Arminians don't know their right from their left

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BobVigneault

Bawberator
Once again we have been witnesses to the fact that there is a thin wall between devotion to pure doctrine and pharisee-ism and it easily crumbles. We speak of Arminians like they are some great alien race whose minds are linked to the central arminian super-brain forcing them to think as some monolithic singularity. Each one an expert in arminian heresy and bent on the destruction of the church.

Arminians are our confused brothers and sisters and we have no idea who is the elect and the reprobate. True, there are arminians who preach their doctrines with the same fire and flash that many here preach calvinism. Debate is good. But most arminians are folks who have been sitting under the teaching of lazy, seeker sensitive, marketing oriented so-called "˜shepherds´. There´s so many of them. In fact there´s so many of them that we haven´t the luxury to get too deep into debating who is saved and who is not. Time is short, we must go after all of them.

I´m am not an ordained minister but here is what I do. Because of acquaintances I have made over the years performing music I get invites to come and preach in churches when the pastor has gone away. As long as the recognized leadership of the church invites me I will always go. The churches have been Baptist, Congregational, Seventh Day Baptist, Lutheran and of course Independent - Arminian churches all!

I don´t preach to felt needs, I preach Christ and Him crucified. I preach on the Sovereignty and Supremacy of God, I preach on the Sufficiency of Scripture. I watch the older folks weep when hearing of the sovereignty and glory of God. How they miss hearing God exalted and His Word proclaimed boldly. How my heart breaks for them at the hunger they endure at the hands of poor "˜shepherds´.

Let us strive to remember that our duty to defend the faith must never overshadow the great commission. When Jonah was ready to cast aside an entire city of people who were despicable (and perhaps even some were arminians), God replied to Jonah, "œAnd should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?"

We are here on this board because we believe that we have figured out our right hand from our left. I pray we are as smart as we think we are. But after figuring out our right from out left some of us have tightened our hands into fists. We offer a right cross and a left jab. We need to be quicker to offer a right hand of fellowship and a left hand of rescue for the sake of the gospel.

Arminians are confused, they don´t know their right hand from their left. God´s grace through our teaching will make the lights come on. Most of us here were elect-arminians. I was a happy little arminian until PB brother Jim Jarantowski introduced me to the glory of God. I was so happy in my church until Jim´s teaching made me a pariah to the pastor.

Let´s be patient with one another, let´s remember from where we have come, let´s conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the Gospel that´s been entrusted to us clay-footed sheep.
 
Bob,

Good words, and an excellent pastoral spirit. This is what the gospel does no matter how excellently, or even poorly its delivered. It is the power of God unto salvation.

Also, you bring out the simplicity, too. Paul knew he couldn't be heavy handed with some or a skilled orator with others. But what had to be there was Christ and Him crucified. Truly, there is alot of theology that comes back of that. But to the newly regenerated and converted, they hear that Christ was crucified because of their sin. And that, really, is all they need to hear for them to believe and turn from their sin.

Thanks for your words.

In Christ,

KC
 
Originally posted by BobVigneault

We are here on this board because we believe that we have figured out our right hand from our left. I pray we are as smart as we think we are. But after figuring out our right from out left some of us have tightened our hands into fists. We offer a right cross and a left jab. We need to be quicker to offer a right hand of fellowship and a left hand of rescue for the sake of the gospel.


:amen: :up::up::up:
 
Right on Bob. I love teaching Sunday School in the Southern Baptist Church I attend. The Christians that I teach are very hungry to hear the Word. To see their hearts resonate with an understanding of the atonement makes all the puppet shows and other strange things they do during worship tolerable because they are not my enemies but emaciated sheep that need food.
 
Thanks so much for your post, it's exactly what I've been thinking. Sometimes the reformed community are so concerned to have all their theological ducks in a row that we forget other matters are just as important, think 1 Corinthians where Paul talks about the importance of love. To paraphrase what good is it if we know all doctrines but have forgotten to feed the hungry, love our neighbor as ourselves, etc.
 
:candle:

Thank you. I needed that.
Sometimes I need to be reminded that Christ didn't die so I would become a five point Calvinist. he died so I could become one of His own and I still need to be reminded from time to time of where I was when He found me so I won't think of myself as superior to those who have not come to know as much truth as I have been blessed to have
known.
I'm not there yet but by His grace I am on my way, one day at a time, one step at a time.
 
Would you say then that there are just as many people who are converted to Calvinism (note I said Calvinism not Christ) who are on their way to hell as there are Arminians who have no clue about the over all sovereignty of God or the five points but are God's elect and going to Heaven?

Just wondering as I some times find this so amazing at times. I have heard of people having a deep understanding of the things of God but not really knowing Him. I have also known some who have no clue what Calvinism is and yet seem at peace with the Lord and enjoy a
close relationship with Him.
 
This is a great thread Bob!

Originally posted by Reformingstudent
Would you say then that there are just as many people who are converted to Calvinism (note I said Calvinism not Christ) who are on their way to hell as there are Arminians who have no clue about the over all sovereignty of God or the five points but are God's elect and going to Heaven?

Just wondering as I some times find this so amazing at times. I have heard of people having a deep understanding of the things of God but not really knowing Him. I have also known some who have no clue what Calvinism is and yet seem at peace with the Lord and enjoy a
close relationship with Him.

This was a good question...
 
One point, Bob, without detracting from the truly Christian spirit of your post. The point at which Arminians are our brothers and sisters, is a point at which they are not Arminians. Like Romanism, Arminianism so vitiates the truth that it must be called "false." However, because there is still the preaching of Christ crucified in some form, it is possible for an Arminian (and a Romanist) to come to faith in Christ, despite the falsehood. If we came across a fully fledged Arminian we would have to denounce him as a false professor and/or teacher. Thankfully, many who call themselves Arminian do not really know what Arminianism teaches. Or, as you have so well stated it, they do not know their right from their left.
 
Originally posted by Reformingstudent
Would you say then that there are just as many people who are converted to Calvinism (note I said Calvinism not Christ) who are on their way to hell as there are Arminians who have no clue about the over all sovereignty of God or the five points but are God's elect and going to Heaven?

Just wondering as I some times find this so amazing at times. I have heard of people having a deep understanding of the things of God but not really knowing Him. I have also known some who have no clue what Calvinism is and yet seem at peace with the Lord and enjoy a
close relationship with Him.

I would have to say that the true gospel is being preached under a Calvinist theology; having said that, there has got to be a lower number of unsaved individuals in this category. So, I would disagree that there are 'just as many' within the confines of biblical preaching; however, the visible church will always have reprobate members in her.

[Edited on 9-9-2006 by Scott Bushey]
 
:amen:

I just wrote (and submitted) an ecclesiology paper and completely ripped into Church Growth and semi-Pelagian understandings of the means of grace knowing that the Prof is a grad of DTS and then I read this... :mad:

Ok... at least I proved total depravity to be true? :banghead:
 
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