J.C Ryle on the Penitent Thief

And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on Him, saying, "If thou be Christ, save Thyself and us." But the other answering rebuked him, saying, "Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? and we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this Man hath done nothing amiss." And he said unto Jesus, "Lord, remember me when Thou comes into Thy Kingdom." And Jesus said unto him, "Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with Me in paradise." -Luke 23:39-43

J.C Ryle on the verse above shows us many things we can learn from this passage, but this one in particular grabbed me. I would have never thought of this verse like this had I not read "Holiness" by Ryle, which I must recommend to everyone as an absolute must-read.

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See then, for one thing, how strong was the faith of this man. He called Jesus, “Lord.” He declared his belief that He would have a kingdom. He believed that He was able to give him eternal life and glory, and in this belief prayed to Him. He maintained His innocence of all the charges brought against Him. “This man,” said he, “hath done nothing amiss.” Others perhaps may have thought the Lord innocent,—none said so openly but this poor dying man. And when did all this happen? It happened when the whole nation had denied Christ,—shouting, “Crucify Him: crucify Him. We have no king but Cæsar!”—when the chief priests and Pharisees had condemned and found Him guilty of death,—when even His own disciples had forsaken Him and fled,—when He was hanging, faint, bleeding and dying on the cross, numbered with transgressors, and accounted accursed. This was the hour when the thief believed in Christ, and prayed to Him. Surely such faith was never seen since the world began. The disciples had seen mighty signs and miracles. They had seen the dead raised with a word,—and lepers healed with a touch,—the blind receiving sight,—the dumb made to speak,—the lame made to walk. They had seen thousands fed with a few loaves and fishes. They had seen their Master walking on the water as on dry land. They had all of them heard Him speak as no man ever spake, and hold out promises of good things yet to come. They had some of them had a foretaste of His glory in the mount of transfiguration. Doubtless their faith was the gift of God, but still they had much to help it. The dying thief saw none of the things I have mentioned. He only saw our Lord in agony, and in weakness, in suffering, and in pain. He saw Him undergoing. a dishonourable punishment; deserted, mocked, despised, blasphemed. He saw Him rejected by all the great, and wise, and noble of His own people,—His strength dried up like a potsherd, His life drawing nigh to the grave. (Psa. xxii. 15; lxxxviii. 3.) He saw no sceptre, no royal crown, no outward dominion, no glory, no majesty, no power, no signs of might. And yet the dying thief believed, and looked forward to Christ’s kingdom. Reader, would you know if you have the Spirit? Then mark the question I put to you this day.—Where is your faith in Christ?
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“I know not that since the creation of the world there ever was a more remarkable and striking example of faith.”—Calvin's Commentary on the Gospels

“A great faith that can see the sun under so thick a cloud; that can discover a Christ, a Saviour, under such a poor, scorned, despised, crucified Jesus, and call Him Lord.

“A great faith that could see Christ’s kingdom through His cross, and grave, and death, and when there was so little sign of a kingdom, and pray to be remembered in that kingdom.” -Lightfoot Sermon. 1684.

“The penitent thief was the first confessor of Christ’s heavenly kingdom,—the first martyr who bore testimony to the holiness of His sufferings,—and the first apologist for His oppressed innocence.”—Quesnel on the Gospels “Probably there are few saints in glory who ever honoured Christ more illustriously than this dying sinner.”—Doddridge “Is this the voice of a thief or a disciple? Give me leave, O Saviour, to borrow Thine own words, ‘Verily I have not found so great faith, no not in Israel.’ He saw Thee hanging miserably by him, and yet styles Thee Lord. He saw Thee dying, and yet talks of Thy kingdom. He felt himself dying, yet talks of a future remembrance. O faith, stronger than death, which can look beyond the cross at a crown;—beyond dissolution at a remembrance of life and glory! Which of Thine eleven were heard to speak so gracious a word to Thee in these Thy last pangs? “—Bishop Hall

Burning the Strawman

A straw man argument is an informal fallacy based on misrepresentation of an opponent's position. To "set up a straw man" or "set up a straw man argument" is to create a position that is easy to refute, then attribute that position to the opponent. A straw man argument can be a successful rhetorical technique (that is, it may succeed in persuading people) but it is in fact a misleading fallacy, because the opponent's actual argument has not been refuted.i

The "the straw man" is an all too common thing these days, generally it is associated with any type of debate, but I am focusing upon "straw men" in the sense that it applies to Christianity.
This post is more of a warning to all discerning and caring Christians, who wish to understand the doctrine presented in the Word of God clearly and not be led into false beliefs that would affect their spiritual walk negatively.

