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An Examination of the Five Points of Calvinism – Part VI: Footnotes by Brian Schwertley

By April 3, 2011June 24th, 2019Five Points of Calvinism

FOOTNOTES:

1 The word Arminianism is used somewhat loosely today. What is commonly referred to as Arminianism today is more often semi-Pelagian. Most modern Arminians do not believe in total depravity but merely that man is spiritually sick. Man still has spiritual ability and thus will choose Christ if the right techniques are brought to bear. The author has met Baptists and charismatics that were outright Pelagians in their view of original sin. We live in an age of such ignorance of basic doctrines that a label such as Arminianism is used in a general manner to describe the heretical notions of the fall, the atonement, special grace, the new birth, perseverance, etc. common among modern evangelicals. The old style Arminianism of the Remonstrants and John Wesley is in the minority among evangelicals. Modern Arminianism should be considered a hybrid of Arminianism and semi-Pelagianism.

2 Loraine Boettner, The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination (Phillipsburg, NJ: [1932] 1979), 73.

3 Duane Edward Spencer, Tulip: The Five Points of Calvinism in the Light of Scripture (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1979), 26.

4 Leonard J. Coppes, Are Five Points Enough? The Ten Points of Calvinism (Manassas, VA: Reformation Education Foundation, 1980), 44.

5 Loraine Boettner, The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination, 61.

6 L. Berkhof, Systematic Theology, 247.

7 Arthur C. Custance, The Sovereignty of Grace, 95.

8 Boettner, The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination, 63.

9 L. Berkhof, Systematic Theology, 247.

10 Chapter IX, sec. III.

11 Gordon Clark, What Do Presbyterians Believe? (Philadelphia, PA: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1965), 109. “We must learn that this is the root-cause of every problem which afflicts mankind, the corruption of spiritual death. The sickness of world civilization, every evil and ill which beset human society, and our personal and individual problems arise from this basic condition, the corruption of spiritual death” (Gordon H. Girod, The Way of Salvation [Grand Rapids: Baker, 1960], 61).

12 B. B. Warfield, The Plan of Salvation (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1970), 87.

13 George Sayles Bishop, The Doctrines of Grace and Kindred Themes (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1954), 145.

14 Arthur Pink, The Sovereignty of God, 133-134.

15 Boettner, The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination, 62.

16 George Sayles Bishop, The Doctrines of Grace, 146.

17 Martin Luther, The Bondage of the Will, translated by J. I. Packer and O. R. Johnston (Cambridge: James Clark, 1957), 262.

18 W. E. Best, Regeneration and Conversion (Grand Rapids: Guardian), 11. “Man can no more turn to God than the dead can sit up in their coffins. He can no more originate a right desire than he can create a universe. God and God the Holy Ghost alone, by sovereignty, special interference, calls dead sinners to life, and ‘creates’ within them the desires of their hearts” (George Sayles Bishop, The Doctrines of Grace, 147).

19 Warburton, Calvinism, 48, as quoted in Loraine Boettner, Reformed Doctrine of Predestination, 66.

20 Luther, Bondage of the Will, 300.

21 John Murray, The Epistle to the Romans (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1959), 1:287.

22 Luther, Bondage of the Will, 280.

23 Duane Edward Spencer, Tulip: The Five Points of Calvinism in the Light of Scripture (Grand Rapids: Baker), 26.

24 Best, 14.

25 Benjamin B. Warfield, The Plan of Salvation (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1970), 84-85.

26 Luther, The Bondage of the Will, 292, 305.

27 Duane Edward Spencer, Tulip, 28.

28 Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids, Eerdmans, 1939), 114.

29 Arthur C. Custance, The Sovereignty of Grace, 134.

30 John Murray, The Epistle to the Romans (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1959), 317. “Whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate,” and many senses have been given to this word “foreknow,” though in this case one commends itself beyond every other. Some have thought that it simply means that God predestined men whose future history he foreknew. The text before us cannot be so understood, because the Lord foreknows the history of every man, and angel, and devil. So far as mere prescience goes, every man is foreknown, and yet no one will assert that all men are predestined to be conformed to the image of the Lord Jesus. But, it is further assented that the Lord foreknew who would exercise repentance, who would believe in Jesus, and who would persevere in a consistent life to the end. This is readily granted, but a reader must wear very powerful magnifying spectacles before he will be able to discover that sense in the text. Upon looking carefully at my Bible again I do not perceive such a statement. Where are those words which you have added, ‘Whom he did foreknow to repent, to believe, and to persevere in grace’? I do not find them either in the English version or in the Greek original. If I could so read them the passage would certainly be very easy, and would very greatly alter my doctrinal views; but, as I do not find those words there, begging your pardon, I do not believe in them. However wise and advisable a human interpolation may be, it has no authority with us; we bow to holy Scripture, but not to glosses which theologians may choose to put upon it. No hint is given in the text of foreseen virtue any more than of foreseen sin, and, therefore, we are driven to find another meaning for the word. We find that the word ‘know’ is frequently used in Scripture, not only for knowledge, but also for favour, love, and complacency“ (Charles H. Spurgeon, Spurgeon’s Expository Encyclopedia [Grand Rapids: Baker, 1996], 7:22).

