"Gone Calvinist"

In response to Darren Hughes question which stated:   "So Buddy Bryson sais you've gone Calvinist. Just
wanting to hear what that means."    I wrote the following letter:

Hey Darren,
“Gone Calvinist”. Wow! Sounds like I’ve done something sinister doesn’t it?

Thank you for your sincere inquiry as to that which I most assuredly believe. I could wish that Brother Bryson had afforded me the same courtesy. Unfortunately, I haven’t heard from him directly in several years, nor in fact has he heard me preach or teach .  Evidently he has listened to the misrepresentations of others and jumped to his own conclusions.

I will however, readily admit that I have grown in my understanding as to the teaching of scripture as to the doctrine of God and the salvation of men. I say this to God’s glory, for it has been entirely His Holy Spirit which has opened my understanding of truth.

Please let me apologize at this point for the lengthiness of this letter. I cannot answer your question in a paragraph or two and I do intend to be as earnest in answering as you have been in asking.

I’m afraid, we as humans live in a very narrow box when it comes to comprehension of the Almighty and His Sovereign dealings with men. We tend to read our Bible with preconceived ideas as to what it says based upon what we were raised to believe and with a bias against any teaching contrary to what we have been taught. I must confess that I, being brought up in a modern day Baptist Church, (1954-2000) assumed that the truth was as I had always heard it.

Why do we assume, for example, that Paul and Silas had “church” just as we do now?  (Opening hymn, public prayer, choir specials, offertory, sermon, invitation with slow music and dramatic effort on the part of the preacher to provoke a “decision” from the lost within the congregation.) We assume that the church itself has not evolved or been influenced at all by the world as to its approach to our manner of worship or the message we preach.

All we need do is to examine the recent influences of the world upon the church to understand that this is indeed not the case. Take for example, the influx of what we term “comtemporary music” with screens projecting the lyrics on the wall in the place of hymns and hymn books. I’ve seen churches experience inner turmoil to the point of splitting over this one matter. Church signs now advertise one service for the “traditional” and another for the “contemporary”. Is this not an effort to modernize the church to appeal to the world? Are not churches guilty of being “seeker friendly” in order to reach more people. Let’s face it, church has become big business and the efforts of men to make it bigger and bigger has led the church away from it’s original design and purpose.

Another worldly influence that has weighed heavily upon the modern church is the acceptance yea even the promotion of numerous multiple translations of the scripture.  It would seem that the Word of Almighty God is unimportant now a days. All that matters is that men get to “hear from God” in a way that pleases their ears. The only excuse I can honestly see for these translations is MONEY. The Bible is the world’s biggest seller. Men make millions on changing the words of the Bible and reselling it to gullible masses looking for something new and modern.

Things that are different are hardly ever the same.

These are just a couple of examples as to how the modern church has been tampered with as to its method and message.

Some few years ago, I became much burdened as to what I was witnessing in the modern church. I began to struggle with the question as to why the church has lost it’s power and influence in the world. There are churches on nearly every corner so to speak and yet there is no power. I began to wonder, this I do believe being the prompting of the Holy Ghost, has the church always operated as it does now? What about our doctrine? 

Has the modern church been influenced away from its original doctrinal integrity by some “well meaning” trend to reach the masses even before we got here? Remember, I was born in 1954. I have always esteemed those days of the 50s, 60s, and 70s to be the days of “Old Time Religion”. I felt if I was consistent with the preaching of those days I was being true to my heritage in the Gospel.

I have spoken of the evolution of the modern church. The time came when I began to examine myself and the manner in which I preached the gospel for years. Have I truly been preaching the gospel which Paul preached? I began to search backward from before I was born. I began to look at the preaching of Jonathon Edwards, George Whitfield, the Puritans and others. I really fell in love with the preaching of Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

Every sermon that Spurgeon ever preached was written out word for word. This man who influenced tens of thousands in London, England and around the world is often quoted by modern preachers. I wonder how many ever actually read his sermons? Through modern technology men have taken about the task to read, even preach his sermons word for word and they are tape recorded and made available for our listening.

I personally have in my possession hundreds of Spurgeon’s sermons. I listened to them.  I was refreshed and invigorated by them. I paid close attention to see if he was using the terminology, even the theology of our modern Baptist churches. Though he in the 1800s was pastoring the largest Baptist congregation in the world, preached quite a different gospel from that which we preach today.

I offer for your examination two particular examples. Listen to “High Doctrine” and “The Blood of the Everlasting Covenant” by Spurgeon and you will see what I mean. These are available at www.sermon audio.com .

