I recently rejected calvinism and it's hard for me to listen to Sproul, MacArthur, Piper, etc now. It's crazy how I now see the flaws in calvinism that I never did for years
It’s funny, I’m anti Calvinist theology, but I can still listen to those guys! I just tune them out when they go into the predestination stuff. Chew the meat and spit out the bones, I guess. 🤷🏽♂️
I'm so thankful I found you. I was tormented for such a long time because I believed I could be one of the un elect. Now the burden has lifted and I'm free. Praise God. Thank u Leighton.
King James Version (KJV+) John 6:29: "Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent." (KJV+) John 1:12-13: "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."
That's not how Calvinism works. You know you're of the elect of you believe. Do you believe? If yes, you're numbered among the elect. The backwards introspection is not correct. Calvinism's talk of election is an overview. The elect were chosen before the foundation of the earth to be saved. How that comes about is also predetermined, but what you need to know is if you believe, you are elect. You may have had a bad view of Calvinism, but it was/is exactly that, a bad view.
This week was my very first time actually looking into Calvinism and I immediately felt deeply distraught and a sense of unease and anxiety in my spirit because of what it teaches. It really infuriates how Calvinism has perverted one of the most pure and central parts of Christianity, God's unconditional love for ALL his creatures. After learning about Calvinist theology, I found myself, for the first in my life, doubting my faith and questioning the character of God. This caused me so much sorrow because I could imagine how a suffering soul could hear Calvinist theology and feel completely hopeless about ever receiving salvation. I saw many comments of people actually saying how they almost lost the faith because of Calvinism. I find peace in knowing that our graciously just and loving God can take even the worst situations and bring great good from it. You're one of those good things Dr. Flowers. Keep doing what you're doing. God bless you.
I have been feeling the same only for years. These videos are like a healing balm to my soul. God's truth rightly interpretted brings peace and love for him when we submit to him not anger, hatred, fear, anxiety, confusion, hopelessness, etc. God bless.
@@Gablesman888 I know this is a year ago, but you do realise we can use your exact same logic to apply to you Calvinists? You love the idea of being chosen against all odds, compared to every other sinner that equally doesn’t deserve the grace of God. Itching ears indeed. I would never want to believe such a false doctrine that mocks God.
@@Lukandon I know this is a year and five days ago, but, yes, the same logic as you call it applies to Calvinists and A/Ps alike. So let's put it to the test. While I do not know how familiar you may be with Christianity, orthodox Christianity teaches that all mankind is born with a sin nature. Don't know if you have children or g-babies, but my many grandsons (we proudly have all boys) are way more perfect and divine than yours will ever be. And smarter. Wanna see my pictures? [Said by annoying Grandpa]. LOL. Not! As wonderful as they are, they, too, as well as you and I were born into sin. David says in Psalm 51, "In sin did my mother conceive me". "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God". Romans 3. We are all given a roadmap to Hell when we are born and we shall surely follow it without Divine intervention. It is like the dentist says: "Ignore your teeth, and they will go away". "Ignore the word of God and your soul will go away to Hell". But we as parents must bring up our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. We must claim them for Christ. But we are not God. And only God elects people to salvation. Here as you have said, Arminian/Provisionists (A/Ps) have the same problem as Calvinists. A/Ps have no ultimate and final control over whether or not their kids eventually wind up in Heaven no matter what they do or even think. That is a God thing. Also, remember that it does not matter whether one believes in A/P or Calvinism. The same number of people and the same people (by name) are going to Heaven, and the same number of people and the same people (by name) are going to Hell. So what's the difference? Only Calvinism biblically explains how and why that is true. The A/P schema hasn't a clue and you can tell it by hearing what false A/P teachers in the same situation say about it. Bottom line: wherever you are, have hope. Remember people like Svetlana Stalin, Unohoo's daughter, who became a Christian. Against great odds. But God's electing grace loaded the dice.
I used to oppose calvinism, now that I understand it, it really shows how full of grace and mercy God is it takes ALL possible credit or boasting man can man i can not say "i accepted it because I just have more faith or im smarter or im more humble than the ones who didn't" i am not completely convinced of calvinism but there are plain Scriptures that can not be explained away by the anti Calvinists
@@tomtemple69you misunderstand faith. Having faith is simply saying yes or no to a question. God offers everyone a free gift, unmerited and undeserving, do you want it? Yes or no? Has nothing to do with intellect, having faith (trust) in Christ for believing the gospel is not a work. No one can ever boast or say they got saved because it was their own doing.
And my favorite, "For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men [people] to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth" (1Tim 2:3-4).
Look at the context. All kinds of men. The gospel is for all kinds of people, but the people actually saved will always be elected of God, that is, by God's choice. The rest are simply passed over and left in their default state of original sin. Otherwise, everyone would be saved since God's desires are always met. As it says in Isaiah 53:11: "He [the suffering servant] shall see the travail of His soul, and be satisfied." Not dissatisfied. We do not worship a percentage baseball savior, but rather the definite atonement Savior. To mix metaphors, God does not throw incomplete passes. Cf: John 17.
@@Gablesman888 The Cross was not to demonstrate God's ability to throw perfect passes and have 100% percentages. We know He can do that. The Cross was to demonstrate the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness! Eph 2:6 Oh what a Savior. What Love is this??!!
@@Gablesman888 "Look at the context. All kinds of men." Where does it say that? Where is that implies in that verse or the verses surrounding it? Jesus told his disciples to spread the Gospel to every creature, not "all kinds of creatures."
@@Gablesman888 I pray to God that you read scripture as it is meant to be read. Yes there are verses that require context, but there are verses that can stand alone and you will still be able to understand it because they are clear. God expressing His desire for all men to be saved is God expressing His loving nature. He knows that not all will be saved because He knows that not everyone will accept him. It simply shows that God wants what is best for his creatures. It's like a father who desires for his son to go to college. It doesn't mean his son will go to college, but this is what the father wants for his son because he wants what is best for his son. I pray that the Holy Spirit remove the veil of Calvinism from your eyes so that you may to read scripture without those Calvinist presuppositions. Those presuppositions are forcing you to read into scripture what isn't there. This is not how the bible is supposed to be read.
@@littlebirdie27 It is quite difficult for any person to write three non sequiturs in a row. But you did it. How is scripture meant to be read? Are you supposed to tell us? Am I? Or is there an objective standard that has been followed for millenia? You will get nowhere in biblical studies if you fall for refrigerator magnet theology. Arminianism is that. I know because I was once a lazy Arminian like you appear to be and did not delve deep into the real meaning behind so many scripture verses. The Christian life can be hard work as the Apostle Paul teaches us. But part of our work of love is that we are in love with our dear Savior Jesus. We should always want more. Not emotional feelings as we gaze upon bright shiny objects but the renewing of our minds as God sanctifies our souls through His word. Do this: Be honest and bold in your scripture reading and so be blessed and able as you go with that verse or verses no matter where they take you. Do this and you will truly know Jesus, not just some caricature of Him. Helpful hint: Remembering my Arminian days, I now see that the logical conclusion of so many passages in scripture, if given the Arminian method of exegesis, takes one down the slippery slope of universalism. Examples: 1 Tim 2:3-4; John 12:32; 2 Peter 3:9. Follow the Arminian illogic and you believe "evvaboddy" is saved. And maybe that is where you are anyway. Some people do believe that.
Leighton, I am so glad that you are doing what you’re doing. You have been GRACIOUSLY showing the errors of Calvinism for years now. I have kind of stepped away from the “debate” for a while now. And every now and again I’ll check out one of your videos and there you are gracious and kind every time. It’s an easy thing to get worked up when discussing this topic, but you have set a great example! Thank you sir!
I remember growing up with this view. The only thing worse than being convinced I was created for the purpose of being destroyed forever, was "knowing" a large percentage of the people I love would suffer the same fate. It was the most soul-crushingly alone I have ever felt in my life.
That's why calvinism isn't good news. If you're eternally decreed to go to hell, not good news. If you're eternally decreed to be the "elect" then that neither is good news because you were never in danger of hell anyway. Calvinism is a dark gospel.
I've wrestled with Calvinism now for a couple months as it broke up a Bible study I was apart of. It also destroyed friendships that were formed. The more I've researched the worse it has become for me. I reject all of it on every level. I think the calvinist has to ask themselves that if they're called or chosen whether they're walking in they're calling by bringing division and dissension within the church. They need to ask themselves whether Calvinism is generated by the Holy Spirit, what fruit does it bare, and what purpose does it serve proving its points. I guarantee Satan laughs at the petty and irresponsible outcome that this type of teaching generates and has since its inception. My goodness. Doctrines of demons
@@jeffreypaulross9767 It's quite interesting that such a "moral" theologian like Calvin, prosecuted Servetus for heresy and supported his subsequent execution (burning at the stake, I believe) in Switzerland in October of 1553. You've piqued my interest, so, I'll need to learn more. Thanks.
Leighton, I greatly admire your graciousness. I'm not so sure I would have responded so graciously to R. C. Sproul's blatantly unbiblical answer. I'm grateful that you're fighting the good fight of properly and correctly interpreting the truth of God's word and getting the message out that God's grace is for everyone. God bless you brother.
Yeah, i'm not so tactful in regards to false doctrines either. I will say that outside of this one issue, I do like MacArthur and Sproul's teachings for the most part. But this isn't a theological question of whether there is a pre-trip, post-trib, mid-trib, or any rapture. This is the heart of the Gospel, and like Charles Feltham said....they preach a false Gospel.
When I hear well-respected men like RC Sproul say what he did at 3:40, it hits me like a sucker punch to the gut. Thank you Leighton for saying that he's leading people astray. More than that he's sucking the life and hope out of people too causing them despair.
If you ever listened to Sproul's broadcasts on a consistent basis, you became aware that his heart seemed to traffick in philosophy more than in theology, and more in theology than in the Bible.
he was preaching an accursed gospel, Paul said "let him be accursed". I don't shed any tears for false prophets, only for the people they could have led to salvation and didn't because of their false preaching. False prophets are not to be "well respected".
When Leighton begins by answering the lady's question, the first three and a half minutes of Bible verses were like bathing high up in a pool of mountain spring water. Then when R.C. answered, it seemed as if the spring water had been displaced by multiple gallons of Royal Crown Cola with plenty of fizz.
Yes, Mike is right. Calvinism is anathema, an accursed gospel and it is seriously worrying that either Leighton Flowers is too blind to see that or he is deliberately lying in order to seem nice, which is wicked. There is nothing more "essential to salvatiob" than HOW we get saved. IF as Leighton says he believes, and as I DO believe, a person must actively choose to believe in and follow Jesus, and liars or the deceived like Sproul tell them that not only do they not NEED to believe, but actually CANNOT believe, they are far less likely to take the step to believe. If this os NOT am "essential" error, then nothing is.
Leighton, thank you so much for your excellent web site and responses to Calvinism. I was a member of MacArthur's church for several years while in seminary, and I did an internship there. Though once a Calvinist, I eventually rejected it because if did not add up logically and biblically. That said, I still listen to MacArthur's sermons and appreciate Sproul's work even though I am in total disagreement with their Calvinism. As a pastor for almost 30 years I have learned to glean from Calvinists and non-Calvinists alike the riches of theological engagement and biblical exposition. I continue to refer people to your work.
Thank you, Leighton! GLORY TO GOD! I saw this Q & A - and I was horrified that these three men sitting there actually don't understand that GOD'S GOSPEL IS GOOD NEWS --- LOVE BEING THE GREATEST!
I have been where that woman has been with her questions. God bless her and may he show her the truth and not what R.C. was saying. This channel has helped me more that you could ever know.
Calvinism is much like Islam. It is God’s will. God has mercy, but not love. Calvinists are believers in Jesus. There are many similarities in the errors in Calvinism with Islam.
