Why I Disagree with All 5 Points of Calvinism
Category: Evangelism & Soul Winning
Key Passage: 1 Timothy 2
Speaker: Paul Chisgar
Date: June 7, 2024
First Timothy chapter number two in God’s Word.
For the title, for the internet, why I disagree with all five points of Calvinism. And that may draw a little attention. That’d be a good thing if it does. But it has been around for years and years this false doctrine. And we have covered it here and there and yonder periodically because it is such a prevailing false doctrine in our day and time. We try to hit it every once in a while.
It’s got several different names, whether it be Calvinism, reformed theology. They’ll have the same doctrine in there: predestination, election. All these things. Some of those are Bible terms, but they’re just misused. And some, John MacArthur and others, are just kind of pushing it many times under different names, but it’ll all boil down to the thing of TULIP. How many have you ever heard of TULIP?
I’m not talking about the things you’re playing out in the yard there, you know. TULIP: T, total inability; U, unconditional election; L, limited atonement; I, irresistible grace; and P, preservation of the saints. By the way, just noticed the McCoy’s got the front row covered. Oh, goodness, I mean, both sides. They got it covered there for sure, you know.
And then you’ll get some people there say, well, I’m a two and a halfer. You know, they just believe in two points and a half of one. I don’t know how that half works out, but I just was recently talked to a man. He was going to church, a new church hadn’t joined yet. He said, “I thank my pastor’s a two and a halfer.” And kind of find out, you know, what that meant, but you’ll hear those things. And it’s a very prevalent in our day and time. Causes many church splits, by the way. How many have you ever heard of a church split over Calvinism? Something or church splinter? A lot of hands going up there on that. It’s very prevalent in our day and time. And you’ll hear those things.
We’re going to start over here in 1 Timothy chapter number two and verse number three. 1 Timothy 2 and verse number three of God’s Word. And if you’re able to, would you please stand out of respect to the Word of God, 1 Timothy 2? And we’ll start in verse number three.
And God says, “For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God, our Savior, who will have all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” I’m not praying for all men and kings and authority and all that. But notice this: one is you notice in the sight of God, our Savior, who will have all men? Notice that: all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
So speaking of God, he says who will have all men to be saved. We could look up and you’ll know it, Second Peter 3:9: “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” But we’ll just stick here. And tonight we’ll reference a lot of verses. I don’t think we’ll have you turn to many of those. You might want to just jot them down.
Sometimes a religion is trying to go after your heart. I’m not necessarily a big guy on keeping notes during preaching. We’re going after your heart. Sometimes it’s good to keep notes, especially more of a doctrinal message like tonight. So you might want to jot a lot of those references down. We’ll mention them pretty quickly. You might want to jot them down for tonight.
But let’s pray and ask God just to grow us, unify us in His Word tonight. Would you do that? Father, Lord, would you come to you tonight? Lord, you told us, “Let the prudent man perceive the evil and hide himself.” Father, we’re trying to be prudent tonight. Lord, I pray I should keep our church right in every area, Lord. Father, thank you. You’ve been so good to us over the years to keep many false doctrines out of here. Thank you for that, Lord. I pray to stay right for years to come, Lord. And Father, use this night to that end, Lord. Maybe would you just let a truth line up the mind and the heart of the people here tonight, people online that will listen also. And Lord, would you enlighten like only you can? And Father, we’ll brag on you and thank you and praise you for what you do. And Father, we’re asking for this, not based on our memory, but based on your Son’s, Jesus. So we’ll thank you in advance for it. Amen.
Thank you so much for standing. You may be seated. Let me go over this thing of TULIP. The T. Help me out. Anybody remember what does T stand for? Total depravity. Some will call that or total inability. Simply what it means by that is no man has the ability to come to Christ unless God overpowers him and gives him the ability to come to God. He’ll never do it unless God just comes and overpowers him and gives them the ability to get saved.
