Christ told him to keep the law, unlike nicodemius whom he told that you must be born again. Nicodemius was elect the rich young ruler was not. God conceals truth from unbelievers. Sharing more truth with an unbeliever, will result in a greater judgement on them in eternity having heard more and rejected more. This is mercy although only beleivers will understand it.

@@davidhorvat700 Do you understand how much tapdancing and mental gymnastics you need to perform to try and get Scripture to agree with your faulty theology, instead of dropping determinism and letting it say what it actually does?

@@believein1

@@believein1 What does scripture say Forget our flawed human logic “The Lord of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand:” Isaiah 14:24 KJV “Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:” Isaiah 46:9-10 KJV “Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, When the Lord commandeth it not?” Lamentations 3:37 KJV

@@davidhorvat700 Reagarding Isaiah 14:24 - "The fact that Scripture frequently speaks of God’s will being thwarted and his Spirit being grieved should prevent us from interpreting this passage as a universally applicable, absolute law. The fact that Scripture provides teaching and illustrations of the Lord modifying his “designs” in response to what humans do-even after he’s publicly declared what they are (e.g. Jer. 18:1-10)-should caution us against this interpretation as well. The point of this passage is not to instruct us about the way God operates at all times and in all places. The context makes it clear that it is simply teaching that when God irrevocably decides to bring judgment upon a nation (in this case, Assyria, vs. 22, 25), no one can stop him. A careful reading of similar passages that speak of God fulfilling his “purposes” and “plans” reveals that they too invariably “have in view a particular event or a limited series of events” (e.g. Isa 25:1; 46:10; Mic 4:12; Jer 23:20).* They do not warrant the conclusion that God determines all things." Regarding Isaiah 46:9-10 - "To distinguish himself from the dead idols Israel was devoted to, the Lord displayed his ability to do what dead idols cannot do: namely, control the flow of history. Hence the Lord says, “My purpose shall stand, and I will fulfill my intention,” which is why he can declare “from ancient times things not yet done.” For God to have this foreknowledge he need only know his own purposes and intentions. Unless one is willing to believe that everything throughout world history (including all evil) reflects God’s purposes and intentions, this verse can’t be used to defend the notion that everything throughout world history is foreknown." Regarding Lamentations 3:37 - "Similarly, if read in context, Lamentations 3:37-38 does not suggest that Yahweh causes or ordains evil. Indeed, four verses earlier the prophet teaches us that God “does not willingly afflict or grieve anyone” (Lam. 3:33). This passage is not concerned with God’s cosmic sovereign activity; it is specifically addressing prophecy. Both “good and bad” prophecies (viz. prophecies about blessings and disaster) come “from the mouth of the Most High.” Jeremiah is saying this to confront people who only want to believe that prophecies about blessing are from God. As much as it grieves the Lord (cf. vs. 31-33), he is prophesying judgment on Israel because “[t]he prisoners of the land [a]re crushed under foot” and “human rights are perverted” (v. 34). Far from suggesting that good and evil are part of God’s sovereign plan, the passage highlights God’s unequivocal holiness in coming against evil as something that he does not in any sense will!"

Exactly

It is beyond obvious that they are wrong, and this is what happens to men that are driven by ego and inappropriate philosophical musings instead of humbly studying the obvious from basic grammar and the preponderance of evidence. This is why it is crucial to remain faithful to the King James Bible version, the only version that tells us, ...2 Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. Failure to do this the way that the Holy Spirit has done is why there are so many false doctrines and false prophets.

And by your own logic it doesn't mean that the people who have an opposing point of view can't be wrong either.

@@lukeleaf8295 True, but where there is no love, there is no Jesus. Everyone will know Jesus people by their love, Calvin’s flock live by the law from what I have experienced.

True

A calvinist preacher once said that until God gives him a roll call of the elect, he will continue to preach the "whosoever wills" gospel. If you are a true believer, if you believed the true gospel and have truly been converted, calvinism does not stand in your way. However, the only way to be sure is after death. Even for that friend/bully. Calvinism is not some get out of jail free card. It is an understanding of soteriology, and what happened. It is not the gospel. I was dead set against calvinism, until one day, thinking and praying about it, everything just snapped into place. I am not a calvinist, but my beliefs are no longer contrary, but more in line with it. There are issues with terminology, and ideas that some people have a hard time understanding. From my experience, it is usually older, more spiritually mature believers who become calvinistic as they begin to understand the bigger picture. Things snap into place, and they begin to understand what it is actually about. The younger ones argue a lot, and can be very contrary. I agree with RC Sproul and John MacArthur. Arminians CAN and ARE saved. Not everyone who says they are Arminian are, and not all who say they are Calvinist are. If you have the true gospel (read Paul), and have accepted it and are truly saved (I can't answer that), your friend doesn't have anything. However, you do need to take scripture at its word when it says that you must test yourself to see that you are truly of the faith. Read what Peter says in his epistle about testing yourself. It is hard hitting. It is important. Talk to your friend about the gospel you believe and have accepted.

army.. you simply don’t get it do you! You can not believe in the “true gosbel” and be a Calvanist. The true gosbel does not point to or support calvism period. One must twist the truth and ignore logic in scripture to make it even appear that it teaches or points to calvanism. Yes it has all clicked for you… this is easy to do when you ignore the truth. With age is suppose to bring wisdom not the other way around.

I’m curious. Since you say Calvinist are going to hell, what EXACTLY, is the damning evidence?

Bullies in the kingdom? Sounds like Pharisees

​@@armylngstbut he includes himself why?

How so? ( how did James White hurt you?)

@@dfischer5878 well for one, I have a deep love for sharing the gospel. With a Calvinist appeal to the elect I would have to believe that God chose me rather all the lose sheep around me. By Calvinist standards why would we even need to preach if God is going to find his elect regardless. I hate the idea of preaching to someone who is destined to burn forever in hell. It honestly stumbled me for a bit.

@@dfischer5878 By teaching/preaching the compatibilist and micro-managing fatalist God of the Neoplatonists and Gnostics instead of the God of the Bible.

I so understand when you said you can sleep now.. my goodness I was a wreck for a while after I was taught this. A mess.. God bless you I’m so glad you can rest in Christ now

Yes, stay away from Calvinism. It’s a ‘doctrine of demons’.

I don’t think Calvinists think that way. If you believe, you are one of the elect. It’s just that simple.

Why would that add stress to a believer?

Calvinists believe that whosoever believes go to heaven just like anyone else. If you believe, you’re a “whosoever”.

​@@tonyrussell5058Calvinists literally have always thought this way. That's literally one of the main things that has pushed Calvinism forever, the idea that no one truly knows if they are elected or not, which is why they believe they need to do a whole bunch of acts and work to prove to themselves and others that they are indeed elect. That's literally the Protestant work ethic in action, the idea that idle hands Are The devil's play thing and such. The whole reason for all of that crap is because the Calvinists don't know who is saved and who is not including themselves, therefore they feel the need to be as pious and self-righteous as possible, as a proof to themselves. Which hilariously lends itself towards making Calvinists incredibly prideful in their own works.

​@@tonyrussell5058How are you sure you believe?

Amen!

He said follow me because he was talking to people around him who wanted him to follow him. You can’t “follow Jesus” right now because he’s not here. Not to sound like a dick, but the “following Jesus” cult has done a lot of damage on KZfaq and their bullshit must be quenched whenever I see it.

@@jacksonrelaxin3425 You need to hear His voice if you are His. You can’t hear His voice unless you follow Him daily. Read His Word and talk to Him. He IS right here, right now. The path is narrow, time is short, you need to follow Him if you want to live with Him forever. His voice is gentle, He doesn’t shout.

