TAKING A LOOK AT THE VIEW THAT CALVINIST POINT OF VIEW ARE LIKELY TO BE MORE EVANGLISIST
Dr. Roger Schultz, Professor of History, Liberty University, Lynchburg, VA
· The great awakening lead by Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefiled, were men who held to the Doctrines of Grace.
Dr. Stephen Mansfied, Author of Forgotten Founders Father:: The Hemic Legacy of George Whitefield
· The knock on Calvinsist is that it underminds evangelism. God has already chosen them, why evangelize. The fact is the greatest evangelist history of the church have been under men who were Calvinist. George Whitefiled, one of the greatest evengeslit of the church who lead a hugh number to Jesus
So the reality is that’s when a man knows that’s God has sovereignty chosen those to Himself, will make his effort successful rather than it is based on human will.
Not only does Calvinism with its high view of God but demands that we obey the Lord and take the gospel to the whole world. But it also guarantees our success in the enterprise.
Because we know He has ordained his elect, those who will believe through the foolishness of preaching. We can have every confidence as we obey the Lord in prayer and proclamation as Isaiah 55:11 says,
God’s word shall not return void, But it shall accomplish what He pleases, And it shall prosper in the things for which He sent it.
A SECOND QUESTION:
In light of these true’s how and to whom shall we present the Gospel?
The answer to the second part of the question is quite easy, we are to present the gospel as 2 Timothy 4:2 says,
Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season.
Present the gospel to everyone we meet. Or as Jesus put it. In Mark 16:15
- Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
At the point the Armenian will often ask:
Why to every creature? If God is going to save only His elect why waste your time sharing we people who are not the elect.? Who have not been appoint unto salvation..
Well QUITE simply, God does not tell us who the elect are.
People will say why preach the gospel to those who are not going to be saved.
One: It is an indictment against the lost, They hear the gospel and will not respond.
Second preaching the gospel is a leveling effect on the culture as a whole. Even unsaved men are effect by the gospel gets into their life.
Once a man came to Charles Spuregon and said. “If I believe like you Mr Spuregon that God saves some and pass over others I would give up preaching.
To this Spurgeon repled.”
- God has called me to preach His word and if I knew that all the elect had a yellow strip painted down their backs, I would give up preaching the gospel and g o lift up shirts tails.”
We do not know who the elect are so we strive to be to all men as 1 Corinthians 9:22 says, “I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save SOME>
SO AS WE LOOK AT THE CONTENT OF OUR MESSAGE>
We would be well to consider what to avoid
.
As we have already seen much of what we see pass for ministry today much of the gospel has been comprised by the means of humanism.
That often treats its audience as atomists creatures as to have the right to set in judgment on God and His word. Picking out what they like and throwing away the rest.
This lesson is on video:
