I just want to read one verse
to you, Jonah chapter 2 and verse 9. The book of Jonah. If you have any problems finding
it, you'll go to Ezekiel. Find the big book of Ezekiel
and go to Daniel. Keep turning to your right and
you'll find the book of Jonah. If you have any trouble, just
turn over in front of your Bible and find the index and you'll
find the book of Jonah. It's on page 1003. and a few
Bibles. Jonah chapter 2 and verse 9,
here's a man who had been swallowed by a whale, was down at the bottom
of the mountains. And I'm sure that he come to
realize that if he ever got out of that whale's belly, it would
be of the Lord's doings. Coming to realize that, he makes
this statement in verse Jonah chapter 2 verse 9. I will sacrifice
unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving. I will pay that that I have vowed. And then he makes this statement.
Salvation is of the Lord. Salvation is of the Lord. Sunday morning, May the 10th,
1857. Charles Spurgeon, a great preacher
down in London, preached the message of this text. And five
of his points were these. Number one, he said the plan
of salvation in its entirety is of the Lord. Before time ever
was, God had a purpose. He had a plan. Ephesians 3.11,
according to His eternal purpose. which he purposed in Christ Jesus
the Lord. That's Spurgeon's first point. His second point was this. Salvation
is of the Lord in its execution. God planned it. Jesus Christ
executed it when he came to this life. And Mr. Spurgeon said atonement is the
unaided work of the Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, Upon
the cross, he by himself purged our sins. The execution. The third point Mr. Spurgeon
had about this was this. In its application, salvation
is of the Lord. In its application. Ephesians
1, 6 said, Be confident in this very thing, that he which hath
begun a good work in you. God begins the work in its application
to your heart, in the giving of the Holy Spirit, in faith
and repentance, in the application of the salvation that God hath
planned is of the Lord in its application. Fourthly, Mr. Spurgeon said about this text,
sustaining the work that he has begun, He begins the work, and
in sustaining that work, salvation is of the Lord. Philippians 1,
6 again, being confident of this very thing, that he which hath
begun a good work in you will perform it. He will perfect it. David said he will perfect that
which concerneth me. Perfection of that work, carrying
it on, is of the Lord. And then his fifth point was
this, the ultimate perfection of salvation is of the Lord. Ultimate perfection. God has
a purpose and the end of that purpose is this, perfection of
those whom he saves. Listen to Jude verses 24 and
25. Unto him that is able to keep
you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence
of His glory with exceeding joy. To the only wise God be glory
and majesty and dominion and power both now and forever. To Him that is able to present
you faultless without any blame. I want to talk to you this afternoon
just for a few minutes. I hope that you're interested
in this. I want to talk to you about the
two systems of theology that we call Arminianism and Calvinism. I want to talk to you about those
for a few minutes. And why such a controversy? From
the very beginning there's been a great controversy between Arminianism
and Calvinism. I want us to look, first of all,
I want you to listen to me just a minute. If you don't know this,
then maybe this will enlighten you and educate you just a little
bit on these two systems. I want to look first of how these
systems came to be. As systems, we hear a lot about
them today. The controversies are always
raised between Darminianism and Calvinism. And I want to see
how these two systems came into being. They took their names
from two men. One was Jacobus Arminius. He lived in the Netherlands. He was born in 1560 and he died in 1609. He was just
49 years old when he died. He was there in the Netherlands
all of his life. He lived in the Netherlands.
The system of Arminianism comes from him, this man, Jacob Arminius. And then the system that we call
Calvinist or Calvinism is attributed mainly to John Calvin. John Calvin
was a man who was born in France in 1509 and died in 1564. He
was just 55 years old when he died. And it's strange, it's
strange that neither man was living when these two systems
of theology was finally established. and put together side by side
as systems. That didn't take place until
1618 and 1619. Jacob Arminius had been dead
for nine years and John Calvin had been dead for 54 years. It
wasn't that these two systems had never been taught before
in some form or another. learned this system from those
who went before him. You trace it all the way back
to the first and second century, what Arminius taught. Somebody
says he didn't even believe it himself, but I think probably
he did. It wasn't that you couldn't find what we know now as Calvinism
before Calvin. Both of these systems were taught,
not just as systems. Calvinism was taught before Calvin. You and I believe that you can
trace what we call today Calvinism back to the Bible. That the Lord
Jesus taught it, and the apostles taught it, and the prophets taught
it. But these two systems, as far
as their system is concerned, they were not so until 1618 and
1619. Now, Jacob Arminius was said
to be a very humble man, but his preaching what he preached
and the doctrines that he preached inflamed controversy. He asked the church in the Netherlands
to call a council together and discuss the concepts of predestination
and election and reprobation, but the church refused to do
so. And one of the reasons the church refused to do so was because
they had just discuss these things about the time that Arminius
was born. One year and three years after
this man was born, they had already come up with what they called
the Belgic Confession, and it taught clearly that salvation
was by the free and sovereign grace of God. Then in 1563, they
came up with the Heidelberg Catechism, and when Arminius tried to get
the church to call a council and discuss these things. They
said they had already been discussed. They're playing in these two
confessions of faith. So if you've got any controversy,
go read these two confessions. So they refused to call a council
and consider these things. But two things brought this controversy
to a head and forced the church in the Netherlands to reconsider.
