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essay on the doctrine of grace
baptist religion vs catholic
CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF DOCTRINE OF ELECTION
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Hyper-Calvinism is the belief that God saves the elect through His sovereign will with little or no use of the means of bringing about salvation (such as evangelism, preaching, and prayer for the lost). To an unbiblical fault, the Hyper-Calvinist over-emphasizes God's sovereignty and under-emphasizes man's responsibility in the work of salvation.
An obvious result of this is that the Hyper-Calvinist has very little, if any, desire to evangelize the lost. On the other hand, if he does, he will not make an effort to convince the unbeliever to the saving faith of Jesus Christ. Most churches or denominations that hold to Hyper-Calvinistic theology are characterized by coldness, and a lack of assurance of faith. There is little emphasis on God's love for the lost and His own people but rather an unbiblical and destructive emphasis upon God's sovereignty, His election of the saved, and His wrath for the lost. The gospel of the Hyper-Calvinist is a declaration of God's salvation of the elect and His damnation of the lost.
The Bible clearly teaches that God is sovereign over the entire universe in Daniel 11:35 “And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, what doest thou?”
The Bible emphasizes God’s sovereignty in that His motivation for saving the lost is love (Ephesians 1:4-5, John 3:16, 1 John 4:9-10) and that God's means of saving the lost is the proclamation of His Word (Romans 10:14-15). The Bible also states that the Christian is commanded to be fervent and unwavering in his/her sharing with unbelievers; as ambassadors for Christ, we are to plead with people to be reconcil...
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...3, volume II, The History of the Reformation. However, what about those infants who are not born of elect parents? Those who believe in God’s sovereign election of the ‘few,’ also believe that non-elect” babies who die will spend eternity suffering in hell. John Calvin said, “there are babies a span long in hell.” Babies in hell? How absurd! That makes a Just God into an unjust God. How can a just God in good conscience send a human that is not of age to understand that they are sinful and in need of a Savior? It is not possible! Moreover, what is the conclusion of all the evidence we have seen in the Word of God? Calvinism and Arminianism, neither are Baptist, their roots come from Protestantism and Romanism, I am not Reformed nor Presbyterian. I am Baptist and what I believe can be traced back to the first Christians and the Apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Reformation debate letters from John Calvin and Jacopo Sadoleto illustrate the religious controversy of the sixteenth century. Sadoleto’s letter was addressed to the magistrates and citizens of Geneva, pleading them to come back to the Catholic church, as they had fallen to the ways of the Reformers. In his letter, Sadoleto painted the Reformers as ‘crafty’ and ‘enemies of Christian peace’ (30), never directly addressing them. Calvin does, however, address Sadoleto’s insinuations directly in his response. The two letters disagree when it comes to justification, Sadoleto believing that it comes by faith and works and Calvin, more so along the lines that faith is what really matters. Calvin successfully argues against Sadoleto’s premise and presents influential points, making his argument more convincing than his opponent’s.
Since God was eternal, He had always known who would be saved. In naive terms (and Calvin himself was never simple), God made a list of those to be saved at the start of time and thus the list itself was eternal. Those not on the list had no hope for eternal salvation because salvation was a gift from God to those who were on the list. So they were only working to stay in God’s grace while they were there on Earth. Subsequently, those not on the list of God (highly unlikely in Calvin’s opinion) still got to heaven, but had to suffer God’s wrath while on Earth. Calvin believed that his name, of course, was on the list, as did everyone who followed his way of thinking. Calvin’s ideas about predestination spread across Europe, to Scottish Presbyterians and the Dutch Reformed Church. His ideas also had a weighty effect on the Puritans who later settled in colonial New England.
During the period between 1500 and 1700 different Protestant ideals and religions such as the views of Luther, Henry VIII, and Calvinism reflected varying degrees of closeness between church and state. Luther's views of the state being above the church represented a distance between the church and state that many other Protestant religions at the time did not have. Henry VI and Calvinism on the other hand, intertwined the church and state so that their relationship was much closer. Calvinism went much further than just intertwining church and state though; it became a complete combination: the church working as state.
John Calvin produced the first defined the presentation on Protestantism, which was titled 'Institutes of the Christian Religion'. Sometime in 1522-1534, John had what he called a 'sudden conversion' and accepted Protestantism. The Town Council also accepted Calvin's Ecclesiastical Ordinances, which set up a theocracy in Geneva; a government based on Church rule. Calvin mainly believed in the absolute sovereignty of God, and the person's complete inability to contribute anything towards their own salvation. That second point is known as pre-destination.
In John Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion he spends a great deal of time expounding his doctrine of God's Divine providence in all of creation. He explains not only how God continually governs the laws of nature, but also how God governs man's actions and intentions to bring about His own Divine Will. Calvin believes that God's providence is so encompassing in creation that even a man's own actions, in many ways, are decreed by God. Because of this belief there arises the question, "Does Calvin leave room for the free will of man?"