@@tauisuitonu8505 if there was a hell you’d be on your way right now because you’re attempting to save yourself with your own false doctrine and effort and not depending on Christ for your salvation. The “follow Jesus” bullshit has wreaked havoc on countless minds and if you can’t see that yet, you’re only gonna crash harder when you wake up.

He didn't say follow Leighton Flowers either.

You’ll never get sucked in if you have any real need of truth. Anyone with a conscience who hears these men say that God “predestines people to hell” will either not accept it or just rationalize it because they’ve already been in a church such as Mcarthers. Hell is also bullshit too which is why false doctrines of demons continue to thrive, and Soteriology101 rarely addresses the contradictions of his beliefs regarding hell also. They’re all confused hypocrites who can’t accept the fact that Jesus is literally the savior of the world, like literally everyone in the world. Their pride won’t let them admit it.

I agree, but I kept searching.

Me too!

@sarahdeeann1669 I was almost sucked into Calvinism!! So thankful for your channel!! that sounds like it would be a good book title... how about this one?... "how I was shown the error of my ways... and repented for Not accepting Calvinism"

Thank God.

Soteriology101 also a suffers from cognitive dissonance because he believes in the lie of eternal conscious torments

Can you show me any scripture that says otherwise? I had a former professing christian ask me, “How could a loving God condemn people to eternal punishment? If they don’t want God, why can He just put them somewhere with out Him?” That is exactly what hell is… ETERNAL SEPARATION FROM GOD! Scripture says there will be torment. Does it say what causes the torment? What do you think will happen if you take a bunch of unregenerate human beings, make them immortal and you set them loose in a place without the staying hand of God? What does man do in Revelation once the restrained is removed? What are the world leaders already doing, but trying to figure out how to reduce as much of the world to abject poverty and slavery so the leaders can feel like Gods. God has every moral right to punish those that tormented His creation for their entire lives, but in reality He does not have to because they will punish themselves.

@@jeffreybombaso then if God did not choose your son or daughter, you would be ok with that?

​@jacksonrelaxin3425 How so?

​@lastmistakeyoullmake, would it be God not choosing rather than them rejecting good?

Great point

First, the woman should have been asked "Do you then deny the existence of the Devil?" Obviously, she would have said no. The obvious existence of evil and the Devil in this world is a question neither Augustinians nor Arminians can answer adequately for this life. That is a real puzzler and I will refrain from a voluminous mere introduction to that question that still does not satisfy us mortals. Read Job. Also, your Sunday school teacher should know the differences between determinism and God's ordaining will; and the differences between a free will that is truly free in Christ versus a will that is in bondage to sin; and the difference between God's mercy and God's beneficence. Scripture is pretty clear on all of those issues.

@@Gablesman888 The existence of evil and the Devil is NOT a question that CANNOT be answered. It is not a mystery, it’s a contradiction. What you are saying is a contradiction of the words of Scripture. Most people on this comment section are neither Augustinians or Arminians. That is just another false dichotomy that Calvinists ask you to answer. Don’t fall for it.

@@Gablesman888 Yeah, when God ordains something according to His will, the Bible is clear about that. And it is clear that His will is not for mankind to live in sin. He can and does use their sin to accomplish His will in spite of their sin, but not because He made them sin. When Determinists/Augustinians/Calvinists attribute evil and sin to the determinism of God instead of to fallen men or the kingdom of hell, there is nothing biblical about it, and THAT teaching essentially makes Satan redundant. I know that's offensive to sincere Christians, and those that ascribe to Augustinianism because they don't recognize the conclusion of their teaching. I'm not saying YOU personally believe that, because I don't know. But there are numerous Augustinians who teach that God ordains all evil and sin. John Piper is one example. Sorry, but that is explicitly not biblical, and it is also dangerous because many Augustinians continue in their sin because they have been deceived/lulled into believing/making the excuse that God has ordained it, and that's just how it is going to be unless God ordains for them to stop. The real difference between the will of the believer and the will of the lost is spiritual LIFE. A sinner can choose to do right or wrong, but they don't do it by faith. They are limited to and operating only from their soul because their spirit is dead, (yes there is a difference between the soul and the spirit, although they are intricately connected). They can however, hear and BELIEVE the gospel - turning from their sin and trusting in Jesus - and be born again. That is not to say that they earned their salvation or were saved by works in any way, as Augustinians teach. They simply surrendered to Christ, He forgave them and supernaturally made their spirit, (which was dead in sins and transgressions), alive. What is born of the flesh is flesh, but what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Now, as a new creation, they are capable of using their will according to the will of God by faith, because they are spiritually alive. They are no longer slaves to sin! Either way, all mankind has free will given to them by God.

​@@makedisciples8653 Then out with it. Explain exactly how and why evil exists in this world. Explain the reason for its origins. We are all waiting. There are certainly "stabs at it" but I have yet to hear Protestant or Catholic, Calvinist or Arminian give a completely satisfactory answer to that question. Btw, I get 25% of the book deal. LOL.

Better than I am. I'm trying to imitate that.

@@TheMaskedBaptist ?

@@bobbyadkins6983, yeah, so, I assume you're saying Leighton takes a stand against Calvinism in a loving manner. I'm saying he does a better job of doing that than I do, and I'm learning how he does that.

@@TheMaskedBaptist Oh, ok. Thanks.

😂

I have been saying this for a long time! YES!

This sounds pious but it's not really helpful. Both Arminians and Calvinists are Christians and doctrine really matters.

@@hudsonensz2858 YES!!! Doctrine matters immensely!!! The Apostle Paul reminds young Timothy and Timothy the importance of doctrine in every day life. The young church planters are to teach sound doctrine to their new Christian brothers and sisters. What this expression means to me is that the Teachings of Jesus surpass any and every "theology" that has been made up through Church history. Another older saying states:. "No creed but Christ, no book but the Bible, no Law but Love, no name but the Divine." Essentially, if Christians today could truly imitate Christ and the earliest Christians, that is the ideal. Church is not a business, Christianity is a Relationship with God, not a "religion" and is available to anyone who submits their life, repents of their sins puts their faith in Christ in the LORD Jesus. Yes, there is a lot of meaning in these two statements, and they are Biblically based and part of our American Christian Heritage. Thank you for your reply. God Bless you!!! Miss Monique 🙂🌷🙏💗

That is nice, but it isn't helpful

So important.

Amen

Yep

@Brad1980 There is absolutely *NO* mystery to the gospel. Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day according to the scriptures. Simple, *NO* esoteric Gnostic mystery involved. (1 Corinthians 15:1-5)

He might not hide it, but it’s not a fact.

@@thirdplace3973, and many others on this thread, so the absolute ruler of the universe instituted human gov't (Gen. 1-26-27) to be vice-regents before the fall, yet after the fall they are responsible to govern righteously, that is, to punish evil and reward good (Rom. 3:1-7) and you DO NOT see any tension in the Scripture between Sovereignty and human responsibility? The Scripture is full of tensions like this. Do NOT murder, yet God commanded Saul to kill (murder) every man, woman, infant child and animal of the Amalekites in 1 Sam. 15. The gospel was preached, from the beginning to non ethnic persons (Gen. 3:15) then to a pagan gentile named Abram (Gen. 12:1-3; 15:12-21; Joshua 24:1-5; Gal. 3) yet many believe that the gentiles are an after thought since they were not the recipients of the Covenants, but is that true? No! Abraham was a pagan gentile who received the promise of the redeemer that in him, that is Abraham, all the nations of the world would be blessed. The origin of Israel, the nation did not happen until Gen. 35:10 where the pagan grandson of Abraham was renamed Israel and then had the 12 sons (tribes) of Israel revealing that the promise to Israel came via the loins of a pagan gentile! The gospel was, from beginning to end, to gentile and jew! Dt. 31:14-32:43, esp v 32:43 and many other places. Again, there are no tensions in Scripture? Jesus is 100% God & 100% man, this is NOT a tension? You and many like you (on this thread) fail to see the forest through the trees!