The "Straw Man" In Practice
Generally the idea is to make your opponent look bad, to make their argument seem completely contradictory to the facts, as is seen in the description above. The practice is more commonly used on a website, or in an arena where the opposer cannot give a defense or rebuttal.

This is a dangerous practice amongst professing Christians, because they may take something that is true and completely biblical, and pervert it to suit their cause and opinion. Many are led into a false assumption of some belief, that may be entirely false, and without hearing the other sides defense they neglect the argument. It is ignorance on behalf of many Christians to never hear out the other side of the argument, and turn a cold shoulder to a belief they honestly know nothing about.

Examples
Take for instance the atheist. All Christians can relate to the issues they bring up I assume (unless you have never talked to one of course). If not, I'll show a couple of examples of what I am talking about.

Atheist: "How can an all-loving God send people to hell for eternity?"
"There is no proof of God and I can't see Him, so He doesn't exist."
"God is just a cosmic policeman, giving 10 strict rules that we must obey or go to hell."
Or here's a good example of a perfect "straw man" set up by one:
"The bible tells us that Satan only killed Job's sons and daughters, and God killed millions in the flood: Satan= 10 God= Millions; Who's really the evil one?"

I am sure you can think of many others. So for any Christian its easy to see, that on a facebook board or a site that is run by an atheist, the Christian is not given the opportunity to respond. So it appears the atheist just shot down every Christian argument, when in reality they just make themselves look even more foolish and ignorant.

But the atheist is not the only one who is guilty (I'm guilty, you're guilty, we all are, this is what sin does, it corrupts truth). But other examples can be found in discussion on eschatology (end-times), worship, salvation, covenant/dispensational theology, baptism, and just about every other doctrine. And of course the one I must mention, you guessed it, Calvinistic/Reformed theology.

If I can pick one thing I believe to be the most misrepresented topic in all of Christianity it is that of Calvinism. With a weak "straw man" it is entirely to easy to burn down the supposed "arguments". If the arguments presented are not correct its simple to make it look like the elect are the "elite", that God is a tyrannical and hateful God, that there is no room for missions and evangelism.

Warning!
Please, I implore you, do not listen to every word you are told by anyone you think you look up to. Hear out both sides, test the doctrines by scripture (1 John 4:1), and pray earnestly that God would reveal His truths to your heart.

And speaking of Calvinism, please hear out the arguments to the fullest, from someone who might actually be one, instead of a website written by an anti-Calvinist preacher. If you do not believe it to be scriptural in the end, then Godspeed.

Do this for all arguments, even the atheistic, heretical and false ones, do it for all of them, I promise the truths of scripture stand up to all of them. Give the opposition their opportunity to speak, and leave the straw for the cows (har har...).

Is It Sin Against God To Not Be A Calvinist

Short answer. Yes. Long answer, I'll give it. But first, I'd like to share a quote from Charles Spurgeon:

"The old truth that Calvin preached, that Augustine preached, that Paul preached, is the truth that I must preach today, or else be false to my conscience and my God. I cannot shape the truth; I know of no such thing as paring off the rough edges of a doctrine. John Knox's gospel is my gospel. That which thundered through Scotland must thunder through England again."

Take notice of the title of this note, it does not say, "Are You Really A Christian If You're Not a Calvinist?" But rather the question is whether or not it is sin to disregard it, and is it the true Gospel that you preach or present if it is not a Calvinistic/Reformed Gospel. (Please do not get caught up in the name Calvinism, it is the same thing the early church taught including Augustine and Paul himself. I am sure I could certainly find a name associated with any other theology you put forth i.e. Pelagius, Arius, Arminius, Finney, and so on.)

So then what better an outline for the bulk of Calvinistic theology other than the TULIP, or the five points of Calvinism. I plan to go through each point, and distinguish whether or not it would be a sin against Almighty God to believe otherwise. So with no further ado:

Tulip = Total Depravity/Inability

Calvinist: "The belief that man is completely and utterly unable to turn to God and receive Christ without the Spirit first melting his heart of stone, raising him from a spiritual deadness, causing him to be born again and turning him to God. Not that man is as bad as he possibly could be, but is not able to do any good, or the ultimate good of believing upon Christ. He is totally depraved in extent (his whole being) not in degree (level of "badness")."

In other words when Ephesians 2:1 says, "Your were dead in trespasses and sin." It means just that, not that you were "sick" but that you were dead. Or in Romans 3:10-18 when it says that "No one is good...no not one!" That is exactly what it means, "no one", for all our righteousness is as filthy rags in the sight of God (Isa. 64:6).

