Total Depravity, by Rev. Paul den Butter
Showing posts with label The Five Points of Calvinism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Five Points of Calvinism. Show all posts
Thursday, August 2, 2018
Thursday, June 29, 2017
Romans 9
The Decree of Reprobation, by Rev. Cornelis (Neil) Pronk
The text for this sermon is Romans 9:14-29:
"What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.
15 For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.
17 For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.
18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.
19 Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?
20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?
21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?
22 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:
23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,
24 Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?
25 As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved.
26 And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God.
27 Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved:
28 For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth.
29 And as Esaias said before, Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we had been as Sodoma, and been made like unto Gomorrha."
(Taken from https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org)
For further research:
The Five Points of Calvinism, By Herman C. Hanko
Radio Free Geneva: A Nearly 3 Hour Examination of Traditional Anthropology, by Dr. James White (Podcast)
Total Depravity (Text: Ephesians 2:1,2a), by Rev. Paul Den Butter
The text for this sermon is Romans 9:14-29:
"What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.
15 For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.
17 For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.
18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.
19 Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?
20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?
21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?
22 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:
23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,
24 Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?
25 As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved.
26 And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God.
27 Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved:
28 For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth.
29 And as Esaias said before, Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we had been as Sodoma, and been made like unto Gomorrha."
(Taken from https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org)
For further research:
The Five Points of Calvinism, By Herman C. Hanko
Radio Free Geneva: A Nearly 3 Hour Examination of Traditional Anthropology, by Dr. James White (Podcast)
Total Depravity (Text: Ephesians 2:1,2a), by Rev. Paul Den Butter
Thursday, March 10, 2016
Daily Bible Reading for Thursday, March 10, 2016
There are many different websites that offer reading plans to read the Bible in a year. Here is a really good one: Read the KJV Bible in One Year. For today, why don't you read along with me chapters 1-3 in Ephesians.
Special verses:
"According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will..." - Ephesians 1:4,5
"In whom also we have obtained an inheritance , being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will..." - Ephesians 1:11
"And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others." - Ephesians 2:1-3
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast . For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." - Ephesians 2:8-10
Note: If you have a reading disability that makes it difficult or impossible to read along with me this year, please consider going to Biblegateway.com and listening to the Bible. This is a great site with many resources, one of which is an audio version of the Bible Daily.
Recommended reading:
Faith Alone: An Evangelical Doctrine of Justification by Faith by R.C. Sproul
Recommended sermon:
Total Depravity, by Rev. Paul den Butter
Special verses:
"According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will..." - Ephesians 1:4,5
"In whom also we have obtained an inheritance , being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will..." - Ephesians 1:11
"And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others." - Ephesians 2:1-3
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast . For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." - Ephesians 2:8-10
Note: If you have a reading disability that makes it difficult or impossible to read along with me this year, please consider going to Biblegateway.com and listening to the Bible. This is a great site with many resources, one of which is an audio version of the Bible Daily.
Recommended reading:
Faith Alone: An Evangelical Doctrine of Justification by Faith by R.C. Sproul
Recommended sermon:
Total Depravity, by Rev. Paul den Butter
Sunday, December 2, 2012
The Five Points of Calvinism
"A little learning is a dangerous thing.
Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring;
There shallow droughts intoxicate the brain;
And drinking largely sobers us again."
-Alexander Pope
I heard a lot of sermons during the 9 years I was in prison. And every now and then the speaker would decide to rail against Calvinism. As one who has been a Calvinist for close to 30 years I would always pay close attention to what was said. And what was said was almost always untrue.
These men have read books and filled their minds with false information about Calvinism, and then they come into the prisons and jails and pass that false information on to others, who, possibly will pass that false information on to still others one day.
Today I want to set the record straight. I cannot guarantee you that the following links will persuade you to become a Calvinist. But I can assure you that it will at least give you solid information so that the next time a person tries to snow you about what Calvinists believe (or don't believe!), you can say: "That's not accurate. I'm not a Calvinist, but please don't insult my intelligence by trying to convince with with false information."
Requirements to enter the "School of Calvinism:"
1. "Ye must be born again." (John 3:3). I Corinthians 2:14 says: "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to them; neither can he know them, for they are spiritually discerned."