@@RG-lc1qx God gave dominion on the Earth to mankind in Genesis 3. It’s re-iterated again in Psalm 115.

Yep ! The emperor has no clothes .

@@cecilspurlockjr.9421 Amen

It's the cult of personality

Sad truth is that you are being guided guided by an anti-Gospel Pharisee and you are so blind you don't even recognize it...🤷

@@demitrykhandree1774 Thanks for sharing. Our prayer is that someday you too will look back on Calvinist 'theology' and wonder why you ever believed it in the first place. Calvinists are forever forced to defend our heavenly father from the claims of their own system. In the end they have only two replies. One is the 'out of context' accusation "who are you to question God?" (when it is actually only Calvinism in question). And Two is ... "we cannot understand how God is responsible for all the evil which can only occur by his eternal, unchangeable, decree from before the foundation of the world, and still not be held culpable for it... so just accept it and hope for the best because there is no other option." You're either "in" or you're "out" and there's not a thing you can do about it.

Yes, completely ridiculous. God has condemned them to hell from birth, but is showing them mercy by not giving them the ability to understand

@@mtac99, twisted thinking right?

The fact that it has such an effect on people is often worn as a badge of honor by calvinists. As if the repulsion is somehow evidence of its truth. SMH.

But that's what Jesus said in Luke 12:48. So.. what happens when Truth is given? Culpability is increased. What happens when He takes away truth and hides it from them? Their culpability is lessened. Mind you - they had already crossed the line and were worthy of a condemnation worse than Sodom and Gomorrah (see Matt 11:20-25, where Jesus thanks and praises His Father for hiding the truth from the occupants of the region of Galilee). Now let's put it all together: - Jesus knew from the beginning who would not believe and who would betray Him (Jn 6:64) - Jesus preached to those who would not believe, knowing they would not believe - Jesus knew His preaching would only serve to increase their condemnation (Matt 11:20-24) I've only heard one non-Calvinistic explanation of these facts. It was from William Lane Craig "Oh, the verses in Matt 11:20-24 are just hyperbole! Jesus didn't mean what He said." Which is very odd, because His words could not possibly be hyperbole: He knew they would not believe, yet He preached to them anyway, and that preaching did indeed result in hotter condemnation for them. Food for thought. (BTW, see Matt 11:25-27 to see who controls whether a person believes or not)

Calvinists seem to get a sick sense of enjoyment out of that stuff, like a kid burning ants with a magnifying glass. There's a difference between uncomfortable truths and stuff that's just downright repulsive.

Amen

"Brought you out of it".... In what way, how long were you "in it"? Interestingly, I have the opposite story. I found the doctrines of grace straight forward and "fell into" them without ever knowing of this debate. My tradition was non-calvinist, but I wouldn't have been able to tell you that. But as I read the scriptures for 1 to 3 hrs every day, I became uneasy with the conflict between my traditions and what scripture was revealing about God. Many months later, as I studied church history did I realize that reformed soteriology was the norm. God bless 🙏

@@toddcote4904 Your tradition was pre-Calvinist not non-Calvinist. And no such thing as “the doctrines of grace”. Grace is just a word that appears like any other word in literature, it just means a gift. There are many different gifts from God in the Bible depending on the context. And “Reformed Soteriology” has only been the norm since Augustine in 412 AD, and only in Western Christianity through the Catholic Church. The Eastern Greek-speaking church flat out rejected Augustinian doctrines in regard to the grace of God because they could read Greek and Augustine couldn’t.

@@toddcote4904, so you didn't read or listen to anyone or anything outside of the Bible that could have influenced how you interpreted the Bible?

@@nathanhellrung9810 Since nothing is learned in a vacuum, no one can say their free from influence. However, no I was not influenced by anyone (like Washer, Baucham, MacArthur, Sproul, etc). I didn't read any other book than the Bible, and I didn't listen to anyone or anything on YT. YT wasn't a part of my life in any way. All I knew was that as I read the Bible for myself, God was clearly in control of all things, even of salvation. I didn't have any knowledge of John Calvin nor Agustine, nor Arminius, nor these type of debates. I was very ignorant and just a nominal Christian really. I even thought the JW faith was just normal Christianity too. I told you, ignorant, lol. After about a year of studying the scriptures, then YT entered and I began to learn more of soteriology from Spurgeon, Whitfield, Edwards, Washer, James White, Durbin, Sproul, MacArthur, etc. I listened to every debate I possibly could. Probably over 200 hrs at this point. In the end, after 6 years of study, my conclusions of the scriptures line up with what is typically referred to as Calvinism. I find every non-calvinist position untenable and twisting something to try and harmonize things, but I always find it not working..... God bless

John 3:17 .... Because he has not believed in the only begotten son of God

John 6:John 6: 63The Spirit gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. 64However, there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray Him.) 65Then Jesus said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to Me unless the Father has granted it to him. Christ himself is EXPLICITLY saying No man is able or has the power or willingness to come to Him unless the Father has granted salvation to that man. You and the outhor of this video are mistaken and do not understand the bibles plain speech about God's doctrines, calvinists have historically been the advocates for mission work because God has decreed it as the means of reaching those he appointed and further condemning "the sons of disobedience" Matthew 28:18-20 18Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. 19Therefore go and make disciplesd of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Quote "When I doubted my salvation, I looked at some of the things Calvinist say, and started wondering if God had determined me from conception to die without Him." Psalm 139:16 "You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed." That included the day that God chose "from the foundation of the world" to save you. Quote "...it is not God's will that any should perish (2 Peter 3:9.)" Matthew 25:46 "“And they [the wicked] will go away into eternal punishment..." Can ANYTHING happen outside of God's will? If you answer yes, then it was in God's will that they to go to Hell. If you answer no, then they are more powerful than God because they are able to simply usurp His will by saying I will not believe in Jesus. Quote "The Word convicts us of our sin (John 8:9) If they were predestined to hell, why were they convicted?" Romans 3:23 "for ALL [saint or sinner] have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." The Holy Spirit convicts EVERYONE of sin because all have sinned without exception. John 3:16 " For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever shall believe in Him will have everlasting Life." Romans 10:13 "For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.” These two passages both teach the Calvinist belief in limited atonement, which is the "L" in TULIP. How? For whosoever does NOT believe in Him SHALL perish. ALL who DO NOT call on the name of the Lord will NOT be saved. Not everyone will be saved, but only those who believe in Jesus and only those that call on the name of the Lord.

Because He opened your eyes. Faith is a gift.

Amen!!

There are far more non-calvinist preachers than there is calvinist preachers. I’m surprised whenever I find out someone is calvinist. I think the reason why there seems to be so many calvinist preachers is because they usually stand up for the bible publicly and unashamedly.

@@Migler1 I think it’s because a lot of Calvinists spend time criticizing other Christians (on KZfaq especially). They will talk about people taking scriptures out of context when Calvinism itself is based on scriptures taken out of context.

