SBC to Get "A-fighting" over TULIPS in the Garden?

The Southern Baptists appear to be “a-fighting” about total depravity, unconditional election, definite atonement, sovereign and irresistible grace, and the perseverance of the saints, often dubbed by the acrostic TULIP.  Call it what you will.  It is Semi-Pelagianism and Arminianism;  against this anti-soteriological Calvinism, Al Mohler is raising up “5-point Calvinists” in terms of soteriology.  Let them just get on with it.  Let them split into General (Arminian) Baptists and Particular Baptists (soteriological Calvinists).  That would the recrudescence of the old English designation.  Here’s the statement from the Semi-Pelagians;  this is how we’ve always understood the masses in the Southern Baptist tradition;  they have been largely Arminians.  (The internet makes the discussion more interesting.  See the comments in the URL.)

http://sbcvoices.com/a-statement-of-traditional-southern-baptist-understanding-of-gods-plan-of-salvation/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+SbcVoices+%28SBC+Voices%29 

A Statement of the Traditional Southern Baptist Understanding of God’s Plan of Salvation

Preamble

Every generation of Southern Baptists has the duty to articulate the truths of its faith with particular attention to the issues that are impacting contemporary mission and ministry. The precipitating issue for this statement is the rise of a movement called “New Calvinism” among Southern Baptists. This movement is committed to advancing in the churches an exclusively Calvinistic understanding of salvation, characterized by an aggressive insistence on the “Doctrines of Grace” (“TULIP”), and to the goal of making Calvinism the central Southern Baptist position on God’s plan of salvation.

While Calvinists have been present in Southern Baptist life from its earliest days and have made very important contributions to our history and theology, the majority of Southern Baptists do not embrace Calvinism. Even the minority of Southern Baptists who have identified themselves as Calvinists generally modify its teachings in order to mitigate certain unacceptable conclusions (e.g., anti-missionism, hyper-Calvinism, double predestination, limited atonement, etc.). The very fact that there is a plurality of views on Calvinism designed to deal with these weaknesses (variously described as “3-point,” “4-point,” “moderate,” etc.) would seem to call for circumspection and humility with respect to the system and to those who disagree with it. For the most part, Southern Baptists have been glad to relegate disagreements over Calvinism to secondary status along with other important but “non-essential” theological matters. The Southern Baptist majority has fellowshipped happily with its Calvinist brethren while kindly resisting Calvinism itself. And, to their credit, most Southern Baptist Calvinists have not demanded the adoption of their view as the standard. We would be fine if this consensus continued, but some New Calvinists seem to be pushing for a radical alteration of this long- standing arrangement.

We propose that what most Southern Baptists believe about salvation can rightly be called “Traditional” Southern Baptist soteriology, which should be understood in distinction to “Calvinist” soteriology. Traditional Southern Baptist soteriology is articulated in a general way in the Baptist Faith and Message, “Article IV.” While some earlier Baptist confessions were shaped by Calvinism, the clear trajectory of the BF&M since 1925 is away from Calvinism. For almost a century, Southern Baptists have found that a sound, biblical soteriology can be taught, maintained, and defended without subscribing to Calvinism. Traditional Southern Baptist soteriology is grounded in the conviction that every person can and must be saved by a personal and free decision to respond to the Gospel by trusting in Christ Jesus alone as Savior and Lord. Without ascribing to Calvinism, Southern Baptists have reached around the world with the Gospel message of salvation by grace through faith in Christ alone. Baptists have been well-served by a straightforward soteriology rooted in the fact that Christ is willing and able to save any and every sinner.New Calvinism presents us with a duty and an opportunity to more carefully express what is generally believed by Southern Baptists about salvation. It is no longer helpful to identify ourselves by how many points of convergence we have with Calvinism. While we are not insisting that every Southern Baptist affirm the soteriological statement below in order to have a place in the Southern Baptist family, we are asserting that the vast majority of Southern Baptists are not Calvinists and that they do not want Calvinism to become the standard view in Southern Baptist life. We believe it is time to move beyond Calvinism as a reference point for Baptist soteriology.

Below is what we believe to be the essence of a “Traditional Southern Baptist Understanding of God’s Plan of Salvation.” We believe that most Southern Baptists, regardless of how they have described their personal understanding of the doctrine of salvation, will find the following statement consistent with what the Bible teaches and what Southern Baptists have generally believed about the nature of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

Articles of Affirmation and Denial

Article One: The Gospel

We affirm that the Gospel is the good news that God has made a way of salvation through the life, death, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ for any person. This is in keeping with God’s desire for every person to be saved.

We deny that only a select few are capable of responding to the Gospel while the rest are predestined to an eternity in hell.

Genesis 3:15; Psalm 2:1-12; Ezekiel 18:23, 32; Luke 19.10; Luke 24:45-49; John 1:1-18, 3:16; Romans 1:1-6, 5:8; 8:34; 2 Corinthians 5:17-21; Galatians 4:4-7; Colossians 1:21-23; 1 Timothy 2:3-4; Hebrews 1:1-3; 4:14-16; 2 Peter 3:9

Article Two: The Sinfulness of Man

We affirm that, because of the fall of Adam, every person inherits a nature and environment inclined toward sin and that every person who is capable of moral action will sin. Each person’s sin alone brings the wrath of a holy God, broken fellowship with Him, ever-worsening selfishness and destructiveness, death, and condemnation to an eternity in hell.

We deny that Adam’s sin resulted in the incapacitation of any person’s free will or rendered any person guilty before he has personally sinned. While no sinner is remotely capable of achieving salvation through his own effort, we deny that any sinner is saved apart from a free response to the Holy Spirit’s drawing through the Gospel.

Genesis 3:15-24; 6:5; Deuteronomy 1:39; Isaiah 6:5, 7:15-16;53:6; Jeremiah 17:5,9, 31:29-30; Ezekiel 18:19-20; Romans 1:18-32; 3:9-18, 5:12, 6:23; 7:9; Matthew 7:21-23; 1 Corinthians 1:18-25; 6:9-10;15:22; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Hebrews 9:27-28; Revelation 20:11-15

Article Three: The Atonement of Christ We affirm that the penal substitution of Christ is the only available and effective sacrifice for the sins of every person.

We deny that this atonement results in salvation without a person’s free response of repentance and faith. We deny that God imposes or withholds this atonement without respect to an act of the person’s free will. We deny that Christ died only for the sins of those who will be saved.

Psalm 22:1-31; Isaiah 53:1-12; John 12:32, 14:6; Acts 10:39-43; Acts 16:30-32; Romans 3:21-26; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 3:10-14; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 1:13-20; 1 Timothy 2:5-6; Hebrews 9:12-15, 24-28; 10:1-18; I John 1:7; 2:2

Article Four: The Grace of God

We affirm that grace is God’s generous decision to provide salvation for any person by taking all of the initiative in providing atonement, in freely offering the Gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit, and in uniting the believer to Christ through the Holy Spirit by faith.

We deny that grace negates the necessity of a free response of faith or that it cannot be resisted. We deny that the response of faith is in any way a meritorious work that earns salvation.

Ezra 9:8; Proverbs 3:34; Zechariah 12:10; Matthew 19:16-30, 23:37; Luke 10:1-12; Acts 15:11; 20:24; Romans 3:24, 27-28; 5:6, 8, 15-21; Galatians 1:6; 2:21; 5; Ephesians 2:8-10; Philippians 3:2-9; Colossians 2:13-17; Hebrews 4:16; 9:28; 1 John 4:19

Article Five: The Regeneration of the Sinner

We affirm that any person who responds to the Gospel with repentance and faith is born again through the power of the Holy Spirit. He is a new creation in Christ and enters, at the moment he believes, into eternal life.

We deny that any person is regenerated prior to or apart from hearing and responding to the Gospel.

Luke 15:24; John 3:3; 7:37-39; 10:10; 16:7-14; Acts 2:37-39; Romans 6:4-11; 10:14; 1 Corinthians 15:22; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 2:20; 6:15; Colossians 2:13; 1 Peter 3:18

Article Six: The Election to Salvation

We affirm that, in reference to salvation, election speaks of God’s eternal, gracious, and certain plan in Christ to have a people who are His by repentance and faith.

We deny that election means that, from eternity, God predestined certain people for salvation and others for condemnation.

Genesis 1:26-28; 12:1-3; Exodus 19:6; Jeremiah 31:31-33; Matthew 24:31; 25:34; John 6:70; 15:16; Romans 8:29- 30, 33;9:6-8; 11:7; 1 Corinthians 1:1-2; Ephesians 1:4-6; 2:11-22; 3:1-11; 4:4-13; 1 Timothy 2:3-4; 1 Peter 1:1-2; 1 Peter 2:9; 2 Peter 3:9; Revelation 7:9-10

Article Seven: The Sovereignty of God

We affirm God’s eternal knowledge of and sovereignty over every person’s salvation orcondemnation.

We deny that God’s sovereignty and knowledge require Him to cause a person’s acceptance or rejection of faith in Christ.

Genesis 1:1; 6:5-8; 18:16-33; 22; 2 Samuel 24:13-14; 1 Chronicles 29:10-20; 2 Chronicles 7:14; Joel 2:32; Psalm 23; 51:4; 139:1-6; Proverbs 15:3; John 6:44; Romans 11:3; Titus 3:3-7; James 1:13-15; Hebrews 11:6, 12:28; 1 Peter 1:17

Article Eight: The Free Will of Man

We affirm that God, as an expression of His sovereignty, endows each person with actual free will (the ability to choose between two options), which must be exercised in accepting or rejecting God’s gracious call to salvation by the Holy Spirit through the Gospel.