Unless you’re an open theist you can’t get away from God ordaining everything that happens. I’d assume we agree that God is omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient and omni-benevolent. So let’s apply his attributes to a situation. If you come to my house and punch me in the face, where was God when this happened? He’s omnipresent so He was right here. When did God realize you were going to punch me? He never “realized” it because He’s omniscient and has always known even before we were created. Okay, did God have the power to prevent you from punching me? Yes, He’s omnipotent. Even if you assume libertarian freewill and conclude that God made a vow that He would never interfere with freewill, He still could have used a million other interventions to prevent this. He could have given me an illness that sent me to the hospital before you got here for example. But He didn’t. So since, when you punched me in the face, He was right here with the knowledge you were going to do it and the power to stop it and didn’t do so, this means it would follow that He made a decision not to do that. And since He’s Omni-benevolent and every thing He does and every decision He makes is perfect and holy, I’m forced to conclude that, while it wasn’t good of you to use your volition to punch me in the face, it was a good part of God’s ultimate plan since He allowed it to happen. That’s what we mean when we say God ordains everything. And if you believe in His attributes I don’t see a way around that.
You people are creating a straw man and projecting Calvinism onto it. You have WAY more in common with Calvinism than you’ve been told. You do realize you are Protestant BECAUSE of Calvinist/Reformed theology right?? It’s called Reformed Theology BECAUSE it was the theology in common with all the Reformers who started Protestantism, broke with Roman Catholicism, and gave the Bible to all. You gonna call all that evil? You’re absurd.
Wow, Dr. Flowers. In humility, you are often self-deprecating, and I do appreciate that. But wow, man, you have given me SO many huge insights in your teaching videos, and this one is ANOTHER instance of that! You are DEFINITELY doing what God has called you to do, Dr. Flowers. I thank you, so much, for what you do.
@@Gablesman888 I'm a child of God, with Christ living in me, and me living from Him, Gables. I am what I am by the grace of God. Can you be more specific on what you believe my response to you has said about me? And, does the Holy Spirit affirm your claim about me, do you know?
@@skenth11 You really need to lay off the tedious introspection and look to the Bible when you have questions like this. Look to Christ for assurance, not other humans.
I recently had a debate with a Calvinist. They disagreed that God's grace was for everyone. I gave them plenty of Bible verses, like yourself Leighton, that teach in no uncertain terms that Grace is available for all, and that all literally means all. In response, they said that if God meant to save everyone, everyone would be saved. I responded that the Gospel is available to all, but not all people accept it. I was then told by the Calvinist that if anyone could refuse God's grace, God wouldn't be Sovereign. The Calvinist then said that God, among Provisionists, is a weak failure. That was blasphemy. God help me to show Calvinists kindness.
Here's a thought for you. Calvinists basically teach that everyone that God wills to be saved, is saved. What they and most others can't seem to see, is that God will all to be saved and He did it. He saved everyone, past tense. Everyone that died in Adam was raised in Christ according to scripture. Where the breakdown comes is that we think in terms of space/time, and temporal life. God does not. He is not limited by physical death and He has clearly said that at some point every single tongue will confess Jesus Christ AS LORD. We tend to put limits on things that God has never limited. His mercy endures forever, not just till death. If we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most miserable. God's plan is genius beyond what we can even imagine. That truly is GOOD NEWS.
The Calvinist's position denies God the ability to sovereignly create a creature endowed with the genuine ability to freely choose to do honor, obey, and do that which gives him great joy, satisfaction, and pleasure...... or reject him outright, as if that would be some kind of disastrous challenge for an all-knowing, all-powerful, truly sovereign God.🤔 They make this contention in spite of the fact that scripture is replete with specific illustrations of both and no specific declaration, in proper context, to the contrary.
@@bradharford6052 Hi Brad, i like what you're saying, if i understand correctly, you posit that *all* will be saved ultimately. So no wailing and gnashing of teeth, no 'whosoever was not in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire', no eternal separation from God(Isaiah 59:2)? All things that Scripture talks about.
The idea of only the elect could ever choose to be saved always rubbed me wrong, but I never had a good Bible verse to show a relationship to what God knew would happen and what men choose to make happen. Thank you for highlighting 1 Sam 23 for me.
I wonder if we can ask the question... are these men, to some degree false teachers? Its easy to call Joel and Joyce etc. false teachers but if they are saying something that is not found in scripture, wouldn't that qualify as a lie?
FG, yes we can ask the question and different people come to different conclusions, as for me I see Calvinism as a false teaching that leads many astray. I’m not their judge as to whether they are sinning knowingly or unknowingly by teaching such. But we condemn the pastor who teaches that Jesus was a racist but give these men a pass for saying God actively decrees ALL the evil deeds of men. You decide.
I've asked myself the same question but I still don't have a rock solid answer to that. I've noticed that most Calvinist teachers don't extend Calvinism to all areas of exegesis, they take positions that have been held by Christians for centuries, but most of them fail to be consistent with the "doctrines of grace" and applying them consistently. My conclusion is (I don't hold strongly to this) that most of them are just confused and just use Calvinism to explain Romans 9 and Ephesians 1 but they drop it for the rest of the Bible, maybe that would make them Christians with a false interpretation of predestination and in that case we can regard them as brothers and sisters in Christ but I don't know to what extend this can be applied to all Calvinists, especially to the leading Calvinists, including John Calvin.
More and more I find myself feeling that Calvinism is not just a different interpretation of Scripture than what I was taught and believe, but is actually a false teaching that harms our understanding of the character of God. All my favorite preachers (online) are Calvinist but recently while looking for a new church home I took several months of searching out local churches to find not just a good church to call home but to find one that was not Calvinist. I was not only surprised how many were Calvinist (including all the Baptist churches) but I was surprised how much I wanted to find a Pastor that wasn’t Calvinist. Thankfully the search eventually paid off.
God's grace is all-sufficient! It is sufficient to save every person who has and will ever live, and it is sufficient to keep them that way until the day of redemption!
Dr. Flowers, my wife and I were reading Isaiah during our daily morning Bible study. We came to the passage in Isaiah 30 where it says that "stubborn" (or "obstinate") children "carry out a plan" that is NOT God's plan. This is a stark reminder that God exercises his sovereignty by allowing people to freely choose whether or not to follow God or any other path/plan. The more that my wife and I read the Word of God (from cover-to-cover over and over again), the more we feel that all five "points" of Calvinism are tainted by misunderstanding the handful of verses that Calvinism relies upon and simply ignoring (or attempting to explain away) all of the verses that are clearly counter to the teachings of Calvinism. Thank you for what you do, Dr. Flowers!
There is a wonderful song in our hymnal entitled "The Gospel is for All.". The very last line of the chorus says, "Where sin has gone, must go His grace, the Gospel is for All". I love singing good theology!!! Thanks for your channel. Keep preaching " the blessed gospel!" Miss Monique 🙂🙏💗🎶🎉
If there is anyone who can please pray. My husband and I got into a Calvinist church by accident. My husband now is believing that way. He will not listen to a word I have to say about Grace to all etc etc. He will not watch any videos on the truth and all I can do is ask for your prayers. Its horrible to see this happening. I unfortunately cannot articulate very well. But I know The Lord God can protect us. Its scary folks.
I will pray for you two. And please, I'd recommend studying this channel daily hour after hour as you can until you start dreaming about these issues. Then you will be able to articulate the Truth well. And all that read this, pray for Patricia and husband.
Have patience Sister. Take your time and learn all proof texts Calvinist use mainly. Showing a video might not be possible with him but God will give you chance to open yourself up. Till then study. Watch many times from different people on Eph 1, Romans 9 and John 6 like soteriology101 or Beyond the fundamental. Will pray for you. God bless you
I followed R.C for awhile, until I realized their theology deeply flawed, I agree with you all the way! I have said many times that I stand firm with John 3:16! We are accountable for our salvation, in that we comply with the offer of Christ gift to us! His gift of salvation! ALL can partake!
I too went all in with Ligonier and R.C. Sproul. Went to a conference near Seattle and saw an arrogance that I have not seen in any Armenian or provisionalist.
The way Flower seemed to be shaken by this situation of the woman asking if grace is available to everyone and MacArthur responding no I found it very touching. You can tell that he's very sad for the woman for getting such a cold answer and that he really wished he could have told her the good answer, which is that God is good to everyone and that of course He offers His grace to all
Wow!....what a great Spirit-filled,God-like and biblical answer! God loves all. I have never noticed this verse before AND if I did I never viewed it the way I do now. I also like 1 Timothy 4:10 which is more DIRECT,PLAIN and extensive on who the call goes out to... HENCE ALL MEANS “ALL” AND THAT IS ALL THAT MEANS!! Amen. John 3:16. I thank God for you my brother. Seriously. I knew God was Good even though I was misled and had the incorrect view of Him. Love ya brother. Thanks for your faithful service in advancing the Kingdom Of God and Christ!! Amen 😊
I believe that psalm 145:9 is directly related and connected with Romans 2:4. Yes we deserve judgement and that is why He warns us and speaks to ALL and calls ALL to repentance. He would have all saved but only those who place their faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ will have Everlasting Life. All have sinned in Adam and so likewise ALL have access to God’s Grace and Mercy and can “reach out” to Him and any time BECAUSE those who listen to the Father and learn from Him will come to Christ and He is not willing that anyone should perish and go to Hell. The reason the Lord is Good to all is precisely BECAUSE He wants ALL to repent but only some are predestined to “according to His foreknowledge. Foreknowledge is not the means or grounds of us being saved. I believe it is unbiblical to say that God sends people to Hell just because they are born sinners and there’s nothing they can do about it. I believe that God’s “election” is neither based on His foreknowledge of man’s free choices nor exercised independent of it. As the scriptures declare ,we are elect “according to the foreknowledge of God (1 Peter 1:2) 😊❤✝️🙏. Thank God for allowing us to exist and providing us with what we need to continue to live with and through and for and in Him. In Him we live,move and breathe. Amen
I was spiritually abused as a young man by a mentor who was/is a Calvinist. Because of sin struggles in my life, he almost led me to believe I wasn’t able to be saved. I almost gave up my faith and hope. I thank God that he had placed people in my life who were able to counter the satanic lie of limited atonement with biblical truth.
I had a PCA church elder tell me that I was not saved for rejecting that God predestines everything that happens. Turns out that he was cheating on his wife at the time.
Brother Leighton, keep at it my friend, you're breaking through..little more time and you'll see. God bless you and thank you for your courage and sacrifice..to your family as well.
Crazy huh? What's so sad about situations like this is so often when defending hardcore Calvinism they don't ever appeal to scripture but rather things that aren't in scripture. He could easily quote the bible. He could easily quote our lord Jesus in the gospels. But does he? No this happens too often. Far far too often. And Leigton's right it's a massive blind spot. Really a blight that should not be there. Just abandon it all together. But sadly people cling to it unashamedly and often blindly.
If God foreknew that Jimmy will ultimately reject Christ and ultimately end up in Hell, then I ask you, is the option available to Jimmy before ending up in Hell to actually choose grace? If so, then God didn’t really foreknow (violating His omniscience) if not, then Grace isn’t in effect available to him (aka, not available to all). This is not a “conundrum” unique to Calvinism; it’s just phrased differently. Leighton knows of this conundrum which is why he appeals to mystery at the end of this video because it’s an inevitable issue that arises. Sproul is answering the intellectual side of it but Sproul no way belittles individual responsibility, whereas Leighton would rather not explore the intellectual dilemma it leads to and just call it a mystery because he’s worried people will see it as a belittlement to individual responsibility.. fair enough, but the issue is still there staring us in the face. It’s not a dilemma unique to Calvinism.
@@toughbiblepassages9082 the problem is if it is available, even the person will not respond, then its not Gods fault. But if he was chosen to go to hell, then we have a problem, that muslims have with allah. I think that no person will be able to blame God, bc salvation is available to everybody. But many just don't want it. And as you know, God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. Just bc God know everything and also every possible way, doesn't mean our free will is an illusion.
@@adrianobattaglia4060 “if the person does not respond then it is not Gods fault” I agree with this, because I didn’t say it would be Gods fault, I just asked if the “option would be available.” But I would also say most Calvinists would agree with your answer too.
This shows how presuppositions are POWERFUL in their effect on the human mind. Think about it, as far as we can tell from all we know of these men's lives they are GOOD men with GOOD intent, living consistent lives with the hope of honouring God - so they're not aiming to deceive. YET the presupposition forces the mind of good ppl towards fighting against the text.
The main problem with churchgoers is not this analysis over words..it is because Earthlings are spiritually/morally BIPOLAR-- Rom 8:7-JAMES 4:4 LAW trashing, GOD hating, WORLD loving barbarian rebels.
@@bobreese4807 the scriptures that Dr Flowers highlighted that are in contrast to the argument that sufficient grace to say yes to Jesus is not provided to all.
I am now a Catholic after a study of Church history, but you are spot on with Calvinism and what Luther also believed! Read the fathers of our faith and you will see that we as a Church have always believed in God’s grace for all! This idea that they say in the video, is just like you say, a perfect reason for unbelief.
You are right, the Church has always believed in Grace for all. I'm surprised you personal study on Church history has lead you to embracing Catholicism. I would think it would have done the opposite! How about studying the Bible first, our final authority. Pope's have fought with each other, have been responsible for many of the religious wars, loved power and greed above all else. Encouraged insurrection, excepted worship as God himself, enjoyed privileges that is fitting to royalty ( even above Jesus Christ himself who said in Matthew 8:20 ....The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head). The present Pope said Jesus failed on the Cross, a few years ago and wanted to change the Lord's prayer. Pope John Paul kissed the quran... a book that denies Jesus is the Son of God and his Crucifixion and resurrection. True Church history will reveal the horrors of the catholic faith and the millions they killed, read The Foxes Book of Martyrs by John Fox. Revelation 18:4 KJV - And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
A Catholic can belief that God doesn’t give His Saving Grace to all. Otherwise the Thomists would be heretics. A catholic can belief in unconditional election
I beg of you to compare the doctrines in the Catechism of the Catholic church to what the bible says. You will see that Catholicism does not teach what the bible says on many important issues such as salvation. They don't teach the Gospel as written in the bible.
The main problem with churchgoers is not this analysis over words..it is because Earthlings are spiritually/morally BIPOLAR-- Rom 8:7-JAMES 4:4 LAW trashing, GOD hating, WORLD loving barbarian rebels.
Keep one shoulder to the wind dear Brother Leighton! I have fought with these false teachers for many years! What they teach is "another gospel". When they should be afraid, they are not. That makes me afraid for them. They have so filled their own minds with the words of men that the words of men have become their doctrine. They say what they say, and then they congradulate themselves and each other. DO NOT give up Brother Leighton! THE LORD has raised you up for this very hour.
@@robertmwangi1452 A "way" to salvation is not the same as salvation. God actually saved those who He elected to salvation. If "way" and salvation are synonymous, then all people are saved and the Bible clearly does not teach universalism. Otherwise, what is that Lago de Fuego doing in the Book of Revelation? (For starters). Jesus is not a percentage baseball Savior. He is a most definite Savior. Read Romans 8 (and 9 if you dare). LOL.
@@Gablesman888 " Jesus is not a percentage baseball savior,he is a definite savior" This statement is irrelevant because no one denies that Jesus is a definite savior. Don't confuse the complete work of Jesus on the cross and the application of that work on individuals. The sacrifice is complete but it is received by Faith. You dared me to read Romans 8 and 9 and I took the challenge. I did not read from those texts that God unconditionally elected some individuals for salvation and others for damnation. What I read from those texts is that God unconditionally elected Israel (Jacob) so that his purpose in election might stand . What was the purpose of this election ? To bring salvation to the gentiles through Israel. Romans 9 has to do with election to service not salvation
I hate when Calvinists claim that God is not obligated to save anyone. Literally no one believes He is. But what does scripture say? It clearly shows God desiring to save all and giving His Son for all so that all can be saved.
AMEN to that Brother!! Double AMEN!! The Calvinists fatalistic approach to soteriology is such a blatant contradiction of the love of God FOR ALL, and the availability of GRACE FOR ALL, that it amazes me how such learned men can embrace such a faulty Theological Systematic. Calvinism is an egregious systematic that insults our God of Grace!! Thank you for continuing the "resistance" to this destructive teaching!
Thank you for your videos, they have helped me 2 come out of calvnism ,it's only by the father, The Lord Jesus ,and the Holy Spirit, I am free now ,thank you Jesus😇
Thank you for this video. Keep up the good work. Seems like Calvinism is prevalent among my brethren and in my circle. Breaks my heart to no end and thwarts not only the responsibility but the privilege of evangelism. Brings me to literal tears thinking how many people are lost and going to hell because of the inaction of the calvinist. We could be planting seeds that the Holy Spirit can water. We could be watering the seeds that the Holy Spirit has planted. However it works, how can they hear if we don't preach?
I really like that format that you used, where you showed the scriptures, in question before you let the gentleman talk it really brings some clarity to things and really appreciate your work.
(KJV+) John 1:12-13: "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." King James Version (KJV+) John 6:29: "Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent."
The Calvinist pastor: "I don't know." The Bible: "These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life" (1 John 5:13, NASB). Revised question for the pastor: "Do you believe; or not?"
My husband has accepted Calvinism and the whole idea hurts my soul. I have been reading scripture and the example you gave of David praying about whether he would be given into their hand or not was one I read recently that gave me so much encouragement that God does know all but events can change and he knows all the ways a thing can play out but they dont all play out! I am even more encouraged hearing it be brought up and explained in the same way that I understood it. For face value. I am still searching. I know that we did not seek Jesus for Jesus. We were drawn and given eyes to see and ears to hear. God went before us and brought down every wrong belief and then Jesus. But what I am unsettled with is that I believe God drew us, gave us eyes to see, dismantled our understanding, but that I still chose to recieve the gift he was extending to me. That I had a choice! None of our family is saved.. Are they worth praying for even!? Bevause what if they arent elect and Im just wasting time and God's ear to pray for people he has prohibited from entering his rest. It makes God out to be a hypocrite! Feels like a charade and it breaks my heart and I am so confused.
Another great testimony in the scriptures on how a person is saved: “But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.” Acts 16:28-34 ESV Notice how Paul and Silas didn’t give the jailer the “you have to be predestined to believe speech”. They simply told him to “believe in The Lord Jesus Christ” 😇😇😇
Which is what any “Calvinist” would say/preach. Paul says it himself that he endures All things for the sake of the elect. Only God knows who they are. “For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory.” 2 Titus 2:10 NASB or “elect” in the ESV rather than chosen.
Question ....about the jailer being baptized...... it says they were baptized at once " Immediately."....is it possible to water baptize somebody that quickly? ❓ They must have been baptized in the Holy Spirit..
@@artistart55 Inner Spiritual Baptism is instant! Water Baptism is the outward celebration! But back then people also water baptized right away as that was like a testimony to the communities they lived in of what Jesus has done in their lives. Water baptism is a form of evangelism.
Paul and Silas told the jailer the correct thing to say. Believe on Christ. But that alone misses the point entirely. God regenerated the jailer, that is, God through His elective grace gave the jailer saving faith to believe on Jesus. Remember: You and I cannot conjure up saving faith. It comes from God. God must through regeneration install a new "want to" in our soul. Yes, man has free will, but the Bible clearly teaches that our "free will" is in bondage to sin. Think a badly built and programmed computer. But God through regeneration, by His power, by His choice, changes us by giving us a new will, not in bondage, but free from sin and with the faith to believe in Christ. If a person claiming to know Christ does not believe this, then that person must look themselves in the mirror and ask: "Just how self righteous was I before I was saved?"
I was considering buying the Systematic bible. So I prayed to the Lord about it, and I had a dream of a man standing at a pulpit preaching passionately against that very book, which is ultimately not the bible, but a system of theory or man made philosophy of the bible. Of course, I took it out of my shopping cart.
Leighton, thank you for having Ali Bonner on your program. From my limited scholarship, I always suspected the truth of what she said, but certainly, I did not study as thoroughly as she. She gave a wonderful, scholarly presentation.
Amen brother, I just discovered your channel. I always struggled with the TULIP belief system of Calvinists, but, deep in my heart, I knew, Calvinism is flawed and unbiblical. Thank you for shining the light on this difficult topic.
An 6 years old grandson is asking his grandpa who is a calvinist pastor: Did Christ died for me? The old man is hesitant He has 3 possible answers; Yes, no, I don't know. ( I made a graphic post about this and posted it on Facebook). This is how calvinism also impact evangelism. Thanks Dr. Flowers. Greetings from Cuba.
Romans 10:12- For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: For the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. If His grace is not available to all then that would certainly be news to Paul.
The moment I heard that God only died for the elect by Calvanists it absolutely blew my mind because of how shockingly out of place to me. For God so loved the WORLD, his son was sent
I quite honestly believe these men know the truth deep down and are hoping they are right about Calvin’s theology. I’m old enough and have been through this belief system and I pray one of them will be bold enough to admit their reliance on a system of belief and turn back to JUST the Bible. I pray…
I used to be Arminian. I have been Augustinian (the proper term) for quite some time now. How would you like to know from scripture that you were once saved, and have been kept saved, and will be kept saved throughout all eternity not because of some "decision" you made, but because God chose you first (as He tells Moses and the Israelites)? How would you like to know what it means when the Bible says that the redeemed are and were redeemed before the foundation of the world? Augustinianism is wholly biblical and wholly assuring on one's place in union with Christ.
@@Gablesman888 Hello! I would recommend you read 1 Corinthians 1:10-13. Instead of following fallible men, we should be following after the one true God. I once had a professor tell me, "Don't hang your eternity on an -ism with a man's name attached to it." This saying is consistent with 1 Corinthians 1:10-13 and the overarching themes found in Scripture. Let God's perfect Word be your authority, not fallible men (regardless of whether they had some biblically-aligned ideas or not).
@@angelt.5276 You have well spoken one of the classic arguments for Augustinianism. Follow the Bible, follow its verses wherever they make take you. Do not follow men.
@@drjcw What in the Bible convinces you of the Arminianism/Provisionism positions? Note that I have employed scripture in my various comments. Please give an awaiting world your biblical teaching that supports Arminianism. Be very specific. Exegete. Do not eisegete. Not so fun fact: Did you know that before there were five points of Calvinism that there were five points of Arminianism? The fifth point proclaims that the Christian can not be fully assured of their salvation in this life. Do you like being a part of that? Rely on sola scriptura, not the fables of men.
"...not for ours only, but for the sins of the whole workd." Not just salvation, BUT THE SACRIFICE ITSELF IS GRACE. SO BEGINING WITHBRHE SACRIFICE, THAT IS GRACE, AND AVALIBLE TO "THE WHOLE WORLD."
The whole point is not for RC to establish an intrinsic character to God of "not being obligated"! Where in the world does He teach us this. NOWHERE, AND NEITHER SPROUL OR ANYONE CAN PRODUCE ONE SHRED OF SCRIPTURE THAT PROVES "NON OBLIGATION" IS ONE OF THE LORDS INTRINSIC CHARACTERS. CALVANISM IS BAD NEWS, AS ARMINIAMISM. AND IT IS CHILDS PLAY AND FUNDAMENTALLY CLEAR THAT RC AND THE REST HAVE GONE OUTSIDE OF THE LORDS WORD TO ESTABLISH A INTRINSIC FUNDAMENTAL CHARACTER THAT IS NOT THERE IN THE WORD, "NOT OBLIGATED."
@@larrybedouin2921 Where do you think believers go when they die?🤔 In my opinion DR. Sproul and other Calvinist leaders are as deceived as those who follow them in their Calvinism. What they believe and teach does not keep someone from believing in Christ unto salvation, it confuses them as to how it happened. A lie is by definition to tell someone something which you know to be untrue. Someone who is honestly deceived and speaking what they believe to be true, even exuberantly, is not properly called a liar. Despite the fact what they are saying is not factual. Lying is intentional deception by sayin things you know to be untrue, usually for personal gain or to hide misdeeds. Occasionally it's just so the other guy doesn't find out where the fish are biting, and that's to be expected among fishermen.🎯
This is why I lean Lutheran. Because Lutherans believe that Christ died for ALL man. So His grace is available and offered to all. Even though God knows beforehand who will reject His grace and who will accept His grace, He still offers it to all.