31 William G. T. Shedd, Romans, 266.

32 John Murray, Romans, 321.

33 John L. Girardeau, Calvinism and Evangelical Arminianism (Harrisonburg, VA: Sprinkle, [1890] 1984), 69.

34 Arthur C. Custance, The Sovereignty of Grace, 139-140.

35 John Murray, Redemption Accomplished and Applied (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans), 100.

36 Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown, A Commentary Critical, Experimental, and Practical on the Old and New Testaments (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995), 3:95.

37 Matthew Henry, Commentary (McLean, VA: MacDonald, n.d.), 6:175.

38 John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (Streamwood, IL: Primitive Baptist Library, [1809] 1979), 8:273. The middle “were disposed” is an absurd translation. How many people do you know who are disposed or would prefer to burn in hell?

39 J. A. Alexander, Acts of the Apostles (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, [1857] 1991), 43.

40 C. H. Spurgeon, quoted in George Sayles Bishop, The Doctrines of Grace (Baker, 1954), 171.

41 Charles Hodge, Romans (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, [1835] 1989), 309.

42 William Hendriksen, Romans (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1980), 323. “What we find in Malachi 1:1-5 is illustrated by instances in the Old Testament where God’s hatred is mentioned and where either persons or things are the objects (cf. Psalms 5:5; 11:5; Prov. 6:16; 8:13; Is. 1:14; 61:8; Jer. 44:4; Hos. 9:15; Amos 5:21; Zech. 8:17; Mal. 2:16). The divine reaction could scarcely be reduced to that of not loving or loving less. Thus the evidence would require, to say the least, the thought of disfavor, disapprobation, displeasure” (Murray, Romans, 2:22).

43 C. H. Spurgeon, sermon on Jacob and Esau, in William MacLean, Arminianism: Another Gospel (Gisborne, New Zealand: Westminster Standard, 1965), 16-17.

44 MacLean, Arminianism: Another Gospel, 15.

45 B. B. Warfield, The Plan of Salvation (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1970), 80-81.

46 James Montgomery Boice, Romans (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1993), 3:1070.

47 Loraine Boettner, The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination, 89. “If the Arminian theory were true, namely, that Christ died for all men and that the benefits of His death are actually applied to all men, we would expect to find that God had made some provision for the Gospel to be communicated to all men. The problem of the heathens, who live and die without the Gospel, has always been a thorny one for the Arminians who insist that all men have sufficient grace if they will but make use of it” (Boettner, 118).

48 Arthur W. Pink, The Sovereignty of God (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1976 [1930]), 51.

49 Hendriksen, Romans, 327.

50 “Here is also the rule and fontal cause of God’s election: it is according to the good pleasure of His will (v. 5), not for the sake of anything in them foreseen, but because it was his sovereign will, and a thing highly pleasing to him. It is according to the purpose, the fixed and unalterable will, of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will (v. 11), who powerfully accomplishes whatever concerns his elect, as he has wisely and freely foreordained and decreed” (Matthew Henry, Commentary, 6:687).

51 William Hendriksen, Galatians and Ephesians (Grand Rapids: Baker, [1967] 1979), 76.

52 John L. Girardeau, Calvinism and Evangelical Arminianism, 69.

53 Ibid., 78.

54 John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion III:XXI:1 (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1960), 2:921.

55 “To this cardinal doctrine of the Word of God [God’s sovereignty] Arminianism does great violence, for it teaches that God did no more than make salvation possible through the death of His Son, and that it is for the sinner to make his salvation actual by the acceptance of Christ in faith of his own free volition. Thus the realization of salvation is made to depend on the will of man, not the will of God. Man becomes his own savior. Salvation is no longer ‘of God that showeth mercy,’ but ‘of him that willeth’ (R. B. Kuiper, For Whom Did Christ Die? [Grand Rapids: Baker, 1959], 40).

56 David Dickson, A Brief Exposition of Jesus Christ According to Matthew (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, [1647] 1981), 7.

57 William Hendriksen, Matthew (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1973), 133.

58 B. B. Warfield, The Plan of Salvation (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1970), 87.

59 William Hendriksen, The Gospel of John (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1954), 2:111.

60 Loraine Boettner, The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination (Phillipsburg, NJ, [1932] 1979), 157.

61 Thomas Taylor, Exposition of Titus (Minneapolis: Klock and Klock, [1619] 1980), 363-364.

62 J. A. Alexander, Mark (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, [1858] 1960), 294.

63 William L. Lane, The Gospel of Mark (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1974), 384.

64 John Brown, Hebrews (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, [1862] 1983), 430.

65 Charles Hodge, Romans (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, [1835] 1989), 172. “And just as the relation to Adam means the imputation to us of his disobedience, so the relation to Christ means the imputation to us of his obedience. Justification means our involvement in the obedience of Christ in terms of the same principle by which we are involved in Adam’s sin. Nothing less is demanded by the analogy instituted in this verse. Again, the involvement in the obedience of Christ is not that of our personal voluntary obedience nor that of our subjective holiness. This would violate the forensic character of the justification with which the apostle is dealing. But we must not tone down the formula ‘constituted righteous’ to any lower terms that the gracious judgment on God’s part whereby the obedience of Christ is reckoned to our account and therefore reckoned as ours with all the entail of consequence which righteousness carries with it” (John Murray, Romans, 206).

66 Christ died on the cross after mankind had already been around for at least 4,000 years. Did Christ die on the cross for the millions of people who already had lived and died; who were already in hell with no possibility of exercising saving faith in Christ? Such a notion is quite absurd. Furthermore, the Arminian believes that God has a perfect foreknowledge of whatsoever comes to pass. If God knew who was going to believe in Christ beforehand and based election on such a foreseen faith, then why did Christ bother to die for people He knew would certainly reject Him and go to hell? The Arminian must either limit the design of the atonement in some manner or believe that God is unwise and incompetent in carrying out His plan of redemption.

67 John Murray, The Atonement (Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed, n.d.), 28-29.

68 A. A. Hodge, The Atonement, 402.

69 Loraine Boettner, The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination, 155.

70 Robert A. Morey, Studies in the Atonement (Southbridge, MA: Crown Pub., 1989), 64.

71 The apostle John says specifically that those who believe in Jesus were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man but of God” (1:13). Paul says, “it is not of him who wills…but of God who shows mercy” (Rom. 9:16).

72 Robert A. Morey, Studies in the Atonement (Southbridge, MA: Crown Pub., 1989), 82.

73 Ibid.

74 J. C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels (England: James Clark, 1976), 3:205.

75 John Owen, Works (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, [1850-53] 1967), 10:182-183.

76 This argument was taken from John Owen’s treatise, “End of Christ’s Death as Eternally Intended,” in Works, 10:173-174 (paraphrased so as to be more understandable to the modern reader).

77 The biblical use of the word “heart” is different than today’s English usage. In the Bible, “heart” represents every aspect of man’s nature, including the intellect, will, and emotions. Repeatedly the Bible presents God working directly upon man’s heart. Thus, God directly can influence man’s will. God did not want Pharaoh to let Israel go, so He hardened Pharaoh’s heart. This affected both his emotional state (he became angry and obstinate) and his will or decision (he refused to let Israel go).

78 Arthur W. Pink, The Sovereignty of God (Grand Rapids: Baker, [1930] 1976), 43. “It would seem that if God put forth His power and exerted a direct influence upon men their freedom would be interfered with. It would appear that if God did anything more than warn and invite men, their responsibility would be infringed upon. We are told that God must not coerce man, still less compel him, or otherwise he would be reduced to a machine. This sounds very plausible; it appears to be good philosophy, and based upon sound reasoning; it has been almost universally accepted as an axiom in ethics; nevertheless, it is refuted by Scripture!” (ibid., 145). “Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar” (Rom. 3:4).

79 Arthur Pink, The Sovereignty of God, 20.

80 Duane Edward Spencer, Tulip: The Five Points of Calvinism in the Light of Scripture (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1979), 15-16.

81 Loraine Boettner, The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination, 214.

82 L. Berkhof, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1939), 218.

83 John L. Girardeau., Calvinism and Evangelical Arminianism, 369.

84 Ibid., 215. “The will is not determined by any law of necessity; it is not independent, indifferent, or self-determined, but is always determined by the preceding state of mind; so that a man is free so long as his volitions are the conscious expression of his mind; or so long as his activity is determined and controlled by his reason and feelings” (Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1989], 2:288).

85 L. Berkhof, Systematic Theology, 106.

86 William Hendriksen, John (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1953) 2:203. “In Scripture the word ‘all’ (as applied to humankind) is used in two senses—absolutely and relatively. In some passages it means all without exception; in others it signifies all without distinction. As to which of these meanings it bears any particular passage, must be determined by the context and decided by a comparison of parallel Scriptures. That the word ‘all’ is used in a relative and restricted sense, and in such cases means all without distinction, is clear from a number of Scriptures” (Arthur Pink, The Sovereignty of God, 68-69).

87 Duane Edwards Spencer, Tulip, 40.

88 J. Gresham Machen, God Transcendent and Other Sermons (Grand Rapids, 1949), 134 ff., quoted in R. B. Kuiper, For Whom Did Christ Die? 30.

89 Charles Hodge, I and II Corinthians (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, [1857] 1959), 325.

90 John Gill, The Cause of God and Truth (Streamwood, IL: Primitive Baptist Library, 1978 [1855]), 50.

91 Arthur C. Custance, The Sovereignty of Grace, 163.

92 John Gill, The Cause of God and Truth, 50.

93 Pink writes: “Kosmos is [also] used of believers only: John 1:29; 3:16, 17; 6:33; 12:47; I Cor. 4:9; II Cor. 5:19. We leave our readers to turn to these passages, asking them to note, carefully, exactly what is said and predicated of ‘the world’ in each place” (The Sovereignty of God, 254).

94 “In Gal. 2:9 we are told that John, together with James and Cephas, were apostles ‘unto the circumcision’ (i.e. Israel). In keeping with this, the Epistle of James is addressed to ‘the twelve tribes, which are scattered abroad’ (1:1). So, the first Epistle of Peter is addressed to ‘the elect who are sojourners of the Dispersion’ (I Pet. 1:1, R.V.). And John is also writing to saved Israelites, but for saved Jews and saved Gentiles” (Pink, The Sovereignty of God, 258).

95 “Beyond all doubt, Romans 11:32, ‘For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, in order that he might have mercy on all,’ must also be interpreted as referring to both Jews and gentiles rather than to all individuals constituting the human race. The entire context points unmistakably in that direction. Nothing could be clearer than that the reference of the twofold ‘all’ is exhausted by the two classes, Jews and gentiles, discussed in the immediate context” (R. B. Kuiper, For Whom Did Christ Die? 34).

96 Arthur W. Pink, The Sovereignty of God, 260.

97 Loraine Boettner, The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination, 293.

98 William Hendriksen, John, 140.

99 Matthew Poole, Commentary on the Whole Bible (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, [1685] 1963), 3:292.

100 Loraine Boettner, The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination, 254.

101 John Gill, The Cause of God and Truth (Streamwood, IL: Primitive Baptist Library, [1735] 1978), 28.

102 David Dickson, Matthew (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, [1647] 1987), 318.

103 John Gill, The Cause of God and Truth, 61.

104 Ibid.

105 Another acceptable interpretation of 2 Pet. 2:1 that does not contradict Scripture is that of Alexander Nisbet (1623-1669): “That they should deny the Lord that brought them; which is not to be understood as if either Christ had died for such men (for then they could not have perished, John 10:11, 28).… The meaning therefore is that they, being by profession and in their own and others’ esteem, redeemed ones, should vent errors as would in substance tend to the denial of the sovereignty and Lordship of Christ over His people, by labouring under a pretence of Christian liberty (as it is, v. 19) to loose believers from their subjection to Christ’s royal law…. Albeit only the elect are redeemed unto life; and none of them who are given to Christ of the Father can perish or finally deny Christ unto destruction, because Christ is engaged to keep them from perdition (John 6:39), yet reprobates who do profess themselves to be redeemed by Christ and are esteemed for such by the church, may be said to deny the Lord that brought them, in the terms of judicial process (when they say He has redeemed them, and in the mean time, in doctrine and deeds, do deny Him and betray Him), howsoever in the terms of historical narration, they were never redeemed nor written in the Book of Life” (Exposition of 1 and 2 Peter [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, (1658) 1982], 245-246).

