"I have become all things to all people..." 1 Corinthians 9:19-23

Humble Disciple · Aug 4, 2021

1 Corinthians 9:19-23

And to the Calvinists, I became a Calvinist, that I might win Calvinists.

To those who are without Calvinism, as without Calvinism, that I might win those who are without Calvinism.

I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some, by exposing dishonesty and hypocrisy.

Bearing False Witness is a Sin, A Warning of God's Judgment

Now this I do for the Gospel's sake, that I may be partaker of it with you.

I have no association with Leighton Flowers, and he is not an open theist.

Humble Disciple said: ↑

I have asked God to not make me a Calvinist if he doesn't want me to be a Calvinist. In the very least, I believe that God wants me to dispel myths about Calvinism, so that people will be relieved of their prejudice against Calvinists.

Since I am a Calvinist who believes in God’s irresistible grace, I accept that God will make me a provisionist, Arminian, or Molinist if He so chooses, according to His own glory and purposes. (Psalm 115:3, Psalm 135:6)

At the end of the day, your love for God is more important than the rightness of your theology:

1 Corinthians 8:2-3
Anyone who claims to know all the answers doesn’t really know very much. But the person who loves God is the one whom God recognizes.
Southern Baptist Traditionalism/Provisionism Thoughts and Comments
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Humble Disciple said: ↑

As I've demonstrated on this forum, I have no intention whatsoever to smear Calvinists of goodwill, like John Piper, Charles Spurgeon, George Whitefield, Matt Chandler, etc.
Bearing False Witness is a Sin, A Warning of God's Judgment
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Humble Disciple said: ↑

My intent on this forum has not been to convince others that Calvinism is true, but only that they should be more tolerant of Calvinists, especially since some of history's greatest missionaries and evangelists have been Calvinists.

Ecclesiastes 7:18
It is good to grasp the one and not let go of the other. Whoever fears God will avoid all extremes.

1 Corinthians 8:2-3
Anyone who claims to know all the answers doesn’t really know very much. But the person who loves God is the one whom God recognizes.
John Calvin: Not a Calvinist
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Humble Disciple said: ↑

In the words of Calvinist apologist Cornelius Van Til, "Sin did not take away from man any of the natural powers that God had given him."
The Defense of the Faith

This would include our natural ability to choose between accepting or rejecting God's free offer of salvation in the Gospel.

If we were created in the image and likeness of God, that includes free will if God is a free being.

While Calvinists are indeed our brothers and sisters in Christ, Calvinism is not the only legitimate interpretation of scripture, and accepting or rejecting it has nothing to do with our salvation.

"In Essentials Unity, In Non-Essentials Liberty, In All Things Charity."
God is a God of Reason: Why Calvinism Fails
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Humble Disciple said: ↑

The main difference between Calvinists and non-Calvinists is not whether God's enabling grace is necessary to repent and believe the Gospel, but whether this enabling grace is given to all people equally or just a select few:

When Calvinists point to John 6:44 as an example of particular irresistible “drawing”, Arminians will often quickly refer to John 12:32 to demonstrate that the drawing of John 6:44 cannot be a reference to regeneration. The reason is that Jesus states in Jn. 12:32 that he will “draw all men” to himself. The same Greek word is used here as in Jn. 6:44. The implication is that if Jesus was speaking of irresistible regeneration in John 6:44, then his statement in Jn. 12:32 would lead to the conclusion that Christ will irresistibly regenerate all men. This would be a plain case of universalism (the teaching that all will be saved), a teaching that both Calvinists and Arminians reject (Luke 13:24)...

I have no problem with their consideration of John 12:20-22, nor with their statement that he includes the Greeks in “all men”. The part I take issue with is their conclusion that when Jesus says “all men” he means only “all without distinction” or “all kinds of people”. This is a conclusion that Peterson and Williams have read into the passage based on the necessities of their Calvinist theology. There is no exegetical justification for reading “all men” as “some men” from among “all men” in this passage. It makes just as much sense to say that because Jesus’ drawing power would go out to “all men” (without exception), that the Gentiles of Jn. 12:20-22 could then rest assured that they too would have access to the gift of God’s salvation. To say that the presence of Greeks in vss. 20-22 necessitates that Jn. 12:32 must be understood in a restrictive sense is a huge leap in logic, and a conclusion which the un-biased reader of Scripture would likely never come to on his or her own.
Is The Drawing of John 12:32 Universal or Particular?
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N. T. Wright on Predestination and Election
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Humble Disciple said: ↑

Jesus promised that, if you truly followed Him, people would speak evil of you:

Matthew 5:11
Blessed are you when they shall insult you and shall persecute you, and lying shall say all kinds of evil against you on account of Me.

It shouldn't be surprising, then, that Calvinists continue to bear false witness regarding Finney's life and teachings, for converting more souls to lifelong, repentant believers than they do, but it's also a violation of God's command to not bear false witness:
Bearing False Witness is a Sin, A Warning of God's Judgment

Every time Calvinists smear Charles Finney, a man who gave up the pursuit of practicing law after having a profound experience of the Holy Spirit, who wouldn't even visit a town for revival until after it had been made ready with extensive prayer, they are setting themselves up for God's judgment.