Do not get me wrong, we all certainly have the freedom to come to Christ, because Christ has given the open invitation, for the scripture says "whosoever will" (Rev 22:17). It is not the freedom that is questioned but the ability. I have the freedom to run 30 miles/hr, only I lack the ability, and unless given a supernatural ability to do so I will not ever be able to. In the same way no many can come unto Christ unless the Father draw him (John 6:44), because his will is bound to its sinful nature (Eph. 2:3).

Why is it a sin to teach otherwise?
Inevitably what occurs if this doctrine is ignored is a misunderstanding of conversion. There is then a misunderstanding of the role of the Holy Spirit in conversion, God is not praised as He should be, as the Author and Finisher of our faith (Heb.12:2), and man gets the idea that he can cause His new birth by going up during an altar call, or praying the "sinner's prayer", when in fact it takes a supernatural regeneration of the heart. It is sin to misunderstand the glory that belongs to God the Spirit.

tUlip = Unconditional Election

Calvinist: "The belief that God chose those whom he was pleased to bring to a knowledge of himself, not based upon any merit shown by the object of his grace and not based upon his looking forward to discover who would "accept" the offer of the gospel. God has elected, based solely upon the counsel of his own will, some for glory and others for damnation (Romans 9:15,21). He has done this act before the foundations of the world (Ephesians 1:4-8)."

This doctrine does not rule out man's responsibility to believe in the redeeming work of God the Son (John 3:16-18). Scripture presents a tension between God's sovereignty in salvation, and man's responsibility to believe which it does not try to resolve, and so we must not try, as John Piper says, "better your mind be broken, than the scriptures be broken." Both are true -- to deny man's responsibility is to affirm an unbiblical hyper-calvinism; to deny God's sovereignty is to affirm an unbiblical Arminianism.

Why is it sin to teach otherwise?
Well firstly, if you reject this one then it means you rejected the doctrine of total depravity, so then you have rejected two fundamental doctrines of the Bible. Here is a simple fill in the blank. If salvation is not by works of the law, nor by anything you offer, and you are completely lost in sin and blind to the light of the Gospel, then God must have ____ you (Hint: Chosen). Logic 101. If this doctrine is rejected, then one is inclined to believe it was by his doing that he was saved, just like I stated in the last doctrine, you take from God all the glory due to his name, and give it to the free-will choice of man. "Salvation belongs to the LORD." -Psalm 3:8

tuLip = Limited Atonement/ Particular Redemption

Calvinist: "The belief that Christ's penalty and death purchased the full redemption of His chosen people, His elect. Not that Christ's death only made it possible to be saved, but that He actually saved His people upon the cross."

Talk about a controversial topic. But once again it is a logical continuation of the truths already presented. Election does not automatically save the person, for there is no remission of sins apart from the shedding of blood (Heb. 9:22), only Christ's blood has the power to actually save His elect. Jesus lays His life down for His sheep (John 10:15), but not all are His sheep (John 10:26).

Why is it sin to teach otherwise?
Here is the choice you must make. Either Christ only made it possible, so then what is being said is that Christ only did 75% if the job or even 99%, but you have to throw in the last bit in order to be saved. So then you do not limit the extent, but you certainly limit the power. Or you can say, as the Calvinist does, that the extent is limited but the power is not. His death had the power to save the souls of the lost sheep. If you teach the other way you are destined to admit that it was possible that none would be saved, Christ made the sacrifice and then sat and hoped that people would come to Him. Or you can believe that the Lord made the ultimate sacrifice and sovereignly draws His sheep to Himself.

tulIp = Irresistible Grace

Calvinist: "The belief that God sovereignly draws His elect to Himself. The result of God's Irresistible Grace is the certain response by the elect to the inward call of the Holy Spirit, when the outward call is given by the evangelist or minister of the Word of God."

So then Christ's elect will certainly and assuredly be saved. Once the light of the Gospel is opened to their hearts they can not resist, but will be drawn with bands of love (refer back to John 6:44).

Why is it sin to teach otherwise?
In order to shorten this a bit, I will refer you back to the other doctrines which I have mentioned, especially Total Depravity, because it deals with the same subject. If God's grace is resistible then man will always reject it and choose sin over it, because that is what his nature is bound to (Eph 1:3), his mind is at enmity with God and cannot turn to God nor can it (Rom. 8:7).

tuliP = Perseverance/Preservation of the Saints

Calvinist: "The belief that the redeemed can never be lost or plucked from the hand of God. The by the grace of God they will persevere, strive and battle to be holy and sanctified."

