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Anyway, I wanted to share with you some of the letter because we live at a time when years ago when you considered, okay, I’m Calvinist, just meant you was, you believe in one saved always saved. And nobody, you just let it go. So you’re either a Calvinist or you’re an Armenian. Well, I wasn’t either one, still not. But I did believe in eternal security, which they’re supposed to believe. So you didn’t get into big debates about it. What time to change, they have really come on strong and they’re taking over a lot of churches.

And they got colleges that are teaching this. and so they’re turning out people that are in air when it comes to Calvinism. And if you don’t know what it is, it just means that God chose who he’s going to save. And so God’s already determined who he’s gonna save. And when he says, God so loved the world, well, that doesn’t really mean world. It means God’s elect, the ones that God has elected to save. And so it’s getting worse.

And so she wrote this little letter to me. She says, I live in Northern Ireland. and my late father Billy was the preacher in the church. So this is written from a preacher’s kid, point of view. I think I was roughly around the age of six when I approached daddy at home and said, I want to be saved. How do I do that? Daddy gave me a few simple lines to say, I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, we come into my heart and say, me, amen.

Now you may not accept all of these word, but this is what happened. The perks of Sunday school on a Sunday afternoon was you got a bar of chocolate if you had memorized one Bible verse. The first verse I could memorize was John 3 16, for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. I who so ever believe it than Him should not perish but have a everlasting life. Sunday evenings would see a full church to the extent I had to set on mom’s knee to leave seats free for the adults.

The church would sing the old song, tell me the old old story of Jesus and His love and the old rugged cross for a world of lost center was slain. Monday evenings were the children’s meeting. Dad and I would always have a sing song in the car while traveling to the church, who made the twinkling stars, the birds that fly, the flowers that grow, who made both you and I, our Father God. We both sang and I did the actions.

Early memories include lifting me down from the pulpit on a Sunday night while Dad was preaching. And I would take the certain urge to sing, Yes, Jesus loves me. The Bible tells me so. I could generally be found patrolling the grounds in prep school, asking other children, Are you saved? In hindsight, I’m not sure they even knew what I was talking about. If they ask any questions, they got John 3 16 because that’s all I knew what to tell them.

Some of this sounds like mine. And I was 18 years old. She was just doing the same thing. And she was, you know, I’d go around and ask people, are you saved? Are you saved? You’re saved from what? You know, saved. I didn’t know what to tell them. Around the age of 16, school friends were having house parties, embarrassing to talk about now, but I decided to rebel. I wanted to see what the world had to offer. My parents didn’t drink alcohol, and I had never tasted it.

I poured myself a large glass of vodka at one of the parties and didn’t use a mixture because I didn’t know I was supposed to. I didn’t like the taste of it, so help my nose and down it and then repeat it a few times. And the more she drank, the more social she got. Now, Dan, you sound like you’ve been down this path. No. I mean, you’re just laughing like this is your testimony. I’m worried about you, Dan.

I didn’t like the taste of it, so I held my nose and downed it, and then repeated it a few times. That little episode resulted in an alcoholic poisoning. I can vaguely remember begging friends not to call Dad. Because if the alcohol didn’t kill me, I was confident he would. Eventually, Dad tweaked what was going on and did warn me that God would discipline me. I had reached the rebellious age and disliked my dad telling me what to do or not to do.

Whatever he says, don’t do it. I did it. The only thing I can remember refusing to do was go in and see a fortune teller. A friend had a house party, which roughly had about 40 to 50 people at it. The fortune teller was in a back room, so wasn’t even aware how many were at the party. I made a firm decision that night not to go into that room. After a few hours, the fortune teller walked into the main room and says, who was the one that was too scared to come in?

I didn’t come in. I’m a child of God and my life is in his hands. She started to mock and I left the part and came home. I eventually met my husband while still living in disobedience and had our son out of wedlock. We married when my son was nine months old. He did say he believed in God, but after marriage admitted that there had been a lie. It was shortly after we married, which is 25 years ago, a gospel tract came through my door.

I generally didn’t read them, as I always knew what the Bible said. On this particular day, I did read it. It was the parable of the prodigal son. I think I read it about 10 times. I got down on my living room floor and asked God to forgive me for my disobedience and to renew unto me the joy of my salvation. I immediately found my dad who was naturally delighted. My dad died suddenly in April, 2001, from a heart attack.

Our little mission hall was no longer packed as the younger generation had left it for the excitement of the larger churches. I also eventually didn’t want to sit with older people and wanted fellowship of my own age group, so I started moving around to other churches. I’ve seen some rather bizarre behavior and just couldn’t seem to settle in those churches. Eventually I settled in one of the largest churches in Northern Ireland. I happened to mention to the pastor one night that I was praying for my family.

