New Calvinists like to say, “What’s that look like?” Well, it kinda looks like Plato.
Read this post: deliteralizing-the-bible-from-plato-to-peterson
The following is what it “looks like”:
Why Donate to PPT and TANC? Mission Statement of TANC
Why Donate to PPT and TANC? Mission Statement of TANC
By Paul M. Dohse Sr.
TANC: Truth About New Calvinism.com; a discernment ministry under the accountability of Germantown Baptist Chapel in Germantown, Ohio.
“This movement runs contrary to the Reformation and the Scriptures. It is dangerous and must be exposed and halted.”
~Dr. Jay E. Adams
The American Church certainly has its problems, but is it really awash in the supposed false gospel of co-laboring with God in sanctification? New Calvinism is operating on the false premise that it is saving the church from a theological dark age; the work of the original Reformation is ongoing and unfinished. The arrogance that necessarily follows this motif lingers not far behind. And according to the Scriptures, young leaders do not lack propensity towards such attitudes. As New Calvinist Mark Driscoll has noted: “You get the young men….you get everything. If you don’t get the young men, you get nothing.”
The movement has also seen itself as, above being identified. To be called anything except a term all Christians are familiar with, “gospel” is to deny their mission and categorize them as just another flash in the pan theological movement. This has led to innumerable hostile takeovers of churches and parachurch organizations. Until now, victims were helpless in stopping these takeovers because New Calvinism’s specific doctrine and source was unidentifiable; you can’t contend against a danger that you cannot define.
That is changing fast. More and more with every week that passes New Calvinism’s covert mode of operation is no longer working. This is a major advancement in the cause to earnestly contend against this false doctrine. Though we will not cite numbers specifically, the following chart illustrates the sharp increase in visits to this website by people who want to know what is going on with this movement. Takeovers are being prevented, and many churches now know what to look for in order to keep New Calvinist leaders out of their churches.
And this is extremely important because New Calvinism is a false gospel. It clearly fuses justification and sanctification together. When sanctification is a “chain” or “road” to a final judgment in which we must be found just, the propagation of a false gospel can be the only result. This also leads to an unhealthy dependence on spiritual leaders who must supposedly lead us through the very critical pathways of a sanctification that is really justification in action. The gargantuan dependence and worship of spiritual leaders in our day is now evident accordingly. And for this reason, New Calvinism is a religion of fear. Hardly anything is more evident than the pervasive fear of leaders that dominates this movement.
This ministry will continue to aggressively educate and improve in how a contention against this movement is communicated. We will communicate this through the big picture, and the dismantling of every detail of the movement. For almost five years now, I have attempted to merely get the ball rolling in hopes that others would pick up the ball and run with it. This has not happened, so I will fully embrace the duty. Lord willing, and in His strength, and with the help of God’s people, we will earnestly contend against this gangrenous blight upon the church.
And “gangrene” is a key word here. While discussing the Apostle Paul’s use of the word gangrene with my wife Susan, she reminded me that she has been afflicted with gangrene in the past. The apostle used that particular word with intentionality. When Susan had gangrene in one of her legs, she felt no pain and was totally unaware of it. Gangrene is a silent killer of the body’s limbs. If it goes undetected for too long, limbs must be amputated. That is exactly how false doctrine infects the church: silently, covertly, and subtly, but with fatal results.
Paul’s Passing Thoughts and Truth About New Calvinism.com will be editing two of my unpublished books and offering them for free on our websites in pdf format. These books deal with the various elements of the movement. The Truth About New Calvinism addresses the major tenets and the doctrine’s history. Volume two will be published in the near future. We will use the following to sound the alarm: blogs, books, conferences, speaking opportunities, our newsletter, and networking with other Christian ministries. We also look forward to working with other organizations that address the spiritual abuse created by this movement. Right now, the movement itself has created organizations that supposedly minister to the fallout that the movement itself has created. An example of this would be the upstart Biblical Counseling Coalition.
This movement is so pervasive that in many cities across our nation, there are only New Calvinist churches. We get emails and letters from those who testify to this. They go to church week after week and hear about how they are totally depraved and hate God as much as any unbeliever. Therefore, I am very excited that TANC will be starting a forum to create a shovel ready church polity for those who would like to start a fellowship in their homes. We plan to work with Bible colleges to start non-New Calvinist churches across the nation (The Noah Forum). This will give God’s people an alternative. Secondly, we plan to start a publishing company that will empower the laity and others to promote what God has taught them in the Scriptures (The Berean Laity Press). Right now, New Calvinists control ALL of the major Christian publishing companies. This is completely unacceptable.