Now, the Bible does teach depravity of man. We’re all born into sin. A preacher preached one time about depravity. The guy said, “I just can’t swallow that depravity thing.” And the preacher said, “You don’t have to swallow it. It’s already in your heart. You’re born with that sin nature. It came from Adam.” Wherefore as by one man sin entered into the world (Romans 5:12), Adam, and passed to all men, for that all have sinned. All we like sheep have gone astray (Isaiah 53:6). We don’t argue that. We’re all depraved. We’re all sinners. We’re born into sin.
And here’s often where some of the problems come in. They’ll say this. They’ll say, “Well, we’re dead in trespasses and sin.” That’s true. Ephesians speaks to that, Ephesians 2:1. And so they’ll say, “Look, if… we’re often at funerals at church. We’ll often have the casket down here. That dead body is there, you know. If you come down to a dead person, you share the gospel with them, say, ‘Hey, would you like to accept Jesus Christ as your Savior?’ They cannot make a decision.” And they’ll say, “See? So you don’t have the ability because you’re dead in your sin. You don’t have the ability to make a decision to get saved.” There’s total depravity or total inability of man to get saved. They’ll emphasize those things.
Now, here’s the problem with that, friend. They do not understand the Bible definition of dead. Now, help me out for just a minute here. Remember when God told Adam and Eve, “Don’t you take that thing?” Told Adam and Eve, he said, “Now, the day that you shall eat thereof, you shall surely die.” Did they take of it? Did they die? Either they died or God’s a liar. They died. Not their body per se. Now, it started dying that day. But death, biblically dead or death, just simply means separation. It’s when that spirit, that soul is separated from the body. It’s death. They were separated from God that day.
Actually, as far as I know, they didn’t have any children at that point. And we don’t know the age when Adam had all his children, but Genesis 5:3 tells us that he had Seth, one of his later on children, when he was 130 years old. And then Genesis 5:5 tells us that Noah—Noah, how did they get to Noah? Changing gears pretty quick, aren’t they?—Adam lived 930 years. So he lived at least 800 years after he had Seth. I think he’d taken that fruit well before he had Seth. He had Cain and Abel before that. So I’m simply saying, “The day that you should eat, you should surely die,” but it wasn’t physical death. See, it was separation from God. By the way, when someone goes to eternal death, the lake of fire, second death, it’s eternal separation from God and His love and His mercy. I’ll never experience that. And biblically, death is… and then you look at the Bible and find out biblically what death is.
See, remember the prodigal son? Remember that? And he wanted all that inheritance from his father and he wanted to go out and just spend it on unrighteous living. Praise the Lord. Eventually, he came back after he hit rock bottom, you know the story. Look at Luke 15. Let me read for you. By the way, the father represents God.
Let me read for you what he says, Luke 15, verse number 24: “For this my son was dead, while he was living out in that foreign country, he was dead.” Could he make decisions? Sure, he could. For Adam, for all those years after God said, “You should surely die,” could he make decisions? Sure, he could. Yes, you’re dead and you’re separated from God because you’re in sin, but you make decisions. Just like Adam could, and just like the prodigal son could, but the Bible calls him dead. You see, the Bible never teaches that you do not have the ability to accept Jesus Christ. Every person has that ability.
Here’s a wonderful reference, John 5, verse number 40: “And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.” Notice he did not say, “You could not come to me.” He said, “You will not come to me that you might have life.” Matthew 23:37—there might be a good passage just if you look it up. If you would please look it up over there, that way we don’t get a glazed look. Amen, we’re looking somewhere in the Bible ourselves. But Matthew 23, verse number 37, and a very interesting passage.
Matthew 23:37 in God’s Word. I’m going to look it up with you too. Matthew 23, verse number 37. Jesus here speaking. And if you’re there, would you say amen? Matthew 23:37. Jesus said, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I”—there’s Jesus—“would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not.” It was their choice. It wasn’t a matter they could not; they would not. The Bible always casts in life, and you have a decision to make. God wants you to be saved. He’s not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to the knowledge of the truth. But the decision is up to you. It’s your choice.
