For the past two years or so, I have been doing in-depth research on both Calvinism and Lordship Salvation. In the days to come, I plan on publishing a number of articles on various topics refuting both; along with other topics related to Biblical Salvation.

There are various terms that need to be defined so that we will all be on the same page. For example: believe, faith, grace, mercy, gift, repent, sanctification, justification, regeneration, works, kingdom, the gospel, save, salvation, all, etc. You may be thinking “I know what all of those words mean.” Maybe you do, or maybe there will be some surprises in there. 🙂

Stay tuned!

The following is a summary based primarily on the book “The Reformed Faith” by a well known Traditional Calvinist, Loraine Boettner. [My comments are in brackets.]

T = Total Inability [Now referred to as Total Depravity]

A human being is so depraved that he or she is unable to believe the Gospel, so God must regenerate the individual first, in order that they can repent and believe. [In other words, Calvinists are indicating that we are not actually saved by faith, we are saved by God regenerating us first–Regeneration is another term for being Born Again.]

U = Unconditional Election

God chose [elected] specific individuals before the foundation of the world to be saved based only on his Sovereign will and was not based on any foreseen response of obedience on their part, such as faith, repentance, etc. [They deny that those not chosen were chosen for damnation, but that’s just semantics, if God in their view is able to save everyone, but only chooses to save some, he has made the choice NOT to save the others]

L = Limited Atonement [also described as Particular Redemption]

Christ’s death only secures the Salvation of those he unconditionally elected.

I = Irresistible Grace

An internal call is given only to those unconditionally elected and cannot be rejected. The Spirit CAUSES the sinner to believe, who then comes willingly [?] to Christ. [If there was such a thing as a “love potion,” and you gave it to someone who despised you and then they came to you and loved you “willingly,” was it actually willingly?]

P = Perseverance of the Saints

All who are chosen by God, redeemed by Christ, and given faith by the Spirit are eternally saved. Those who are elected will absolutely persevere to the end because they are kept by the power of God. If the person seems to believe for a time, but later recants, they were not one of the elect and had evanescent faith. [Faith that fades away]. [By persevere, they mean that they need to continue to do good works, pursue holiness and still believe up to the second they die, that is the only way they will know for sure that they are saved. So there is no assurance of Salvation.]

One Scripture passage that is occasionally used to support the idea that God chooses who will be saved is John 15:16. This is then quoted out of context “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you.”  However, if taken in context it ONLY applies to the 11 Apostles and has nothing to do with being chosen for salvation.

At the Last Supper after Judas has already left to betray Jesus [John 13:1-4; 24-30], Jesus spoke to the eleven Apostles and said “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.

He is only speaking to the 11 Apostles. When did he choose the Apostles? Luke 6:12-17 tells exactly when they were chosen.

“And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.  And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles; Simon, (whom he also named Peter,) and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew, Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called Zelotes, And Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor.”

Jesus gathered all of his disciples together and chose from among them the 12 [of which one was a devil] to be Apostles.  They were chosen for a specific purpose and service. This does not support the view that only those God chooses can be saved.

The disciples were believers before Jesus chose them to be Apostles, they were not chosen TO BE saved, they were chosen to be Apostles, i.e. to serve in the capacity as Apostles

Many Bible and prophecy teachers insist that “Babylon the Great” in Revelation 18 must have a seaport for verses 17-19 to be fulfilled.

The primary argument given is that because it says the shipmasters, every passenger & sailors, and all who make their living by the sea stood at a distance and saw the smoke of her burning, of course they had to be in a seaport to do that, or at least close enough to see it happening.

Maybe a couple hundred years ago that would be the only possible way a person could conceive of this happening. However, we know that today, the entire world could see the smoke of her burning from any distance on a number of different electronic devices–and in real time!

“Woe, woe, the great city, in which all who had ships at sea became rich by her wealth.” Clearly, it isn’t only talking about the people in the ships, but every one that was involved in the shipping business.

Notice it says “Every shipmaster, all the passengers & sailors, all who make their living by the sea. Think about that for a minute, so all of them from the whole Earth are in the Seaport at one time? No, because at any given time, ships would be all around the Earth. They would never be in or near the same seaport at the same time.