“The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.” Proverbs 21:1 KJV “There are many devices in a man's heart; nevertheless the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand.” Proverbs 19:21 KJV “O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps. O LORD, correct me, but with judgment; not in thine anger, lest thou bring me to nothing.” Jeremiah 10:23-24 KJV “Man's goings are of the Lord; how can a man then understand his own way?” Proverbs 20:24 KJV “And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.” 1 Corinthians 2:4-5 KJV “so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” Isaiah 55:11 KJV “And he increased his people greatly; and made them stronger than their enemies. He turned their heart to hate his people, to deal subtilly with his servants.” Psalms 105:24-25 KJV “For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, for to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.” Acts 4:27-28 KJV

@@keith3362 please read ephesians then you will see which side is taking scripture out of context

@@keith3362 When God says He has predestined us, what does that mean if not simply that?

Who is claiming secret knowledge?

DW: Rob - one thing I think you will find very powerful is when you have enough understanding of the underlying foundational core of Calvinism - which is EXHAUSTIVE DIVINE DETERMINISM - as enunciated in Calvinism's doctrine of decrees - you are guaranteed to consistently observe every Calvinist one minute affirming the doctrine and the next minute denying it. The affirmations will typically appear in the form of explicit language. The denials will typically come in the form of inferential language. The reason for this is because every Calvinist secretly has a love-hate relationship with the doctrine of decrees. They are taught to affirm it - but in order to retain a sense of HUMAN NORMALCY - they are forced to treat the doctrine of decrees *AS-IF* it is FALSE. When you come to be able to recognize Calvinist denials of their own doctrine - you will come to realize - as many have - that Calvinism is a system of DOUBLE-SPEAK. Blessings!

Another very simple repudiation is to ask the question: "Is God pleased with all of his Sovereign decrees?" They will answer, "Of course." "Then why does God express regret for creating Man in Genesis 6:6?"

@@PETERJOHN101 I have wondered this myself

@@dw6528 Yes! Calvinists are constantly speaking, casually, "as if" they have free will... never fails in to happen conversations. BUT to violate a core belief like that always puzzles me. It is something I would never do. I would never say "accidentally" that I thought abortion was OK, and be forced to correct myself as if I'd misspoken. Yet, on the issue of the freedom of man to make actual choices that matter they do this all the time.... and they HATE it when you point this out. When forced, they will admit the irony of their belief and try to find refuge, as Calvin himself did, in 'mystery'. But there is no refuge to be found. Calvinists are impervious to cognitive dissonance.... It's their Super Power. Man was made in God's image. THAT that matters. Determinism teaches that man does NOT matter. However, man cannot live as if he does not matter. It is emotionally, mentally and even physically destructive to our well-being. And some Calvinists can even be forced to reluctantly admit it. In an effort to maintain a semblance of sanity Calvinists must live and speak as "if" they do matter while still maintaining they do not. ... A 'double-minded' man is unstable in all their ways. The way they frame their favorite statement: "It's ALL about God", or, "It's all about Jesus", is a misdirection. God's eternal, perfect, love for ALL of his creation IS the reason that Christ was came. And that means man matters to God most of all. Would you give your best for something worthless that does not matter to you? No, a sane person does not create anything in their own image for the purpose of destroying it.

@@R.L.KRANESCHRADTT Yes - you are correct. But the reason the Calvinist violates his belief is because the core of his belief is Determinism. And every serious Determinist understands he must live *AS-IF* Determinism is FALSE - in order to retain a sense of human normalcy. Determinism is as radical a belief as is Solipsism. The Solipsist must live *AS-IF* his belief system is FALSE - because otherwise he would be treating people as figments of his imagination - and would suffer consequences in his career and his marriage if he does. Determinism is just as radical a belief as Solipsism. And the Calvinist will lose any sense of human normalcy if he lives coherently with it.

Interesting defense of the truth.

Saul of Tarsus and Jacob would have said the same thing. But God did choose them. Let's not put God into a box with our hypothetical situations. It's hard to have unity between Calvanist and Armenian. Lord help us to do this well with each other both looking to Christ and the Holy Spirit to do it, not fighting each other.

@@AirsoftTeamOSMD just about everyone here that sees the error in Calvinism is not an Armenian

I believe that's the case most of the time isn't it . When I point out their blasphemy against CHRIST in scripture they usually just say that's nonsense and dismiss the issue disrespectfully .

_″Notice how THEY did not understand this parable either.″_ Exactly! Nobody understood the parables including the disciples. This disproves the idea that the audience didn't understand because they were born dead with some innate moral inability to understand.

@SunshineGirl That’s a great point. Thanks for sharing!

Excellent point.

@@gk.4102 Jesus said it is not for them to know, if he spoke plainly they would repent.

@@kgar5String Yes and that proves that Total Depravity is false.

John 6:39. We do not save ourselves and we surely do not keep ourselves; if we could lose our salvation we would.

@@dfischer5878 completely agree. No Arminianist thinks we save ourselves. The whole idea of salvation is that you stop trusting yourself and trust in Jesus.

@@dfischer5878 Only people who put their trust in their own works think they save themselves, or at minimum think they merit God saving them by their works.

Dr Flowers you are a blessing for us layman/woman

Well, they would say that only the chosen Elect are capable of understanding and believing in the "things of God". Which is interesting because there are former believers in Christ who also do believe in Calvinism, and just assume they aren't Elect.

Augustinians do not believe they are chosen because of some kind of merit on their part. Augustinians are totally humbled when they realize they were chosen NOT because of some merit on their part. When I discovered Augustinianism I did not go down to my knees. I fell on my face because suddenly I was faced with a question I could not answer and to this day I cannot answer: Why was I elect?" And if you are Arminian, do you ever think of this question? Let's say you were saved in a church service. You "made a decision" for Christ and the person next to you did not. Were you saved because you were more self righteous than the other person? You were raised in a Christian family? You live in America? God gave you a mulligan? Why was Abraham elect and Hammurabi was not? They lived at about the same time and in the same area. What great and fabulous merit did Abraham have that the other guy did not? These questions dog the Arminian. Arminianism does not answer these questions but the Bible does.

If God did indeed extend His grace to everyone, then everyone would be saved. When Arminians get to screwing around with the Holy Bible instead of exegeting its verses, such Arminians fall down that slippery slope into universalism. Ephesians 2. [Read all of it].

Then your calvinism was pretty weak. It's an objective comment so don't try to call me a calvinist. I'm in favor of logic, not in biased defend one side. If I'm going to demonstrate the problem with a posture then it's needed to reject bad arguments even if they support my position.