In I.17.1 of John Calvin’s work, Calvin argues that people do not need to worry about anything they do not understand because God takes care of everything. It is important to understand that this is not the beginning of Calvin’s Institutes of Christian Religion, because his points in chapter sixteen set the basis for his argument in this next section. Chapter sixteen on providence gives the foundation of
Thus, giving Timothy Montbriant secure grounds for exploring his faith and attitude in his article entitled “An overview of “The Minister’s Black Veil”. Montbriant believes that Hooper is “struggling with doubts about his own salvation” (Montbriant n.p.) once he realizes the meaning of what he preaches. According to predestination, or Calvinist Theology, “confessing one’s sins does not affect one’s predestined course”(n.p.). To Montbriant, Hooper’s veil represents his isolation, but does not actually cause it. On the contrary, the veil causes Hooper to experience his isolation in agony while he still remains with his congregation. Even though all his efforts to save their souls from damnation will be in vain, Hooper diligently carries
In spite of the fact that Martin Luther and John Calvin completed impart a percentage of the same convictions, they had numerous components that strongly separated them. Martin Luther had confidence in salvation through acts of kindness, while John Calvin unequivocally had faith in fate. Martin Luther and John Calvin's teachings were likewise diverse because of the way that Martin Luther believed in partition of church and state. Notwithstanding their disparities, they did offer the conviction that the Catholic Church was at issue and conferred obscenities that were unholy, and that ought to be changed.
The debate of the destiny of the unevangelized is an issue that both Calvinist and Arminian continue to study. They attempt to answer questions similar to, “what about those who have never heard the gospel?” “Will they be judged simply for living in some faraway place where no missionaries have been?” “What about the people who lived before the time of Christ?” These questions are based on the exclusive claim of Christianity that Jesus is the only way to eternal life. There are four views that have strived to answer these questions. There is the restrictive view, universal opportunity view, postmorten evangelism view and inclusivist view. Each stance offers a Biblical argument, however not every view can be correct. In effort to answer the question, this paper will review each position and explain why of the four views; universal opportunity makes the most theological sense and in no way conflicts with the great commission.
John Calvin faced many obstacles as a second generation reformer such as the inability to obtain citizenship until 1559. He was the founder of the Reformed church which has now transcended into Christian Reformed and Presbyterian churches. While lacking the necessary power and support to emerge as quickly and strongly as past reformers. Calvin is discredited for bad scholarship, lack of originality and being viewed more so as a politician, rather than a reformer. What separated Calvin from other sixteenth-century writers was his aptitude as a thinker and wordsmith, and, above all, his absolute devotion to scripture and personal beliefs. In the public’s eye, Calvin walked and spoke with sheer reliance and conviction. Although he seemed confident to those around him, Calvin understood his weaknesses and strived for absolute perfection in his theology and devotion to not only the reformation, but ultimately God. One of the most evident fortitudes throughout his life was the acute awareness he had in his remarkable confidence in his calling and intelligence. Calvin often became menacingly prone to moments of shoddy acumen on account of his anger. Given his feats and pitfalls, Calvin was one of the most influential reformers of the sixteenth century and this can be accredited chiefly to his sense of self-realization and devotion to absolute perfection.
Calvin seems to present predestination not as an impending and sorrowful truth, rather a core component of the gospel itself. His belief in predestination is the culmination of the doctrine of sola gratis. Calvin is determined to contend that salvation begins not with faith, as Luther believed, but with election. Calvin refers to election as the “parent of faith” as Paul also declared. Calvin goes much deeper than Paul. God’s chose for us even before our existence and with no connection to our future faith. He declared that we would believe, not simply forgiven because of our belief, because of “God’s mere good pleasure”. The comfort this offers to the elect that our “salvation flows entirely from the good mercy of God”.
... is playing favorites in whom he wants to grant salvation to while they are alive on Earth, there is no incentive for anyone to care. If God is so merciful, then these Calvinistic Puritan doctrines should not exist and everyone should be granted spiritual salvation and grace while they are alive on earth at all times. Edward Taylor’s arguments and symbolic imagery of the beauty of God and how gracious he is are highly questionable and shoddy – similar to God and Puritan theology.
The central assertion of Calvinism canons is that God is able to save from the tyranny of sin, from guilt and the fear of death, every one of those upon whom he is willing to have mercy. God is not frustrated by the unrighteousness or the inability of men because it is the unrighteous and the helpless that he intends to save. In Calvinism man, in his state of innocency, had freedom and power to will and to do that, which is good and well pleasing to God; but yet mutably, so that he might fall from it. This concept of free choice makes Calvinism to stand supreme among all the religious systems of the world. The great men of our country often were members of Calvinist Church. We had the number of Presbyterian presidents, legislators, jurists, authors, editors, teachers and businessmen. The revolutionary principles of republican liberty and self-government, taught and embodied in ...
First, let us look at the Calvinistic view of eternal security. To support this view, Calvinists will use such verses as John 10:28, which says “…I will give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of my hand”. Another common verse used is Romans 8:1: “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” These verses support the belief that, as the Moody Handbook of Theology words it, “Since salvation is a result of grace, with the believer being chosen from the foundation of the world, being redeemed...
Some leaders of the Protestant movement were Martin Luther, John Calvin, and others who led the reformers who “broke from the Roman Catholic Church due to abusive ecclesiological structures and theological differences” (Library). Different churches chose what level of connection w...