New Calvinists Think it is Cool and Funny to Reject the New Birth
“You must be born again.”
~ The Lord Jesus Christ
Still Waiting for an Answer
“They can’t answer these questions honestly without exposing who they really are.”
I decided to stroll back over to the article that was referred to me the other day on Justin Taylor’s blog. Another reader made a comment about comments over there, so I found myself led by morbid curiosity. Taylor is promoting an upcoming article by heretic David Powlison that supposedly explains how we kinda live by the same gospel that saved us, but then again we kinda don’t. The crux is that the all-knowing Powlison assures us that all is well. Even though his pontifications create three questions for everyone he vaguely answers, we can’t resist trusting his Mr. Rogers demeanor. As an aside, let me mention that I was surprised to see a positive comment from Jason Hood who once denounced, “sanctification by justification.”
I decided to chime in, and shockingly, the comments posted. The screen shot follows:
Clearly, and not surprisingly, a sanctification endowed with a hankering to be justified by works as the essence of sin is what’s being propagated here. Of course, this turns sound gospel doctrine completely on its head. And they might answer my questions, but because I know what these guys really believe, I don’t see a place for them to go with this.
Since the apostle Paul said that seeking to be justified by works cuts us off from Christ, at what point in sanctification are we cut off or not cut off? Taylor states that this temptation will always be present in sanctification, so what constitutes its conception? And if we repent of whatever that is, does that mean we are resaved, or never saved prior, or is there a grace period for figuring out our error, or what? Moreover, the question that eventually got me excommunicated from Clearcreek Chapel: “How do we distinguish between our ‘own efforts’ in sanctification and other efforts?” “And how do we know when it is our “own” or the, we can only surmise, GOOD EFFORTS in sanctification?” “And what are the consequences of trying to please God in ‘our own efforts’ in sanctification?” They can’t answer these questions honestly without exposing who they really are.
Bottom line: they believe what we do in sanctification can affect the finished work of God’s calling to eternal life. That’s a huuuuuuge problem. According to Taylor, and frankly, he got it from Calvin, we are constantly tempted to aid God in a finished work that was finished before the earth was created with the results guaranteed (ROM 8:29,30).
And that’s the rub: Calvin didn’t believe that justification is finished. Why? Because Calvin believed that law is the standard of justification. Calvin believed that a perfect keeping of the law had to be maintained in sanctification for us to remain justified. Therefore, he believed the death of Christ to be “perpetual.” He couldn’t reconcile the imperfection of the saints in sanctification with any other interpretation of justification. He defined the righteousness of God imputed to us, by the law. As a philosophical matter, one must ask if the Bible fully defines the righteousness of God that was imputed to us to begin with.
At any rate, Calvin rejected the imputation of God’s righteousness APART from the law (ROM 3:21). The law is still around to maintain justification and define it. A just standing is fed and maintained by a constant, perfect obedience to the law. The law is NOT SEPARATE, it is perfectively obeyed by Christ “for us” IN SANCTIFCATION. This is what these filthy lying heretics will not plainly state. If they were honest about it, the gig would be up. I contend that the law need not be upheld by anybody FOR JUSTIFICATION.
We are not “under” it for justification. If it has to be maintained, we are still under it. Who keeps it is beside the point. We are under grace and informed by the law for sanctification, and now desire the law of truth while despising the mortality that keeps us from obeying the law perfectly as a matter of pleasing our Father—not the maintenance of justification. Besides, efforts at self-justification NEVER involve biblical truth but the traditions of men. Calvin propagated the idea that a sincere endeavor to obey the truth of Scripture could be an effort to justify ourselves. In contrast, self-justification NEVER walks hand in hand with a love for the truth. However, New Calvinists are very much about that idea in order to keep the faithful in fear that without them they will unwittingly end up trying to justify themselves by seeking to love the Lord through truthful obedience. It’s a control fetish that they inherited from their Platonist father Augustine.
And particularly, Taylor can’t answer the last question. Are we enslaved to this sin of self-justification in sanctification? If he says “yes,” that contradicts the clear sense of Scripture. If he says “no,” that contradicts his master, CJ Mahaney.
paul
Why David Powlison is a Liar
Cultists are all the same. First, they believe they understand a higher knowledge that most Christians are not “ready for.” Example: in an interview with John Piper conducted by someone who asked him what he would say to the Pope if he had two minutes with him, Piper stated in no uncertain terms that most Christians are not ready for the true Reformation gospel of justification by faith alone [in sanctification]. Secondly, this mentality allows them to condone the hijacking of familiar Christian terms/phrases and use them to deceive. Example: when they use the term progressive sanctification they really mean progressive justification and they know it grade-A well. It’s deliberate deception.
