Paul's Passing Thoughts

Authentic Calvinism dies a social death every 100 to 150 years because of the spiritual tyranny that goes hand in hand with it. In Authentic Calvinism, all reality and knowledge worth knowing is a deeper and deeper knowledge of how evil we are as “set against the holiness of God.” Hence, all tragedy, sin, misfortune, etc., contributes to our knowledge of how worthless we are. Have you been raped by a leader in the church? Awesome! What a wonderful opportunity to show forth the forgiveness of Christ that you have received by forgiving your rapist. What a wonderful opportunity to show forth the importance of tending to your own sin and not the sin of others. And what about “justice”? Justice?! Just be glad you haven’t received the justice that you deserve! Here is what Calvin said about justice:

Those who, as in the presence of God, inquire seriously into the true standard of righteousness, will certainly find that all the works of men, if estimated by their own worth, are nothing but vileness and pollution, that what is commonly deemed justice is with God mere iniquity; what is deemed integrity is pollution; what is deemed glory is ignominy (CI 3.12.4).

Eventually, this logic hits a dead-end with people. Authentic Calvinism dies, and out of the ashes comes an adjusted version with a sounder soteriology. But the nomenclature, “Calvinist” is retained.  Unlike the evolutionary cesspool of Authentic Calvinism that yields a Sanctified Calvinism, the latter holds to a measure of enablement on the part of the believer, especially in the category of law-keeping. Then, when Authentic Calvinism rears its ugly head in a societal resurgence, the former and latter go to war.

The First Calvinist Civil War

The first war occurred shortly after the siblings of the Reformation, the Puritans, landed on American soil from Europe. The Bible of choice was the Geneva Bible. An Authentic Calvinist, Anne Hutchinson, started a Bible study in her home. She was a rabid follower of John Cotton, Authentic Calvinist extraordinaire. In fact, when Cotton was forced to leave for America, she followed him here. In her Bible studies, she accused the rest of the Puritan gang of being legalists because they didn’t share John Cotton’s assertion that Jesus keeps the law for us in sanctification (or the Christian life), so that we can stand in the future judgment clothed in the perfect obedience of Christ and not our own. In turn, the other Puritan Calvinists (Sanctified: believe that law informs sanctification without effecting justification) accused her of being an antinomian. This was known as the Massachusetts Bay Colony antinomian controversy of 1637.

The Colony was a theocracy modeled after European Calvinistic Puritanism. Hutchison was brought to trial by the courts as well as her home church. Cotton, while defending Hutchinson, was able to play both sides of the fence and emerge unscathed. Hutchinson was eventually banished from the Colonies and was murdered by Indians five years later.

Sanctified Calvinists: 1.

Authentic Calvinists: 0.

However, not long after, the fallout from the European style Salem witch trials put an end to the Puritan theocracy.

The Second Calvinist Civil War

In 1970, two significant Reformed movements emerged and began having profound effect on American church culture: the biblical counseling movement founded by Sanctified Calvinist Dr. Jay E. Adams, and the beginnings of what is now known as the New Calvinist movement. The New Calvinist movement is the latest revival of Authentic Calvinism. The movement was trampled to death in Calvinistic Baptist circles, but found life in Dr. John Miller’s Sonship Discipleship program. Disciples of Miller infiltrated the biblical counseling movement and went to war with Adams claiming that his counseling construct wasn’t “vertical enough.” Basically, the same grace/works contention between the two Calvinist camps that occurred in 1637. Adams was eventually pushed out of the movement that he founded all together via character assassination and retreated to a small counseling organization of his own.

Authentic Calvinists: 1

Sanctified Calvinists: 1

The series is now tied.

paul

“Calvinism collapses unregeneration into regeneration; hence, Total Depravity (the “T” in TULIP) also refers to believers.”

The fundamental defect of Reformed theology is its view of law and gospel; specifically, Christians remain under the law instead of a transformation to under grace. “Grace” becomes a covering for remaining under the law instead of something totally separate. Those who are under the law will be judged by it at the final judgment, are provoked to sin by it, can’t comprehend it, and are unable to obey it (Romans 8:7,8). Have you ever heard a Calvinist describe Christians in that way? That’s why. Calvinism collapses unregeneration into regeneration; hence, Total Depravity (the “T” in TULIP) also refers to believers. In one respect among many, it is impossible for Christians to be totally depraved because there is no law to judge us as totally depraved. Discussing ways in which this may be true practically are also fruitless because where there is no law, there is no sin (Romans 4:15, 5:13, 7:1,6,).

