Bible Answers to an Arminian "Doctor's" Questions -A Reply to Four Questions Raised in Objection to Regeneration by the Free Grace of a Sovereign

God
by Curtis A. Pugh Recently I received these questions from one calling himself a Baptist and a "doctor." He objected to regeneration resting solely on the free grace of God. At the suggestion of a good friend and Brother I submit these questions along ith my ans ers. It is hoped that others may find them helpful. (1) "Do you belie e !o" #re"estinate" sin$ %or instance& when a man ra#es a woman& "i" !o" #re"estinate that act$ 'r when two men ha e homose(ual se(& "i" !o" #re"estinate that they woul" "o that$" !ruden"s !omplete !oncordance lists only t o instances in hich the ord predestinate is used #Rom. $%&'( )*+, and t o instances here the past tense occurs #-ph. .%/( ..+. 0he ord spea1s of persons hom God determined to conform to the image of !hrist and to adopt as sons. Hence the ord predestinate has to do ith persons and not ith acts. Ho ever( the Bible does teach that God in His "determinate counsel" has established from eternity those things that shall occur. He has decreed from eternity all things in order to achieve His desired ends. 2e read of !hrist( "Him( being delivered by the determinate counsel and fore1no ledge 3margin% "fore4ordination"5 of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain" #Acts &%&)+. 0he 0rinity too1 counsel together. Infinite isdom determined to deliver !hrist up to be tortured and 1illed by men. 6ote that this act of God does not abrogate the sinfulness of the actions of those men ho abused and crucified the 7on of 8an. 0heir hands are said to be " ic1ed." 7inful though it as( hat they did as according to the "determinate counsel" of God. A similar testimony also concerns those ho gathered together against !hrist( "For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done" #Acts 9%&$+. Here this truth is perhaps even more clearly stated. Herod( :ilate( the Gentiles and the Israelites did hat their ic1ed hearts anted to do in their mistreatment and crucifi;ion of <esus !hrist. Ho ever( God"s "counsel" had "determined before" that these things ere "to be done." 0his does not ma1e God the author of sin. He created man( allo ed him to fall into sin and allo s him to act according to his depraved nature. 0hese strong doctrinal statements set forth the absolute sovereignty of God in all things. 0hey are ords from the first public sermon preached and the first public prayer recorded after :entecost. -vidently the apostles ho made these statements and the Holy Ghost ho inspired the Bible intended that this great truth be preached publicly=

">id God determine beforehand that these ic1ed acts ta1e place?" He did indeed= Ho ever( the fact that God chose to allo men to commit ic1ed acts does not mean that He caused these men to sin. 8en sin because they ant to sin= God does not cause them to do such ic1ed things. 0he very fact that God from the beginning as omniscient #all41no ing+ demands that all things are settled. 0hey ill ta1e place e;actly as God 1no s they ill ta1e place. 7tated another ay( if God 1ne in "eternity past" that something ould happen( that event as sure and fi;ed. It had to happen simply because God 1ne beforehand it as going to happen= 0he only ay to escape the idea that all things are fi;ed is to say that God does not 1no hat ill happen in the future. 6either "fore1no ledge" nor "determinate counsel" refer merely to God"s prescience or omniscience. I do not believe God"s decree as based on His prescience. But( if you admit God"s omniscience( you must logically conclude that all events are therefore fi;ed. 0hey are unalterable because God 1no s beforehand that they are going to happen. ()) "*hen men sin& are they resisting or +ul+illing !o"'s will$" A distinction must be made bet een the secret or decretive ill of God and the revealed or prescriptive ill of God. 8en can never successfully resist God"s decretive ill. 7uch passages as( "For who hath resisted his will?" #Rom. '%.'+ and "...he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?" #>an. 9%)/+( etc.( ma1e this clear. 8en do resist and disobey the Bible hich is God"s revealed ill( but only hen and to the e;tent God allo s. Ho ever( hat God has decreed is al ays accomplished. -phesians .%.. says that God "worketh all things after the counsel of his own will." 0his verse refers to the secret ill of God in hich He decreed all things before the foundation of the orld. If God is not in control of all things( He is not in control of anything= If He is not in control of all things( He cannot ith surety predict the future or bring about His desired ends. -ither God has a plan and the ability to carry out that plan or He does not. If He has no plan( e are hopelessly adrift in chaos. If He has a plan( but is unable to carry out that plan( He is a failure and e are li1e ise ithout hope. 0he ic1ed men ho crucified <esus indeed acted contrary to the revealed ill of God( but only because God had decreed from "eternity past" to allo it. 7o it is ith today"s rapists and sodomites. He decreed in His ill that these things ta1e place. 0hat God"s greatness ill be magnified even by the ic1ed actions of men hich He allo s is clear from the 7cripture. :salm @A%.* says " urely the wrath of man shall praise thee: the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain." God has chosen to allo the sins of men hen it suits His purpose such as in the crucifi;ion of !hrist. (,) "*hen is a soul sa e"$ Be+ore or a+ter belie ing in Christ$" 0he Bible ords saved and salvation mean deliverance. 0hey are used of initial salvation( progressive sanctification( and final glorification along ith all blessings attendant ith being "in !hrist" #-ph. .%)4.&+. Bor instance e read( "Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time" #. :et. .%/+. Here the ord