The last invitation in the Bible, over in Revelation, the last book, last chapter, Revelation 22:17: “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come.” We preached about last Sunday night. “And let him that heareth say, Come.” And let him that is athirst come, and whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely. He doesn’t say, “Whosoever can”; “Whosoever will.”
Now, many will use this angle. I’ll say, “Well, John 6:44: ‘No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him.’” Of course, that’s Bible. But would you look over there? There’s a wonderful passage on that line. Would you look over to John chapter number 12? I want you to see this one. John 12 and verse number 32. I love this passage here, John 12 and verse number 32. And “he must be drawn,” but I want you to notice what Jesus, God in flesh, says. John 12, verse number 32 of God’s Word. When you find that, would you say, “Praise the Lord”? Good deal. John 12, verse number 32: “And I,” that’s Jesus, “if I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men unto me.” I’m talking about Jesus, we’ll lift up on a cross. And if I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw—what’s the next word?—all men unto me. But the honest, simple truth is every person in the world has been drawn. So no matter what they do with it. Yes, the Father must draw them, but they’ve been drawn, every single one of them.
It’s an interesting passage over in John chapter 1 when speaking of Jesus Christ. Of course, the wonderful passage at the beginning was “the Word, and the Word was God.” Wonderful passage. It told me how everything that was made was made by God, Jesus Christ. But then in that verse number 9, it says this: “That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” Did you notice it? “Which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” That’s what the Bible says. Yeah, John 1:9, wonderful verse.
D.L. Moody was preaching years and years ago. I think there were a group of men—if I remember right—and a large group of men, and he presented the message, and at the end of that, he said, “Now, will you come and take Christ as your Savior?” And a man stood up and said, “I cannot take him.” And they said—D.L. Moody started crying, literally crying—and he said, “Don’t say you cannot; say you will not.” And the man stood up and said, “I will not.” And another man stood up and he said, “I will.” And another man stood up and said, “I will. I will.” Oh, friend, it’s not a matter of can you; it’s a matter of will you. Everyone has a decision to make. It’s not total inability. No, you’ve got the ability to make your choice, whosoever will.
That’s two, T, TULIP. We’ve got the total inability. Now let’s get the U. The U, anybody remember what the U stands for? Yeah, unconditional election. Let’s just talk about that. And this is basically what he’s saying: Some are elected or predestined to go to heaven while others are elected or predestined to go to hell. Would you look over Romans 8, Romans chapter 8, to me on this subject here? This is a key passage on this very subject here. Romans 8.
And when you look at verse number 29, Romans 8 and verse number 29—by the way, we must put scripture together, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. We’ll mention this morning: “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.” You’ve got to put the Bible together. And if you take this out, you’re going to be in trouble. It’s a wonderful passage here, Romans 8 and verse number 29 of God’s Word.
And he says, “Therefore, for whom he did foreknow”—oh, that’s a key word—“for whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.” Isaiah 57:15: “For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity”—I’m misquoting. Let me look at it. I got it here. “For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity. He inhabiteth eternity.” He has foreknowledge.
Today on the bus going home, Brother Gregory—by the way, praise the Lord for Brother Greg—he was soul conscious. He had led some boys to the Lord in his Sunday school class. On the bus, he got to lead the girl sitting back here that brought her cats in, Brianna. He was able to lead her to the Lord. But here’s the thing: so today, once today, on October the 3rd, 2021, that girl on the bus, I was going to take her home, her, them home next. I heard him back there witnessing to her. So we diverted to a different route, you know, and dropped her off last. And praise the Lord, he was doing the work, man. He was back there witnessing to her. But he was kind of getting to the point where he’s drawing the net. And the reel of the first time he got there, I can’t remember all the specifics of it, but she just—she wasn’t right on board, ready to do it. And so he kind of went around a little bit and went back to it. And when he got down to it, she made a decision. She made a decision to accept Christ as her Savior. Now, she made the decision. Now, that happened October the 3rd, 2021. But before the foundations of the world, God Almighty—see, because God, He inhabits eternity—He’s way back here before the foundations of the world. He’s today, and He’s always in the future. I’m ever studying about Revelation, and that’s all about Jesus Christ. He’s the Alpha and Omega. He’s the beginning and the end. He’s got it all at one time for Him. He inhabits eternity.
