainly He says HIS SHEEP!! And as previously stated there can be no doubt when Jesus mentions "HIS SHEEP" He is talking about His elect. In other words when our Lord gave his life on the cross He laid it down for His sheep, His elect - chosen by God before the foundation of the world - who gave them to Jesus at the determinate counsel!
 

Not all men are included in the term my sheep. Therefore it is obvious Christ did not lay His life down for all men. To those there about Jesus who were not of His group He speaks out thus:
 

JOHN 10:46 -- YE believe not. (WHY) because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.
 

Ye - you people not following me. Why do they or most people not believe - it states here plain as can be put in any language - they are not Jesus' sheep - not His elect. To qualify as one who will believe at some point they must first be of Jesus sheep - which is another word for elect. The reprobate - the non-elect - the unbeliever is not included in those for whom Christ died. He died only for His sheep and His sheep only.
 

When God calls His elect by name - they will follow Him just as the Father predestinated that they should. Note again what Jesus says in:

JOHN 10:27 -- MY sheep hear MY voice, and I know them, and they follow ME!!
 

No if ands or buts - Jesus just makes a plain statement of what happens when He speaks. No question at all of the results!! He gives eternal life as a free gift to those whom the Father gave Him before the universe was created. Salvation is the works of the irresistible, omnipotent God, the one who is "greater than all others" - angels and man included. Let's see that in:
 

JOHN 10:29 -- My Father, who gave them to Me, is greater than all
 

It only stand to reason that God is greater than all - man or angels. God created them all!! I rather doubt God is going to create something greater them Himself and let that creation control Him. I think any thinking person would have to admit that is totally ridiculous.
 
 
 

A fair evaluation of scriptures prove that they do NOT teach that Christ died to save everyone from their sins. Instead - we are told clearly that His death was designed for the salvation of the particular group of people God the father chose for that purpose before the foundation of the world. We call them the elect of God. This is clearly put in:
 

1 PETER 2:9  -- But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an Holy nation, a peculiar people;     (what for?) That ye should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light
 

We (the elect) are chosen by God for a purpose - that is- in our lifetime we will be sought out and separated from the world as a whole for work that He has ordained that we carry out. We will be different (a peculiar people) from the rest of the world because we will have God's Holy nature in us making us stand out as different from the rest of the world - and will be hated because of this difference. The world won't know what makes us think and act so differently and we know that in general people do not like others who are different than themselves.(especially if they are superior - they will try to belittle and make inferior) We see that in race differences, in religious differences, in politics and even those who are not up to par physically. I know this because I personally have a serious disability.
 

Why do Calvinists believe in Limited Atonement? The answer to that is very simple - because Jesus Himself taught it - His Holy apostles believed and taught it. If they did - then we certainly should.
 

MATTHEW 1:21 -- You shall call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sin
 

ROMANS 5:8 - While we were yet sinners, Christ died for US
 

Again - who does the US refer too? I believe our study of scriptures make it plain that he is talking to those who believe and identify themselves with God and His Holy apostles - in whatever age - God's elect.
 

Before finishing with this doctrine of limited atonement I would like to go over another verse the Arminians like to boast as supporting their universal atonement. That verse is:
 

1 TIMOTHY 4:10  -- For therefore we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, specially of those that believe.
 

The Arminians take the few words "who is the Savior of all men" all by itself and try to tell us this proves that Jesus died for all mankind without exception. I suppose if that were the only verse on the subject in the Bible they might have a point. But it is not the only verse in the Bible on the subject so if these word do teach a universal atonement it contradicts the rest of the Bible in general - and that as we have learned before - is not a good idea in interpreting scripture.. No - I believe that this verse is saying much the same thing as this verse - only in different words:
 

MATTHEW 5:45 -- That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
 

God does look after all mankind - saved and unsaved alike - but specially the just - just as the Bible says here in the first verse - "specially of those that believe". This is a good case in point showing how the Arminian will take any scripture that remotely supports their belief even if they have to forget all about the rest of the Bible and what it teaches elsewhere on the same subject.
 
 

Now we start our look into the fourth point of Calvinism - Irresistible Grace.
 

As is usual in Arminianism verses Calvinism this fourth point directly counters its counter part the fourth point of Arminianism which they call - OBSTRUCTABLE GRACE - Meaning that one can refuse the call of God.
 

Calvinist insist that salvation is based on the FREE WILL of GOD, NOT - the FREE WILL of MAN - and since God is omnipotent His grace cannot be resisted. 
 

The Arminians on the other hand insist that salvation IS based on the free will of man - that he IS capable of rejecting the sovereign will and call of God even when whooed by the Holy spirit.

The Arminian believes himself to be powerful enough to obstruct - or resist the grace (the influence of God working in us) who desperately wants to save all mankind.
 

Let's make sure we have a proper understanding of grace. Like most words it has multiple meanings. The basic meaning of grace is what you have probably heard from different sources - that is "unmerited favor". But that is only a very shallow meaning. What does it tell us? Not much. A deeper meaning as explained by "STRONG'S EXHAUSTIVE CONCORDANCE" is: "THE INFLUENCE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT THAT LIVES IN US CAUSING US TO DO GOD'S WILL."
 

I agree wholly with this explanation judging from what I know of Bible teaching as a whole. 
 

What is it that is unmerited from God? Everything. We do not deserve any kind of favor from God in our depraved, sin filled heart that is so far from God we can't even want to identify ourselves with God. We deserve nothing from God from His electing us, to His seeking us out and saving us to upholding us in salvation once He has brought us to Him. We deserve none of this - it is all done strictly because He wills to show favor on certain individuals out of mankind - His elect.
 

What kind of favor do we merit (deserve) from God? None what-so-ever. For the same reasons mentioned above.
 

He shows those He intends to show favor to through another meaning of Grace - The influence of the Holy Spirit that lives in our heart. 
 

This meaning of Grace is really much more significant than just Unmerited Favor, for as He works out His grace (the influence of the Holy Spirit working in us) this is the CAUSE of our change of direction. Unmerited favor is God's intention of doing us a favor in the design of God's plan - the influence of God working in us causing us to do God's will is the means to how God carries out His plans.
 

But Grace is unmerited favor - we deserve nothing God does for us. If we did then we have earned God's favor and receive it as a reward - not a gift - which scripture makes plain salvation is from God and of (by) God.
 

Salvations is a gift that is in no way merited - or deserved. Works earn reward - but he who has no works to condition God's favor must cry out for mercy and grace.

This is the function of the law and God's Holy Spirit working in us - to open up our understanding that we have nor works of our own so must turn from our own works to what Jesus did for us.

This is Paul's meaning when he says in:

ROMANS 4:4-5 -- To him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt! But to him who worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, His faith is imputed for righteousness.
 

