If ever a generation existed to which Paul's stern words of condemnation apply, it is the generation in which we now live. Ours is a generation under the judgment of God because ours is a generation that has "changed the truth of God into a lie." Here are five fatal errors commonly taught by all forms of false religion, by which satan destroys the souls of men, giving them a refuge of lies.

THE BASIS OF BELIEF IN THE RELIGIOUS WORLD TODAY IS NOT THE WORD OF GOD BUT EMOTION, EXPERIENCE, AND TRADITION. While appealing to the Scriptures and quoting them, they make void the Word of God by interpreting the Scriptures according to their feelings, experiences, and the traditions of men (Matt. 15:6, 9; Col. 2:20-23). The basis of our faith is and must be the Word of God alone (II Tim. 3:15-17). Any preacher, church, doctrine, or belief that is not according to the Word of God is not of God, but of the devil (Isa.8:20). It arises not from light, but from darkness.

MODERN RELIGION MAKES GOD'S SOVEREIGN OPERATIONS OF GRACE TO BE NOTHING MORE THAN OPPORTUNITIES TO BE SAVED. Grace is God's almighty, effectual, irresistible work and operation by which salvation is wrought in us (Eph. 1:18-19; 2:8-9; Col. 2:12; Tit. 3:5-7). Salvation is not God giving everyone a chance to be saved. He has never done that (Matt. 11:20-26). "Salvation is of the Lord!" It is altogether the operation and performance of God (Rom. 9:16).

ALL FALSE, ANTICHRIST RELIGION MAKES THE CROSS OF CHRIST OF NONE EFFECT. The heart of the gospel is the doctrine of the cross. And the heart of all false religion is its attempt to make the cross irrelevant and meaningless. Those who teach that Christ died for all men without exception make the cross irrelevant and meaningless in the affair of salvation. If Christ died for all men and some are not saved, then he died in vain for some. His death is meaningless and irrelevant to anyone. The only relevant, meaningful thing must be the will of man. Blasphemy! The Word of God declares that the cross of Christ effectually accomplished the redemption of God's elect and infallibly secured their everlasting salvation (Isa. 53: 8-11; Heb. 9:12; Gal. 3:13). To say that Christ died for everyone is to say that he died in vain. His death did nothing for anyone, but only made salvation possible by removing the obstacles between God and man. The Word of God constantly speaks of Christ's sin-atoning death as a limited atonement. In the types of the Old Testament, sacrifices were provided and atonement was made for Israel alone. The rest of the world had no atoning priest, no sacrifice, no altar, and no mercy-seat. Even in Old Testament types, the atonement was limited. It is limited to those who are loved of God (Psa. 5:5; Rom. 9:13), to those for whom Christ makes intercession (John 17:9, 20), to the Lord's sheep (John 10:11, 26), to the "us all" from whom God will withhold no good thing (Rom. 8:32-35), and to those who are actually saved by it (Eph. 5:25-27; Rev. 5:9-10).

MODERN, FREEWILL RELIGION REDUCES THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN CONVERSION TO A MORAL PERSUASION THAT DEPENDS ENTIRELY UPON THE WILL OF MAN IF SALVATION IS TO BE THE RESULT. We are told that the Holy Spirit calls all sinners to repentance and faith in Christ and that those who are saved are those who by their freewill decision yield to the Spirit's call. Hence, preaching is reduced to one man trying to influence another man's will. Preaching becomes a sales job. Any means is justified, if the preacher can only get the sinner to "decide for Jesus." But according to the Word of God, salvation is the mysterious, miraculous work of God the Holy Spirit in the exercise of his sovereign, irresistible grace and power by which sinners are raised from spiritual death to spiritual life and given faith in Christ (Psa.110:3; John 1:13;3:8; Rom.9:16; Eph. 2:8-9).

A number of people have suggested that I write some material that clarifies the difference between an "Arminian" and a "Calvinist." I do not like to use these name tags to identify Baptist brethren because they are often misleading. The reader must keep in mind that there is no iron-clad way of identifying people as to their doctrinal position. It is true, however, that most people will fall generally into one category or the other but may differ on specific details.