106 Arminians hold that the “influence of the Spirit which is exerted on the minds of all men is called ‘sufficient grace.’ By the two former [Romanists and Semi-Pelagians] it is held to be sufficient to enable the sinner to do that which will either merit or secure larger degrees of grace which, if duly improved, will issue in salvation. The Arminians admit that the fall of our race has rendered all men utterly unable of themselves, to do anything truly acceptable in the sight of God. But they hold that this inability, arising out of the present state of human nature, is removed by the influence of the Spirit given to all. This is called ‘gracious ability;’ that is, an ability due to the grace, or the supernatural influence of the Spirit granted to all men” (Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology [Grand Rapids, Eerdmans, 1989], 2:675).

107 Duane Edward Spencer, Tulip: The Five Point of Calvinism in the Light of Scripture (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1979), 44.

108 Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1989), 2:684.

109 William Cunningham, Historical Theology (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, [1862] 1960), 2:320.

110 Ibid., 2:379.

111 A. A. Hodge, Outlines of Theology (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, [1860] 1973), 453.

112 Ibid., 453.

113 The Arminian concept of sufficient grace is also inconsistent with the doctrine of unconditional election. The Arminian doctrine of sufficient grace presupposes that God is trying to save every human being without exception and that the deciding factor is man’s free will. The Bible, however, teaches that God is only interested in saving the elect; the rest are passed by and justly cast into hell for their sins. If election is based upon God’s choice and not man’s choice (as Paul so clearly teaches in Eph. 1:3-6 and Rom. 9:11-23), then it would be at cross purposes for God to give sufficient grace to those who were not elect.

114 Girardeau, Calvinism and Evangelical Arminianism, 316-317.

115 Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1939), 471. It is obvious right in 1 Pet. 1:23 that Peter rejects the concept of decisional regeneration. There are two elements spoken of: the incorruptible seed which is implanted in the soul by the Holy Spirit, and the word of God which is the instrumental means for the second stage of regeneration: conversion. “Those who believe in His name…were born [aorist passive indicative], not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (Jn. 1:12-13).

116 Ibid. (emphasis added).

117 Hodge, Systematic Theology, 2:685. Rom. 10:17 speaks of the necessity of first hearing the gospel for people to have faith in Christ. Paul is saying that saving faith requires that people have a certain knowledge of the truth; that is, they must know who Christ is and what He has done. In order for a man to have faith, he must have an object to have faith in. As a seed that is planted needs water to grow, the regenerate heart needs the word of God in order to exercise faith toward Jesus Christ. Faith is impossible without an object of faith. Regeneration in the first stage always (except in the case of elect infants) issues forth into conversion. The implantation of the incorruptible seed and the hearing of the gospel both are necessary for salvation.

118 Robert A. Morey, Studies in the Atonement (Southbridge, MA: Crown Pub., 1989), 119.

119 William G. T. Shedd, Dogmatic Theology (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1989), 2:495.

120 Charles Hodge, I and II Corinthians (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, [1857, 59] 1978), 52.

121 A. T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker, [1932]), 5:45.

122 Duane Edward Spencer, Tulip: The Five Points of Calvinism in the Light of Scripture (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1979), 49.

123 John Murray, Redemption Accomplished and Applied (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans), 100.

124 Robert A. Morey, Studies in the Atonement, 82.

125 Loraine Boettner, The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination, 173-174.

126 Edwin H. Palmer, The Holy Spirit: His Person and Ministry (Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed, [1974] 1958), 81.

127 Denovan, quoted in Augustus Hopkins Strong, Systematic Theology (Philadelphia: Judson, 1909), 3:819.

128 William G. T. Shedd, Dogmatic Theology (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1889), 2:495. “These elements, the purificatory and the renovatory, must not be regarded as separable events. They are simply aspects which are constitutive of this total change by which the called of God are translated from death to life and from the kingdom of Satan into God’s kingdom, a change which provides for all the exigencies of our past condition and the demands of the new life in Christ, a change which removes the contradiction of sin and fits the fellowship of God’s Son” (John Murray, Redemption Accomplished and Applied [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1955], 100).

129 Ibid., 2:499.

130 “The special grace which we refer to as efficacious is sometimes called irresistible grace. This latter term, however, is somewhat misleading, since it does suggest that a certain overwhelming power is exerted upon the person, in consequence of which he is compelled to act contrary to his desires, whereas the meaning intended, as we have stated before, is that the elect are so influenced by divine power that their coming is an act of voluntary choice” (Boettner, Reformed Doctrine of Predestination, 178).