Two things happened. First of all was this, one year
after Arminius died in 1610, though he was a kind and gentle
fellow, he had trained between 50 and 60 ministers and they
were very dogmatic in the Armenian view. And they wrote up a document
that referred to as the remonstrance. And Webster says this about remonstrance. It's a document containing reasons
against a measure in which a request is made for the removal or prevention
of something evil or inconvenient. In other words, they wrote this
remonstrous and sent it to the church and the churches of Netherlands
and said there's something evil taking place. There's something
that's inconvenient for us. And we demand a hearing on it
and that it be removed. Well, naturally, this forced
the church to say, what is it? And it got them to thinking seriously
about calling a council to discuss the doctrine of election and
predestination. That's the first thing that happened.
The second thing that happened was this. The controversy had
become so strong that it brought the Netherlands to the brink.
Now, can you imagine this? Can you imagine what they were
calling Calvinism on one side and Arminianism on the other
side, and it brings a nation to the brink of civil war? This
is why you and I should be interested in this book. This was serious. This was serious. And the heads
of these churches in the Netherlands realized that we've got to call
the council and come together and consider these things. Our
neighbor is going to be turned against neighbor and we're going
to have a civil war on our hands. These are the two reasons they
called the council and come together to consider these things in the
year 1670. Now this was huge. Listen to this. This council
was huge. And I quote this from the time
that they gathered. Although this was a national
council, national synod, synod means council, of the Reformed
Churches of the Netherlands, it had an international character. Since it was composed not only
of 62 Dutch delegates, but also of 27 foreign delegates representing
the foreign reformed churches from eight countries, including
England, Germany, and Switzerland. There were hundreds of thousands
of people that sent these representatives to represent them in this controversy
between Calvinism and Armenianism. It wasn't so much Calvinism.
I don't know when they first got together if they even determined
to come up with a system that we call colonialism. They got
together basically to answer Armenianism. That's the main
reason they come together. The first meeting was held November
the 13th, 1618. You won't remember these dates
probably, but November the 13th. 16 and 18. The final meeting was six months
later. They met 154 times in six months. All of these delegates did. To
consider the doctrine of Armenia. The council was called the Synod
of Dort. Synod simply means council. The
Council of Dort. And it was Dort because that
was the little town in the Netherlands where they were called. And out
of this council came what to be known as the Canons, the Teachings
of Dort. If you talk to any Presbyterian,
they're educated and they know all these things. They give you
the dates. Most Baptists can't. But this is the Canon of Dort.
Very famous books and books have been written about the Canons
of Dort. The Armenians had 13 representatives
at the meetings. This is a portion of what happened,
and I quote again. Day after day the Council reasoned
with the Armenians and urged them to define scripturally their
published doctrines. The Armenians would not submit
to this course and were thus compelled to withdraw, and upon
their departure the Council proceeded without them. Now, one of the
reasons the Armenians could not present doctrines to prove what
they were saying is because of these two great confessions.
The Heidelberg Confession or Catechism and the Belgic Confession
had already so plainly set forth the free grace of God in salvation,
they could not refute it. And when they tried to present
a scripture, it was quickly refuted, so they withdrew. They withdrew. Now, here's the doctrine. That's
how the controversy reached ahead. They're in the year 1617, and
they met in 1618, 1619. Now, here's the doctrine of Jacob
Arminius. Here's what he taught, and I'm
quoting from him. are those who wrote after him
and for him. I don't want to misrepresent
him or anybody else. But I quote this. Here's five
of them. Number one, man's will is not
so bound in sin that he has no ability to act for good, but
rather he is able to take a step towards God out of the spark
of goodness within. Now did you see that? That's
what he taught. Let me read it to you again.