Calvinism fell apart for me after 20 years when I learned that the Bible is *not* infallible/inerrant. I know this claim won't sit right with this crowd either but I'm just being honest. I deconstructed hard over the last four weeks. But, if the Biblical authors did disagree with one another (which I now believe) it is wrong for the Calvinists (or anyone in my opinion) to harmonize everything every author claims. I now see the complete _cognitive dissonance_ I had just to hold all the contradicting truth claims. James White was my favorite debater and now I think he is wrong. Leighton, if you are reading this, Calvinists have cognitive dissonance. The Calvinist has to, to hold to so many contradicting claims about God. Whatever God does is defined as Good, even if what God does is only _assumed_ via presuppositions into the text. I knew this as a Calvinist but whatever presuppositions you start with when approaching the Bible there will be passages that affirm your view and intern you will [re]interpret the contradicting passages of your view in your favor. I still believe Paul taught a Calvinistic Gospel because I now allow Paul to get some of the details "wrong". I do not believe God necessarily hardened Pharaoh's heart either. I believe that is what the Biblical authors thought and wrote down but we need to be careful and not believe everything the Bible claims. Everything should be interpreted, in my opinion, through the person and nature of Jesus Christ. Would Jesus harden Pharaoh's heart to show His might? Would Jesus command the Israelites to commit genocide to take land (and women)? I also believe each Biblical author should be represented individually and fairly without forcing another author's definition or views onto the other. I know this is a hermeneutical principal by allowing other clear definitions to interpret the vague passages but we should be very careful in how that's done. Our own presuppositions definitely cloud what is appropriate or not. I was never open to changing my theological views before and I always argued from the Calvinistic perspective. I even thought that Leighton was never a Calvinist at all (or maybe he was "born" into it) if he left the camp. C'mon, anyone who reads the Bible seriously ends up being a Calvinist right? I used to troll the comments section of his videos just to have theological debates with his "followers". I never thought that I would ever consider believing similarly as Leighton does. God simply does not fit into any of our nice and neat theological boxes. The Bible simply does not allow it.

Regeneration is indeed referenced in the OT. - Lev 26:40-43. follow the theme of "uncircumcised hearts" all the way to the NT to see how the NT authors understood it. See also Jer 9:26, Ezek 44:9, Acts 7:51 and of course Col 2:11-14. It is a work of the Holy Spirit, and cannot be done by man. - Ezek 36:25-27 is how a person is "born again". Jesus reprimanded Nicodemus, a teacher of the Jews, for not knowing this. - Deut 29:4 explains why people don't believe. The opposite would explain why people do believe. It directly implies regeneration, of course. - Eze 11:19 - Eze 37:14 There are more. But those are enough to get started. Thanks.

@@icypirate11wow.

@@icypirate11 Great comment brother.

There is not a single Calvanist who blames God for sin. We simply agree with what scripture teaches. Not only that but its really not "Calvinism" a more accurate term is "Paulism" or just plainly the teachings of Christ. Just go read Romans 9, all objections to God's sovereignty are settled there. Proverbs 16:9 "The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps." Genesis 50:20 "As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today." Proverbs 21:1 "The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: He turns it wherever He will." I can pull many verses that go on and on. God is sovereign over His creation and we are fully responsible alone for our actions. In fact read the book of Judges, its a perfect example of God’s sovereignty in human decisions. God raised up pagan kings to come against a rebellious Israel, and then God later held those pagan kings responsible and brought judgment on them when Israel cried out to God. Its the perfect example, God used those men to bring about His will and those men were still fully responsible for the sin against God and His people, and were judged themselves. But again read Romans 9 it puts your false accusations to rest right there. 11 for though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that the purpose of God according to His choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls, 12 it was said to her, “The older shall serve the younger.” 13 Just as it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” 14 What shall we say then? Is there any unrighteousness with God? May it never be! 15 For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16 So then it does not depend on the one who wills or the one who runs, but on God who has mercy. 17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I raised you up, in order to demonstrate My power in you, and in order that My name might be proclaimed throughout the whole earth.” 18 So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires. 19 You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will?” 20 On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? Will the thing molded say to the molder, “Why did you make me like this”? 21 Or does not the potter have authority over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? 22 And what if God, wanting to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath having been prepared for destruction, 23 and in order that He might make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory⁠- 24 even us, whom He also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles? 25 As He says also in Hosea, “I will call those who were not My people, ‘My people,’ And her who was not beloved, ‘beloved.’” 26 “And it shall be that in the place where it was said to them, ‘you are not My people,’ There they shall be called sons of the living God.” 27 And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, “Though the number of the sons of Israel be like the sand of the sea, it is the remnant that will be saved; 28 for the Lord will execute His word on the land, thoroughly and quickly.” 29 And just as Isaiah foretold, “Unless the Lord of Sabaoth had left to us a seed, We would have become like Sodom, and would have resembled Gomorrah.” 30 What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, laid hold of righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith; 31 but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not attain that law. 32 Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as though it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone, 33 just as it is written, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, And the one who believes upon Him will not be put to shame.” Its an undeniable truth, God causes men to work according to His will, God is not responsible for the sinfull choices we make, He is completely separate from all sin. Admittedly we dont truly know how how this works yet nor will we this side of heaven, but it is undeniably taught in Scripture. "Paulists" or "Calvanists" dare not blame God for being responsible for sin.

@@elimartin4107 more double speak from a calvinist . Calvinism when applied to passages like Mark 16 : 15 is blasphemy against CHRIST as it portrays HIM as a deceiving liar when HE tells HIS apostles to offer salvation to EVERY CREATURE IN THE WHOLE WORLD . CHRIST isn't going to offer someone salvation through the preaching of the gospel if HE has cursed them to not be able to receive salvation from before creation like calvinism claims and teaches .

@@cecilspurlockjr.9421 Him not offering salvation to some is not a curse, you or me or anyone else for that matter deserves death, hell, and the grave. And the apostles don't offer salvation, Christ does. Also that is not true, christ offered many people salvation that He talked to and many ignored Him. And eventually killed Him. 16 "He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned." This is the follow-up to that verse. There are those who will disbelieve, you are calling Christ a liar not calvanists, you jump to that conclusion not calvanists. Men will not believe unless the Father draws them to Christ. Its that simple and not everyone was predestined to be in Christ, we spread the gospel to go after the lost sheep, we dont know who they are we just know they are out there. If you do not believe the gospel you are not one of Christ’s sheep, its that simple. Some are destined to be examples of Gods wrath, justice, and judgment. You can tell who they are if they never come to put faith in Christ. 15 For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16 So then it does not depend on the one who wills or the one who runs, but on God who has mercy"

@@elimartin4107 we don't deserve death before we are even born Eli. Calvinism says these names were written down before creation and Calvin himself said the unelected are doomed from the womb and that is a curse from before birth . CHRIST plainly offers salvation to every creature in the whole world through the preaching of the gospel in mark 16 : 15 so why do you deny this passage is true ? Once again , CHRIST doesn't offer salvation to every creature unless HE wants every creature to be saved . 1 Timothy 2 : 3 thru 6 tells us that CHRIST wants everyone to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth , which calvinism also denies .

@@cecilspurlockjr.9421 That's where you are wrong, we all deserve death, we are all born in sin and inequity. Yes all who are saved were selected before the world was. Ephesians 1-11 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,To the saints who are at Ephesus and who are faithful in Christ Jesus: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as HE CHOSE US IN HIM BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD, that we would be holy and blameless before Him in love, 5 BY PREDESTINING US TO ADOPTION AS SONS THROUGH JESUS CHRIST to Himself, according to the good pleasure of HIS WILL, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He graciously bestowed on us in the Beloved. 7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our transgressions, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He caused to abound to us in all wisdom and insight, 9 making known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Him 10 for an administration of the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth in Him. 11 In Him, we also have been made an inheritance, HAVING BEEN PREDESTINED ACCORDING TO THE PROMISE OF HIM WHO WORKS ALL THINGS ACCORDING TO THE COUNSEL OF HIS WILL," Also He commands us to take the gospel to every creature, but as stated above just because you give the gospel doesn't mean someone will be saved, salvation is an act of God not human will. No calvanist denies the great commission we juat know that not all men are lost sheep. Jesus died a objective death for His people, Jesus didn't die for a chance. He didn't die and raise from the grave to then say "oh goly gee I hope they pick me". John 10:15 "15 even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep." He died for His sheep not all people. And there are some who Christ says are not His sheep. John 10:24-29 24 The Jews then gathered around Him, and were saying to Him, “How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us openly.” 25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father’s name, these bear witness of Me. 26 BUT YOU DO NOT BELIEVE BECAUSE YOU ARE NOT OF MY SHEEP. 27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; 28 and I GIVE ETERNAL LIFE TO THEM, and they will never perish⁠-ever; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. See Christ gives eternal life to His sheep alone not everyone. You have to realize that there is a very defined difference between what God wants and what He wills to happen, no calvanistdeniesthat God wants all men to be saved, we just understand even though He wants somethingthat doesn't He wills it to be. He wants all to come to repentance and faith, but His will as evidence shows doesn't geant faith to all men. I end with this, you thinking God doesn't save all men is evil just shows that you think on some level men are good, I am sorry but Only God is good. You have to high of a view of man and a low view of God.

