God commands it in His word. Mark 16:15 (NASB) 15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.
He ordains the ends and the means.
At that moment in time, it is not apparent to us who is among the elect. If we share the gospel with a person who is among the elect, but it is not their due time to be regenerated, then they will reject the gospel. If it is their time, they will respond with repentance and faith, that are also granted by God. If we share the gospel with a person who is not among the elect, no matter when in their life they hear it, they will never respond with true repentance and faith. Even a person who is not among the elect could affirm the gospel intellectually, but never be truly converted.
If people would look into the history of modern evangelism, they would see that many of the memorable evangelists have been Calvinists.
Calvinist Evangelists
The Apostle Paul 🙂
George Whitefield
David Brainerd
William Carey
Charles Spurgeon
C.T. Studd
Jonathan Edwards
Dr. Martyn Lloyd Jones
Francis Schaeffer
James White
Just to name a few. Oh, and before you get all persnickety and claim that some of the people on the list were Pastors, or theologians, remember they also evangelized. Spurgeon said, “Every Christian is either a missionary or an imposter.” While we are at it, we all are sinners. We have broken God’s laws and are guilty. Repent from your sins. Turn from them and obey God’s word. Believe on the work of Jesus Christ on the cross, where He atoned for your sin. Don’t put your faith in your own efforts or works to save you. You can never satisfy the requirements of God’s righteousness, but Jesus did. His righteousness can be credited to you if you will repent and trust in Him.
Material heresy is forgiven with all of your other sins upon justification. During your sanctification as you mature you will repent from any material heresies you believed and conform to orthodoxy. I didn’t understand the Trinity at all as a young Christian and when I came to understand that partialism was a heresy I repented. I was a regenerated justified believer, but was wrong about the Trinity, until someone explained it in a way I could understand. A formal heretic would reject orthodoxy even after correction and discipline, proving they were false converts to begin with. (this is a general answer for all incorrect understandings that new believers might have, given they are true converts.)
As of late, you may have noticed some personal attacks on Calvinists, and on Calvinism in general coming from men within the SBC. These men are calling themselves, “Traditionalists.” I wonder whose traditions they are identifying with? I wonder if they know the real history of the SBC? I wonder if they understand that their roots are in Calvinism? I wonder, when they accuse us of following traditions of men, if they ever look at themselves and their own traditions? The following two sections of scripture are about the Pharisees and their hypocritical keeping of traditions. It is identified as wrong, and not to be emulated.
Colossians 2:8 (NASB) 8 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.
Mark 7:8-9 (NASB) 8 Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.” 9 He was also saying to them, “You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition.
This section of scripture is about imitating Paul as he imitates Christ. This tradition is good, and to be kept.
1 Corinthians 11:1-2 (NASB) 1 Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ. 2 Now I praise you because you remember me in everything and hold firmly to the traditions, just as I delivered them to you.
So call yourself a traditionalist if you like. I don’t care. Hate the doctrines of grace, if that is how you think. Chase all of us evil Calvinists out of the SBC, but I’ve got news for you, we’ve been the theologically conservative salt in your denomination. When we leave, you will fly headlong down the road to liberalism and eventual irrelevance.
