I think God wants me to be a Calvinist

[nasa1]

I used to belong to the word of faith. I got out of that when one morning, boom, God hit me with a revelation of his sovereignty (something that they do not teach in the word of faith movement.) I was filled with awe of the Sovereign God that I did not know and started praising Him right there!


I am not saying I understand God fully, or even close to it. But since then, I have come to see that Calvinism is true. My problem is that I do not see the Holy Spirit as a third person of the Trinity. I have asked God to show me if it true. I simply see no evidence of the Holy Spirit speaking to Jesus, which for me woukd show that they are two different persons. I also see that 2nd Cor 3:17 says that "Jesus is the Spirit."


But irregardless, the other day I was having a discussion with a friend who believes that if anyone chooses, they can decide to be a Christian. He even said that once you accept God, then you are the chosen! How backwards!

He says that if anyone opens their heart, God will come in. I say that mankind is too warped to ever consider that. He also said that when God sees a person is open to Jesus, He will draw them and save them. I think the Bible teach that it is God that opens a person's heart to recieve, as was the case was Lydia.

I then said to him, "Look at the 70 disciples. They seemingly "opened to their hearts" to Jesus, and yet in the end they walked away. Why didn't God see that they had gone casting out demons, and even preached the good news - and then He let them walk away? No, they served Jesus and still walked away, because a Sovereign God had not chosen them and drawn them and inititated the relationship!" Then my friend became flustered, because I was right, or as the case was, the Bible was right. He said, "Does the Bible say that they stayed away forever? Maybe they repented and came back!" He just refused to see the truth - that God had not drawn them in the first place.


You know what I believe? You see a lukewarm church sometimes, don't you? I believe that is because we have many people serving the Lord on their own volition without a Sovereign God drawing them first! They will walk away from the Lord, or He will get His angels to take them out into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For mahy are called, but few are chosen.


I think I also now see two wills of God in the Bible, although I need more help in understanding this awesome concept. Could you pray for me? My name is Theresa. Could you also offer a book that would help me, and some internet sites? Also, please pray for me reagrding the messianic movement I am currently involved in. Daily I see big problems with the movement and I am starting to think it is not of the Lord, but of the devil.


Thank you,
NASA


ps - could you please tell me how to pray for loved ones who do not know the Lord. My uncle Tom is at death's door, and I do not know how to pray for him, knowing that God has already made up His mind about Tom's destiny

 

[wnwall]

Hi, Theresa, welcome to the awesome vision of God that is his sovereignty in all things for the joy of all peoples! Praise God for the work he is doing in your heart! Thank you for sharing what God has been doing in you. God is mightily glorified in all that he does.

As for your question on the Holy Spirit, I am not very well studied in arguments on the Holy Spirit being the third person of the trinity, but the verses that came to my mind as I read your post were in the gospel of John when Jesus is talking about sending the Holy Spirit to the disciples.

I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment (John 16:7-8).

We know that the "Helper" is the Holy Spirit from John 14:26 and John 15:26,

But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you (John 14:26).

"But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me (John 15:26).

So here we have some verses where Jesus is talking about the Holy Spirit as a third person; not the Father, not the Son, but someone else. Hopefully that helps some, and maybe someone who knows more on this subject than I do will be able to offer you more help.

If you get into another discussion with your friend on election again, I think one of the best examples is Paul himself. You can simply bring up the question, "When did Paul ever seek God before Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus?" Paul was murdering and imprisoning Christians right up until the day Jesus called him. And do you remember what Jesus said to Ananias while Paul was still blinded from his experience with Jesus?

He is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name (Acts 9:15-16).

Not only was Jesus sovereign over Paul's conversion, Jesus was also sovereign over Paul's suffering. All five times he was beaten with 39 lashes, all three times he was beaten with rods, both times he was shipwrecked, once when he was stoned by the Jews and left for dead, every time he was imprisoned (2 Corinthians 11:23-27), Jesus was in control.

I think that's why the writings of Paul are where we find some of the most convincing arguments for unconditional election (such as Romans 9), because he knew that if God had not first worked in him, he never would have chosen God. Or to quote Charles Spurgeon, "I believe in the doctrine of election because I am quite certain that if God had not chosen me, I should never have chosen him. And I am sure he chose me before I was born or else he never would have chosen me afterwards."

I think I also now see two wills of God in the Bible, although I need more help in understanding this awesome concept. Could you pray for me? My name is Theresa. Could you also offer a book that would help me, and some internet sites? Also, please pray for me reagrding the messianic movement I am currently involved in. Daily I see big problems with the movement and I am starting to think it is not of the Lord, but of the devil.