Big plans, but we have a big God. And this is needed and long overdue, because only truth sanctifies.
Paul M. Dohse
Author: Paul’s Passing Thoughts blog, The Truth About New Calvinism: Berean Laity Press, 2011.
Director: TANC
Member: The Coalition Against New Calvinism
“Actually, down through the years it has been the vague stuff like this that has captured the minds of the untaught and unlearned (2 Peter 3:16). That’s why mysticism stills holds a large segment of the Roman church in its clutches, why liberalism with its vague neo-orthodoxy still affects the thinking of many, and why post-modern anarchism is in vogue.”
~Dr. Jay E. Adams
TANC Doctrinal Statement
Scripture
All Scripture is God-breathed, and is sufficient to make the believer adequate for every good work pleasing to God. God used man to write the Scriptures as they were born along by the Holy Spirit. No iota or dot of Scripture has ceased to benefit the believer in some way. Scripture’s truth and accuracy has always been superintended by God. The Scriptures have been completely delivered to the saints, and terrible woe will come to those who add to it or take away from it (2Timothy 3:16,17; Matthew 4:4; 2Peter 1:19-21; Matthew 5:18; Jude 3; Revelation 22:18,19).
Authority of Scripture
The authority of Scripture supersedes that of elders and the Presbytery. Our first allegiance is always to the Chief Shepherd and all that He has commanded. We only follow men when they follow Christ (Acts 17:11,12; 1Cortinthians 4:6; 1Corinthians 11:1; Galatians 1:8,9 Matthew 28:18,19).
The Trinity
The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one God, but also three distinct persons who are the fullness of all deity in, and of themselves. God is sovereign over the affairs of men, pure and righteous in all of His affairs, loves those who seek Him, and hates evil doers. The Son will return to execute judgment on Earth at a time like the days of Noah, and will establish an everlasting kingdom of righteousness ruled by the Father and Son. Until then, God’s people are to be holy as He is holy, glorify His name by the way they live, and be ever watchful and ready for His Son’s return. All of redemptive history is moving toward God the Father being “all in all” (Deuteronomy 6:4; 1Timothy 2:5; John 1:1; Acts 5:3,4; 2Corinthians 3:17,18; Habakkuk 1:13; Malachi 1:11; Matthew 5:8; Philippians 2:15; John 3:16; Psalms 5:5; 11:5; Hosea 9:15; Malachi; 1:2,3; Matthew 5:13-16; Matthew 24:37; Revelation 22:1; 1Peter 1:15; Matthew 24:42; 1Corinthians 15:25-28).
Creation
The Trinity created the heavens and Earth in six solar days. Light and darkness were created as one in the first day amidst water. God then separated the darkness and light in the first day also. (Genesis 1:1-31).
Salvation
Salvation is Trinitarian. God the Father justifies, the Son saves, and The Holy Spirit regenerates. God retains all glory for salvation unto Himself. Those whom the Father has elected, He has also called. Those whom the Father has called, He has glorified. God has done this before creation, and His election guarantees glorification. All that the Father has elected, he will lead to the Son. All that He leads to the Son are justified. Therefore, glorification is secured before the foundation of the Earth for all of God’s children. Hence, sanctification has no bearing on the Father’s justification.
All who come to the Father must come through the Son by believing in His death, burial, and resurrection. He is the only mediator between God and mankind. With the aid of the Holy Spirit and the power that raised Christ from the grave, and obedience to the word of God, the believer can experience the full assurance of the Father’s election. The Holy Spirit will illumine believers and counsel them with the word of God. He will actively work with the believer to be set apart for God’s glory (Romans 8:30; Ephesians 1:3-10; John 17:17; John 14:15-17; 1Timothy 2:5; 2Peter 1:3-21; Ephesians 1:15-20; John 6:44; 1 Corinthians 6:14; 15:1-8).
Evangelism
People are not saved without the preaching of the gospel. God’s offer of salvation to all people is a legitimate offer. God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. It is God’s desire that all people come to repentance and be saved (Ezekiel 33:11; John 3:16-19; Acts 17:30; 1 Timothy 2:3,4; 2 Peter 3:9; Romans 10:14; Matthew 23:37).