The last few days have been interesting. So much snow, that my gas furnace and on demand water heater both had their roof-top exhausts covered completely with snow. I didn’t want frozen pipes or a frozen house, so I had to get the exhausts cleared and call some professionals to get the over 3 ft. of accumulated snow off my roof. Thanks Arturo Martinez for all your hard work. If anyone needs some snow removed from their roof, message me and I’ll send you his number. The next morning of fun was realizing the pets could not go outside to do their business. I began to dig them a patch of ground out and wrenched my back. It gave me time to ponder deep topics like, “Will it get better or worse? Will I be able to get to work Monday? How many ibuprofen have I already taken?” One thing is for sure, is that the will of God will be done. This brings me to the inauguration. 4 and 8 years ago, I trusted in the will of God when the pro-abortion, (a.k.a. baby killing) perversion promoting, (LGBT nonsense) Barry Soetoro a.k.a. (Barack Obama) took office and kept it. Even while I wondered how people could condone the evils of perversion, (LGBT) perverse marriage, (Gay Marriage… no such thing) abortion, and socialist totalitarianism, I was comforted by the knowledge that God is sovereign and in control of all things, including the political leadership of this country. I honestly believe we were getting the leaders we deserved as an unrepentant people. We have been calling good evil and evil good for far too long to keep on experiencing the blessings of God. Instead, for 8 long years or corrosive evil leadership, we were under the discipline of God. I hope that the people have repented, and we will be experiencing a reprieve. God willing, may America be blessed once more. I would ask all of you to repent of your sin, put your faith in the finished work of Christ, and seek God’s glory and will first and foremost in the years to come.
None of us are sinlessly perfect. Everyone of us is aware of a specific sin in our lives. Some of us wonder if we are even saved because of that specific sin that is in our lives. Some of us are at war with the sin, while others are complacently allowing for it. Which group are you in?
We are endangered when we count on our own efforts to fight the sin, and then failing time and time again, only to have doubt come in and rob us of our assurance, or we justify our sin away as if it is only a trifle, no big deal, everyone does it, and we allow for it instead of fighting against it. We count on grace to keep us safe. Both ways of thinking are wrong. We should be at war with our sins, knowing that Christ has won the war against sin once and for all. It is our lot to stand in front of the enemy before us and engage in the fight with all we have, resting in the knowledge that the outcome of the war has already been secured even if we fail in our battle time and time again, but with practice and provision from the Holy Spirit, and God’s word, we should be strengthened. God will sanctify us, and mature us out of that fight into another fight. We will keep fighting sin until we die, and are resurrected into a glorified body, that will only do that which is pleasing to God.
If you find yourself in the other group, using grace as a license for sin, sitting back in defeat, without a hope of ever growing, don’t give in. Now is the time to stand up and fight. Don’t prove you were never saved at all. Don’t harden your heart to the calling of the Holy Spirit to get in the fight. Don’t have a false assurance of your conversion. “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you [a]fail the test?” 2 Cor 13:5 You might experience a pleasant surprise. If you get back in the fight, repent and ask Christ to forgive you, He will. You can have assurance of your salvation. You can know you are saved. You can know through the fight, successes and failures, that drive you back to the cross again and again for grace. Don’t focus on you and your fight. Focus on Christ and His fight. Focus on His victory over sin, death and the grave. Focus on His victory imputed to you by faith and enjoy the peace between you and God in the midst of the violent war against sin in your life.
Today we are going to pick up where we left off from the last article you can read it here. Earlier we examined Genesis 15:1-2 to see that the Word of the Lord is God. We also connected these verses with John 1:1-18 to see that the Word is Jesus. Today we are going to look at Genesis 15:3-7 which will reinforce our previous assertion that the Word of the Lord is God, Jesus is the Word, and Jesus is God. [The text in the brackets is mine.] The blue text indicates who is doing the action and the red is what is being done.
Genesis 15:3-7 (NASB) 3 And Abram said, “Since You have given no offspring to me, one born in my house is my heir.” 4 Then behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying,
[If you notice, the person doing the talking is identified as “the word of the Lord.” You can tell he is a person because he is, “saying.” The word of the Lord is speaking to Abram.]
“This man will not be your heir; but one who will come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir.” 5 And Hetook him outside and said,
[Notice the Word is referred to as, “He.” What did He do? He, “took him outside and said…” How can anyone look at these verses and not come to the conclusion that the Word of the Lord is God, and how can they, in light of John 1:1-18 not see that Jesus is the Word and He is God?]
“Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And Hesaid to him, “So shall your descendants be.” 6 Then he believed in the Lord; and Hereckoned it to him as righteousness. 7 And Hesaid to him, “I am the Lordwho brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this landto possess it.”