Since faith is a gift of God - not a work on our part - it must be an act of grace - the influence of God working in one whom He wants to bestow His unmerited favor to.
 

If faith is the work of man then God is indebted to him. However - if faith is God's work and His gift to man, then man possess absolutely no condition in himself that deserves salvation as a reward.
 

2 Timothy 1:9 -- God hath saved us - not according to our works, but according to HIS purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.
 

What do we mean by irresistible Grace? First let's determine what it is not. Irresistible grace is not God forcing His will up on us to do what we don't want to do in the sense that He drags us kicking and screaming against Him in rebellion to what God is doing to us. We may  resist at first - but God's will will prevail - no doubt about that.
 

God does not have to force us against our will to do His bidding. God works from within us - in our minds causing our minds to accept what God is doing to us. This is what we mean by irresistible GRACE - the influence of God's Holy Spirit working in our hearts and minds - making us willing. This is put plain in:

Psalms 110:3 -- Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, 
 

God does not force us against our will - He just makes us willing through the work of His Holy Spirit in us. True - if God had left us alone and had not changed our will to suit Him we would have continued on in rebellion - but aren't you that are saved glad God took the initiative and changed what you are willing to do? I sure am - I just hate to think of the alternative - an eternity in hell. God at times does come very close to urging us on to do what was ordained of him to do - like Jesus' nudge to Judas to "go do what you must" just before Judas did just that and went to the authorities to betray him. Something that had been ordained to happen to Jesus as the result of what had been ordained that Judas do.
 

Another way God works is that He has planned all the events at His determinate counsel which includes all the circumstances which in the end would result in God's will that had been planned being fulfilled. This plan included how He will make us willing - The circumstances that brings about our first hearing the Gospel and the entering into our heart and mind and this influence of Him in our heart and mind causing a change in the way we think - the change that brings us to God rather than rebelling against Him.
 

The events of Judas betraying Jesus that lead to Jesus' crucifiction was all planned and finalized at God's determinate council.
 

But God - or Jesus did not force Judas to do what he did. God just set up the circumstances of His living and dealing with Jesus those few years of Jesus ministry - along with the temptations from members of the world about him. (The offer of a large sum of money by the authorities to Judas to betray Jesus into their hands)
 

And in the end - not having the Holy influence of the Holy Spirit in him influencing him to accept Jesus and His teachings like the rest of the apostles - he instead succumbed to his own dead, sin corrupted, anti-Christ human nature and turned against Jesus, and we know the result - his betrayal of Jesus and Jesus ending up on the cross.
 

Jesus knew all this would happen. Jesus called Judas a devil at one point early in His ministry. It was planned to happen as it did. This is precisely why Jesus chose Judas as one of His disciples - because what Judas did was all part of the plan. Judas lived and ate with Jesus and in the end betrayed Him - just as God had planned. Poor old Judas probably never realized He was just a tool in God's hand being used to fulfill God's plan for Jesus and Christianity in the future. Let's read:

ACTS 2:22-23 -- Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain
 

We just had a look at what irresistible grace is not. 
 

So let's spend a little time in finding out what irresistible grace is according to how Calvinist view it.
 

Irresistible - when used of the grace of God toward His elect, means that God, of His own free will, gives life to whom he chooses. Once the living human spirit is "born of God" he finds the living God wholly irresistible - or impossible to refuse.

Just as a dead human spirit (one who is not born of God) finds the god of the spiritually dead (Satan) wholly irresistible. Those who do not have God may not realize they are a slave of Satan - but they are nevertheless.
 

The Lord quickens (makes alive or activates a new life in us) all whom He chose in Christ Jesus before the foundation fo the world.
 

It is this gift of the new nature that has just been made alive - or activated in us which makes us find Jesus Christ absolutely irresistible. 
 

A hog, because of its very nature just loves to wallow in the muck and mire.
 

A lamb on the other hand, because of its nature hates the mud - you won't find a sheep romping in any mud hole. Why - it's against their nature to do so - they are not built for it physically, nor are they interested mentally. 
 

You should take not of this point - how our nature within us controls our lifestyle - whether it is animals, birds, fish or us humans - our nature is what controls our way of life - and this nature suits perfectly our body style. In other words creatures built with wings do not roll around in the mud like a hog. Or visa versa.
 

Can you see the illustration? Those "dead in trespasses and sin" - the un-regenerate - the unsaved - are like the hogs - wallowing in sin and unbelief because it is their nature to do so and thy cannot step outside or change their nature anymore than a hog could change his. That is depravity.
 

Things change though when God steps in and gives His elect - who are the direct objects of God's love and favor another nature - a second nature that lives in you alongside the old nature. These two natures living in us are always in conflict with each other. Our old human nature still wants to live as before - in total rebellion against what the Holy nature now in us wants to do. Read of this conflict in Romans and Galatians.
 

ROMANS 7:14-25 -- For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. For that which I do, I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would, I do not, but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: but I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?. I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.
 

Galatians 5:17  -- For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary one to the other; so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
 

All mankind has this problem of a sinful nature in them that causes them to sin. Understand this - God does not change our old nature from a sinful nature to a Godly, sinless nature like many people claim. No - God does not touch that old nature - it stays there wanting to live the bad old life it always influenced us into. What God does do is give us a second nature . This second nature lives right alongside our old nature within our being. And they are by no means friends according to the scripture quoted above!!
 

With this new nature at work in us the old way of thinking, acting or doing things and talking pass away - all things are looked at in a new light. Not just the things of God are looked at in a new light but life in general - the way we look on the world and life  in general. The world and all its glamour does not seem to be as glamorous as it used to.
 

This new nature in us (since it is God's nature) finds God irresistible just as his former "dead" human nature found Satan irresistible. This only stands to reason that that new nature in us will respond to God's call - He is in fact responding to Himself!!
 

The Arminian, however - insists that the omnipotent God can be obstructed and His will refuted by finite man.

This in effect renders God impotent rather than omnipotent. The belief that God can be obstructed in His will to save everyone by the puny, impotent will of an individual is absolutely scandalous. It is about the greatest insult to God to lower this magnificent, sovereign being, the creator of all that exists including man himself to a position lower than man - one of God's lowest class creations - who has to ask his creation permission to do something for him!! How anyone can do this is beyond me - how they think they can have any sort of blessing from God coming out of this sort of thinking is just beyond common sense - and is a perfect example of how low man thinks without the aid of God's Holy Spirit in him giving him light. (Spiritual inteligence)
 

As I said this renders God impotent to impart life, if it is in the mind of the sinner to reject Christ and resist the work of the Holy Spirit and His influence on our thinking. This is contrary to the words of Jesus as is recorded in:

JOHN 5:21 -- The Son giveth life to whom he will.
 