I will pray for you. It brings me great joy to see God working in people as he is working in you, and I pray he will continue to work in you as well as through you to reach others.

I will leave the book suggestions to others, but as for internet sites I highly recommend DesiringGod.org. Desiring God is the ministry of a Reformed Baptist preacher named John Piper. God has worked through him to reach me and many of my friends in such a way that I could never be grateful enough to God for his work through Piper.

Piper is currently doing a 7 part series called "Spectacular Sins and Their Global Purpose in the Glory of Christ" and it's all on God's sovereignty in all things. His last two sermons, "The Fall of Satan and the Victory of Christ" and "The Fatal Disobedience of Adam and the Triumphant Obedience of Christ" were incredible.

For more on unconditional election, I specifically recommend his sermons on Romans 9. There's a little over a dozen of them, so to get started, I'd listen to "The Freedom and Justice of God in Unconditional Election," which was the first one I listened to, and it blew me away.

ps - could you please tell me how to pray for loved ones who do not know the Lord. My uncle Tom is at death's door, and I do not know how to pray for him, knowing that God has already made up His mind about Tom's destiny

When you pray, ask God what you want. God's sovereignty is not a limitation on our prayer, rather it is an encouragement to pray because we know we worship a God who is sovereign and in control of all things. Ask God that he will change your uncle's heart, knowing that it is only God who can change his heart. Ask God that he would bring people and events into his life that can help him see God's glory, knowing that no one will help him if God doesn't put it in their hearts. If it is only God who can do these things, then it is glorifying to God when you ask him. By asking him to do these things, you are acknowledging that he is in control and he is glorified in that.

May God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ see you through to end. To Him be all glory,
Nathan

 

[xapis]

Greetings nasa! God bless ya.

Monergism.com has articles on just about any question you could possibly have about Reformed theology.

I recommend A.W. Pink's The Sovereignty of God and a book I'm reading now called God of Promise by Michael Horton. If you're into audio, you definitely need to check out The White Horse Inn.

As for the Trinity, that is definitely a major stumbling block. Monergism.com has lots of resources on this topic:
http://www.monergism.com/directory/link_category/Trinity/Evidence/
http://www.monergism.com/directory/link_category/Trinity/Essays/

Let us know if you have any other questions!

Grace & Peace,
xapis

 

[UMP]

ICould you also offer a book that would help me,

This is a wonderful book:
"The Sovereignty of God" by A.W. Pink
http://www.pbministries.org/books/pink/Sovereignty/sovereignty.htm

 

[GrinningDwarf]

Howdy, Theresa! Welcome aboard!

You've already gotten some great advice here. Hopefully, I can just add a few more things.

About the Trinity...remember in Matthew 3:16-17, at Jesus' baptism? We see Jesus being baptised, we hear God's voice, and we see the Holy Spirit descending upon Jesus...all at the same time! This is one of the evidences that Jesus is not the Holy Spirit. One of the best books I've read on the topic was The Forgotten Trinity: Rediscovering the Heart of Chrisitan Belief by James R. White.

I would also recommend a few other books for you to check out about Reformed theology...

Putting Amazing Back Into Grace by Michael Horton

The Bondage of the Will by Martin Luther (you can't beat the old Reformers!!)

I usually recommed Chosen By God by RC Sproul instead of AW Pink's The Sovereignty of God. They cover the same topic, but Chosen By God is shorter than the other one, and I think it's more approachable to our 21st-century Western minds...but it sounds like you might be ready for the 'meatier' stuff right now, so check them both out and take your pick.

 

[HiredGoon]

The book I found most helpful when first investigating Calvinism, was "Chosen By God" by R.C. Sproul. Sproul's "The Holiness of God" is also good. Actually most books by R.C. Sproul are good. He has some free audio and video at Ligonier Ministries.

 

[nasa1]

Hi, Theresa, welcome to the awesome vision of God that is his sovereignty in all things for the joy of all peoples! Praise God for the work he is doing in your heart! Thank you for sharing what God has been doing in you. God is mightily glorified in all that he does.

As for your question on the Holy Spirit, I am not very well studied in arguments on the Holy Spirit being the third person of the trinity, but the verses that came to my mind as I read your post were in the gospel of John when Jesus is talking about sending the Holy Spirit to the disciples.

We know that the "Helper" is the Holy Spirit from John 14:26 and John 15:26,

So here we have some verses where Jesus is talking about the Holy Spirit as a third person; not the Father, not the Son, but someone else. Hopefully that helps some, and maybe someone who knows more on this subject than I do will be able to offer you more help.

