# The Bible vs calvinism

Category: Evangelism & Soul Winning
Key Passage: John 5:39-40
Speaker: Paul Chisgar
Date: July 10, 2022

Turn your Bibles, if you would, to John chapter number four. John chapter number four.

And we’re going to have just a two-part series tonight next Sunday night on the Bible versus Calvinism. The Bible versus Calvinism. And so just briefly, and some of you might not know what that’s about. That’s not the worst thing in the world, but you don’t know what it’s about, but you kind of need to be ready in case someone does question you about this doctrine.

And so we’ll try to tonight and next Sunday night. We’ll cover this thing, the Bible versus Calvinism. And we’re just going to use this John 5, this one verse, kind of springing bore. We’ll go back to just a moment here. But John 5 and verse number 40, John 5 and verse number 40, would you please stand just to try to show the Word of God some respect? John 5.

In verse number 40 of God’s precious book. By the way, the Bible—I like the Bible versus Calvinism. We’ll just go with the Bible, whatever it said, but let’s see if there’s a difference there. And John 5 in verse number 40, and the mile there say, we’ll start verse number 39. I’m sorry, we’ll start there.

“Search the scriptures,” as Jesus is speaking, “for in them you think you have eternal life, and they are they which testify of me.”

Look at this, and ye, what’s the next word? Will not. It doesn’t say you cannot. It says, “And ye will not come to me that you might have life.” By the way, that’s pretty much the crux of the whole matter right there. You will not. Not a matter of you cannot. We’ll go farther into it than that, but you will not. Not that you cannot come into me.

Just for a little bit tonight, let’s talk about this subject here, the Bible versus Calvinism. Would you pray with me that God would get our hearts and our minds right with the Bible and then being able to answer other people? Lord, we do ask for that. We…

Lord, I want to submit to your word and what it teaches. Father, help me tonight to rightly divide your word. Lord, help us to teach it and preach it and live it the best we can, how you meant it to be lived and taught and preached. Father, give us answers for those that need it. Lord, clear up questions that might be in our mind. Lord, help me to cover things that need to be covered in this subject. And Father, would you bless all that? Direct us, focus us for you. And Lord, we’ll thank you. We’ll brag on you and praise you for what you do, Father. We’re asking for this in the name of Jesus. Would you do these things? I’ll thank you for it. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen. Thank you so much for standing. You may be seated.

John Calvin, that’s where the word Calvinism comes from, made this doctrine popular. Many will say he started it. I tend to not think he started it. No new thing under the sun, amen, you know. But he made it popular during what we call the Reformation. The Reformation is a very wonderful time when many were splitting off of the Catholic Church, often called the Reformed or the Reformation, the Reformed Church.

By the way, they were splitting for great things. For the most part, the Reformation, Martin Luther started it, but many involved in that over a little bit of a span of time, they split for the most part for good reasons, typically over salvation by Jesus Christ alone, not the Anglican Church or Roman Catholic Church or just Jesus, rightfully so. And John Calvin was part of that and praise the Lord for that, but can I just say many of those reformed or Reformation men, they hung on to some of the mother church teaching. And sometimes distort a little bit.

Take sprinkling. Some of the Reformation churches—Protestant churches we often call them nowadays—they still sprinkle instead of baptizing. And I got that from the Mother Church. And all this was going on when John Calvin, he really split for good reasons for the most part from the Catholic Church. But that’s when he made this thing of Calvinism, this teaching very strong.

Now, in our day and time, there’s a lot of terms they’ll use for Calvinism. You’ll hear these. You’ll hear nowadays, you’ll hear this term, New Calvinist, or New Calvinism. Came around in 2007, an article made it big that name. The Reformed Church, a Reformed Theology.

The doctrines of grace sometimes. Now I love grace. We preached out this morning, but often those are kind of code words for Calvinists. There’s a church in town, and I can’t remember the exact name, but it has grace. I know some great Grace Baptist Church. I’m not saying it’s wrong to have it in the name, but a lot of times you find a Grace Church, they’re Calvinist, and they’re very strong, though you use this term grace or doctrines of grace.

Reformed churches a lot. Some of the people that’s made it popular in our day and time, John Piper is a big Calvinist, or John McArthur is a big Calvinist. Of course, see, I like that he stood against our government during COVID, but I have a major problem when he downplays the blood of Christ.

And I have a major problem when he teaches Lordship salvation, which adds works to salvation. I have a major. That’s one of my biggest beats with him. And I’ve got a major. By the way, not everyone that says, “Lord, Lord,” shall enter in the kingdom of God. Amen. But he’s very strong on those false doctrines, and he’s very strong on Calvinism.

Now, here’s the interesting thing, the new Calvinists they call them, the New Calvinism. We’ll study here in a minute this thing called TULIP. How many have ever heard of TULIP? Yeah, Brother Adam was teased with me. He said he said he’s going to wear a suit tonight with TULIP all over, you know. And I wouldn’t be surprised after we’ve seen the suits he wears, you know. What shot in the world, you know?