A clear statement - but we have those who just will not believe the plain teaching of the Bible - who by their unbelief and their own teaching that in their mind overrules the plain teaching of the Bible demonstrates that they think God does not know what He is doing - that they know better so make up their own doctrines that are better than God's. Some day they will find that is not so - let's hope it is while they are still in this world and can change their attitude toward God and become a truly born again person!!
 

Nowhere does the Bible teach that a man chooses eternal life of his own will.
 

On the contrary - the Bible states very clearly that whoever the Father gives to Jesus his son WILL come because it is GOD's WILL that they come.
 

JOHN 6:37 -- All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no way cast out.
 

Who is it God promises never to cast out? Very clearly it says - see the first part of the verse - all that the Father giveth me - those determined by the Father that should come to Him.
 

That is irresistible Grace!! No if ands or buts. No question mark - just a clear plain statement of His intentions and no doubt those intentions (plans) will be carried out.
 

Let's be logical in our thinking concerning this matter of "will". There is the will of God which is clearly demonstrated in:
 

DANIEL 4:35 -- All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay His hand, or say unto Him, what doest thou?
 

Now that is the sovereignty of God!! A far cry from what the average person of this world believes. Of course this man who made this statement was not an average man. He had been until God put him through an unusual experience. (I am not talking about the fact he was a king) This was the result of that experience. The same result that will happen when God puts anyone through his own experience designed by God to bring that person to Him - Just like king Nebuchadnezzar.
 

Then we have the will of Satan - who is the most powerful creature of God's creation.
 

Remember God is not a creation - so Satan is the most powerful of those God created.
 

Satan is the arch enemy of God and is far more powerful than man who was created a little lower than the angels.
 

Satan is powerful - but still far less powerful than He who created him - God.
 

This is clearly seen in that God puts strict limits on what He will allow Satan to do.
 

The record of Job gives several examples of the boundaries established by God that Satan could not cross as he carried out his job.
 

Therefore, even though Satan is very powerful - even more powerful than the general run of angles, he is not omnipotent like God. Neither is he omniscient or omnipresent as God is.
 

Satan is a second rate power - after God. Man would be a third or possibly even a fourth rate power after the angels which would be third rate after Satan. 
 

Since man is a fourth rate power he is unable to resist Satan because his will is inferior to the will of Satan. Paul says that the unregenerate:
 

2 TIMOTHY 2:26 -- And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.
 

Man thinks he is so good and powerful and yet unknown to him he is maneuvered about by powers he doesn't even know about - including Satan.
 

How does Satan ensnare lost man "at his will"? Very easily. Since man without the Holy Spirit in him, is an inferior power to Satan and cannot resist the most powerful creature God ever made.
 

This is why those who are still "dead in trespasses & sin" - the unsaved - are controlled by the counter plan of Satan the evil power of this world who as stated in:
 

EPHESIANS 2:2 -- Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, ACCORDING TO THE PRINCE OF THE POWER OF THE AIR, th spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
 

The reprobate are maneuvered by Satan by his will at his will because they are the "children of wrath" under condemnation by God.
 

The lost have "bound wills" to Satan, for they are irresistibly drawn to and controlled by the god of the dead 

- UNLESS

- the God of the living sees fit to give them the gift of life and faith - save them in other words. 
 

The reprobate non-elect are never seen as the objects of God's grace unto salvation. Only the elect are - those whom the Father willed to give to His Son as a bride is ever spoken of as being the recipients of God's saving grace. If you remember in another lesson we saw that God gives fleshly blessings to all mankind - saved or unsaved - but not salvation.
 

I will try not to tire you by pointing out that His love was not based on some imagined condition of good in us.
 

Paul says God loved us when we were still "dead in our sins". How can this be? Because God being God, He never changes. If He loves us now, He has always loved us from way back in eternity. So He loved us even before we were born the first time in the flesh into this world - if so then He had to love us before we were born the second time into salvation, and since His love is eternal He would have to have loved us in the interval in between our being born into this life and when He sought us out and saved us. In other words - as Paul says - while we were still dead in our sins He loved us. God's love did not start when we started believing. His love started way back in eternity and is what caused us be elected in the first place, then sought out and caused to believe. He knew all along, even when we were still in our sins that we were to be the objects of His eternal grace. 
 

We were not saved because He foreknew of a good work of faith resulting from our positive volition towards Jesus. No - because that would put God in debt to sinful man. Paul says it was all of grace - let's read that in:
 

EPHESIANS 2:4-5  --  But God - who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace we are saved)
 

God could not quicken us(make alive) if we were already alive could He?
 

Surely - even the hardest core Arminian must realize that when he claims that God wills that all men be saved but that will can be resisted and rejected, he is in fact stating God is not omnipotent. How can He be if finite man can reject or over power the will of God. It is a contradiction of terms. 
 

He is claiming man, a third or fourth rate power has such a fantastic "fee will" that he can break the will of the higher power of Satan to make his own decision and choose his way to heaven. 
 

Or - is it possible that the heavenly Father chooses to be permissive, and wills to allow the objects of His grace and love go their merry way to hell if that is their choice?? Possible - but VERY improbable. Again - this would be the scenario that God has created something then chose to just let it go free with Him having no control over it - to just let His creation do as it pleases no matter the consequences, and poor old God not able to step in and do a thing because He gave His word that He would give that creation "free will" to do as he pleases. That kind of thinking can only come from a heart so full of pride they can't think beyond themselves with any sense of common sense. A heart that is unbelievably proud and arrogant, a heart that shows absolutely no sign of being born "from above" - quickened. (The have NO spiritual inteligence) That would be like man making an atomic bomb with no controls or safety devises to it!! It's built - just let it bounce or roll - or explode - all by chance - and we'll take the consequences. How foolish!! Even man has enough sense to keep whatever he produces under control - whatever it is. Yet there are those who believe God has made man with such a 'free will' to do as he pleases. A person with such a free will would be much more dangerous than an atomic bomb with no controls to it. So this kind of teaching is just as foolish!!
 

OR - another thought. Can finite man resist the first rate power of Jehovah the magnificent, omnipotent, sovereign creator of our universe - because he the fourth rate power is greater than the first rate power!! God wouldn't be the first rate power if this were true - would He? These kind of thinking is just unbelievable - and yet there are those who do think like this - the Arminian with his natural man way of thinking. 
 

The truth is that mankind cannot come to Christ because he is bound up in the strongest of cords by Satan. He cannot resist the influence of Satan on him. Man may think he is so strong and free to act as he wills - but in actual fact - I wonder how much of our life is our own will. We are controlled by powers we can not see - and most of our activity is influenced by one of two powers - God's - or Satan's.
 

Mankind will not come to God because his nature is not compatible with God's nature.
 

but - man's nature is compatible with Satan's nature. In fact finds Satan irresistible - and God despicable.
 

Man does not have a free will. Instead man's will is a devil bound will.
 

Man does not have the power to resist God should He will to save him. Why?
 

