Do Calvinists Distort the Gospel?

Absolutely! And He saves all those who will believe. And all who believe are saved. This opportunity to believe on Him is available to every man. The verses I quoted in John are repeated proof of that. If not, what was Jesus teaching in those verses I quoted from John's gospel?

 

Surely you know that the analogy between us and sheep cannot be taken to the extreme. Do you know that one ram fathers many of the lambs in the fold? When the natural activity of the sheep fails to line up with the clear teaching of the Word of God, I choose the Scripture over the example of the sheep every time.

Every verse I quoted in John (and other passages as well) clearly teach that we choose to believe on Him. Whether a literal sheep chooses a shepherd or not is totally irrelevant.

 

PB, it's a shame Jesus used such a poor illustration as sheep and shepherd in John 10 and other places. You know better than the Lord. We should listen to your wise words.

 

You are right. I am confused. Which is why I said "i am confused. Because the Calvinist doctrine of Limited Atonement means that Christ did not die on the cross for everyone...just the elect. You may be correct that God loves everyone. But the "whoever believes in Him" is actually" when the elect believes in Him". And that is a big "when" because they will come to the Gospel against their will (because we really don't have a will...dead to sin an all, but some how we can willingly choose to sin ).

 

Yet, the prodigal son chose to come back.

 

This is a prime example of how one can take things out of context. Most are intelligent enough to understand that any analogy taken to an extreme is no longer an accurate analogy.

Still, it was a nice red herring that you offered us.

 

Acts 18:8 And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized.

 

"there have been some men who have never been able to grasp the Gospel in its integrity in order to present the Grace of God to men’s minds at once in its sovereignty and in its freeness. Though their sermons sometimes ring with the clear melodious note of Grace of God, they are too often bent on qualifying the extent of its welcome and inventing explanations of their own, to wrest the simple meaning of Scriptures. Calvinists, such men may call themselves, but, unlike the Reformer whose name they adopt, they bring a system of divinity to the Bible to interpret it, instead of making every system, by its merits what they may, yield and give place to the pure and unadulterated Word of God." —Charles Spurgeon

 

John 10:9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.

 

They know when and where the shepherd is about to let them out to pasture. and so they wait at the gate.....(these are my ewes)........


Then about 30 minutes later, when their hay has been scattered out and feed has been put in their troughs, they wait at the gate for that......


At the feed troughs......

 

Sheep are extremely "food oriented" and they only want good, clean, feed. They will turn up their noses and walk away from contaminated stuff. If one gives them good food, they will gravitate to and follow him.. In that sense it is they who choose the shepherd. But if one treats them badly and doesn't feed them clean feed, or no feed at all, they scatter.(see Ezekiel 34) Sheep don't "drive" well at all, so if you try to force them (without a dog) they scatter. If you want them to go anywhere, you lure them with food. And they know the voice of the one who feeds them. So, yeah, sheep "choose" to follow if the shepherd has something worth following him for...........

These are my sheep.....



Oh yes, the reason I had entitled this video "No Rod or Staff" is because I am having a hard time walking without tripping over some of these sheep because some are constantly in front of my legs. But with my staff in one hand, I can gently touch them with it and they will clear out of my path enough to let me walk safely. That's just one of the many uses I have found for my "staff."

 

However, in all fairness, the good shepherd did go out to find the one lost sheep.

 

Could you please explain to me what the "L" in T.U.L.I.P. is and what it actually means? This is a legitimate question because I think I may have misunderstood it.

 

FWIW, That was a sheep, which he already owned in the first place.

 

True.