2. You must be a man or woman (or boy or girl) of prayer: "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not. But let him ask in faith, not wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea, driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord." James 1:5,6
3. You must be a student of the Bible: "These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the Word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily whether such things were so." - Acts 17:11
Calvinism 101
They're No Puritans: Profiles in the New Calvinism, by Pastor Ralph Ovadal
Calvinism 201
The Synod of Dort, Part I, by Joe Morecraft III
The Synod of Dort, Part II, by Joe Morecraft III
Calvinism 301
(Sermons by Rev. Paul Den Butter)
Calvinism 401
(Sermons by Rev. Cornelis Pronk; for more sermons by Rev. Pronk, go to Sermonaudio)
Graduate work in the study of Calvinism
(From the book The Forgotten Spurgeon, by Iain H. Murray)
Recommended Reading (Extra credit):
The Five Points Of Calvinism, by Herman Hanko, Homer Hoeksema, and Gise J Van Baren
Meet the Puritans, by Dr. Martin Lloyd Jones
The Pursuit of Godliness, The Puritan Vision of the Christian Life, by J. I. Packer
Killing Calvinism, by Kevin Boling (Interview with Greg Dutcher)
The Verse that Scares Calvinists: Whosoever Will May Come, by W. J. Mencarow
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Calvinism Refuted - and Defended!
It is good to know both sides of an issue. While I have been a Calvinist for over 30 years, I know that I will see many of my non-Calvinist brothers and sisters in heaven. And at that time our Lord Jesus will answer all of our questions. But for now, why don't you take some time to catch up on the Calvinism/non-Calvinism debate. Here are a couple of resources for you to check out:
Refuting Calvinism, by Jim Ollis
And my post, The Five Points of Calvinism (you may want to begin with the sermons on The Eternal Decree of Election, Objections to Election, and Reprobation, by Rev. Cornelis Pronk and the sermon on Total Depravity by Rev. Paul Den Butter)
The greatest Calvinist since the Apostle Paul was not John Calvin, it was Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834 - 1892).
"'The following quotes are from Pastor Spurgeon's sermon, Compel them to come in:
"My brother, I entreat you, I entreat you to stop and consider. Do you know what it is you are rejecting this morning? You are rejecting Christ, your only Savior. 'Other foundation can no man lay;' 'there is none other name given among men whereby we must be saved.' My brother, I cannot bear that ye should do this, for I remember what you are forgetting: the day is coming when you will want a Savior. It is not long e'er weary months shall have ended, and your strength begin to decline; your pulse shall fail you, your strength shall depart, and you and the grim monster - death, must face each other.
"What will you do in the swellings of Jordan without a Savior? Death beds are stony things without our Lord Jesus Christ. It is an awful thing to die anyhow. He that hath the best hope and the most triumphant faith, finds that death is not a thing to laugh at. It is a terrible thing to pass from the seen to the unseen, from the mortal to the immortal, from time to eternity, and you will find it hard to go through the iron gates of death without the sweet wings of angels to carry you to portals in the sky. It will be a hard thing to die without Christ.
"I cannot help thinking of you. I see you acting the suicide this morning, and I picture myself standing at your bedside and hearing your cries and knowing that you are dying without hope. I cannot bear that. I think I am standing by your coffin now, and looking into your clay cold face, and saying, 'This man despised Christ, and neglected the great salvation.' I think what bitter tears I shall weep then, if I think that I have been unfaithful to you, and how those eye fast closed in death, shall seam to chide me and say, 'Minister, I attended the music hall, but you were not in earnest with me; you amused me, you preached to me, but you did not plead with me. You did not know what Paul meant when he said, 'As though God did beseech you by us, we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.'...
"I picture myself standing at the bar of God. As the Lord liveth, the day of judgement is coming...I see you standing in the midst of that throng, and the eye of God is fixed on you. It seams to you that he is not looking anywhere else, but only upon you, and he summons you before him, and he reads your sins and he cries, 'Depart ye cursed into everlasting fire in hell!' ...
"But did I hear you whisper that this is not a convenient time? Then what must I say to you? When will that convenient time come? Shall it come when you're in hell? Will that time be convenient for you?...
"Remember, I have no authority to ask you to come to Christ tomorrow. The Master has given you no invitation to come to him next Tuesday. The invitation is 'Today, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.'
Now that's Calvinism!
Recommended reading (my recent post):
Is It Time To Label The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) A Cult?
Refuting Calvinism, by Jim Ollis
And my post, The Five Points of Calvinism (you may want to begin with the sermons on The Eternal Decree of Election, Objections to Election, and Reprobation, by Rev. Cornelis Pronk and the sermon on Total Depravity by Rev. Paul Den Butter)
The greatest Calvinist since the Apostle Paul was not John Calvin, it was Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834 - 1892).