He says, God might not call your family. He doesn’t call everyone, you know. I could barely speak with the shock but quoted John 3 16. He misquoted it back for God that so loved the predestined. I can remember sitting on my sofa alone and crying and wondering whatever had made him say a thing like that. I hadn’t heard of the doctrine of Calvinism and tulip because they don’t tell you. It was only through the internet that I found out about the doctrine of Calvinism.

I then started to get confused about some of the verses they use. He chose us before the foundation of the world as opposed to according to the sins he had chosen us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. For a long time Ralph, I was very confused as I had been chucked into a country of Calvinism. I started looking around the internet to see was there anyone who disagreed with this doctrine?

You are the first person who I found speaking out against it. I then found other sermons explaining the more complicated verses like Ephesians chapter 1. Please let me take this opportunity to thank you for speaking out against Calvinism and explaining the more complicated verses they use to support their doctrine. So you may not think that we’re making an impact, but for one person to write who knows how many other people have been blessed because of the same thing. He said, I did send one of your sermons to the Calvinist church, which they ignored.

I then phoned them to speak to them directly. I can’t only reiterate what they said to me. I quoted John 3 16. The pastor said he couldn’t see world. I mentioned the who so ever. He says, I can’t see that. He immediately jumped in Defeisions chapter one. I quoted, chose you this day who you will serve, Joshua 24 15. The pastor says he couldn’t see it. I’m unsure what they’re reading. I asked him, how do you know you’re chosen?

He jumped into the parable of the sower and said he was persevering so that proves he is. I asked are you saying Christ is looking to you, your works for salvation? He wanted off the phone. I can’t leave my house much as I suffer from illness in the brain, she says, some problem, which caused trouble quite a lot of time. I can’t walk easily. I spend a lot of time speaking to non-believers on Facebook. I keep gospel tracts stored to pass on to them.

They get a little video from you how to be sure you’re going to heaven. I was braced to speak to non-believers. I was never braced to deal with Calvinism. So thank you so much for all your help. I have a soft heart and cry easily, but I also have a hard head and will continue to pursue the Calvinist Church and many thanks and I don’t think I’ll mention her name on the air because I don’t think it’d be necessary.

But just a person who is listening and learning and it helps. When you know how to answer these verses that people give you and change things around, I got just one last thing that I wanted to mention to you from the other Sunday night. And I mentioned a little bit about it on Sunday morning, but the guy who had wrote on one of my YouTube messages about the damnable doctrine of eternal security. This one saved always saved. And so I don’t consider that separate doctrine and salvation.

One saved always saved. That is the gospel. That is the truth. If you’re not saved forever, you’re not saved at all. So I wanted to finish it’s up by giving you a summary of something that he added. He says this, to summarize the one save always saved, crowd, which could refer to most of us here, right? I would hope to think it would be all of us in here. So if you trust the Christ as your Savior, how long do you save for forever.

There isn’t no partial salvation or probation. It’s forever. He says to summarize the one saved always, saved crowd, I’ll look at it like this. Now you got to follow his thinking now. If you’ve ever been a tenant somewhere and had at least, you know sometimes the top of the lease is in bold black ink and usually says something like, I, your name, hereby enters into a contractual agreement with Realtor to lease the building or the apartment at location for a fee of blah, blah, blah per month.

You see where he might be going? Now right off the bat, you know, he’s thinking that salvation is a contractual agreement that we’re making with God, and so therefore I’ve got to know the conditions of this contract. He He says, below these opening lines, there is usually a list of 20 or more bullet points of fine print, listing the conditions of your tenancy, such as loud music will not be played past 10 o’clock at night or before 9 o’clock in the morning.

Animals are not allowed in this apartment complex. Garbage will not be thrown from windows or places, no way. I think some people just thought I’d do windows, they couldn’t do it. is prohibited in hallways and lobby. Drinking alcoholic beverages is prohibited in hallways and the lobby. Alterations of landscape is prohibited except by written consent from the realtor and blah blah blah blah. Now it usually ends with something like violation of these terms and conditions will be grounds for the termination of your lease agreement.

That’s That’s why we’re all up because we didn’t read the fine print. So yes, you’re saved by grace. Everybody knows that. But you’ve got to keep the terms of the agreement. How do you keep your salvation? Well, you’ve got to know that you can’t kick the dog out of the house. Anyway, let me read this to you. saved always save crowds most of the time. Only look at the top of the least agreement to salvation in screams. I make my payments.

I have the right to live here no matter what. Or in other words, I accept a cries and I’m saved no matter what. Never. I mean never do they read the terms and conditions of their tendency. I will even say in my experience most of them don’t know the fine print even exist for if they did, they would not believe in the heresy of one saved always saved. Man, we just didn’t read the fine print. And the fine print is all those verses that seems to say there’s conditions of you having the salvation.