But many of the new Calvinists, they say, “Well, we don’t want to use the term TULIP, we don’t believe that,” but if you study what they believe, it’s the same thing. And in fact, and I mentioned 2007 so much because it really was a great start or restart to this doctrine becoming strong in our day and time, The Gospel Coalition was started. It’s basically a printing, and more than that, but a printing ministry.

But they said this. They said, “In love, God commands and implores all people to repent and believe, having set his Savior love on those who he has chosen and having ordained Christ to be the Redeemer.” But you know that the chosen. So they can rewrap it, new packaging.

But you find out at the end of the day, it’s the same pack out. I watch videos this week, or I watch the difference in Calvinism and New Calvinism. And you’ll find some seven, eight different differences. Let me list for you, some of those. The New Calvinism has a very big—they’re very big on unity. Unity. That’s why they can have so many different denominations be a part of Calvinism, this new Calvinism. They’re big on unity. Their music’s different.

They’re not really definite on music. They’ll have contemporary rock and roll music and then they’ll have the old tradition. Their music’s different. One, some of the videos I watch, they said, “Well, the new Calvinists use the Internet.” Well, no, the old Calvinists didn’t use the Internet. They went around back there and they admitted, they said that. But listing differences. Oh, the new ones like to steer away from man-made systems. Now, wait a second. Steering away from man-made systems, but they started The Gospel Coalition.

You know, but even, even just about every video I watch, Solomon, what’s the differences in some of those videos were from the new Calvinist people? And the bottom line, they would say, “Well, the truth or the doctrine we teach is pretty much the same thing. We just, some of our methods and styles are different.” So, but you’ll hear that. “Well, we’re not, we’re not TULIP and all that.”

Or you’ll hear this sometimes, “Well, we’re just a one-point Calvinist or a two-point Calvinist or three-point Calvinist.” They don’t believe in all five points of Calvinism. They’re just kind of introduction here a little bit.

Calvinism, it really promotes the sovereignty of God. Now, the trouble of that, that is not a Bible word. You won’t find sovereignty in the Bible, that word. So it’s very hard to define what do you mean by that. If you mean that Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, amen.

If you mean by that, Psalm 103—oh, forget the verse—Psalm 103:19, “His kingdom ruleth over all.” Yes, that’s Bible. But if you mean by that, God controls and he dictates everything that happens down here, I have a problem with that.

I have a major problem with that. If that’s your doctrine, what are you going to do when someone comes to your office and say, “Why did God allow these three little girls to get molested?” So you’re saying God planned all that? There’s a problem there with that doctrine. He’s sovereign, yes, he’s King of Kings and Lord of Lords, but a king does not control everything in his realm.

God does not control if you allow. And yes, he has a final say-so. But friend, the Bible is very clear. Second Peter 3:9, you know the verse, “He’s not willing that any should perish, nor that all should come to repentance.” Now, that says will everyone to be saved. Everyone. That’s very clear in Scripture in other places, Timothy. Have everyone all to be saved? Timothy, indeed. But does everyone get saved? No, in fact, Scripture tells us broad is the way that leadeth to destruction.

So if I’m saying God always gets his will and his way in this earth down here, he’s sovereign—if that’s what I mean by that—that’s not biblical. Many, many times he does not get his will. He doesn’t make your eye a robot. God values very, very much free will.

I often think when I mention that, I’ll go back in my mind to Adam when he said, “Adam, I’ll let you name the animals.” And he stated this after that, he said, “The name that you give, that will be the name thereof.” In my mind, it’s kind of like God setting a principle: I’m going to let mankind make decisions, and they’re going to stick. There’ll be consequences to those decisions. By the way, that’s why he tells us in what we call the Lord’s Prayer, the model of prayer, “Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven.” Because it always doesn’t happen. That’s why he tells us to pray that. See?

So I must be wise and careful about when people bring up the sovereignty of God. What do you mean by that? You mean he’s king? Yes, he’s king. You mean that he dictates everything you and I do? No, I have a problem with that. And since it’s not a Bible word, it’s very hard to define. You’ll find a lot of different definitions on that.

Now, just a couple thoughts as we’re kind of getting going here. I remember years ago, a fellow was visiting a church, and he was a member of church for years. He’s in heaven now, a great man. But he was just getting in, and he had been kind of around some crazy doctrines a little bit here and there. And I believe went out to lunch one time years ago. And he said, “All right, tell me, are you Calvinist or Arminian?” I said, “Neither.” He said, “What? You got to either be a Calvinist or Arminian, or neither will.”