And so God, in His foreknowledge, before the foundations of the world, according to Ephesians, He can travel over here and look, and He’s seen that girl on a half-broke down old shuttle bus. Pastor up there trying to drive it, halfway trying to fall asleep, trying to stay awake while I was driving that. Brother Gregory’s saying, thank—he’d been working fairs all week and got up, you know, made it here. He was half asleep this morning, but he made it here trying to win this girl to the Lord. And God’s seen—now, He’s seen it way back here because He inhabits eternity, see. Before the foundations of the world, He was watching over there. And in His foreknowledge, He saw today we’re bound by time, you see. But He’s seen that girl say, “Yeah, I want to take that gift.” And He saw that. Now, He saw it way back then because He inhabits eternity. And it’s almost like, if you read Ephesians, it’s almost like He was so excited about that: “That girl is going to choose me over there. She’s going to choose to accept me as her Savior.” And God says, “I’m going to go ahead and predestinate her.” Now, it doesn’t take away the fact that she made a choice. It just means God, in His foreknowledge, knew the choice she would make. That’s what He’s saying there in Romans 8: “For whom he did foreknow, then he also predestinated.” You see? Now, if I take the foreknowledge of God out of the picture and the fact that God inhabits eternity and the fact that He knows the end from the beginning, I’m in trouble for Him. No, no, they have a choice. She had a choice today.
Now, the misappropriated verses: they’ll take Romans 9 and some of those, 10, 11 over there where it’s talking about Israel. And God did choose to make Israel a special nation and His chosen people. God, He did do it. And God’s got the right to do that. He’s God. But it doesn’t mean you don’t have the right to make a decision. God has chosen to give you a decision.
And some will use John 15:16: “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you.” Oh, maybe years ago, we had a lady here—she’s a good lady. She comes from time to time. She’s a good lady. She’s listening to some of these guys on YouTube, whatnot, and I know she has, because she’s saying what they say. And she’s leaving the doors one Sunday morning, and she said, “Well, the Bible says, ‘Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you,’ and I have to ordain you.” And she mentioned that in John 15:16. And I said, “Yeah, but did you notice the rest of that verse? What did He choose you for?” Look over there, if you will. John 15:16. John 15:16: “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit.” Look at John 15:16. John 15:16: “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you and ordained you that ye should go and bring forth fruit.” You’re not talking about you getting saved. We’re talking about I’m going to bring forth fruit. “And that your fruit should remain.” Then what’s the reason? “Ask of the Father in my name, He may give it.” And I said, “Yeah, you’re right. That is what it says.” But you notice it’s talking about bringing forth fruit.
She’s with her husband, I believe, that Sunday morning. She said, “Well, you know, you’re right. That is what it says.” And praise the Lord, she’s not brought it up again. I’m not talking about your salvation. Somebody’s chosen you. Go and bring forth fruit. That’s your fruit should remain. By the way, if you’re a child of God, He’s chosen you to bring some fruit. What He wants to use you to do is to ordain you to that. Here’s what teaching there.
It’s God’s desire that everyone gets saved. We’ve already mentioned in 2 Peter 3:9, “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” We read at the very beginning of the message, “who will have all men to be saved and to come into the knowledge of the truth.” Titus 2:11: “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men.” So God didn’t say, “All right, I’m going to pick you to go to heaven; I’m going to pick you to go to hell.” God gives the ability to everyone, just in His foreknowledge, He sees the choice you and I make. That’s what it means.
Now we got the T, total inability (or total depravity, some will call it), unconditional election. Now let’s go over to the L. How many of you know what the L is? Say it out loud if you know. Limited atonement. Yeah, limited atonement. This is a wonderful one. Would you look over in 1 John chapter number two? This verse really just takes care of it pretty quickly. But 1 John 2 and verse number 2.
