No Law
Authors: Bobby Holmes and Mark Roberts
I. Error
- A. Neo-Calvinists say:
- 1. "We are under grace, not law. We must not depend on what we do, but on God."
B. Passages Misused:
- 1. Romans 6:14-15
2. Galatians 3:11
Breaking Neo-Calvinism
Authors: Bobby Holmes and Mark Roberts
I. Tips and Tactics
- A. Define all terms. Watch for "term jumping"
- 1. Neo-Calvinists are notorious for saying one thing when they mean something else entirely
2. Make certain that terms such as "law," "grace," "imputed righteousness," are clearly defined and that they stick with the definition
B. Make them say "Must."
- 1. Neo-Calvinists don’t want to admit we must believe to be saved, or that we must accept God’s grace, or that man must do anything to be saved.
2. Make them say it!
C. Get ready to be charged:
- 1. Legalism – "You’re a modern-day Pharisee, legalist, etc."
2. Ignorance – "Do you know everything?"
3. Unrighteousness – "All our works are as filthy rags."
D. Know the book of Romans
- 1. A great deal of Neo-Calvinism comes from perverting Romans.
2. You must know what is taught before you can know error when you hear it!
2. Galatians 3:11
Assurance – Security
Authors: Bobby Holmes and Mark Roberts
I. Error
- A. Neo-Calvinists say:
- 1. "Some sins don’t separate us from God. Christ’s blood automatically covers sins of ignorance or inadvertence.
B. Passages Misused:
- 1. 1 John 1:7-9; 5:16-17
2. Romans 4:8
3. 2 Corinthians 5:19
C. Favorite Tactic:
- 1. Using a hypothetical situation to make you play God.
2. "A man is a faithful saint for 50 years, gets splashed by mud on the street one day, curses, and then is hit by a bus. Will he be lost or saved?"
3. Don’t play God! Clemency is up to the Judge. All we can do is quote the law!
Doctrine-Gospel Distinction
Authors: Bobby Holmes and Mark Roberts
I. Error
- A. Neo-Calvinists say:
- 1. "Gospel is the good news about Christ, and nothing more. Gospel cannot be preached to saints. None of the epistles are Gospel. We must agree on Gospel, but not on doctrine. Fellowship should be extended to all who accept the Gospel."
B. Passages misused:
- 1. 1 Corinthians 15:1-4
Righteousness Imputed
Authors: Bobby Holmes and Mark Roberts
I. Error
-
- 1. Galatians 2:17
2. Romans 4:5-10; 5:1
3. Hebrews 7:22
4. Isaiah 64:6
A. Neo-Calvinists say: “Men are saved by His good works. Jesus is our substitute. We are accounted righteous because Jesus is righteous. The righteousness of Christ clothes the believer with the righteousness the law demands. Man is too corrupt — he can never be righteous on his own.”
B. Passages misused:
Only Grace
Authors: Bobby Holmes and Mark Roberts
I. Error
-
- 1. “Salvation is by grace alone”
- 1. Romans 4:1-5; 11:6
- 1. Watch them say “grace only” whenever you talk about obedience, but then say “one must believe”
2. Which is it – grace only or grace and faith?
3. See John 6:29
A. Neo-Calvinists B. Passages Misused
C. Red Flag:
Justification – Sanctification Difference
Authors: Bobby Holmes and Mark Roberts
I. Error
-
- 1. “Justification is done by God, makes one right with Him. Sanctification is an ongoing process wrought by the Spirit.”
- 1. Romans 5:1-5, 17; 8:1ff
2. 1 Thessalonians 4:3-4
3. 2 Thessalonians 2:13
A. Neo-Calvinists: B. Passages Misused
Study Charts
Authors: Bobby Holmes and Mark Roberts
The Seed of Calvinism
God’s Sovereignty Must Rule and Control Everything!
John Calvin’s Five Tenants
- Total Depravity
- Unconditional Election
- Limited Atonement
- Irresistable Grace
- Perseverance of the Saints
Introduction: A Study in Neo-Calvinism
(An Issue That Will Not Die)
Authors: Bobby Holmes and Mark Roberts
Naturally, the roots of Neo-Calvinism are found in plain vanilla Calvinism. This booklet attempts to briefly cover that ground before turning its attention to this “offshoot” of John Calvin’s original errors.
John Calvin made one wrong assumption, and it totally corrupted and destroyed everything he ever thought or wrote from then on. His decision that God controlled everything crept into his beliefs about salvation, redemption, etc. Look carefully at the TULIP and you will see his erroneous ideas about sovereignty behind every point.
The Neo-Calvinists among us make some similarly wrong conclusions, and then build a house of theology upon the shifting sands of error. May this booklet help you to destroy this pernicious teaching.
Solid Food: Misuse of “Grace” to Cover Sin
Introduction:
The pioneer preachers who blazed the trails in truth that we have come to regard as the “Restoration Movement” were able to do so only as they wrestled with sectarian doctrines and creeds and returned to the “old paths” of Bible truth. Much of the religious error of early America with which Barton W. Stone, Walter Scott, James O’Kelley; the Campbells, Ben Franklin and other noble preachers contended was that known as Calvinism.
So far as the churches of Christ are concerned, the fundamental teaching of truth during the Restoration Movement was so effective (cf: “The Scheme of Redemption,” by Robert Milligan) that it eradicated practically every vestige of Calvinism among Christians. From the early 1800′s until our generation, classic Calvinism (TULIP) has been recognized as the error it is and has not been a source of internal strife (must less a cause of division) within local congregations. However, history will record that it has become the task of our generation to combat these errors again.