I began to look for the significant influences that has reshaped modern Christian doctrine from what it was almost universally into what it has become today. Here is what I found.

 Charles Finney is known as the father of modern evangelism. Finney was a trial lawyer by trade. Upon his conversion to Christianity, he became concerned that what he considered the antiquated methods of preaching were not bringing the results in conversions that he thought the gospel worthy of. He began to preach with the same methods with which he had tried legal cases.

Whereas Spurgeon, Whitfield and others had powerfully proclaimed the gospel as it is to men as they are and left it up to a Sovereign God to call men to repentance and faith in Christ, Finney changed the approach altogether. The gospel proclaims the sinner to be the condemned one standing in the courtroom of God Almighty guilty and hopeless.  Christ is shown to be the sinner’s advocate, providing redemption for the sinner.

Finney reversed the trial. He put God and His Son on trial before the sinner and the sinner was appealed to as the jury. Into the sinners hands were placed by Finney the final decision as to the salvation of his own soul. What decision will you make concerning Christ? Will you “accept Him” or reject him? It’s up to you.
While this may seem to be a small change, it’s implications are huge.

Read the historic record concerning the response of men to such sermons as Jonathon Edwards’ “Sinners in the hands of an angry God”. Edwards read his sermon and the power of God fell to convict sinners. Men trembled before a Holy God crying “God be merciful to me a sinner” “Oh God, save me, I’m falling into hell”. In grace and mercy men and women were gloriously converted.

Finney is the guy who invented the modern day altar call. He established the “seeker’s bench”. He began to implore sinners to “accept Jesus”. He is called the father of modern evangelism because his techniques have been followed down through modern times. Billy Graham trotted the world calling people to “make a decision for Christ”.

I began to think about the terminology that is used in modern evangelism.  I did a word study in the KJV on the word “accept”. I honestly was looking for one example in all of scripture where men were compelled to “Accept Christ.”  What I found astounded me. The matter of acceptance in the KJV is this.
Without exception, the lesser is to be accepted of the greater. Never is man placed in position to “accept God or Jesus”. Man is always put in his place humbled before God pleading for acceptance. I plead with you, do this honest study for yourself.

The question in the Word of God is not, “will you accept Jesus”? The question is will God accept you? From God’s admonition to Cain and throughout scripture, men seek acceptance from God. Not the other way around. What a blessing to find out in the Word of God in Ephesians 1:6 “To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. “

There is nothing in the modern gospel to compel the sinner to pray, God be merciful to me a sinner! Not from the heart! The modern gospel puts poor Jesus on his knees before the sinner praying, "I wish you would let me save you."

In this simple word study of “accept, acceptance, accepted” in the KJV, I must advise you. Here is one place where the modern translations preach the modern message.  You only have to go as far away from the KJV as to the New KJV to find men accepting Jesus. Only one step away.  The KJV declares that we do not accept Jesus, we receive Him. The New KJV and all other more modern translations say we accept Him. Big difference.

Because the motive of the modern gospel is to drive the sinner to make a decision for Christ, the whole manner of the message is geared to that. Men appeal to the minds of men to make an intellectual decision for Christ, thus men are made to believe that it is judicially up to them to accept poor Jesus and “let Him come into their hearts and save them.”

Such teaching is absolutely foreign to the Word of God. We do not accept Jesus Christ.

If by God’s grace we are saved, we receive Him. Even this doctrinal truth is twisted by modern men to make man his own Savior. Modern translations change the word “receive” to “accept”. How do men receive Christ according to the Word? We receive Him by the supernatural work of God in us. Jesus told Nicodeums, “Ye must be born again”. Modern preachers implore men to accept Jesus and instruct them to come to this altar and be born again. The matter is made to sound like it is something the sinner can do. When the sinner comes to the altar he is instructed to pray a prayer and believe it and mean it. When the sinner complies with the instruction of the preacher, he is declared by the preacher to be saved….born again.

Nicodemus knew better than that! His response to the declaration of Jesus was “HOW?”  “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus explained to him that the new birth is not of man, but of God. The modern Gospel declares that any person who jumps of his own will through the right hoops can be saved at any time he pleases. All he must do is condescend to “accept Jesus Christ as his Savior.”

John 1:12-13 declares the receiving of Jesus Christ to be the work of God Almighty.  “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. We receive Christ by the power of God at work in us to save us.