It’s not free after all. In other words, God’s I lied to you. God sent him. I deceived you. I really didn’t mean what I I said when I gave it to you in the big print because this little print is going to take it away from you. In closing, he says, brothers and sisters in Christ, well how can he call me a brother and sister in Christ? Well I believe that damnable doctrine of eternal security. He said, I would strongly urge you to reject this doctrine of devils.

It leads to a path of destruction and gives people every excuse in the book to be despicable, apathetic human beings. Now you know where you’re headed. This is what he’s calling people who believe in once saved always saved. Now, aren’t you glad you came to church to be encouraged tonight? How are you feeling about yourself now? The proof is in the pudding. I like pudding. It is extremely rare, get this? It is extremely rare to find a person who believes in once saved always saved and actually follows Christ.

not that such people don’t exist, but they’re very hard to find. I mean if somebody believes in this one saved always saves, well they never get to be godly because you see they believe in a license to sin. You can just go out here and live any way you want. It is true. I can live any way I want, but what if I want to serve the Lord? And I want to go to church and I want to read my Bible.

I want to. There’s nothing wrong with my want to. Now, he says, many don’t believe that they have to or even should take Jesus’ instruction in life 100% seriously because they don’t think they apply to us today with the dyspaedoodle doctrine of mid-act dispensation so they can live a life of wanting excess and just set it up all day long. The proof that having to emulate Jesus didn’t end after the crucifixion and mid-axed dispensationalism is mostly incorrect in that many of the verses I have put forth come from the apostles long after the crucifixion and even Paul himself.

Which kind of people would you rather have? Now get this in. Listen to this question. Which kind of people would you rather have? Which would you rather trust if you had to? A Christian who believes you have to follow Christ and totally obey his commandments, try to be perfect, overcome through him and live a holy life? Or a Christian who believes that they can be as sinful as they want and it will never make a difference on their soul.

Everything is okay. Don’t try to be or do anything. Don’t have to give or care or have charity or the fruits of the Spirit. Nothing. Well, which one would you choose? Well, when you’d rather trust a person that believes they got to do good works to go to heaven than a person who doesn’t believe it, I think there is no doubt about it. I would go with a real Christian any day. And he goes on. So the question is, are you a real Christian?

Are you a real Christian? It’s amazing how people can get so balled up. Take your Bible and turn it to the book of Ephesians in chapter one. Ephesians chapter one. The Lord tells us in the book of Ephesians chapter one, This is where a lot of the Calvinists get a few of their verses, and also in 2 Thessalonians in chapter 2. Of course, they get quite a bit out of the vocal Romans in chapter 9. But notice what it says here in verse 3.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath past tense, blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. Now this is your position that you have in Christ. When you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, you are not only crucified with Christ, you were buried with Christ, you have been risen with Christ, you ascended with Christ, and you’re seated in the heavenlies in Christ. God already sees you there, and We just haven’t got there yet, but it’s as good as done.

So I had a man that kept coming to our downtown Bible study. And he kept always asking the question, why should I want to go to heaven? I says, haven’t you heard of a place called hell? Now, if there is a hell, I can tell you one good reason why I’d want to go to heaven, because I wouldn’t want to go to hell. And I do a lot of funerals. And I love the 116th Psalm, because in the 116th Psalm, it talks about how that in the presence of the Lord.

He says that it honors the Lord and it pleases the Lord and he says, precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. Why is that so precious in the sight of God? Well, that’s in the 116th Psalm, but in the 16th Psalm where David is referring to Christ and he’s going to be buried, but he’s going to be raised again from the dead and his body’s not going to see corruption. And then the verse makes this statement, in thy presence there is eternal joy and eternal pleasures, or evermore.

Now think about what that verse is. In thy presence there’s eternal joy and eternal place. Now tell me why would I want to go there? Can you think of a good reason huh? Do you realize what it’s like in the other place, but in thy presence? So when God takes one of us from here, look at the place that He’s taken this to, whether it is eternal joy and pleasure in His presence. That’s why He says in the 116 some, precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.

So we have already been blessed because God is already, well, He said, this is where you’re going to be. Now look what He says here in verse 4, according as He had chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love. So when somebody looks at that verse and they read it quickly like I did, according as He have chosen us. You see that part of the verse where it says before the foundations of the world, that means before we were ever born.

God already chose us. And would He chose us? He chose us to be holy and without blame. And in verse 5 having predestinated us, destiny fixed beforehand. How come you can’t believe that God chose us and rejected others? He didn’t before the foundation of the world is right there. But people when they’re already bent, they see everything from that bent perspective. And you’ll notice when he makes this statement here in verse 4, according as he have chosen us, see those next two little words?

