I praise God this morning to be free from the teachings of John Calvin and Martin Luther! At one time in my life I held them as great men of God as I was a 5-point Calvinist and held strongly to Unconditional Election, Eternal Security, and Sin-You-Must.
As far as I understand, by the Bible, both Calvin and Luther are murder’s and we know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him – no matter what a person’s lips may say (1Joh 3:15).
The lives and fruit of Luther and Calvin were not good. They were just part of another beast like unto the papal beast . This second beast looked like a lamb, but spake as a dragon (Rev 13:11) and murdered the children of God – just like the papal beast (Rev 13:1-8) and the pagan dragon (Rev 12:3-11) before it.
Luther wrote against the “Against the Robbing and Murdering Hordes of Peasants” and said “Let whoever can stab, smite, slay. If you die in doing it, good for you! A more blessed death can never be yours…”
There is no record of Luther repenting for encouraging the killing of the peasants. In fact, he later stated “I, Martin Luther, have shed the blood of the rebellious peasants; for I commanded them to be killed. Their blood is indeed upon my head; but I put it upon the Lord God, by whose command I spoke” (Table Talk, p. 276. Eisleben edition).
Calvin wrote to William Farel that “I hope that sentence of death will at least be passed on him; but I desired that the severity of the punishment be mitigated.” — Calvin to William Farel, August 20, 1553, Bonnet, Jules (1820–1892) Letters of John Calvin, Carlisle, Penn: Banner of Truth Trust, 1980, pp. 158–159. ISBN 0-85151-323-9.
Calvin wrote to William Farel that “if he [Servetus] shall come [to Geneva], I shall never permit him to depart alive, provided my authority be of any avail” and true to his word he was instrumental in seeing Servetus receive the death penalty. — This letter is contested by some so I have striked it out.
Calvin didn’t repent of this murder, for some 8 years later he wrote to Marquis Paet, “Honour, glory, and riches shall be the reward of your pains; but above all, do not fail to rid the country of those scoundrels, who stir up the people to revolt against us. Such monsters should be exterminated, as I have exterminated Michael Servetus the Spaniard.”
This above quote is also contested so I have striked it out of this article. Daniel Knapp’s Anchored By Trust blog has a good blog post on The Execution of Servetus where he shows his research into this alleged letter from Calvin to Marquis Paet.
Also Wiki user Delta x has written a section John Calvin’s (alleged) letter to the Marquis du Poet (de Poët) – September 30, 1561 in the Talk:Michael Servetus of the Michael Servetus Wiki article.
John Calvin and Martin Luther were not the first to teach Unconditional Election, Eternal Security and Sin-You-Must. Not all that have taught these doctrines lived like Calvin and Luther, yet they are the fruit of that teaching.
Unconditional Election teaches that God pre-ordained before the world was created who would be saved, and that those who are not pre-ordained have no chance to be saved. This teaching will leave the saved with a false sense of security and the unsaved with no hope that they can do anything about their unsaved state.
Eternal Security teaches that once your saved, if you go back to your old life and live and die in sin, you will still go to heaven. This teaching gives a false sense of security and can work a carelessness in how you deal with temptations.
Sin-you-must teaches that you will continue to sin after being saved, and that a believer sins in word, thought, and deed daily. This teaching makes people easy prey to temptations and leaves them thinking that sin in a believer’s life is normal.
I here again renounce these three teachings as doctrines of devils (1Tim 4:1), and hold they are another gospel, motivated by another spirit, and teach another Jesus (2Cor 11:4).
March 2nd, 2009 at 5:31 am
You and me both are set free from the heresies of John Calvin.
But, I have a question for you. I would like to know what your thoughts are about my new blog entry about false teachers and false preachers.
http://777denny.wordpress.com/2009/02/06/woe-to-false-teachers-and-preachers-woe-to-them-that-follow-their-teachings/
I have another one if you care to read it also.
http://777denny.wordpress.com/2009/01/09/grapejuice-evangelicalism-versus-jesus-christ-the-gift-of-eternal-life/
Galatians 1:8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! 9 As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!