The scripture is clear on this point. Not one person would ever of their own will come to God for salvation. There is none that doeth good not one. There is none that seeketh after God, not one. If it were left up to me to come to Christ, I would never have come to Him. By His Sovereign will, Almighty God sought my Salvation. He sent His Son to redeem me. He called me by His Grace and compelled me to come to Him.”
The Scripture teaches, “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10) I firmly believe He has done and will do exactly that.

The fact is, the first step in the regeneration of a sinner is the conviction of the soul as to its lostness. We tend to think of all men as lost and to some extent indeed they are. But, Jesus taught, I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” In this sence, he ruled out the self righteous Pharisees from his message, because they thought themselves to be holy by their lifestyle. Saul of Tarsus, a Pharisee was saved because first he was convinced that he was lost. Jesus told the Pharisees in John 10:26 - 28 “But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

Please notice that Jesus did not say, ye are not my sheep because you do not believe.  He said ye believe not because ye are not my sheep. Jesus came to save one group of people. His Sheep. He laid down his life for the sheep. Sheep hear His voice and they follow Him!

Matthew 1:21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
 Who are His people? I do not know, but He does. 2 Tim.2:19 “Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his.”

God has chosen that by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. Why do some believe the gospel while others do not? Is it that men arbitrarily choose not to believe? Indeed men choose to remain in unbelief. The marvel is that some men hear the gospel and genuinely believe it. I mean they rest the case of their eternal soul upon the claims of Christ and His Gospel. I say to you, this is the work of Grace.

Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.If indeed faith is the gift of God, why does He not gift all men alike? I challenge you to examine Isaiah chapter 6 in it’s entirety and then read Acts 28:23-31 as to Paul’s understanding as to why some believed and some did not. You will have to confront the fact that both are the work of God.

Romans chapter 9 makes it clear that God is glorified with both the salvation of some and the judgement of others; both of which He the Potter made of the same clay for His eternal purpose. Jacob and Esau were separated by grace according to God’s elective purpose before they were born and neither had done good or bad. God chose to love Jacob. Wow! We cannot escape these scriptures.

Romans 8:29-30 “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.”

Here Paul details the past tense work of God in grace. He has already spent at least the first 6 chapters of his Epistle declaring the Total Depravity of man. Now he declares what God has Sovereignly wrought in Grace. Note that I have purposely highlighted the words “whom” and “them”. It is obvious to the honest reader, that he is speaking about a specific people. These are God’s people.

First in the chain of eternal events is the foreknowledge of God. “Whom He did foreknow”. Many modern messengers take this to mean God looked down from heaven and foresaw what man would do on his own with Jesus when presented with him. In other words they assume God based everything He would do on foreseeing what man would do and built His eternal work around man’s will. This idea places man in the position as God and makes God subservient to man. The only two passages in the Bible that states that God looked to see what man would do and what He saw man doing  say the same thing. Psalm 14:2-3 “The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.”

We cannot honestly conclude that God looked down from heaven and foresaw men coming to him and believing in Him without His intervention. He foresaw a people and set His love on them. The scriptures call these people the elect. Look it up.

Whom he did foreknow them he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son. He predestinated a people to be made like Christ Jesus……changed by the miracle of Grace.

Whom he did predestinate, them he also called. The effectual call of the Shepherd to His Sheep. Leading them out of sin and to Himself. This is done by the Holy Ghost when the gospel is preached.

Whom he called them he also justified. Christ came to die for the church. He laid down his life effectually for the sheep. Those for whom he died, he will save.

Even the most liberal of theologians acknowledges that the atonement is only effectual for them who believe.

Whom he justified, them he also did glorify. God sovereignly has wrought a work of grace that seals His sheep for time and eternity in grace.

Salvation is of the Lord. Salvation is all together of the Lord. If men are saved at all it is because God has done this! We love Him because He first loved us.

I surely would not think that any lover of the Lord Jesus would object to the truth being told about Him and what He has done. The fact is however, the modern church is so entrenched in this save yourself gospel which really is no gospel at all that they will spit out of their mouth the truth and them that preach it.

I hear the modern messenger say, “God has done all he can do to save you. Now it is up to you. Will you accept Jesus Christ?” Honestly such teaching makes me nauseous; especially when I consider the fact that I have in past times preached it myself.

If indeed it is up to me, then that is no gospel. The gospel is good news. If it is up to me at all, I am doomed. Thank God for His saving grace that rescued my soul.

Answer me this question. How can an unbeliever believe? He cannot, except God grant him faith.

