John 3:  16“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17“For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. 18“He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 

And here is the twisted Calvinist gospel: For God so loved “the elect” that he gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever He chose to NOT perish but have eternal life will believe, for God sent His Son to condemn the world.  

There are so many distractions in the world that are keeping people captive to sin so they remain Spiritually deaf and cannot hear the “gospel” message of salvation from the Church.  Unfortunately there is also much deception within the church that is preventing the preaching of the gospel message of salvation from sin.  Most of the deception within the Church is done by the preaching a “you should just feel good about yourself” gospel message, that does not mention trusting Jesus to forgive your sin and save you from sin.  This is the deadly gospel that does not save a person from sin.  Some of the Churches, like the Catholic church, preach you can be saved by doing works of taking communion and confession with a priest.  This is a false gospel based on man’s works which does not save a person from sin.

Some of the deception within the church is done by those who preach that “you can’t trust God” gospel so once you are saved from sin you can loose your salvation if you continue to sin or doubt your salvation.  This false gospel message put’s man’s fear and flesh above God’s word and faithfulness.  Once you trust God to forgive your sin, you can trust Him to complete the good work He begins in you and make you into the person He created you to be (Phil 1:6).  The “can’t trust God” gospel puts the believer on a roller coaster experience of fear of loosing their salvation if they sin or trying to do works to stay saved but this is not the peace, love and joy that is found in the true gospel of Jesus Christ.   Praise the Lord … Once Saved, Always Saved, OSAS or Once Sealed, Always Sealed is true! 

But perhaps the deadliest deception within the Church are those who preach that “you can’t understand anything about the world or yourself” gospel, so you can never know if God counts you worthy to be saved from sin and gives you enough grace to be saved from sin.  This is the deception of the “Deformed Theology“, I mean “Reformed Theology” of Calvinism that came out of the Reformation period of the Church that I am exposing in this article 

Now, the Reformation period was actually a great step of faith “forward” for the Church of Jesus Christ.  Without going into too much detail, the early Churches that were planted by Paul and other faithful believers after the resurrection of Christ in 32 AD  to around 325 AD, operated independently from one another, though they did share the common teaching from the letters of Peter, Paul and James.  Note AD stands for anno domini, which means “in the year of our Lord” not “After Death”.  BC “Before Christ” and AD are one in the same date which divide human history based on the birth of Christ.  However, Jesus was probably born in the fall of 2 BC or even earlier.  The point is that the early churches were not under centralized leadership and this is why God wrote to the “seven” Churches of John’s time to give each commendation and condemnation (Revelation 2 and 3).  Most of the first churches were small gatherings that were held in a believers’s “house” in secrecy because the Romans were arresting and putting to death Christians.  However, when Roman Emperor Flavius Constantine became a convert of Christianity (or claimed to be a convert), he stopped the persecuting of Christians and declare Christianity the official Roman religion in order to “ignite and unite” the Roman people under a State controlled religion.  He called for the meeting of the Council of Nicea in AD 325, in order for the leaders of the Christian Churches to solidify and ratify a “creed” of common belief, which they did.

Ironically, it was the persecution of Christians from the very beginning that caused “true” Christianity to spread like wild fire and this is still how Christianity spreads fastest today.  However, when Christianity became the official religion of Rome, wealth and  power “opportunity” seekers invaded the Church leadership and displaced the faithful followers of Jesus Christ and they polluted the faithful message of Jesus Christ.  This overthrow of Christianity by people seeking wealth and power is the legacy of the Catholic “Universal” Church and it’s “modus operandi” today.  Note, for the most part, the Catholic Church has nothing to do with real Christianity because once the opportunity seekers took over the leadership of the Catholic Church, they elevated their false “traditions” above scripture in order to stay in power and keep people a prisoner to their power.  From their newly created and lofty positions of Pope and Bishops, they justified their right to control Kings, control world affairs, start wars, sell indulgences and kill people who would not pledge allegiance (and money) to the Catholic Church.  In fact, the leadership of the corrupt Catholic Church is what caused the very Dark Age of man’s history from approximately 400 to 1500 AD.

Fortunately, the stench of evil and wickedness done in the name of Christ came to a head when Martin Luther, a Roman Catholic monk/priest, read the Bible and exposed the lies of the Roman Catholic Church.  The main event that triggered the Reformation occurred on 31 October 1517 Luther sent his “Ninety-Five Theses on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences” to the Archbishop of Mainz.  Luther exposed the fallacy of trying to “buy” your way to Heaven through indulgences and preached the truth that salvation is by “faith alone”, a work of God’s grace, so that no man may boast (Ephesian 2:8-9).  The Roman Catholic Church condemned Luther as a heretic and put him on trail so he would publicly “recant” his position but Luther gave a good defense for his position in the religious court of the day and somehow managed to elude the “death” sentence that was upon his head and continue to champion the cause of the Reformation.

The “truth” of God’s word spread through Luther’s writings in pamphlets and though other reformers, especially John Calvin who used scripture to expose the erroneous teaching of the Catholic teaching.  Yes, Calvin spearheaded the Reformation period under the cry of “Sola Sciptura” … Scripture Alone and though he exposed the erroneous teaching of the Catholic Church, he also left us with some new erroneous teaching that many Church Denominations are still spell bound under today, such as the Presbyterian Churches, the United Church of Christ, the Reformed Baptist Church and Protestant Reformed Churches.   The intent of the reformation was to  “reform” Christianity “back” to it’s original form under the authority of scripture and practice it like the “first” churches did.  Unfortunately, Luther and Calvin fell short of that mark but some of the reformers like the “AntiBaptist” made better progress towards that end.

Yes, Calvin was instrumental in breaking people away from the deception of the Catholic Church but Calvin did not break away from the teaching that the Church should exercise control over the State.  As a matter of fact, Calvin set up his Calvinist version of Christianity over the nation of Switzerland and anyone who disagreed with him was brought to trail and killed, just like they practiced in the Catholic church.  If you would like to read about the murderous heart of John Calvin click here or click here.  Somehow, Calvin’s Inquisition is overlooked or is deemed to be an acceptable practice while the Catholic Inquisition is condemned.  This is just more disturbing and “deformed” thinking that goes on in the mind of those who accept the teaching of Calvinism.

There are hundreds of articles on the Internet that expose the fallacy of Calvinism.  I have written a couple of article on the topic and I don’t understand why people are so enamored and swayed by Calvin’s writing.  Perhaps people are in awe at the way he writes so fervently and extensively about the meaning of scripture (yet illogically and incorrectly).  Or perhaps it’s because Calvin’s reasoning has been put into a 5 point system of consumption called “TULIP” (see below) that has become the standard way to debate the essential points of salvation in Christ.  The only point that has any merit is the “Perseverance of the saints” which means if God has determined someone is saved, then that person cannot loose his salvation.  However, even this point is twisted by Calvin’s logic, because it makes the saved person’s works the focus of their assurance instead of the correct Biblical teaching which states a saved person has the “Preservation as a saint“.  It is God’s work that saves a person and keeps a person’s saved and completes the work of salvation (Philippians 1:6).

But the most “deformed” teaching of Calvinism is the “U” in TULIP, Unconditional Election, which states that God predetermines who will be saved and who will perish.  This is the most distributing and un-Biblical teaching of Calvinism.  God is not a malevolent dictator, deciding some will be saved and some will NOT be saved.  The scripture clearly states that God wants none to perish and all to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).  Jesus, Himself, declared that the reason people remain un-saved is because they are “unwilling” to acknowledge Him as the Son of God (Matthew 23:37 and Matthew 22:3).  Look, all of salvation is from God’s grace, not man’s works but God is not withholding sufficient Grace from some so they can’t be saved or overcoming some with the “I” in TULIP ,Irresistible Grace, that violates a person’s free will so they can be saved.  Calvin overstates how God’s grace works in order to reconcile scripture concerning “predestination” and “election” but his analysis and interpretation of scripture is wrong!  Instead of “TULIP”, I consider Calvin’s reasoning more like CRABGRASS to the mind.

Click on the “Yes” and “No” links for a more detail understanding concerning the view that supports Calvinism and the view that refutes Calvinism.  I have given a very brief rebuttal to each point.  Like I said, there are hundreds of web sites and books written that both support and refute the teaching of Calvinism.  

Probably the biggest reason people “buy into” Calvinism is because Calvin comes up with a simple and comprehensive way to explain what “predestination” means in the Bible.  Calvin’s explanation is that God has predestined every action of man and therefore man’s “free will” is simply an illusion … man has no free will because God controls every thought and action.  Yes, this is a “simple” explanation but it is an “incorrect” explanation of what predestination means in the Bible.  In this article “Predestination or my Destination” I walk through the key scriptures in the Bible that mentions predestination and explain what predestination means from a “Born Again Christian” point of view in order to clear up the inaccuracy and confusion caused by John Calvin.  The simple understanding of predestination is that God did predestine the birth of Jesus Christ so that Jesus could predestine a “way” of salvation for man but God does NOT predestine “who” will be saved.  Salvation is man’s free will decision, not based on works but by grace through faith in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9).  Here is a simple chart that outlines the major and critical difference between the three primary views concerning man’s Salvation from the penalty of sin and his assurance of eternal Security in Christ.

I think some people choose Calvin’s position on salvation simply because they reject the Armenian position and they don’t understand there is a “Born Again Christian” position.  I think to many people the theology of salvation is like a ballot with only two candidates written on it … “Calvinism” and “Arminianism”.  Therefore most people think the way to explain the theology of salvation is limited by these two positions and often they aren’t choosing the explanation that makes the most sense to them but they end up in certain camp because one explanation makes less sense to them the other.  This why I am trying to break up those who think they must vote along these two party lines and give them a new “Born Again Christian” candidate to consider.

But frankly, I think the main appeal of Calvinism is “intellectual snobbery” where a person relies upon their understanding of what sovereignty means in human terms because he can’t understand how God can create a person with the “free will” to choose and still be sovereign over His creation.  No, I do not support the Arminian position that believes that man chooses salvation in Christ and can later chooses to reject his salvation.  I understand it’s God’s grace that removes the scales from a person’s eyes so a person can see and choose to salvation.  All of Salvation is by God’s grace both repentance and faith are gifts of God’s Grace.  But God doesn’t bestow His saving grace to only a chosen few and withhold it from others so they cannot be saved.  This definition of Grace is in fact the exact opposite of what Grace means!  Moreover, God pours sufficient and abundant grace upon each person so they can see their need for salvation (Romans 1:20).   No one will stand before God and say “I didn’t understand that You have the right and authority to rule over me and I didn’t understand my need for salvation in Your Son, Jesus Christ.  On the contrary each person will bow their knee and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord but those “under the earth” will be the unsaved who are waiting in Hell for their final sentencing in the Lake of Fire at the White Throne of Judgement.

so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, – Philippians 2:10-11

Don’t get me wrong, I am not implying that people that believe in Calvinism aren’t saved.  I think in spite of the bad theology concerning God’s sovereignty, most people in “Reformed churches” are saved and live a productive life for Christ.  The Calvinist I know, have a deep reverence for God and honor God’s sovereign rule over His creation.  But it seems to me that having a Calvinist mindset would make you less likely to share the gospel with someone since you think God’s has already chosen those that will be saved, irregardless of what you do.  As a Born Again Christian I am motivated out of the unconditional love that God has shown towards me and I want others to know that this love can be there’s if they call upon the Lord, however if I believed that God only chooses “some” to be saved then I wouldn’t even know if I was saved, much less would I be motivated to share this message of indeterminable salvation with others.

I think some people are swayed to think Calvinism must be the correct view of theology since Calvin wrote an expository on each verse of the Bible and how the verses fit his TULIP viewpoint.  And some people are swayed toward Calvinism because there are many great Christians in the Calvin camp today like R. C. Sproul and John MacArthur who has written and edited over 150 books.  But we are warned not to put our trust in men and as Ravi Zacharias states “let my people think”.  Each of us is responsible for coming to God and for deepening our relationship with God and our understanding of God.  Ignorance of the scripture is how the Catholics priests keep their flock in line … they don’t encourage their members to read the Bible and they certainly don’t want them to discuss the meaning of scripture which exposes their false doctrine.  To a Catholic, the priest stands in the place of God and the virgin Mary is their Savior that stands in the place of Jesus.

By the way Calvinist like to claim that Charles Spurgeon was in their camp but Spurgeon thought both the Calvinists and Arminianist where wrong in their view of Salvation (click here).  Though the doctrine of Calvinism calls for “Limited Atonement,” Spurgeon insisted that both Arminians and Calvinists limit the atonement. Those who teach that Christ’s death made salvation possible but it does not complete the work of salvation (the Arminian view) limit its effect, while those who believe in a definite atonement but this atonement is not available to everyone (the Calvinist view) limit its extent.  Put another way, the former see an unlimited extent but a limited effect. The latter see a limited extent but an unlimited effect. Essentially, Charles Spurgeon held to a “Born Again Christian” view but he never championed this position as being distinct from Arminians and Calvinists.  I think perhaps Spurgeon was more concerned with preaching the gospel of Grace and saving souls than entering into debates with other preachers about Salvation … and this is still the best advise today. 

This is a warning I have to remind myself … do not let your head knowledge, short circuit your heart knowledge.  The love that is in Christ is the greatest thing to pursue. – 1 Corinthians 13:13

Another appeal of Calvinism is that you are not responsible for your sinful thoughts or your sinful deeds or for repenting of your sin or for seeking to have a relationship with God, since according to Calvin people have no free will to come to God but God takes all the responsibility to bring them down into submission if He has chosen to love them.  To me this kind of belief can lead to person to be apathetic toward God and indifferent toward the purpose for their life.  At least an Atheist works to deny that God exists and he might even stumble over some truth in his attempt to deny the existence of His creator but a Calvinist never quiet knows where he stands with God … was he chosen by God and given enough grace to believe or is he damned by God?  According to Calvin, God has predestined some people for eternal life and some for eternal torment.  But if “God so loves the world (John 3:16)”, what kind of love is this?  The God of Calvinism who expresses His love for man by damning a man to eternal torment without a chance for him to be saved sounds worse than Allah, the satanic god of Islam that deceives people into killing infidels in His name in order to find favor.  

Like I said, I don’t understand the mindset of those who can say God is “loving”, yet He doesn’t allow some people to have the chance to enjoy His love.  This kind of definition of love is like a man who calls for his dogs to come and eat their food but as they approach he prevents some of the dogs from reaching their food so they die in hunger.  No person in his right mind calls this love, as a matter of fact if this kind of cruelty to animals was exposed every one would be “up in arms” and in agreement that a Master like this should be locked up in prison for life (can you say Michael Vick?).  However, if you write volumes of articles that says God’s sovereignty is the way God demonstrates His love for man, then somehow this convinces some people that it’s OK for those in “High Places” to get away with murder (can you say Bill and Hillary Clinton?).

Like I said, the only appeal that Calvinism has going for it is that it seems to “wrap up” Christianity with a neat little bow that says “God is sovereign over everything  because He directly control everything … including every decision you make”.  Yes, this is a neat and simple explanation of what sovereignty means but if God is the author of everything then He is the author of sin and evil and death.  According to Calvin, God predestined and caused man to sin so he could watch a cruel predestined show of chaos and futility played out before Him.  To a Calvinist, we are just toy soldiers put in position to endure pain for God’s pleasure and God will put some of his toy soldiers in a box and bring them to Heaven to play with while the rest He will torch and burn eternally.  This view of God is blasphemous, reprehensible and contrary to scripture, for God love’s each person and wants none to perish but all to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).  Furthermore, it is impossible to read John 3:16 with a predestined Calvinistic point of view and make any sense out of it.  “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son that whomsoever “God’s decides” will believe in Him, will have eternal life?” … you have to twist scripture to support a Calvinist view of God’s love.

Yes, Calvinism makes a neat bow that explains God’s sovereignty but it makes an ugly box of life for that bow to sit upon.

Why is it so hard for people to accept the fact that God can create a person with the “free will” to sin, yet the person can also understand his need to stop sinning and his need to be saved from his sin and God doesn’t have to control this decision, even though He knows what the decision will be.  No, we can’t understand how God created us and we can’t understand the force that holds our thoughts together and we can’t understand how God’s grace gives us “new Spiritual life” just like we can’t understand the force that holds our bodies together or the way DNA works to define and make a physical life but that doesn’t mean we can’t appreciate the creator of physical life and the giver of eternal Spiritual life.  And that doesn’t mean that we can’t accept the fact that His love for us and our ability to love Him is not dependent on His requirement to control our love.

Of course the concept of God’s sovereignty and man’s free will doesn’t make complete sense to us … praise the Lord … for who can worship someone or something that they fully understand?  We will always be learning about God and growing closer to Him, yet God’s will always be above our complete understand of Him.  It is our human sin nature to want to put God in a box of our understanding so receive the glory among men, therefore we tend to spin the wheel so far to the “right” of our understanding that it defines God’s sovereignty in a way that makes God a dictator and removes man’s free will or we tend to spin the wheel of our understanding so far to the “left” towards man’s free will that it removes God’s sovereignty over His creation and make man into a dictator and a god.  A “Born Again Christian” can appreciate His need for God’s Spirit that gives him purpose and meaning for his life while also appreciating the dignity of his free will that God has also given him so he can experience the wonder and beauty of God’s love.

Yes, I think God directly intervenes at times in the affairs of man so man does not destroy planet earth and destroy his fellow man to extent of man’s evil desire but I do not think God inhibits some people from believing in His only begotten Son Jesus Christ so they can’t be saved.  And people can’t use the excuse that the “devil made them do it” because even though Satan has great powers of deception over man, Satan is limited by God to the extent that he can destroy man and Satan has to get permission from God to cause trails to a believer (Job 1:12).  With respect to the salvation of man, I believe God pours out His Amazing Grace “abundantly and sufficiently” upon each person so that each person is without excuse for not repenting of his sin (Romans 1:20).  This is what the scripture says and this is the fundamental problem with Calvinism … it misrepresents the fundamental definition of “grace” and makes God into a malevolent dictator preventing some people from being saved.  This is not the God of the Bible, a God of love (1 John 4:8).  

I implore you to be like a “Berean” and read your Bible to discover the truth about God (Acts 17:11).  Don’t rely on Calvin or me or a Church denomination or anyone to feed you the truth, other than the Holy Spirit who is inside of you.

– Rogersings

This web site extensively refutes Reformed Theology: http://www.evangelicaloutreach.org/calvinismrefuted.htm

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