If God foreknew that Jimmy will ultimately reject Christ and ultimately end up in Hell, then I ask you, is the option available to Jimmy before ending up in Hell to actually choose grace? If so, then God didn’t really foreknow (violating His omniscience) if not, then Grace isn’t in effect available to him (aka, not available to all). This is not a “conundrum” unique to Calvinism; it’s just phrased differently. Leighton knows of this conundrum which is why he appeals to mystery at the end of this video because it’s an inevitable issue that arises. Sproul is answering the intellectual side of it but Sproul no way belittles individual responsibility, whereas Leighton would rather not explore the intellectual dilemma it leads to and just call it a mystery because he’s worried people will see it as a belittlement to individual responsibility.. fair enough, but the issue is still there staring us in the face. It’s not a dilemma unique to Calvinism.. and Lutherans have the issue as well
@@toughbiblepassages9082 I disagree. I don't see an issue with God for knowing that Jimmy would reject Him yet still offering him grace. It's a genuine offer of grace, it's Jimmy who rejects it. So I don't see how this in any way undermines God omniscience. God, being God, obviously knows beforehand who will believe and who will not. And we also know that no one can believe out of their own wills, like Pelagius taught. But, our wills are absolutely involved in our salvation. Scripture is quite clear on that. Ultimately I think it's hard to hold to monergism and still believe in free will in any real sense. So that's my correct struggle in the moment haha. I feel like I'm somewhere between Lutheran and Orthodox.
@@jdsmith2k7 oh yes, Jimmy rejects the offer of God, for sure, but that wasn’t the issue I presented you.. what I said was.. while God offers the grace while also fore knowing Jimmy will end up in Hell.., before Jimmy actually goes to hell, does the here-and-now-Jimmy have any ability outside of rejecting that grace? To say yes or no confronts the issue of predestination either way.. You see that right?
@@toughbiblepassages9082 Yes, the here-and-now Jimmy does have the ability to repent and receive salvation. Even though God foresees Jimmy will ultimately reject Him, God still offers it to Jimmy freely because that's just how much God loves him. It's like buying a gift someone needs but doesn't want, knowing they'll reject it, because it's still the best thing you can do for them. God shows his love by offering salvation to everyone, freely. Just because God knows the outcome, doesn't mean Jimmy has less free will, nor does it mean God's omniscience fails. This idea that knowing the outcome prevents free will is nonsense. God is above us, but even in human terms, the idea somewhat falls apart. We can know someone who gets sick but hates being at the hospital to the point they lock up and become unresponsive, and we can offer them a ride to the hospital knowing they're going to reject it. Why? Because we care for them and know they need to go, even if they never do go. We, as humans, predicted their response and still offered the thing that would make them well. Or a Jehova's Witness refusing a blood transfusion. A doctor will offer it to them knowing they'll refuse because it's the right thing to do. Where is God forcing Jimmy to not believe in him? Where is God forcing anyone to believe in him? Nowhere on both accounts.
Or you can assume the Bible and God are logically consistent and there is no need to resort to 'mystery.' That is, the future is open, and God really does poor out grace and a fair opportunity to all and it is up to the person to accept or reject a genuine gift.
The way that some teach election, they make God a very evil creator. The very idea is absolutely blasphemous. God would have to be on trial at the Great White Throne Judgement, instead of the sinner. A sinner could not be judged for something that he was forced to do, because he was created that way. What nonsense.
Hey Soteriology101, do you believe in once saved always saved doctrine? Thank you! I go to a Calvinist church because they are great people and have a love for scripture. That said, I’m not Calvinist and are learning ways of defense.
OSAS = doctrine of SATAN! The main problem with churchgoers is not this analysis over words..it is because Earthlings are spiritually/morally BIPOLAR-- Rom 8:7-JAMES 4:4 LAW trashing, GOD hating, WORLD loving barbarian rebels.
I go to a Calvinist church for the same reasons as you. I do wonder if we will have to leave someday. So far, it hasn't been an issue, but I don't know how long that will last.
Very frustrating to hear Calvinists say this, and at other times INSIST that everyone *can * come to believe Christ, and therefore His saving grace is available to all, but most people *will not want to*, and therefore God is just in "pouring out His wrath" on them.
Your position literally leads to the same “conundrum”. Under Arminianism/provisionism, If God infallibly knows Jimmy will end up in hell, then before Jimmy actually ends up in hell, when God offers grace to all, including to Jimmy, does Jimmy actually have the option to be capable of attaining that grace? If he does then God did not infallibly know that Jimmy will end up in hell (which is either contradicting Gods omniscience or is the open theist position) so the only logical way it could play out is that Jimmy doesn’t have the option to accept the grace offered to him by God. God didn’t force this situation or determine Jimmy to do or not do anything, but it is a logical impossibility for Jimmy to attain that grace given the premise of Gods infallible foreknowledge, so in effect, Jimmy does not have the ability to attain that grace.. which is a form of limited atonement and the exact same thing a Calvinist would say too. Leighton knows this is an inevitability which is why he fumbles around at the end of this video and starts appealing to it all being a “mystery” but the point is, this dilemma is not unique to Calvinism.. Sproul is just facing it head on in this question, whereas Leighton would rather not because he is afraid it will make people think they aren’t personally responsible (but Sproul in the full clip preaches that people ARE still responsible, but Leighton doesn’t show it in this shorter video.) Point being, both philosophies end up in the same spot, but Leighton would rather not deal with the inevitable issue and demonize those who do.
@@toughbiblepassages9082 There's nothing wrong with the position that the future is open, and also I fail to see how foreknowledge in any way affects the scope of atonement or limits one's choices. Knowing the choice someone will make is not determining their choice. Foreknowledge is not causation. Of course it is limited to those who believe, and all have the option to believe. In Calvinism, God limits who may believe. Sproul illogically believes men are responsible for doing that which God has determined them to do.
There's a brilliant piece floating on f.b. about the thief on the cross. He didn't say the prayer. He didn't get baptized. He couldn't fold his hands. He couldn't get on his knees. Jesus didn't heal, make him a millionaire, nor heal his pain. But he walked into heaven with Jesus that hour.
Just wrote my second book. And it’s a critical analysis of Calvinism. I wrote this in spanish for the hispanic community and I quote Leighton a couple of times for the hispanic audience. I won’t allow these errors from staining the church.
@@albusai ¡Hermano! Soy un joven adolescente de Puerto Rico que busca servir a Dios. No tengo ayuda; aunque no lo creas, podrían echarme de mi iglesia por creer en contra del calvinismo y aportar buenos argumentos a los líderes de la iglesia. No tengo ayuda. En unos dos días tendré el libro publicado en Amazon. Me aseguraré de recordártelo. Sería muy bueno para el reino que consiguieras una copia o compartieras el libro con cada calvinista o creyente que conozcas. (ps. Ni siquiera gano 5 dólares con este libro. Realmente no me importa el dinero).
@Monkizaki You may be kicked out of man's church but you will never be kicked out of Father's ekklesia. "Having done all to stand, stand." Our Father will have you do mighty exploits ♡♡♡
Many times I hate the things you say and put out but you are dead on with this one. Thinking back to your debate with Bro. White-what rings in my ears-whoever comes to me I will not cast out.
]RC Sproul "No" vs *_JESUS_* "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on Him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life." (John 5:24)... Choose wisely... they are mutually exclusive "gospels" [see Galatians 1]
Jesus after presenting the Gospel in John 6: verse 63 and 65- “The words I have spoken to you are spirit and Life! Yet you still do not believe… This is why I told you, no one can come to me unless it has been given to him by the Father.”
"who will have ALL men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth"...Who gave himself a ransom for ALL, to be testified in due time".....1 Tim 2:4,6
Let us be humble before God. It’s only when I started seeking Him and not doctrines made up by men that I am experiencing shod presence and perfect peace and provision. My relationship grows when I trust Him and not men!
Thank you for teaching based on the Bible and sound reasoning.
I recently rejected calvinism and it's hard for me to listen to Sproul, MacArthur, Piper, etc now. It's crazy how I now see the flaws in calvinism that I never did for years
Praise Jesus for His Truth.
Always look to scripture not to man's interpretation of scripture for you.
I was in bondage to Calvinist lies for 23 years. Free at last!
Same here
Came close to losing faith due to Calvinism
It’s funny, I’m anti Calvinist theology, but I can still listen to those guys! I just tune them out when they go into the predestination stuff.
Chew the meat and spit out the bones, I guess. 🤷🏽♂️
I'm so thankful I found you. I was tormented for such a long time because I believed I could be one of the un elect. Now the burden has lifted and I'm free. Praise God. Thank u Leighton.
Kenneth, are you totally and completely assured that you are saved? If so, then you also know that you are elect. Guesswork is not necessary.
@@Gablesman888 Calvinist serve an evil god
Notice that calvinism doesn't cause faith to come. It causes doubt. That is one way we know it's false. Rom 10:17
King James Version
(KJV+) John 6:29: "Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent."
(KJV+) John 1:12-13: "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."
That's not how Calvinism works. You know you're of the elect of you believe. Do you believe? If yes, you're numbered among the elect. The backwards introspection is not correct. Calvinism's talk of election is an overview. The elect were chosen before the foundation of the earth to be saved. How that comes about is also predetermined, but what you need to know is if you believe, you are elect. You may have had a bad view of Calvinism, but it was/is exactly that, a bad view.
What a heartbreaking answer that woman got. Thank you Dr. Flowers for this teaching video. This is so helpful.
This week was my very first time actually looking into Calvinism and I immediately felt deeply distraught and a sense of unease and anxiety in my spirit because of what it teaches. It really infuriates how Calvinism has perverted one of the most pure and central parts of Christianity, God's unconditional love for ALL his creatures. After learning about Calvinist theology, I found myself, for the first in my life, doubting my faith and questioning the character of God. This caused me so much sorrow because I could imagine how a suffering soul could hear Calvinist theology and feel completely hopeless about ever receiving salvation. I saw many comments of people actually saying how they almost lost the faith because of Calvinism.
I find peace in knowing that our graciously just and loving God can take even the worst situations and bring great good from it. You're one of those good things Dr. Flowers. Keep doing what you're doing. God bless you.
"Keep tickling my ears Dr. Flowers". LOL.
2 Tim 4:3-4.
I have been feeling the same only for years. These videos are like a healing balm to my soul. God's truth rightly interpretted brings peace and love for him when we submit to him not anger, hatred, fear, anxiety, confusion, hopelessness, etc. God bless.
@@Gablesman888 Calvin is an evil god
@@Gablesman888 I know this is a year ago, but you do realise we can use your exact same logic to apply to you Calvinists? You love the idea of being chosen against all odds, compared to every other sinner that equally doesn’t deserve the grace of God.
Itching ears indeed. I would never want to believe such a false doctrine that mocks God.
@@Lukandon I know this is a year and five days ago, but, yes, the same logic as you call it applies to Calvinists and A/Ps alike. So let's put it to the test.
While I do not know how familiar you may be with Christianity, orthodox Christianity teaches that all mankind is born with a sin nature. Don't know if you have children or g-babies, but my many grandsons (we proudly have all boys) are way more perfect and divine than yours will ever be. And smarter. Wanna see my pictures? [Said by annoying Grandpa]. LOL.
Not! As wonderful as they are, they, too, as well as you and I were born into sin. David says in Psalm 51, "In sin did my mother conceive me". "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God". Romans 3.
We are all given a roadmap to Hell when we are born and we shall surely follow it without Divine intervention. It is like the dentist says: "Ignore your teeth, and they will go away". "Ignore the word of God and your soul will go away to Hell".
But we as parents must bring up our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. We must claim them for Christ. But we are not God. And only God elects people to salvation.
Here as you have said, Arminian/Provisionists (A/Ps) have the same problem as Calvinists. A/Ps have no ultimate and final control over whether or not their kids eventually wind up in Heaven no matter what they do or even think. That is a God thing.
Also, remember that it does not matter whether one believes in A/P or Calvinism. The same number of people and the same people (by name) are going to Heaven, and the same number of people and the same people (by name) are going to Hell. So what's the difference? Only Calvinism biblically explains how and why that is true. The A/P schema hasn't a clue and you can tell it by hearing what false A/P teachers in the same situation say about it.
Bottom line: wherever you are, have hope. Remember people like Svetlana Stalin, Unohoo's daughter, who became a Christian. Against great odds. But God's electing grace loaded the dice.
SO grateful for what you are doing, Leighton. Calvanism is false and can utterly wreck a person's soul. What an utter tragedy.