James 2:1-13
Thank you for listening,
777denny
777denny
April 15th, 2009 at 2:48 pm
You have not given ANY scriptural evidence to support your claims… I was hoping to find a good reason to overturn the doctrine of predestination (unconditional election), but you did not do that in the least. All you did was attack the character of Martin Luther and John Calvin…
Read Romans 8-9 and you will find that predestination is in fact in effect, and it has to be that way (otherwise some of the glory would go to man who sought God). If you can give me a reason to doubt this, please give it to me. I would much rather believe that I could save my friends and family from hell.
April 16th, 2009 at 10:58 pm
Hi TC; There is lots of articles that deal with the Calvin’s and Luther’s doctrine. The post was not about dealing with their doctrine other than to say I hold that TULIP is a false teaching.
As far as your charge of me attacking the character of Luther and Calvin. I provided supporting quotes from the writings of both Luther and Calvin. Then showed what I feel like the Bible has to say their actions.
If you want to call that an attack then I guess when ever a person disagrees with another person and shows where they feel they are wrong that is an attack.
As far as the doctrine of predestination I do agree that it is in the Bible and is a Bible doctrine that I accept. What I disagree with is TULIP and I feel like is a God dishonoring teaching.
I reject the Nero teaching of unconditional election where God is accused of taking pleasure in sending souls to hell for not coming to him when he imputes Adam’s sin to their charge, brings them into this world with a guilty of Adams sin and with a sinful nature that is bent to sinning, and when he sends out his ministers to call these people to repentance he refuses to give them the grace they need to come to him.
What an awful charge to make against a just God. God save the world from this blasphemous doctrine.
May 18th, 2009 at 4:39 pm
It’s good. I used it in a lesson plan.
August 25th, 2009 at 7:27 pm
Can someone explain predestination? I’ve read Rom 8&9 and don’t see the word or verse. thanks
September 7th, 2009 at 10:53 am
Hi Josh,
Predestination is found in Rom 8:29-30. What translation are you using?
September 11th, 2009 at 1:34 am
Hello - I just wanted to say thank you for your post. I came across it while doing some college studies, and you put into words what I have been feeling lately. There are some rather influential people in my life that are die-hard Calvinists, and some are die-hard Armenians.
I feel like I am being pulled to accept one or the other - when - do I need to? Neither of those terms are in the Bible - and I like to believe by John 3:16 that Jesus died for the WORLD, and not just those that He planned on saving. And I don’t really want to be ”labeled” as one or the other. Am I on track here?
Thanks again,
Aniella
September 11th, 2009 at 11:10 am
Hi Aniella,
I just wrote about 12 paragraphs in response to your comment and then as I was closing it up I lost it. Thank the Lord for grace and peace in small trials. I will try to make time to respond to your comment later.
Christian love and prayers,
Bob
September 11th, 2009 at 11:18 am
Oh, that’s terrible. I dislike it when that happens to me also … and it’s a good lesson in self-control to not get upset about it. Don’t rush on your comments - I’ll appreciate them whenever you have time.
Aniella
September 11th, 2009 at 12:42 pm
TC,
I was just re-reading your comment and noticed that I didn’t address your point “(otherwise some of the glory would go to man who sought God)”.
I hold, as all Weslyan-Arminian’s, that none come to the Son expect the Father draw them. If God would not draw people to himself none would come at all.
Therefore there is no room for a person to glory in that he sought God as God must first enlighten a person and draw them before they will seek him.
I am thanking for “the light that lighteth every man than cometh into the world” and that “salvation hath appeared unto all man, teaching them to deny ungodly lusts…”
A just God can not condemn people for not seeking Jesus and being saved if he refuses to enable them to be saved. I could see the devil doing this but not the just God which is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
May the Lord bless you as you seek him and his truth on this matter.
Christian love,
Bob.
God is a just God that gives everyone a chance to be saved.
September 11th, 2009 at 12:46 pm
Aniella Randall,
God is sovereign and works things accord to his will. If I had not lost my comment to you I would perhaps not have re-read the comments here and responded to the point that TC made that I missed.
When things seem to go wrong for us we always need to look further and see the hand of God working and to find what it is that we need to learn or do from everything that seems to not go our way.