If you get into another discussion with your friend on election again, I think one of the best examples is Paul himself. You can simply bring up the question, "When did Paul ever seek God before Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus?" Paul was murdering and imprisoning Christians right up until the day Jesus called him. And do you remember what Jesus said to Ananias while Paul was still blinded from his experience with Jesus?

Not only was Jesus sovereign over Paul's conversion, Jesus was also sovereign over Paul's suffering. All five times he was beaten with 39 lashes, all three times he was beaten with rods, both times he was shipwrecked, once when he was stoned by the Jews and left for dead, every time he was imprisoned (2 Corinthians 11:23-27), Jesus was in control.

I think that's why the writings of Paul are where we find some of the most convincing arguments for unconditional election (such as Romans 9), because he knew that if God had not first worked in him, he never would have chosen God. Or to quote Charles Spurgeon, "I believe in the doctrine of election because I am quite certain that if God had not chosen me, I should never have chosen him. And I am sure he chose me before I was born or else he never would have chosen me afterwards."



I will pray for you. It brings me great joy to see God working in people as he is working in you, and I pray he will continue to work in you as well as through you to reach others.

I will leave the book suggestions to others, but as for internet sites I highly recommend DesiringGod.org. Desiring God is the ministry of a Reformed Baptist preacher named John Piper. God has worked through him to reach me and many of my friends in such a way that I could never be grateful enough to God for his work through Piper.

Piper is currently doing a 7 part series called "Spectacular Sins and Their Global Purpose in the Glory of Christ" and it's all on God's sovereignty in all things. His last two sermons, "The Fall of Satan and the Victory of Christ" and "The Fatal Disobedience of Adam and the Triumphant Obedience of Christ" were incredible.

For more on unconditional election, I specifically recommend his sermons on Romans 9. There's a little over a dozen of them, so to get started, I'd listen to "The Freedom and Justice of God in Unconditional Election," which was the first one I listened to, and it blew me away.



When you pray, ask God what you want. God's sovereignty is not a limitation on our prayer, rather it is an encouragement to pray because we know we worship a God who is sovereign and in control of all things. Ask God that he will change your uncle's heart, knowing that it is only God who can change his heart. Ask God that he would bring people and events into his life that can help him see God's glory, knowing that no one will help him if God doesn't put it in their hearts. If it is only God who can do these things, then it is glorifying to God when you ask him. By asking him to do these things, you are acknowledging that he is in control and he is glorified in that.

May God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ see you through to end. To Him be all glory,
Nathan

Thank you so much Nathan!

Can I ask you, what do you make of 2nd Cor 3:17?





Also, I know that I am on the right track with the Sovereignty of God and Calvinism. You know, I used to believe that I was responsible for staying in this relationship with Jesus. I thought that I had chosen Him, and I could therefore reject Him. Yes, that is possible if the Father has not drawn you, and you chose God yourself!

But when God chooses you, you are kept by the power of God. My friend is a word of faith charismatic, and they believe you can lose their salvation. I know that I am chosen. I have been aware of this for some time now. I did not choose Jesus at all. I remember being in a foster home that made us go to church (but I liked it) and one sunday this elder came up to me and said, "The Lord told me to tell you that He wants you to read the gospel of John." I was sitting with the othewr foster girls, but he said nothing to them. I was chosen out of the crowd!


And this is what makes our faith better than fine gold. If anyone can choose Jesus, it is not rare - but if only He can choose us, then yes indeed it is rare and we should be so thankful and bow down to Him because He did not have to choose any of us! Thank you, Sovereign God! You are the God of the elect angels and the elect humans and you control the evil one. You are not in a battle with Him - you control the evil one and you control everything that happens and man will never prevail against you! In the name of Jesus, Amen


Thank you for those links. The only webiste I know of is "The Mountain Retreat." Ever hear of it?


NASA

 

[nasa1]

Howdy, Theresa! Welcome aboard!

You've already gotten some great advice here. Hopefully, I can just add a few more things.

About the Trinity...remember in Matthew 3:16-17, at Jesus' baptism? We see Jesus being baptised, we hear God's voice, and we see the Holy Spirit descending upon Jesus...all at the same time! This is one of the evidences that Jesus is not the Holy Spirit. One of the best books I've read on the topic was The Forgotten Trinity: Rediscovering the Heart of Chrisitan Belief by James R. White.

I would also recommend a few other books for you to check out about Reformed theology...