Wrecking people's souls is the whole point of Calvinism.
I used to oppose calvinism, now that I understand it, it really shows how full of grace and mercy God is
it takes ALL possible credit or boasting man can man
i can not say "i accepted it because I just have more faith or im smarter or im more humble than the ones who didn't"
i am not completely convinced of calvinism but there are plain Scriptures that can not be explained away by the anti Calvinists
@@tomtemple69you misunderstand faith. Having faith is simply saying yes or no to a question. God offers everyone a free gift, unmerited and undeserving, do you want it? Yes or no? Has nothing to do with intellect, having faith (trust) in Christ for believing the gospel is not a work. No one can ever boast or say they got saved because it was their own doing.
@@Ruben27780 you still can't answer the question of why one person says no, one says yes
Why did they make the choice they did?
@@tomtemple69 one person says no because they dont want God’s gift and the other one says yes because they want God’s gift
And my favorite, "For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men [people] to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth" (1Tim 2:3-4).
Look at the context. All kinds of men. The gospel is for all kinds of people, but the people actually saved will always be elected of God, that is, by God's choice. The rest are simply passed over and left in their default state of original sin. Otherwise, everyone would be saved since God's desires are always met. As it says in Isaiah 53:11: "He [the suffering servant] shall see the travail of His soul, and be satisfied." Not dissatisfied.
We do not worship a percentage baseball savior, but rather the definite atonement Savior. To mix metaphors, God does not throw incomplete passes. Cf: John 17.
@@Gablesman888 The Cross was not to demonstrate God's ability to throw perfect passes and have 100% percentages. We know He can do that. The Cross was to demonstrate the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness! Eph 2:6 Oh what a Savior. What Love is this??!!
@@Gablesman888 "Look at the context. All kinds of men." Where does it say that? Where is that implies in that verse or the verses surrounding it?
Jesus told his disciples to spread the Gospel to every creature, not "all kinds of creatures."
@@Gablesman888 I pray to God that you read scripture as it is meant to be read. Yes there are verses that require context, but there are verses that can stand alone and you will still be able to understand it because they are clear. God expressing His desire for all men to be saved is God expressing His loving nature. He knows that not all will be saved because He knows that not everyone will accept him. It simply shows that God wants what is best for his creatures. It's like a father who desires for his son to go to college. It doesn't mean his son will go to college, but this is what the father wants for his son because he wants what is best for his son.
I pray that the Holy Spirit remove the veil of Calvinism from your eyes so that you may to read scripture without those Calvinist presuppositions. Those presuppositions are forcing you to read into scripture what isn't there. This is not how the bible is supposed to be read.
@@littlebirdie27 It is quite difficult for any person to write three non sequiturs in a row. But you did it.
How is scripture meant to be read? Are you supposed to tell us? Am I? Or is there an objective standard that has been followed for millenia?
You will get nowhere in biblical studies if you fall for refrigerator magnet theology. Arminianism is that. I know because I was once a lazy Arminian like you appear to be and did not delve deep into the real meaning behind so many scripture verses.
The Christian life can be hard work as the Apostle Paul teaches us. But part of our work of love is that we are in love with our dear Savior Jesus. We should always want more. Not emotional feelings as we gaze upon bright shiny objects but the renewing of our minds as God sanctifies our souls through His word.
Do this: Be honest and bold in your scripture reading and so be blessed and able as you go with that verse or verses no matter where they take you. Do this and you will truly know Jesus, not just some caricature of Him.
Helpful hint: Remembering my Arminian days, I now see that the logical conclusion of so many passages in scripture, if given the Arminian method of exegesis, takes one down the slippery slope of universalism. Examples: 1 Tim 2:3-4; John 12:32; 2 Peter 3:9. Follow the Arminian illogic and you believe "evvaboddy" is saved. And maybe that is where you are anyway. Some people do believe that.
Leighton, I am so glad that you are doing what you’re doing. You have been GRACIOUSLY showing the errors of Calvinism for years now. I have kind of stepped away from the “debate” for a while now. And every now and again I’ll check out one of your videos and there you are gracious and kind every time. It’s an easy thing to get worked up when discussing this topic, but you have set a great example! Thank you sir!
I can't imagine how devastating his answer woud sound for a soul that needs a saviour!
This is the serpent whispering in the ears of these teachers. "Did God really say he desires for all to be saved?"
I remember growing up with this view. The only thing worse than being convinced I was created for the purpose of being destroyed forever, was "knowing" a large percentage of the people I love would suffer the same fate. It was the most soul-crushingly alone I have ever felt in my life.
That's why calvinism isn't good news. If you're eternally decreed to go to hell, not good news. If you're eternally decreed to be the "elect" then that neither is good news because you were never in danger of hell anyway. Calvinism is a dark gospel.
@@RenardGarzaro you should go ahead and answer your own question.
I've wrestled with Calvinism now for a couple months as it broke up a Bible study I was apart of. It also destroyed friendships that were formed. The more I've researched the worse it has become for me. I reject all of it on every level. I think the calvinist has to ask themselves that if they're called or chosen whether they're walking in they're calling by bringing division and dissension within the church. They need to ask themselves whether Calvinism is generated by the Holy Spirit, what fruit does it bare, and what purpose does it serve proving its points. I guarantee Satan laughs at the petty and irresponsible outcome that this type of teaching generates and has since its inception. My goodness. Doctrines of demons
I can sum up Calvinism in two words - Michael Servetus... 🤷🏽♂️
Only for the "elect" Well God elects anyone, he also calls all to repentance so.. yeah calvanism is meaningless and unnecessary.
Amen... I was thinking of the Gal 3:1 and Titus 3:9
There are only two fruits from Calvinism: Division and Confusion!
@@jeffreypaulross9767 It's quite interesting that such a "moral" theologian like Calvin, prosecuted Servetus for heresy and supported his subsequent execution (burning at the stake, I believe) in Switzerland in October of 1553. You've piqued my interest, so, I'll need to learn more. Thanks.
Leighton, I greatly admire your graciousness. I'm not so sure I would have responded so graciously to R. C. Sproul's blatantly unbiblical answer. I'm grateful that you're fighting the good fight of properly and correctly interpreting the truth of God's word and getting the message out that God's grace is for everyone. God bless you brother.
Amen!
these guys preach a false gospel.
Yeah, i'm not so tactful in regards to false doctrines either. I will say that outside of this one issue, I do like MacArthur and Sproul's teachings for the most part. But this isn't a theological question of whether there is a pre-trip, post-trib, mid-trib, or any rapture. This is the heart of the Gospel, and like Charles Feltham said....they preach a false Gospel.
@@robotusan I'm not so sure about that... would you be able to explain to me how you come to the conclusion you're at?
@@robotusan I couldn't agree more. This goes to the very heart of who God is and His very nature.
When I hear well-respected men like RC Sproul say what he did at 3:40, it hits me like a sucker punch to the gut. Thank you Leighton for saying that he's leading people astray. More than that he's sucking the life and hope out of people too causing them despair.
If you ever listened to Sproul's broadcasts on a consistent basis, you became aware that his heart seemed to traffick in philosophy more than in theology, and more in theology than in the Bible.
he was preaching an accursed gospel, Paul said "let him be accursed". I don't shed any tears for false prophets, only for the people they could have led to salvation and didn't because of their false preaching. False prophets are not to be "well respected".
When Leighton begins by answering the lady's question, the first three and a half minutes of Bible verses were like bathing high up in a pool of mountain spring water. Then when R.C. answered, it seemed as if the spring water had been displaced by multiple gallons of Royal Crown Cola with plenty of fizz.
Jc could not be trusted
Yes, Mike is right. Calvinism is anathema, an accursed gospel and it is seriously worrying that either Leighton Flowers is too blind to see that or he is deliberately lying in order to seem nice, which is wicked. There is nothing more "essential to salvatiob" than HOW we get saved. IF as Leighton says he believes, and as I DO believe, a person must actively choose to believe in and follow Jesus, and liars or the deceived like Sproul tell them that not only do they not NEED to believe, but actually CANNOT believe, they are far less likely to take the step to believe. If this os NOT am "essential" error, then nothing is.
Leighton, thank you so much for your excellent web site and responses to Calvinism. I was a member of MacArthur's church for several years while in seminary, and I did an internship there. Though once a Calvinist, I eventually rejected it because if did not add up logically and biblically. That said, I still listen to MacArthur's sermons and appreciate Sproul's work even though I am in total disagreement with their Calvinism. As a pastor for almost 30 years I have learned to glean from Calvinists and non-Calvinists alike the riches of theological engagement and biblical exposition. I continue to refer people to your work.
Thank you, Leighton!
GLORY TO GOD!
I saw this Q & A - and I was horrified that these three men sitting there actually don't understand that GOD'S GOSPEL IS GOOD NEWS --- LOVE BEING THE GREATEST!
I have been where that woman has been with her questions. God bless her and may he show her the truth and not what R.C. was saying.
This channel has helped me more that you could ever know.
This demonstrates that Calvinism isn't just incorrect, ... It is evil.
Calvinism is much like Islam. It is God’s will. God has mercy, but not love. Calvinists are believers in Jesus. There are many similarities in the errors in Calvinism with Islam.
Calvinism is the serpent whispering in their ears.. "Did God really say he desires for all to be saved?"
Unless you’re an open theist you can’t get away from God ordaining everything that happens. I’d assume we agree that God is omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient and omni-benevolent. So let’s apply his attributes to a situation.
If you come to my house and punch me in the face, where was God when this happened? He’s omnipresent so He was right here. When did God realize you were going to punch me? He never “realized” it because He’s omniscient and has always known even before we were created. Okay, did God have the power to prevent you from punching me? Yes, He’s omnipotent. Even if you assume libertarian freewill and conclude that God made a vow that He would never interfere with freewill, He still could have used a million other interventions to prevent this. He could have given me an illness that sent me to the hospital before you got here for example. But He didn’t. So since, when you punched me in the face, He was right here with the knowledge you were going to do it and the power to stop it and didn’t do so, this means it would follow that He made a decision not to do that. And since He’s Omni-benevolent and every thing He does and every decision He makes is perfect and holy, I’m forced to conclude that, while it wasn’t good of you to use your volition to punch me in the face, it was a good part of God’s ultimate plan since He allowed it to happen. That’s what we mean when we say God ordains everything. And if you believe in His attributes I don’t see a way around that.
@@quinnpeterson2716 Friend, you're tangled up in a non- Biblical philosophy that concludes evil is good.
You people are creating a straw man and projecting Calvinism onto it. You have WAY more in common with Calvinism than you’ve been told. You do realize you are Protestant BECAUSE of Calvinist/Reformed theology right?? It’s called Reformed Theology BECAUSE it was the theology in common with all the Reformers who started Protestantism, broke with Roman Catholicism, and gave the Bible to all. You gonna call all that evil? You’re absurd.
Wow, Dr. Flowers.
In humility, you are often self-deprecating, and I do appreciate that.
But wow, man, you have given me SO many huge insights in your teaching videos, and this one is ANOTHER instance of that!
You are DEFINITELY doing what God has called you to do, Dr. Flowers.
I thank you, so much, for what you do.
Translation: "In short, Dr. Flowers, you have tickled my ears. 2 Tim 4:3-4. Can I now get you to tickle my tummy?" LOL.
@@Gablesman888 I am alive with Jesus Christ, and I live from Him, Gables.
Do you know, does the Holy Spirit affirm your claim about me?
@@skenth11 Based on what you just blogged I was thinking more of Emerson: "What you are speaks so loudly I cannot hear a word you are saying".
@@Gablesman888 I'm a child of God, with Christ living in me, and me living from Him, Gables.
I am what I am by the grace of God.
Can you be more specific on what you believe my response to you has said about me?
And, does the Holy Spirit affirm your claim about me, do you know?
@@skenth11 You really need to lay off the tedious introspection and look to the Bible when you have questions like this. Look to Christ for assurance, not other humans.
I recently had a debate with a Calvinist. They disagreed that God's grace was for everyone. I gave them plenty of Bible verses, like yourself Leighton, that teach in no uncertain terms that Grace is available for all, and that all literally means all.