All things work together for good to them that love God and are called according to his purpose.
Christian love,
Bob.
October 11th, 2009 at 6:39 pm
I agree that calvanism is a God dishonoring doctrine.
November 25th, 2009 at 1:11 pm
I have a great passion against calvinism.
We see in the OT, which was written to us for signs, shadows and warnings, that God is ever running after His chosen people (who, by the way, were chosen to bring the light of the gospel to all people, not to bring them only to heaven) who refused Him continually and ran after other gods.
In Ezekiel, we see that a man can be righteous all his life and become wicked at the end, and none of his righteousness is remembered. As well, if a man is wicked all his days, and becomes righteous toward the end of his life, none of his wickedness will be remembered.
We see Jesus outside Jerusalem weeping because His CHOSEN ones refuse Him although He so wanted to take them under His arms like a hen scoops her chicks under her wings but THEY would not have Him. We see in John 1 that He shines His light into the heart of every man that comes into the world, and to all that receive Him He gives them the power to become the sons of God.
John 3:15-21 is a beautiful passage showing the provision of a God that loves the world a desire to save the world-that the world by Him might be saved. We see in Matt. 25:41 that hell was prepared for the devil and his angels. We see in John 1:29 the Lamb who was sent to take away the sin of the world. We see in 1 John 2:2 that He takes away not only our sins; but also the sins of the whole world.
I think that one could go on and on; and we know that we are predestined to be conformed to the image of his son. We know that He chose us to be holy and without blame before Him in love. Not just us, but the whole world.
Will all the world be saved? No, because they love their evil deeds, so sadly. Why don’t we focus on this profitable thought - that we are predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son. How many of us have reached that place? Does the world see Jesus in us? That is what we should be focusing on, in my opinion.
Are we allowing the Holy Spirit to work the fruit of the spirit in us? Are we walking with Jesus moment by moment? Do we love Him or the world? Do we represent Him well in this world? Are we bright and shining stars in this dark place? (Phil 2:14-15). Are we fulfilling our calling? (1 Peter 2:19-25)
November 25th, 2009 at 5:52 pm
Hi Greatly Blessed,
Thank you for your comment. It was a blessing to my soul.
Christian love and prayers,
Bob.
November 25th, 2009 at 6:33 pm
Hi Bob,
What I see is not so much on whether or not John Calvin/Martin Luther or others teach it, but whether or not God teaches it. Because there are lots of teaching going on right now, even the ones you are holding to were taught ot us by men as sinful as we all are. The question is not whether they are right or wrong but whether they are of God or not.
In the case of the predestination, the bible talks about it. But whether or not Calvin or others have the right view of, it the way God view it, is the thing that I could not confirm. But am sure there is the word that says people are predestined and this is not my view, its the bible’s. But it also said,” we are predestined to do good…or that ” predestined to be like the son of God.” Not predestined to continue to sin.
The predestination is that of doing good and not of doing evil. If a person says he is predestined but his ways are evil it seems like the doctrine is wrongly understood. Paul was a bad person as he admitted, but he wrote the predestination concept as read in Romans and Ephesians.
Of course, there was a turn in his life before he was able to see things the way God sees it.
If God says some people are predestined, then who am I to negate such truth. But if on the other hand he does not say it, why would I insist teaching predestination.
However, if predestination is God’s way of dealing with men (like what was said in Romans…those he foreknew he predestined, and those he predestined he called and those he called he justified and those he justified he glorified) ..then no matter what people would say against it I will never back out from what God teaches. But if its not true to the word of God, then by all means I have to discard it without a second thought.
Whenever we attain spiritual insight, victory or understanding, it is never because I deserve it, but rather because in his mercy he chose to bless me. It may appear that I repented, or searched or worked on it, but the inner working that gave me the initiative were his to begin with. ” That no man may glory, except God”.
I am what I am because of his grace, even my fear to commit sin is something that God imbedded in me.
May God bless you more
November 26th, 2009 at 5:54 pm
Bob,
Hope you are brought to the scriptures and not the mind. Grace and Peace!
