Sean, I read the words, very clever, thank you, will have to listen soon. I’ve kind of been a little short on time with my dad and mom and hospitals and such. Have a wonderful week!
Washer says he’s a Calvinist, but actually he’s an Arminian, for He’s not a monergist, but a synergist.
Anyone who places the burden of salvation on man, is a synergist.
So don’t reject Washer because he’s a Calvinist (because he actually isn’t): reject him because he teaches salvation by works, which is Arminianism.
For Arminianism teaches a faith which emanates not from the indwelling Holy Ghost, but one’s own self, and when we speak of “salvation by works”, what we really mean is “salvation by one’s own resources”, which includes the Arminian version of faith which emanates from one’s own self.
So assuming you the readers are mostly Arminians, you don’t realise it but you are actually disagreeing with Washer because his ideas are the same as yours. He speaks of a continual repenting, and you speak of the need to keep up your own faith, which is work (hard work) and which contrasts with the biblical teaching that faith is a rest.
I do most certainly realize that within the factions of Calvinism and Arminianism that whether they admit it or not, they are both synergistic. Not only that, within the doctrines themselves are many other winds of doctrines.
Calvinists would not admit that the ‘P’ in TULIP is their need to persevere in works (i.e. continual repenting) to prove they are saved. But I’m not so much interested in whether someone is a Calvinist or Arminian as I am to search the Scriptures to see if what they say is true. I identify throughout my blog as neither.
You said,“you speak of the need to keep up your own faith, which is work (hard work) and which contrasts with the biblical teaching that faith is a rest.”
Actually I have never said that, nor suggested that we keep up our own faith. I believe as the Bible says, that what began in the Spirit I cannot finish in the flesh (Gal 3). Washer’s ideas are not only not the same as mine (as you also incorrectly concluded) but more importantly they conflict with God’s Word.
Another false assumption on your part is that the readers here are ‘mostly Arminians’. 🙂 I smile because that is a typical comment from the reformed crowd. All I can tell you (whether or not you will hear) is that we find both doctrines (as a whole) to be opposite of Scriptural doctrines and therefore we reject them both. We also reject lordship (which I prefer to call loadship) since we have most certainly believed upon Jesus as Lord (God, the Messiah).
May we all continue to look to His truth vs. following men. I find it interesting that both Calvinism and Catholicism branch off from the teachings of Augustine.
Just a little note on Augustine for the readers who may not be familiar with him.
He was a “Christian” Neoplatonist (oxymoron), into several kinds of philosophy, dynamic panentheism. Not only the ‘Father of Calvinism (aka doctrines of grace), he was the Roman Catholic Bishop of Hippo. He was an Amillennialist (non-literal Millennial kingdom). He was absolutely idolized by Calvin, who cites him about 1000 times in his “Institutes of Christianity”. He was also a Manichaeist for about 9 years. He is the one that taught people to spiritualize what is literal in interpreting the Word.
As far as Replacement theology, (making the church Israel), even worse, (Luther must have taken his thinking from Augustine) who said — “Jewish people should be treated unmercifully”.
His conversion story (the only one I ever heard) had him saved (not by the hearing of the gospel), but by reading two stories, and hearing a child’s voice, that kept repeating ‘take up and read’. Neither stories, nor the two verses in the Bible he read at the end, had anything to do with the gospel. More of Ouija board Bible understanding.
Most importantly, he taught that the ability to believe is gifted to those chosen for salvation, see my article on the ‘gift of faith’.
City of God, “On the predestination of the saints and on the gift of perseverance”, Book 1, Chapter 12.
Augustine states, “And he says that a man is justified by faith and not by works, because FAITH itself
is >>>first given (what I call pre-regeneration), from which may be obtained other things which are specially characterized as works, in which a man may live righteously. For he himself also says, “By grace ye are saved through faith; and this not of yourselves; but it is the gift of God,” — that is to say, “And in saying “through faith”, even FAITH itself is not of yourselves, but is God’s gift.”
It is clear to see that the false theological viewpoint of faith being the gift comes from the Roman Catholic Bishop of Hippo, St. Augustine.
