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 
Ah yes, Covenant theology also rears its ugly head. Where you guys get the “covenant of grace” just absolutely stumps me. Yet another inferrence of something that is nowhere to be found in Scripture. I take the following directly from wikipedia:
“These three covenants are called theological because they are “”not explicitly presented as such in the Bible”” but are thought to be “”theologically implicit””, describing and summarizing the wealth of Scriptural data.
BINGO. Assumptions. Inferences. Extremely dangerous ground. Run away.
Mark my words people, the idea that the Church and Israel are one and the same under the New Covenant -and all the precious promises to Israel in the Old Testament only apply to the Church, and Israel no longer enjoys status as God’s chosen people- has been and always will be the number one cause of Anti-Semitism in this world. It was so with Catholicism and it will be so with the “mainstream” church once again. And all of this is “theologically implicit” from the foundation of Calvinism. Marry TULIP, you’re stuck with its conclusions.
I promise, I PROMISE this Covenant Theology WILL be the means whereby the entire world turns against Israel in the tribulation. It will also be the means whereby the social gospel will become THE gospel. Step back, study its premises, its “logical conclusions”. Dig deep and use your head. You will see what is the “‘logical” outcome of all this.
I also PROMISE that New Calvinism is the catalyst for the brutality and indifference and lawlessness of the tribulation times. We, or our children, WILL see Christians being martyred in the name of Christianity once again. I promise it will happen unless a miracle happens and the Lord restrains things.
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Free,
I agree wholeheartedly. I think the NC Movement is the later-day antinomian blitzkrieg spoken of in Scripture. The Antichrist himself is called the “anomia one” 4 times by the apostle Paul. And to your point, Immel is flirting with doing next year’s conference on the relationship of the Holocaust and Reformed theology, and I hope he does.
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I don’t need to “frame” this discussion. I has been framed by the title of the post “The Utterly Confused John MacArthur Jr.” Can he believe that the baptism of the Spirit is a once for all experience that is not to be sought and at the same time believe the Calvinistic doctrine that “mortification” is to be ongoing in the experience in the believer’s life. Of course, since these are two separate and distinct issues.
Believing in the once for all character of the baptism of the Holy Spirit does not at all contradict the idea that believers continue to put to death the deeds of the body [the AV referred to this as “mortification.”]
It should be obvious that Mac is not a “Calvinist” in the fullest sense of the word nor does he claim to be. I just listened to an excellent message by him on “Infant Baptism” in which he showed quite convincingly that there is no biblical evidence for the practice. He is an avowed Dispensationalist. These two facts alone should indicate that he is not a follower of Calvin. For that reason, you people need to understand that a Calvinist does not necessarily believe what Calvin taught or what some Calvinists since Calvin may have taught. It would be most helpful if you would carefully define the terms you are using before making wild accusations.
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“eli”
I will continue to post your Reformed subjectivism to showcase the point. Notice how you only cite half of the Reformed perpetual baptism construct to couch it in…..”But of course Christians continue to repent after salvation.” You conveniently leave out the “vivification” half because now you have to explain the perpetual rebirth part of the construct that is also the foundation of John Piper’s Christian Hedonism as well. The concern here is Calvin’s soteriology which MacArthur now embraces because of his friendship with Piper. The fact that Mac has not figured out that his eschatology is inconsistent with Calvin’s soteriology is totally beside the point.
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There is a reason I cite scripture whenever I can, because I think its pretty clear in the book of Hebrews where it says:
“Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s: for this he did ONCE, when he offered up himself.” ~ Hebrews 7:27
and
“Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in ONCE into the holy place, having obtained ETERNAL redemption for us.” ~ Hebrews 9:12
I, like Paul and John believe that words mean things, and in my reality I’m pretty sure once means once. But just to make sure I’m clear on the definition of “once” here is how dictionary.com defines it:
once
adverb
1. at one time in the past; formerly: “I was a farmer once; a once powerful nation.”
2. a single time: “We ate there just once.” “We go to a movie once a week.”
3. even a single time; at any time; ever: “If the facts once become known, it will be just too bad.”
4. by a single step, degree, or grade: “a cousin once removed.”
adjective
5. former; having at one time been: “the once and future king.”