How do you handle John 10:26-30 “But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. I and my Father are one”
The issue is what is Scripture clearly indicative of eternal security. Are you saying that I can lose my salvation after doing absolutely nothing to earn or deserve it? Is anyone strong enough to snatch anything out of Gods hands? Can anyone even dare to come close enough to where God is and not simply die much less attempt taking something away from His grasp?
Man is responsible to search the Scriptures and live accordingly but this is impossible without the work of the Holy Spirit. Regeneration is absolutely and solely and completely Monergistic. Again in John 6:39 “And this is the Fathers will which hath sent me that all of which he hath given me I shall lose nothing but should raise it up again at the last day”. We see that Christ will not lose those that GOd has brought to Him to keep. Again in John 6:44 “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day”.
Psa 65:4 “How blessed is the one whom You choose and bring near to You to dwell in Your courts…”
Eph 1:4-5 “just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will”
Jude 1:4 “For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”
Acts 13:48 NASB When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed
2 Thess 2:13 “13 But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.”
Look forward to all/any responses
Alex
April 7th, 2010 at 10:01 pm
Alex is 100% correct, aka- biblical! The only reason anyone is saved is because God has chosen them in Christ before the foundation of the world. These are Christ’s sheep, and will be saved by Christ, because Christ only died for the elect, His sheep. He atoned for their sins only, not the sins of all people indiscriminately. We know by the words of Jesus that “there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” and in the Scriptures, that “the smoke of their torment rises up forever and ever.” There will be many cast into the lake of fire. The sheep of Christ are desribed as a “remnant”, a minority, if you will, in any given place and time. Yet collectively, as a great body which no man can number, taken from every generation, and in these last times, from every nation under heaven. No one is worthy of being saved. There is none righteous, no, not one. Only the righteousness of Christ satisfies the justice of God. We are all unworthy of salvation. Yet, God’s grace comes to His chosen vessels of mercy, to be His own purchased possession, bought out of slavery, to worship and serve the Creator. The grace of God is magnified, and God is glorified, because He is the Savior, Him alone. We can add nothing to it, nor do any redemptive good on our own. It is all of grace from first to last. All by the initiation and working of God upon our hearts. We must be like the prodigal son who returned, saying, “I am unworthy of the least of Your mercies. Make me like one of the hired servants.” We are wholly dependent upon God’s mercy, and the ministry of His Spirit within us. In John’s gospel, Jesus prays for those whom the Father had given Him. He explicitly said, “I do not pray for the world, but for those whom You have given me out of the world. For they are yours.”
This is great security to those who believe in the absolute sovereignty of God in all things, to those who make their boast in the Lord Jesus Christ alone, and in His cross, whereupon His life was given for “the many”, His sheep. Praise the LORD for His election, His predestination, else we are all doomed! Those whom God has not elected unto salvation, they die in their sins and suffer the penalty for their own sins. God is not unjust to condemn them, for they were quite willing to sin against Him unrighteously. God is just in condemning sinful men. How much greater is our gratitude and praise knowing that His electing love has saved us from the same end as them, seeing that we are, of ourselves, no better than they. But it is God alone that has made us to differ, revealing to us His Son, drawing us to Christ, that we may have life. Praise God!
July 8th, 2010 at 12:13 pm
Hi Steve,
>>>God is not unjust to condemn them, for they were quite willing to sin against Him unrighteously.
I understand that that Calvinistic god brings people into this world with a corrupt spirit that wants to sin (Original Sin), puts them in a physical body that wants to sin (Vile Body), and charges them guilty of Adams sin (Original Guilt) which they had nothing to do with. These poor depraved creatures he made don’t have the ability to do any thing but sin and that the only way they could come to Christ is if this Calvinistic god makes them come by unconditionally elected and draws them with Irresistible Grace. Then this Calvinistic god demands that these “non-elect” come to him and if they don’t he will throw them into a fire and torture them for ever and ever and ever. And you say that this is a fair and just way to deal with people?
I could see the devil doing this but not a just God.
September 22nd, 2010 at 2:35 am
It is interesting to see your misconceptions about Luther and Calvin. Regardless of the sins they may have comitted, the teaching they taught remains.