We deny that the decision of faith is an act of God rather than a response of the person. We deny that there is an “effectual call” for certain people that is different from a “general call” to any person who hears and understands the Gospel.

Genesis 1:26-28; Numbers 21:8-9; Deuteronomy 30:19; Joshua 24:15; 1 Samuel 8:1-22; 2 Samuel 24:13-14; Esther 3:12-14; Matthew 7:13-14; 11:20-24; Mark 10:17-22; Luke 9:23-24; 13:34; 15:17-20; Romans 10:9-10; Titus 2:12; Revelation 22:17

Article Nine: The Security of the Believer

We affirm that when a person responds in faith to the Gospel, God promises to complete the process of salvation in the believer into eternity. This process begins with justification, whereby the sinner is immediately acquitted of all sin and granted peace with God; continues in sanctification, whereby the saved are progressively conformed to the image of Christ by the indwelling Holy Spirit; and concludes in glorification, whereby the saint enjoys life with Christ in heaven forever.

We deny that this Holy Spirit-sealed relationship can ever be broken. We deny even the possibility of apostasy.

John 10:28-29; 14:1-4; 16:12-14; Philippians 1:6; Romans 3:21-26; 8:29,30; 35-39; 12:1-3; 2 Corinthians 4:17; Ephesians 1:13-14; Philippians 3:12; Colossians 1:21-22; 1 John 2:19; 3:2; 5:13-15; 2 Timothy 1:12; Hebrews 13:5; James 1:12; Jude 24-25

Article Ten: The Great Commission

We affirm that the Lord Jesus Christ commissioned His church to preach the good news of salvation to all people to the ends of the earth. We affirm that the proclamation of the Gospel is God’s means of bringing any person to salvation.

We deny that salvation is possible outside of a faith response to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Psalm 51:13; Proverbs 11:30; Isaiah 52:7; Matthew 28:19-20; John 14:6; Acts 1:8; 4:12; 10:42-43; Romans 1:16, 10:13-15; 1 Corinthians 1:17-21; Ephesians 3:7-9; 6:19-20; Philippians 1:12-14; 1 Thessalonians 1:8; 1 Timothy 2:5; 2 Timothy 4:1-5

Horton, Stetzer, and Olsen Debate Resurgent Calvinism Amongst Young, Restless and (So-called) Reformed

http://www.christianpost.com/news/theologians-debate-calvinism-amid-calvinist-resurgence-71627/

 

By Brittany Smith , Christian Post Reporter

March 18, 2012|11:40 am

Two prominent theologians took opposite sides and debated the theological system of Calvinism, which is experiencing a resurgence in church culture, on "The Exchange" webshow this past week.

Ed Stetzer, president of Lifeway Research, moderated the discussion between Roger Olson and Michael Horton, who both have recent books released on the topic of Calvinism, but taking opposing views on the system. Stetzer wrote in a Nov. 15, 2010 blog post that he thinks "there IS a resurgence of Calvinism (particularly within evangelicalism)," and that it is among a younger population.

Stetzer briefly explained on his program the theology behind Calvinism using an acronym known as T.U.L.I.P: Total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace, and perseverance of the saints.

Horton, a professor at Westminster Seminary - California and author of the book For Calvinism (2011), told Stetzer on the program that the TULIP method, although a good overview, reduces what Calvinism really is.

For Horton, the real emphasis in Calvinism is "God being faithful to His decision in Jesus Christ to save those whom He has chosen in His son and to keep them in the faith."

He explained that even though his faith might wane in different stages of his life or his obedience seems halting, "God is the Savior. He is the one who does all the saving and even the faith through which I am justified is itself a gift of God."

While all three men agreed that Calvinism places a strong emphasis on God's sovereignty, their paths diverge over the problem of evil and God's role in it.

Roger Olson, who took the counterpoint to Horton in both the discussion and his book Against Calvinism (2011), said he has seen a resurgence in Calvinism among university students. He subscribes to Arminian theology, which rejects the idea that men are "elected" by God to have salvation. Instead, people can choose their salvation through their free will.

Olson said that Calvinism, taken to its logical conclusion, seems to say that "even hell and all who suffer there are eternally foreordained by God. God is rendered morally ambiguous at best and a moral monster at worst."

He said that the Calvinist idea that some have been chosen for life and others for death exclude so many people. "When it comes down to only some people being given love and the grace of God, it makes God [seem] not as loving as God really is. But God wants everyone to be saved because He is love," Olson argued.

Horton disagreed, saying in looking at Jesus' ministry he saved some and not others, and he also healed some and not others. He said Calvinism is not God "going through the phone books saying you're in, out. All of us are out of the same lump of clay of condemned humanity."