131 Berkhof, Systematic Theology, 471.

132 William Hendriksen, John (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1953), 1:238-239. “‘Here is a fundamental doctrine of the Fourth Gospel, viz. that the approach of the soul to God or Christ is not initiated by the man himself, but by a movement of Divine grace’ (Bernard). Barclay gives a number of examples of the use of the verb elkuo in the New Testament to show that ‘Always there is this idea of resistance.’ This is surely true, and indicates that God brings men to Himself although by nature they prefer sin. But curiously Barclay adds, ‘God can and does draw men, but man’s resistance can defeat the pull of God.’ Not one of his examples of the verb shows the resistance as successful. Indeed we can go further. There is not one example in the New Testament of the use of this verb where the resistance is successful. Always the drawing power is triumphant, as here. Calvin speaks of ‘an effectual movement of the Holy Spirit, turning men from being unwilling an reluctant into willing.’” (Leon Morris, The Gospel According to John [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1971], 371, emphasis added).

133 Faith and repentance are called gifts of God not because God believes for the sinner, but because God enables and causes particular persons to believe. Faith and repentance flow from a regenerate heart. “Regeneration is the act of God and of God alone. But faith is not the act of God; it is not God who believes in Christ for salvation, it is the sinner. It is by God’s grace that a person is able to believe but faith is an activity on the part of the person and of him alone. In faith we receive and rest upon Christ alone for salvation” (John Murray, Redemption Accomplished and Applied, 106). Furthermore, although the Calvinist teaches a monergistic system of salvation and teaches that man does not contribute one iota to the first stage of regeneration, he does teach that man cooperates in the later stages of redemption.

134 F. F. Bruce, Hebrews (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1964), 377.

135 J. A. Alexander, Acts (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, [1857] 1963), 302.

136 Westminster Confession of Faith, XIX:1; Larger Catechism, answer to question 79.

137 Thomas Ridgely, Commentary on the Larger Catechism (Edmonton: Still Waters Revival Books, [1855] 1993), 2:167.

138 Confession of Faith, XIX:2.

139 Thomas Ridgely, Commentary on the Larger Catechism, 2:167.

140 A. A. Hodge, The Confession of Faith (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, [1869] 1992), 234.

141 Loraine Boettner, The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination, 194.

142 McFetridge, Calvinism in History, quoted in Boettner, 194-195.

143 W. S. Plumer, Psalms (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, [1967] 1990), 455.

144 Matthew Henry, Commentary (McLean, VA: MacDonald Pub. Co., n.d.), 3:375.

145 A. A. Hodge, The Confession of Faith, 236.

146 Arthur W. Pink, Exposition of the Gospel of John (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, [1945] 1975), 3:119. Arminians try to circumvent this verse (v. 11) by an appeal to verse 12, which says that Judas is lost. The problem with the Arminian interpretation is that Jesus called Judas “the son of perdition” in this same prayer before the betrayal in the next chapter. In other words, Jesus identifies Judas as a reprobate before he apostatized from the visible church. Thus, it is obvious that Judas is not included in the high priestly prayer. Believers are commanded not to pray for reprobates (1 Jn. 5:16). Furthermore, in Jn. 13:18 Jesus says that Judas is not elect, or chosen to eternal life: “I do not speak concerning all of you. I know whom I have chosen; but that the Scripture may be fulfilled, ‘He who eats bread with Me has lifted his heal against Me.’” The gospel accounts shows that Judas never received God’s special grace. “Jesus answered them, ‘Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil’” (Jn. 6:70).

147 William G. T. Shedd, Romans (Grand Rapids: Baker, [1879] 1980), 390.

148 Ibid., 436

149 Charles Hodge, I and II Corinthians (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth [1857, 58] 1978), 182.

150 Ibid., 596.

151 Robert A. Morey, Studies in the Atonement (Southbridge, MA: Crowne Publications, 1989), 231.

152 John Calvin, 2 Timothy (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1981), 2:201.

153 “Since he has mentioned his deliverance ‘from the lion’s mouth,’ Paul wants to state clearly to Timothy that he expects his future deliverance to be heavenward and that this, too, it true deliverance. He speaks, therefore, about the ultimate and final deliverance and, because it is such, uses sosei (also in LXX Ps. 21:22) as the appropriate verb. The pregnant construction sosei eis, ‘bring safely into’…, with ‘the heavenly kingdom’ as the object of the preposition, implies deliverance from this world with all its evils and from death in all its aspects…“ (George W. Knight III, The Pastoral Epistles [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1992], 472).