Man's will is not so bound in sin that he has no ability to
act for good, but rather he is able to take a step towards God
out of a spark of good within. I preached a message a few months
ago, you might remember, on the bondage of the will If there's
any question, you might want to get that off of Mr. Baker.
Secondly, on election, Mr. Arminius said this, God's
election of individuals was based on his foreknowledge of their
acceptance or rejecting Christ by their own free will. That's what they call a conditional
election. And thirdly, on the atonement,
he said this, the atonement is universal, that Christ has made
atonement for all without exception, even those who refuse to believe
and finally perish. In other words, he did as much
for Judas as he did for Peter, as much for Pharaoh as he did
for Moses. Fourthly, on grace in calling,
He said God's grace can be resisted by any or by all. The will of man is the deciding
factor. Now, we hear a lot about that
today, don't we? Well, here's where it came from. Here's where
it came from. And fifthly, on the possibility
of the regenerate falling from grace, he said that man, having
chosen for God, can also in like manner fall away from God's grace
and be lost again. So these five points, one of
the things that's prominent within this is the will of man. I think you can see that so evident.
Everything is ultimately dependent upon man's will. Now let's look at the other slide.
The system that we know as Calvinism. Why they came up with this system,
they didn't call it the system of Calvinism, that was attached
to it later. But really, the system that we
call Calvinism is a mere answer to the Armenian view. They said, here's the points
that Arminius has been propagating, so let's answer each point. And when they answered each point,
that gave us the system that we call today. Calvinism, or
some of us call it the doctrines of grace. And here's what Calvinism
says. Here's the system that the canon
of Dort came up with. That election is unconditional,
dependent only upon the sovereign choice of God. And I like this
passage of Scripture they quoted. Let me quote the same Scripture
that they began to quote in Romans chapter 9 and verse 11. For the
children being not yet born, Jacob and Esau, neither having
done any good or evil, before they did anything good or evil,
that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not
of works, but of him that calleth. It was said unto her, The elder
shall serve the younger, as it is written, Jacob have I loved,
Jacob have I chosen, But Esau have I hated, that is, Esau have
I rejected. What shall we say then? Is there
unrighteousness with God? Can God do this without being
unrighteous? Choose one and reject the other
before they're ever born? Is there unrighteousness with
God? And then he answers his own question, God forbid. For
God said to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy,
I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion, so then
it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but
of God." That is where Spurgeon got his first point. Salvation
in its planning is of God. In the choice that He made. The
elect of God, chosen before the world was to make up the eventual
body of Jesus Christ, was selected out of humanity before the world
ever began. Salvation is of the Lord in His
planet. The second point that they answered
the Armenians was concerning the atonement of Jesus Christ. They wrote this, the atonement
is limited, not in its power, but in its purpose. If it intended to save all, if
that was its purpose, all would be saved because it has the power. But being limited to the elect
only. The death of Christ is designed
for their salvation. I lay down my life for my sheep. This is my blood of the new covenant
which is shed for many for the remission of their sin. The teaching of Calvinism is
this, that a definite atonement was made. that in the death of
Jesus Christ, the sins of every elect soul was actually put on
him. Most of the time, if you look
at the Armenian view of substitution, it goes something like this,
that Jesus Christ died for sin, but no specific sins. He just
died to atone for sin. But the Bible view of the atonement
is this. He bare our sins in His own body. There was an actual substitution
from our sins on us to our sins on Him. And He suffered for those
sins, and in His sufferings, He put those sins away. And now it's justice as well
as mercy. calls for the forgiveness of
those sins that Jesus Christ has atoned for. And it forbids
those to be punished again in hell for whose sins he bore. Calvinism basically says this
about the atoner. That Jesus Christ has so satisfied
justice on the behalf of the elect that justice now calls
for their salvation. Not just mercy. If Jesus Christ
bore a man's sins and was punished for those sins, and then that
man punished again, that would be unjust with him. And that's
the Calvinistic view. That's what these delegates in
the Canon of Dort was pleading for. The justice of God and the
redemption of His people. I love that view, don't you?
I love that view. Spurgeon said about the Armenian
view, and I've quoted it so many times, he said, really it sounds
kind. It sounds so loving and sympathetic
because it gets everybody on the bridge. Christ bore everybody's
sins without any exception. Everybody. But it gets nobody
across. So it's not so unkind after all,
is it? But if he bore my sins, then
I'll be saved. I can put my trust in him. I'll
never be condemned. I'll never be charged again.
