Vindicating God Ministries: March 2018

Saturday, March 31, 2018

Romans 9 is Not about Mercy for a Preselected Few

Calvinist Proof-Texts Answered

“For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” (Rom. 9:15)

Romans 9 is Not about Mercy for a Preselected Few

“For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.” (Psalm 86:5)

“Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” (Isa. 55:7)

“He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.” (Proverbs 28:13)

Commentary: Paul quotes Exodus 33:18-19 where God reveals His character. Neither Paul nor Moses indicates that God limits His mercy to a select few based on a secret sovereign decree. God shows no favoritism (Acts 10:34) but shows mercy upon all who call on Him and turn away from sin. God commands all men to repent (Acts 17:30). Hence, Romans 9:15 is not teaching preselection of mercy or denial of it before birth. It teaches that God has the right to extend mercy to whoever He desires despite protests from those who believed that Israel alone was entitled to it. God has declared the conditions by which any man can partake of His mercy.

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Friday, March 30, 2018

The Calvinist Sevenfold Approach to Scripture

1. Approach the Bible with preconceived ideas and distorted views of God.
2. Redefine the normal meaning of words (such as "sovereignty") and then dig in the Bible for "proof-texts".
3. Take Scripture out of its contextual setting.
4. Redefine the meaning of Scripture terminology (such as "world," "all," "predestinate," etc.).
5. Ignore and avoid Scripture that cannot be redefined that disputes Calvinism.
6. Ignore Ancient Near Eastern/Hebraic culture and idioms.
7. Allow Calvinist theologians to interpret Scripture for them (similar to the JW's Watchtower)

This assessment comes after 18 years of debating Calvinists.

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Thursday, March 29, 2018

The True Meaning of Free-Will

“I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live”
(Deut. 30:19)

Free-will is the ability to choose between two or more alternatives without coercion. If God irresistibly predestined anything then the choice is coerced and not free. If what is taught about God's sovereignty in predestination theology is true then there is no freedom of choice.

Some Calvinists deny free-will while others inconsistently teach compatibilism. Both are FALSE!

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Wednesday, March 28, 2018

God Causes People to Eat Their Children - Jeremiah 19:9

A Calvinist tried to use Jeremiah 19:9 a few days ago to prove that God is the cause of everything that happens. Calvinists, you REALLY need to do your research and stop constantly trying to proof-text a clearly false teaching. Reject Calvinism and stay with the loving God of the Bible seen in Jesus Christ.

Also, Dr. Jack Blanco provides a very good paraphrase of Jeremiah 19:9 that helps us to further understand what God is saying in the idiomatic langauge of the Hebrews:

"I will not interfere but will let the people become so hungry in the siege that they will kill and eat their own infants and the flesh of those who have died. Their enemies will besiege the city and not give up until they've broken down the walls and destroyed it." (Jeremiah 19:9; The Clear Word, a Paraphrase by Dr. Jack Blanco)

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Tuesday, March 27, 2018

Jesus is the Revelation of God by Joe Blair

“The context of Scripture will help us to understand how to put some Old Testament passages in perspective with God’s love. The ultimate way, however, is to look to Christ. Christ is the ultimate revelation of God Himself. Christ is the Word of God (John 1:1-14).”
Joe Blair, When Bad things Happen, God Still Loves (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1986), p. 96

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Saturday, March 24, 2018

Romans 9 is about Nations and Not Individuals

Calvinist Proof-Texts Answered

“It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.” (Romans 9:12-13)

Romans 9 is about Nations and Not Individuals

“Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises” (Rom. 9:4)

“And the Lord said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.” (Gen. 25:23)

“I have loved you, saith the Lord. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's brother? saith the Lord: yet I loved Jacob, And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness. Whereas Edom saith, We are impoverished….” (Malachi 1:2-4a)

Commentary: Interpreting Scripture with Scripture we see that Romans 9 is about nations and not individuals. It has nothing to do with predestination to salvation but a choice of which nation will serve God as stewards of eternal truths that are shared with the world. Israel forfeited this privilege so God chose the Gentiles for this service (Rom. 9:30-32). The “hate” for Esau/Edom is only a preference of one nation over the other for service (Luke 14:26; Matt. 10:37; Eph. 5:26; Deut. 23:7; Matt. 5:43-48).

