Is T.U.L.I.P True to the Gospel? by Dr. Ian Brown
The text for this sermon is John 10:9-30:
"I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father. There was a division therefore again among the Jews for these sayings. And many of them said, He hath a devil, and is mad; why hear ye him? Others said, These are not the words of him that hath a devil. Can a devil open the eyes of the blind? And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch. Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly. Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me. 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. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one."
Charles Spurgeon has said: "I have my own private opinion that there is no such thing as preaching Christ and Him crucified, unless we preach what nowadays is called Calvinism. It is a nickname to call it Calvinism; Calvinism is the gospel, and nothing else."
The following quote is from a sermon I listened to in the early 1980s. The semon was on Total Depravity, and the minister was Rev. Paul den Butter:
"It is commonly stated that the central doctrine of the Reformation was the doctrine of justification by faith. Now it is of course true that justification by faith was one of the major issues of the Reformation. But more basic than the justification of the ungodly by faith alone, is the doctrine of man's depravity and consequently the bondage of his will. Martin Luther, one of the great reformers, has acknowledged this fact in his discussion with the great humanist Erasmus. Erasmus was a roman catholic, though he had quite a bit of criticism of the Roman Catholic Church, he never broke ranks with the Roman Catholic Church, and he saw need for reformation, but he never broke ranks with the Roman Catholic Church. He was a defender of much of the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church. Well, this humanist defended the doctrine which is still taught by Roman, namely that man is not totally depraved. But that man still has a freedom in the use of his will. And writing a treatise on the freedom of man's will Erasmus defended that Roman Catholic position of semi-pelagianism Luther replied in his famous book the bondage of the will. and in that book Luther makes the statement, 'you alone have attacked the real thing, that is, the essential issue. You have not worried me with extraneous issues about the papacy, purgatory, indulgences and such like, trifles, rather than issues, in respect of which almost all to date have sought my blood...you, and you alone, have seen the hinge on which the vital turns, and aimed for the vital spot. For that I heartily thank you, for it is more gratifying to me to deal with this issue, and the issue is 'Does man have a free will or not.' And Luther has seen that on this issue everything hinges. Is man totally depraved or not? Is man completely corrupt or has he still some good within. now on this question there have been 3 positions during the history of the church. Thre was first of all pelagianism, let me give you a little bit of church history also tonight. Thre was in the first place Pelagianism, named after a British monk, Pelagius, who preached in Rome from 401 to 409. ad. and Pelagius said every man comes into this world his own Adam. every man is born in a state of innocency. and he is endowed with the full ability to make his own choice and to decide whether he will be virtuous or vicious. So, Pelagius did not believe, not at all, in mans corruption. and in man's depraved nature. man was born in a state of innocency and man could determine whether he would be a virtuous person or a vitious person. Of course Pelagius was honest enough to admit that man was doing sin but he did not sin because the source was within his heart no, no he sinned because he imitated other people that commited sin. There is also a second position called semipelagianismand that goes not so far as pelagianism. . Pelagius said man is innocent. man is not depraved at all. He can make himself depraved but he is not. Semi-pelagianism said sure man is depraved, but not completely depraved, man is sick but he is not dead. and if man will only use those faculties which he still has and if he moves in the direction of God then God's grace will come and he will lead him the rest of the way. Man is deformed yes, man is sick sure But man is still able to use his free will , and using his free will he must make the first move and take the first step and God will do the rest. That is Semipelagius which was adopted by the Roman Catholic Church and by Arminianism, and by much of modern evangelism. But then there is a third position which is sometimes called Augustinianism, named after Augustine, a church father, who brought out of the word of God the doctrine of original sin. and of the need of divine grace in the entire complex of Gods saving activities. Augustine showed from the word of god that man is not depraved but that man is totally depraved. And for that reason no activity of man can save him. or can make the begining of salvation. but that grace and grace alone can save man. Well these are the three positions, and it is not difficult t determine which positions our father held when they confessed total depravity."
Also recommended:
- The Decree of Reprobation, by Rev. Cornelis (Neil) Pronk [Text: Romans 9]
- John Calvin: The Galleons of Grace, by Dr. Ian Brown [Text: Romans 8:29 & 30]
- The Five Points Of Calvinism, by Herman C. Hanko