“Cult” is a loosely used term and it should be. Cults are defined as any group that seeks to control others through deception. They are also defined by being sectarian; in other words, their false doctrine divides relationships of various kinds. New Calvinism has its roots in ancient spiritual caste systems that are defined by those characteristics. Much of today’s religion finds its origins in those ancient philosophies. So “cult” is going to be a term often used, and rightfully so.
This post was instigated by an email I received from a reader regarding a recent article by David Powlison in the revamped The Journal of Biblical Counseling. I believe Powlison to be, for many documented reasons, an unrepentant, habitual liar. The article that was referred to me, as you can tell, has ruffled my feathers. I’m just fed up with all of the deception. The link was a review written by John Piper puppet Justin Taylor. What is the gist of the article? Powlison is going to explain why being sanctified by justification is only one small part of the full counsel of God that he pretends to proffer. In one promotion for the article we read,
David Powlison challenges the popular views on sanctification that take one strand in Scripture and present it as the be all and end all of Christian growth. He specifically engages the strengths and weaknesses of the view that asserts, “You are sanctified by remembering that you are justified.”
Um, excuse me, but first of all, the idea that Christian growth comes from preaching the gospel to ourselves every day or revisiting the gospel isn’t even “one strand” of Scripture to begin with. That strand isn’t there period. It’s a lie directly from the pit of hell itself. According to Taylor, Powlison will address the following in part 2 of the article:
In an article planned for the next issue of the journal, Powlison plans to look at several related questions:
Is sanctification essentially the activity of remembering and rebelieving that Jesus died for your sins? Is self-justification by your own performance the chief problem that sanctification must deal with? When the Bible says to “make every effort,” is the hard work chiefly the struggle to remember and believe again that we are saved by the achievement of our Savior? “In each case,” he writes, “I will say No, and will seek to widen both our personal approach to sanctification and the scope of ministry to others.”
Powlison chooses his words carefully. He is going to “teach” us how to “widen” our “approach to sanctification.” But the “approach” is still singular, and as this blog has exhaustively documented, his approach is exclusively Christocentric. Powlison’s language is also continually saturated with nuance such as, “I will say no.” Why not just say NO and be done with it? Because the answer is not really “no,” that’s why. That’s the usual Powlison speak for, “It’s kinda ‘no’ but then again it’s kinda ‘yes’”
Let me make my point with this excerpt from Taylor’s blog:
Is self-justification by your own performance the chief problem that sanctification must deal with?
Um, excuse me, but if you are a Christian, self-justification in sanctification is a complete impossibility. But notice that it is conceded that such is a possibility by referring to it as a question of being the “chief problem.” Also note that the concern isn’t those who attempt to be saved by their works which then cannot be called sanctification to begin with, but that self-justification in and of itself is possible in sanctification. The very question verifies what Powlison really believes. Works justification CANNOT take place in sanctification. Where works justification is present, sanctification cannot exist. The very framing of the question shows that Powlison doesn’t believe that the two are mutually exclusive. Moreover, we need them to guide us through the very tricky business of figuring out what is our “own performance” in sanctification resulting in “self-justification” verses what isn’t our own efforts in sanctification. Again, their very premise is a biblical impossibility, but reveals what they really believe.
Powlison is a cultist extraordinaire. That’s what he is. Like all New Calvinists.
paul
TANC Prediction: The New Calvinists Are in the Process of Forming Their Own Denomination or the Completed Takeover of the SBC is Imminent
Some recent trends have tempted me to partake in a little prognostication. First, the primer for all of this is the brazen disregard for bad press in light of recent sex scandals among the “Gospel-centered” crowd. Look, I know “Gospel-centered” sounds spiritually generic but it’s not. “Gospel-centered” is indicative of a radical worldview that many in the church don’t comprehend. Two-thousand years later, even in the midst of the Information Age, they are propagating an, “underestimated,” “unadjusted,” “scandalous” gospel. That should be your first clue. And indeed, there is plenty of scandal.
This worldview disregards the concept of justice and has an antinomian pedigree. That is causing a significant pushback between this movement and others in the church. That is perhaps the primary catalyst that will provoke some kind of significant separation. Historically, spiritual tyranny ALWAYS follows this movement, and the chickens have come home to roost. Unfortunately, the church has done a poor job of pinpointing this logic and rejecting it beforehand, but the one thing everyone understands is when bad things start happening.