1 John 2 and verse number 2. Limited atonement: they say Jesus only died for the elect, just the ones that are going to get saved, the ones He predestinated. That’s the only one He died for. That’s limited atonement. Look and see what the Bible says over in 1 John 2 and verse number 2. 1 John 2 and verse number 2, and verse number 2 of God’s Word, if you’re there, amen. Good deal. 1 John 2 and verse number 2: “And He is the propitiation”—He’s our atoning sacrifice, He’s our substitute—“and He is a propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”
I’m so glad that He said, “For God so loved the world.” Boy, they’ll try to take that and say what the Greek means something else. I like what John Rice used to say. We’ll talk about what it means later on. Let’s talk about what it says right now. And it says, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son.” He is the propitiation for the sins of the whole world, friend.
Isaiah 53:6: “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way, and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Yeah, not limited at all. He said, “It is finished.” He purchased salvation and offered salvation for every man. Not limited to, amen. No, no, not at all.
Let’s get the I. We’re going to move along quickly here. We’ve got to get the I in here. We only got two more. TULIP. I. How many of you know what that stands for? Help me out. Say that out loud. Irresistible grace, right. They have no choice. God forces them to get saved. Would you look over the book of Acts? Acts chapter number seven, if you would please. Acts chapter number seven. This is when the deacons—we had the first deacons—and one of these deacons named Stephen is standing up and he’s preaching, and he’s filled with the Holy Ghost. I mean, the Spirit of God is moving. He’s filled. He’s anointed. He’s empowered by the Holy Spirit of God. Let’s find out what happens when this Spirit-filled preacher preaches to these people. Acts chapter 7. Would you look down in verse number 51? Verse number 51: “Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost. As your fathers did, so do ye.”
Now, notice: resist the Holy Ghost. By the Spirit-filled preacher preaching that day, did they get saved? Don’t talk about as a whole. No. What did they do to Stephen that day? They killed him. They murdered him. Martyred him. But he was a Spirit-filled preacher. You can’t resist the Holy Spirit? Oh, sure you can, friend. Oh, sure you can. It was a Spirit-filled preacher preaching that day to that congregation. Even in the middle of his message, he said, “Ye do always resist the Holy Ghost.” We just read Jesus—Jesus Himself. He was really praying, if you will, or talking about Jerusalem. I read it for you again, Matthew 23:37: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I”—there’s Jesus—“would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not.” They resisted Jesus.
It’s not irresistible for you. God, in His love, gives you a choice. He gives you a free will. He gives you the right to make the decision. He doesn’t overwhelm you where you have no choice at all. By the same will, reference Paul. Remember on the road to Damascus, and he said, “Why persecutest thou me?” He had been convicted for a while. God had been working on him for a while. And that day, he said, “It’s enough.” God revealed Himself to Paul in a great way. Paul still out of choice, and Paul said, “It’s enough. You’ve been convicting me for a long time now, and I’m tired of kicking against the pricks. Lord, what must I do to be saved?” You have a choice in that. Always do.
In the tribulation period, God shows up in a great, great way. They don’t repent. They have a choice in the matter for Him. And some will say Pharaoh, “Let my people go.” And God—now listen to me—God hardened his heart. See there? God made the decision. Notice what the Bible says: God hardened Pharaoh’s heart in that decision. And I said, “All right, Pharaoh, you want to go that way? I’m going to let you go that way big time. I’m going to harden your heart in the decision you made.” I revealed His glory and His power and His might. But Pharaoh made his decision. God just hardened him for the decision he made.
By the way, it’s very interesting. You go back and read the first time he made his decision. Proverbs chapter number one. Proverbs chapter one, if you would, real quickly here. It’s an interesting passage along this line. Can you resist the Lord? Some will reference Proverbs 1 in the last couple of verses of it. But I want you to notice what he says. Proverbs chapter number 1. And would you look in verse number 22? We’ll start there. We’ll read a couple of verses here on this one. Irresistible grace. Can we resist when God comes and draws? Well, He draws all men. There are for sure some that resist. Look what he says here in Proverbs 1:22: “How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? And the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge. Turn ye at my reproof.” Wonderful promise right here: “Behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you. I will make known my words unto you.” You turn, and I say, “My Spirit will come upon you, and I’ll open the Bible up to you in a wonderful way.” What a promise! Wonderful promise. Verse number 24: “Because I have called, and ye”—excuse me, what’s the next word?—“ye refused.” “I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded.” But yet it’s not at all my counsel with none of my reproof. Now, after they made the decision, they made the decision of no. Then comes the verses: “I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; when your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you, then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer.” They’ve already made their decision for Him. “They should seek me early, but they should not find me; for that they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord.” Well, they had a decision to make. They made their decision. God said, “I’m going to hold you to it. Too late now.”