154 Philip Edgecumbe Hughes, Hebrews (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1977), 522.

155 Jay E. Adams, Trust and Obey: A Practical Commentary on First Peter (Greenville, SC: A Press, 1978), 14.

156 Thomas Manton, Jude (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, [1658] 1989), 362.

157 William Hendriksen, The Gospel of John (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1953), 1:235.

158 Arthur W. Pink, Exposition of the Gospel of John (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, [1945] 1975), 2:144.

159 Thomas Ridgely, Commentary on the Larger Catechism, 2:168.

160 John Murray, Romans (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1959), 1:334.

161 John Murray, The Atonement (Presbyterian and Reformed, n.d.), 9-10.

162 Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1939), 547.

163 Matthew Henry, Commentary (McLean, VA: MacDonald, n.d.), 6:1082.

164 Arthur C. Custance, The Sovereignty of Grace (Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1979), 197.

165 Gordon H. Clark, Ephesians (Jefferson, MD: Trinity Foundation, 1985), 162.

166 Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1989), 3:111.

167 Charles Hodge, Romans, 261.

168 “Can it be imagined, that God should accept of the righteousness of His Son, and express a well-pleasedness in it, because by it his law is magnified and made honourable; and that he should impute it to his people, and give them faith to receive it, and plead it as their justifying righteousness; and yet, after all, suffer them to perish? Nay, where could this be justice, to punish those for whose sins Christ has made satisfaction, and God himself has discharged upon it? It is not consistent with the justice of God to punish sin twice; once in the surety, and again in those he has redeemed; which must be the case, if any for whom Christ suffered should perish eternally; for to perish eternally is the same as to be punished with everlasting destruction” (John Gill, A Body of Doctrinal and Practical Divinity [Streamwood, IL: Primitive Baptist Library, (1815) 1977], 407).

169 Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology, 266.

170 Ibid.

171 Arthur Custance, The Sovereignty of Grace, 201.

172 Robert A. Morey, Studies in the Atonement, 234.

173 1 John 5:13, “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.” The verb to know is eidete; second perfect active subjunctive of oida. This means “to know with settled intuitive knowledge” (A. T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament [Grand Rapids: Baker), 4:242. The strong assurance of which John speaks is incompatible with the idea that a true sheep may become a goat at any moment.

174 Loraine Boettner, The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination, 200.

175 John Murray, Redemption Accomplished and Applied (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1955), 154-155.

176 Dispensationalist author Laurence M. Vance writes: “The Calvinist demands holiness to demonstrate election, which then substantiates salvation. This makes salvation a process instead of an instantaneous act…. The Perseverance of the Saints fosters nothing but pride and envy…. The Calvinistic heresy of the Perseverance of the Saints has only recently surfaced among modern Fundamentalists and Evangelicals under the synonym of lordship salvation…. One of the more extreme examples of the fallacy of lordship salvation is the denial that one can be a carnal Christian…. If a man’s salvation depends on his perseverance then his Total Depravity couldn’t possibly become Total Inability, for then he would not be able to persevere. If a man’s salvation depends on his perseverance then he could never be the subject of Unconditional Election, for salvation would be conditional. If a man’s salvation depends on his perseverance, a Limited Atonement was a failure, for some of the ‘elect’ may not persevere long enough to benefit from it. If a man’s salvation depends on his perseverance, Irresistible Grace could never have been applied, for the grace of God would prove to be resistible” (The Other Side of Calvinism [Pensacola, FL: Vance Pub., 1991], 335-337, 339-341). Vance totally misrepresents the Calvinistic doctrine of salvation and perseverance. No Calvinist believes that perseverance contributes to one’s salvation. Repentance, perseverance and a life of godly living do not contribute one iota to salvation but are an evidence that the instantaneous act of justification has already taken place. Vance also completely ignores the fact that it is God who enables a Christian to persevere. “For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Phil. 2:13). His whole argument that perseverance destroys the other four points of Calvinism is based on the faulty assumption that man perseveres by his own power and not solely because of God’s grace. He also ignores the sovereignty of God. Furthermore, if one defines a carnal Christian as does the apostle Paul, who says that a carnal Christian is someone who has a sectarian spirit in the church, then Calvinists believe in such a thing as a carnal Christian. But Dr. Vance and other dispensationalists define a carnal Christian as someone who accepts Christ as Saviour, but refuses to accept His lordship. They would argue that a habitual whoremonger, adulterer, sodomite, thief, murderer, or rapist who had accepted Christ still has a place in heaven. This concept of the carnal Christian the Calvinist emphatically rejects (cf. Rom. 6, 7; 1 Jn. 1:6, 2:4-6; 3:3-10, 24; 5:1-5, 18).

