A Biblical Theology

Here is my own brief summary of what the Bible teaches on the points of controversy relative to the "Calvinist/Arminian" debate. I am prepared to stand before God in judgment and confess these things and I commend them for your prayerful consideration.

1. Man is totally depraved. He has no goodness in him and would never seek God unless God first sought him. Through the power of the Holy Spirit - operating in the revelations of nature, the preached word and the testimony of His saints - man is given light and ability to seek God and accept Christ.

2. Before the foundation of the world God predestinated Christ, through His crucifixion and resurrection, as the way of salvation and chose that all who trust in Him will be redeemed from the bondage of sin. Those who actually trust in Him are numbered among God's elect and will never perish.

3. The propitation made by Christ in His sacrifice for sin was sufficent to save all men every where. God desires the salvation of all and takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that he should turn to Christ and live.

The only men who are actually reconciled to God are those who receive God's atonement and thus have their sins purged by the blood of Christ. All other's will die in their sins and receive the just recompence of their sins.

4. While God draws men to Himself through the Holy Spirit - operating in the revelations of nature, the preached word and the testimony of His saints - men can and do resist the grace of God. Nothing prevents the salvation of the greatest sinner on earth but his own voluntary rejection of God.

5. All believers are predestinated to be conformed to the image of Christ. Though they can, and do, fall into sin and error, and even persist therein till until death of the physical body, they are kept by the mercy of the Father, the power of the Son, and the sealing of the Holy Spirit and will be raised up again into eternal life in the last day.

Mark Osgatharp

 

But Paul said, "In me, that is in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing." And David said, "there is none that doeth good, no, not one."

But Jesus said, "But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep."

And you said, "efficient only for those who believe, the elect." So which is it? Are the elect "those who believe" or "those who will believe"?

The word "atonement" is found only once in the New Testament of the King James Bible and it says,

"we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement." But you say,

You are confusing the atonement with the sacrifice of Christ. The sacrifice of Christ as a propitiation for sin was offered to God (and also by God, I might add). "Atonement" means reconciliation and that was offered by God to man on the basis of the sacrifice Christ made.

Depends on what you mean by "intervenes". None of us would accept God or even seek God if He did not intervene - that is what I already said. But if by "intervene" you mean make us accept him, that flies in the face of numerous Scriptures which teach that God will not save the impenitent. You say God does save the impenitent.

Hardly a Calvinistic statement because Calvinism teaches that real saints persevere in good works and that apparent backsliders were never truly regenerate. Furthermore, Calvinists also teach that their imaginary group of "elect unbelievers" are just as predestinated to glory as believers.

My friend, I've never believed in nor advocated that a man can become "unsaved". I believed in eternal security of the believer even before I believed in the Lord!

But I might note that Calvinists not only believe a man can't become "unsaved" after being saved, they don't think a man was unsaved before he was saved!

Mark Osgatharp

 

Larry,

Calvinism teaches the silly idea that God predesinated "the elect" to go to heaven before the foundation of the world. Could you explain to me how, in that scenario, it could ever be said that they were "unsaved"?

By the way, TCassidy made up the accusation against me that I had believed the silly idea that a saved man can become unsaved. I have never believed that. Maybe you could offer him a little reproof in kind, huh?

Mark Osgatharp

 

Amen. So any man who does not believe on Him is not His sheep. I don't know How Jesus could have routed Calvinism any more plainly.

That may be how Calvinist theology defines the term "atonement." But the word itself means "reconciliation" and that is why the King James translators used it Romans 5:11 where Paul explicitly says we have "received the atonement [reconciliation]."

That may be what you personally believe about it, but I have both heard and read numerous Calvinists who assert that real beleivers don't backslide and that is what they mean by "perseverance of the saints."

I might add that all believers don't necessarily return to the fold in this life, though they most certainly will when God raises them up from the dead.

Mark Osgatharp