Man is not only a fourth rate power under the power of the god of the dead, but he cannot even resist the bad habits and lusts of the flesh. But those habits come from the influence of the god of this world on us - and even when saved have a great difficulty giving our bad habits up. Only by God's influence on us that we can.
 

Man needs God to draw him - irresistibly by the influence of the Holy Spirit that is born in us. (That's called grace)
 

Otherwise - man will never take a single step in the direction of Christ and His salvation. This is why it is said in:
 

JOHN 6:44 & 65 -- No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. (65) Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.
 

An example - Lydia, after she heard the apostles preach the word of God - what happened? Go to:
 

ACTS 16:14 -- A certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshiped God, heard us; WHOSE HEART THE LORD OPENED, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.
 

Who had opened her heart to understand Jesus? Does the Bible teach here or anywhere else that the sinner opens their heart to the Lord? Or does it teach that it is the Lord who does the opening?(give understanding to) - as is the case here in this example.
 

So we must conclude that the truth is that man is totally depraved - devoid of any inclination at all of doing good. He never, never has any sort of condition in of himself that would merit salvation.
 

Because of this depravity he is unconditionally elected to be the recipients of God's favor - of life and faith. God does not say you must do this, or believe that, or say this first, then I will give you salvation as a reward. 
 

Christ did not die for all mankind - but only for them whom the Father chose of His own free will - out of every nation and tribe on the face of the earth.
 

The death of Christ, and the shedding of His precious blood was designed specifically for those whom God determined should come to the Lord Jesus Christ in faith passed on to us by means of His irresistible grace, through the influence of the blessed Holy Spirit's gift of life.
 

That completes our study of Irresistible grace.
 
 

This chapter we shall start our look into the perseverance of the saints. Are we kept securely saved by our own efforts whether by our own decisions to "hold on" or whether it be doing enough good that the balance be tipped in our favor - or is it God's work in us causing us to "stand firm"?
 

Calvinist teach that God's saints - also known as God's elect, can never be lost. Why this position? Because since salvation comes from a work God is doing in us - we can"t fight God's power.
 

The Arminian teaches otherwise. They believe a person can "fall from Grace" as they put it - Thereby losing all they had worked so hard for but now willingly making a decision to turn back to their original master - Satan, or by committing something displeasing to God and God as punishments takes their salvation from them.
 

Since - as they believe - the act of faith is man's doing unto salvation - something he has done to merit salvation - it only stands to reason he can now change his mind and turn back to his old ways undoing all that he had gained by all his good works. 

That is the only logical conclusion that one can come to if one holds to the first four points of Arminianism where it is taught salvation is only a result of our accepting an offer from God and doing our best to turn the balance of good/bad in our life to our favor.

The opinion of the Arminian is this - "If you have the right to accept in the first place - you have the right to change your mind and reject God and salvation and just live any way you please." And of course they are right. But where they go wrong is that man does NOT have that right at all.
 

Calvinists know better. Calvinist know that no condition in man has any bearing on God's choosing him because scripture teaches unconditional election. 
 

JAMES 1:18 -- Of His own will He conceived us with the word of Truth
 

It then stands to reason that there is nothing he can do to undo his salvation once the Holy spirit is in us turning our thoughts and desires to God. With God in us we will never want to undo the influence of this Holy being in us. (Grace)
 

The Calvinist thinks this way - "Since it is the will of God that I am saved, and since God changes not - then obviously I BEGIN my salvation, I CONTINUE in salvation, and FINALIZE my salvation by entering heaven a saved person because God wills it so - and for no other reason. Note that continue my salvation implies an ongoing, continuous action to completion.
 

So, as usual we have two opposite beliefs. One is an opinion based on the reasoning of the carnal mind - a mind - as we have learned from previous study - that is at 'enmity with God," a mind "not subject to the law of God, nor can be." So how can you expect to get a fair and honest evaluation of God from such a mind?
 

Then we have the teaching of  CALVINISM (as called by the world) which is based on facts of scripture. Let's go to:

Philippians 1:6 -- Being confident of this very thing, that He who hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.
 

Who is the author of the good works mentioned here? I think it obvious the He mentioned in this verse, that begins the good work is God - not ourselves. And the promise is to continue till the day of Jesus Christ - the resurrection day when the saved will join Him in His heavenly kingdom
 

Again - note what is says - that good work was started by God - will be continued(a continuing process) by God and will be brought to fruitation by God. Another scripture we can look at: 

PHILIPPIANS 3:20-21 -- Our citizenship is in heaven, from where also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our lowly body, that it may be fashioned like His glorious body according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself.
 

Note to whom God gave the "all power" to - so that He could subdue all things to Himself (Man included)

Not also that our citizenship is not of earth - but heaven. We are but strangers and pilgrims traveling through a strange and hostile land. We will never be safe until we reach our own land of citizenship - heaven.
 

It is of course the Lord Jesus Christ that is given the "all power". The glorious one which the scripture tells us in: 

JOHN 17:2  - Thou has given Him power over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as Thou hast given Him.
 

What could be plainer than that? There is no excuse for the error of the Arminian opinions what-so-ever. All you have to do is read and believe the Bible.
 

How many - and who will get eternal life? It is spelled out clearly in this scripture we just read. As many as God has given him. When was that? At the determinate counsel in eternity past.
 

Then going a bit further we have the blessed son of G0D state in the plainest of language in :
 

JOHN 6:39 -- This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that I shall lose none of all whom He has given Me, but raise him up in the last day.
 

Now what does it say here? Will SOME of those that have been given to the Son be lost - OR -
 

will none be lost? Read it - make sure in your own mind what it says.
 

Since salvation is of the Lord - the Lord's doing from start to finish then we can be assured that once we are saved by the power of God we will be kept saved by that same power - the power of God. Another scripture:
 

ECCLESIASTES 3:14 -- I know that whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor anything taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before Him.
 

Another absolutely clear picture of the truth of the perseverance of the saved by the power of God. We had absolutely nothing to do with getting saved and we have absolutely nothing with keeping saved, because salvation is by grace - that influence of God's Holy nature working in us that turns our thoughts and desires to God - which will result in our being saved. Let's see what John has to say as recorded in:
 

JOHN 10:28 -- I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them out of my hand.
 

Who is "them" and "they" here? God's elect of course. And the promise is that none of His sheep shall ever perish. Who are the sheep? God's elect as we have seen from previous study. 
 

How long does salvation last? Will God's elect ever perish"?. Who do we believe - the Arminian with his opinion from a mind at enmity with God - or the words of God spoken to us through His Holy word - the Bible?
 

I will ask again the question I asked a minute ago. Who do we believe - the Arminian theory with their "falling from grace" - whether it be a deliberate act of ones mind in making a decision to "opt out" - or whether it be when one commits a sin worthy of condemnation thus losing their salvation, it makes no difference. 
 