"'The following quotes are from Pastor Spurgeon's sermon, Compel them to come in:
"My brother, I entreat you, I entreat you to stop and consider. Do you know what it is you are rejecting this morning? You are rejecting Christ, your only Savior. 'Other foundation can no man lay;' 'there is none other name given among men whereby we must be saved.' My brother, I cannot bear that ye should do this, for I remember what you are forgetting: the day is coming when you will want a Savior. It is not long e'er weary months shall have ended, and your strength begin to decline; your pulse shall fail you, your strength shall depart, and you and the grim monster - death, must face each other.
"What will you do in the swellings of Jordan without a Savior? Death beds are stony things without our Lord Jesus Christ. It is an awful thing to die anyhow. He that hath the best hope and the most triumphant faith, finds that death is not a thing to laugh at. It is a terrible thing to pass from the seen to the unseen, from the mortal to the immortal, from time to eternity, and you will find it hard to go through the iron gates of death without the sweet wings of angels to carry you to portals in the sky. It will be a hard thing to die without Christ.
"I cannot help thinking of you. I see you acting the suicide this morning, and I picture myself standing at your bedside and hearing your cries and knowing that you are dying without hope. I cannot bear that. I think I am standing by your coffin now, and looking into your clay cold face, and saying, 'This man despised Christ, and neglected the great salvation.' I think what bitter tears I shall weep then, if I think that I have been unfaithful to you, and how those eye fast closed in death, shall seam to chide me and say, 'Minister, I attended the music hall, but you were not in earnest with me; you amused me, you preached to me, but you did not plead with me. You did not know what Paul meant when he said, 'As though God did beseech you by us, we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.'...
"I picture myself standing at the bar of God. As the Lord liveth, the day of judgement is coming...I see you standing in the midst of that throng, and the eye of God is fixed on you. It seams to you that he is not looking anywhere else, but only upon you, and he summons you before him, and he reads your sins and he cries, 'Depart ye cursed into everlasting fire in hell!' ...
"But did I hear you whisper that this is not a convenient time? Then what must I say to you? When will that convenient time come? Shall it come when you're in hell? Will that time be convenient for you?...
"Remember, I have no authority to ask you to come to Christ tomorrow. The Master has given you no invitation to come to him next Tuesday. The invitation is 'Today, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.'
Now that's Calvinism!
Is It Time To Label The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) A Cult?
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
"Whosoever Will May Come" (Revelation 22:17) - Does this Verse Scare Calvinists?
As I was scrolling through the new sermons posted on SermonAudio.com, I came across one titled: The Verse that Scares Calvinists: Whosoever Will May Come, by W. J. Mencarow. My first thought was this was an Arminian, a non-Calvinist minister and he is going to take this opportunity to tell his listeners why Calvinism is wrong.
My initial reaction to the title of this message was to post a link to it on my blog, and then as a way to refute what he was going to say, I was going to post a link to my post The Five Points of Calvinism, which is basically a collection of links to audio and printed material explaining and defending Calvinism.
But then as I was preparing to listen to this sermon, I noticed that speaker, Pastor W. J. Mencarow, was pastor of Reformation Presbyterian Church. Unless I am mistaken, Presbyterians - unless they are apostate liberals like those in the USPCA, are Calvinists. So I was all the more intrigued by the title of this message.
What I discovered after listening to this message is that it is a solid defense of Calvinism. So solid, in fact, that I have included a link to this sermon in my The Five Points of Calvinism.
See also my post, Charles Spurgeon on Calvinism
My initial reaction to the title of this message was to post a link to it on my blog, and then as a way to refute what he was going to say, I was going to post a link to my post The Five Points of Calvinism, which is basically a collection of links to audio and printed material explaining and defending Calvinism.
But then as I was preparing to listen to this sermon, I noticed that speaker, Pastor W. J. Mencarow, was pastor of Reformation Presbyterian Church. Unless I am mistaken, Presbyterians - unless they are apostate liberals like those in the USPCA, are Calvinists. So I was all the more intrigued by the title of this message.
What I discovered after listening to this message is that it is a solid defense of Calvinism. So solid, in fact, that I have included a link to this sermon in my The Five Points of Calvinism.
See also my post, Charles Spurgeon on Calvinism
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