Those two little words are so very important in him. You see before the foundations of the world, God chose all of those that are in him in Christ. He chose all of them that are in Christ to be holy and without blame before him in love. And he has already predetermined that those that are in Christ shall have eternal life and be with the Lord for all eternity. He’s already pretty determined that. There’s not a secret. But you and I are the one that determines whether or not we will be in Christ are not in Christ.

See there in verse 5, having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace. We’re in, get this, he hath made us accepted where? In thee beloved. see you get in Christ by accepting Jesus Christ as your Savior. That’s why even down there in verse 12 when he says that we should be to the praise of his glory who first trusted in Christ.

We’ve trusted in Christ. That means we’re trusting him. A man who is really chosen by God before the foundations of the world and God chose to save that particular person was that person ever truly really lost. Was he ever really in danger of hell fire? If God’s already determined, he’s going to heaven. In the words, if I was God and I looked down here at Warren and I said, I’m going to choose to save Warren. Warren is destined by me to go to heaven, predetermined, blah, blah, blah, blah.

If that’s true, is he ever in real danger of going to hell. If it doesn’t have been upon his choice, only dependent upon God’s choice. And God’s already chosen him. So when was he lost? When was he lost? He didn’t have to get saved. Well, he never lost. Christ came into the world of seeking to save that which was… So if there’s anybody he didn’t come to save would have been those who believed in predestination.

All the Calvinists. Because you see, they believe in the perseverance of the saints. That if you are saved, the only way you can know that you’re saved and know that you’re one of the elect is that you have to… persevere in the faith. Your persevering in the faith is the evidence of the proof to you you are one of the chosen. But how does a person who is a Calvinist who believes that they are one of the elect? How do they really know they are one of the elect?

Were they using to determine? It can’t be that because well I trust the Christ must save you. No that’s not good enough because if you don’t persevere, you doubt your salvation. That’s why there’s churches being filled with people who question and doubt their salvation because if they don’t live it in persevere, then they have all these questions and doubts about whether they’re really safe. So what did God say? He said, if I trusted him, I have what? Eternal life.

All my sins are paid. That’s how I know I’m going to heaven. The reason I knew I was going to heaven in 1960 is the same reason I had given today. Nothing has changed. The only reason I knew I was going to heaven in 1960, because I accepted Christ as my Savior. How do I know I’m going to heaven today? Because the verse hasn’t changed. Still says the same thing. He said, believe it, let me have to have a life in life.

I got it because God said so. And that has not changed. He said, but what about all the way you live and it has nothing to do with it? A man cannot know he saved because of the works he’d done, or bad, the works that he’s doing, present tense, or the bad works that he may do in the future. If salvation is not by your works, it’s not because of any works I had done, any works that I am doing, or any works that I will do.

So, works can never be the guarantee that you know you’re saved. It’s what did the book say? I know I’m saved because Christ died for my sins. It’s the only reason I know I’m going to heaven. And there isn’t any other reason that you can latch on, because like I’ve said before, if I say, well, I know I’m saved because I’m persevering in the faith. Well, what do you mean by that? Well, I go in the church. I lost me, I can go to church.

If that’s the proof that you’re saved, does that prove he is too? Well, I read the Bible and I pray and I give. Okay, can a lost man do that? Well, yeah. So if that proof, you’re saved, then that must be the proof that he saved. which way is it? If it doesn’t prove, he say, what does it prove you are? And who becomes the judge? Are you determining that you’re one of the elect because you’re persevering the faith but you’re using your own judgment to discern?

How perfect is that? Is your judgment that accurate? And the only reason you’re gonna say you know you’re saved is not gonna be because you trusted Christ, it’s gonna be because I’m persevering in the faith. And that’s why that is such a dangerous doctrine. And there’s people who are not clear on it. And so that’s why the churches are being filled with people who hope they’re going to heaven. And they don’t know and understand. The Bible says we have eternal life.

Are you ready to learn how to live your life as a strong Christian, lead others to Christ, or excel as a church worker or ministry leader? Then look no further than Florida Bible College of Tampa with traditional and online classes taught by instructors with years of experience. Florida Bible College of Tampa can help you grow in your Christian life. Whether taking individual classes or working toward a one-year degree, Florida Bible College of Tampa is here for you. To learn more, visit online at FloridaBibleCollege.us or call the Register of Bob Gilbert at 8502275325.

That’s 8502275325. Thanks for joining us on Bibleline. If you are in the area, we welcome you to visit us. The address for Calvary Community Church is 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634. And now, a closing thought from Pastor Arnold. Friend, one day it will happen. The trumpet will sound. And we will be changed. Caught up to meet the Lord in the air. So live today and every day. Believing that the Lord is coming soon, just keep looking up.