This issue with election is that we do not know who is elect. Falling back into a life of sinfulness is a sign (not proof, but can be an indication) that someone is unsaved. The Scripture is clear that only those who endure to the end will be saved. John writes in his epistle that they went out from us to show they were never of us.
Salvation is up to Christ; the question is not can I lose my salvation but can Christ lose a sinner, to which the answer is no.
As much as I grieve that I still sin, it is clear from the Scriptures that we are not perfect upon salvation, otherwise why all the exhortations to live in godliness? This is not an excuse to sin, for how can we who died to sin live in it? We can’t. Paul is clear that God who began a good work in us will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. Not now, but on that day. To the true believer that gives hope to perservere with fighting sin.
@bob - the issue with that is you are applying your own logic and frame of mind to the infinite God of the bible. If the Scripture says it, it is true. I would say that you have a wrong understand of “Calvinistic god” though.
January 12th, 2011 at 6:08 pm
TC,
Though I am a Calvinist myself, I understand your trouble with these reformers.
However, I would ask you not to judge them based on those works; though they are indeed a product of Luther and Calvin, we must remember that these men were also sinners. Luther was a great man and teacher, but he was wrong to attack the Jews. I believe that his anger against the German peasants was just, but he did not need to attack them so. In 1994, the Lutheran church recanted his pamphlet on the Jews, and apologized for it. As for Calvin, I do not agree with his condemnation of Catholics, or of his use of the church as a military state, but I do not find either necessary to my faith.
I hope that you recognize Luther and Calvin as the great men that they are, and forgive them of their sins.
February 10th, 2011 at 5:27 pm
Predestination is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God. John Calvin interpreted predestination to mean that God willed eternal damnation for some people and salvation for others. John Calvin and Martin Luther both teach that you have to believe in Jesus Christs death and resurrection to be saved and you have to repent and be baptized. Don’t badmouth them because of what they believe and teach, just keep your opinions to yourself.
February 17th, 2011 at 6:10 pm
Hi Katie,
>>>Don’t badmouth them because of what they believe and teach, just keep your opinions to yourself.
They are both admitted murders. So all I did was show them by quoting there own words. I don’t see how this is badmouthing them.
Bob.
July 24th, 2011 at 11:53 pm
I too have been perplexed by all the talk lately on the question of eternal security etc. etc.. However, when I look at the scriptures I see a terrible thing that has happened in the church. Doctrinal disception and disemination of every kind in the church to which really there are no real concrete answers. One can most assuredly almost support both sides, however do we have the mind of Christ to truly understand? I really believe without compromising truth that somewhere in the middle lies the real truth. To faction and kill in support of either side is do do Jesus Christ a great disfavour especially when we are to lay down our lives in love and relationship for one another even as he did when we did not agree with Him. I truly believe that if we as believers would lay down these divisive matters there would come again the Love of God to the body of Christ. On the matter of Luther and Calvin, well, it is a question of religion which is of man and not necessarily of God. They may have had some revelation from God but, then never left institutional religion. Instead they then built their own brands of religion and then proceeded to defend them to the point of killing God’s creation. That is the truth about carnal man. Lets face it the model of the New Testament Church was lost less than a centruy after the resurection of Christ by divisions and dissemination. Nothing has changed nor will it ever change! Until we lay down all the blasphemous names of factions we will never see the Kingdom of God turned loose in our lives.
All any of us believe is that which we have been taught for the last two millenium. The truth is still out there at the very beginning. Lets return to our first love!!
August 17th, 2011 at 12:21 am
I remember listening to a message by David Bercot about predestination. He pointed out that the doctrine is taken exclusively from the writings of Paul in the book of Romans. Bercot explains that every world religion, with the exception of christianity, relies on the teachings of its leader to explain soteriology.
He explains that James and Paul do appear to be in conflict if they are not interpreted through the teachings of Christ. Additionally he says that we are generally unaware of what Jesus actually taught regarding salvation, because most are “saved” from the book of Romans rather than the Gopsels.
Bercot explains that agreement between Paul (Predestination) and James (Armenianism) is found when filtered, or interpreted through what Jesus taught in the Gospels.
August 17th, 2011 at 2:18 am
That series might be interesting.
Bob.