We don’t believe that God dictates and determines by his own will who goes to heaven and who goes to hell. We don’t believe that. We don’t believe he can lose your salvation. That’s what Arminians teach: you lose your salvation. So don’t let them confine you into either you’re Calvinist or Arminian. No, I’m neither one of them. And Bible, amen. And the Bible says, “Hey, you shall never perish.” I just believe the Bible. So don’t fall for that. We’re in either one of those. They were arguing, by the way, years ago. And so that’s where you’ll hear that sometimes, and don’t fall for them.

Sometimes Calvinists—not all, but some Calvinists—will hold to the Westminster Confession of Faith, 1647. There’s a Lutheran church in town, and I believe, if I understand right, they hold very strongly to that. And it’s got some good things in it, but I’ll hold to the Bible. That’s what I want to go about, the Bible, God’s Word.

I’ve said this, basically, but let me just kind of getting us going before we’re getting the TULIP a little bit. But bottom line, they believe everything is predetermined. Notice that: we’re predetermined. The good is predetermined, and the evil is predetermined. See, everything is predetermined. If any good thing, well, it was predetermined. If any bad thing, it was predetermined. There’s a problem with that thinking.

So, and I’ve used kind of very close to this, but I’ll just use a different one. But if a lady’s raped, well, that was predetermined by God? No, friend. Oh, a wicked man, a very wicked, vile man, went against the will of God. It wasn’t God’s will for that to happen.

John Wesley said this. He said, “If I believe that doctrine”—and I want to get it right—but he said this: He said, “If this image of God is worse than the devil itself,” because that would be God making the devil do all these things, “and God would be more wicked than the devil himself.”

James White is a theologian. He’s got a lot of good stuff, but he is very, very strongly a Calvinist, and he was in a debate, and someone basically asked, looking for him, and he gets raped. Are you saying God predetermined that? And he had to admit it, that was that belief. No, friend. No, friend.

You see, this belief: everyone that is born is already predetermined to go to heaven or to go to hell. But we’ll just take the twins that was born this week, John and Philip. Praise what were those little boys? But according to this doctrine, those boys would have no choice in the matter. One is predestined to go to heaven and one is predestined to go to hell, and they have no choice in the matter. That would be a sad doctrine, by the way. It’d be a sad matter.

By the way, you could see how it could lead to arrogant, prideful thinking: “Well, I was one of the chosen. I’m the elect.” I’m not saying every Calvinist is likely, but many are, but not all. There’s some kind, humble ones, and I’m not, but you see how it can lead to that.

By the way, most Calvinists will say—and of course, Bibles—but they’ll say the majority of people are predestined to go to hell. We do know, why not say Bible? We do know the majority of folks are broad is the way that leads to destruction. Wait a second. For God so loved the world, but you’re already predetermined the majority of the world is going to hell? Wow, that’s so weird, believe. How do you marry those two, you know? That’s a weird kind of love. You created them so they can burn forever? No, no, no. God gives mankind choice. He lets them choose.

We came in last night, me and Brother Frank, we came in for just a little bit last night, and there’s two young men out here playing basketball. And one’s been in our church several times, and we’ve witnessed the both of, and I think both of them say they’ve accepted Christ as Savior. But they began to ask last night. And I was so thankful. I believe just God’s timing was in that. They began to ask, “What about the bad in the world?”

And when we had the privilege of sharing with them, God made this world perfect at the beginning. And there was no funeral homes. There was no death. One of the boys says his grandpa looks like he may pass. He’s not doing very well at all. And his grandpa said, “Hey, when I pass, I don’t pass to Pastor Paul to do my funeral.” And he said, “I don’t want to talk about that.” He calls him his pawpaw. He loves his pawpaw, you know.

And he said, “I don’t even think about that.” But we’re able to say, “Hey, all that at the beginning, it was a perfect world. What happened? Satan brought sin to mankind, and we have chosen. We’ve taken it. And when that sin, there became a curse in this world, and it’s a messed up world. But we can’t blame God. He made it perfect, but he gave us a free choice. We chose to go that way, so we messed this world up. But in the midst of that, God’s been so loving that he gave us his Son, a way back if we so choose to the perfect world through Jesus Christ.”

But TULIP, let’s kind of get this thing in TULIP. Though many of them steer away, “Well, we don’t believe in TULIP.” You study what they believe, it’s the same principles. It’s the same beliefs. So we’re going to go back to the saying of TULIP, all right? We’re going to explain it. Is this Bible or Calvinism? How do they line up on these things, whether they be a one, two, three, four, or a five-point Calvinist? TULIP, all right. We’re going to start with the T there on TULIP. The T stands for total inability. Total inability.

In other words, a sinner cannot come to Jesus unless he is predetermined that he will come to Jesus. Total inability. Let’s go back to our text verse there in John 5:40, and let’s see if that lines up with the Bible. John 5 and number 40, what does it say right there?

“And ye will not come to me.” It does not say you cannot, because you’re not part of the predestined or elect. He says, “You will not come to me that you might have life.”