In response, they said that if God meant to save everyone, everyone would be saved. I responded that the Gospel is available to all, but not all people accept it.
I was then told by the Calvinist that if anyone could refuse God's grace, God wouldn't be Sovereign. The Calvinist then said that God, among Provisionists, is a weak failure.
That was blasphemy. God help me to show Calvinists kindness.
Here's a thought for you. Calvinists basically teach that everyone that God wills to be saved, is saved.
What they and most others can't seem to see, is that God will all to be saved and He did it. He saved everyone, past tense. Everyone that died in Adam was raised in Christ according to scripture.
Where the breakdown comes is that we think in terms of space/time, and temporal life. God does not. He is not limited by physical death and He has clearly said that at some point every single tongue will confess Jesus Christ AS LORD. We tend to put limits on things that God has never limited. His mercy endures forever, not just till death. If we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most miserable. God's plan is genius beyond what we can even imagine. That truly is GOOD NEWS.
The Calvinist's position denies God the ability to sovereignly create a creature endowed with the genuine ability to freely choose to do honor, obey, and do that which gives him great joy, satisfaction, and pleasure...... or reject him outright, as if that would be some kind of disastrous challenge for an all-knowing, all-powerful, truly sovereign God.🤔 They make this contention in spite of the fact that scripture is replete with specific illustrations of both and no specific declaration, in proper context, to the contrary.
@@bradharford6052
Hi Brad, i like what you're saying, if i understand correctly, you posit that *all* will be saved ultimately. So no wailing and gnashing of teeth, no 'whosoever was not in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire', no eternal separation from God(Isaiah 59:2)? All things that Scripture talks about.
Well done Jacob!!
@Jacob Deliver him a nice round punch to the kisser.......errr....I mean....a nice round glass of punch so he can be refreshed. 😇
The idea of only the elect could ever choose to be saved always rubbed me wrong, but I never had a good Bible verse to show a relationship to what God knew would happen and what men choose to make happen. Thank you for highlighting 1 Sam 23 for me.
You knocked it out of the park my friend. Perfectly said. Amen! And God bless!
Wow. Wonderful, Dr. Flowers! Yes, we need to reject that soundly indeed! Gods grace IS for ALL! Amen.
I wonder if we can ask the question... are these men, to some degree false teachers? Its easy to call Joel and Joyce etc. false teachers but if they are saying something that is not found in scripture, wouldn't that qualify as a lie?
FG, yes we can ask the question and different people come to different conclusions, as for me I see Calvinism as a false teaching that leads many astray. I’m not their judge as to whether they are sinning knowingly or unknowingly by teaching such. But we condemn the pastor who teaches that Jesus was a racist but give these men a pass for saying God actively decrees ALL the evil deeds of men. You decide.
They are absolutely false teachers, no question.
@@kevinkleinhenz6511 Very simple. Galatians 1:8
I've asked myself the same question but I still don't have a rock solid answer to that.
I've noticed that most Calvinist teachers don't extend Calvinism to all areas of exegesis, they take positions that have been held by Christians for centuries, but most of them fail to be consistent with the "doctrines of grace" and applying them consistently. My conclusion is (I don't hold strongly to this) that most of them are just confused and just use Calvinism to explain Romans 9 and Ephesians 1 but they drop it for the rest of the Bible, maybe that would make them Christians with a false interpretation of predestination and in that case we can regard them as brothers and sisters in Christ but I don't know to what extend this can be applied to all Calvinists, especially to the leading Calvinists, including John Calvin.
@@kensnzbr4137 I have a hard time believing Calvin was even saved by the way he treated those who opposed him.
More and more I find myself feeling that Calvinism is not just a different interpretation of Scripture than what I was taught and believe, but is actually a false teaching that harms our understanding of the character of God. All my favorite preachers (online) are Calvinist but recently while looking for a new church home I took several months of searching out local churches to find not just a good church to call home but to find one that was not Calvinist. I was not only surprised how many were Calvinist (including all the Baptist churches) but I was surprised how much I wanted to find a Pastor that wasn’t Calvinist. Thankfully the search eventually paid off.
Excellent points, thank you Leighton for sharing these biblical insights with us all!
Amen!!! Whosoever Will may come!! Praise God!
Sort of the final call in Revelation. Come
Leighton hits the nail on the head. 👍🏻
Praise God for these verses!
Excellent teaching once again!
Thank you Dr Flowers. Spot on!
God's grace is all-sufficient! It is sufficient to save every person who has and will ever live, and it is sufficient to keep them that way until the day of redemption!
Thank you, Leighton!
Dr. Flowers, my wife and I were reading Isaiah during our daily morning Bible study. We came to the passage in Isaiah 30 where it says that "stubborn" (or "obstinate") children "carry out a plan" that is NOT God's plan. This is a stark reminder that God exercises his sovereignty by allowing people to freely choose whether or not to follow God or any other path/plan. The more that my wife and I read the Word of God (from cover-to-cover over and over again), the more we feel that all five "points" of Calvinism are tainted by misunderstanding the handful of verses that Calvinism relies upon and simply ignoring (or attempting to explain away) all of the verses that are clearly counter to the teachings of Calvinism.
Thank you for what you do, Dr. Flowers!
God shows favour to the humble.
Great video, God bless ✝️
And how does one become humble?
@@Gablesman888 Deny yourself, pick up a cross, and follow Christ. Let me ask you this, was your conversion painful? Mine was.
@@Gablesman888 “the one man who humbles himself will be exalted”
There is a wonderful song in our hymnal entitled "The Gospel is for All.". The very last line of the chorus says, "Where sin has gone, must go His grace, the Gospel is for All".
I love singing good theology!!!
Thanks for your channel. Keep preaching " the blessed gospel!"
Miss Monique 🙂🙏💗🎶🎉
Not only are they leading people astray, but sowing huge doubt, when there should be full assurance of salvation.
If there is anyone who can please pray. My husband and I got into a Calvinist church by accident. My husband now is believing that way. He will not listen to a word I have to say about Grace to all etc etc. He will not watch any videos on the truth and all I can do is ask for your prayers. Its horrible to see this happening. I unfortunately cannot articulate very well.
But I know The Lord God can protect us. Its scary folks.
I will pray for you two. And please, I'd recommend studying this channel daily hour after hour as you can until you start dreaming about these issues. Then you will be able to articulate the Truth well.
And all that read this, pray for Patricia and husband.
Have patience Sister. Take your time and learn all proof texts Calvinist use mainly. Showing a video might not be possible with him but God will give you chance to open yourself up. Till then study. Watch many times from different people on Eph 1, Romans 9 and John 6 like soteriology101 or Beyond the fundamental. Will pray for you. God bless you
@@Brian_L_A Thank you so much. . I will diligently watch. Jesus is Lord.
@@Eben_Haezer I will do this. Thank you so much
@@Sparrowlee_ Your prayers mean so much. I will be diligent and wait upon the Lord.
I followed R.C for awhile, until I realized their theology deeply flawed, I agree with you all the way! I have said many times that I stand firm with John 3:16! We are accountable for our salvation, in that we comply with the offer of Christ gift to us! His gift of salvation! ALL can partake!
I too went all in with Ligonier and R.C. Sproul. Went to a conference near Seattle and saw an arrogance that I have not seen in any Armenian or provisionalist.
Highly recommend reading the verses before and after John 3:16... in Bible interpretation, context is king
@@DrgnSlyr Thank goodness we are not as morally self righteous as they are 🥴
@@toughbiblepassages9082 I certainly try not to be self righteous. I am fully aware of my own flaws.
@@DrgnSlyr Right, we are trying. Those Ligonier folks aren't trying though.
The way Flower seemed to be shaken by this situation of the woman asking if grace is available to everyone and MacArthur responding no I found it very touching. You can tell that he's very sad for the woman for getting such a cold answer and that he really wished he could have told her the good answer, which is that God is good to everyone and that of course He offers His grace to all
Wow!....what a great Spirit-filled,God-like and biblical answer! God loves all. I have never noticed this verse before AND if I did I never viewed it the way I do now. I also like 1 Timothy 4:10 which is more DIRECT,PLAIN and extensive on who the call goes out to... HENCE ALL MEANS “ALL” AND THAT IS ALL THAT MEANS!! Amen. John 3:16. I thank God for you my brother. Seriously. I knew God was Good even though I was misled and had the incorrect view of Him. Love ya brother. Thanks for your faithful service in advancing the Kingdom Of God and Christ!! Amen 😊
I believe that psalm 145:9 is directly related and connected with
Romans 2:4. Yes we deserve judgement and that is why He warns us and speaks to ALL and calls ALL to repentance. He would have all saved but only those who place their faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ will have Everlasting Life. All have sinned in Adam and so likewise ALL have access to God’s Grace and Mercy and can “reach out” to Him and any time BECAUSE those who listen to the Father and learn from Him will come to Christ and He is not willing that anyone should perish and go to Hell. The reason the Lord is Good to all is precisely BECAUSE He wants ALL to repent but only some are predestined to “according to His foreknowledge. Foreknowledge is not the means or grounds of us being saved. I believe it is unbiblical to say that God sends people to Hell just because they are born sinners and there’s nothing they can do about it. I believe that God’s “election” is neither based on His foreknowledge of man’s free choices nor exercised independent of it. As the scriptures declare ,we are elect “according to the foreknowledge of God (1 Peter 1:2) 😊❤✝️🙏. Thank God for allowing us to exist and providing us with what we need to continue to live with and through and for and in Him. In Him we live,move and breathe. Amen
I was spiritually abused as a young man by a mentor who was/is a Calvinist. Because of sin struggles in my life, he almost led me to believe I wasn’t able to be saved. I almost gave up my faith and hope.
I thank God that he had placed people in my life who were able to counter the satanic lie of limited atonement with biblical truth.
Very good response, thank you so much!
I had a PCA church elder tell me that I was not saved for rejecting that God predestines everything that happens. Turns out that he was cheating on his wife at the time.
Brother Leighton, keep at it my friend, you're breaking through..little more time and you'll see.
God bless you and thank you for your courage and sacrifice..to your family as well.
Good one to do a "short" of. Helpful to listen to it again. Thank you.
Yes... Agreed... Please do a short.. simply juxtapose the question, v the Bible verse v RC's response v the Bible again...
@@VashtiWood I was saying thank you for already putting this up as a short, not asking for a short to be done.
I am stunned by that response… what an awful and unbiblical response. How could you say that God’s grace is not available to all.
Welcome to Calvinism. It only has some many adherents because they don't know what it actually teaches.
Crazy huh? What's so sad about situations like this is so often when defending hardcore Calvinism they don't ever appeal to scripture but rather things that aren't in scripture. He could easily quote the bible. He could easily quote our lord Jesus in the gospels. But does he? No this happens too often. Far far too often. And Leigton's right it's a massive blind spot. Really a blight that should not be there. Just abandon it all together. But sadly people cling to it unashamedly and often blindly.
If God foreknew that Jimmy will ultimately reject Christ and ultimately end up in Hell, then I ask you, is the option available to Jimmy before ending up in Hell to actually choose grace? If so, then God didn’t really foreknow (violating His omniscience) if not, then Grace isn’t in effect available to him (aka, not available to all). This is not a “conundrum” unique to Calvinism; it’s just phrased differently. Leighton knows of this conundrum which is why he appeals to mystery at the end of this video because it’s an inevitable issue that arises. Sproul is answering the intellectual side of it but Sproul no way belittles individual responsibility, whereas Leighton would rather not explore the intellectual dilemma it leads to and just call it a mystery because he’s worried people will see it as a belittlement to individual responsibility.. fair enough, but the issue is still there staring us in the face. It’s not a dilemma unique to Calvinism.
@@toughbiblepassages9082 the problem is if it is available, even the person will not respond, then its not Gods fault. But if he was chosen to go to hell, then we have a problem, that muslims have with allah. I think that no person will be able to blame God, bc salvation is available to everybody. But many just don't want it. And as you know, God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. Just bc God know everything and also every possible way, doesn't mean our free will is an illusion.
@@adrianobattaglia4060 “if the person does not respond then it is not Gods fault”
I agree with this, because I didn’t say it would be Gods fault, I just asked if the “option would be available.” But I would also say most Calvinists would agree with your answer too.