The New Birth
We affirm the new birth. There is no salvation without it. We are created into totally new creatures, and the old self has been put to death. Therefore, sin’s ability to enslave us has been broken, and we are free to obey God with the aid of the Holy Spirit and instruction from the Scriptures. A robust effort in sanctification through the new birth will be richly rewarded in this life and the life to come according to the promises of God, and with no ability to add or take away from justification.
We reject all teachings that present the new birth as a realm or manifestation of the Spirit without the co-laboring of the believer. Christians are declared righteous, and in fact are righteous through the new birth. Christians continue to sin because of the flesh and mortality. Sinfulness resides in the flesh of the believer, while the heart of the believer is redeemed. We are washed, but need forgiveness for our failings while walking in the world. This is not forgiveness to maintain justification, but forgiveness to maintain a harmonious relationship with our Father. Jesus Christ will reward us for our holy works and loving accomplishments while on Earth, and destroy the works of the flesh by fire (John 3:3-15; John 1:12,13; 2Corinthians 5:17; Colossians 3:9,10; Ephesians 5: 20-24 1Corinthians 3:9; 1Thessalonians 3:2; 2Corinthians 6:1; Philippians 4:8,9; John 13: 6-11; 1Thessilonians 4:3 Romans 7:23; Mark 13:48; Galatians 5:16).
The Church
The church is the universal body of Christ with local expressions. Local assemblies should be guided by a group of pastors. The other offices of the church are deacon and deaconess. These are individuals, both female and male, who have all the qualifications of “elder” except, “apt to teach.” They are to handle the affairs of the church in order to free the elders for prayer and the “ministry of the word.” The local assembly should be led by elders, and confirmed by the congregation in regard to their decisions and calling. Elders are not to lord it over the flock. The office of elder and deacon/deaconess is a spiritual gift, and therefore a lifetime appointment. However, the privilege of practicing these gifts can be halted by the congregation for dereliction of duty and other sins.
Elders who sin are to be rebuked before the entire congregation so the other elders will fear. Elders are to equip the saints for ministry, and the saints/congregation are the ministers. The elders are not the ministers. The saints are to be equipped with the full counsel of God. The attempt to fully equip the saints with the same gospel that justified us is a false gospel. It should also be noted that elders have no authority in the Christian home outside of the church. The authority structure in the home is clearly stated in Ephesians 5:22-27. The husband is the pastor of his home, not the elders (Acts 14:23; Titus 1:5-9; Acts 15:1-29; 16:4,5; 20:17; 20:28-32; 21:18; 1Timothy 5:17-19; 1Peter 5:1-5; 1Timothy 4:14; James 5:14,15 Acts 6:1-6; 1Timothy 3:1-13 1Timothy 5:20).
Separation
The Bible instructs regarding “self-discipline” and the “Lord’s discipline” but states nothing about “church discipline” Church discipline is a misnomer. The Bible teaches separation that results in the discipline of the Lord and other practical consequences. This is both local and universal, and is critical in regard to purity of doctrine and practice. This is a practice that should be implemented, when applicable, between individuals and churches, churches and other congregations, and between denominations/organizations. The lack of this practice is greatly responsible for the rampant error of our day. Unity is based on truth. Truth is the life substance of unity, not the avoidance of confrontation. Biblically, division is always framed in context of false doctrine.
The Bible calls for this separation after several different procedures have been applied to the correct situation. We reject a Matthew 18 grid for every situation that occurs in the church. Separation is intended for sins of the baser sort, and is not a tool for fine-tuning God’s people; for instance, counseling, etc. Lastly, involvement of the whole congregation should always precede separation to insure that all in the situation and their actions are vetted. ([Note differences. Sins against brothers: Matt.18:15-20; false teaching that causes division:1Tim.6:3-5, 2John:10,11 Titus 3:10, Rom.16:16,17; sinning Elders:1 Timothy 5:19; broken fellowship between parishioners: Phil. 4:2,3; Idleness: 2Thess. 3:6-15; gross Immorality: 1Cor. 5:1- 13] 1Corinthians 5:6; Revelations 2:1-3:22; Hebrews 12:5-11; 1Cor. 11:30; 1Cor. 11:31-32).