In Matthew chapter number 23, Matthew chapter number 23, Matthew chapter number 23. Matthew 23. And would you look at verse number 37? Matthew 23 and verse number 37. This is Jesus here, Matthew 23:37. He says, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets and stonest them which are sent in unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathers her chickens under her wing, and ye, watch this, and ye would not.”

So they had a choice. They chose. Jesus said, “I wanted to gather you like a hen.” We were told—we used to have chickens for years. We were told around the lunch table about our chickens we used to have. And John and Sarah, when they were… That was one of their jobs, you know, and had to take care of the chickens, you know. And so when they grew up and moved away, we got rid of the chickens, amen. We don’t want to do all the work.

But we were talking about the dogs that we let out in the daytime, you let them out in the daytime, you know, they’re great about eating ticks and chiggers. Amen for that right there. They keep, you know, they eat bugs and you’re all or whatnot. Needly the door open at night time, they just go back in the chicken coop, but the problem is if you forget to close the door, you’re in trouble. That’s when we’ve had everything in the world try to get some of our chickens, and even sometimes when they’re out during the daytime, there’ll be dogs come. We’ve had chickens killed from the dogs in the neighborhood and all that, you know. But my wife was talking about a dog back at the back behind us that was coming over. One of the hens had—you know, we would get their eggs, you know, we you know, there’s chickens. I forgot about some of these things. But those hens are funny: when they lay an egg, they let the whole world know about it, you know. Sorry, somebody just laid an egg, you know. And but they don’t like it you’re coming in and getting the eggs because they want them to hatch, you know.

And one of our hens were gone for a while. We didn’t know if a dog got it or what, you know, just gone. And oh, a week or two later, this hen comes back, and it’s got several little baby chickens following. And it found it a hiding spot somewhere, and it hatched those babies. And then those babies were out. And that hen was so protective of those little bitty babies. And I forgot so much of this stuff. They were talking about it all. But those roosters would just look at those babies, and that mother hen would kind of, “Don’t you mess with my baby.” And it would, sometimes they lift their wings and those babies go up underneath those wings of the mother, they’re protected there. And dogs would come, same thing, you know.

But that’s what Jesus is talking about. How many times I wanted to gather you. I want to protect you. I wanted to save you. I wanted to protect you from the devil and on and on and on. And I was trying, I ought to gather you like a hen gathers its chicks. But they would not. It was his will, his desires to gather them, protect them, to save them, but they chose not. And that’s the biblical representation of Jesus and God in the Bible. They would not. No, no, no. They’re saying you cannot come. That’s not biblical. It’s not a biblical thing.

Look over in Revelation chapter number 22. Last book of the Bible, last chapter of the Bible, last couple of verses of the Bible. It’s one of the last calls in the Bible. There’s a couple of verses below it, but for the moment it’s right at the very end of the Bible. And he’s given us the last invitation in the Bible. Would you notice this, Revelation chapter number 22 and verse number 17. Revelation 22, verse number 17.

“And the Spirit,” that’s capital, that’s the Holy Spirit, “and the bride,” that’s the church, we’re to be going on the gospel. “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come.” Come to Jesus. “Let him that heareth,” that somebody get saved, a baby Christian, say, “Come.” And let him that is a thirst, come. Man, anybody that’s thirsty, come. And what’s the next two words? And whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely. Friend, that’s pretty clear in the Bible. Whosoever will, it’s an open invitation. It’s an open invitation.

Now let me go back and just get a fault. Someone will say, “Well, total inability means a depravity of man.” Yes, they include that in there, but much more than that. Do we believe in the depravity of mankind? Yes, the Bible teaches that. What does that mean? That you’re born with a sin nature. You’re born into sin. And the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked above all things, Jeremiah 17:9. Do we believe, and does the Bible teach that man is sinful? Oh, yes. But does that mean that man does not have the choice to come to God? Oh, no. Whosoever will. It’s an open invitation.

Do we believe in the depravity? They’ll call it often up. Yes, yes. A preacher had a great message on the depravity of God. And somebody came up after and said, “I can’t just swallow that depravity of mankind.” And the preacher wisely said, “You don’t have to swallow it. It’s already in you. You’re just born with it.” That’s sin nature. Yes, we believe that Christ is reaching out to sinners. He came to seek and to save that which was lost. He said, “I didn’t come for the righteous. He came for the sinner.” And it’s available for any. It’s an open invitation from God. And they have a choice.

Now here’s their cardinal verse they’re used. Look over in John chapter 6, if you would please. They like to use this verse. John 6:44. This is what they’ll say: “Well, you can’t come to him unless he draws you.” And that’s biblical. Well, we’ll look at this. Let’s look at it first. This is the verse. John 6, verse number 44: “No man can come to me except the Father which has sent me draw him.” And I will raise him up at the last day. So yes, it is biblical. Yes, it is right that the Father must draw them. Total inability.