If this isn’t enough, I’ll post some more later on. Study the word, to know the Word, and His intent. Knowing Him is knowing God. To know God, and be known by Him, to be His adopted child and heir, is to be saved by this Triune God’s grace according to His sovereign will, regenerating and indwelling by His Spirit, and the justifying work on the cross of His Son.
I don’t know how many times I’ve heard the same accusation from Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons (LDS), and Muslims. They claim that Jesus is not God, but a god, good man, prophet, teacher, and so on. I think it is great that we can always go to the word of God to let it make the defense. Charles Spurgeon was quoted as saying, “The Word of God is like a lion. You don’t have to defend a lion. All you have to do is let the lion loose, and the lion will defend itself.” I agree with him.
With that being said let’s take a look at Genesis 15:1-2, and John 1:1-18.
In Genesis 15:1-2 we see that the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision. Now, you don’t hear a vision. You see it. Some people would insist that this is just Abram hearing God speak to him, but this is actually the preincarnate Christ appearing to Abram in a vision, and speaking to him. Abram said, “…O LORD God…” or אֲדֹנָי ’ăḏônây; an emphatic form of âḏôn; or (shortened) אָדֹן ’adon; from an unused root (meaning to rule); sovereign, i.e. controller (human or divine): — lord, master, owner. Compare also names beginning with “Adoni-”.; the Lord (used as a proper name of God only): — (my) Lord. In this section of God’s word ăḏônây is used in conjunction with יְהוָֹה yhwh; (the) self-being aseity or Eternal; name of God: — the Lord. So essentially he is saying, Adonai YHWH or Sovereign eternal self-being, was being, is being, always is, one and only true God. It is obvious that Abram believed the word of the LORD to be the one true, eternal, and self-being God.
We can look at John 1:1-18 and see who John said the Word of God is. Again, it is obvious that Jesus is the Word.
John 1:1-18 (NASB) 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. 5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
The Witness John 6 There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light. 9 There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. The Word Made Flesh 14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 John *testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’” 16 For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. 17 For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.
Jesus is not a god like the Mormons say. He was not Michael the angel transfigured like the Jehovah’s Witnesses would tell you. He was not just a prophet like Muslims claim. If there is any doubt now that Jesus is the Word, and the Word is God, it is not due to lack of evidence. It is due to disbelief. May God grant you true and saving faith in the Savior, Jesus Christ our Lord and God.
Today on SnydersSoapbox we will be reviewing a book dealing with the Trinity. I know that as Christians we desire to understand the Trinity better. It is a topic that is often speculated on, and many times people just give up. Don’t feel too bad. The book and the works of the men cited by the author are all very scholarly. Some very intelligent men have been contemplating the Trinity for a very long time, and haven’t really come up with any better explanations or understandings than many of us. They just sound a lot more intelligent when they talk about it 🙂
In the field of Christian books, I am always looking for books that will add value to my library, books that will not be a waste of my time to read. This was a pretty good book overall. It was definitely NOT for laymen. It was a scholastic work. The author assumes that the reader has read, or is familiar with the works of the other men he has cited in this book. If you are not familiar with those works you can still read this book and get something out of it. It is well bibliographed, and indexed. The author throws in some Greek, not to worry, he explains what it says. He also uses several big words that you might need to grab a dictionary and look up. Do not be afraid of heady books. These things help you learn and grow. Don’t run from the challenge of education.
As far as the content of the book goes, I appreciated his explanation of the economic Trinity. This helped me understand how we are in Christ, He is in the Father, and He is in us, as well as the Holy Spirit indwelling us. It is one thing to know the words, it is another to get a better grasp on the mechanics of how that works. If you are like me, you are not satisfied until you can see all the steps, or processes of the behind the scenes workings of something. He also delved into the ontology of the Trinity. I might not of understood everything he wrote when dealing with this topic, or maybe I did, and just disagreed with him on one of his conclusions. Even so, If you are patient, and willing to do some work, I think you could learn from this book.