Putting Amazing Back Into Grace by Michael Horton

The Bondage of the Will by Martin Luther (you can't beat the old Reformers!!)

I usually recommed Chosen By God by RC Sproul instead of AW Pink's The Sovereignty of God. They cover the same topic, but Chosen By God is shorter than the other one, and I think it's more approachable to our 21st-century Western minds...but it sounds like you might be ready for the 'meatier' stuff right now, so check them both out and take your pick.

Thank you, I have actually wanted to read Pink's Sovereignty of God for some time now. I have read only one of Sproul's books, but I know he is a good author so I will read that one too. I love to read, and can handle the old style archaic language, so Pink won't pose a problem for me....
so thanks to you and hired goon for recommending those books to me.

NASA

 

[DUDLEY61]

I am a former Roman Catholic and a recent convert to the Reformed Presbyterian fold. I was an Episcopalian for a brief period after leaving the Roman Catholic fold and I am now also becoming a Presbyterian.

I have been studying with the Pastor of an OPC congregation and his Westminster Confesssion of Faith and Presbyterian doctrine classes every week. I been attending and worshipping with the Redeemer OPC and visiting some other PCusa and PCA congregations over the summer. I have not yet decided which group or congregation I will join and make a confession of faith, I hope to make a decision this fall. The following are some thoughts I shared with others recently. I have taken my conversion to the Reformed theology and the Presbyterian Protestant fold seriously. I think I am becoming a Calvinist Presbyterian. I never thought I would leave the Roman Catholic fold and become a Protestant. It was a series of circumstances and then a study of the Protestant Reformation which opened my eyes. I had to follow my conscience and the truth. I guess it was an election by God, his Sons saving Grace that led me to the Presbyterian fold.

I have been reading some of John Calvin's first writings after his conversion to Protestantism. His new Reformed beliefs were at first written and designed as a brief summary of essential Christian belief and a defense of the early Protestant reformers and to defend French Protestants, who were being seriously persecuted by the Roman Catholic Church. John Calvin rescued the true Gospel and the true "catholic' universal Christian church from the awful corruption's of the Roman church. Today I truly believe The Calvinist Reformed Presbyterians are the true heirs of the early church. I now believe John Calvin was one of the greatest theologians and visionaries of the Protestant Reformation. I believe he gave us a vision of God in his sovereign majesty that even Luther failed to see. I am now beginning to understand and see Jesus Christ as prophet, priest, and king. I believe that John Calvin clearly helped us to see the Holy Spirit as the giver of faith and of the Bible as the final authority. The Christian "catholic" church as Calvin saw it was the holy people of God. I am now also beginning to also understand Calvin's doctrine of Predestination. Calvin's deduction on the Presbyterian teaching of Predestination I think stems from his beliefs in our human sinfulness and God's sovereign mercy in Christ. It is that mercy alone that redeems us and elects us to salvation. Our own works accomplishes nothing; it is the amazing grace alone. It is so clear and simple. I pray someday the Church of Rome will also see the truth.

I believe I became a Protestant because after studying Luther and his writings 5became a believer in the Protestant doctrine of Justification. I think God led me to become a Protestant and Presbyterian. What I said started as a study on the Protestant
Reformation led to a conversion to Protestantism for me.

I was an Episcopalian for a short time. I have been a Protestant for only a little over a year but I became a believer in the Reformed theology only last winter and I have been practicing and worshipping as a Presbyterian since February last, 2007, Only 8 months. It is a shame but the Episcopalians and Anglicans are really like the Roman church. I also think that if it were not for the "British" the Roman Catholics in Southern Ireland and Northern Ireland would also is Protestant. However it is our Reformed Presbyterian Protestant faith that I believe now is pure and it is the Calvinist Presbyterians I believe that are truly Protestant for religious conviction not Political.

As a Roman Catholic I needed to belong to the Roman Church to be saved. I had to do good works and work with much effort and much guilt to save myself. I know now as a Protestant that none of this could save my soul. Salvation was bestowed because of God’s mercy. Salvation by Faith alone...the Protestant doctrine of Justification.

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." Eph 2:8-10

The Reformed theology I believe is the only Protestant theology that praises the sovereignty of God and the governmental structure is biblically sound.

I nolonger accept the Roman church and its view of the Bishop of Rome as the final authority and head of the church. As a Protestant I believe the Bible is the final Authority. As a Protestant I believe Christ alone is head of his church. As a Presbyterian we are all members of the Priesthood of Christ. It is why I am now a Protestant who looks forward to professing my faith publicly as a Presbyterian.

