Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/Sermons/zz20060219.htm

JOHN: TRUSTING JESUS AS MESSIAH AND GOD
Part XXXIII: Trusting In Christ For Victory Over Errant Movements
(John 11:45-57)

Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

(1) We are being hit by two tsunami waves of errant theology:

(a) One wave is Arminianism: a recent letter from a missionary we support reports: "We have an Alpha course going . . ."; this is a Charismatic course begun by a man who got the "power'" in the "Toronto Blessing'" where people "cluck like chickens", and "its major aim is impartation of supernatural power,' especially healing and speaking in tongues." (Dave Hunt, The Berean Call, May 2004, p. 3; John Armstrong, gen. ed., The Coming Evang. Crisis, 1996, p. 179) Well, Charismatics are experience-based Arminians who teach man helps save himself by his (alleged) meritorious "work" of faith ! [I have even seen Arminian experientialism unknowingly upheld in our Church ministries by the reading of articles from the Christian media!]

(b) The other wave is Calvinism: recently a believer in our Church told me of his past in a group that is so defensive against such "humanistic" Arminian experientialism that no one in its services dares ask for prayer for the health of a relative (Yet, Jesus healed a man in a synagogue service, noting it was evil not to do so, Mark 3:1-5)! Such austerity comes from the group's Calvinism, a system teaching God chose who would be saved, and gives them the faith to believe !

(2) Though leaders of both theologies have long countered each other, they now compete to influence our beliefs: (a) In the early 20th century, Liberals denied Christ's deity and God's inspiration of the Bible, so Fundamentalists withdrew from them. (b) Around 1950, "new evangelicals'" forsook the "Fundamentalist" label to enhance outreach (c) by confronting the lost with Augustinian Calvinism, (Ibid., Armstrong, p. 29-33). (d) Arminians objected to this (e) with some ignoring Scripture to promote an anti-Augustinian "wrathless deity and an unnecessary cross", Ibid., p. 32-36! (f) Many led by experientialism now no longer view Genesis 1-2 literally, and are not far from the 400 churches in 49 states that celebrate February 12 as "Evolution Sunday" to honor Charles Darwin's birthday (AIG web site, 2/6/06, "In praise of Darwin . . ."; D. H. Lane, "Theol. Probs. With Theist. Evol.," Bib. Sac. 150 (Apr.-Jun. 1994:155-6) citing conservative theistic evolutionists as claiming Darwin's work is "a discovery of God's ways of working'")!

Thus, we ask, "WHAT does GOD expect US to do NOW?!"

(We turn to the sermon "Need" section . . . )

Need: "With the huge, errant RIFT and RIVALRY between Calvinist and Arminian theological wings of Evangelicalism that threaten to dominate us with their error, what would GOD have us do in PRODUCTIVE RESPONSE to it all?!"
  1. God used the opposition Jesus faced from Israel's errant leaders as a CRUCIBLE to PRESERVE His FLOCK, John 11:45-52!
    1. News of Jesus' raising Lazarus troubled Israel's leaders, Jn. 11:45-47.
    2. Their concern led to a meeting of the sanhedrin, the nation's religious and civil ruling body, 11:47; cf. Bib. Kno. Com., N. T., p. 315, 280.
    3. The sanhedrin vented its fear that Jesus' miracles might cause so many to follow Him that the crowds would make Him king in revolt against Rome, and that would lead to Rome's retaliation! Thus, the high priest advised they kill Jesus to preserve their nation, 11:48-50.
    4. On the human level, this advice would be a shock for Jesus:
      1. God Himself had told Israel that He vested in their high priest the ministry of giving God's words unto them, Ex. 28:30; Num. 27:21.
      2. For the high priest to advise that Jesus be killed made Him an outlaw by the very priest God Himself set up to be His spokesman!
    5. Yet, God had arranged for that high priest's words spoken in EVIL intent nevertheless to form the basis of Christianity, John 11:51-52:
      1. First, Caiaphas was not the original high priest -- the Romans had put him in office to replace Annas to check his strong influence over Israel, Ibid., p. 315; Zon. Pict. Enc. of the Bib ., v. One, p. 170.
      2. Second, though Caiaphas spoke his words about Jesus in hatred, his words DID still prophesy in accord with God's will: God had WANTED Jesus to die as man's substitute to bear man's sin in accord with Scripture passages like Isaiah 53:5-6 (John 11:51)!
      3. Third, Christ's work on the cross would not only function in behalf of Israel's sins, but for the sins of the whole world, cf. John 11:52a with Isaiah 52:15a; 53:12b,c; 1 John 2:2.
      4. Fourth, God would use Christ's death as the base upon which to salvage Gentile and Jewish believers into one new body, the Church, John 11:52b; 10:16; Ibid., Bib. Kno. Com., N. T. , p. 315f.
      5. Thus, in abundant GRACE, God ARRANGED for the high priest of that year to make the exact official prediction that God WANTED him to make as HIS Biblical spokesman to announce what became the actual basis of our Christian faith and Church !
  2. LIKEWISE, Christ predicted God TODAY graciously wills to use the errant Calvinist and Arminian waves we face as a CRUCIBLE to PRESERVE His FLOCK though US as we heed Him by faith!
    1. As we have shown in past lessons, Christ in Revelation 3:14-17 critiqued today's Calvinist and Arminian wings of Evangelicalism!
    2. Then, at Revelation 3:18a where Christ introduces His solution, He uses the word for "counsel" that exists elsewhere in the N. T. similarly of one party advising others ONLY at John 18:14 (Moult. & Mill., Con. to the Grk. Test., p. 916); there, John alluded to the "counsel" of Caiaphas at John 11:49-50 to kill Jesus and save Israel!
    3. Applied to us, God calls pastors (Rev. 3:14) to ask Him in faith to let them be slandered by Calvinists (3:18) and Arminians (3:19) that we might rely on Christ versus Evangelical institutions for our livelihood security ( gold) and discern (eyesalve) to avoid (garments) the errors and works of Evangelicalism's Calvinist & Arminian wings, 3:14-22!
    4. [I have applied all this, explaining my pastoral ministry to this point!]
    5. As the result, God promises to rally His true flock worldwide around the stand for the truth we take as a Church, thus salvaging His flock from spiritually harmful error, John 11:52 with Revelation 3:20-21!
  3. So, to heed Rev. 3:20 [in view of Luke 12:35-48 and Jn. 11:48-52], we now respond to Evangelical error, promoting the Bible's truth:
    1. In view of the Arminian error that we noted in our introduction denies the penal and substitutionary nature of Christ's atonement, we uphold John's claim that Christ's death was substitutional for the world in John 11:50-52, and that it was penal in satisfying God's wrath against the world's sins, 1 John 2:1b-2 with 1 Peter 2:24a!
    2. As we have shown in past lessons that Rev. 3:20-21 is illustrated in Luke 12:35-48, when this truth is given from this pulpit and on the web site, God can edify His flock, cf. John 11:52 with L uke 12:42-44!
    3. [In the concluding notes of this message, we will FURTHER expose the basic paganist premises that leavened Bible truth and formed both Calvinism and Arminianism, and that to edify God's flock!]
  4. May we then follow our Lord's example in John 11:53-57 -- that we daily follow God's plan for us so HE can achieve His will to use US:
Lesson Application: (1) May we trust in Christ as Savior to be saved, John 1:11-13. (2) As believers, may we REST in God's PLAN revealed in Revelation 3:14-22, knowing HE wants us to discern and avoid the errors in the Calvinist and Arminian wings of Evangelicalism; God will then use our promotion of His truth to RALLY His flock worldwide around the Bible's truths!

Conclusion: (To illustrate the sermon lesson . . . )

 Both Arminianism and Calvinism are theologies influenced by errant paganism, and we reveal this to edify God's flock (as follows):

(1) Arminianism is corrupted by pagan Stoicism: (a) In the fifth century A. D., the monk, Pelagius used pagan Stoicism's belief that "If I ought, I can'" to claim man saves his own soul by his faith. (A. W. Walker, A Hist. of the Chr. Chch., 1918, rev. 1959, p. 168. (b) When Jacobus Arminus later wrote The Five Articles of the Remonstrants to defend man's free will, he mirrored Pelagius' error, claiming man co-operates with God to author his salvation by way of his faith, Henry Bettenson, Docs. of the Christ. Chch. (1966), p. 377ff. (c) Arminianism thus errantly makes man's FAITH become a meritorious WORK versus the stand of Ephesians 2:8-9 that GOD saves man by His grace without any works or merit on man's part!

(2) Also, Calvinism is corrupted by pagan neo-platonism: (a) Marcellus Kik, Assoc. Ed. of Christ. Today held B. B. Warfield was very able to write about Calvin and Augustine (Foreward to Warfield's work, Calvin and Augustine (1974), v). (b) Well, Warfield wrote of Augustine: "The task he had set himself was to construct a Christian philosophy out of Platonic materials." (Ibid., p. 375) (c) Now, pagan platonism is pantheistic, holding God is everything versus Biblical theism where God is distinct from His creation, and the highest reality in platonism is the "good" that Augustine said was "God;" (d) that left man a mere extension of God with no free will (G. Carruth, ed., The Vol. Libr., 1994, p. 2025-6; Ibid., Walker, p. 98, 163-4; E. M. Burns, West. Civ., 6th ed., p. 272. (e) When Augustine then saw in 1 Cor. 4:7 that we do not have anything unless it is given to us, though Paul wrote there of gifts for service, Augustine's neo-platonism led him to see Paul held God authors man's faith! (f) Augustine stated this view, and others like Calvin later embraced it, Ibid., Warfield, p. 378!

(g) Calvinism thus reflects Augustine's PANTHEISTIC NEO-PLATONISM versus Biblical THEISM where man has free will and must use it to trust in Christ as Revelation 22:17 reveals!

(3) Thus, as Christ predicted at Matthew 13:33 (with 16:6, 12), Calvinism and Arminianism are leavened, errant theologies!

(4) May we then hold the BIBLE'S truths that man authors faith (Rev. 22:17), but that God alone saves his soul (Eph. 2:8-9)!