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The Poison of Calvinism

The poison of Calvinism, Reformed Theology, and Covenant Theology has been creeping into so many churches.  Be wary of anyone that uses terms such as historic Christianity or traditional Christianity.  Also, while a systematic theology is a good thing, many people will claim that the only valid Systematic Theology is the one that is based on Calvinism.

Keep in mind that the Reformed churches (protestants) are just reformed (repackaged) catholics.  While Luther and the reformers did a great job exposing the worst practices of catholic popery and they did a great job of emphasizing a soteriology of “salvation by grace not works” they failed to reject the Gnosticism of Augustine (which is the basis for Roman Catholicism).  They also retained the belief in things like infant baptism and that there should be a cooperation between the government and religious organizations.
It was a real relief when I realized I did not have to defend the atrocities committed by “historic Christianity”!  Neither the Catholics (around 300 A.D.) nor Reformers (began in 1517 A.D.)  were guided by the Bible when they committed atrocities, and if you did deep enough you find that the first “crusades” were not against the moors, they were carried out against Bible believing Christians whose crime was owning their own copies of scripture!
If you dig beneath the veneer of the manipulated and contrived histories recorded by catholic and reformed ‘historians’, you find sporadic mentions of those believers who have been persecuted by the “government approved entities” including: first century church,  Montanists (150 A.D.), the Novatians (240 A.D.), Donatists (305 A.D.), Albigenses (1022 A.D.), Waldensians (1170 A.D.), Anabaptists (late 1400s A.D.).  There have always been a remnant of true believers that existed before and in spite of popery and the reformation/protestants who both persecuted the true believers.
The poison of Calvinism is the belief that God arbitrarily chooses who is saved and who goes to hell and they deny free will.

A perfect example of the fruit of Calvinism is John Calvin’s theocratic government which burnt at the stake those they considered to be heretics (those who criticized Calvin’s theology).

This belief results in things like the calvinist Puritans who believed they were the new Israelites who had a divine right to slay the native americans who they believed to be “canaanites”.  It was also the calvinist Puritans that carried out the witch trials in America.
Interestingly, calvinists and reformed churches persecuted the anabaptists in Europe, which is the theological heritage of the Baptists.  
That was why the Danbury Baptists were asking Jefferson about protections against a national state-sponsored and enforced religion.  They knew what it was like to be on the wrong side of that because the state sponsored religions in europe (both catholic and reformed) had persecuted, imprisoned, hanged, beheaded, eviscerated, and burned at the stake anabaptists.  Jefferson described the “wall of separation” as a one-way wall that prevented the state from 1) enforcing any single at the exclusion of others religion, as well as 2) infringing on practices of any religion  
However, calvinism eventually crept into the Baptist churches in the south and the preachers used calvinism to justify slavery by saying the slaves were a cursed race.  This resulted in the split of the Southern Baptists from the northern baptists as the northern Baptists retained their belief in free will.  It was non-calvinist christians in the north and south that were the champions of abolition.  The majority of modern day Baptists of all flavors are indistinguishable from reformed churches and many have been taken over by Calvinists.

Even in the last 100 years we saw Hitler use Luther’s anti-semitism and the state-sponsored Lutheran Church to justify the theft of the property of Jews, rounding them up into ghettos, transporting them to concentration camps and the ultimate solution of industrialized mass murder.

Gnosticism and it’s Catholic and Calvinist derivatives is also being adopted in a watered down form by many non-Denominational, Pentecostal and Charismatic circles in the form of either the “Emergent” or “Emerging” church, Kingdom Now, Dominion Theology, Reconstruction-ism, New Apostolic Reformation.

freedom from sin

While in bondage to sin, we are a slave to the appetites of the flesh.  We cannot free ourselves from the flesh on our own.  The best perhaps we could do is replace one fleshly habit with another more socially acceptable one.

For true freedom, we must be reborn as a new creature and set free from sin by repentance and receiving the completed work of redemption Jesus purchased for us on the cross.