But would you look over to John chapter number 12? John chapter 12. John chapter number 12, verse number 32. This is a key verse in this saying of false doctrine. Let’s right or wrong here. Look at John 12. This is such a very important verse. John 12, verse number 32. If you’re there, would you say amen? It’s a good verse. Jesus speaking, and I, if I be lifted up—later on, he explains, talking about the cross—if I be lifted up from the earth, he was lifted up on that cross. “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw what’s the next two words? All men, all men, unto me.”

Well, they can’t come to him unless he draws him. Yes, that’s true, but he has drawn every one of them to him. That’s why John 14 talks about the Spirit of God. He reproves the world, the world of sin. Why? They have not believed on Jesus, the world. He has drawn every single person in the world. They have a choice to make when he draws them. Will they take the light he has given them or reject it? It’s not a matter of if he’ll draw them or not. He draws all men. Every one of them.

Even those remotely in a remote part of the world, I think so often of this story: Michael Williams. He was in Ghana, West Africa, for a season for several years. I’m not sure how long. And there was a—he was located in his team. It was a team of missionaries in a large populated area, and they were seeing so many people saved, but his heart was always pulled to a region up here that really nobody was reaching to. It was up by just, I think, a smaller lake up there, and there’s a tribe up there, but it just always was pulled to go up there.

And he went up there, a couple days trip and journey, a missionary journey, went up there, and he preached the gospel, and one of the older men that got saved. He said, “You know, I remember the story, right?” He said, “I would climb up in this tree. And he said, I would pray to whoever. And I prayed, Lord, would you show me truth? Would you show me how to get to you? Would you show what it’s all about? How can I?”

Now, look, that man knew there was a God from creation. Romans 1:20 says everybody knows there’s a God. The fool can say it as hard, “There is no God.” Psalms. But in the end of the day, that fool that says there is no God, he gets hit by a car, first thing out of his mouth: “Oh, God, help me.” They know God just from creation. But he took that light, and he didn’t push that light. He took that light and he was praying to that light. He knew there was a higher being.

And when you accept the light, and when you accept the light, what happens? More light comes. And God heard those prayers. He wanted to know the truth. The Spirit had drawn him. He had been reproved. He knew he was a sinner. That’s why in their jungles, they offered their babies to a crocodile. Wow, they’ve been convicted in their heart. They know they’re a sinner, and they know they need something to redeem them, to get them back to a holy, righteous God when they’re sinners.

He had been praying all those years, “Show me what this is all about. How do I get to you?” There was not a coincidence that God had been burdening that missionary’s heart: “You need to get up there. You need to get up there.” Before that older man passed, he heard the gospel of Jesus Christ, and he was so ready. And praise the Lord, he got saved, accepted Jesus Christ as a Savior. Why? He had been convicted. Jesus said, “Look, and I, if I be lifted up on the cross, if I be lifted up, I will draw all men.” So don’t fall for that. “Well, you’ve got to be drawn.” Yes. All men have been drawn. All men have been drawn.

So know the Bible and total inability does not line up for it. D.L. Moody was preaching years and years ago. He’s preaching to a large crowd of lost people. He preached the sermon, basically the points: receive, receive, and take. And he got at the end of his message, and he was giving an invitation. He said, “Now, who will come and take Christ as your Savior?” And he said, “A man boldly stood up. And he said, ‘I can’t.’”

And said D.L. Moody kind of just stood there for a bit, and he started crying. In fact, they used the word, he wept. He just cried. And finally, between the tears, he said, “Don’t say you can’t, say you won’t.” And the man said, “Well, then I won’t.” Yet another man stood up and he said, “I will.” And another man after that said, “I will.” And another man, “I will.” And another man, “I will.” A great multitude got saved.

Friend, there’s a great difference between I can’t and I won’t. No, don’t fall for this thing of total inability. You got the ability. The choice is yours. It’s mine. There is. So does the Bible and total inability line up? No, not at all, friend.

Let’s get this second. We’re just going to get two of these points in tonight, and then we’ll get up more of them next Sunday night. Unconditional election. That’s the U. T, total inability. Help me out. What’s the T stand for? No, it’s so false. “Whosoever will may come, take the water of life freely.” Jesus wanted to gather Jerusalem, and they would not. And John 5:40, “Whosoever will.” See? Well, he’s got to draw them. Yes. And Jesus will lift it up and draw them into it.

But then the second one, U. Unconditional election is what it is. Some are elected to go to heaven and some to hell, and that election is unconditional. Unconditional election. God has already decided who will be saved and who will be lost. It’s unconditional election.

