Temple Baptist Church - 3-26-2014
1 John 2:2
Introduction:
A. Verse 2 is an interesting verse. God is talking to “my little children” about their relationship with Him and each other and, in the middle of it, the Holy Spirit inserts the phrase: “and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” I believe that He does so for two reasons:
1. To awaken God’s children from the apathy that seems to settle over them concerning souls that die without Christ. I got to witness to a 50 year old man who was up by my driveway yesterday doing some work on the telephone boxes along the road. Today, he called me and want us to pray for you. Thank God we are saved but the vast majority of the world will die lost while we relish our fellowship together.
2. To once again remind us that Christ died once for ALL. The damnable doctrine of Calvinism or Reformed Theology has taken a terrible toll on many Baptist Churches. It is the major doctrine of the Presbyterian Denomination which builds its doctrine around John Calvin’s teachings. It has gained popularity among Baptists, both SBC and independent over the past few decades.
B. We need to wake up but, tonight, I want to take a look at the heresy of Calvinism that has affected so many. Calvinism is simply explained in the TULIP or TULIP Theology:
T – Total Depravity (Calvinists teach this as Total Inability. Man has no ability to place personal faith in Christ.)
U – Unconditional Election (Salvation is totally divine with no human responsibility or choice involved.)
L – Limited Atonement (Jesus Christ died only for the elect few.)
I – Irresistible Grace (Man has no power to resist the drawing of the Holy Spirit when salvation’s call is extended.)
P – Perseverance of the Saints (Those chosen through pre-destination and election are eternally saved and this salvation is shown through their perseverance.)
C. At this point, I want to say that I agree with none of these tenets of the Calvinistic faith. Some men are called 5 Point Calvinists; others are called 3 Point Calvinists. We are neither.
D. Calvinists teach that you are either Calvinist or Armenian in theology. This is based upon the premise that you either have eternal salvation (Calvinist) or you can lose your salvation (Armenian). We ARE NEITHER! We believe that the saved are eternally saved but have no connection to Calvinism.
E. Some of these verses will be repetitive but will refute the TULIP Theology.
1 John 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
1. This Verse Destroys the Calvinist Doctrine of Total Depravity or Total Inability (this is what they teach). Christ is the propitiation for not only the saved but also for the whole world and the difference is that some chose to place their faith in Christ and most did not! It is a choice, not election.
John 5:40 And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.
John 1:11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
Matthew 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Luke 13:34 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not!
2. This Verse Destroys the Calvinist Doctrine of Unconditional Election. If Christ died for the whole world and the whole world is not saved, there must be conditions to salvation.
John 3:16-21 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (17) For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. (18) He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. (19) And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. (20) For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. (21) But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
Acts 8:36-37 And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? (37) And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. (With all thine heart is more than just a mental assent to who Jesus Christ is, it is a saving faith that affects the life of the believer.)
Acts 16:30-31 And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? (31) And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
3. This Verse Destroys the Calvinist Doctrine of Limited Atonement. Jesus Christ died for the sins of the WHOLE world, not just the saved. What is it in the words “whole world” that is so utterly confusing to the Calvinist?
1 John 4:14 And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.
John 1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
1 Timothy 2:4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
4. This Verse Destroys the Calvinist Doctrine of Irresistible Grace. Evidently, if Christ died for the whole world, most of the world has resisted His grace by not choosing to come to Christ for salvation. The grace of
Acts 7:51 Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.
Isaiah 63:10 But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them.
John 12:32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.
John 1:7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.
Titus 2:11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
5. This Verse Destroys the Calvinist Doctrine of Perseverance of the Saints. Perseverance is different from preservation. Perseverance is something that is done by an individual while preservation is something done to an individual by either something or another person. The Bible does teach preservation but not perseverance. In our verse, we find that the saint is saved, not on probation. There are bible examples of men who did not persevere: Lot in Genesis 19:30-38, Demas 2 Timothy 4:10, etc. Perseverance is a work of man while preservation is the work of God.
1 Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
John 6:67 Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?
Ephesians 1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise. (We can cite many verses concerning the preservation of the saints but not the perseverance of the saints.)
No comments:
Post a Comment