Or - do we believe the Bible when it teaches that God before the foundation of the world chose certain people to be saved, then in each lifetime of those elected He seeks them out, saves them and keeps them saved through the influence of the Holy spirit working in them, then in the future - out in eternity - God will glorify those same people. We read all this sequence of events in:
 

ROMANS 8:29-30 -- For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He did predestinate, them He also called: and whom He called, them He also justified: and whom He justified, them He also glorified.
 

All of God - nothing what-so-ever to do with what man does for himself - we are just the recipients of what God decides to do in us.
 

Why is it that so many people will take unclear passages of scripture and try to nullify the super clear passages? It just is not right, nor a very Christian thing to do.
 

Can it be because they will not have salvation by God's sovereign grace - but will either have salvation by their own works - or none at all? And that's exactly what will happen - if you don't go by God's way - you will miss out - you will be the loser.
 

Take the words of Peter - who under the influence of the Holy Spirit was directed to say about the elect - in:

1 PETER 1:4-5 -- to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, garrisoned in heaven for you who are KEPT BY THE POWER OF GOD through faith unto salvation, ready to be uncovered in the last time
 

Our inheritance is garrisoned (or protected) in heaven by the power of God through faith (which is given us by God) unto salvation.
 

No wonder Paul so enthusiastically said in:
 

2 TIMOTHY 1:12 - I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day.
 

We can have that assurance too because of what Jesus prays in:
 

JOHN 17:11 -- Now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.
 

We are predestinated to go to heaven because God elected us to glory. This is why the Thessalonians are assured in: 

2 THESSALONIANS 2:14 -- Whereunto He called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
 

And we have that same assurance. 

Heaven is our home. Remember I touched on this last time that this world is not our place of residence. Heaven is - and we are very unwelcome pilgrims passing through this hostile land under the control of an evil force that is not at all friendly with our homeland, or us - Satan.
 

The glory of that heavenly dwelling is ours inheritance because God freely wills it so by His grace. Let's confirm this in these scriptures:
 

EPHESIANS 1:1 - In Christ we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who works all things after the counsel of His own will.
 

ROMANS 11:7 - What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for: but election have obtained it, the rest were blinded
 

2 THESSALONIANS 2:13 - We are bound to give thanks for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth.
 

No wonder that Paul, knowing the omnipotent creator had made him the object of eternal love should be able to say with all assurance.

2 TIMOTHY 4:18 - The Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will PRESERVE me unto His heavenly kingdom.
 

Then Jude writes to the elect of God his own assurance in these words;
 

JUDE 1:1 - Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, To them who are sanctified by God the Father and PRESERVED IN JESUS CHRIST, and called.
 

Notice the order of events here. You would think it would be - CALLED - SANCTIFIED - PRESERVED. But this order is correct and supports our belief that God knew way back in eternity past in His own mind and purpose WHAT He was going to do. We were set apart way back then in God's mind and purpose. Then at His determinate counsel He set us apart by separating our names from the rest of mankind (the none-elect) and put us in His special "Book of Life" of the elect. Then He has to preserves those He elected and makes sure nothing happens to them or that His plans are not thwarted and He lose some of those He elected to salvation. Then in the lifetime of each elect He calls them just as He planned. So you see the order as in this verse is correct. God knows what He is doing!!

So here in this verse it says we are set apart by God - then preserved in Jesus - or another word for preserved is persevered - how - in Christ - or by Christ.
 

Small wonder that Paul so confidently prays for the elect saints at Thessalonica as recorded in:
 

1 THESSALONIANS 5:23-24 - And the true God of peace sanctify you wholly, and your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calleth you, who also will do it.
 

Who is it that preserves the believer blameless until He comes for us? Who is it that is faithful? Who is it that will do this marvelous work of sanctifying then keep us?
 

Our Lord Jesus Christ Of course.
 

The saints persevere because Jesus perseveres!! 
 

We are not kept in small pieces either. We are kept as a complete unit - spirit, body and soul.
 

or as Jude says in his doxology at the end of his strongly worded epistle:
 

JUDE 1:24-25 - Now unto Him who is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the Presence of His Glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God (our Savior) be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever.
 

Yes the saints will persevere because the Savior declares that He Himself will persevere on our behalf. He WILL keep them.
 

If perseverance depended upon fickle man with his fallen (depraved) nature he would be absolutely hopeless, he would fail miserably. 
 

Fickle means - shallow - no depth or substance to it. In other words - not something you can depend on at all.
 

So we could not depend on this fickle nature of ours for anything - not the least taking hold on God and His ways - and holding on 'til the end.
 

No - perseverance of us saints depends on irresistible grace - granted us because Christ died for us since the atonement we have by His blood is limited to us elect.
 

That election was not based upon some condition of good foreknown to be in us since - as the Bible says - "there is none good - no not one."
 

No - by the grace of God it was an unconditional election because no condition established by God could be met by man because man is totally depraved.
 

which means man is totally incapable of exercising good will toward God.
 

Man, is Wholly impotent to call himself to life or even free himself from the super-human power of the god of the dead - Satan.
 

If you look closely you see that all five of the points are entwined and agree with each other. Take away one and none of the rest can be true. This is why I say that if a person is weak or does not believe in any one of them - watch out for that person. For sooner or later he will drop all five and adhere to the Arminian theory - even if he may profess to believe in Calvinism.
 

This ends the study of the actual five points of Calvinism as the founding people wrote about them and meant them to be understood,. Remember these are not the only doctrines involved with salvation - redemption, conversion, sanctification, regeneration, and others showing how God works among His people. These points were coined by man so serve a purpose - but do not just get stuck within the boundaries of them. 
 

I will say this though - these five points do cover a lot of truth - so much so that if a person rejects the teachings behind them, they are rejecting a huge portion of scripture. A church or person that does reject the doctrines of Calvinism/doctrines of Grace would disqualify them as a church worthy of joining or having much to do with. 
 
 

This is the confession of the author of a book I have read titled "T.U.L.I.P." - The five points of Calvinism in the light of scripture"
 

Quote - "At this point the I must make a confession. Not many years ago I was of Arminian persuasion. I was born again by the will and grace of God at a Methodist altar. I later became a Methodist minister. As I sought to prepare expository messages for my people I researched the meaning of every key word in the Greek or Hebrew. The result was that I soon found that the doctrinal position of my denomination was not compatible with that of the Bible. Finally the day came that I courteously resigned my pulpit. I had no grudge with the church, or with the Bishop, for I had always been well favored during my nine years of service. I simply felt that it was not right for me to teach contrary to the organization I served. My exodus was such that the bishop returned my ordination papers to me with words of commendation for services faithfully rendered and I was on my way on the most exciting adventure by faith I had had until then.
 