Again, justice isn’t even on the radar screen, but if you want to pay the bills you act like it’s important. The New Calvinists no longer portend that it is—so something is up in my book. ABWE, which has strong ties to the New Calvinist cartel and its four Dons, “Big Al” Mohler, Mark Dever, Ligon Duncan, and CJ Mahaney, just snubbed its nose up at the Evangelical world by firing the feel-good intermediating organization GRACE. The public facts surrounding this scandal, now ten years in the making, has destroyed GARB credibility in the minds of anyone who is not a consummate Kool-Aid drinker. Creditability in the GARB community may no longer be relevant; i.e., a merger with likeminded despots may be in the works. By the way, New Calvinist Dr. William Brown has been fired from GARB enclave Cedarville University. He was the president thereof, and has been temporarily appointed as chancellor to candy-coat the event as much as possible. But there is a serious catfight going on there that is difficult to sort out. Here is one example: http://cedarvilleproblems.com/index-1.htm . But at any rate, it’s not surprising; some kind of fight ALWAYS follows a New Calvinist beast. Always.
The business as usual motif in regard to CJ Mahaney, the Underboss of the Charismatic wing of the New Calvinist cartel, is also striking. As president of SGM, he has been besieged with controversy over sex scandal cover ups and basic run of the mill despot leadership style. His behavior was so outrageous that his cult following at SGM, including his own son-in-law, dismissed him. The cartel bosses in Louisville, Kentucky (home of their front organization, “Together for the Gospel”) partook in an image makeover and had Mahaney reinstalled as president of SGM. The outrageous event squeezed so hard that every bit of integrity oozed out of SGM and several of its member churches jumped ship. Regardless of all of this, including the fact that Mahaney is a defendant in a class action sexual abuse law suit, he is scheduled as the main act in all upcoming cartel conferences. Again, a total in your face- kiss our sanctified booties stance toward the rest of the Evangelical community. This is hard to miss as the Evangelical community at large has launched a petition for CJ to step out of the limelight while the trial flaunts itself in the mainline news media: http://www.causes.com/actions/1730803-an-appeal-to-national-leaders-regarding-c-j-mahaney
But beyond this snubbing of the Evangelical community, take note that Mahaney recently moved the corporate headquarters of SGM to Louisville, Kentucky. This is the home base for Big Al, president of Southern Seminary, and well known as “ground zero” for the New Calvinist movement (Collin Hansen: Young, Restless, Reformed; A Journalist’s Journey With The New Calvinists, chapter four, “Ground Zero: Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky”). I mean, I know they are buddies and all, but you just don’t move a whole organization to another city for sentimental reasons. Something is up.
The New Calvinist movement has been hard at work to take over the SBC since 1981. A Presbyterian started Founders Ministries for the express purpose of that agenda. They even printed a manifesto accordingly. Scoff at the conspiracy theory if you must—but it is just plain fact. I document those facts in The Truth About New Calvinism: Its History, Doctrine, and Character. That’s why Southern is “ground zero” for the New Calvinist movement. It is also behind the attempted name change of the convention. If that goes through—it’s over—what the cartel has been working for since a small group of egomaniacs met at the Holiday Inn in Euless, Texas circa 1981 will be complete.
But the Southern Baptist faithful have proven to be a tuff nut to crack. To some degree, the doctrinal illiteracy of Southern Baptists has saved them. It is difficult to deceive people into changing their soteriology when they don’t even understand the difference between justification and sanctification. Southern Baptist New Calvinist heretics like David Platt only end up offending the faithful by dissing the concept of asking Jesus into my heart and reciting the sinner’s prayer. Hence, Southern Baptists don’t disdain New Calvinists because they propagate the false gospel of progressive justification, but because they offend their traditional sensibilities. Perhaps the greatest sin is the New Calvinist absence of Southern Baptist absolution: the alter call that replaced aggressive sanctification long ago.
So, this is down to the wire. The New Calvinist takeover of the SBC is at hand, or these guys are going to start their own gig. They have what’s left of SGM, they have the Passion Movement, they have the Emergent Church for the most part, the biblical counseling culture, and many Presbyterian churches as well. This is a gargantuan mass of time tested Kool-Aid drinking humanity. They no longer need to feed off of the Evangelical community. But what is immensely sad is the fact that we have ignorantly funded the cause while ignoring the muffled cries of those buried alive in the backyard.
I would also like to throw something else into my prognostic stew. John Piper recently “retired” from his pastorate at the Bethlehem temple. Do we really think he is going to retire to a life of seashell hunting in Florida? Yes, I know, he’s not beyond such hypocrisy, but it’s still highly doubtful. Trust me; he’s moving on to something bigger—much bigger. But what? I know where I would put my money if I had to.