I have done extensive study and research in making certain I was becoming a Protestant because I truly believed as the reformers did. I am relatively certain I am correct and God has elected me to further discover the truth.

Jesus promised that He would build His church and the gates of hell would not prevail against it. (Matthew 16:18) I now believ that the institutional Roman church has been in seriouserror on many occasions. I thought my whole life that the Roman church was the true church. I now know that Roman Catholicism is not the ‘mother church’; the true church of Christ I was in belief also that Protestant Reformers went astray from the truth. I now know it is not true. The Protestant churches, particularly mainline Protestants like the Presbyterians who are calvinist in theology have the church of Christ with the true Gospel as Christ intended it. The Roman Catholic Church teaches a gospel which sadly is corrupted by the magesterium, the Roman curia and the Papacy. The reformers had to leave Rome; they could not reform her abuses and corruption from within. Ileft Roman catholicism for similar reasons.

I am now certain that the Protestant Reformation was a tremendous act of God and the Reformers were true Believers.

Were the Reformers Right in Separating from the Church of Rome at the Reformation? My study of the Protestant reformation led me to be convinced they were. It is why I am now a Protestant and becoming a Presbyterian. What she taught and practiced concerning the Word of Christ, the Service of Christ, the Death of Christ, the Worship of Christ and the Pardon of Christ.

The Reformers realized as they studied the Scriptures that the great central doctrine of the gospel was expressed in the comprehensive sentence, “Christ died for our sins”. The death of Christ was the great center from which the doctrine of salvation sprung. Rome, instead of preaching the Cross, boasted she was repeating the sacrifice of Christ in her service of the Mass.

If you are a western ‘Christian” (Christians in the west, including the church of Rome) say the Nicene Creed, and when we as Protestants say " we believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church we do not mean Roman Catholic we mean Universal. The world and Rome has incorrectly fostered a misunderstanding of what the word catholic means. It does not and should not mean Roman Catholic only.

Vatican II and educated RC’s have understood that. I as well as many RC’s at the time of Vatican II thought the Roman church was truly ready to reconsider the mistakes she had made and the errors of the council of Trent. She had retracted on many of the curses she placed on the Protestants through the Council of Trent. Protestant were no longer to be viewed as outside the church of Christ, John XXIII and the Vatican II council said Protestants were separated brethren and that we are all saved by our common belief in Jesus Christ. It was apparent with that statement that John XXIII and some Bishops were leading to the acceptance of the Protestant doctrine of salvation by faith in Christ alone, Justification. For a while it appeared that way but I now personally believe that some powerful Roman curia saw that it would diminish their control over the Roman church and its faithful. They truly feared and said in many statements we need to be on our guard that the Roman catholic church might be becoming too Protestant in is liturgy and theology. I personally believe the Old Roman Curia and the current Pope Benedict XV hijacked the Vatican II Council of the 1960’s and reform movements placed in motion by John XXIII and that council. The popes staement on the true church in July further vedrifies my point.

Having been a Roman Catholic all my life I can now see many of the errors of Rome. I am well versed in the Roman Catholic theology. I studied the Luther first and Lutheran theology and attended Lutheran as well as Episcopalian services. They are both similar in many ways to the Roman church. I became very interested when I discovered Calvin and Knox and the Presbyterian Church and the Protestant Reformed Theology. My interest, study and then joining in worship led me to decide to convert to the Presbyterian Protestant Church. I now believe the Reformed Faith and doctrines of the Presbyterian Protestant fold to be the most solidly Biblical. They also explain salvation history and covenants better than any other method of theology.

As a Roman Catholic I always thought it was the Protestant fold that strayed, I now see that the Roman church strayed. I believe I am born again in the Gospel of Christ. I believe I am a better Christian. I now stand for the truth of salvation by faith alone, through free and sovereign grace alone, by the finished work of Christ alone. I Believe Rome is wrong in not accepting the doctrine.

The reformed theology is the only Protestant theology that praises the sovereignty of God and the governmental structure is biblically sound. I believe the Presbyterian Fold is the pure and true Christian church. It’s why I want to profess my faith as a Presbyterian. I’m now a Protestant and a Presbyterian.


The King James Bible says:
"You nullify the Word of God by your traditions that you have handed down" (Mark 7:13)

Over the years many traditions have crept into the Roman Catholic Church, nullifying the Word of God and His saving grace. Roman Catholicism places tradition along with scripture and manyof the traditions go directly against the truth of Scripture. Roman Catholics are required to believe all the doctrines of their church. I am no longer a Roman Catholic. I am a Presbyterian Protestant, I no longer accept or believe the teaching of Tradition and scripture. I now believe only Christ is head of his church not Roman Pope.
I am now certain that the Reformation was a tremendous act of God and John Calvin was one of the Greatest of the Reformers.