How does this effect evangelism? It empowers it. The preacher who understands what I am saying does not go to convince men to accept Jesus. He preaches to them the powerful gospel that Christ came and gave himself to completely save a people from their sins. He entrusts the Holy Ghost to arrest those people and bring them to genuine conversion.

I cannot escape the conviction that arrested my soul on an airplane in 1994 with Buddy Bryson flying over Sao Paulo, Brazil. The Holy Ghost brought my attention to a passage in Acts where He the Spirit of God comforted Paul and encouraged his evangelistic effort. Acts 18:9-10 “Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace: For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city.” He did not say I hope to gain much people….but, I have much people in this city.

I guess I had already at that time “gone Calvinist” to some extent, because I entered that mission field not trusting my intellect or ability to get decisions. I trusted God to save his people and He did……and He does.

Acts 13:48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.
 He did not say as many as believed were ordained to eternal life, but, as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.

Salvation is God’s work not man’s. How gracious that He should sovereignly grace us with salvation and impart to us the ministry of reconciliation that we should say to all men, “Be ye reconciled to God.”
We make that plea to all men for we do not know who will be graced to respond. But let us do so with careful adherance to the fact that it is the Holy Ghost who convinces men of sin, righteousness, and judgement.

Misrepresenting what I have said, some accuse me of not believing in “whosoever will” salvation. Absolutely God’s grace is extended to whosoever will. The question is “who will and why are they willing”. Psalm 110:3 “Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power.”

Without question every soul who comes to Jesus Christ in genuine God given faith and repentance God will save. John 6:37 Jesus said, “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” That is a fact.

It is also a fact that Jesus continued on to say in John 6:44, “No man can come to me except the Father which hath sent me draw him:”

I fear that the modern church has suffered greatly by the sowing of tares among the wheat by thoughtless preachers who want to bring everybody to a decision for Christ and have convinced many that they are saved because they have jumped through the religious hoop and prayed a prayer without knowing the conquering power of God’s grace to save.

Church pews are often filled with voting members who do not know God. If they knew Him they would not love Him. They don’t even like the idea of a God who is Sovereign in His actions toward men. I have had people tell me they do not like the God of the Old Testament because He had enemies and He destroyed them. The God of the Old Testament is the God of the New. He still has enemies today and He will Judge them.

I bow to Him. If that makes me a Calvinist, then write me up!  I am guilty.

I love you Darren and by the way, you really ought to study the doctrine of adoption in the KJV. God put it in your heart to adopt a baby. While I was writing this letter, I went to the mailbox and received the card with the picture of you with Margy and little Sophia. How Precious. You went across the world to rescue one child.

Nobody in his right mind would accuse you of injustice because you chose one. Do they not understand that your choice of one meant the fact that you passed over millions of others? Does that make your act of love any less gracious? I say not! In fact, it upholds your graciousness.

When I suggest that God set his love on some it automatically implies that He overlooked others. That is exactly what the scriptures teach. If indeed it is true that “We love Him because He first loved us”, then we who love Him are moved to love Him by His loving us first. If His grace held that kind of power over our hearts to cause us to love Him, does He not have power to convert all men to Himself should He so choose?

The fact that I believe while others do not, tells me one thing. God is gracious to me!

Your little girl; the one you set your love upon will doubtless love you back. Because you first loved her and sought her out and saved her to your self.

Adopted means Son placed. Taken from one family and placed in another. That is what God did for me.
Ephesians 1:5 “Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
Galatians 4:4-6 “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. 　
Again I apologize for the length of this letter but I still feel that I have only grazed the surface as to what the scriptures say. Please know that this is not new doctrine from my own head. This has been the teaching of Baptists since before we were called Baptists.  When we were called Waldenses, and Paulines. For these are the doctrines of grace as revealed through Jesus Christ and the Apostle Paul and Peter.

I fully understand that I may have brought questions to your mind that I have not fully answered. I would welcome an ongoing dialogue with you. If you feel I am at error here, then I challenge you with the Word of truth as your weapon, to straighten me out. KJV only please.
　
A copy of this letter will be forwarded to Buddy Bryson and a few others.

Hallelujah What A Savior!
Ray Vaughn
　
　
　　
　
　　
　
　
　“Indeed, things that are different are never the same. While the KJV is a translation of the Word of God into the English language, it is a good one. I have been studying the KJV for more than 42 years now. With a Strong’s concordance I can examine every word of it in it’s original language. Do we really believe that the church can embrace a new translation of scripture and not have our doctrine affected by it. Indeed, modern teachings of men have been injected into the new texts of scripture. I will give examples shortly.