This is not by man's strength, but by God's grace that they are kept in the faith. Not too many I know will deny this truth, but there are many out there who will. Just read over the words of Paul in Romans 8:35, and know that this list includes yourself, not even you can pluck yourself out of the hand of God by some grave sin. Please don't take that as license to sin, because that is not what I mean, God's grace will sanctify you and cause you to walk in His commandments.

Why is it sin to teach otherwise?
Because what is taught is that you can lose your salvation by some grave or mortal sin you commit and then you must work your way back into the good graces of God. Thus, you preach a works based salvation, and you do not acknowledge the power of God to keep you in the faith. "Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ..." -Phil 1:6 Remember that verse.

Conclusion
So we see here that if these truths are neglected or cast aside, then so is the glory of God in salvation, so is His sovereignty, power and grace. Instead it is replaced with a man-made salvation plan, suited to fit the likes of human nature, and watered-down to a half-truth which amounts to an untruth.

Many will find a problem with the theology and instead of asking about it or looking into what is being said in light of scripture, they just ignore it, or mock it. Still most of those people must face the reality that words like election, predestination, sin, dead in trespasses, lost, blind, sovereignty, drawing, etc. are used commonly in the Bible and must be dealt with. To not deal with them is a sin within itself and an ignorance toward the Word of God Almighty.

The Blessing of A Beautiful Day

I was reflecting as I took a little walk this evening, and I thought to myself: "It is a magnificent day today." Truly it was a wonderful blessing of God. It could not have gotten over 85 today, not a cloud for miles, and a gentle breeze. I couldn't help but think to myself: "I deserve none of this. I am a sinful creature, infinitely blessed by a sinless and holy creator. If God can create a day such as this, surely heaven will be infinitely more glorious."

From the rising of the sun to its going down, the LORD’s name is to be praised. -Psalm 113:3

But one thing bothered me as I thought about it. There would be many who would not even think to acknowledge God on such a day as they have been blessed with. "For God so loved the world..." Well God most certainly has a general love for all of man, just look at what He blesses us with: rain, snow, sun, food, clothes, family...Christ Jesus, etc. But man has been so blinded by his own sin, he has neglected to praise God the Author and Giver of all these things, and they entertain the vain idea that God is not angered by this. Even those claiming to be redeemed show more interest in their relationships, clothes shopping, and schoolwork than in the great and glorious works of God.

He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. -Matthew 5:45

That is a great love He has shown to all men. I stepped out of my house today to go for a walk, and left my cares of this world behind, focusing upon God and giving Him thanks for what He has given me. None of which I deserve, paralleling the gift of salvation, wrought by Christ and freely bestowed upon my soul because of nothing in me, but because of the great mercy of God. It is a grave sin we commit when we do not acknowledge God for His mercies, for His love and for His grace, I am guilty for it constantly, and repent I must.

Give unto the LORD, O you mighty ones,
Give unto the LORD glory and strength.
Give unto the LORD the glory due to His name;
Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.
-Psalm 29:1,2

Just take a moment to praise God for His many blessings, and remember how little of it you deserve. This is enough to humble any man or woman.

If You, LORD, should mark iniquities,O Lord, who could stand? -Psalm 130:3

The Dangers of Lifechurch.Tv

Lifechurch.Tv is one of the fastest growing churches in America. And if there is one church that attracts the most college students in Stillwater, OK it is certainly this church. And why not? It appeals to many college students: Rock music, Flashy advertising, Messages they can "relate" to and a young hip pastor, above all its just "fun."

That is how many who go to this church would describe why it is so appealing to them. Though I would argue differently, so I'll go through reasons I believe it appeals to a mainly high school to college crowd (Do Note: Lifechurch is not the only church I am talking about here, it and many other churches have the same agendas and practices. Plus Lifechurch is right around the corner, and I know many people who go there):

1) Christianity-Lite

Lifechurch.tv has a way of talking about the subjects that really appeal to college students. Ones that are easy to swallow, not too dogmatic, and certainly not judgmental or harsh. Take a look at the topics the church preaches on (Categories) and go to the right hand side and look at the drop box of categories, its apparent that no where in the box are subjects such as sin, judgment, repentance, Christ, God, justification, holiness, sanctification, etc., etc. Not to say they don't speak of these things ever but instead the emphasis is on things that college kids seem to think are the "real issues" (i.e. Sex, Relationships, Finances and who knows what else...UFOs, Near death experiences, ghosts, and so on).