Continuing my research of the Scriptures, reading reference works avidly, and perusing volume after volume of church history (particularly that of the Protestant Reformation), I began to see the great gulf between modern theology and the word of God. This great gulf was made most apparent to my hart by the spirit of God when I began to analyze the differences between what is historically known as Arminianism and Calvinism. Like many preachers and laymen I had heard both words used as evil terms to condemn those of opposite persuasion, but I had never really known who believed what. This little booklet is the result of much searching of the scriptures to "see if these things be so". It has not been written so much with the desire to contradict Arminianism, although it does that, as to show that the doctrines of the Reformers (known as Calvinism), are more nearly that of Holy Scripture than any other system of theology with which I am familiar.
 

I have already learned that he who takes the doctrinal position of the great Reformers will become the object of derision on the part of those whose theology is based upon the emotions, denominational traditions and doctrines, and human reason, yet I cannot leave what I am convinced is the position of Christ and His apostles. With Luther I must cry, "I am captive of the Word of God! I can do no other! Here I stand!
 

Why is it that God takes these men - and so comparatively few of them - out of these of other denominations and give them so much more spiritual education than the people they are coming out from, which usually leads them to a Baptist church, but leave the vast majority in their darkness?

Are those others God leaves in their darkness not saved? Are the men God leads out men set aside for special favor? A higher order in God's creation? I think a closer look at how God works you will find that that is the answer.
 

I don't know the answer to whether these people in other denominations are saved. That is something that is God's prerogative and He does not tell us all His little secrets that is something that is His business entirely. We will just have to leave that to He who is the owner of this creation and let Him do as He wills among His own creation.
 

Well - someone is bound to ask - don't you have your own opinion?
 

Well - even if I did - even if I did say that I don't believe those in other denominations are saved as long as they adhere to the strict doctrines they teach. Does that make it a fact? Of course not. But conversely - If you or someone were to say they did believe those in other denominations were saved - does that make it a fact? Of course not. The only thing that counts is what God does.
 

After saying all this I will confess that I used to believe quite strongly that those who do not believe as we do especially in these important doctrines of election, eternal security, grace - the sovereignty of God, etc. could not be saved.
 

And I had plenty of scripture to support that position. Let's read a few of them:
 

ISAIAH 8:20 - To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.
 

What could be plainer than that? If they speak not according to God's word it is because there is no light in that person showing him God's truth? What is the light. Life - the light(Life) God activates when we are quickened.  This life could also be spiritual inteligence God grants us.

And Jesus makes it plain we need in order to understand Spiritual things.
 

But let's look at a few more:
 

PROVERBS 30:6   -- Add thou not unto His word, lest He reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.
 

REVELATIONS 22:18-19 -- For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, if any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
 

JOHN 8:47 -- He that is of God heareth God's words: ye there hear them not, because ye are not of God. (Born of God)
 

JOHN 10:26-28 -- But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them and they follow me and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
 

JOHN 16:13 -- Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth; for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak; and He will shew you things to come.
 

JOHN 18:37 --  Pilate therefore said unto Him, art thou a king then? Jesus answered, thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.
 

3 JOHN 1:10 -11 --  Wherefore if I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth, prating against us with malicious words; and not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them out of the church. Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God.
 

Those are very condemning words. Don't kid yourself - persecution comes from these denominations I mentioned. Exactly the kind mention in this last verse - "prating at me with malicious words" - etc. I can remember when I was first saved, I like most newly saved people I was all enthusiastic, telling people that I was saved, thinking they would be over joyed at the news, and then what happened when I started talking about what I believed. How I was yelled and screamed at and had doors slammed in my face. How one old woman left the room, went to her bedroom screaming obscenities and slamming the door after her in the process. She was a very religious woman - a strict Reformed Baptist, which is a strict religion, strict observer to the law. But she was not the only highly religious person to act in that manner when I spoke to them of my belief. Not a good show for people professing to be a Christian at all. 
 

In my personal experience I have received far more persecution from these evangelical churches than I ever did from the Roman Catholics or anyone else. In the history of our kind of church you will find the reformers put I believe it was 1500 people on a raft and set them adrift on Lake Geneva in Switzerland. One by one they got tired and dropped off and drowned in the cold lake. Maybe the Protestants haven't been as bad as the Roman Catholics in their persecution of us Baptists - but they are not innocent either.
 

But then - I read other places that pointed in another direction - that maybe these scriptures are not so cut and dry as I had thought.
 

Let's look at a scripture that tends to modify a hard line attitude toward those who least at least confess salvation by grace but do not adhere to the doctrines of Grace.
 

I would like it made clear that when I refer to Arminianism that I refer to those churches who identify themselves openly with the doctrines of Arminianism. I am not concerned with those who know nothing of what those two terms mean - or those religions outside Christian teachings.
 

The term in general of course does include all who are not Calvinist since Arminianism is the system of belief that comes natural to the human mind, whatever religion they call themselves.
 

But I don't think many here has any qualms about calling those holding to a religion outside of Christ as unsaved and on the road to hell.
 

So when I refer to Arminians I will stick to those who do confess a faith in Christ yet hold on to an Arminian type of faith - that of works of your own to earn ones way to heaven - even if the swear up and down that they do believe in salvation by grace.
 

For most of our marriage my family - whether just my wife and I or our whole family as they were being brought up - have read two chapters of the Bible each day - one from the Old Testament - one from the New Testament - plus any other study we might do. It takes about 9 months to read through the New Testament this way and about 2 ½ years to read through the Old Testament. So in nearly 40 years of marriage we have read through the Bible quite a few times. Then, I have my own scripture reading too, which I persaonally read a different 2 scriptures daily. And yet I have found only one scripture that even came close in itself to actually saying I was wrong in this belief that whose who do not believe closer to the way a sound Baptist believes could not be saved because they are in error on such a large portion of scripture. This would include election, eternal security, sovereignty, Calvinism/doctrines of Grace etc.
 

This scripture is found in:

EPHESIANS 4:7 -- But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.
 

We are given grace in measure of the gift of Christ. With this measure of grace of the Gift of Christ comes faith. So another way of saying this would be we receive faith according to some sort of measure, some more than others, others less than other people. All according to the influence of God working in us. (Grace)
 

What is it that this verse implies? Is it saying that the amount of spiritual understanding (maturity) - how much we know about God - how good or bad a Christian we become is all determined and controlled by God by this measure of Christ God gives us - channeled to us through the Holy Ghost that dwells in us?
 

It would seem that way. So we should not be too hard on those who do not believe as we do - it is just that they do not have as much faith granted to them as He has given to others.
 