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Thought i’d share this song against Calvinism, with you (Paul Washer mentioned):
http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/blog/?p=16124
Sean, I read the words, very clever, thank you, will have to listen soon. I’ve kind of been a little short on time with my dad and mom and hospitals and such. Have a wonderful week!
Washer says he’s a Calvinist, but actually he’s an Arminian, for He’s not a monergist, but a synergist.
Anyone who places the burden of salvation on man, is a synergist.
So don’t reject Washer because he’s a Calvinist (because he actually isn’t): reject him because he teaches salvation by works, which is Arminianism.
For Arminianism teaches a faith which emanates not from the indwelling Holy Ghost, but one’s own self, and when we speak of “salvation by works”, what we really mean is “salvation by one’s own resources”, which includes the Arminian version of faith which emanates from one’s own self.
So assuming you the readers are mostly Arminians, you don’t realise it but you are actually disagreeing with Washer because his ideas are the same as yours. He speaks of a continual repenting, and you speak of the need to keep up your own faith, which is work (hard work) and which contrasts with the biblical teaching that faith is a rest.
Lawrence, Thanks for visiting to comment.
I do most certainly realize that within the factions of Calvinism and Arminianism that whether they admit it or not, they are both synergistic. Not only that, within the doctrines themselves are many other winds of doctrines.
Calvinists would not admit that the ‘P’ in TULIP is their need to persevere in works (i.e. continual repenting) to prove they are saved. But I’m not so much interested in whether someone is a Calvinist or Arminian as I am to search the Scriptures to see if what they say is true. I identify throughout my blog as neither.
You said, “you speak of the need to keep up your own faith, which is work (hard work) and which contrasts with the biblical teaching that faith is a rest.”
Actually I have never said that, nor suggested that we keep up our own faith. I believe as the Bible says, that what began in the Spirit I cannot finish in the flesh (Gal 3). Washer’s ideas are not only not the same as mine (as you also incorrectly concluded) but more importantly they conflict with God’s Word.
Another false assumption on your part is that the readers here are ‘mostly Arminians’. 🙂 I smile because that is a typical comment from the reformed crowd. All I can tell you (whether or not you will hear) is that we find both doctrines (as a whole) to be opposite of Scriptural doctrines and therefore we reject them both. We also reject lordship (which I prefer to call loadship) since we have most certainly believed upon Jesus as Lord (God, the Messiah).
May we all continue to look to His truth vs. following men. I find it interesting that both Calvinism and Catholicism branch off from the teachings of Augustine.
Just a little note on Augustine for the readers who may not be familiar with him.
He was a “Christian” Neoplatonist (oxymoron), into several kinds of philosophy, dynamic panentheism. Not only the ‘Father of Calvinism (aka doctrines of grace), he was the Roman Catholic Bishop of Hippo. He was an Amillennialist (non-literal Millennial kingdom). He was absolutely idolized by Calvin, who cites him about 1000 times in his “Institutes of Christianity”. He was also a Manichaeist for about 9 years. He is the one that taught people to spiritualize what is literal in interpreting the Word.
As far as Replacement theology, (making the church Israel), even worse, (Luther must have taken his thinking from Augustine) who said — “Jewish people should be treated unmercifully”.
His conversion story (the only one I ever heard) had him saved (not by the hearing of the gospel), but by reading two stories, and hearing a child’s voice, that kept repeating ‘take up and read’. Neither stories, nor the two verses in the Bible he read at the end, had anything to do with the gospel. More of Ouija board Bible understanding.
Most importantly, he taught that the ability to believe is gifted to those chosen for salvation, see my article on the ‘gift of faith’.
Regarding Augustine:
City of God, “On the predestination of the saints and on the gift of perseverance”, Book 1, Chapter 12.
Augustine states, “And he says that a man is justified by faith and not by works, because FAITH itself
is >>>first given (what I call pre-regeneration), from which may be obtained other things which are specially characterized as works, in which a man may live righteously. For he himself also says, “By grace ye are saved through faith; and this not of yourselves; but it is the gift of God,” — that is to say, “And in saying “through faith”, even FAITH itself is not of yourselves, but is God’s gift.”
It is clear to see that the false theological viewpoint of faith being the gift comes from the Roman Catholic Bishop of Hippo, St. Augustine.