“21 Misunderstandings of Calvinism”: The Ninth and Tenth Misunderstandings

by | Nov 4, 2015 | Reformed Theology

I’ve dealt with four misunderstandings of Calvinism related to the doctrine of total depravity.  Now I am dealing with a number of misunderstandings related to the doctrine of unconditional election.  Here are the fifth and sixth of those (the ninth and tenth overall).

II. Misunderstandings related to Unconditional Election

(5)     Calvinists teach double predestination!

Here we Calvinists must avoid a snare.  We must first ask our accusers, What do you mean by double predestination?  We may affirm double predestination and mean something by it that is much different and much better than what our accusers mean by it.  So we must be careful.

  • It is certainly true that unconditional election means that when some are elected for salvation others are passed over and left to their just condemnation for their sins. So (True!) the same election which chooses some for salvation leaves others in their sins.  This is a kind of double predestination.
  • But if someone means by double predestination that people are predestined to hell regardless of their sins, then that is not true, and I know of no Calvinists who ever taught it. Predestination to hell is always in light of the sins of the creatures and therefore well-deserved.
  • And if someone means that some people are predestined to damnation in the same way that others are predestined to salvation, then they also are quite mistaken! God intervenes in magnificent and multiple acts of grace in bringing the elect to salvation.  He simply leaves others to follow their own sinful desires so that their predestination to damnation is brought to pass.

 

(6)     Calvinists do not believe in missions or evangelism!

Listen to the Canons of Dort once more:

SECOND HEAD: ARTICLE 5. Moreover, the promise of the gospel is that whosoever believes in Christ crucified shall not perish, but have eternal life. This promise, together with the command to repent and believe, ought to be declared and published to all nations, and to all persons promiscuously and without distinction, to whom God out of His good pleasure sends the gospel.

Here we want to cry out to our accusers, Have you never heard of William Carey?  Do you not know that this first Baptist missionary was a Particular or Reformed Baptist and was sent out by churches that were Particular or Reformed Baptist?

The fact is that it is not Calvinism, but Arminianism which is the great danger to evangelism and missions!  The foundation of evangelism and missions is the exclusivity of the gospel.  The great defenders of the exclusivity of the gospel are the Calvinists.

It is the Arminians who think God has to be fair with sinners.  It is Arminians who think God owes everyone a “chance” to be saved.  It is Arminians who think that it is not fair for God to send people to hell who never heard the gospel.  It is Arminians, therefore, who are always inventing ways for men to be saved without the gospel.  It is Arminians who for this reason and in this way are always chipping away at the exclusivity of the gospel and, thus, chipping away at the foundations of evangelism and missions.

The 11th – 13th Misunderstandings

Important New Missions Documentary

by | Oct 8, 2012 | Audio/Video, Missions

Today, Red Futon Films released the official trailer for an important new documentary on missions to be released next month: Half-Devil Half-Child. If you care at all about the spread of the gospel among Muslim peoples around the world, then you will not want to miss this documentary. The trailer gives you a taste of this critical issue in international missions today:

Serving Christ in Namibia, Africa

by | Aug 26, 2011 | Current Events, Missions

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!

Dr. Richard Barcellos and I were privileged to serve our Savior in Namibia, Africa earlier this month. At the request of several Reformed Baptist pastors and missionaries, we were asked to equip pastors and church leaders in theological training at the newly formed Grace Ministerial Academy in Windhoek. Through the week of August 8th through the 12th, Rich taught a course on Hermeneutics in the morning while I followed up in the afternoon with a course on Worldviews. We had several pastors and church leaders as students as well as a few others auditing our courses. They were hungry to grow in their knowledge of God’s Word and our prayer is that we helped each of them to “hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it” (Titus 1:9). One of the students made my week when he commented after one of my classes something like, “I took a class on Worldviews at [a seminary in Africa]. They taught it philisophically. You are teaching it biblically. Thank you.” I know Rich also received encouraging feedback.