Let’s look at the broader context:

Verses 17-18 don’t stand by themselves, they literally stand with two other groups that are described first.

• The kings of the Earth
• The merchants of the Earth who stand along with every shipmaster, passenger, sailor and all those who trade by the sea are standing at a distance

The comparison chart shows that all three groups witnessed the same event from a distance:

Notice the kings of the Earth and the merchants of the Earth were standing at a distance. They wouldn’t usually be in ships in a seaport. The kings of the earth and the merchants of the Earth would be all around the world. Yet, all of them are said to be standing at a distance.

The immediate and broader context doesn’t require a seaport and it would be impossible for all who are mentioned to be in the vicinity of Babylon the Great. This assumption was made without any supporting Biblical evidence. Babylon does not need a seaport for Revelation 18 to be fulfilled.

“You make choices, and you live with them.” Phil “Groundhog Day”

We have always had the freedom of choice, but no one has ever had the freedom to choose the results or consequences of those choices. Life, unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, does not work like Groundhog Day. We do not have the ability (or the opportunity) to go back in time and make a different choice, no matter how much we wish it were possible.

Salvation isn’t simply an “Admit One” ticket to Heaven that you can lose or give back, it is a free-will choice with eternal consequences. “Consequence” means a result or effect of an action or condition. This word usually has a negative connotation. But in general, it simply means what results from a particular choice or action.

How many choices in your life do you regret and wish you could go back and change. Or, are there choices that you are happy with? Maybe a choice that protected you from disaster? Good or bad, these are all irrevocable choices and the results of these choices cannot be undone.

Adam and Eve were faced with a choice—to eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, or to obey God and not eat of it. They made an irrevocable choice, and of their own free will they chose to eat of the fruit.

They had been warned of the consequences — that they would surely die. Several things occurred because of their choice. They died immediately spiritually and began dying physically. To the woman God said, “I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.”

To the man God said, “cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.”

Additionally, the entire creation became corrupted and is waiting to be regenerated, as Paul indicates in Romans 8:9-22 “For the eagerly awaiting creation waits for the revealing of the sons and daughters of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.”

There was nothing Adam and Eve could do to reverse the consequences of their free-will choice. They could not go back in time and make a different choice, and they could not change the consequences of their choice.

A similar situation occurs when you are presented with the Salvation Gospel. You can make a choice to receive the free gift of Salvation, or you can choose to reject it. You can reject it over and over again, but at some point, you will reject it for the last time and will reap the consequences of that choice, and you will not be able to go back in time and make a different choice.

However, you can instead, of your own free will, make the choice to receive the free gift of Salvation, but just like Adam and Eve’s choice, it cannot be undone, because there are certain things that occur when you accept the free gift of Salvation. These results are all accomplished by God. We cannot do any of this ourselves and we also cannot undo anything that God does. As Paul says in Romans 11:29 — “The gifts and calling of God are irrevocable.”

The following things occur the moment we believe and put our trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ:

We are Born Again [John 3:1-9;]: We are born again by the Spirit. We are “being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.” [1 Peter 1:3,23] Incorruptible means “unperishable.” When we are born again we cannot perish, because we are born of incorruptible/unperishable seed.

Being born cannot be reversed, you can’t go back in time and prevent yourself from being born. Just as there is nothing you can do can change the fact that you were born from your biological parents, there is nothing you can do to change the fact that you were born again spiritually and have become a child of God [John 1:12-13].

We are a New Creation [2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 6:15]: When we are born again, we are a new creation. A new creation cannot become “uncreated.” A new creation is something that never before existed, so you cannot become uncreated. For that to occur, you would have to go back in time and change it. There isn’t anything in the entire creation of God that can become uncreated.

We are “In Christ” [1 Cor. 12:13; Rom. 8:1; Rom. 16:7; 1 Cor. 1:30; 2 Cor. 5:17] : We are baptized [placed] into and become part of the body of Christ which is the Church, and we who have accepted the free gift of Salvation are described by Paul as being “in Christ.”

The Holy Spirit Indwells Us [John 14:16-18; 1 Cor. 6:19; 2 Tim. 1:14; ]: The Holy Spirit indwells us permanently. God promised that the Holy Spirit will never leave us. When we got saved, did we put the Holy Spirit in us? No, God did that. To become “unsaved,” the Holy Spirit would need to leave us. We cannot remove the Holy Spirit any more than we could put Him there in the first place.