While I confess my sins, I weep over my sins, and yet my sins
are purged. Every believer should realize
that and should believe this blessing true. Fourthly, this council said this,
that man is depraved and has no ability to contribute to his
own salvation or to earn the merits of Christ. Arminius was
basically teaching, if you're willing, your will earns the
merits of Christ. They were teaching that the merits
of Christ could not be earned. That by his very nature, man's understanding
is darkness, his affections are warped, and his will is in bondage. That man is a slave to sin, he's
a slave to Satan, and must be saved freely and wholly by the
grace of God. Wholly by the grace of God. By
grace are you saved. through faith, not of yourselves. It's the gift of God, not of
works, lest any man should boast. Calvinism basically gives God
the glory and strips man of any and all boasting. I think that's
the difference in these two systems. And this council concluded this,
that both repentance and faith are gifts of God. and are granted
in God's own time to every elect soul upon their calling by the
gospel. And this call comes to every
elect soul in a manner or in such a way that cannot and will
not be resisted. All that the Father giveth me
shall come. All of them shall come. No man
can come to me, except my Father draw him, and I'll raise him
up at the last day. It's written in the prophets,
they shall all be taught of God. Every man that hath heard and
learned of the Father, he comes to me. Now that's effectual calling. And Peter encourages us to make
our calling in election sure, doesn't he? And you notice he
puts calling before election. Because the only way you can
make your election sure is by your calling. Has God called
you to Christ? Has He called you in such a way
that you've come and surrendered yourself up to Him to be saved
by Him? Or has He merely called you in
such a general way that you can go ahead and resist Him and go
on? Is it up to you and your mere free will? They said this
call came to a man in such a way that he could not and would not
be resisted. I see that in my experience.
Don't you? I think every man... Paul said, brethren, you see
your calling. Every man ought to see his own
calling. And I see in my calling that the grace of God is irresistible. It's irresistible. And fifthly,
they said this. The saints, the believer, will
persevere in the faith, being kept by the power of God. Job said the righteous shall
hold on his way. He shall. Why? Because he is
kept by the power of God. I give unto them eternal life
and they shall never perish. Why? Because they are kept. by
the power of God. A believer will never quit believing. Why? Because he's kept by the
power of God. Brothers and sisters, don't be
among those who have a form of godliness, but deny the power
of God. Saved today and lost tomorrow?
What is that but a denial of God's power? were kept for the
power of God. If a man is saved by his own
choice, then he may be lost by his own choice. If his own free
will saved him, then his own free will may unsave him. But
if he's saved by the will of God, and he's kept by the power
of God, then his salvation is sure, if it is of the Lord. Here's the difference, I think,
between Armenianism and Calvinism. Calvinism humbles the flesh. It humbles the flesh. The very
planning of my salvation was outside of myself. My salvation
was planned before time. It was planned by God Himself. It was obtained for me before
I was ever born by Jesus Christ upon the cross of Calvary. And
I continued in my sinful ways, deceived by sin and the devil
in my own heart, until the Lord, by his gospel, broke in upon
me and brought me to himself by the call of the Holy Spirit."
Now, that's a humbling thing. That's a humbling thing. Calvinism
simply says salvation is of God, every step of the way. Do you
want your salvation to be like that? What part do you want to
play in your salvation? Are you scared of yourself? Don't
you pray with the rest of us, Lord, please don't leave me to
myself? It's not in man that walks to
direct his steps. I think probably we have to be
brought, in a certain sense, to the same place Jonah found
himself before we're able to say, As Spurgeon preached, salvation
is of the Lord. We have to find ourselves in
trouble that we can't get ourselves out of. We're in such a dilemma
by sin, we can't get ourselves out of it. But when we hear that
God has resolved our dilemma Himself, don't that make you
happy? And that He's called you to it
and gave you a part in it? Oh, that makes you happy. How
would it affect you this afternoon if you could finally get a hold,
dear child of God, as you sat here this afternoon in your aging
bodies, in your pain-filled bodies, in a world of uncertainty? We
don't know what's going to happen the next day. What would it mean
to you if you could get a hold of this truth that your eternal
destiny is fixed? Your eternal happiness has been
resolved by the triune God himself. How would that affect you? How
would it affect your heart when you were going through these
deep trials? Nothing would get you down. Nothing matters. Just a few more days and heaven
is my home. Are you sure? As sure as God
can fix it in his power and in his wisdom. You and I don't talk much about
Calvinism around here. I wanted you to know where the
systems came from and why, and the awful controversy that surrounded
these things. But what we call Calvinism was
well established long before Calvin lived. And he'll outlive all of us. I hope that was helpful.