The Utterly Confused John MacArthur Jr.
While proudly calling himself a Calvinist, John MacArthur teaches in the following video clip that the believer’s baptism in the Spirit only occurs once. Yet, John Calvin and the Reformers in general believed that the believer’s baptism needed to occur daily through the death of deep repentance and the resurrection of new obedience. In other words, self-depravation brings about perpetual death with Christ, followed by the fruits of resurrection expressed in joy or some kind of manifestation of Christ’s obedience. That’s “revisiting the gospel afresh” through deep repentance and new obedience. As a result, the believer supposedly receives a perpetual forgiveness for sins that maintains our justification. It’s heresy of the first order.
Astonishingly, MacArthur also states that the baptism of the Spirit should not be sought or repeated. This completely contradicts what his associates teach in regard to “preaching the gospel to ourselves every day.” The very purpose of this mantra is to advocate a continual return to the gospel in order to “experience” death and rebirth. MacArthur cohort and Reformed hack Dr. Michael Horton stated it this way in his book on systematic theology:
Progressive sanctification has two parts: mortification and vivification, “both of which happen to us by participation in Christ,” as Calvin notes….Subjectively experiencing this definitive reality signified and sealed to us in our baptism requires a daily dying and rising. That is what the Reformers meant by sanctification as a living out of our baptism….and this conversion yields lifelong mortification and vivification “again and again.” Yet it is critical to remind ourselves that in this daily human act of turning, we are always turning not only from sin but toward Christ rather than toward our own experience or piety (pp. 661-663 [Calvin Inst. 3.3.2-9]).
Luther advocated the same in Thesis 16 and 17 of his Heidelberg Confession. There, he posits the Reformed mainstay that Christians need the same grace that saved them continually, and this saving grace should be continually sought. So, baptism does not signify a onetime event, but signifies the need to continually repent in order to receive the perpetual baptism that saved us.
Paul's Passing Thoughts 
“The question was not the Puritans’ character but whether what they wrote was true or not.”
I sure hope this entire comment section is preserved for all time to come.”
Well remember, in his view, the truth is always outside of us. So the evil we commit has nothing to do with us, you know, if we have the correct “doctrine”. Dualism.
Here is your example of it.
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“I am not suggesting that character doesn’t matter. Of course it does. However, it doesn’t affect the truth of falsehood of a statement. Truth is truth, even on the lips of a fraud.”
Because behavior does not matter? Because behavior is not a manifestation of that truth in a human? We can say correct thoughts but behave as evil and the correct thoughts in words are more important? As long as they speak “truth” then burning women and banishing people was not that bad? So let us focus on their words and not their deeds? Dualism at work.
Actually, the Puritan leaders were living out their concept of truth. You cannot mistake that if you are honest.The total cognitive dissonance of these groups from Calvin to the Puritans is unbelievable. They were “determinist” who FORCED people to worship God. Does that make sense? Of course not. How in the world could Calvin believe in predestination and force, by magistrate, folks to attend church ? Why was that needed in his paradigm of predestination?
Seriously, when you step back from this, none of it makes logical sense. And that should lead everyone to question the assumptions made by Calvin, the Puritans, etc.
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Gosh guys, thanks for the compliments. I have been honored to learn from some serious thinkers like Argo, Paul and John. And many more who dare question the assumptions made by mere men with titles.
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“Well remember, in his view, the truth is always outside of us. So the evil we commit has nothing to do with us, you know, if we have the correct “doctrine”. Dualism.
Here is your example of it.”
Boom. Please let the discerning reader see this. Note in all of history where murder, rape and all other kinds of atrocities were committed in the name of Christianity it has always supposedly been by those who held “correct doctrine” but just weren’t as “enlightened” as we are now as to the value of persons.
BULLCRAP. You cannot have the correct “doctrine” of Christianity and committ heinous lawless acts. This is why New Calvinism WILL lead to “christians” murdering “Christians” in the name of god. Unless people act.
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Paul, I will be digesting the presentations. I love history but that early Greek history is murky to me. Most of my time was spent on Socrates and Plato and then those who influenced Augustine like Mani. I was astounded when John was going through them and seeing the clear beginnings of determinism and how it formed into foundational thought. It is so easy to see how it influenced Christianity after what I term the 2nd Temple ending period.
I keep thinking of that agnostic Thomas Paine and what he said and why:
Belief in a cruel God makes a cruel man.
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One more thing, if eli is Randy, you can stop emailing me. I don’t read them. I don’t think you appreciate that I live at ground zero and have dealt with this for a long long time. I cannot swing a dead cat without hitting a Calvinist/YRR/Neo Reformed pastor or seminarian here. The arrogant, angry, arguing Calvinistas are all over the place here. I tried nice. I tried focusing on our similarities, etc, etc. Big mistake.
Too many churches have been wrecked and too much road kill in their wake for me to even engage on that level anymore. I am in a different mode now: Warning mode.
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Lydia,
See ya in Dec. as we will be conducting the Confrontation Project down there .
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Let me clear this up for all of you. Eli is not Randy. He began began posting for me because Paul would not post my comments. At some point in the discussion, I, Randy, continued to post using the eli nick.
Lydia,
I don’t care whether you read it or not. It is sent for you to see. If you ignore it that is up to you. One reason Calvinists may be angry is that Paul and others continue to misrepresent our views. I don’t think it is too much to ask to be fairly represented. You told me you are not an Arminian, [though I am not sure where that puts you] and I have not continued to misrepresent your views. It is just not that difficult to provide actual quotations in context that show exactly what a person or persons believe. Interact with what people say or write, not what you perceive them as saying.
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Randy, why tell a lie to cover a lie? The IP addresses are the same. It’s also the same software on the same I-phone.
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Just a little white lie I guess. “Eli” may not be Randy but he is using Randy’s exact words. Cmon, seriously?
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Lydia said: “Belief in a cruel God makes a cruel man.”
Yes it does. yes it does.
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Reblogged this on Bitter Harvest and commented:
I reblog this for the comments section below the post. It speaks for itself. For the discerning reader. Use your God-given intellect.
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