You no longer slander God by making Him the author of rape, murder, and abortion. Glory to the real God.

Take the advice of James ("if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God) and ask God for discernment, understanding, wisdom and insight each day before you read His word. God answered this prayer for me, He'll do it for you too! Thanks and praise to Him for calling you out of that error!

Sovereign Grace is in Epheshians 1 and 2 Romans 8 and 9. John 6 and 10. Read those and you can't be an Arminian if you are honest with yourself.

@@dwashington1333 calvinists always assume non-calvinist christians must be arminians...

@@dwashington1333 I’m not Arminian or Calvinist, that is a Calvinist-family argument. Two sides of the same coin, Bible-believing Christians are an entirely different coin. Arminius was a disciple of Beza.

1 Peter 5:5 KJV Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, King James Version.

John Calvin was a Narcissistic tyrant. In Geneva people were burned at the stake for not going to church, Michael Servitus was burned at the stake for heresy. 2/3 of the criminal offenses in Geneva were for disrespecting Calvin. A child was beheaded for stoking his parent, and Calvin’s own step-daughter and son-in-law were burned at the stake for adultery. Jacques Gruet called Calvin “ambitious” and a “haughty hypocrite” and Calvin ordered him nailed to a stake and he was tortured before being beheaded for “blasphemy and rebellion”. The Bible says to disfellowship with people in error, not barbecue them. Resolution passed by Luther in 1529: “Every Anabaptist, both male and female, shall be put to death by fire, sword, or in some other way’” The Anabaptist’s sins? 1). Only confessed believers should be baptized, not infants. And 2) Every meme we of the church should function together as one body.

The "I" in pride has kept more people out of heaven than problem any other single thing. Calvinism, Methodism, etc. are not in the Bible, but HOLINESS is! "Be ye holy for I am holy." If someone tries to use fancy words and philosophy, I'll just whittle it down and simply ask, "So, how's your relationship with God? Is it everything you'd want it to be if you were God?". When I ask someone how it is with their soul, and they say, "I'm alright" like they've just had an ok meal, that says it all.

You obviously haven't read a single word that Calvin ever taught. You assume to know what Calvin thought. Bad idea. There are no convoluted rimunations in Calvinism. Your belief that there are is proof that you don't really know a thing about the Calvinist system. I'm Reformed (think Protestant Reformation) and thus a Calvinist. Like so many pastors and others who criticize Calvin, you haven't read his teachings. You believe heresay about him.

@@jefftube58 Plenty of reformers were non-Calvinists or Lutherans. Like the Anabaptists who were being murdered by the Augustinian reformers. “If Christ himself came to Geneva, he would be crucified. For Geneva is not a place of Christian liberty. It is ruled by a new pope, but one who burns men alive while the pope at Rome strangles them first.” - Sebastian Castellio Augustine is known as “The Father of the Inquisition” because his book “The City of God” led the Catholic Church to murder 66 million Christians over the next 1,100 years. Calvin was a narcissistic tyrant who tortured, beheaded (children) and burned people at the stake over differences in theology, not going to church, and disrespecting him.

Well said, Rayce.

Yes indeed it is blasphemy my friend , especially when applied to passages like Mark 16 : 15 where CHRIST is speaking and offering salvation to every creature in the whole world . GOD bless you

Well said! Calvinism is heretical. It is a false doctrine to lead many away from the Truth of God & His wonderful plan of salvation that is for all who believe (John 3:16).

For all the accusations they hurl against us about elevating man above his station, I'd rather be guilty of that (not that I actually am) than to be guilty of impugning God's holiness, goodness and love. I'd rather err on the side of elevating man, that's the more prudent of the two. I've come to believe they are spiritually blind to full revelation, but I still think they are probably saved. I think you can be wrong about a lot and still be saved.

@@a.k.7840 I agree, saying man is more free is safer than saying God is doing something clearly wrong. I also cant say wether they're saved or not, but I do often wonder how much they know God on a personal level, if at all. I cant imagine you can with their twisted theology

Amen! God is choosing people IN CHRIST not outside of Christ like Calvinists assume.

Amen! God chose those in Christ (not outside of Christ TO BE placed into Christ) to receive every spiritual blessing. Thank God He had a plan for those who would be saved, a post-conversion plan to give us every spiritual blessing in Christ.

Yes, we all affirm scripture

And some people get into Christ before others do! “Salute Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen, and my fellow-prisoners, who are of note among the apostles, _who also were in Christ before me_ .” Romans 16:7

If everyone would just read to understand who the audience is! …..To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus Those people are the ones who are predestined, who are the elect (for God’s purposes, his plan) Every time you see in the letter “we, us , you in the plural sense or your” …Paul is talking to THAT audience. Every time! He never changes the audience No unbeliever is predestined to heaven or hell See Nathan Hellrung’s explanation above…

Oh funny. You just answered this! :)

Yes. The Gospel is able to overcome any "inability" that man has, either due to ignorance or due to suppressing the truth in unrighteousness. What man does once able to understand it though is still on them. That's why we see in passages like John 20:31 where John says that the words written are done so that man may believe. The Gospel is said in scripture to be able to make one wise unto salvation. The word of God is powerful, sharper than any two edged sword. It's God's divinely inspired word, given to man. Under Calvinism though the words have zero power to do anything. Man must be regenerated first. But by then man is already saved if we are to believe Biblical regeneration (which Titus 3:5 says that the washing of regeneration is HOW we are saved) so the Gospel itself has no power unto salvation if Calvinism is true.

_″When Mcarthur states that the unsaved person's default position is to reject the truth, as a non-Calvinist, I tend to agree with the statement.″_ I personally don't agree. I grew up as a Christian and loved God since forever. Yes I backsliden and became rebellious in my late-teens, but rejecting God wasn't my default position.

@@gk.4102 I appreciate your comment…I don’t know that you could have loved God since forever….before conversion, you were and enemy of God. What I said, to be precise, was reject the truth….if upon hearing the truth, if it is not immediately accepted, it has in fact been rejected, in a sense.

@@nathanhellrung9810 agreed, I don’t think man has an inability…..he does not, because he will not…..this is not an inability, but an unwillingness to yield to the truth. The fallen man, has a fallen inclination, bent on his own way…..this does not make him unable to respond, only oriented in a way that must be over come, overcome with the truth.

@@zacharyhonzell9619 If you're treating ignorance (when I was a baby or too young to understand) as rejection, then I guess I would agree with you.

Lol That’s what I saw…and they appear so bothered by God’s sovereignty supposedly being questioned by us exercising the freewill He gave up.

The same scripture(s) can bless eternally or condemn eternally. See my comments in this section on Noah. Also read Isaiah 6 and his vision in Heaven. God ordains Isaiah to the ministry, then tells him that basically nobody is going to believe a word he says. Would you allow yourself to be ordained a minister under those circumstances? Isaiah did.