Now, here’s a key thing, a key thing in this point here. And those of you in the couples Sunday school class, don’t disappoint, but we’re trying to give a commercial break for the couples class, all right? It’s in our view, according, according to 1 Peter 1, verse number two. We’re elect according to the blank of God. According to the what? Praise the Lord. Some of you passed the test. Amen. You get a golden star on your report card next Sunday in Sunday school. Yeah, we’re elect.

Well, look it up. Look over in First Peter. First Peter chapter number one, verse number two. We’ve got to hurry along tonight. But First Peter 1, verse number two of God’s word. By the way, it’s such a key teaching when you get to study the Bible: “Knowing this first, no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.” You can’t just take one verse and interpret it. You’ve got to fit it in with the rest of the Bible. So let’s look at this. Let’s look at this thing very quickly here. First Peter 1, verse number two: “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: grace unto you, and peace be multiplied.” Foreknowledge.

We talked about it this morning. God, he’s not stuck in 2022. He’s not stuck in July 10, 2022. He can go into 2023, '24, 2020—I mean, he’s got foreknowledge. We mentioned this morning, Isaiah, I think it’s 57:15. He inhabits eternity. He can go into eternity past. He can go to eternity future. He can go, and he can go there all the same time as God.

And in his foreknowledge, is foreknowledge. His foreknowledge. Way back in eternity past, he went in his foreknowledge, and he’s seen, Brother Andrew, I think he was in prison for murder when he got saved, wasn’t it, brother? Something like that. What year? What did you get saved, brother? Not he, so the Lord. And his way back in eternity past, he went to 1991. Where were you at, brother? Amen. He was at Bible Baptist at Brunswick, Georgia.

And God in his foreknowledge, he went to that church on that day, and he’s seen—I don’t know who was preaching, was it your pastor? Your pastor, I know you love your home pastor. You talk about him often. What was his name, brother? Brother Mike Lander. He’s seen Brother Mike Lander preaching. And he’s seen the Holy Spirit convicting that young man. And he watched, if you will, when Andrew Bird made a decision to accept Jesus Christ as Savior.

And it’s almost like this thing of election: God was so excited to see that he made that decision. God said, “I’m going to go ahead and put you part of the elect.” Elect according to the foreknowledge. See, if you leave that out, you’re in trouble on this one here. You got a contradiction. The Bible doesn’t contradict itself, friend. It is very much that God Almighty, yes, he lets you and I make a choice. But in his foreknowledge, his foreknowledge, he saw the decision he would make. And he made him part of the elect.

Now this saying, John Calvin, he wrote in his book Institutes, book number three, chapter 23. And is what he writes: “Not all men are created with similar destiny, but eternal life is foreordained for some and eternal damnation for others. Every man therefore being created for one or for the other of these ends, we say, he is predestined either to life or death.”

A loving God doesn’t damn a portion of the world to hell on his own. He gives the choice to them. Now, yes, in his foreknowledge, in his foreknowledge, he knows the decision they will make.

Look over Romans chapter 8, if it would please. Romans chapter 8. Romans chapter 8 and verse number 29. Romans 8:29. Romans 8 and verse number 29 of God’s word. I want you to notice this and even the order of it. Romans 8:29. What does it say? He says, “For whom he did what?” What’s the next word? Foreknow. It’s foreknowledge. He went to 1991 and he seen when Brother Bird made that decision. “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son.”

That doesn’t fully happen until we go to heaven, but he’s already predestined him to that because in his foreknowledge, he saw the decision. He said, “Hey, he’s accepted me. I’m just so excited about this,” if you will. “I’m already going to set him aside. He’s going to look like Jesus, totally like Jesus one day.” For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that it might be the firstborn among many brethren. But notice the foreknowledge. Elect according to the foreknowledge. See, if you leave that out, you’re in trouble. The Bible will not—it will not fit together like a wonderful glove, like a wonderful puzzle, like it does if it’s interpreted properly.

Over to Ephesians chapter 1. Ephesians chapter 1. This is one of their cardinal verses they like to use. In this instance, it doesn’t use the word foreknowledge, but it does in other places. That’s why I emphasize you cannot just take one verse and throw the rest of the verses out. But if you get on this subject, you’ll often hear this over in Ephesians chapter 1. And when you look at verse number 4, verse number 4: “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will.”

Now wait a second. We’ve already studied about the predestination. How did that happen? Through foreknowledge. See? Now, those that made the right decision, he’s predestined them, and he’s already—you know what? I’m going to make you holy and without blame because he made that decision. See, verse number six: “To the praise and glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.”

I had someone come to me, and they were not trying to be mean. They were not trying to come at me at all. They simply had a question. It was a legit question. I didn’t mind it in the world, and they’re givers. I don’t know who gives what. I don’t want to know who gives what, but I know they’d give to special things right every time of time. And they said, “Pastor, they said, ‘Hey, you were talking about if we’re offering last Sunday, if we had $10,000 come in, then we would only owe around $160,000 on the property.’” You know, I remember I’ve said that. It was in that email I sent out.