A new Reformed friend in common profession of our Christianity,
Dudley

 

[heymikey80]

I used to belong to the word of faith. I got out of that when one morning, boom, God hit me with a revelation of his sovereignty (something that they do not teach in the word of faith movement.) I was filled with awe of the Sovereign God that I did not know and started praising Him right there!

I am not saying I understand God fully, or even close to it. But since then, I have come to see that Calvinism is true.

First off, if you could keep growing in knowledge of Calvinism, I would say that is a big factor in your coming to understand how the Holy Spirit works in our lives, today.

John Calvin is often called the primary theologian of ... the Holy Spirit. So you've actually come to the right place to figure out something about the Holy Spirit.

My problem is that I do not see the Holy Spirit as a third person of the Trinity. I have asked God to show me if it true. I simply see no evidence of the Holy Spirit speaking to Jesus, which for me woukd show that they are two different persons. I also see that 2nd Cor 3:17 says that "Jesus is the Spirit."

Yes. Trinity is both Essential oneness and Personal separateness.

At Jesus' baptism you see the Holy Spirit descending in entirely different physical form to rest -- to affirm His working -- on Jesus Christ, in Whom the Spirit also lives.

But irregardless, the other day I was having a discussion with a friend who believes that if anyone chooses, they can decide to be a Christian. He even said that once you accept God, then you are the chosen! How backwards!

It is very informative to us to learn how you are thinking about the gifts of the Spirit. Y'see, it's not easy for us to see the error in another view. We're embedded in the view we think is right. It's sort of a "grass is greener" issue. We can see what's wrong with our theology. Often we can't see what's wrong with another -- because we're not close to that theology. So thank you, and please, keep commenting about it.

I think I also now see two wills of God in the Bible, although I need more help in understanding this awesome concept. Could you pray for me? My name is Theresa. Could you also offer a book that would help me, and some internet sites? Also, please pray for me reagrding the messianic movement I am currently involved in. Daily I see big problems with the movement and I am starting to think it is not of the Lord, but of the devil.

This is a very difficult view to get right. Some Calvinists hate calling it a "two wills" view, too. Because we see as one (decretal) will as a means to accomplish the other (moral) will.

But it's ok. Nowadays people just can't get around the idea that ... "the way down is up". Pp 2 shows that in Christ.

ps - could you please tell me how to pray for loved ones who do not know the Lord. My uncle Tom is at death's door, and I do not know how to pray for him, knowing that God has already made up His mind about Tom's destiny

We thought that about someone very close to us. A scant month before they died, they had to room with a believer who had a heart attack. The change was dramatic, swift, and real.

Pray the Holy Spirit would jam into his life some way, somehow that you can't conceive.

 

[nasa1]

I am a former Roman Catholic and a recent convert to the Reformed Presbyterian fold. I was an Episcopalian for a brief period after leaving the Roman Catholic fold and I am now also becoming a Presbyterian.

I have been studying with the Pastor of an OPC congregation and his Westminster Confesssion of Faith and Presbyterian doctrine classes every week. I been attending and worshipping with the Redeemer OPC and visiting some other PCusa and PCA congregations over the summer. I have not yet decided which group or congregation I will join and make a confession of faith, I hope to make a decision this fall. The following are some thoughts I shared with others recently. I have taken my conversion to the Reformed theology and the Presbyterian Protestant fold seriously. I think I am becoming a Calvinist Presbyterian. I never thought I would leave the Roman Catholic fold and become a Protestant. It was a series of circumstances and then a study of the Protestant Reformation which opened my eyes. I had to follow my conscience and the truth. I guess it was an election by God, his Sons saving Grace that led me to the Presbyterian fold.