Eschatology
The coming of Jesus Christ to secure the Father’s salvation through His sacrifice, and His return, mark the beginning and the end of the last age of the ages. It will be an age marked by deception and an unprecedented onslaught against God’s truth. The primary falsehood of this age will be antinomianism. In fact, the antichrist will be a consummate antinomian. The coalition believes that New Calvinism could be a latter-day antinomian blitzkrieg as the Scriptures predict will come in the last days (Hebrews 1:1,2; Hebrews 9:26; 2Peter 3:3-10; 2Timothy 4:2,3; 1John 2:18; 1John 4:1; 2Corinthians 11:13; 2Thessalonians 2:1-3; 2Timothy 3:1-5; 2Timothy 3:13; Matthew 24:3,4. The following refers to how the last days are framed in regard “anomia”: love, Matthew 24:11,12; Judgment, Matthew 7:23; 13:41; fellowship, 2Corinthians 6:14; mystery of anomia, 2Thessalonians 2:7; antichrist is called the “anomia one” or “man of anomia” three times in 2Thesslonians chapter two. Redemption, Titus 2:14).
The Answer to Rachel’s Question Highlights the Vile Hopelessness of New Calvinism
“New Calvinism’s answer to troubled people is a continual revisiting of our salvation which results in, note carefully, a ‘transformation.’”
I had other plans this morning. Then I thought I would visit http://frombitterwaterstosweet.blogspot.com/ to see what was going on over there before I began my day. The first thing I saw was a question from “Rachel” and an invitation by the author of the blog for somebody to answer her question. Rachel framed her question in regard to the subject of depression; you know, the kind where you wake up in the morning and everything in you doesn’t want to get out of bed and face another day. Why? Because it’s hard to function in life when your soul is stripped of joy on the one hand, and full of torment on the other. Sleep with narcotic (medication) induced dreams are the only relief—at least the horrible dreams are being observed and not experienced in real life.
Yes, I will answer the question because this is deeply personal and plunges the depths of why I hate the doctrine of New Calvinism. Yes, I hate New Calvinism because I love hope, and hope has no greater enemy in our day than New Calvinism. Rachel’s inquisition follows:
Can someone answer this question for me? (I’m trying to fit some puzzle pieces together about NC)…
I see from the example in the post (that of a woman being abused “partaking in Christ’s suffering”) that NCs can come off as ambivalent about helping/stopping suffering when it rears its ugly head.
Do they take it a step further and actually emphasize suffering as a goal/way of life?
In other words, it’s one thing to tell a suffering person that they shouldn’t seek to change their situation. It’s another thing to tell a happy person that they should actively aspire to be suffering.
I am starting to see this attitude in my church and it really bothers me. For one thing, I know very few well-adjusted people who actually aspire towards suffering as a way of life (plenty of people who give lip service to that, mind you, but I see them out having fun and smelling the roses just like everyone else). Also, as someone who has struggled with depression and anxiety, I’ve had to hold onto God’s promise of mercy, joy and hope in order to get myself to a place of health and healing…and I see people in my church who have never struggled with these things decreeing quite confidently that trying to escape suffering is not what we want. (I wonder if any of them have ever found themselves truly unable to get out of bed in the morning, and how they justified that this was necessary for them to serve God….don’t know about you all, but I always serve God better when I get up, go about my day, and interact with other humans).
Anyway…thoughts?
Yes Rachel, I have some thoughts. Let me use these comments by you to begin:
Do they take it a step further and actually emphasize suffering as a goal/way of life?
In other words, it’s one thing to tell a suffering person that they shouldn’t seek to change their situation. It’s another thing to tell a happy person that they should actively aspire to be suffering.
No, they don’t do that, but they clearly teach that it is wrong for you to rectify your condition “in your own efforts.” As one depressed follower of New Calvinism said to me: “It’s not about anything that I can do, It’s about what Jesus has done.” Sounds spiritual, no? But let me tell you my precious sister, those are words of death. Put another way by a New Calvinist friend of demons:
Jesus comes to transform our entire being, not just our mind. He comes as a person, not as a cognitive concept we insert into a new formula for life.
Note the subtle devaluing of obedience with the words, “a cognitive concept we insert into a new formula for life.” Elsewhere, this vile false teacher states:
Along with deep repentance, Scripture calls us to faith that rests and feeds upon the living Christ. He fills us with Himself through the person of the Holy Spirit and our hearts are transformed by faith.