In 1610, a year after the death of James Arminius (a Dutch Seminary Professor), five articles of faith based on his teachings were drawn up and presented to the State of Holland. The Arminian Party insisted that these "five points" be made a part of the official doctrine of the churches of Holland. They wanted to revise the churches' stand on such doctrines as Divine Sovereignty, human inability, election, particular redemption, effectual grace and perseverance of the saints. Their basic position was that Divine Sovereignty is not compatible with human freedom. They denied that saving faith is ,a gift of God and argued that man's faith is a product of his own will. They further argued that since God commands all men to repent and believe then all men must have the ability to repent and believe. The Arminian Party also held that God only elects men unto salvation because he sees that they will be saved anyway. They do not believe that the death of Christ insured the salvation of anyone; it only created a possibility of salvation for those who of themselves choose to come to Christ. Finally, these folks held that the believer, who has of his own will and ability come to Christ, must also, of his own will and ability keep himself in a state of grace. Failure to so keep himself would mean that he would fall away and be lost.

While we disagree with these folks, we must admire their consistency on the last point. They give the same freedom and ability to the saved person that they do to the lost. If he can get into salvation by his own will and ability, they hold that he can get out if he wishes. In short, they make man his own saviour and keeper.

The Arminian denies total heredity depravity and total inability. While he believes that man's nature was seriously affected by the fall he holds that man is not in a state of spiritual helplessness. He believes that man has the "power of choice" and can, of himself, come to Christ.

“To argue a 'moral inability,' in the face of God's proclamation of LOVE for the whole world, the promise of his Son as 'the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world,' and the provision that 'whosoever will' may come, is nothing less than LIBEL against the Most High” (Eugene Garner, The Clarion Herald, Dec. 18, 1974).

In short, these writers deny that the will of fallen man is depraved. They deny that the sinner is in bondage and slavery to sin. They appeal to the emotions but fail to cite one Scripture which proves that man, in his fallen and unregenerate state, has within himself the power of choice, moral ability, and innate faith to come to Christ if he would.

When carefully considered, it is very evident that this position of the Arminian is a denial of the Biblical doctrine of total hereditary depravity. It teaches that there is some good in the flesh even though Paul declares there is none (Rom. 7:18) and Jesus declared that “the flesh profiteth nothing” (Jn. 6:63). It denies that position held by our Baptist forefathers who held that fallen man is “by nature utterly void of that holiness required by the law of God, positively inclined to evil; and therefore under just condemnation to eternal ruin, without defense' or excuse” (New Hampshire Confession of Faith, Article III). (Note: This Confession is found in the Baptist Way-Book by Dr. Ben M. Bogard and was adopted by the American Baptist Association when it was organized). The rank Arminian argues that God owes man an opportunity to be saved and is obligated to give every one an equal chance to be saved. To do otherwise, they say, would make God guilty of “brutally dumping” them “into hell.” These folks failed to consider that God by-passed all of the fallen angels reserving them “in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day” (Jude 6) without giving them any “access to God's love.”

The question of man's ability to do that which is spiritually good will not be settled by emotional arguments for intelligent, unprejudiced, and reasoning people want evidence, not emotional unsupported inferences and assumptions.

Though the Arminian may passionately oppose the doctrine of man's total inability to perform spiritually acceptable acts without being enabled to do so by the quickening power of the Holy Spirit he cannot change the clear, unequivocal declarations of the Word of God. This doctrine is a very humbling doctrine and is very unpalatable to proud, egotistical men. A denial of this total inability of man in his natural unregenerate state amounts to no less than a denial of salvation by grace. The two errors are traveling companions.

The Scriptures attribute to man the following inabilities:

1. He has an uncircumcised ear and “cannot hear” (Jer. 6:10).

2. He is spiritually blind (Ep. 4:18) and “cannot see (understand, comprehend) the kingdom of God” (Jn. 3:3).

3. He cannot come to Christ unless he is drawn to him (Jn. 6:44).

4. He is flesh and unless he is quickened by the Spirit and given the ability by the Father he is not able to come to Christ. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit... It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing... Therefore said I unto you no man can come unto me except it were given him of my Father” (Jn. 3:6; 6:63, 65).

5. The unregenerate man cannot hear (understand) God's word. “Ye cannot hear my word” (Jn. 8:43).

6. The spiritually dead sinner cannot believe on Christ. “Therefore they could not believe...” (Jn. 12:39-40).

7. Unless quickened the sinner cannot obey God. “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God neither indeed can be” (Rom. 8:7).

8. The unregenerate man is flesh (Jn. 3:6) and “they that are in the flesh cannot please God” (Rom. 8:8).

9. “The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (I Cor. 2:14).

10. One cannot trust Jesus as Lord and Saviour except through the enabling of the Holy Spirit. “...no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost” (I Cor. 12:3).

The Confession of Faith (New Hampshire) declares that regeneration “secures our voluntary obedience to the Gospel of Christ.” Moreover, it teaches that regeneration is proven or evidenced by the “holy fruits of repentance, faith, and newness of life” (Article VII).