We are Sealed by the Holy Spirit [Ephesians 1:13-14; Ephesians 4:30]: We are Sealed by the Holy Spirit UNTIL the redemption of our physical body. The fact of being sealed cannot end before the redemption, it can only be fulfilled by the redemption. “Until” doesn’t leave a gap where something else can occur in-between the two events. You cannot become unsealed. God sealed us through His Holy Spirit and we cannot reverse what God does.

We now Posses Eternal Life [John 3:36; John 5:24; John 6:47]: We have passed from death unto life. We possess Eternal Life now. You cannot lose Eternal Life, because if you did, it wasn’t Eternal Life, it was only life for a period of time. Eternal Life is a gift of God. And the gifts and calling of God are IRREVOCABLE! [Romans 11:29]. If we didn’t receive Eternal Life until after we have physically died. Then there would be a possibility, because it would be a future gift, but Jesus makes it very clear that we have already passed from death unto life.

We have been Redeemed [Acts 20:27-28, Galatians 4:4-5, Ephesians 7:7, Hebrews 9:12]
Jesus purchased us with his blood. We cannot change that. We permanently belong to Him. As Hebrews 9:12 states, “Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.”

We have been “Declared Righteous”—A Judicial Position [Romans 5:9]: We are Justified — “Declared Righteous.” This is NOT affected by the sins or any actions of our past, or the sins or any actions that we will do in the future. Nor is it affected by the good things we do. It is a judicial position. We have been declared Righteous by God, we cannot change this. It is not based on what we did, or what we do or don’t do, it is ONLY based on what Jesus did. He paid the price of Salvation and gives it freely to all who believe/receive Him.

Being saved is not just being given a “Get out of Hell free card” or a free ticket to Heaven that says “Admit One” that you can loose or give back. There are unchangeable consequences/results of your free will choice to believe and trust in Jesus’ finished work of paying for all the sins of the world which is irrevocable and you cannot go back in time to reverse it. You cannot lose or even give back the free gift of Salvation.

Isaiah 17 describes the destiny of Damascus being taken away from being a city.  Has this prophecy been fulfilled?  Watch this presentation by Dolores McCrory.

To watch the presentation click here:  The Demise of Damascus

The Magog Invasion of Ezekiel 38-39 is discussed a lot and is well known, but have you ever noticed that the countries involved do not include any of the countries that border Israel? Considering the threats from the bordering countries, you would think they would be involved.  Could something happen before the Magog Invasion which takes them out of the equation?

The answer is that the Psalm 83 War involves all of the bordering countries and results in Israel’s borders being greatly expanded.

The recent events in Israel with Hamas has increased interest in how this may be the beginnings of the Psalm 83 war.  Dolores McCrory created the following presentation in 2013, but much of it is relevant to what is happening right now. To watch the presentation, click on the link below.

The Psalm 83 War

A number of Bible prophecy teachers believe that the eastern gate on the Temple Mount in Israel is sealed shut as a fulfillment of the prophecy in Ezekiel 44:1-3. However, there are two main reasons why this is impossible. Taken in context, this passage refers to the eastern gate of the Millennial Temple complex, which is one square mile — it would not fit on the comparatively tiny Temple Mount. Secondly, the eastern gate will be sealed after the glory of the Lord enters through it, not before.

Ezekiel chapters 40-48 describe the future Millennial Temple. In Ezekiel 43:1-4, Ezekiel watched the glory of the Lord enter through the eastern gate of the Millennial Temple — at this point the gate is open.

“1 Then he led me to the gate, the gate facing east; and behold, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the way of the east. And His voice was like the sound of many waters; and the earth shone from His glory. And it was like the appearance of the vision which I saw, like the vision which I saw when He came to destroy the city. And the visions were like the vision which I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell on my face. And the glory of the Lord entered the house by way of the gate facing east. And the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner courtyard; and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house.” [Emphasis Mine] [NASB]

Then later, in Ezekiel 44:1-3, Ezekiel is brought back to the eastern gate, and it is shut. At this point God tells him:

“This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it, for the Lord God of Israel has entered by it; therefore it shall be shut.” [Emphasis Mine] [NASB]

This is referring to the previously mentioned eastern gate, which was open when the glory of the Lord entered by it. It was closed after the glory of the Lord had entered through it. Again, this is a future prophecy that cannot occur until the Millennial Temple is built. Therefore the eastern gate spoken of by Ezekiel doesn’t even exist yet.

