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Arminians And Mongrel Calvinists
I recollect once asking an Arminian how a soul must be saved; to which he replied, “By the blood of Jesus Christ.” I said, “Do you believe in that Scripture passage, “The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin?“ He replied, “I do.” “Do you believe that the blood and righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ is sufficient alone of itself to save a soul from hell?” He said, “I do.” “Then what are sinners sent to hell for?” To which he replied, “For rejecting the Saviour, to be sure.” I said, “Is rejecting the Saviour a sin?” He replied, “Yes.” “Well, then; if the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin, that sin of rejecting the Saviour is among the…
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Two Or Three Covenants?
One of the reasons many Reformed believers assert it is the duty of all sinners to savingly believe on Christ is because they distinguish between the covenant of redemption and the covenant of grace. They believe the covenant of redemption was made between the Father, the Son and the Spirit from eternity, whereas the covenant of grace is made between Jehovah and the sinner in time. They view the covenant of redemption as existing in the background of God’s plan for the ages, whereas the covenant of grace is set in the foreground of man’s responsibility for today. R. C. Sproul outlined this view in his book, “What Is Reformed Theology”. He explained Reformed Theology is primarily concerned with three major covenants—the covenant of redemption,…
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Persuasional Regeneration?
In an article entitled, “The Need For Persuasion In The Preaching Of The Gospel”, Peter Masters wrote: “The hyper-Calvinist regards the regenerating work of the Spirit as a total and complete work of conversion carried on in the heart by the Spirit in a direct manner...Believing that the whole of regeneration and conversion is accomplished by a direct work of the Spirit in the heart, and that repentance and faith are the fruit and evidence of a soul already saved, the preacher has no exhortation left to make!” This is a classic Reformed (Fullerite) Baptist position. I respond:[1] First, the “hyper-Calvinist” does believe the regenerating work of the Spirt is total and complete. Second, the “hyper-Calvinist” does believe that repentance and faith are the fruit…
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1. High-Calvinists Did Not Like George Whitefield, Because He Preached The Gospel?
Speaking of John Wesley and George Whitefield, John Piper points out: “The Particular Baptists did not like either of these evangelical leaders. Wesley was not a Calvinist, and Whitefield’s Calvinism was suspect, to say the least, because of the kind of evangelistic preaching he did. The Particular Baptists spoke derisively of Whitefield’s ‘Arminian dialect’.” One of the leading figures among the Particular Baptists was Pastor-Theologian John Gill. The teachings of Gill are representative of the High-Calvinism to which Piper refers. In George Ella’s book, “John Gill, And The Cause Of God And Truth”, he makes the following observation on page 184: “It is very difficult to conceive that anyone familiar with the ministry of John Gill could accuse him of being without vigour in preaching…
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2. As A High-Calvinist, John Gill Was Responsible For Killing A Gospel Spirit Among The Particular Baptists?
John Piper asserts: “Fuller himself certainly saw Gill as a High Calvinist responsible for much of the evangelistic deadness among his fellow Particular Baptists.” There is an article written by George Ella called, “Exaggerated Claims Concerning Andrew Fuller And False Information Regarding ‘High-Calvinists’”. Ella points out: “1795-1835 was a time of widespread revival with Anglican Robert Hawker preaching to thousands, Independent William Huntington equalled his efforts and Baptist William Gadsby founding 45-50 churches filled with new converts. The Particular Baptists were not inactive in this time but Mr Cook confuses Gill’s orthodoxy with Fuller’s. Gill had one of the largest Particular Baptist congregations in Britain, outnumbering Fullers by far. Contemporary evangelical magazines objecting to Fullerism’s ‘gangerous’ effect on church growth were legion. However, in…
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3. The High-Calvinist Churches Were Lifeless And The Particular Baptists Were Dying?
John Piper points out: “One of Fuller’s critics, John Martin, Pastor at Grafton Street, Westminster wrote, “Sinners in my opinion, are more frequently converted, and believers more commonly edified, by a narrative of facts concerning Jesus Christ, and by a clear, connected statement of the doctrines of grace, and blessings of the gospel, than by all the expectations and expostulations that were ever invented. (Quoted in Morden, Offering Christ, p. 57.) But in fact, the Hyper-Calvinists were not passionately telling the narrative of the gospel story to the lost and were opposed to the new mission to India. Peter Morden points out that “The prevalence of high Calvinism had led not only to a refusal to ‘offer Christ’ but also to a general suspicion…