And they said, “Well, in the bulletin, it said we still—Miss Mickey must have seen it too and thought about it—it still says we owe $191,000 on the property.” And if you were to be technical at the moment, we do. It’s actually accurate. But this month of July, we’ll make a payment for $7,000. That’s in our monthly budget, $7,000. We just voted last business meeting: anything over $10,000, the building fund goes to the property payment. That’s about $13,000. And then we had, when it all comes in, we’ll have a little over $10,000. And so by the end of the month—I’ve tried to word that, and I probably messed it up—but by the time July is out, we will only owe $160,000.

And they were joking. They weren’t trying to come at me, but they said, “Well, we didn’t see you driving a new truck or anything, so we thought it was…”

But I’m so excited about getting that debt paid off. And my mind, my wheels are always turning. And I’m thinking ahead: man, we’ve got $10,000 there, we got $13,000 there, we got $7,000. That’s going to take that thing down to $160,000. I’m excited about that. And it’s almost if God, he says, “I went ahead in my foreknowledge and I saw Brother Joel or Lord, whoever may be—I saw, and they made that decision to accept Christ as their Savior. So I’m already going to put them over here in this crowd of the elect, of the predestined, because of my foreknowledge. I saw that, and it’s my glory, it’s my grace, it’s my love to them. I want to go ahead and set them over here. They’re holy and blameless.” I’ll go ahead and set them there because I’m so excited in my foreknowledge I saw the decision that would be made.

Friend, if you get away from the foreknowledge of God, you’re in trouble. But if I say, “Hey, we have no decision to make, it’s unconditional election,” it goes against the rest of the Bible, friend. No, it’s simply in his foreknowledge.

Now, I’ll say this: there are some things that God has preordained. Romans 9, 10, 11 talk a lot about Israel. Oh, they like to use that. You watch the country about Israel. And God, he has said, “That’s my nation.” And it was God’s will. God made that choice to say, “That’s my special people.” And by the way, he has a right to do that. He has a right to say Abraham is the father of many nations. And he has the right to say, “I’ve chosen them,” and though they have gone against me all these years, one day during the tribulation period, they’re going to turn back to me. And he has a right. He’s chosen them. And that’s when he uses that, “The gifts and callings of God without repentance.” Amen.

And though Israel, as a whole nation, has gone against God, they’ve snubbed their nose at God. I just read an important thing the other day about how they are—oh, I can’t remember—trying to remember exactly what. I think it was maybe about, oh, about abortions. Praise the Lord, America has made an Iron Supreme Court, made a great decision on overturning Roe versus Wade. And Israel right after that made a horrible decision more for abortion. Boy, they’re snubbing their nose at God.

And God’s let them be chastised. They’ve been scattered around the world, and they’re starting to be regathered, but they’re still—they’ve still been spanked for years and years. We’ve told them this morning about the Holocaust: six million Jews. We didn’t mention Mussolini and all these others. But friend, God said, “Look, that’s still my chosen nation.” And one day, one day, they’ll come back. And it’ll be a sweet time when they don’t call him Lord anymore, they call him Husband. We don’t have time to get into all that. It’s a wonderful time between Jehovah and Israel. And God has a right to make those decisions. Some of those things he has foreordained. Romans 9, 10, 11 talk a lot about those.

But as far as this matter of salvation, it is very, very clear in Scripture: “Whosoever will may come.” Clear through Scripture, all through Jesus. All through Scripture, Jesus did not come—he didn’t say for the Son of Man, Luke 19:10, “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was predestined.” That’s not what the Bible says. He came to seek and to save that which was what? He didn’t say just the elect. No, he came to seek and to save. That’s what he came for. Salvation is available for all, and he has drawn all men to him, and he shed his blood for all mankind. We’ll get to that next week, 1 John 2:2. It’s available for everyone, but we’re not robots.

Well, that’s not true love if I made—I already wired it where you have no decision to make, you’re going to choose. That’s not love. It’s a robot. If you hear somebody forcing his fiancé or wife to say yes, and Peter, you better—you better say yes. Well, some of us, we had to do something to get somebody to say yes, you know. But I didn’t have to hold a gun to my life’s head. You ever hear a story like that where they have no choice? He’s—well, that’s a pretty warped love. And you’re right. And friend, you do, you do have a choice in the matter. And the world has a choice in the matter. We’re not robots.

Just think about it. So God hates evil, and yet he predestined some to do evil? That’s pretty warped God. Well, God tells you to fight sin and to hate sin, and yes, he’s predestined you to lose to sin some? It’s pretty warped. My friend, you have a choice. There is not total inability. You have a choice to make. It’s not unconditional election. No, no, no. You have a decision. All men to him.

Friend, if it’s true that it’s unconditional, some are elected to go to heaven, some are elected to go to hell, then why tell? Why tell somebody? If they’re predetermined, predestined to go to hell, I can’t change it. If they’re predestined to go to heaven, I don’t have to talk to them. They’re already predestined. They’re going to go to heaven.