Additionally, we both had opportunities to preach in local churches while in Namibia. Between the two of us, we preached several times at three different churches. Furthermore, Eastside Baptist Church in Windhoek asked me to teach twice during evening meetings at their church. Because I am a former Mormon, their pastors asked me to teach on Mormonism and witnessing to cultists during their midweek service. They also requested that I cover Decision Making and the Will of God at a special Thursday meeting, a topic that I care deeply about. After finishing my message on biblical decision making, the church where Rich and I preached on our second Lord’s Day in Swakopmund requested that I repeat my message at their church. By God’s grace, our preaching and teaching was warmly received. As you can see, these pastors and churches were clearly hungry to spiritually feast on God’s truth taught from His Word. Praise God!

We thank all of you who prayed for us while we were in Africa. The Lord definitely heard your prayers! Our travels went smoothly, we remained in good health, and our families did well while we were away. But most importantly, we were able to serve Christ and His churches in Namibia. Now we look forward to seeing the fruit of our labors. May Christ richly bless His kingdom in Namibia and beyond for His glory!

“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen” (Ephesians 3:20-21).

Because of His grace,
John Divito
Member, Heritage Baptist Church, Owensboro, KY
Administrator, Midwest Center for Theological Studies

Please Pray for Our Training in Namibia

by | Jul 29, 2011 | Announcements, Apologetics, Current Events, Hermeneutics, Missions

Grace Ministerial AcademyNext week, Dr. Richard Barcellos and I will be flying to Namibia, Africa to teach two modular courses to indigenous pastors and church leaders at Grace Ministerial Academy. He will be covering hermeneutics while I will handle worldviews.

Please pray for us! In training these pastors, we have a wonderful opportunity but also a humbling responsibility entrusted to us. To help you in your prayers, I have included below my course syllabus. May we glorify Christ through the equipping of His people for the growth of His kingdom!

Christianity and Its Competitors:
Contending for the Christian Worldview

Course Purpose
The purpose of this course is to equip each pastor and church leader to “hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it” (Titus 1:9). This will be accomplished through establishing a Biblical foundation of contending for the faith, explaining the Christian worldview, and evaluating other competing worldviews.

Course Reading
James W. Sire, Scripture Twisting: 20 Ways the Cults Misread the Bible (Downers Grove IL, USA: Intervarsity Press, 1980).
Richard Gehman, Who are the Living Dead? A Theology of Death, Life After Death and the Living-Dead (Nairobi, Kenya: Evangel Publishing House, 1999).

Course Requirements
Four Quizzes: each quiz is worth 25 points, 100 points total
A quiz will be given each day on Tuesday through Friday covering the previous day’s lectures. The quizzes will have multiple choice, true or false, matching, fill-in-the-blank, short answer, and listing questions included. Together, they will cover all of the lecture material for the course.

Final Exam: each essay is worth 50 points, 100 points total
A final exam will assess overall competence in the topics covered in the course. Two essay questions will be completed which integrate the course reading with critical reflection on the lecture content and supplemental material.

Final Essay Questions
1) Using Sire’s Scripture Twisting, select ten Scripture reading errors. For each misreading, identify and define it, give an example of it from the lectures or supplemental materials (not included in Sire’s book), and provide a biblical response. 5 pages minimum.
2) Summarize and compare the theology of death, life after death, and the living-dead between three worldviews: 1) African Traditional Religion (using Gehman’s Who are the Living Dead?), 2) a Christian competitor (chosen from the course lectures or the supplemental materials), and 3) the biblical worldview. 5 pages minimum.

Course Evaluation
The student’s final grade will be determined by dividing his total points earned in half. A student will have successfully completed this course by achieving a cumulative grade of 75 percent or above for his course work. The letter equivalents for the percentile grades assigned are as follows:

A — 96-100 B- — 81-84
A- — 91-95 C+ — 78-80
B+ — 88-90 C — 75-77
B — 85-87 C- — 71-74

Course Outline
First Unit: Christianity
Part 1: Biblical Foundations
I. Jude 1-4
II. 1 Peter 3:14-16
III. Romans 1:18-32
IV. Acts 17:16-34
Part 2: The Christian Worldview
I. What is a Worldview?
II. What is the Christian Worldview?

Second Unit: Its Competitors
Part 1: Recognizing False Worldviews
I. The Five Keys of Biblical Discernment
Part 2: Evaluating False Worldviews
I. Roman Catholicism
II. Prosperity Gospel
III. Seventh-Day Adventism
IV. Jehovah’s Witnesses
V. Mormonism

Appendix

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