Thursday, March 22, 2018

Total Depravity and Free-Will

"Because of the depravity of your uncleanness— since I tried to purify you, but you would not be purified from your uncleanness— you will not be pure again until I have satisfied my wrath on you." (Ezekiel 24:13; Christian Standard Bible)

The Calvinist teaching of total depravity is inconsistent with the plain teaching of Scripture and is therefore a blatant lie. Calvinists claim that God decreed that men would become totally depraved due to Adam's sin (a decree he supposedly made before he ever created men). This total depravity would rob men of any freedom to make a legitimate choice or decision to have a relationship with God. Only a selected "lucky" few would receive an "irresistible grace" to repent and be placed among God's children.

The Bible repudiates this false idea. God desires to save all men. He is not willing that any should perish. The redeptive work of Jesus Christ was wrought on behalf of every single human being. Nonetheless, God honors the free choices of men to accept or reject all that He has made available to them. God is TRYING to win men to Himself but He will not use His omnipotent power to force their compliance. Therefore, men are depraved because they reject the purposes of God against themselves.

Calvinism denigrates God's loving character by presenting Him as someone who chooses to HATE BEFORE HE CREATES and then strip men of any freedom of choice after He creates them. Afterwards He damns them for all eternity. What a cold-hearted god this deity presented to us by Calvinist mythology. But, as we can see, this is NOT the God of the Bible as seen in the life of our Lord Jesus the Messiah.

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Sunday, March 18, 2018

The Remedy New Testament Paraphrase of John 9:3-4

John 9 and the Man Born Blind

“3 Jesus answered them, ‘This man’s blindness was not due to some act that either he or his parents committed, but because the world is infected with selfishness, and defects have entered the human body. God permitted this to occur so that his work of healing and restoration can be clearly distinguished from Satan’s methods that destroy. 4 As long as minds are still open to receive and understand the light of truth, we must work to reveal the truth of God’s character, methods, and principles. Minds are darkening and hearts are closing, so the work of revealing the truth will one day be of no avail.”
The Remedy: A New Testament Expanded Paraphrase by Dr. Timothy R. Jennings, p. 138

I believe that this paraphrase of John 9:3-4 fits well with the Biblical revelation of what Jesus actually came to do which was to destroy Satan's works (1 John 3:8); works that included sickness and handicaps (Acts 10:38; Matt. 12:22-25).

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Saturday, March 17, 2018

Calvinist Interpretation of Romans 9:13 DESTROYED

Calvinist Proof-Texts Answered

“As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.” (Romans 9:13)

Jesus told Us to Hate Parents, Spouses and Children:

“If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:26)

Jesus’ language explained by interpreting Scripture with Scripture:

“Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it” (Eph. 5:25)

“He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.”(Matt. 10:37)

Commentary:

Interpreting our Lord’s words with other passages shows that hate is used only in the sense of preferring one over the other for specific reasons. God did not hate Esau (or Edom) in the way that Calvinists falsely imply. As far as His plans for the nations go, He preferred Jacob (Israel) over Edom. Jesus meant what He said; “For God so loved the WORLD....” (John 3:16)

Wednesday, March 14, 2018

"Blame God" is the devil's subterfuge by Charles H. Usher

"'Blame God' is the devil's subterfuge: and how many thousands of Christians today attribute to God what Satan is doing. If calamity comes to them, they say "it is God's hand," and they either passively yield or else they rebel, with the result that the heart is heavy and the spirit dulled and oppressed."
Charles H. Usher, Satan: A Defeated Foe (Fort Washington, PA: Christian Literature Crusade, 1964), p. 53

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Tuesday, March 13, 2018

John 9 and the Man Born Blind

Alternative Bible Translations

John 9 and the Man Born Blind

“And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. ” (John 9:2-4; King James Version)

How it should have been translated:

Jesus answered, “Neither this man sinned nor his parents sinned. But that the works of God might be revealed in him, we must work the works of him who sent me, while it is day. Night is coming, when no one can work.” (vv. 3-4; Common Edition New Testament)

Commentary on John 9:3-4:

“He would be an exceedingly bold scholar who would undertake to prove the punctuation should be one way or the other on the mere ground of the Greek itself.” - Greek scholar’s response to G. Campbell Morgan on John 9:3-4 (The Gospel According to John, pp. 163-164)

Greek scholar George Ricker Berry, in The Interlinear KJV Bible writes, “There is no authority anywhere for the punctuation.” The Common English NT is consistent with the character of a loving God.