And that is the counsel that the depressed will receive from today’s New Calvinists: “rest and feed.” Rachel, compare the statement above with the New Calvinist illustration I posted in the article that provoked your question. And remember, this is their illustration, not mine:
New Calvinism’s answer to troubled people is a continual revisiting of our salvation which results in, note carefully, a transformation. New Calvinists don’t believe that we change, they believe that through a continual revisiting of salvation, we manifest one of two realms; flesh or spirit, but I will stick to the basics for now and not delve too deeply into their denial of the new birth. What they call the new birth has nothing to do with real personal change. This should be evident from the visual illustration. But the concept enables them to deceive with doublespeak. Hence, another quotation by the aforementioned satanic minion who poses as a biblical counselor:
Instead, even the Christian version of this approach [following biblical commands] separates the commands of Scripture from their Christ-centered, gospel context.
In both phases of his Christian life, the work of Christ on the cross was radically minimized by Andy’s own efforts. The first three years evidenced a Christ-less activism that produced pride and self-sufficiency.
This whole concept can also be observed if you note carefully the words of this New Calvinist:
Where we land on these issues is perhaps the most significant factor in how we approach our own faith and practice and communicate it to the world. If not only the unregenerate but the regenerate are always dependent at every moment on the free grace of God disclosed in the gospel, then nothing can raise those who are spiritually dead or continually give life to Christ’s flock but the Spirit working through the gospel. When this happens (not just once, but every time we encounter the gospel afresh), the Spirit progressively transforms us into Christ’s image. Start with Christ (that is, the gospel) and you get sanctification in the bargain; begin with Christ and move on to something else, and you lose both.
New Calvinism’s Onslaught Against the Hope of Obedience
“Andy’s own efforts” are the difference between life and death in our Christian life. As I continue to state, New Calvinism got its doctrine from Robert Brinsmead and the Australian Forum. The Forum was established in 1970-71, and roughly the same time, a problem occurred named Jay Adams. In his book, “Competent to Counsel,” he offered an alternative to the hopelessness left by the hyper-grace theology of the first gospel wave. Proponents of the Forum’s new twist on hyper-grace considered Adams a threat. But if you talk to Adams, he relates his experience in churches across the land as he answered invitations to speak: “They were surprised that someone was teaching that we could do something in the Christian life. They thought it was some kind of new teaching [paraphrase from memory].”
Exactly. New Calvinists teach that obedience must always flow from an exultation induced by gospel contemplationism. Hence, a depressed person shouldn’t do anything that is not motivated by a gratitude for their original salvation. And it’s not really us doing it—it’s a manifestation of the Spirit (or the spirit realm verses the flesh real). In other words, it’s a sanctified obedience since “totally depraved Christians” cannot really obey in and of themselves. The New Calvinist born again individual is one who merely manifests one realm or the other at any given time. At a time in my life when I was almost drawn into this theology and it was thought that I could be spoken to openly, a fairly well-known New Calvinist concurred with this realm approach in an email to me. However, you can only see it in his writings if you know what to look for. I have never read the debates between Jay Adams and Dr. Ed Welch on the heart/flesh issue, but I assume this philosophy could probably be seen in Welch’s response. At any rate, one must ask: “If we are still totally depraved, where does the obedience come from?” Again, look at the New Calvinist illustration, our goal is to make the cross bigger by plunging the debts of understanding in regard to our own depravity. This approach can also be seen in the writings of New Calvinist Terry Rayburn:
There are several problems with that essentially Legalistic view of Sanctification, as reflected in the following observations:
1) Our flesh cannot get better. In Romans 7:18 Paul wrote, “For I know that NOTHING good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh…” Your flesh cannot be improved. Flesh is flesh, and spirit is spirit.
2) Our new nature, on the other hand cannot get better, because it has already been made new and perfect through regeneration. We have been given a “new heart” (new nature, or new spirit), and not a defective one, which would be absurd. This new spirit has been made “one spirit with Him” (1 Corinthians 6:17), such that when we “walk according to the Spirit” (i.e., the Holy Spirit), we also walk according to our own new spirit.
3) Those who deal with Sanctification by zeroing in on so-called “Progressive” Sanctification as the main point of Sanctification, are at best in Kindergarten.
What could be clearer? We, in and of ourselves as born again believers, do not change, we manifest one realm or the other, and anything more than that is “legalism.” This is what is often meant by the New Calvinist slogan, “between two realms, “ or “between two worlds,” or “between two spheres.” In fact, I couldn’t remember one of the exact phrases, so I went to a New Calvinist blog to check, and behold, there was a newly posted article by New Calvinist Elyse Fitzgerald that states exactly what I have said here about gospel contemplationism. The following screen shot encompasses all of my thoughts on this one point:
These New Calvinists are exactly the same as the imposters before them. As one author said of the 4th century heretic Arius:
More important, the unfavorable ruling of the council provoked Arius to alter his strategy in a significant way. Without actually modifying his views, he worked hard to refine his language to make himself sound as orthodox as possible. He insisted that he had been misunderstood and misrepresented. He continued to profess his adherence to all the major creeds and apostolic doctrinal formulae. He even occasionally claimed that he had no major disagreement with the Nicene Council’s position. The actual difference between them was very slight, he insisted.
