Spurgeons ostentatious and boastful words if God had left me alone and had not touched me by His Grace, what a great sinner I would have been is classic Phariseeism. If Jesus died for the sheep (the elect) only and not the goats (the reprobate), as Calvinists so vigorously and progressively proclaim, then it is extremely dangerous to put the elect in the goats and not in the sheeps fold, and thats precisely what Samhas done when he said: No Calvinist EVER claimed, that they have always been Christs sheep who have always listened to and obeyed his voice, unless, of course, he means that the elect was NOT something so repugnant as goats but rather benign animals such as doves or little bunnies or even little mice before they became Christ Jesus sheep. Do you believe that, by the grace of God, having turned from your sins and turned to the Son of God to pay for your sins and to give you his own righteousness, you will be received by God as his own dear child, to be loved and blessed by him throughout eternity that is, that you are saved by Gods unmerited grace (Rom. It is very sad. Sam is being a little less than honest. If the elect were never lost, Jesus never came to save them. You rightly call out the hypocrisies and blasphemies of Calvinism. Spurgeon often contradicted himself, as he did a bit with the if God so willed it. The spiritual antecedent of this undeniable truth is Hebrews 11:6: But without faith, it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. This is precisely what the publican ventured to do as opposed to what the Pharisee had done. This is true for Calvinist pastors candidating at a non-Calvinist church as well as those who currently serve a non-Calvinist church. If, as Samsays in rebuttal to my assertion above, No Calvinist EVER claimed, that they have always been Christs sheep who have always listened to and obeyed his voice, then he is, in reality, conceding to the fact that Calvinists were goats before their monergistic regeneration. The term doctrines of grace is a hypocritical cover-up to hide the abominable hatred Calvinists have for the so-called reprobate. Re: My List of Reformed Theologians. When does the Holy Spirit convict sinners of sin, righteousness, and judgment before or after their regeneration? Famous Birthdays. The sinner is dead, blind, and deaf to the things of God; his heart is deceitful and desperately corrupt. Satan is already bound so that the Gospel may be proclaimed unhindered; the elect are already ruling with Jesus where He is seated at the right hand of God; Gods Kingdom began at Pentecost when Peter used the prophecies of Joel to explain what happened; and. The fact that the Pharisee went to the temple to pray, proves that God even draws His Sons enemies to Him (John 12:32). Andrew James Patton. (Jude 1:3). Calvin and Missions | Christian History | Christianity Today Mr. Dever, 53, said that when he took over in 1994, about 130 members attended on Sundays, and their average age was 70.