But this scripture opened up the full meaning of a number of other scriptures - by understanding this scripture we just read - other scriptures took on a clearer meaning - such as 1 Corinthians 12. Read the whole chapter in the light of what I said about Ephesians 4:7. Then there is: 
 

EPHESIANS 2:8-10  -- For by grace are ye saved through faith: and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. For we ARE HIS WORKMANSHIP, CREATED in "Christ Jesus" unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
 

Note what it says - for we are his workmanship - created by Christ Jesus for the purpose of doing good works. In other words He is the potter - we are the clay - He forms us as He wants according to His plans for us that He formulated before the world began.
 

This all agrees with what I said about Ephesians 4:7     as well as verses:

Romans 9:21  -- Hath Not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonor.
 

ISAIAH 64:8 --  But now, O Lord, thou art our father; WE are the CLAY, and THOU our POTTER; and we are all THE WORK OF THY HAND
 

It makes clearer what is meant in these scriptures, that what we are is because God made us as we are - not ourselves. God is the potter - the craftman forming us hunks of clay as He sees fit to suit His eternal purpose (His plans) And there are others like it that without understanding Ephesians 4:7 they don't give an accurate meaning of itself. 1 John chapters 3 & 4 for instance. Read them in the light of what I said about Ephesians 4:7. It is like turning a light on in your mind if you truly are of God. 

BUT - does this mean we should buddy, buddy with them - fellowship with them and their church - join a church like that or let one who adheres to their ungodly system into our church or accept their baptism if one should want to join our assembly - or be organized from authority passed down from one of these churches with so much error?
 

NO!! A thousands times no!! I have stated before - and I repeat for emphasis - that birds of a feather should flock together. A Pentecost bird of a feather should stick among themselves - a Methodist flock of a feather should stick to their own flock - and a Baptist flock should stick to their own flocks only.
 
 
 

Is there scripture for this kind of thinking. I believe so - plenty of them. Let's look at a few: 
 

2 THESSALONIANS 3:14  -- If any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed, yet - count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.
 

Note it says not to have any dealings with those who refuse to obey this epistle. I think Paul is laying down a principal here. If a person does not obey this epistle - or any epistle he writes which is now part of scripture - have no company with that man. Yet, don't treat him as an enemy - but try to win him over. So not being his buddy is different from treating him as an enemy. We should treat no one as an enemy - we can win no one if others feel they are our enemy. God warns us elsewhere - be careful when trying to win someone - be careful you are not won over to them instead. Know what you are talking about first before you try teaching others.
 

Let's look at others:

1 CORINTHIANS 5:6-8 -- Your glorying is not good, know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
 

I think it clear here we are to make sure leaven is not allowed into our assembly whether that leaven be immorality or some sort of unsound doctrine - or untruth.
 

2 CORINTHIANS 6:17 -- Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you
 

What is unclean? - unsound doctrine for one.
 

2 JOHN 1:9-11 -- Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrines of Christ, hath not God, He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ , he hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you, and bring not his doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed; for he that biddeth him God sped is partaker of his evil deeds.

I think that is all self explanatory - Those who break God's word and will not follow it do not have God's Holy spirit dwelling in them. Conversely - those who do follow God's word do have God's holy Spirit dwelling in them - they are born of God as Jesus said we must in John 3:3. Whether we do or don't follow God's precepts is the evidence that we are or are not born of God's Holy Spirit. We are not to even give our blessings to those who do not teach what we believe that the Bible teaches - there is the warning - if we do we are just as guilty as they are in spreading their heresy.

And last but not least:

TITUS 3:10-11   --   A man that is an heretich after the first and second admonition reject: knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself.
 

I believe there is plenty of scriptures right here warning us to stay away from those we know are in error doctrinally - not to mention those who are not living a Godly sort of life that gives evidence of God in them.
 

We are responsible under God to keep our own flock free of leaven - because if we let one little piece of leaven in it won't be long before we are invaded and over come by it. As the scripture above says - one little piece will soon affect and ruin the whole barrel.
 

So - to whether the Arminian people are saved or not I don't know - but I do know this - we should treat them as unsaved and try to win them to Christ and His doctrines. But even then as in the last scripture - don't spend too much time with them. If they continue to reject God's word even after a second admonition - reject them - at least for that time. Things could change in the future - who knows, but for then treat them as unsaved - let them go their way and you go your way.
 
 

The depravity of man --
Man's depravity, as a result of the fall, is total. He does not possess free will because he is bound to Satan who takes man captive as his will. All men are born into this world spiritually dead in trespasses and sins so that their dead human spirts are irresistibly drawn to the god of the dead. Man is depraved in the sense that he is dead, blind, deaf, unteachable in the things of God and ruled by Satan through his perverse heart and corrupt soul.
 

Depravity reaches all men
 
 

Romans 5:12 - "By one man (Adam) sin entered into the world and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for all have sinned "

Jeremiah 17:9 - "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked"

Romans 3:11-12 - "There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God, They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one."

Proverbs 20:9  - "Who can say, I have made my heart clean?"
 

Mankind is born spiritually dead
 

Psalm 58:3 - "The wicked go astray from the womb, they do err from birth, speaking lies.

Psalm 51:5 - "Behold I was shaped in iniquity"

John 3.3 -"Unless a men is born again he cannot see(understand - comprehend) the kingdom of God"

Genesis 8:21 - "the imaginations of man's heart is evil from his youth"
 
 

Taken captive at Satan's will
 

2 Timothy 2:25-26 - "If God perhaps will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth, and that they may recover themselves and of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will."

John 8:44 - "Your will is to do your father's desires! Ye are of your father the devil.
 
 

Irresistibly drawn to Satan
 

John 3:19 - "men love darkness rather than light."

Ephesians 2:2-3 - "you -were dead in trespasses and sins; in which in times past ye walked according to the course of this wold, according to the prince of the power of the air, (the spirit who now worketh in the sons of disobedience); among whom also we all had our manner of life in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others."
 

Depraved man spiritually unteachable
1 Corinthians 2:14 - "The natural (unborn again) man receives not the things of the spirit of God, for they are foolishness to himl; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

Isaiah 64:6-7 - "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. And there is NONE that calleth upon they name, that stirreth up himself to talketh hold of thee; for thou has hid thy face from us, and has consumed us, because of our iniquities.

Romans 8:7 - "Because the canal mind in enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed CAN BE.
 
 
 

UNCONDITIONAL ELECTION
Election is grounded entirely in the free will of god and in His purpose for those whom He chose "in Christ Jesus" before the foundation of the world. His foreknowledge is based upon His purpose, for His purpose is the manifestation of His sovereign will. Since man is incapable of giving himself life, opening his own eyes, or teaching himself spiritual truth, God must elect to act on man's behalf. The work of regeneration, therefore, must precede Faith and Repentance, and is the work of God. He must "open the heart" and cause His elect "to will and do" that which is pleasing to Him, otherwise none would believe.