From this we can determine that the sealing shut of the eastern gate on the Temple Mount is not a fulfillment of Bible prophecy.

According to the Society of Evangelical Arminians, the view that “Salvation cannot be lost by accident, but it can be forfeited by deliberate choice and walked away from,”¹ is the view of many Arminians.

John 10:28 is used to make the point.  However, focus is only given to the last part of verse 28 and the beginning of verse 29: “…neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.  My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand…. [KJV]

They point out that, yes, no one can “snatch” them out of the Father’s hand or the Son’s hand, but the truly saved person could still choose to walk out of God’s hands by themselves, rejecting God and His Salvation.

However, this is taking it out of context. If you back up even slightly you will see that choosing to reject your Salvation isn’t even a possibility.  Starting with the beginning of verse 27:  “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand…”

Even the English word “never” does not allow for any exceptions.  It can never happen, His sheep will never perish. More importantly, what does the Greek say?  It is interesting to see that the English word “never” is used to translate more than one Greek word.  It is actually translated from five Greek words:

οὐ μή εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα,

Literally “not, not in the age.”  In English we might say something like “not in a million years!”  That doesn’t mean it might happen at some point, it means it will never happen.

A Greek sentence can be negated by one of two words, οὐ or μή, depending upon the grammatical structure.  However, unlike English, where two negatives cancel each other out making a positive, a double negative in Greek strengthens the negation exponentially.  So οὐ μή doesn’t just mean “not” it means “absolutely not, and the phrase “εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα” means “forever,” so, altogether it means “absolutely not forever.”

The Greek word translated “Perish” is “ἀπόλλυμι” and it means to be destroyed or die.  So, His sheep will absolutely not ever be destroyed/die.  This is strong enough in and of itself, but as Buist M. Fanning writes in William Mounce’s Basics of Biblical Greek Grammar, it is further strengthened by the fact that…

“…it is the use of the two negatives οὐ μή with a subjunctive verb to indicate a strong negation about the future. The speaker uses the subjunctive verb to suggest a future possibility, but in the same phrase he emphatically denies (by means of the double negative) that such could ever happen. This linguistic combination occurs about eighty-five times in the New Testament, often in significant promises or reassurances about the future…

“…It would have been enough to have οὐ with a future indicative verb here, but Jesus is more emphatic. The subjunctive combination strongly denies even the possibility that any of Jesus’s sheep would perish: “they will certainly not perish,” “they will by no means perish,” is the sense of Jesus’s assertion. This is reinforced by the addition of the phrase εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα, “forever.” ² [emphasis mine]

Jesus’ statement in John 10:28 is unambiguous and cannot be misunderstood or misconstrued.  The conclusion is clear: it is impossible for the genuine saved believer to ever lose or even give back his or her Salvation. 

___________________________________

¹ Jackson, Kevin, Can Salvation be Lost? Society of Evangelical Arminians, 11-17-2008. Web.
http://evangelicalarminians.org/can-salvation-be-lost/
² Fanning, Buist M. qtd. in “Basics of Biblical Greek Grammar” 4th Ed, p 352. Print.

2 Thessalonians 3:17-18

The salutation of Paul with mine own hand, which is the token in every epistle: so I write.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

Romans 16:24

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.  Amen.

1 Corinthians 16:21 & 23

The salutation of me Paul with mine own hand…The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

2 Corinthians 13:14

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.

Galatians 6:18 

Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

Ephesians 6:24

Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen

Philippians 4:23

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen

Colossians 4:18

The salutation by the hand of me Paul.  Remember my bonds.  Grace be with you. Amen

1 Thessalonians 5:28

The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen

1 Timothy 6:21

Grace be with thee. Amen.

2 Timothy 4:22

Grace be with you, Amen.

Titus 3:15

Grace be with you all. Amen.

Philemon 1:25

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

Hebrews 13:25

Grace be with you all. Amen.