No, friend. The Bible tells us to go tell. “Go ye therefore into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” Why? Because they have a choice. They have a choice. And whether you go or not does matter for you. And whether I tell or not does matter for you. You up their percentage or their chances of saying yes so greatly when you tell them.

When they get a neighbor that loves them and tries to shine and tries to represent Christ to them, and you lovingly and appropriately try to tell them about Jesus Christ, you up their chances of accepting Jesus Christ so much. It does matter. Now, if a guy mentioned the story and he’s in some jungle and he’s prayed, God’s going to see to it that prayer gets answered, but so many are there kind of in the in-between, and it does matter if you tell the gospel or not.

That’s why we give our missions money. We take a portion of the church while to send missionaries out because it does matter. That’s why we go out on hot Thursday nights when you’re burning up sweat and your socks will get wet when you’re done, because it does matter if they hear or not. You up their percentage so greatly when you tell them. That’s why we do run buses on Sunday morning and you pick up unchurched kids because they hear when they’re young. Most people get saved when they get saved when they’re young. And it does matter if they hear the gospel when they’re young, upping their percentage so greatly to their chances of saying yes to Jesus. It does matter for him.

Don’t fall for this thing: “It really doesn’t matter.” It does matter so greatly. It’s why we give to the church and work at the church and cut the grass and try to keep the facilities looking good because the lost center comes in. We don’t get them turned out, turned off because all these things are not run right. We want to say, “Man, something’s going on here. God’s working here. These people love me. They’re concerned enough to be ready for me,” because all those things, when we hear the gospel, it ups the percentage of their chances to say yes. It does matter.

It does matter if you can take gospel tracks and pass it out. Brother Parish says amen, at the post office passing out tracks, you know. All that matters because people have a decision to make. And they’re going to make their decision. And if they choose not to believe on Christ, they are condemned already. Oh, they make that decision. They hear the gospel. By the way, they say the average person has to hear the gospel six times before they get saved. I’m telling you, up the percentage.

Ed Spencer was a champion swimmer in Evanston, Illinois. He heard that a boat had gone down off the shore of Lake Michigan. It was a passenger ship, and a lot of folks were floundering around and trying to get to shore. He got there as quickly as he could. He saw people bobbing up and down in the waters. Some were frantic in the water. He took off much of his clothes. He tied a rope around his waist, and he said to some people on shore, “Hold the end of this rope, and when I tug on it, pull me back.”

With swift, bold strokes, he swam out until he found somebody about to drown. He grabbed a hold of him, tugged on the rope, and they pulled him back. That way he saved his energy for swimming back, and he didn’t have to use it coming in. He went out and rescued a person, then another. There were eight, then nine, then ten, then eleven, then twelve. He paused for a moment. It seemed he was so exhausted.

People began to gather around. They wanted to congratulate him. But Ed Spencer reached way down deep inside himself and summoned some inner strength that he himself might not have known was there. And he went back out to the water. His strokes were not as swift and sure and certain as they had been, but his determination was as great as ever. He found a 13th and a 14th and a 15th and a 16th person, to finally 17 souls have been brought to shore.

Now he flopped on the beach, utterly spent and totally exhausted. He got so ill and feverish that he had to go to the hospital. His will sat in a chair through the night. It was delirious. The fever went up and down. When the fever came down, his reason would return. He woke up and looked over at his brother and asked, “Will, Will, did I do my best?” Will said, “You did a great job. He rescued 17 people. Nobody else did that.” He slid back into the fever and became delirious again.

A little while later the fever went down again. His mind cleared and looked at his brother and he asked, “Will, Will, did I do my best?” Will, frustrated, said, “Ed, you saved 17 people. The newspapers want to talk to you. You’re a hero. Nobody else could have done what you did. Yes, you did your best.” Ed’s fever rose and he slipped into unconsciousness again.

Then a third time the fever cleared and he asked, “Will, Will, did I do my best?” Will, frustrated, said, “Ed, you saved 17 people. The newspapers want to talk to you. You’re a hero. Nobody else could have done what you did. Yes, you did your best.” And Ed Spencer said, “Oh, Will, if only I could have saved one more.”

My friend, I’m not trying to lead you and I to think we save and we don’t save them, and it’s the Holy Spirit that does the true work inside the heart, but it does matter. It does matter if you swim out to them and you take the gospel rope and say, “Hey, Jesus wants to save you.” And one day when we step up in eternity, friend, I think we’ll say, “I wish I could have given it more. I wish I could give my best just to reach one more,” when it’s all said and done, because they have a choice to make. And the more they hear it, the greater the chance they’ll say yes.

Original File: The Bible vs calvinism - Pastor Paul Chisgar - Sunday PM 07102022