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God chooses not man
 

John 15:16 - "Ye have not chosen Me, I have chosen you"

Acts 13:48 - "As many as were ordained to eternal life, believed"

Psalms 65:4- "Blessed is the man whom Thou choosest and causes to approach unto Thee, that he may dwell in they courts."

Philippians 2:13 - "It is God who worketh in you both to will and do of His good pleasure."
 

Election based on god's purpose (plan)
 

Ephesians 1:11 - "predestinated according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will.

2 Timothy 1:9 - "God hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began"

Foreknowledge based on God's purpose

Romans 8:28 - "We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called (ones) according to His purpose for whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate ....
 

Man is incapable, God must initiate
 

John 6:44  - "No man can come to me, except the Father draw him"

Matthew 11:27 - "no man knows the Father, except the son, and he to whom the son chooses to reveal Him."

Hebrews 12:2 -  "Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith."

Acts 16:4 - "Lydia whose heart the lord opened, so that she attended unto the things which were spoken by Paul."

Luke 17:5 - "And the apostles said unto the lord, increase our faith!"
 
 
 

God's will shall be accomplished
 

Isaiah 55:11 - "So shall My word be that goeth forth out of My mouth, is shall not return to me empty-handed, but it shall accomplish that which I please! It shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
 
 
 

LIMITED ATONEMENT
Atonement is for the elect only, since Christ died only for those whom the Father gave Him to be His Bride. Only the saints or elect ones are ever said to be "beloved of God", for they alone are the objects of His saving grace. The Calvinist reasons that if Christ died for all, then all will be saved. If only the elect are to be saved, then Christ died for them, and them alone. Although it is true that the blood of Christ is surely sufficient in value to atone for all, still it is obviously efficient only for those who are saved by His unmerited favor.

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Christ's death only for the elect
 

John 10:114-15- "I know my sheep and am known of Mine .. And I lay down my life for the SHEEP."(elect)

Romans 5:8- "God commendeth His love toward US in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for US." (himself & those he was talking to plus anyone else identifying themselves with them in any age)

Galatians 1:3-4 - "Our Lord Jesus Christ - gave Himself for OUR sins, that He might deliver US from this present evil age, according to the WILL OF GOD, even our FatheR."

Romans 8:32 - "He spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for US all, how shall He not with Him also freely give US all things? Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's ELECT?"

Ephesians 5:25 - "Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it" (the church)
 

Christ prays only for the elect
 

John 17:9- "I pray for them (the Elect); I pray not for the world, but for them whom Thou has given me" (which stands to reason are the elect)

Thus, only elect are saved
 

Matthew 1:21 - "He shall save His people from their sins"

2 Peter 3:9 - "The Lord .. Is longsuffering toward US OF THE  ELECT, not willing that any (of US) should perish, but that all (of US should come to repentance."

Colossians 1:12-24 - "Give thanks unto the Father who hath made US fit to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light; Who hath delivered US from the power of darkness, and hath translated US into the kingdom of His dear Son In whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins."
 

Only the elect are beloved
 

1 Thessalonians 1:4 - "knowing brethren beloved, your election of God."

Colossians 3:12 - "the Elect of God, holy and beloved."
 
 
 

IRRESISTIBLE GRACE
Since it is the will of God that those whom He gave to His dear Son in eternity past should be saved, He will surely act in sovereign grace in such a way that the elect will find Christ irresistible. God does not force the elect to trust in His Son but rather, gives them life. The dead human spirit finds the dead spirit of Satan irresistible, and all living human spirits find the God of the living irresistible. Regeneration (the work of God - also called being born again) must precede true repentance and faith.
 

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God's will is irresistible
 

Daniel 4:35 - "(Jehovah) does according to His will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth, and no one can stay His hand, or say unto Him, What are you doing?"

Isaiah 46:9-10 - " I am God and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, "My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure!"

Isaiah 55:11 - "So shall My Word be .. It shall accomplish that which I please."
 
 

God wills salvation of the elect
 

John 6:37   "All that the Father giveth Me shall come to Me!"

John 6:29  - "This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him Whom He hath sent."
 

Father begets those he has willed to save:
 

James 1:18 - "Of His own will begat He US..."

John 1:13- "Who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but (who were born) of God."
 

Accomplished by giving life
 

John 5:21- "The Son gives life to whom He will."

Ephesians 2:4-5- "God Who is rich in mercy, for His great love with which He loved US, even when we were dead in sins, made us alive with Christ. (By grace are ye saved)."

Acts 11:18 - "Then hath God also granted repentance unto life to the Gentiles."
 

Effectually applied by Holy Spirit
 

Titus 3:5 - "He saved us (not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy), by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy spirit."

2 Corinthians 3:28 - "But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the Glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image, from glory to glory, but the spirit of the Lord."
 

**   Note: Acts 9:- Paul, first known as Saul, is the perfect example of "irresistible grace" as we believe it and the will of God being achieved for his salvation at the very moment when Saul was leading in the slaughter of the elect, and in strong-will rebellion against God and His Christ - certainly not seeking Him as Savior that is for sure.
 
 

PERSEVERANCE OF THE SAINTS
The logical conclusion o f Calvinism is that since "salvation is of the LORD", and absolutely no part of it is dependent upon any condition found in the elect, but is wholly dependent upon the God who has willed to save those whom He gave to His dear Son, salvation can never be lost. The saints of God will surely persevere because He has given them His promise that no creature can take them away from Him (including themselves). We shall persevere because He wills to persevere!
 

Perseverance depends on God
 

Jude 1:24 - "Now unto Him who is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory.. "

Jude1:1 - "To them who are ..preserved in Christ Jesus and called."

Ezekiel 36:26  - "I WILL GIVE them one heart, and I WILL PUT a new Spirit within you, and I WILL, TAKE the stony heart and...."

Ezekiel 36:27 - "I WILL PUT My spirit within you, and I WILL CAUSE you to walk in My statutes..."

Deuteronomy 30:6 - "And the Lord thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with they soul, that thou mayest live
 

Not dependent upon the elect
 

1 Peter 1:5 - "You (elect) are kept by the power of God."

2 Timothy 1:12 - "I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day."

1 Timothy 4:18 - "The Lord  .. Will preserve me unto His heavenly kingdom."
 

God wills saints to persevere
 

Psalms 37:28 - " For the LORD ... forsaketh not His saints, they are preserved forever."

1 Thessalonians 5:24 - "be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, who will also do it.

Philippians 1:6 - "Being confident of this very thing, that He who hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Christ Jesus.
 

Therefore salvation cannot be lost
 

John 8:39 - "This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that I lose none of all whom He has given me."

John 10:27-29 - " Ye believe not, because ye are not of My sheep. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give unto them eternal life, They shall never perish. Neither shall anyone pluck them out of My hand. My Father Who gave them to Me is greater than all, and no one is able to pluck them out of My Father's hand."

Romans 8:37-39 - "We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creation, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord."