Arminianism by the wholesale: Danger
Spurgeon says in a sermon that no greater religion could be invented than Christianity. He also dares his reader to come up with an example. The elect, he says, cannot ultimately be deceived. Then he lists a few temptations, one of which is Arminianism. Note what the great evangelistic preacher thought of the dangers of Arminianism and the glories of Calvinism and how the latter linked to, and protected, the gospel itself:
- ‘Would ye wake up one that should deceive us and lead us astray? We bid you do it; for it is not possible to deceive the elect. Ye may deceive the multitude, but God’s elect shall not be led astray. They have tried us. Have they not given us Popery? Have they not assailed us with Puseyism? Are they not tempting us with Arminianism by the wholesale? And do we therefore renounce God’s truth? No: we have taken this for our motto, and by it we will stand. “The Bible, the whole Bible, and nothing but the Bible,” is still the religion of Protestants: and the self-same truth which moved the lips of Chrysostom, the old doctrine that ravished the heart of Augustine, the old faith which Athanasius declared, the good old doctrine that Calvin preached, is our gospel now, and God helping us, we will stand by it till we die. How will ye quench it? If ye wish to do it, where can ye find the means? It is not in your power. Aha! aha! aha! we laugh you to scorn.’
-“The Eternal Name,” C. H. Spurgeon, 1855 (#27).
Baptists, Behold Your Reformed Heritage
The First London Baptist Confession of Faith (1646)
The Second London Confession (1677/1689)
- “The 1689 Confession was a Baptist revision of the Savoy Declaration (1658), which itself was a Congregationalist revision of the famous Presbyterian standard the Westminster Confession of Faith (1646).” –Nathan Finn.
Philadelphia Confession of Faith (1742)
Charleston Confession of Faith (1767)
New Hampshire Confession (1833)
Abstract of Principles (1858)
Baptist Faith and Message (1925)
Xem chi tiết: “Đức Chúa Trời và Sự Cứu Rỗi: Tín Lý Về Ân Điển Quyền Năng” (“God and Salvation: The Doctrines of Sovereign Grace”)
Spurgeon on Salvation–God’s Sovereignty
Spurgeon says, “If any man is saved, it is not because he willed to be saved. If any man be brought to Christ, it is not of any effort of his, but the root, the cause, the motive of the salvation of any one human being, and of all the chosen in heaven, is to be found in the predestinating purpose and sovereign distinguishing will of the Lord our God.” [vol 9, year 1863, 355], “The Minister’s Stock-Taking”
Quoted in Murray, Iain. The Forgotten Spurgeon. p. 84
Xem chi tiết: “Đức Chúa Trời và Sự Cứu Rỗi: Tín Lý Về Ân Điển Quyền Năng” (“God and Salvation: The Doctrines of Sovereign Grace”)
Baptists & Calvinistic Heritage
- GSiV, “God and Salvation: The Doctrines of Sovereign Grace” (Đức Chúa Trời Và Sự Cứu Rỗi: Tín Lý Về Ân Điển Quyền Năng)
- Ernest Reisinger, A Southern Baptist Looks at the Biblical Doctrine of Election
- T. Kendall, The Rise and Demise of Calvinism in the Southern Baptist Convention
- Bob Selph, Southern Baptists and the Doctrine of Election
FIVE ONLYS OF THE REFORMATION
October 31 is Reformation Day, the day Martin Luther (1483-1546) nailed up his 95 theses. Thus, the five “solas” or “onlys” seem appropriate:
- Scripture Alone: Scripture alone as the authority for life and practice in the church. (Only Scripture; Latin: Sola Scriptura)
- Grace Alone: God’s sovereign grace alone as the reason for our salvation without any actual or potential human merit, effort, faith, or work. (Only Grace; Latin: Sola Gratia)
- Faith Alone: Justification by faith alone and no human works. (Only faith; Latin: Sola Fide)
- Christ Alone: Salvation through the Person and work of Jesus Christ alone. (Only Christ; Latin: Solus Christus)
- Glory of God Alone: All things ultimately for the glory of God alone. (Only God’s glory; Latin: Soli Deo Gloria)
Modified from…
“What do I mean by Reformed Baptist?”
By D. Wayne Layton http://static1.squarespace.com/static/5470b72ae4b0a5a150755676/t/5470c977e4b0b3e05f6912cc/1416677751659/reformedbaptist.pdf
Bad Protestant Theology: Weak God, Strong Man (part 2)
Fortunately the following views on election or Lordship are not what Baptists have historically believed nor what all believe today.
“Thus election is to both salvation and evangelism. In both the free will of man determines the final result. By free will men can elect to be saved but elect to be barren Christians. God forbid! Men can also elect to be both saved and fruitful Christians. In such lives the sovereign will of God and the free will of man find their divinely intended relationship (John 15:16).”
-Herschel H. Hobbs, What Baptists Believe, 1964
Bad Protestant Theology: Weak God, Strong Man (part 1)
“As sovereign, God reigns over all things. As lover, he seeks to restore a relationship with humans whom he created in his own image, but he cannot predetermine their response. Love is a spontaneous, mutual relationship between persons. We can show unconditional love to another person, but we cannot force a spontaneous response on his or her part. In his unconditional love, God foreknows those who will love him, but he does not predetermine that response.”
-Paul Hiebert, Transforming Worldview, pp 269-270
Evangelism and Calvinism
- GSiV, “God and Salvation: The Doctrines of Sovereign Grace” (Đức Chúa Trời Và Sự Cứu Rỗi: Tín Lý Về Ân Điển Quyền Năng)
- I. Packer, Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God
- Ernest Reisinger, Will Calvinism Kill Evangelism?
- Michael Haykin. “A Sacrifice Well Pleasing To God: John Calvin And The Missionary Endeavor Of The Church.” Founders Journal. 75/Winter 2009.
- Ken Stewart. “Calvinism and Missions: The Contested Relationship Revisited.” Themelios 34, no. 1 (2009): 63-78.
- Ray Van Neste, “John Calvin on Evangelism and Missions,” Founders Journal. 33/Summer 1998.
- Jim Renihan. “Church Planting and the London Baptist Confessions of Faith.” Founders Journal. 37/Summer 1999.
SERMONS ON ELECTION
Protestants have typically embraced the doctrine of election as taught by the Reformers. Listen in English to sermons on this great biblical truth:
A SERMON ON ELECTION BY BAPTIST CHARLES SPURGEON
Protestants in general, and Baptists specifically, have embraced the doctrine of election. Listen in English to a sermon originally preached by Charles Spurgeon:
Confessions of Dort (Dordt)
Điều 1: Sự Lựa Chọn Thiên Thượng và Sự Hư Mất
Vì trong Adam mọi người đều đã phạm tội, bị rủa sả và đáng chịu chết mất đời đời, Thương Đế rất công bình nên tất cả mọi người phải bị hư mất và chịu đoán phạt bởi tội lỗi của họ gây ra, theo như lời các Sứ Đồ: Để chó miệng nào cũng phải ngậm lại, cả thiên hạ đều nhận tội trước mặt Thượng Đế (Rôma 3:19) và vì mọi người đều đã phạm tội, thiếu mất sự vinh hiển của Thượng Đế (Rôm 3:23). Vì tiền công của tội lỗi là sự chết (Rôm 6:23). {Bằng Tiếng Việt: Canons of Dordt}
Article 1: God’s Right to Condemn All People
Since all people have sinned in Adam and have come under the sentence of the curse and eternal death, God would have done no one an injustice if it had been his will to leave the entire human race in sin and under the curse, and to condemn them on account of their sin. As the apostle says: “The whole world is liable to the condemnation of God” (Rom. 3:19), “All have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23), and “The wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23).
Ears, Listening, and Words: Undeceive our Confusion (Part 2 of 2)
“In the New Testament we are told, ‘He who has ears, let him hear.’ If the Bible urges us to use our ears, they must be important. Think of the frequent prophetic summons: ‘Hear the word of the Lord’ (e.g., Jeremiah 2:4). Go all the way back to the foundation of Israel’s faith: ‘Hear, O Israel’ (Deuteronomy 6:4). At least 394 times the Old Testament refers to the word of God coming to us.
“Why does this matter? Malcolm Muggeridge framed the question in his typically delightful way some years ago in his London Lectures in Contemporary Christianity. What is, instead of the Dead Sea Scrolls, we’d found the Dead Sea Videotapes? Would the difference matter? Would it matter if Biblical faith had been handed down to us in images rather than in words? Does the camera make the same impact as the pen? And Muggeridge argued that the camera deceives us. It makes us think we are seeing reality. But television, especially, brainwashes us with carefully edited fantasies. God encounters us meaningfully through words—words that illuminate, words that last, words that undeceive our confusion.”
-Ray Ortlund, Jr. Isaiah: God Saves Sinners. (Isa 50:4-51:8) p. 333.
QUYỀN NĂNG CAO CẢ CỦA ĐỨC CHÚA TRỜI Ở VIỆT NAM (Ê-phê 1:4-5) 