The dog ate my homework, has been superseded by, I was born unable to believe.
Thank you for making your videos. You greatly helped me get clear about Calvinism.
This shows how presuppositions are POWERFUL in their effect on the human mind. Think about it, as far as we can tell from all we know of these men's lives they are GOOD men with GOOD intent, living consistent lives with the hope of honouring God - so they're not aiming to deceive. YET the presupposition forces the mind of good ppl towards fighting against the text.
What text??
The main problem with churchgoers is not this analysis over words..it is because Earthlings are spiritually/morally BIPOLAR-- Rom 8:7-JAMES 4:4 LAW trashing, GOD hating, WORLD loving barbarian rebels.
@@bobreese4807 the scriptures that Dr Flowers highlighted that are in contrast to the argument that sufficient grace to say yes to Jesus is not provided to all.
The same thing could be said about both sides. That’s why charity is necessary when dealing with disagreements
It took me time to de-calvinize my thoughts in understanding the Scriptures especially on the doctrine of salvation.
Thank you for your books and also ministry here on UA-cam.
I am now a Catholic after a study of Church history, but you are spot on with Calvinism and what Luther also believed!
Read the fathers of our faith and you will see that we as a Church have always believed in God’s grace for all!
This idea that they say in the video, is just like you say, a perfect reason for unbelief.
Always curious about Mary Jesus’s mother in the Catholic Church is she sinless
You are right, the Church has always believed in Grace for all.
I'm surprised you personal study on Church history has lead you to embracing Catholicism. I would think it would have done the opposite!
How about studying the Bible first, our final authority.
Pope's have fought with each other, have been responsible for many of the religious wars, loved power and greed above all else. Encouraged insurrection, excepted worship as God himself, enjoyed privileges that is fitting to royalty ( even above Jesus Christ himself who said in Matthew 8:20 ....The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head).
The present Pope said Jesus failed on the Cross, a few years ago and wanted to change the Lord's prayer.
Pope John Paul kissed the quran... a book that denies Jesus is the Son of God and his Crucifixion and resurrection.
True Church history will reveal the horrors of the catholic faith and the millions they killed, read The Foxes Book of Martyrs by John Fox.
Revelation 18:4 KJV - And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
A Catholic can belief that God doesn’t give His Saving Grace to all. Otherwise the Thomists would be heretics. A catholic can belief in unconditional election
Thomas Aquinas, doctor of the Roman Church, was a hard-core Augustinian like Luther and Calvin.
I beg of you to compare the doctrines in the Catechism of the Catholic church to what the bible says. You will see that Catholicism does not teach what the bible says on many important issues such as salvation. They don't teach the Gospel as written in the bible.
Great analysis and counter points. God has given you and us the grace to better articulate the gospel. Let’s enlighten Calvinists with love.
The main problem with churchgoers is not this analysis over words..it is because Earthlings are spiritually/morally BIPOLAR-- Rom 8:7-JAMES 4:4 LAW trashing, GOD hating, WORLD loving barbarian rebels.
@@bobreese4807 God bless you.
I hope this dear lady heard Sproul's answer and the Holy Spirit revealed to her that it was false and walked away from calvinism.
Awesome!... Best way to answer is with the Holy Scriptures.
Keep one shoulder to the wind dear Brother Leighton! I have fought with these false teachers for many years! What they teach is "another gospel". When they should be afraid, they are not. That makes me afraid for them.
They have so filled their own minds with the words of men that the words of men have become their doctrine.
They say what they say, and then they congradulate themselves and each other.
DO NOT give up Brother Leighton! THE LORD has raised you up for this very hour.
Of course God had no obligation, but He wanted to have mercy on all people. Rom.11:32.
Exactly
Not quite all of the teaching: God tells Moses in Genesis 33, "I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy".
@@Gablesman888 Sure and God chose to show mercy to all by providing a way of salvation
@@robertmwangi1452 A "way" to salvation is not the same as salvation. God actually saved those who He elected to salvation. If "way" and salvation are synonymous, then all people are saved and the Bible clearly does not teach universalism. Otherwise, what is that Lago de Fuego doing in the Book of Revelation? (For starters).
Jesus is not a percentage baseball Savior. He is a most definite Savior. Read Romans 8 (and 9 if you dare). LOL.
@@Gablesman888 " Jesus is not a percentage baseball savior,he is a definite savior" This statement is irrelevant because no one denies that Jesus is a definite savior. Don't confuse the complete work of Jesus on the cross and the application of that work on individuals. The sacrifice is complete but it is received by Faith.
You dared me to read Romans 8 and 9 and I took the challenge. I did not read from those texts that God unconditionally elected some individuals for salvation and others for damnation. What I read from those texts is that God unconditionally elected Israel (Jacob) so that his purpose in election might stand . What was the purpose of this election ? To bring salvation to the gentiles through Israel. Romans 9 has to do with election to service not salvation
As a former Roman Catholic who rejects TULIP, I thank you Sir.
Oddly enough, I love listening to Calvinist Preachers on the Bible.
*_God Bless_*
I hate when Calvinists claim that God is not obligated to save anyone. Literally no one believes He is. But what does scripture say? It clearly shows God desiring to save all and giving His Son for all so that all can be saved.
Amen ‼️
Yes, Jesus did die for his enemies and while he is not obligated to show grace to all, he does according to Scripture.
AMEN to that Brother!! Double AMEN!! The Calvinists fatalistic approach to soteriology is such a blatant contradiction of the love of God FOR ALL, and the availability of GRACE FOR ALL, that it amazes me how such learned men can embrace such a faulty Theological Systematic. Calvinism is an egregious systematic that insults our God of Grace!! Thank you for continuing the "resistance" to this destructive teaching!
Thank you for your videos, they have helped me 2 come out of calvnism ,it's only by the father, The Lord Jesus ,and the Holy Spirit, I am free now ,thank you Jesus😇
Thank you for this video. Keep up the good work. Seems like Calvinism is prevalent among my brethren and in my circle.
Breaks my heart to no end and thwarts not only the responsibility but the privilege of evangelism. Brings me to literal tears thinking how many people are lost and going to hell because of the inaction of the calvinist.
We could be planting seeds that the Holy Spirit can water. We could be watering the seeds that the Holy Spirit has planted. However it works, how can they hear if we don't preach?
calvinists that don't preach the gospel to everyone are hyper calvinists
We all gotta pray for these men, that God softens their hearts, and the Holy Spirit guides them in their prayers to the Truth of God's Love!
Great point about so-called “regenerative grace.”
Leighton: Regenerative Grace is not a word in the Bible
Yea, neither is “trinity”, is he gonna deny that next? For crying out loud.
I really like that format that you used, where you showed the scriptures, in question before you let the gentleman talk it really brings some clarity to things and really appreciate your work.
Calvinism - "Only elect lives matter."
Thank you for these vlogs. I have always had trouble with calvinism. You make it very clear
(KJV+) John 1:12-13: "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."
King James Version
(KJV+) John 6:29: "Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent."
I asked a pastor if he was saved. He told me, "I don't know". But, because of his embracing cavinism, he said, he didn't know if God chose him. Sad
The Calvinist pastor: "I don't know." The Bible: "These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life" (1 John 5:13, NASB). Revised question for the pastor: "Do you believe; or not?"
My husband has accepted Calvinism and the whole idea hurts my soul. I have been reading scripture and the example you gave of David praying about whether he would be given into their hand or not was one I read recently that gave me so much encouragement that God does know all but events can change and he knows all the ways a thing can play out but they dont all play out! I am even more encouraged hearing it be brought up and explained in the same way that I understood it. For face value. I am still searching.
I know that we did not seek Jesus for Jesus. We were drawn and given eyes to see and ears to hear. God went before us and brought down every wrong belief and then Jesus.
But what I am unsettled with is that I believe God drew us, gave us eyes to see, dismantled our understanding, but that I still chose to recieve the gift he was extending to me. That I had a choice!
None of our family is saved.. Are they worth praying for even!? Bevause what if they arent elect and Im just wasting time and God's ear to pray for people he has prohibited from entering his rest. It makes God out to be a hypocrite! Feels like a charade and it breaks my heart and I am so confused.
Another great testimony in the scriptures on how a person is saved:
“But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.”
Acts 16:28-34 ESV
Notice how Paul and Silas didn’t give the jailer the “you have to be predestined to believe speech”. They simply told him to “believe in The Lord Jesus Christ”
😇😇😇
Which is what any “Calvinist” would say/preach. Paul says it himself that he endures All things for the sake of the elect. Only God knows who they are.
“For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory.” 2 Titus 2:10 NASB or “elect” in the ESV rather than chosen.
Question ....about the jailer being baptized...... it says they were baptized at once " Immediately."....is it possible to water baptize somebody that quickly? ❓
They must have been baptized in the Holy Spirit..
@@artistart55
Inner Spiritual Baptism is instant!
Water Baptism is the outward celebration!
But back then people also water baptized right away as that was like a testimony to the communities they lived in of what Jesus has done in their lives.
Water baptism is a form of evangelism.
Paul and Silas told the jailer the correct thing to say. Believe on Christ.
But that alone misses the point entirely. God regenerated the jailer, that is, God through His elective grace gave the jailer saving faith to believe on Jesus.
Remember: You and I cannot conjure up saving faith. It comes from God. God must through regeneration install a new "want to" in our soul. Yes, man has free will, but the Bible clearly teaches that our "free will" is in bondage to sin. Think a badly built and programmed computer.
But God through regeneration, by His power, by His choice, changes us by giving us a new will, not in bondage, but free from sin and with the faith to believe in Christ.
If a person claiming to know Christ does not believe this, then that person must look themselves in the mirror and ask: "Just how self righteous was I before I was saved?"
@@Gablesman888
But we can place our trust in the Lord and he will produce supernatural faith when we place our trust in Jesus.
I was considering buying the Systematic bible. So I prayed to the Lord about it, and I had a dream of a man standing at a pulpit preaching passionately against that very book, which is ultimately not the bible, but a system of theory or man made philosophy of the bible. Of course, I took it out of my shopping cart.
Jesus died for all. But, it is Man’s choice to either accept or reject His grace and mercy.
That’s right!!!! This false doctrine spreads like cancer
Leighton, thank you for having Ali Bonner on your program. From my limited scholarship, I always suspected the truth of what she said, but certainly, I did not study as thoroughly as she. She gave a wonderful, scholarly presentation.
Praise God
Amen brother, I just discovered your channel. I always struggled with the TULIP belief system of Calvinists, but, deep in my heart, I knew, Calvinism is flawed and unbiblical. Thank you for shining the light on this difficult topic.
Love you brother
An 6 years old grandson is asking his grandpa who is a calvinist pastor:
Did Christ died for me?
The old man is hesitant
He has 3 possible answers;
Yes, no, I don't know.
( I made a graphic post about this and posted it on Facebook).
This is how calvinism also impact evangelism.
Thanks Dr. Flowers. Greetings from Cuba.
Romans 10:12- For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: For the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
If His grace is not available to all then that would certainly be news to Paul.
The moment I heard that God only died for the elect by Calvanists it absolutely blew my mind because of how shockingly out of place to me. For God so loved the WORLD, his son was sent
QUESTION: Will R.C. Sproul and other Calvinists who have led so many astray be made aware of their grave mistakes in heaven?
Maybe
Mercy seat/Bema seat
ANSWER: yes and we all will see where we fell short. Stay humble my friend.
James3:1 My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.
Oh yes!
Any time that there is a contradiction between what a man teaches and what the Holy Scriptures reveal, " Let God be true, an all men liars."
I quite honestly believe these men know the truth deep down and are hoping they are right about Calvin’s theology. I’m old enough and have been through this belief system and I pray one of them will be bold enough to admit their reliance on a system of belief and turn back to JUST the Bible. I pray…
I used to be Arminian. I have been Augustinian (the proper term) for quite some time now. How would you like to know from scripture that you were once saved, and have been kept saved, and will be kept saved throughout all eternity not because of some "decision" you made, but because God chose you first (as He tells Moses and the Israelites)?
How would you like to know what it means when the Bible says that the redeemed are and were redeemed before the foundation of the world?
Augustinianism is wholly biblical and wholly assuring on one's place in union with Christ.