I have been reading some of John Calvin's first writings after his conversion to Protestantism. His new Reformed beliefs were at first written and designed as a brief summary of essential Christian belief and a defense of the early Protestant reformers and to defend French Protestants, who were being seriously persecuted by the Roman Catholic Church. John Calvin rescued the true Gospel and the true "catholic' universal Christian church from the awful corruption's of the Roman church. Today I truly believe The Calvinist Reformed Presbyterians are the true heirs of the early church. I now believe John Calvin was one of the greatest theologians and visionaries of the Protestant Reformation. I believe he gave us a vision of God in his sovereign majesty that even Luther failed to see. I am now beginning to understand and see Jesus Christ as prophet, priest, and king. I believe that John Calvin clearly helped us to see the Holy Spirit as the giver of faith and of the Bible as the final authority. The Christian "catholic" church as Calvin saw it was the holy people of God. I am now also beginning to also understand Calvin's doctrine of Predestination. Calvin's deduction on the Presbyterian teaching of Predestination I think stems from his beliefs in our human sinfulness and God's sovereign mercy in Christ. It is that mercy alone that redeems us and elects us to salvation. Our own works accomplishes nothing; it is the amazing grace alone. It is so clear and simple. I pray someday the Church of Rome will also see the truth.

I believe I became a Protestant because after studying Luther and his writings 5became a believer in the Protestant doctrine of Justification. I think God led me to become a Protestant and Presbyterian. What I said started as a study on the Protestant
Reformation led to a conversion to Protestantism for me.

I was an Episcopalian for a short time. I have been a Protestant for only a little over a year but I became a believer in the Reformed theology only last winter and I have been practicing and worshipping as a Presbyterian since February last, 2007, Only 8 months. It is a shame but the Episcopalians and Anglicans are really like the Roman church. I also think that if it were not for the "British" the Roman Catholics in Southern Ireland and Northern Ireland would also is Protestant. However it is our Reformed Presbyterian Protestant faith that I believe now is pure and it is the Calvinist Presbyterians I believe that are truly Protestant for religious conviction not Political.

As a Roman Catholic I needed to belong to the Roman Church to be saved. I had to do good works and work with much effort and much guilt to save myself. I know now as a Protestant that none of this could save my soul. Salvation was bestowed because of God’s mercy. Salvation by Faith alone...the Protestant doctrine of Justification.

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." Eph 2:8-10

The Reformed theology I believe is the only Protestant theology that praises the sovereignty of God and the governmental structure is biblically sound.

I nolonger accept the Roman church and its view of the Bishop of Rome as the final authority and head of the church. As a Protestant I believe the Bible is the final Authority. As a Protestant I believe Christ alone is head of his church. As a Presbyterian we are all members of the Priesthood of Christ. It is why I am now a Protestant who looks forward to professing my faith publicly as a Presbyterian.

I have done extensive study and research in making certain I was becoming a Protestant because I truly believed as the reformers did. I am relatively certain I am correct and God has elected me to further discover the truth.

Jesus promised that He would build His church and the gates of hell would not prevail against it. (Matthew 16:18) I now believ that the institutional Roman church has been in seriouserror on many occasions. I thought my whole life that the Roman church was the true church. I now know that Roman Catholicism is not the ‘mother church’; the true church of Christ I was in belief also that Protestant Reformers went astray from the truth. I now know it is not true. The Protestant churches, particularly mainline Protestants like the Presbyterians who are calvinist in theology have the church of Christ with the true Gospel as Christ intended it. The Roman Catholic Church teaches a gospel which sadly is corrupted by the magesterium, the Roman curia and the Papacy. The reformers had to leave Rome; they could not reform her abuses and corruption from within. Ileft Roman catholicism for similar reasons.

I am now certain that the Protestant Reformation was a tremendous act of God and the Reformers were true Believers.

Were the Reformers Right in Separating from the Church of Rome at the Reformation? My study of the Protestant reformation led me to be convinced they were. It is why I am now a Protestant and becoming a Presbyterian. What she taught and practiced concerning the Word of Christ, the Service of Christ, the Death of Christ, the Worship of Christ and the Pardon of Christ.

The Reformers realized as they studied the Scriptures that the great central doctrine of the gospel was expressed in the comprehensive sentence, “Christ died for our sins”. The death of Christ was the great center from which the doctrine of salvation sprung. Rome, instead of preaching the Cross, boasted she was repeating the sacrifice of Christ in her service of the Mass.

If you are a western ‘Christian” (Christians in the west, including the church of Rome) say the Nicene Creed, and when we as Protestants say " we believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church we do not mean Roman Catholic we mean Universal. The world and Rome has incorrectly fostered a misunderstanding of what the word catholic means. It does not and should not mean Roman Catholic only.