Just being thorough…
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Paul,
I think you would be well suited as a Roman Catholic. Jesus does not make a one time intercession. He is making intercession for us. He ever lives to make intercession for us. He has passed through the heavens into the presence of his Father which gives bold and free access to the throne of grace. His sacrificial work is finished and the evidence of that is that he now appears in the presence of God for us.
Too bad you couldn’t have posted those actual quotations from Calvin that show he believed God actually does work in believers. The sad thing is, you said you wouldn’t post them before I even submitted them. You must have known they were there. That is the worst kind of dishonesty.
Well, it has been fun. It is clear once again that we believe two different gospels. Like the RCs, you believe that the ground of our justification is the work of God in us. I believe it is God’s work in Christ. At least we won’t be sharing the same space in eternity. See you on the ice.
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Am I really reading this one, or is it my imagination?
A. “Too bad you couldn’t have posted those actual quotations from Calvin that show he believed God actually does work in believers.”
B. “It is clear once again that we believe two different gospels. Like the RCs, you believe that the ground of our justification is the work of God in us. I believe it is God’s work in Christ.”
Unbelievable.
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Since I am fairly sure you are too cowardly to continue a real discussion, please inform your friend Andy that no one is arguing over how many times Jesus offered himself as a sacrifice. Both the verses he quoted concerned the sacrificial offering, not the presentation of that offering in the presence of God.
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LOL. Keep em coming bubba. I love it. God needs a perpetual offering in His presence to maintain our justification–that’s what you just said. The actual offering was once, but God needs to keep seeing the representation of it in clone form. This also fits into the Reformed construct that God is a wrathful God ready to smoke us at any time if it were not for Christ contantly showing Him that He died for us. It’s abhorrent blaspheme.
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“Well, it has been fun. It is clear once again that we believe two different gospels. Like the RCs, you believe that the ground of our justification is the work of God in us. I believe it is God’s work in Christ.”
Paul… are we crazy? is this not the very distinction he has been insisting he doesn’t accept? and that “Calvinists” do not believe?
WTF?
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John,
Basically, it’s a shell game between justification and sanctification devised by Ernest Reisinger et al to deliberately deceive.
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Intercession: Prayer on someone’s behalf.
NOT continual reminding a mean angry God that “I died for him”. Seriously, God needs reminding of THAT? Think about that for a minute. Let it sink in how blasphemous that thought is.
No no no, God’s wrath is appeased once and for all, no need of a continual reminder. Intercession is our Saviour praying for us for our daily needs and feeble struggles to serve Him, in EXACTLY the same way He prayed for His disciples here on earth. He never ONCE prayed, “Father, let me remind you I am going to die for them”. Do I really need to cite passages here?
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Free,
Let me put some feet on that for you: on page 23 of “Uneclipsing The Son” by Rick Holland, we find the subtitle, “Saved from God.”
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It’s TULIP in action once again. Christ interceding for us is because a big mean angry God is pissed off at us poor totally depraved saints and needs Christ’s “restraining hand” or whatever the heck you want to call it. I got a news flash. Those who have received Christ in faith, God is no longer “pissed” with them and certainly does not need a continual reminder of this. Preposterous.
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This is the “already but not yet” of Reformed theology. It’s done but it really is not done until the end. It’s CONTINUAL. We are seated with Christ in heavenly places but we really are NOT YET. We are holy but we really are NOT YET. It’s a complete denial of our present standing IN CHRIST. Thus it is a complete denial of the passage “If any man be IN CHRIST, HE IS a new creature”. It is more like, “If any man be in Christ, he is, but really is not yet a new creature”. Our friend TULIP rearing its ugly head again. This is a denial of freedom IN CHRIST to serve and live apart from the law condemning us. If we are positionally IN CHRIST we “are already there”. The entire set of Epistles is basically the Apostles encouraging believers to live IN this truth. Because that is how God sees us. Now. Not later.
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YEP.
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This has hatched a new blog post… 🙂
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Free,
Google “saved from God” and here is some of what you find: “Telling sinners that God’s judgment is stored up towards their sin — and that salvation is found only in Christ”
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