The doctrine of man's spiritual, moral inability is supported by Scripture, by Confessions of Faith, and by great Baptists. This Biblical Baptist doctrine strips man of every vestige of spiritual good and prostrates him in the dust—a sinful, hell-deserving, helpless creature whose only hope lies in the sovereign love and grace of an all-powerful God. It compels man to look up to the One who alone can help him. In the light of overwhelming evidence, we must join Bogard, Graves, and our great forefathers of the Baptists in rejecting the Arminian denial of total inability.

DIVINE IGNORANCE, NO ELECTION, MASS ELECTION, CONDITIONAL ELECTION

When originally drawn up, the second point of the five points of Arminianism simply took the position of conditional election which we will consider later in this article. Time, however, as brought several other ideas about election into the camp of Arminians.

Perhaps the most absurd position held by some of these people is that of Divine ignorance. Some Arminians hold that God does not know who will be saved and who will not be saved. I recently asked one with whom I correspond the following question: “When Christ died on the cross did he know who would be the beneficiaries of His death?” His answer was: “When Jesus died on the cross he knew that all who would repent towards God and believe in Jesus Christ to save their souls would be saved.”

Anyone who reads Romans 10:9-13, or Joel 2:32 can know as much as Christ about this question if this person's answer was correct. We will see in a few moments that Christ and God were not ignorant about who would and who would not be saved.

Why would someone take this hyper-Arminian view? They are caught up in a dilemma. God could not know something to be certain and it not be certain. Therefore, if God knows that John Brown of 'Possum Grape, Arkansas, is going to be saved then, rest assured, John Brown of 'Possum Grape, Arkansas will be saved. God cannot know that he will be saved if he won't be. Now, the hyper-Arminian argues that this will destroy man's free agency and take away from him the “power of choice.” Therefore, he says: “God has hidden from himself who will be saved and who will not. He could know but he has chosen not to know.”

Does God know? The Bible is very clear on the matter. Consider the following:

1. Salvation is personal and is a work of God (Jonah 2:9) and “known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.” (Acts 15:18).

2. Jesus knew who would not be saved. “Ye will not come to me” He said to some (Jn. 5:40). Again, John wrote: “For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him” (Jn. 6:64).

3. Jesus knows his sheep by name.

a. “The shepherd of the sheep ...calleth his own sheep by name” (Jn. 10:2-3).

b. “I am the good shepherd and know my sheep” (Jn. 10:14).

c. “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them” (Jn. 10:27).

d. They are lost sheep (Luke 15:4-6). “I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matt. 15:24).

e. “Whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son” (Rom. 8:29).

Notice that it does not say what he foreknew, the verse refers to persons whom he foreknew.

This knowledge is a knowledge of individuals. To Jeremiah God said, “Before thou wast formed in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the comb I sanctified (Marked off for sacred service) thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations” (Jer. 1:5).

David praised God that he knew him before he was born. “...thou hast covered me in my mother's womb ... my substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which is continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them” (Psa. 139:13-16).

Paul declared that God had set him apart from his mother's womb (Gal. 1:15). God named Cyrus to be the leader who would restore Israel to their land after the 70 years captivity. This was done long before Cyrus was born (Isa. 44:28).

Other example's and declarations could be produced but these should be enough to prove our point. God does know who will be saved. He who knows the stars by name (Psa. 147:4) surely knows the names of those who will be saved.

If there is no election unto salvation why would Paul refer to “the faith of God's elect” (Titus 1:1)? Or why would Luke write of those who were “ordained to eternal life” (Acts 13:48)? Why did Peter write to those who are the “elect according to the foreknowledge of God” (I Pet. 1:2)?

I suppose that we should take the man at his word when he blatantly declares: “I was not picked out, chosen, elected or selected as the Calvinists believe....” Perhaps his relation to the eternal purpose of God is better described in such verses as Jude 4, II Peter 2:12, Romans 9:22, the latter part of Romans 9:18, Revelation 17:8, and II Thessalonians 2:11-12.

Dear reader, I am not judging the man, I am simply taking the man at his word. As for you, I pray that you may “give diligence to make your calling and election sure.” (II Pet. 1:10).

The idea of mass election is advanced by a number of people. In. a letter I have before me, one hyper-Arminian states, “I believe he elected and predestinated in eternity to save all who repented towards God and had faith in Jesus Christ in time.” Again, he wrote: “I believe the elect to be those whom God elected in eternity, and I believe he elected to save all who would repent and believe in Jesus Christ in time.”