The Bible never teaches irresistible grace. No, no, you won’t find that in the Bible. Total inability? No, no, no, not at all, my friend. Well, they’re dead. Well, Adam and Eve were dead, but they made a lot of decisions for at least 800 years. The prodigal son was out in the sinful world. He made a lot of decisions, but he was dead. I don’t understand the definition of dead. Well, the Father’s got to draw them. “If I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto me.” The Bible said, no, it’s not total inability. It’s not biblical. Unconditional election: “For whom he did foreknow.” Let me also pre-lasted Romans 8:29. Limited atonement? No, no, no. 1 John 2:2. He’s a propitiation for the sins of the whole world. See? Limited atonement? Jesus died for all the—no, no, no, no. This is the whole world. Irresistible grace? They don’t have no choice. No, no, no. The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” They don’t all get saved. They have a choice. It’s not irresistible grace. He’s drawn all men, but all men don’t get saved.
Then this last thing, the P. How do you remember the P? What’s the P stand for? Preservation of the saints. Let’s go teach. Look over in 1 Peter chapter number 1. 1 Peter chapter 1, if you would please. 1 Peter chapter 1 and verse number 5. Very briefly here, we’ll be done tonight. 1 Peter 1, verse number 5. Wonderful passage. 1 Peter 1, verse number 5. It says right there, “Who are kept”—I’ll wait for just a second, some still turning—“First Peter 1, verse number 5. It says right there, ‘Who are kept by their own power?’ Is that what it says? No. ‘Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time.’” Now, we don’t persevere; God perseveres. We’re kept by His power.
“Now I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” See, it’s not a matter how strong your hand is; it’s a matter how strong His hand is. “Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” “My Father which gave me them is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.” It’s not a matter of your strength; it’s a matter of His strength. You didn’t save yourself, but you don’t keep yourself saved. Charles Spurgeon said this: “I do not believe in the perseverance of the saints. I believe in the perseverance of the Savior.”
No, friend, whosoever will. Whosoever will. Now here’s the sad thing: so often it hinders and hurts witnessing, soul winning. That is already predetermined if you’re going to go to heaven or hell. Why do I need to witness? See the thought pattern it can lead to. Friend, it does matter. And praise the Lord, Brother Gregory and those yesterday and others today—probably I don’t know what I’d have—but you were so conscious, and you stepped out of the way and you made sure they were given an opportunity to get saved. It does matter. And that way, that girl had a decision to make. Now, God saw it before the foundations of the world. He knew that. And He had already predestinated her because He was so excited about her getting saved. But she had a choice. And it did matter that he witnessed to her. See? If I take the foreknowledge out of that, I’m in trouble for Him.
Friend, I’m concerned a little bit. I’ll just be honest with you. Years ago, I was—I was born into Independent Fundamental Baptist. My dad was going to Tenth and September when I was born. It was in 1995 when I was born, so it wasn’t too far back. Trying to see if you’re awake or not, you know. But it seemed, and I, you know, I was young, of course, back then, but grew up in it. It seemed back then, the '70s and maybe the early '80s, if you go to an average Independent Baptist Church, they’re going to be out witnessing actively, actively. I mean, trying to get people saved. I mean, active about it: gospel tracts and door-to-door and bus ministry and, you know, VBS, harvest days, whatever angle. They’re active, man. They were active in preaching to the lost. But it’s not always the same nowadays, even in an Independent Baptist church. And I wish it was that we could just get them into here and preach to them, they get saved. I like that formula. It’s a lot easier, amen. Doesn’t work like that for the most part. But friend, active. I’m told by every angle, trying to get out there where they’re at, different ways, different channels. I don’t find it quite as much. Sometimes you have to look pretty far to find a church that’s just active in trying to—I’m talking about active winning the lost.