Matthew 12:31-32
I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

It's blasphemy against the Holy Spirit to attribute the work of God to the work of Satan, just as the Pharisees did when Jesus cast out demons.
Who is the real Charles Finney?
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Humble Disciple said: ↑

Genesis 22:12
“Do not lay a hand on the boy,” He said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”

The reason why open theism doesn't contradict God's perfection is because, according to open theists, the future is unknowable because, by definition, it doesn't yet exist.

Asking if God can know a future that doesn't exist yet is, according to open theism, like asking if God can create a rock so big that even He can't lift it.
Open Theism in Medieval Judaism
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Humble Disciple · Aug 5, 2021

This is in all kindness and sincerity. 1 Corinthians 8:2-3

Humble Disciple said: ↑

As one can see, the potter makes Israel a vessel fit for destruction due to its free-willed choice to reject God. Otherwise, Jeremiah 18:12 doesn't make any logical sense, "That is in vain! We will follow our own plans, and will every one act according to the stubbornness of his evil heart."
Jeremiah 18: Romans 9 De-Calvinized
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The African Ancestors of Jesus

Humble Disciple said: ↑

Mark 13:32
No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

The fact that Jesus doesn't know the day or hour of His return has nothing to say about His perfection as a divine being. Since the future doesn't exist yet, it is, by definition, unknowable.

Rabbi Yeshayahu Horowitz explained the apparent paradox of his position by citing the old question, "Can God create a rock so heavy that He cannot pick it up?" He said that we cannot accept free choice as a creation of God's, and simultaneously question its logical compatibility with omnipotence.
Gersonides - Wikipedia
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One could say that Jesus voluntarily emptied Himself of foreknowledge by taking on human flesh, but wouldn't He at least remember the date of His return if that were the case?

Here is just one example from scripture, among many, of God reacting to human choices:

Genesis 22:12
“Do not lay a hand on the boy,” He said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”

The due season will come once the Gospel has been preached to all peoples, giving them a chance of repentance before the Second Coming, but the exact date is yet to be determined...

Imagine how many embarrassments in Christian history would have been prevented if Christ's followers had, instead of making false predictions of Christ's return, recognized that no one knows the day nor the hour, not even the Son.
"No one knows about that day or hour...nor the Son" Mark 13:32
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Humble Disciple · Aug 5, 2021

Open Theism Bible Verses in 33 Categories
https://opentheism.org/verses

Humble Disciple said: ↑

Isaiah 1:18
Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

Isaiah 43:26
Put Me in remembrance, let us argue our case together;
State your cause, that you may be proved right.

If we are created in the image of God, then we should be able to use our God-given ability to reason and read the scriptures for ourselves to draw our own conclusions, rather than reading a Calvinist framework into them.

Acts 17:11
Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
God is a God of Reason: Why Calvinism Fails
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Humble Disciple said: ↑

Anabaptists stubbornly held to Ezekiel 18:4 which explicitly states that “…it is only the person who sins who shall die.” Robert Friedman states that “The Ezekiel reference…freed the movement from the fatalistic character of inherited sin which was so characteristic of the Catholic Church and Protestant orthodoxy” (100). Anabaptists held that “…the sin of Adam and Eve introduced into the world a powerful tendency or inclination to sin which resulted in universal sinfulness, but it was a sinfulness by choice rather than by nature…The consequence of the sin in Eden was moral, not ontological, that is, inherited in human nature” (100).
Original Sin – Leaving it Behind (lV)
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It's kind of strange when Baptists, who reject the Catholic doctrine of baptismal regeneration, insist upon the Catholic doctrine of original sin on which it hinges.
Does the Bible teach Original Sin?
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Genesis 22:12
“Do not lay a hand on the boy,” He said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”

The reason why open theism doesn't contradict God's perfection is because, according to open theists, the future is unknowable because, by definition, it doesn't yet exist.

Asking if God can know a future that doesn't exist yet is, according to open theism, like asking if God can create a rock so big that even He can't lift it.
Open Theism in Medieval Judaism
Click to expand...

Humble Disciple · Aug 5, 2021

Open Theism Bible Verses in 33 Categories
https://opentheism.org/verses

Humble Disciple said: ↑
As I've demonstrated on this forum, I have no intention whatsoever to smear Calvinists of goodwill, like John Piper, Charles Spurgeon, George Whitefield, Matt Chandler, etc.
Bearing False Witness is a Sin, A Warning of God's Judgment
Click to expand...

Humble Disciple · Aug 5, 2021

Open theism is fully compatible with the corporate view of election, that God elected the church as a whole, rather than specific individuals, to salvation.

The Corporate View of Election

If God Changes His Mind, So Can I

I have no association with Leighton Flowers, and he is not an open theist.

"I have become all things to all people..." 1 Corinthians 9:19-23

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