Did This Blog as a Non-Calvinist, Became Reformed During the Pandemic
Sadly, the Internet speed hasn't been back to normal. I may blog here until I can post in WordPress again. It gets annoying because my WordPress site is reaching different places. However, I'd like to look back at some important lessons. I was more or less that "rank Arminian". I would've preferred to stay in that "Arminian" view. Paul David Washer said, "Calvinism is not the issue!" It's all about the doctrine of regeneration. That's why I stayed at Cebu Bible Baptist Church for some time. The church was still critical of people who claimed to be saved but behaved otherwise. Cebu Bible Baptist Church is still strong in upholding the doctrine of regeneration.
Charles H. Spurgeon is a preacher admired by both non-Calvinists and Calvinists alike. Some say that we can respect preachers like Spurgeon, the Reformers, etc. However, they are just men. Calvin was just a man. Spurgeon mentioned this and I believe several fundamentalists know this:
I have my own opinion that there is no such thing as preaching Christ and Him crucified, unless we preach what nowadays is called Calvinism. It is a nickname to call it Calvinism; Calvinism is the gospel, and nothing else. I do not believe we can preach the gospel if we do not preach justification by faith without works; nor unless we preach the sovereignty of God in His dispensation of grace; nor unless we exalt the electing unchangeable eternal, immutable, conquering love of Jehovah; nor do I think we can preach the gospel unless we base it upon the special and particular redemption of His elect and chosen people which Christ wrought out upon the cross. (Charles Spurgeon, The New Park Street Pulpit, Vol. 1, 1856).
I set up the WordPress site because I wanted a "clean start". I left Cebu Bible Baptist Church when I became a Calvinist in 2020. I became part of Living Word Christian Church, a church that preaches the doctrine of election. Cebu Bible Baptist Church later held a seminar called "The Dangers of Calvinism". The whole forum may have caused some unnecessary divisions or majoring in the minors. Calvinism is often looked down upon as "dangerous" because of the doctrine of election. Calvinism is rejected like Spurgeon's cigar. I was shocked to learn Spurgeon actually smoked cigars! I would use Spurgeon's cigar as an excuse not to accept Calvinism back then.
I examined why some accept the Gospel and why others don't. I used to adhere to the doctrine of free will. However, it's a real problem that some people are in church because they're psychologically pressured than truly converted. Some end up saying the sinner's prayer because they got psychologically pressured by evangelists. The person says the sinner's prayer but there's no real conversion. Some people are saved despite the sinner's prayer, not because of it. The problem ends up that believing in the free will to believe - Christians can be tempted to believe they can argue people into salvation. However, people are hardened in sin. In short, a heart hardened in sin is unable to believe in salvation.
In reviewing things, 1 Corinthians 1:21 (and I will quote from the KJV when it comes to defending the doctrine of election), says this:
21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
In short, worldly wisdom couldn't discover God's wisdom! Reviewing Romans 3 (which is often used to reach people out to Christ) highlights the sad truth. Atheists have laughed at the Bible without realizing how accurate it is about them. People can never be argued into salvation with human wisdom. This would conclude that man's total depravity is indeed real. Total Depravity doesn't mean people are as wicked as they can be. Instead, it's all about their spiritual deadness and that even their best is tainted with sin. People do good deeds trying to buy their way into Heaven. It's good works for self-preservation than for God's exaltation. Religions of the world today teach that same concept. In Greek mythology, Hades sends people with the most good works to the Elysian Fields while sending the most wicked people to Tartarus. People have the tendency to think the God of the Bible acts like Hades in Greek mythology.
I read through various Calvinist books before the pandemic. I read books by Dr. John F. MacArthur such as The Gospel According to Jesus and Hard to Believe, all the while I was an "Arminian". Of course, I would say, "I'm also not an Arminian." The best term should be non-Calvinist. I often used The Gospel According to Jesus as to why false converts abound in churches. I was still critical about Calvinism's promotion of Unconditional Election. However, the more I studied it, the more I said, "Maybe that's why some people respond to the Gospel message and others don't."
As I was looking into Unconditional Election, it became terribly humbling. It's often said, "God chose you because you chose Him." Instead, it became, "God chose you making you choose Him." In the Upper Room discourse, John 15:16 highlights this truth:
Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. (KJV)
The sequence is, "You received Jesus as your Lord and Savior because God chose you first. God chose you making you choose Him." This is the doctrine of Irresistible Grace. Yes, grace can be resisted but this is the inward working of grace. The Holy Spirit breaks the normally unbreakable heart, breakable. I could no longer brag that I could understand the Bible and others don't. Some people have read the Bible cover to cover but they're never converted. Some people read the Bible cover to cover but never get converted, never get convicted, and view it as a book of fables. In short, it has to because they're all spiritually dead!
As George Whitefield said, "Men are born Arminians." Yes, it's true. The free will view is often there. It's crazy how people can credit themselves for their humbling. However, some people can face terrible events like bankruptcy and can never be humbled. Luke 16:19-31 shows us the rich man having gone to Hell, pleaded for mercy only for his convenience. How can the rich man have the audacity to ask Abraham to send Lazarus to cool the tip of his tongue? The rich man spent his whole life neglecting Lazarus! Not even the flames of Hell can humble incorrigible people! Matthew 7:21-23 shows how many people will boast before the Lord Jesus on Judgment Day! That's the natural state of humanity - to be hostile towards spiritual truths! However, we always have the tendency to take credit to make ourselves feel good. That can also include taking credit for being able to believe the Gospel message!
Right now, I could no longer take credit as to why I finally believed the message. Can I even take credit for any improvement now? I don't think so! Ephesians 2:10 says that Christians are equipped unto good works. However, Ephesians 2:8-9 says that works don't save. A life of good works for the believer is but by God's grace. Titus 2:11-14 says that it's again, God's grace, not human effort, that leads to a life of good works for the believer. Perservance of the Saints isn't the root, it's the final fruit.