Yarnell also explains some non-Trinitarian heresies, defends the orthodox trinity, deals with some of the concepts of being eternally begotten, and what that looks like. He explains how Christ accepted worship from people, and he demonstrates how the Bible equates Christ with God the Father. If you take the time, this will help you with your apologetics when talking with non-Trinitarian heretics.
“11Ephraim is a trained heifer that loves to thresh,
But I will come over her fair neck with a yoke;
I will harness Ephraim,
Judah will plow, Jacob will harrow for himself.
12Sow with a view to righteousness,
Reap in accordance with kindness;
Break up your fallow ground,
For it is time to seek the LORD
Until He comes to rain righteousness on you.
13You have plowed wickedness, you have reaped injustice,
You have eaten the fruit of lies.
Because you have trusted in your way, in your numerous warriors,
14Therefore a tumult will arise among your people,
And all your fortresses will be destroyed,
As Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel on the day of battle, When mothers were dashed in pieces with their children.
15Thus it will be done to you at Bethel because of your great wickedness.
At dawn the king of Israel will be completely cut off.”
Now, let’s just look at verse 12 all by itself.
“12Sow with a view to righteousness,
Reap in accordance with kindness;
Break up your fallow ground,
For it is time to seek the LORD
Until He comes to rain righteousness on you.”
If someone had put this verse up all by its lonesome on social media with an eye catching little picture, most people would be inspired by it. They wouldn’t have any idea that it was really part of a larger narrative about God’s punishment of Israel for their sins. There are many folks today who would have no trouble pulling this verse out of context and applying it to themselves today. As you can see, that would be a mistake. I would be very leery of a Pastor who did such sloppy work in a sermon. I’m sure many of you have sat through a sermon wondering, “How on Earth did he get that out of this verse?” Israel was not trusting in God. They were trusting in military might, worldly resources, idols, lies, and deceit. God was about to lay down some serious punishment on them. Remember what Hosea’s kids were named? Lo-ruhamah meaning, “not pitied” and Lo-ammi meaning, “not my people.” They were born to him and his wife. Remember her? She was a whore. He was told by God to marry her. God used his wife and children to illustrate to Israel at the time, and future believers how adulterous they were and we are in our relationship with God.
Taking a verse out of context with complete disregard for the intent of the author is a horrible practice. We wouldn’t want people to do this with our last will and testament, but we are fine with doing it to God’s word? I never like it in a Bible study when the person who is supposed to be leading asks, “What does that verse say to you personally?” I don’t care what it says to every individual in the room. They should be taught what God’s intent was. What was God saying, not what you think He was saying. People shouldn’t be coming up with multiple and contradicting meanings for scripture.
God is triune. He is one being, in trinity. This means, one being, three persons. Father, (πατήρ) Son, (υἱός) and Holy Spirit. (πνευματι αγιω) God is eternal. He has always existed just as He is. He has never, not existed. Everything that is, has been made by Him. Everything is sustained by Him. All persons of the Trinity have likewise always existed, as one being, one God. God’s nature/attributes are immutable. This means He never changes. He has never changed. He has always been as He is. He has always been the Trinity. The incarnation at advent did not change His nature. The hypostatic union did not change the deific nature of God, as the two natures were perfectly joined without mixing. A human is one being, in one person. A dog is not a person at all, but is one being. We don’t have any trouble believing in a being that isn’t a person at all, like the dog, but when it comes to God as one being, and three persons we stumble. God is omnipresent. God is in all places, during all times, and times without time. He is in the future, present, and the past. He exists in the in between spaces we now call hyperdimensional space. To be in all places includes hyperdimensional space. If you think about it, that almost necessitates a being who is more than one person. Here is a short video that attempts to explain the Trinity. It does a pretty decent job, but some of course it can’t do a perfect job.