Vatican II and educated RC’s have understood that. I as well as many RC’s at the time of Vatican II thought the Roman church was truly ready to reconsider the mistakes she had made and the errors of the council of Trent. She had retracted on many of the curses she placed on the Protestants through the Council of Trent. Protestant were no longer to be viewed as outside the church of Christ, John XXIII and the Vatican II council said Protestants were separated brethren and that we are all saved by our common belief in Jesus Christ. It was apparent with that statement that John XXIII and some Bishops were leading to the acceptance of the Protestant doctrine of salvation by faith in Christ alone, Justification. For a while it appeared that way but I now personally believe that some powerful Roman curia saw that it would diminish their control over the Roman church and its faithful. They truly feared and said in many statements we need to be on our guard that the Roman catholic church might be becoming too Protestant in is liturgy and theology. I personally believe the Old Roman Curia and the current Pope Benedict XV hijacked the Vatican II Council of the 1960’s and reform movements placed in motion by John XXIII and that council. The popes staement on the true church in July further vedrifies my point.

Having been a Roman Catholic all my life I can now see many of the errors of Rome. I am well versed in the Roman Catholic theology. I studied the Luther first and Lutheran theology and attended Lutheran as well as Episcopalian services. They are both similar in many ways to the Roman church. I became very interested when I discovered Calvin and Knox and the Presbyterian Church and the Protestant Reformed Theology. My interest, study and then joining in worship led me to decide to convert to the Presbyterian Protestant Church. I now believe the Reformed Faith and doctrines of the Presbyterian Protestant fold to be the most solidly Biblical. They also explain salvation history and covenants better than any other method of theology.

As a Roman Catholic I always thought it was the Protestant fold that strayed, I now see that the Roman church strayed. I believe I am born again in the Gospel of Christ. I believe I am a better Christian. I now stand for the truth of salvation by faith alone, through free and sovereign grace alone, by the finished work of Christ alone. I Believe Rome is wrong in not accepting the doctrine.

The reformed theology is the only Protestant theology that praises the sovereignty of God and the governmental structure is biblically sound. I believe the Presbyterian Fold is the pure and true Christian church. It’s why I want to profess my faith as a Presbyterian. I’m now a Protestant and a Presbyterian.


The King James Bible says:
"You nullify the Word of God by your traditions that you have handed down" (Mark 7:13)

Over the years many traditions have crept into the Roman Catholic Church, nullifying the Word of God and His saving grace. Roman Catholicism places tradition along with scripture and manyof the traditions go directly against the truth of Scripture. Roman Catholics are required to believe all the doctrines of their church. I am no longer a Roman Catholic. I am a Presbyterian Protestant, I no longer accept or believe the teaching of Tradition and scripture. I now believe only Christ is head of his church not Roman Pope.
I am now certain that the Reformation was a tremendous act of God and John Calvin was one of the Greatest of the Reformers.


A new Reformed friend in common profession of our Christianity,
Dudley

Hi Dudley!

Thank you so much for sharing your story with me. There are still many things I do not understand, but for now, I am calling myself an "Open Minded Calvinist."


You know what is so powerful about Calvinism, and grace? That G-d chose me. He doesn't just choose anyone! I feel special, and trust me, I'm pretty much a loser in the world - but when I think of who I am in Christ, I feel like someone special!

nasa1

 

[FaithfulRemnant]

Although not Reformed strictly, I see much in Reformed doctrine and practice which lends me to think Reformed churches are very biblical and logical. I was thinking about the Limited Atonement vs. universalism(the idea all will be saved). Limited Atonement appears to be a good tool with which to combat universalist ideas. Doctrine aside, I see the Reformed as most Biblical and simple in practice--worship, etc. Some of them use only the Bible even for corporate worship. And yes, the sovereignty of God is most consistently understood and expounded in the Reformed doctrine. You hardly hear about it from others, but to know about it sure gives one peace in a tumultuous world spinning out of control. Two parts of the TULIP you Reformed folks can help me with are the L and I(Limited Atonement and Irresistible Grace). I've been studying up on Limited Atonenment and you know what, it may not be the offensive and unbiblical doctrine I once thought it was, if what I have read is an accurate presentation of Reformed doctrine. I'm getting the picture that the Atonement is "limited" or definite in who benefits from it--namely believers(with which I agree). It's powerful enough for the whole world but only believers are beneficiaries of its work(agree again). It's meant for a particular group(believers) and so in that sense it's limited(agree here also). Am I understanding this correctly? I would like some honest discussion on this Reformed faith because it does interest me. Some scripture references or websites(or both) would be helpful to assist me in seeing why you folks believe these to be Biblical truth. Sometimes I wonder if God wants me to add the word "Reformed" to my Protestant identity(kinda like "I think God wants me to be a Calvinist). I feel Reformed have the highest and purest and most reverent view of the soverignty of both God and His Word.