It’s like this: you are brought into court based on charges that you are unrighteous. You are found innocent for three reasons: you possess the righteous of God; there is no law in which to judge you; and even if there was, Christ has already served your time and paid the penalty.

Note what Paul states in Galatians 3:10-14;

10 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” 11 Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” 12 But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— 14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.

In Reformed theology, we are still under the law, but they make the fulfillment of the law part of the atonement. In other words, atonement is not a righteousness revealed “apart from the law” (Romans 3:21). Christ paid the penalty of sin by dying on the cross, but also lived a perfect life on earth to fulfill the righteous requirements of the law. The law is therefore still a standard for determining righteousness. It is a standard for justification that must be fulfilled in order for us to be found in the righteousness of God that is imputed to us.

Hence, Christ “lived and died” for our justification. His life lived on earth becomes part of the atonement in that the perfect obedience of Christ is imputed to our sanctification—IF we appropriate the works of Christ by faith alone in sanctification. However, the Scriptures never say that, but rather state that Christ died for our sins and was resurrected for our justification (Romans 4:25). By “one act” of obedience we were justified, not the totality of His obedience while He lived on earth (Romans 5:19, Hebrews 10:10 [“sanctified” used in the sense of being permanently set apart and declared holy]).

Calvin makes it clear in the Calvin Institutes (3.14.9,10,11) that attempts to keep the law as Christians is futile because we are unable to keep it perfectly. This is the same standard that those who are under the law (Romans 6:14) are confronted with. Therefore, obviously, the law is still a standard for justification in the Reformed gospel construct. Calvin’s answer to our dilemma is found in CI: 3.14.11; he states that the righteousness of Christ is applied to us as we revisit the gospel; specifically, he states that our “reconciliation with God” is “perpetual.” No wonder that we must “preach the gospel to ourselves every day.”

Sound familiar?

paul

The Reformed false gospel is a perfect storm of deception because it is works salvation via not working. Folks have a difficult time grasping that because it seems like an oxymoron. But it isn’t. When justification and sanctification are fused together, or said another way: when sanctification finishes justification; EVERYTHING we do in sanctification determines whether or not the links of “the golden chain of salvation” stay together properly.  We are Protestants which means that our tradition is based on lay-ignorance and unwarranted trust in Christian academia to begin with; so, this compounds the effectiveness of Reformed deception.

Hence, the most effective means of destroying the Reformation myth and putting a stop to its tyranny is developing power statements that effectively accuse this falsehood in terms people can understand. Then the debate can proceed from there. The Reformation myth and the human carnage it heaps upon history will never be defeated unless it is brought to trial. These power statements reduce the Reformed false gospel to its least common denominator.

A friend of PPT recently communicated a good one:

Well as one of my cousins who got involved with Calvinism a few years back told me (and she was previously “saved”) that now she has to go “deep with her sin” and be saved every day. So she has spent the last few years being “saved” over and over every day going deep with her sin. It has not made her more loving nor has it given her hope. But she is busy contemplating the cross, her sin and being saved over and over.

Where is her hope? Her “new life in Christ”? (Which she used to live, btw)

It is insidious.

Calvin’s gospel, stated in its least common denominator, is a daily re-salvation. No? Well then, why these mantras? “The same gospel that saves you also sanctifies you.” “We must preach the gospel to ourselves every day.” What does the gospel do? Answer: it saves us. So if we need it every day, we must also need what it provides every day. No? Yes.

That’s the debate starter, and the focus of this ministry is to educate Christians on where you take it from there. I close with an additional comment by the reader that really speaks for itself, so I will conclude with it accordingly:

Paul, the worst part is that it made my cousin very unloving on many fronts to other believers. She has shunned some who have dared to question some of her guru’s. In fact, she claims they are violating scripture. And the worst part is that she used to have a real heart for the lost. Now she is busy dealing with her very deep sin and getting saved over and over.

paul