This is all going somewhere because history always repeats itself. This movement has died five times since its conception in Geneva, and it will die again. It’s getting more and more difficult to suck the blood out of churches that the movement has covertly taken over because of the internet and those pesky discernment bloggers. For the first time since 1972, New Calvinists are being fingered in the pastoral interview process. The gig is up. There is not much more to pilfer in the Evangelical church at large, so they will separate.
But that will be the beginning of the end. Progressive justification always implodes. Progressive justification is like the lollypop knives Eskimos use to kill wolves. Fitting. Christians do not grow by staying at the foot of the cross. We do not grow by feeding on the gospel of first importance that saved us. Children in adult bodies will eventually devour themselves. It’s already happening: in all major wings of the New Calvinist movement there have been scandals that have made national headlines. It’s time for them to prove that bastard Semi-Pelagian evangelicals are to blame. If only they were not held back by the zombies of synergistic sanctification. If only they were not defiled by those who believe Jesus is a precept and unable to see His astounding personhood! Why, we don’t even know what Jesus’ favorite color is! Away with those who will not be wowed by what Jesus did rather than anything we can do! Ahhmen.
One way or the other, regardless of how wrong or right my prediction is, something is going to give. Every day, the Evangelical community is gaining a clearer picture of what’s going on. But if they do start their own denomination, the scene would be to die for. The Star Wars bar scene could not hold a light-sabre to it.
paul
Apparently, I am Fed-up With All the Whining About Symptoms of Calvinism
Apparently, I begin the New Year completely fed-up with all of the whining about the symptoms of Calvinism which is a false gospel. Christians seem to be oblivious to the fact that ill behavior flows from bad ideas. The blogosphere is saturated with incessant whining about the spiritual abuse and tyranny foisted on the American church by Calvinism, but yet, they refuse to address the core of the problem. Hence, many blogs have become little more than the National Inquirer adorned in Bible verses.
But though annoying, there is a reason for it: we are Protestants. Our foundation is Calvin and Luther who believed that Christians remain totally depraved and ignorant. Therefore, present-day Christianity in this country is predicated on the idea that we must be led by a sanctified pre-ordained academia. Like Catholicism? Absolutely, because the Reformers maintained Rome’s metaphysical presuppositions; especially in regard to mankind, and only changed their doctrine which strives for the exact same goal: CONTROL.
That’s why we have such a comfortable relationship with St. Augustine and the fact that our Protestant founding fathers were his followers. This is why we whine about spiritual abuse but continue to give these guys our money:
Ya, they’re bad guys, but we need them. I mean, look what David did, but he was God’s anointed. Israel needed him.
And why do we continually whine about symptoms while giving them our money when their philosophy and doctrine is clearly anti-God and anti-Bible? Because: we do not deem ourselves capable of speaking to their doctrinal error. We are not qualified. We could falsely accuse them because we have supposedly not been preordained to see Christocentric reality the way they do. God gave them metaphysical eyes that we don’t have. And if we step out and teach with the authority of the word, and without their permission, we may be found naked by them. Our hidden “ignorance” may be exposed. Reformed despots have worked for 510 years to develop this unspoken bondage.
So, we know our place and only speak to the behavior. We are exactly like the slaves in the South during the Civil War who were powerless to do anything but complain about the abuse. Or so they thought. Others questioned that assumption and sought solutions. The results speak for themselves. America now has a two-term black President. Christians should take note of that. Like him or love him, Obama is solution oriented. And any Christian who likes to speak their mind probably benefits from the Civil Rights Movement because the hangman’s noose differs little from the burning stake stoked with green wood for those who dared to understand Scripture apart from Reformed elders. The abuse we see today is Reformed Light tamed by the U.S. Constitution.
Look, rat on the behavior—keep doing that, but when are folks going to start blogging about the philosophy and the doctrine?
When they think they have the authority and capability to do so.
Well, touché. Yes, I know about the behavior, but what about the fact that these guys believe that we are resaved every day and that we can only receive daily forgiveness that maintains our justification in their churches? Heeeellllloooooo.
I posted a comment on a blog and the response from the author hit a nerve and prompted this post (here). My response was so knee-jerk that I stopped and pondered why I responded in that way. Hence, the title of this post. I’m clearly exasperated. But I let the comment stand.
Stop whining and study to show thyself approved. And then blog about it. Until the doctrine is dealt with, we will continue to be slaves to heretics rather than the Chief Shepherd.
paul
Paul's Passing Thoughts 
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