Horton argued that what Calvinists believe is that God actually saves all of the elect, although no one knows how many there actually are. He said that the Gospel invitation is not "come all ye who are elect; it's whosoever will let Him come. Jesus adds that no one can come unless the spirit draws him.

Stetzer began The Exchange webshow two years ago in response to requests for ministry advice. Past episodes of The Exchange can be found here.

17 Aug 2011: Mahaney-SGM and Washington Post Inquiry

http://www.sgmsurvivors.com/?p=2779

A Powerful Note To C.J. Mahaney…And A Request From A Reporter

By Kris, on August 16th, 2011

A couple of days ago, someone going by the handle of “Laconic Conservative” posted the following comment. I thought it was pretty powerful:

Dear CJ,
I wrote you a letter of thanks and encouragement 15 years ago. You told me later that you were going to keep it along with other special letters you had received over the years to share with your children as a legacy of your life. I certainly hope you receive and keep a copy of this letter for them to read as a comparison of my disappointment as well!
So, CJ, let’s talk man-to-man. You wrote that your 13 year friendship with Mark far outweighs the love and care that you believe can be provided for you by those who have loved you, worshipped with you and prayed with/for you over the past 30 years? What greater insult could you heap upon the members of Covenant Life Church than this slap in the face from the man who held us all to such a high standard of accountability? Well, so much for your preaching about your commitment to “The Local Church”. We now see the true weight of your commitment to CLC, your fellow church members or your own teaching. All the while we are shaking our heads ruefully.
CLC membership does not need to decide whether you are still qualified to lead. You disqualified yourself upon abandoning CLC for the sake of your own pride and vanity. You are obviously too embarrassed and ashamed to face accountability, corrective adjustment and your own reality. You should be ashamed! Looking back, it was a good thing Carolyn’s father told you at your wedding that he trusted Jesus! How insightfully prophetic was he? Do you ever wonder whether your father would still be so proud of you or would he simply shake his head ruefully?
1 Timothy 5:1 reads: “Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers” but you abandoned CLC and now disallow those who have loved you for years from either rebuking or encouraging you! We are the same age, and “brother”, since you will not allow us to restore you gently, we shall treat you as an unbeliever while we continue to simply shake our heads ruefully!
I am sickened to my stomach to remember the day you were preaching about Larry’s departure from SGM! In case you have forgotten, let recreate the moment for you, (and for everyone else who happened to miss your performance). You were fully engulfed in tears! Between sobs you asked that the microphone be turned off so you could “speak off the record”. Your words still ring in my heart through your sobs, “I would rather die than to do what Larry has done.” There was no explanation from you about what Larry had done and so you left CLC members sitting in our seats thinking, “WTF?” as we wondered what happened that would make you want to die?
Oh, yuck, that memory just made me throw up in my mouth . . . but just a little!

I praise God you preached for years to place our trust in our Sovereign Lord. Abandoning CLC has perfectly demonstrated that placing our trust in man will always result in disappointment and failure. I praise God that He does fulfill His promises and that my wife and I have taught our children to place ALL OF OUR FAITH in Him!

3 more short things . . .
1 – Christ’s finished work was not the Cross . . . the finished work was His resurrection! Everyone dies, but Christ’s death was meaningless unless he had overcome death!
2 – Yes, I too am a sinner, but I don’t dwell on it all the time anymore because I am a redeemed sinner. (SEE # 1 ABOVE)
3 – I have prayed for you at length. Please know that I forgive you just as Jesus would. But in my failures, I won’t trust you anymore. Thank you, CJ, once again, for demonstrating a lesson filled with so much life application. (SEE # 1 ABOVE)
—- From “Laconic Conservative”

————————————————–
Secondly, I received a request yesterday from a reporter at the Washington Post. She is interested in talking with those who are willing to go on the record, under their real names, and speak about their experiences with Sovereign Grace Ministries. This reporter and I have exchanged several emails, and we’ve come up with the following arrangement: if you would be willing to be interviewed, please email me, and I will forward your message on to her.

Many of you have in the past expressed wonder over the idea that the news media has not paid more attention to the SGM situation. People have often urged me to seek out reporters and try to get them interested in the story. Frankly – as I shared with the Washington Post person – I have always hesitated to pursue the secular media, as I think SGM’s issues are extremely nuanced. It’s always been my concern that any story would shortsightedly hone in on SGM’s conservative, Bible-based theology as the source of all the organization’s woes and completely miss the larger story, which is that a group that espouses essentially orthodox Christian beliefs can nonetheless redefine certain key terms and use social pressures and tactics straight out of thought-reform practices to end up functioning like a cult sometimes.

But I do believe that many of you have had experiences that are newsworthy, and I would strongly encourage anyone willing to be interviewed on the record to contact me at krisATsgmsurvivorsDOTcom