This reminds me of a written response by Dr. Albert Mohler in which he ignored all of my specific concerns, said he didn’t know anybody that believed what I was stating, and made a general statement about holding to all of the beliefs contained in the Southern Baptist Convention’s statement of faith. Which is a lie, and you can quote me on that.
There is no doubt that all of salvation is of God. But there is something very evident about God that he makes clear in his word. He delights in colaboring with his children. We can see this in the creation account and in specific statements throughout the New Testament (1Cor.3:9, 1Thess.3:2, 2Cor.6:1). God delighted in letting Adam name the animals, and it was really Adam that named them. And it is really us doing the work in sanctification. For crying out loud, we will even be rewarded for our work! Words mean things, and Christ knows how to communicate with His created beings. When He will say, “Well done faithful servant,” He didn’t mean to say that we really won’t be doing what was “well done.” A beautiful picture of how we colabor with our Savior can be seen in John 14:12-16. Christ said He was going away to the Father so that He could do greater works, or us? We are here working in greater numbers, but the Lord said He would be with the Father so that if we asked anything in His name, He would do it to glorify the Father. He also said to love Him by keeping His commandments, and in the NEXT sentence, Christ said he would send us a “HELPER.” What’s a “helper”? Get it? He “helps” us. If Christ does it all, why do we need help? Our efforts and the Holy Spirit’s help is seamless. It’s not either/or. This can be seen throughout the Scriptures: “The fruit of the Spirit is…. self –control.” Who is doing the controlling? Answer: self (that would be you). Who’s fruit? Answer: the Holy Spirit. We are to “pursue” the Holy Spirit’s fruit, but if we don’t pursue—no fruit. And no reward. And no blessings. RC Sproul said it best before he was afflicted with New Calvinist dementia:
Sanctification is cooperative. There are two partners involved in the work. I must work and God will work. If ever the extra-biblical maxim, “God helps those who help themselves,” had any truth, it is at this point. We are not called to sit back and let God do all the work. We are called to work, and to work hard. To work something out with fear and trembling is to work with devout and conscientious rigor. It is to work with care, with a profound concern with the end result (Pleasing God p. 227).
The only time we work in a way that displeases God is when we work according to arrogant ideas that do not align with God’s word, like the New Calvinesque woman who said that Mary was blessed because she gave birth to the Savior. Did anybody know the personhood of Christ better than Mary? Yet, Christ rebuked the woman publicly and said that it was the ones who hear His commands and obey that are blessed (Lk. 11:27). In 2Samuel chapter 7, king David assumed that it wasn’t right that he lived in a palace and God dwelled in a tent. God rebuked him, and for all practical purposes asked him where he found such an idea in the Scriptures. Likewise, New Calvinists assume that anything we do in sanctification is a slight against God getting all the glory. God is the judge of what gives Him glory, not man.
The apostle Paul’s counsel
So what would the apostle Paul say about all of this? Well, do depressed people need “peace”? Say yes. They need it in the worst way. In Philippians 4:9, Paul wrote the following:
What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
That’s what you call a promise. And trust me, if God is with you, all is well. And Paul makes it a point to state that he is the God of “peace.” But the promise is contingent on what? Answer: doing our part, and doing it the right way. What we have “learned,” and “received,” and “heard,” and “seen,” implies more than the gospel and what Christ did to save us. If that’s what Paul wanted to say, he would have simply stated it. Prior to this statement in verse 9, Paul said that the pathway to “peace” is putting off worry and replacing it with specific prayer (verse 6), and right thinking (verse 8), and right doing (verse 9).
Christ promised the same thing in the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount. A house built on a rock hears the word of God and “puts it into practice” with the Holy Spirit’s help. And remember, Christ said that the Spirit would help, that’s a promise also.
New Calvinists are the servants of the Quietist Grinch that steals hope. They are clouds without water. They serve a false God that supposedly only wants to be gazed upon rather than obeyed as Lord. Be not deceived. Chooses life instead. Choose hope.
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