It is amazing to me how accurate the men were who composed this creed considering the time that it was written in. Remember, the word, “catholic” here does not have anything to do with the Roman Catholic Church. It is from the Greek word, “katholikos” and means universal.
Athanasian Creed
1. Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the catholic faith;
2. Which faith except every one do keep whole and undefiled, without doubt he shall perish everlastingly.
3. And the catholic faith is this: That we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity;
4. Neither confounding the persons nor dividing the substance.
5. For there is one person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Spirit.
6. But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit is all one, the glory equal, the majesty coeternal.
7. Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Spirit.
8. The Father uncreated, the Son uncreated, and the Holy Spirit uncreated.
9. The Father incomprehensible, the Son incomprehensible, and the Holy Spirit incomprehensible.
10. The Father eternal, the Son eternal, and the Holy Spirit eternal.
11. And yet they are not three eternals but one eternal.
12. As also there are not three uncreated nor three incomprehensible, but one uncreated and one incomprehensible.
13. So likewise the Father is almighty, the Son almighty, and the Holy Spirit almighty.
14. And yet they are not three almighties, but one almighty.
15. So the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God;
16. And yet they are not three Gods, but one God.
17. So likewise the Father is Lord, the Son Lord, and the Holy Spirit Lord;
18. And yet they are not three Lords but one Lord.
19. For like as we are compelled by the Christian verity to acknowledge every Person by himself to be God and Lord;
20. So are we forbidden by the catholic religion to say; There are three Gods or three Lords.
21. The Father is made of none, neither created nor begotten.
22. The Son is of the Father alone; not made nor created, but begotten.
23. The Holy Spirit is of the Father and of the Son; neither made, nor created, nor begotten, but proceeding.
24. So there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Spirit, not three Holy Spirits.
25. And in this Trinity none is afore or after another; none is greater or less than another.
26. But the whole three persons are coeternal, and coequal.
27. So that in all things, as aforesaid, the Unity in Trinity and the Trinity in Unity is to be worshipped.
28. He therefore that will be saved must thus think of the Trinity.
29. Furthermore it is necessary to everlasting salvation that he also believe rightly the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
30. For the right faith is that we believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and man.
31. God of the substance of the Father, begotten before the worlds; and man of substance of His mother, born in the world.
32. Perfect God and perfect man, of a reasonable soul and human flesh subsisting.
33. Equal to the Father as touching His Godhead, and inferior to the Father as touching His manhood.
34. Who, although He is God and man, yet He is not two, but one Christ.
35. One, not by conversion of the Godhead into flesh, but by taking of that manhood into God.
36. One altogether, not by confusion of substance, but by unity of person.
37. For as the reasonable soul and flesh is one man, so God and man is one Christ;
38. Who suffered for our salvation, descended into hell, rose again the third day from the dead;
39. He ascended into heaven, He sits on the right hand of the Father, God, Almighty;
40. From thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
41. At whose coming all men shall rise again with their bodies;
42. and shall give account of their own works.
43. And they that have done good shall go into life everlasting and they that have done evil into everlasting fire.
44. This is the catholic faith, which except a man believe faithfully he cannot be saved.
So to sum things up, if you don’t believe and worship the Triune God, you’ve made an idol to worship. If you find that you, in your ignorance had been worshipping a god that is not the God of the Bible, please repent. The true God of scripture is faithful and just to forgive you if you come to Him in faith and repentance. Jesus, the Eternal Son paid the price for all of your sins on the cross, including wrong beliefs about Him. Confess, and ask forgiveness. If you are one of His sheep, He will be your Lord and Master. He will be your good shepherd. By the will of the Father in election, and the regenerating, convicting work of the Holy Spirit as your seal for redemption, and the justifying work of the Son on the cross, all three persons are at work in the gospel justifying sinners to Himself.
Snyder's Soapbox 