177 Robert A. Morey, Studies in the Atonement, 236.

178 John Gill, A Body of Doctrinal and Practical Divinity (Streamwood, IL: Primitive Baptist Library, [1815] 1977), 416.

179 Simon J. Kistemaker, James and I-III John (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1986), 277.

180 Loraine Boettner, The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination, 192.

181 John Brown wrote of verse 9 and following: “The general meaning of this paragraph, all the parts of which are closely connected together, plainly is: ‘The reason why I have made these awful statements about apostates, is not that I consider you whom I am addressing as apostates; for your conduct proves that this is not your character, and the promise of God secures that their doom shall not be yours; but that you may be stirred up to preserving steadiness in the faith, and hope, and obedience of the truth, by a constant continuance in which alone you can, like those who have gone before you, obtain, in all their perfection, the promised blessings of the Christian salvation.’ The reason why the Apostle had stated so particularly the aggravated guilt and all but hopeless condition of apostates, was not that he considered the Hebrew Christians whom he was addressing as in a state of apostasy. No, he was persuaded better things of them—‘things accompanying salvation’” (Hebrews [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, (1862) 1983], 306).

182 John Gill, The Cause of God and Truth (Streamwood, IL: Primitive Baptist Library, [1735-37] 1978), 56.

183 Arthur C. Custance, The Sovereignty of Grace, 220.

184 Arthur Pink, Hebrews (Grand Rapids: Baker, [1954] 1981), 291. “Early apostolic history has a record of one outstanding character who believed when he heard the gospel, was baptized, attached himself to the evangelist whose preaching had convinced him…yet Simon Magus was pronounced by Peter to be still ‘in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity’ (Acts 8:9 ff., 18 ff.), and showed himself in the following decades to be the most determined opponent of apostolic Christianity” (F. F. Bruce, The Epistle to the Hebrews [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1964], 121-122). On the day of judgment Christ will cast many into hell who made an outward profession of faith. Note that these false Christians claim to have prophesied, cast out demons, and done many wonders (Mt. 7:22), yet Christ says to these hypocrites, “I never knew you” (Mt. 7:23). They never had a saving relationship to Christ.

185 John Owen, Works (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, [1850-53] 1979), 7:51.

186 One passage of Scripture often used by Arminians against the doctrine of perseverance is Rev. 3:5, “He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.” It is assumed by some that this passage teaches the possibility that God will blot out some of the names written in the book of life. This assumption, however, is not at all warranted by the text. The passage does not say that the elect can have their names removed from the book of life. It says that those who overcome will not have their names removed. Who are those who overcome? As noted in this chapter on perseverance, the Bible clearly teaches that only the elect, or real believers, will overcome or persevere. (This is also implicitly taught in the book of Revelation itself: Rev. 13:9 says that those who do not have their names written in the book of life are the only ones who worship the beast [Rev. 17:8].) If the Bible says that all true Christians will overcome and that not one can be lost, then Rev. 3:5 teaches the perseverance of the saints. John Gill wrote: “And I will not blot out his name out of the book of life” by which is meant the choice of persons to everlasting life and salvation; and this being signified by a book, and by writing names in it, shows the exact knowledge God has of his elect, the value he has for them, his remembrance of them, his love to them, and care for them; and that this election is of particular persons by name, and is sure and certain; for those whose names are written in it shall never be blotted out, they will always remain in the number of God’s elect, and can never become reprobates, or shall ever perish; because of the unchangeableness of the nature and love for God, the firmness of his purposes, the omnipotence of his arm, the death and intercession of Christ for them, their union to him, and being in him, the impossibility of their seduction by false teachers, and the security of their persons, grace, and glory in Christ” (Exposition of the New Testament [Streamwood, IL: Primitive Baptist Library, [1809] 1979], 9:709).

187 G. C. Berkhouwer, Studies in Dogmatics: Faith and Perseverance (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1958), 97.

188 Robert A. Moray, Studies in the Atonement, 236.

189 John Gill, A Body of Doctrinal and Practical Divinity (Streamwood, IL: Primitive Baptist Library, [1815] 1977), 416. “God’s exhortations to duty are perfectly consistent with His purpose to give sufficient grace for the performance of these duties. In one place we are commanded to love the Lord our God with all our heart; in another, God says, ‘I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes.’ Now either of these must be consistent with each other, or the Holy Spirit must contradict Himself. Plainly it is not the latter” (Loraine Boettner, The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination, 196).

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