I had asked this man: “When Christ died on the cross did He know who would be the beneficiaries of his death?” He answered: “When Jesus died on the cross he knew that all who would repent towards God and believe in Jesus Christ to save their souls would be saved.”

There are at least three things wrong with this hyper-Arminian position. (1) It denies personal election. (2) It denies the eternality of that personal election. (3) It is unscriptural.

Does the Bible teach personal election? I have spent the last few minutes reviewing four different books on English grammar. They all declare that “a personal pronoun shows by its form whether it refers to the speaker, the person spoken to, or the person or thing spoken of.” The reader is asked to read the following verses which deal with election. Note the personal pronouns show election and predestination to be personal.

1. “Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God” (I Thes. 1:4).

2. “...God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation” (II Thes. 2:13).

3. “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you...” (Jn. 15:16).

4. “I know whom I have chosen” (Jn. 13:18).

5. “Whom he did predestinate...” (Rom. 8:30).

6. “According as he has chosen us...” (Eph. 1:4).

7. “Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children...” (Eph. 1:5).

8. “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee: and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations” (Jer. 1.5).

9. “But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace” (Gal. 1:15).

10. “...give diligence to make your calling and election sure” (I1 Pet. 1:10).

11. “...and they that are with him are called and chosen, and faithful (Rev. 17:14).

12. “...for he (Saul) is a chosen vessel unto me” (Acts 9:15).

13. “...I endure all things for the elect's that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory” (II Tim. 2:10). Note: These are elect folks who have not yet believed.

14. “...but as touching the election, they are beloved for the Father's sake” (Rom. 11:28).

15. “In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will” (Eph. 1:11).

Is it not clear from these fifteen verses of Scripture that election unto salvation is as personal as salvation? In salvation God deals personally with individuals; the same is true with reference to election.

The true Arminian position is that of conditional election. The Arminian says that God, foreseeing that certain individuals would of themselves, respond to a general call that goes to all men and would of their own free-will, repent of their sins and believe on Christ chose them to be saved. He elected unto salvation only those individuals whom He knew would be saved. He chose only those whom He knew would choose Christ. He foresaw a faith in them that was produced by man's will; it was not a gift of God.

The Bible clearly teaches that election is not based on foreseen faith or any other good seen or foreseen in the elect. “He hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame... (Eph. 1:4). Your attention is called to the fact that election is for the purpose of causing us to be holy, not because God saw we would be holy.

“God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation” (II Thes. 2:13). He did not choose us because we were going to be saved anyway. That would make the will of God subject to the will of man. Some worry about making man a “puppet.” The Arminian doctrine of conditional election makes God a puppet and the lost, hell-deserving sinner the puppeteer. One cringes to think of God's will being controlled by the will of lost men.

The idea of conditional election is further refuted by the Scriptures. God's election of Israel was based on sovereign love and covenant mercy. “The Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the earth. . .” “The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because. . . but because the Lord loved you, and because he would keep the oath (covenant) which he had sworn unto your fathers...” (Dent. 7:7-8).

Paul especially emphasized that Jacob was not chosen over Esau on the basis of “foreseen good.” (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of him that calleth;), It was said unto her, the elder shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated” (Rom. 9:11-13).

If election were based on foreseen, self-willed, self-motivated, flesh-produced repentance and faith, it would not be of grace. Yet Paul called those Jews who were saved at the time he wrote the Epistle to the Romans “a remnant according to the election of grace” (Rom. 11:5). If that election is by grace, Paul argues, “then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace” (Rom. 11:6).

We have seen that these four ideas of the Arminians and hyper-Arminians concerning election are refuted by the word of God. Knowledge of the truth will set one free from such errors (Jn. 8:32). (To be continued)

In presenting the work in Thailand, especially the fact that I will be going there October 28, 2002, to stay for four months to open and teach in The Sovereign Grace Baptist School of Theology, there are always questions about the food and what I will eat while I am there. While there in March of 2001, I ate in this La Hu home in the village of Ho Sum Suk. The lady who fixed the meal and in whose home we ate is an aunt of Bro. Anond. In addition to the usual rice she fixed a special dish that looked somewhat like meatloaf made with pork instead of beef. There were also vegetables. There are also places where American food can be eaten. Some of the best Pizza I have ever eaten is available in Chiang Mai.

I want to thank all of you who have sent offerings to help with my personal expenses and the expenses of the school. Our goal has not been reached but I am trusting the Lord to supply all our needs through his riches in glory and through his people in the USA. Pray for my wife, Pilgrims Hope Baptist Church, and for me as I tackle this work for the Lord. May God bless you for this.