And this is one of the doctrines that’s hurting it. My dad, he was just a young Christian, and he went to the Sword of the Lord conference back in the day. Brother Hayes was there, taught his little training session, how to win his soul to the Lord Jesus Christ, and Curtis Sutton followed up and preached on it. Curtis Sutton asked him—he asked him to commit: “Would you commit to going soul winning for seven hours a week?” Now, I’ll be asked me that puts me to shame. I get convicted when I talk about this one. But that was just a young Christian, worked in Continental Can, worked a regular job, and he committed. He’d go two hours Monday, two hours Tuesday, two hours Thursday, I think it was, and Saturday he’d go three hours. And I say that to say that was more common, but you don’t hear that a whole lot anymore. And this is one of the doctrines, false doctrines, that are killing us in that area. Because what does it really matter?
I like our brother Wallace—Brother Wallace. I mean, oh, Brother Wallace, he’s preached for us before—but Tom Wallace, he’s 90. And we were over at the Chip’s house a little bit ago, and his father-in-law does the fair ministry, and Brother Wallace is around his birthday, and I was talking to his father-in-law, and Brother Wallace was out there at the fairs, and he was turning 90, and he wanted to win 90 souls to the Lord. And he said, “Man, we kept getting people that were open, and we’d kind of feed him. All right, you take this one, you take”—he kept feeding him—“and old Brother Wallace, 90 years old.” I don’t know where the guy gets the energy from. I need to find out what in the world he’s eating. I mean, he’s amazing. He really is, and I mean that. We had a preacher, fellas, years ago, and he was preaching somewhere up north, and he drove almost all night long just to come to our preachers’ fellows. I was shocked. Guys got energy. Is that the fair? And anyway, Brother Chip’s father-in-law, he said, he asked Brother Wallace, “How many have you got?” And he said, “I don’t have 90 yet.” He said, “I don’t have 90 yet.” He said, “I just kept feeding him. I don’t have it.” And Brother Wallace just stayed. He wanted to get that 90. My hat’s off to him.
This false doctrine sometimes can kind of quench our fires of winning the lost. You know, in wars, you know the bottom line is wars: casualties. Bottom line, hey, are we reaching the lost? People can say, “There’s a lot more to it than just that,” but that’s casualties, mores. No, friend, they have a choice to make. And us being avid at getting the gospel out matters. The more opportunities, there’s a greater chance they will choose the truth to get saved. Well, it matters for Him.
Would you bow your heads and close your eyes, please? Heads are bowed, eyes are closed. That’s just more of a doctrinal type message. Maybe you’re there tonight. You say, “Lord, You spoke to my heart in just a unique way, maybe a different way. My God spoke to my heart, and I want to respond. God’s taught me, God’s changed me, God’s convicted me tonight.” Maybe in some way God spoke to your heart tonight, and that’s you tonight with your head—“God spoke to my heart tonight.” That’s you tonight. God bless you. Me too. Me too, friend.
Well, it does matter. God bless you. God bless you. Thank you so very, very much. Thank you so much. Would you please stand? We’ll have order of prayer. We won’t be long. Would you come just spend some time with the Lord? Would you do so?
Father, thank you so much for Your Word. I don’t have the ability to measure up with many, many people, but Your Word does. Thank you, Lord, we have something to stand on, something solid and true, and have all the answers. Helps to stand on it and helps to promote it to others. And Lord, we’ll thank you for what you do in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Would you come as we sing, “Just As I Am”? Would you come? “Just as I am, without one plea, but that Thy blood was shed for me, and that Thou biddest me come to Thee, I come, I come, as I am.”
Original File: Why I Disagree with all 5 Points of calvinism - Pastor Paul Chisgar Sunday PM 10321