"salvation" refers to the final glorification of God"s people. In . 0imothy 9%.A young 0imothy is told to give attention to himself and to "the doctrine." In that ay he ould "save" himself and his auditors44evidently meaning they ould be saved from false doctrine. 0imothy as already obviously a child of God. :rogressive sanctification is in vie here. I suspect you mean to use the term "saved" of the "new birth," also called "regeneration." 0he Bible teaches that a person believes at the moment of regeneration. 0he Bible 1no s nothing of such a thing as a regenerated unbeliever= 0hose born of God are believers and thus must have heard the Gospel in order to believe. Ho ever( the issue here is not really one of time #before or after+ as much as it is one of cause and effect. 0he question is% >oes a spiritually dead sinner #-ph. &%.( /+ do something #in this case believe+ hich is the cause of his being regenerated? 0his cannot be the case since both repentance and saving faith are gifts of God and not something produced by man #Rom. .*%.@, Gal. )%&), /%&&, -ph. &%$( ', Heb. 9%&, .&%&+. God"s 2ord clearly teaches that all men do not have faith #& 0hess. )%&+. 7aving faith is "obtained" #& :et. .%.+. Being obtained its source must be outside of man= 6either man"s decision( believing( nor any other act of man"s ill causes his regeneration. 0he Bible clearly says that men are regenerated "not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, "#$ #F %&' W()) #F *+", but of God" #<ohn .%.)+. 7alvation "( "#% #F &(* %&+% W())'%&, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy" #Rom. '%.A+. :lease consider also Romans '%.4 &9 and ..%/4A. (-) "A+ter a sermon is it wrong to gi e an in itation to lost sinners to come +orwar" an" be sa e"$" It is 6C0 rong to arn( urge( beseech( and invite men to come savingly to <esus !hrist. !hrist"s apostles did those things. Ho ever( the concept that the front of an auditorium is some 1ind of "spiritual end4Done" here "salvation touchdo ns" are made if people can be persuaded to "come for ard" is a totally unbiblical notion. 2hile the invitation system is often touted as being the "old fashioned ay(" it as unheard of until roughly .** years or so ago. 7ince e have neither apostolic e;ample nor >ivine instruction for giving such invitations( e cannot claim to be follo ing the Bible in doing such things. 0hey are hat old Baptists called "innovations" and lac1 God"s approval. 2hen e impose a physical act #"come for ard and get saved"+ on a purely spiritual matter #the ne birth+( e involve the flesh. God is careful to tell us that the ne birth is "not of the will of the flesh" #<ohn .%.)+. By such man4made tactics as the invitation system e tell people there is something they can do in order to get God to regenerate them. In this ay the Gospel is perverted in the minds of people. Rather than causing sinners to see their total depravity such a false system insists that they can do something in order to be saved. 0he doctrine of total depravity includes man"s total inability to come to !hrist apart from >ivine intervention #<ohn A%99( A/+. 0his is not a matter of minor significance. 0hese things bear essentially upon the manner in hich God saves sinners. All religions can be divided into t o and only t o classes. Cne

religion says that God has fi;ed it so that man does something and because of that act( God saves him. 7ome teach that act to be baptism, others teach living a good life, and some teach "ma1ing a decision for !hrist" or "praying the sinner"s prayer(" or some such thing. #"Invite <esus into your heart(" "come for ard and be saved(" "open your heart"s door(" etc.( etc.( are all unscriptural phrases and unbiblical ideas.+ 0he other religion teaches that God saves #regenerates+ sinners by grace alone. Cne is the religion of man"s supposed free ill and the other is the religion of God"s free grace. By the ay( the Bible no here teaches that man"s ill is free from his depraved nature. Being bound to his evil( fallen nature( man"s ill is to do evil only continually #Gen. A%/, Rom. )%.*4.$( etc.+. 8ost :rotestants and many modern "Baptists" no teach that God is obligated to save sinners predicated on some form of human response to the Gospel. In contrast to this( mainline Baptists( throughout their history of nearly &(*** years( have held to the Biblical idea that salvation #regeneration+ is a gift. It cannot be earned( nor are there qualifications to be met by hich a dead sinner can motivate God to quic1en him. In conclusion let me as1 you some questions% (1) "Are Ba#tists to"ay obligate" to #reach the same message an" o#erate in the same essential manner as "i" the #reachers in the .ew /estament$" ()) "0s sal ation (the new birth) by wor1s or by grace$" (,) "*hat essential "i++erence is there between telling a lost sinner to be ba#ti2e" in or"er to be born again an" telling one to "ma1e a "ecision +or Christ&" "come +orwar" an" be sa e"&" "in ite 3esus into your heart&" etc.$" (-) Do not both "ba#tismal regeneration" an" ""ecisional regeneration" essentially ma1e sal ation a matter o+ wor1s$ (4) *hat is wrong with sim#ly #reaching the !os#el an" waiting on the 5oly 6#irit to regenerate !o"'s elect as was "one by the a#ostles$ 2e shall all one day stand before God. 7hall e be charged ith having told lies on God? I urge you to search the 7criptures= !ast off any doctrine or practice that ma1es man the master of his o n destiny= !ease preaching " or1s" for salvation= 7uch Arminian preaching gives men hope in their o n efforts= :reach !hrist= All unscriptural religious efforts of men are not only futile( but !hrist4dishonoring as ell. In them men thin1 by their or1s to have a part in their salvation. By all your "plans of salvation(" programs( scare tactics( emotional manipulations( musicals( entertainments( theatricals( and human persuasions you shall not add one soul to the number hom God has "chosen... to salvation" #& 0hess. &%.), cf. -ph. .%9+. God continues to operate today as He did in the days of the apostles hen it as recorded that "...as many as were ordained to eternal life believed" #Acts .)%9$+. Eet us be busy proclaiming the Gospel of GraceFthe Good 6e s of the finished or1 of

<esus !hrist= It is in connection ith this divine truth men are regenerated and given that 1ind of faith hich the Bible calls "the faith of God,s elect" #0itus .%.+.