This is nonsense. People in the Old Testament had lots of revelations. Direct revelation, the law, judges, prophets, and the bulk of holy writ. Not to mention creation itself--and that alone is sufficient revelation so that no man has any excuse for rejecting God.

@@nilpo it’s not even close to nonsense. There’s literally a book called “Revelation” that people from the OT didn’t possess haha and Scripture talks about a veil being lifted with Christ (2nd Corinthians 3:14-16), Ephesians 3:1-4 is literally verbatim about the mysteries of Christ, Colossians 1:27, Romans 16:25 is about as plain as is possible, 1 Corinthians 2:7, Ephesians 1:9, etc I don’t even know why you’d be so charged as to call it nonsense. It’s absolutely not and even literally/fully/completely not.

@@caleb.lindsay The book of Revelation is called "Revelation" because it's the first Greek word in the text. It in no way indicates that anything it contains is or was secret in any way. Quite the opposite. All of the prophesies in Revelation are quoted from the Old Testament. You're talking the bit about the mysteries of Christ way out of context, but that still wouldn't be secret. The Messiah was a very well known figure, was prophesied many times throughout the Old Testament, and made many personal appearance throughout history recorded in the Old Testament. While I'm sorry you don't agree, to suggest that the who lived in OT times somehow lived in darkness compared to us now is absurd.

@@nilpo got it. No new revelation in the NT. Jesus was always known and full light was always available throughout all generations. No shadows, typology that was yet to be made clear, prophetic mystery, etc. full light. All the time.

@@caleb.lindsay I think you're missing the point. The things you mention ARE revelations. You're actually making my point that revelations we're abundant in the Old Testament period. God operated via direct revelation for several millennia before Christ's birth.

That's what I saw too and commented above. I could sense their hopelessness by their expressions and postures. Very sad. Maybe they will read their bibles and pray and look for a good church. John MacArthur is too highly esteemed imo. The clips/statements I usually see of him are not evidence of a deep abiding faith but merely critical talking points.

goodness this is so accurate.. they are actually putting God in a box and limiting his greatness

The vast majority of American Christians are not Calvinists, yet they still just sort of sit there, listen, and do nothing. That is hardly a problem limited to Calvinists.

@@warmanecasualpvp I hope that's true! I find it to be opposite in regards to the almost monopoly of Calvinist online resources which I suppose mirrors the amount of people searching for it. There needs to be a balance. I think you've got a point that apathy is (not) only a Calvinist problem. It's a "ears grown dull of hearing because of watered down preaching" problem, imo.

@@sunshinegirl1967 Yeah, could be a search engine algorithm issue. Nowadays, it's difficult to tell how much of it is manipulated whether intentional or not. What's most popular on Google may not be the best representation of the position. I can totally see how Calvinism has a tendency to attract those who strive for logical consistency (or just to be shown "right") at the expense of being loving and respectful towards one another as we are commanded to do. I myself have been guilty of that.

Everybody has to appeal to mystery at some point. We don't know the answer to everything. In a non-calvinist world-view, why do some choose to believe and not others? It isn't their goodness, since God doesn't save us according to works. It's a bit of a mystery, since you can't explain it as an effectual call.

@@josephbrandenburg4373 Did you read anything he wrote? Appealing to mystery isn't the problem in & of itself (somethings truly are mysterious). It's when calvinists appeal to mystery in an attempt to get rid of explicit logical contradictions. I've seen this time & time again from the reformed folk. To your second question, I don't need to know why some choose to put their faith & trust in Jesus, while others don't; anymore than i need to know why some commit murder and others don't. That's why it's called a free choice.

​@@josephbrandenburg4373 It is not just the issue of appealing to mystery per se, it is the degree of convenience it affords Calvinists as well as the consistency in which they choose to appeal to it. As it stands it seems they always have a free pass to ignore logical inconsistencies as well as redundancies in their interpretation of scripture. For example, why not appeal to mystery with regards to how Man can have genuine free will? Why not appeal to mystery as to how God can be sovereign despite Man's free will? Why of all topics, when it comes to deciding what can be appealed to mystery, do Calvinists decide that it must be with regards to how God can be the very definition of love, but wills and manipulates evil to occur and is somehow not Himself responsible? Their priorities with regards to what they choose to appeal to mystery exposes what they really hold most important to them in Christianity which is not God's love but determinism, and determinism simply is not the crux of Christianity, it is the love and grace of God.

@@leonardu6094 I don't agree with you on either point. I did read it and understand it, and I do think it matters why people choose what they choose. It has to be mysterious because if choosing is done in a purely rational way, then it is something that may be subject to determinism. If people alwaya make choices according to, for example, their strongest desire, then their decisions are sort of determined by their desires, and if you follow that back far enough you make it to "why did God do it that way?". This idea is something someone asked me and I don't think I have a great answer.

@@Azurewroth this I entirely agree with, because it is all high IQ stuff. I've brought up the same point before... and I will add another. With the apparent ability people seem to have to do all kinds of good except to believe, and the "God uses means" explanation for the parables and preaching... Clavinism has no meaningful difference from free will, because if it looks like a duck and it quacks like a duck- it's a duck. But anyways, _where do I appeal to mystery?_ is a very important question. I can't accept the Calvinist idea that God does everything-- including predestining sinners to hell -- for his own glory, because Phillipians 2 makes it clear that God is glorified _as a result_ of his redemptive work, not for that end. So I appeal to mystery in a way that allows me to hold on to the God of love model.

Same here. And in all my 42.5 years that I've been a Christian I've always considered Calvinists claims but always other scriptures themselves rebut them.

That’s why they teach Calvinism before they teach how to read scripture

I was too but fell in it. Its demonic.

@@sunshinegirl1967 i do agree i think the hardest thing for me is their knowledge of the Word but yet at the same time they snub any conversation that goes against their understanding as if we just don't get it and they're okay with that. To me love speaks up if i believed this systematic I'd not be silent hopefully always in love... but definitely not silent, because the study of salvation seems pretty darn important to me!! & Not a secondary issue as I've been told...

@@reg7916 I ageee it's not a secondary issue it's actually wandering away from the Shepherd Who saves. So it's also, imo, not an in-house argument amongst brothers although I do know of some Calvinists (usually not 5 pointers) who exhibit the signs and the fruit of true believers.

But Jesus told his disciples what he meant because they weren't under judgement

@@turtleneckferret Neither were the Pharisees under judgment at that point in Jesus’s ministry, Christ was hiding His teachings from them for the purpose He was sent for, to make atonement on the cross. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 2:8 👇 “which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” In Mark 4:10-12 Jesus tells the 12 disciples that He speaks to the Jewish leaders in parables so that they *DON’T* understand His teachings, if they did understand they would believe and their sins would be forgiven them. Jesus was purposing His death in the cross, purposing His rejection by the elders and leaders of the Jews.

@@thirdplace3973 He said it was not for them to know, he said if he spoke plain they would repent, he did not want them to repent.

@@kgar5String Yeah, I said that.

They aren’t smart, they’re indoctrinated. Unlearned and unstable, twisting the scriptures.

That is so good Al. The first thing Jesus said after being baptized, being in the wilderness for forty days, after John said “Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the WORLD (my emphasis)”, now starting his ministry- was… “What do you want?” To Andrew and most certainly John And so it all began. It took time (to get the grasp of) “Follow me” Jesus invested time in his disciples “and I will make you … fishers of men Now it’s our turn

I sadly think you are very correct on this. Most big name figures have built so much on their ideologies that to humble themselves and accept correction would mean plunging themselves off the top of their high tower they built up. Most all of them cannot make that decision.