@@Gablesman888 Hello! I would recommend you read 1 Corinthians 1:10-13. Instead of following fallible men, we should be following after the one true God. I once had a professor tell me, "Don't hang your eternity on an -ism with a man's name attached to it." This saying is consistent with 1 Corinthians 1:10-13 and the overarching themes found in Scripture. Let God's perfect Word be your authority, not fallible men (regardless of whether they had some biblically-aligned ideas or not).
@@angelt.5276 You have well spoken one of the classic arguments for Augustinianism. Follow the Bible, follow its verses wherever they make take you. Do not follow men.
@@Gablesman888 I guess you missed the presentation and will not let the Bible convince you.
@@drjcw What in the Bible convinces you of the Arminianism/Provisionism positions? Note that I have employed scripture in my various comments. Please give an awaiting world your biblical teaching that supports Arminianism. Be very specific. Exegete. Do not eisegete.
Not so fun fact: Did you know that before there were five points of Calvinism that there were five points of Arminianism? The fifth point proclaims that the Christian can not be fully assured of their salvation in this life. Do you like being a part of that?
Rely on sola scriptura, not the fables of men.
Gods grace is bringing salvation for all people. Great! No one is going to hell. Awesome news!
First yes I'm first!! It was predestined!
Oh my gosh....the first predestined one slides to Hell. What do we do? 😄
"...not for ours only, but for the sins of the whole workd." Not just salvation, BUT THE SACRIFICE ITSELF IS GRACE. SO BEGINING WITHBRHE SACRIFICE, THAT IS GRACE, AND AVALIBLE TO "THE WHOLE WORLD."
The whole point is not for RC to establish an intrinsic character to God of "not being obligated"! Where in the world does He teach us this. NOWHERE, AND NEITHER SPROUL OR ANYONE CAN PRODUCE ONE SHRED OF SCRIPTURE THAT PROVES "NON OBLIGATION" IS ONE OF THE LORDS INTRINSIC CHARACTERS.
CALVANISM IS BAD NEWS, AS ARMINIAMISM.
AND IT IS CHILDS PLAY AND FUNDAMENTALLY CLEAR THAT RC AND THE REST HAVE GONE OUTSIDE OF THE LORDS WORD TO ESTABLISH A INTRINSIC FUNDAMENTAL CHARACTER THAT IS NOT THERE IN THE WORD, "NOT OBLIGATED."
God's grace is available to everyone.
R C Sproul is out to lunch
R.C. enters heaven and Jesus leans over to ask, "What's this I hear about you telling people I didn't die for everyone?".... I forgive you.
@@R.L.KRANESCHRADTT exactly plus a few more choice words
@@biblicaltheologyexegesisan9024 Okay.. your response....I laughed. 😆
@@R.L.KRANESCHRADTT
Firstly no man ascends to heaven when we die. And certainty not those who love to tell a lie.
@@larrybedouin2921 Where do you think believers go when they die?🤔
In my opinion DR. Sproul and other Calvinist leaders are as deceived as those who follow them in their Calvinism. What they believe and teach does not keep someone from believing in Christ unto salvation, it confuses them as to how it happened.
A lie is by definition to tell someone something which you know to be untrue. Someone who is honestly deceived and speaking what they believe to be true, even exuberantly, is not properly called a liar. Despite the fact what they are saying is not factual. Lying is intentional deception by sayin things you know to be untrue, usually for personal gain or to hide misdeeds.
Occasionally it's just so the other guy doesn't find out where the fish are biting, and that's to be expected among fishermen.🎯
Leighton, you are so kind. 😀
This is why I lean Lutheran. Because Lutherans believe that Christ died for ALL man. So His grace is available and offered to all. Even though God knows beforehand who will reject His grace and who will accept His grace, He still offers it to all.
If God foreknew that Jimmy will ultimately reject Christ and ultimately end up in Hell, then I ask you, is the option available to Jimmy before ending up in Hell to actually choose grace? If so, then God didn’t really foreknow (violating His omniscience) if not, then Grace isn’t in effect available to him (aka, not available to all). This is not a “conundrum” unique to Calvinism; it’s just phrased differently. Leighton knows of this conundrum which is why he appeals to mystery at the end of this video because it’s an inevitable issue that arises. Sproul is answering the intellectual side of it but Sproul no way belittles individual responsibility, whereas Leighton would rather not explore the intellectual dilemma it leads to and just call it a mystery because he’s worried people will see it as a belittlement to individual responsibility.. fair enough, but the issue is still there staring us in the face. It’s not a dilemma unique to Calvinism.. and Lutherans have the issue as well
@@toughbiblepassages9082 I disagree. I don't see an issue with God for knowing that Jimmy would reject Him yet still offering him grace. It's a genuine offer of grace, it's Jimmy who rejects it. So I don't see how this in any way undermines God omniscience. God, being God, obviously knows beforehand who will believe and who will not. And we also know that no one can believe out of their own wills, like Pelagius taught. But, our wills are absolutely involved in our salvation. Scripture is quite clear on that. Ultimately I think it's hard to hold to monergism and still believe in free will in any real sense. So that's my correct struggle in the moment haha. I feel like I'm somewhere between Lutheran and Orthodox.
@@jdsmith2k7 oh yes, Jimmy rejects the offer of God, for sure, but that wasn’t the issue I presented you.. what I said was.. while God offers the grace while also fore knowing Jimmy will end up in Hell.., before Jimmy actually goes to hell, does the here-and-now-Jimmy have any ability outside of rejecting that grace? To say yes or no confronts the issue of predestination either way.. You see that right?
@@toughbiblepassages9082 Yes, the here-and-now Jimmy does have the ability to repent and receive salvation. Even though God foresees Jimmy will ultimately reject Him, God still offers it to Jimmy freely because that's just how much God loves him.
It's like buying a gift someone needs but doesn't want, knowing they'll reject it, because it's still the best thing you can do for them.
God shows his love by offering salvation to everyone, freely. Just because God knows the outcome, doesn't mean Jimmy has less free will, nor does it mean God's omniscience fails.
This idea that knowing the outcome prevents free will is nonsense. God is above us, but even in human terms, the idea somewhat falls apart. We can know someone who gets sick but hates being at the hospital to the point they lock up and become unresponsive, and we can offer them a ride to the hospital knowing they're going to reject it. Why? Because we care for them and know they need to go, even if they never do go.
We, as humans, predicted their response and still offered the thing that would make them well.
Or a Jehova's Witness refusing a blood transfusion. A doctor will offer it to them knowing they'll refuse because it's the right thing to do.
Where is God forcing Jimmy to not believe in him? Where is God forcing anyone to believe in him? Nowhere on both accounts.
Or you can assume the Bible and God are logically consistent and there is no need to resort to 'mystery.' That is, the future is open, and God really does poor out grace and a fair opportunity to all and it is up to the person to accept or reject a genuine gift.
For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, not by works so that no one can boast.
The way that some teach election, they make God a very evil creator. The very idea is absolutely blasphemous. God would have to be on trial at the Great White Throne Judgement, instead of the sinner. A sinner could not be judged for something that he was forced to do, because he was created that way. What nonsense.
Hey Soteriology101, do you believe in once saved always saved doctrine? Thank you!
I go to a Calvinist church because they are great people and have a love for scripture. That said, I’m not Calvinist and are learning ways of defense.
OSAS = doctrine of SATAN! The main problem with churchgoers is not this analysis over words..it is because Earthlings are spiritually/morally BIPOLAR-- Rom 8:7-JAMES 4:4 LAW trashing, GOD hating, WORLD loving barbarian rebels.
I go to a Calvinist church for the same reasons as you. I do wonder if we will have to leave someday. So far, it hasn't been an issue, but I don't know how long that will last.
OSAS is top tier heresy. It caters to GULLIBLE DECEIVED FANATIC BIBLE DUMMY VICTIMS OF MODERN PHARISEES.
Very frustrating to hear Calvinists say this, and at other times INSIST that everyone *can * come to believe Christ, and therefore His saving grace is available to all, but most people *will not want to*, and therefore God is just in "pouring out His wrath" on them.
Your position literally leads to the same “conundrum”. Under Arminianism/provisionism, If God infallibly knows Jimmy will end up in hell, then before Jimmy actually ends up in hell, when God offers grace to all, including to Jimmy, does Jimmy actually have the option to be capable of attaining that grace? If he does then God did not infallibly know that Jimmy will end up in hell (which is either contradicting Gods omniscience or is the open theist position) so the only logical way it could play out is that Jimmy doesn’t have the option to accept the grace offered to him by God. God didn’t force this situation or determine Jimmy to do or not do anything, but it is a logical impossibility for Jimmy to attain that grace given the premise of Gods infallible foreknowledge, so in effect, Jimmy does not have the ability to attain that grace.. which is a form of limited atonement and the exact same thing a Calvinist would say too. Leighton knows this is an inevitability which is why he fumbles around at the end of this video and starts appealing to it all being a “mystery” but the point is, this dilemma is not unique to Calvinism.. Sproul is just facing it head on in this question, whereas Leighton would rather not because he is afraid it will make people think they aren’t personally responsible (but Sproul in the full clip preaches that people ARE still responsible, but Leighton doesn’t show it in this shorter video.) Point being, both philosophies end up in the same spot, but Leighton would rather not deal with the inevitable issue and demonize those who do.
@@toughbiblepassages9082 There's nothing wrong with the position that the future is open, and also I fail to see how foreknowledge in any way affects the scope of atonement or limits one's choices. Knowing the choice someone will make is not determining their choice. Foreknowledge is not causation. Of course it is limited to those who believe, and all have the option to believe. In Calvinism, God limits who may believe. Sproul illogically believes men are responsible for doing that which God has determined them to do.
They tend to leave out the part that the reason people "don't want to" come to Christ is specifically because God decreed that they wouldn't.
There's a brilliant piece floating on f.b. about the thief on the cross. He didn't say the prayer. He didn't get baptized. He couldn't fold his hands. He couldn't get on his knees. Jesus didn't heal, make him a millionaire, nor heal his pain. But he walked into heaven with Jesus that hour.
Just wrote my second book. And it’s a critical analysis of Calvinism. I wrote this in spanish for the hispanic community and I quote Leighton a couple of times for the hispanic audience.
I won’t allow these errors from staining the church.
Gracias la Gente lo necesita
@@albusai ¡Hermano! Soy un joven adolescente de Puerto Rico que busca servir a Dios. No tengo ayuda; aunque no lo creas, podrían echarme de mi iglesia por creer en contra del calvinismo y aportar buenos argumentos a los líderes de la iglesia. No tengo ayuda.
En unos dos días tendré el libro publicado en Amazon. Me aseguraré de recordártelo. Sería muy bueno para el reino que consiguieras una copia o compartieras el libro con cada calvinista o creyente que conozcas. (ps. Ni siquiera gano 5 dólares con este libro. Realmente no me importa el dinero).
@Monkizaki
You may be kicked out of man's church but you will never be kicked out of Father's ekklesia. "Having done all to stand, stand." Our Father will have you do mighty exploits ♡♡♡
@@chrisneeds6125 Thank you, Chris. May God bless you!
Many times I hate the things you say and put out but you are dead on with this one. Thinking back to your debate with Bro. White-what rings in my ears-whoever comes to me I will not cast out.
]RC Sproul "No"
vs
*_JESUS_* "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on Him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life." (John 5:24)...
Choose wisely... they are mutually exclusive "gospels" [see Galatians 1]
Jesus after presenting the Gospel in John 6: verse 63 and 65- “The words I have spoken to you are spirit and Life! Yet you still do not believe… This is why I told you, no one can come to me unless it has been given to him by the Father.”
"who will have ALL men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth"...Who gave himself a ransom for ALL, to be testified in due time".....1 Tim 2:4,6
The Calvinist God is essentially the Islamic God.
The Calvanists certainly have a way of shutting up the athiest's claims that God is responsible for their unbelief by simply confirming it.
Let us be humble before God. It’s only when I started seeking Him and not doctrines made up by men that I am experiencing shod presence and perfect peace and provision. My relationship grows when I trust Him and not men!
relationship to a reformer /calvinist ……. it’s a programmer running the programmed….. sola de ridiculous