We are set free and are then able to master the appetites of the flesh by walking in the power of the Holy Spirit.

children of God

we are not all children of God

He is Creator of us all
We can become one of His children…
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 (John 1:12)
When we receive Jesus, we are adopted into His Family, grafted in, recreated as a new creature, and born again into the family of God, and we can then call Him Abba Father.
For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. (Romans 8:15)
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. (2Cor 5:17)
Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.  Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. (1 John 3:1-2)

No provision of salvation for those who take the mark

And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,


The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:


And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.


Revelation 14:9-11

There are only two categories discussed in the Bible, those who take the mark of the beast and those who don’t.  Of those who don’t take the beast’s mark, some are sealed with God’s seal and are protected from God’s wrath as it is poured out on whosoever receives the beast’s mark.

The Bible is silent as to if there are any who take the mark and later reject it.

Folks can theorize that it may be possible, but they have to base their theory on their own human reasoning and contrivances as there is not anything Biblical to base it on.

It is a dangerous theory, however.  It may cause some to think they can take the mark to take advantage of its conveniences and to avoid the penalties of not having it, then repent of it later…

ye shall have tribulation

These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world..” John 16:32-33

Persecution is real, persecution of the faithful has never stopped, persecution is happening, and persecution is coming…

Throughout the world, Christians are imprisoned, their property is stolen, their families are taken and given to others, they are being tortured, hanged, beheaded, and their meeting places are burned to the ground.

We have had it soft in the “west”, but the tides are turning.  The western governments are redefining who and what is “tolerable” and what is a “hate crime”.  The popular so-called “christian church” is liberalizing and redefining “christianity” then ridiculing anyone who upholds the Bible as the true authority.

Popular churchianity already compromises in every form and fashion in the name of being trendy and cool.  They already compromise for the love of money to keep the “tithes” rolling in.  They already compromise, capitulate, and apologize at the least bit of resistance from popular culture.

If they cannot stand when times are good and easy, how can they stand in the day of true persecution?

Jesus comforted His disciples by telling them in advance that persecution was coming, so that they would be prepared for it when it did happen.  So that when they were undergoing tribulation, they would remember He had already overcome the world, take comfort from that fact and endure through to their reward.

What is the “church” doing to prepare members for the persecution to come?

Are we prepared to truly trust the Lord to be our provider when we can no longer buy from the grocery store and feed our family without the mark?

Are we prepared to stand and not compromise our beliefs when they are unpopular?

Are we prepared to stand and not compromise our beliefs when we are threatened with imprisonment?

Are we prepared to stand and not compromise our beliefs when we are threatened with torture?

Are we prepared to stand and not compromise our beliefs when they put a gun to our heads?

Are we prepared to stand and not compromise our beliefs when they put a gun to our spouse’s or child’s head?

Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it. Luke 17:33

be like the most high

God is almighty, omnipresent, and omniscient.  

Satan is not, and needs technology in order to emulate The Most High.  (Isa 14:12-14)

Is that why there is a push to micro chip everyone?  To have surveillance everywhere, to track every one’s movements, transactions, and behaviors?  Ultimately to control everyone’s movements, transactions, and behaviors?

Ordinances -vs- Sacraments

There are many who twist the meanings of the terms ordinance and sacrament.  When I use the terms I differentiate between them as follows:

a) A sacrament is a work that contributes to or necessary for salvation.  If an institution portrays a religious activity as a requirement for salvation, then it is a sacrament regardless of what they call it otherwise.

b) An ordinance is merely an outward expression of something that has already taken place internally and spiritually.  The two ordinances identified in scripture include immersion (baptizo) and the “Lord’s supper”.

Jesus was immersed to fulfill all righteousness and believers throughout the gospels, the book of Acts and the first century church were immersed as an outward testimony of their belief.  They weren’t saved by immersion, but immersion was an expression and testimony to others of their salvation.

The same with perceiving the body and blood of Messiah represented by the unleavened bread and wine used in the Passover Sedar meal.  Jesus instructed “As often as you do this, this do in remembrance of me” and Paul goes on to say that we should not partake of it unless we understand this representation (1 Cor 11:23-27)