@Blessed Augustinian Gnosticism is a synthesis of Christianity and several aspects of the Manichean brand of Gnosticism that Augustine of Hippo belonged to before his conversion to Christianity. For the first decade or so after his conversion, Augustine held conventional Christian beliefs for his place and time, but when he got into a dispute with a British ascetic monk named Pelagius and was unable to defeat his arguments using conventional theology, Augustine re-embraced some parts of his old Gnosticism, which included things like: - Guilt for sin passed down from parents to children, who were then born evil and bound for hell. This belief caused a problem with Christ being born as a human being, as if it were true, He would have had the same "sin nature". Attempts to solve this problem led to Catholic doctrines like the "Immaculate Conception" of Mary. -A capricious, unrelatable God based on Gnostic assumptions that gods were like Zeus and similar pagan deities rather than the God of the Bible, thus (probably unintentionally) ascribing aspects of the former to the latter. -Many more, which there isn't space to list in this already very long-winded comment. Of course, there are many parts of classical Gnosticism that are NOT a part of the Augustinian version, such as the belief the physical matter is inherently evil and the physical world was thus created by an evil force.

@Blessed Truly. That's why I consider Augustine to be the greatest flesh-and-blood enemy Christianity has had to date.

Well that means they love mammon...

I have to disagree. Being a Calvinist myself I see no inconsistency and I know for a fact that MacArthur doesn't either. The scripture is saturated with God's sovereignty. God doesn't have to make men condemned. They are already. Being born again means they are saved from that. Men are responsible for their unbelief but God can save them from that by giving them a new heart as scriptures declare. Men say, "I'll be damned if I don't have something to do with my own salvation." And they will. God bless.

Exactly, this is why a few verses later Paul says that "by-election, the Jews are praised by the patriarchs, but by the gospel, they are enemies." Why does Paul separate election from the gospel in such a strong bifurcating manner? Maybe that's because the Jews believe that they were elected as God's chosen people and therefore elected for salvation, therefore Paul is saying that that type of election is not part of the saving gospel. It's really a matter of putting two and two together.

@@josephthomasmusic You are so right! I had not considered those verses afterwards and found that segment a bit obscure. Thank you for sharing Paul was a very intelligent man. Like Peter said some of his sayings are hard to understand. Also that some people twist his words to their own destruction.

@@josephthomasmusic Election just means chosen, and chosen for service. There are only two groups/people spoken of as “the elect” in the Bible, the nation of Israel and the Elect One Himself, Jesus Christ. Regenerated church age believers are “in Christ” (the Elect One) by baptism of the Holy Spirit at the moment of belief. (Ephesians 1:13). The Bible never once uses the term “elect” as chosen for salvation, not once in all 226 verses where the word appears.

@@thirdplace3973 Exactly brother. Thank you for freezing it better than I did. 👍

@@josephthomasmusic No problem, brother. 🫡

Yeah, don’t identify with any denomination. Identify as a Bible-believing follower of Jesus Christ.

@@thirdplace3973 well said family, may God bless you.

Just remember that these men John MacArthur and Vodi Bachmann and others like them are fundamentalist just like we are. We agree on 95+ percent of the scripture but we do disagree on weatherman has free will or not. They are believers and so are we they are great teachers and we have many great teachers in fundamentalism as well. These men are to be highly respected but like us they can be wrong as well

Be careful nor to exalt any man too high! No one is above the correction of the clear teaching of scripture!

That’s why they say “don’t get to know your heroes” lol

If I were the devil I’d let people think they have the ability to save themselves

@@dfischer5878 You are absolutely right. Only Jesus saves. But He receives only those who receive Him (Jn. 1:12; Rom. 10:8).

@@dfischer5878 That’s all non-Christian religions. Every one tries to earn merit with a god for good deeds.

Ikr! It’s a blessing to us all.

@@leonardu6094 Lies

100% And when you are ready move on to “Beyond The Fundamentals” channel. Leighton had Kevin Thompson on his show a few times. That’s the 300 level class. 👌🥰

@@thirdplace3973 Oh I've heard of that channel. Does he do refutations of Calvinist talking points?

@@leonardu6094 Ask "third place" his biblical God given ethnicity and written judgement

“The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.” Proverbs 21:1 KJV “There are many devices in a man's heart; nevertheless the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand.” Proverbs 19:21 KJV “O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps. O LORD, correct me, but with judgment; not in thine anger, lest thou bring me to nothing.” Jeremiah 10:23-24 KJV “Man's goings are of the Lord; how can a man then understand his own way?” Proverbs 20:24 KJV “And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.” 1 Corinthians 2:4-5 KJV “so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” Isaiah 55:11 KJV “And he increased his people greatly; and made them stronger than their enemies. He turned their heart to hate his people, to deal subtilly with his servants.” Psalms 105:24-25 KJV “For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, for to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.” Acts 4:27-28 KJV

Lol ur kidding right? You have to be. You take this guys word over Calvin? Jeeez

@@patiduran2438 I take God's word over Calvin. I dont need anyone else's opinion. This is just one example of a slew of twisted scripture fantasized over by Calvin.

@@skokenos Calvin is repeating God's Word. I'll bet u don't know anything about Calvin. Wherever the Band goes there u are. I know ur type. Be original n knowledgeable

@@skokenos tell me, if u can, the sleew of twist Calvin tells. I'm looking forward to the enlightenment lol

@@patiduran2438 Calvin means nothing to non-Calvinists. Just a Narcissistic tyrant who murdered heretics, people he had theology differences with and people who didn’t go to church. 2/3 of the crimes in Geneva were for disrespecting him. The Bible says to disfellowship with heretics, not barbecue them. But Calvin was obsessed with Augustine, who is known as the “Father of the Inquisition”. “If Christ himself came to Geneva, he would be crucified. For Geneva is not a place of Christian liberty. It is ruled by a new pope, but one who burns men alive while the pope at Rome strangles them first.” - Sebastian Castellio

It could be that Jesus wants His disciples to see that He (and He alone) holds the key as to who gets to understand/hear/believe. So making unbelievers deaf/blind/hard isn't about preventing unbelievers from doing what they COULD do, but rather, for showing the believers what He can do to bring about His desired end. Leighton Flowers' response would probably be "No! God is not willing that any should perish!!". But it begs the question: then why did He harden their hearts so that they couldn't believe? Why not forgive their stubbornness and give more grace, like He did to S/Paul, the chief of sinners?

The basic grounding of Calvinism is the Fall itself. When sin entered the world through Adam, man's nature became corrupt, and eternal communion with God was lost forever (until the salvation of Christ). Calvin would argue that our now-corrupt nature makes it impossible for us to desire to submit to the authority of God. That in fact we're not capable of it on our own. Hence it's God who saves us by gifting us with faith. It's not an unreasonable line of logic to follow...

@@TheSireverard Faith comes by hearing. Hearing what? The word if God.

Word of God.

@@Ephesians--ih5fl respectfully, your comment doesn't add much. I can't even tell if you're disagreeing with my statement.

Exactly! Judgement will still come, now we are under grace

He didn’t speak in parables as a judgment, but He did do it to hide the truth from them lest they believe and their sins be forgiven them. He did say that.

@@thirdplace3973 It never stated that he was hiding the truth.

@@coreykeplinger3391 Read Mark 4:10-12 🤨

@@thirdplace3973 Read John 18:20-21 😃