"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths" -2 Tim. 4:3,4

2) Justification by Senses

Lifechurch.tv and many many like it are largely based on the senses, such as sight (strobe lights and disco lighting and neat computer graphics), hearing (loud, energizing, motivational music), or emotions (softly played music to get the person worked up, and feel sorrow, godly or not (2 Cor. 7:10)), and feelings (if you 'feel' like God is doing such and such, He is!). As I have said numerous times, emotions are not the justification or the proof that the Holy Spirit is working within us. This inevitably leads to those who have a false assurance of salvation, most of the time people are led up to the altar and told to commit or receive Christ, check the box and never doubt it. So thats what people do, they check the box, say the prayer and never give it a second thought. Most if asked "How do you know you're saved?" Would answer, "because I went up to the altar, because I prayed the sinner's prayer, or because I believed." The questions that should be asked is, "Do you still believe!?" Can you say right now, "because I believe Jesus Christ is the atonement for my sins and took upon the wrath of God that was due to me. He is my Lord and my Savior, I wish to follow His every command, to be holy and to strive to enter the narrow gate."

"The heart is deceitful above all things,And desperately wicked; Who can know it?" -Jeremiah 17:9

3) A Tv Pastor and Internet Church

Here is a major problem I have with Lifechurch. Accountability and church discipline are nowhere to be found. I can assure you both principles are thoroughly biblical (see passages such as Matt. 18:15-17, 1 Cor. 5, 2 Cor. 13:1-5 to start). I find it hard to believe that a church with a pastor who should be looking over the flock (tending the lambs John 21), is able to do so from a campus 40-100 miles away. Apparently they have campus pastors as well, but if any Lifechurch goer is honest I am sure they don't speak a whole lot to them. The internet church, is very bothersome, in that it maintains no accountability as well.

"[An Overseer/Preacher] must hold fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict." -Titus 1:4

4) Shaky Beliefs

This is one that is common in churches such as Lifechurch, a misunderstanding of the condition of man. In their What We Believe section on their site under the title "Human Beings" there is one sentence which stands out in my mind: "Although every person has tremendous potential for good, all of us are marred by an attitude of disobedience toward God called 'sin.'" You will notice in the verses below it that they have a decent verse for every other sentence used in the rest of the statement, but one will be hard pressed to find a verse in the bible that has any resemblance to the sentence used here. The bible in an over-all sense doesn't even give the slightest hint of such a belief.

Where do we have a potential for good? In Romans 3? "There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one." Or Jeremiah 64? "But we are all like an unclean thing,And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away."

And where is sin labeled as just an attitude? Its no attitude it is our entire being: "We all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others"(Eph. 2:3). It was our slave master, "God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered"(Rom. 6:17).

We do not need an attitude change. We need a heart change! We need a nature change! We are vile wretches in the eyes of God, not with bad attitudes but depraved souls! Until this is realized the sermon topics will remain as sex, relationships, finances, missions and never Christ, repentance, holiness and mortification of sin.

5) Last (not really last there is plenty more to be said), but not Least

This one particularly gets me. Though I think you must read for yourself: The 3-month Tithing Challenge, as they define it, "it is a money-back guarantee." Essentially you tithe 10%, and if after 3 months you are not blessed (Which I suppose they define what a blessing is: perhaps more money, a car, a new phone, or a boyfriend/girlfriend), then you get back all of your money. Basically taking all faith out of tithing and using a Malachi verse which has little to do with what they believe it to mean. To me this is appalling...but I shouldn't have to go into great detail of why...

"Trust in the LORD, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness." -Psalm 37:3

Lifechurch.tv has fallen into a dangerous pragmatic, seeker-sensitivism that is slowly suppressing all sound doctrine out of the church and tickling the ears of those who do not wish to give up their sin and fully commit to being holy before the Lord. Too often are churches like this looking for ways to drawing the lost in and forgetting to present the Gospel to those who are already there.

Yet, people will continue to find reasons why this type of evangelism is good and honoring to God. They will insist on how many baptisms or people they had that "received" Christ, therefore justifying the means by the ends. How culturally relevant this is to today, and how judgment and repentance is so last century. Though, not often can one give a reasonable argument from scripture to defend the practices used in many of these churches.

Alibi: Not every single thing about the church is evil. I am sure the pastor preaches on good things from time to time and uses the bible to preach. I am sure he has a zealous heart, but not always is sincerity and zealousness proof that what they say is true (ex. The Pharisees were pretty zealous). We must test a church upon scripture, and pray that they would be led to honor Christ in disciplining, discipling, teaching (the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27), loving, correcting, rebuking and sacrificing for the church.