I was reading Spurgeon, he said point blank, that when you preach the Gospel, you preach Calvinism, because the Gospel is Calvinism. This hot me to thinking what it would be like to preach the Gospel Calvinism Style. Perhaps it would go something like this: Mr. John Doe you might have a small chance to get saved since those going to heaven will be few. Allow me to explain how a lucky few will avoid hell.
1) You can do nothing on your own, you are dead, so dead in fact you cannot even say "yes" to God if He called, cause you wouldn't hear Him, cause you are dead. You must be born again first to hear God call, but again being dead you have no part in that either. All you can do is hope your "elect" (see #2) except you are dead, and dead men don't hope.
2) Before the beginning of the world a few were chosen to be saved. The odds are not in your favor, but you never know, it won't hurt to try, except you can't try, cause you are dead (see #1).
3) There is a slim chance Jesus died for your sins, if you are one of the elect (see #2). If you are not one of the elect your sins are not covered by the blood of Jesus and there is nothing you can do about it cause you are dead (see #1).
4) However, if you are one of the few elect, your worries are over because it will be impossible for you to resist the grace of God.
5) And that's not all : If you are one of the few elect not only will you be unable to resist the grace of God, you are also unable to lose your salvation. So Mr. John Doe, I won't lie to you, the odds are NOT good, but there is a small chance you could be elect, the rewards are great, so do you think you want to give it a try? If your not interested, I have some lotto tickets for sale.
Well that Two that is not the worst of it, how would you like to stand before the lord after proclaiming that unbelief, and who is going to pay for all those that it causes to stumble or never receive.
I am guessing your post was to be insulting, or nutty, or both.
I went door to door for three years every Tuesday evening, sharing the gospel with people. My church used Evangelism Explosion, which is a program developed by James D. Kennedy.
He is a Calvinist, and I highly recommend his course for any church wishing to train believers to share their faith.
I also wanted to post a list of "Do's and Don'ts when sharing the gospel, and this is also from a Calvinist, whose name is Kim Riddlebarger. Here is the article, and that way people can compare your childish ranting, with an ACTUAL article done by a Calvinist.
Taken from lectures on evangelism, "Telling People the Truth in Love," now posted on the Riddleblog (click here)
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1. Be clear about what you believe and why you believe it. Know the Scriptures and know the confessions and catechisms. The more you know about your faith, the easier it is to talk with non-Christians.
2. The essence of evangelism is communicating the correct information about sin and grace, simply and clearly. Talk about the law and the gospel, not about infralapsarianism and divine simplicity. That comes later!
3. Avoid the use of Christian jargon. Speak about real sin, real guilt, real shed blood!
4. Use tact and be charitable! Don't talk about reprobation with someone who has just lost an unbelieving family member. Be kind and courteous! Many non-Christians act and speak out of ignorance, not malice.
5. Be sensitive to someone's past�if they've had a bad experience in church, struggle with a particular sin etc., be understanding and compassionate! Non-Christians hate self-righteousness, and they have a right to do so. Do not soft-peddle the law and the guilt of sin, but make sure they understand that you are a justified sinner, not a self-righteous "know it all," who is here to correct them!
6. Stick with the subject�don't get side-tracked. When the conversation wanders, pull it back to center stage�the law and the gospel.
7. Evangelism is not about winning an argument, but leading people to Christ. Discussions may get heated and intense at times�that's okay. But the purpose of evangelism is not to show why you are right and they are wrong. It is to communicate the truth of the gospel. The message is to be the offence. Not you!
8. When people are apathetic about sin�use the law. When people have doubts or are skeptical�use basic apologetic arguments. When people express guilt for sin�present the gospel.
9. Evangelism is about leading non-Christians to Christ. Convincing evangelicals that Reformed theology is true, falls under the heading of polemics. Don't confuse the two.
10. Stick with what all Christians hold in common wherever possible. Leave the internecine fighting among Christians aside when talking to non-Christians. A non-Christian will not care much about why the Lutheran view of the Lord's Supper is in error, or why Baptists are wrong about infant baptism. That will come during catechesis.
11. Wherever possible, speak about Christianity as factually true� "Jesus did this," "Jesus said this," "people heard and saw him," etc. Keep away from the subjective line of approach� "it works for me."
12. Pray for wisdom.
13. Trust in the power of God the Holy Spirit working through the word! Cite texts directly from the Scriptures with attribution. Jesus says, Paul says....Not, "I think," or "it seems to me."
14. Don't rush things. Just because someone is not ready to trust in Christ after one encounter does not mean that effective evangelism has not taken place. Pre-evangelism is equally vital. You may plant, but someone else may have to water.
15. Treat people as objects of concern, not notches in your belt. Establish relationships and friendships whenever possible.
16. Don't forget that a prophet is without honor in his own home. The chances of you leading your own unbelieving family members [or someone close to you] to Christ are remote. Pray for someone else to come and evangelize your family!
17. Don't force things. If people balk, ridicule and otherwise are not interested, back off. Find another time and place. If after repeated attempts to communicate the gospel, and someone still shows an unwillingness to hear what you have to say, "shake the dust off your feet and move on to a new town!"
18. Be willing to get people the resources they need: be willing to provide them with a Bible, the right book to read, and certainly an invitation to attend your church or Bible study, etc.
19. Pray for opportunities to evangelize. Pray for your church�that God would bless the preaching of his word, that he would bring non-Christians into our midst, and that he would bless the church with growth.
20. You don't have to become a practical Arminian to be a faithful evangelist! A Reformed approach to evangelism simply means telling people the truth in love.
2. The essence of evangelism is communicating the correct information about sin and grace, simply and clearly. Talk about the law and the gospel, not about infralapsarianism and divine simplicity. That comes later!
10. Stick with what all Christians hold in common wherever possible. Leave the internecine fighting among Christians aside when talking to non-Christians. A non-Christian will not care much about why the Lutheran view of the Lord's Supper is in error, or why Baptists are wrong about infant baptism. That will come during catechesis.
20. You don't have to become a practical Arminian to be a faithful evangelist! A Reformed approach to evangelism simply means telling people the truth in love.
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The problem is you don't tell them the whole truth until you've got them. You catch them with the Gospel, then you turn them into a modern day Pharisee.
Shared ~ 18. Be willing to get people the resources they need: be willing to provide them with a Bible, the right book to read, and certainly an invitation to attend your church or Bible study, etc.
*** I gota ?�s�when giving out the resources to those that are evangelized to...which One is the Right Book to read ? What Book does your Church use and which one do you hand out when evangelizing...
Shared ~ 20. You don't have to become a practical Arminian to be a faithful evangelist! A Reformed approach to evangelism simply means telling people the truth in love.
*** ??? Are you saying that people can choose to be a Calvinist instead of a Practical Arminian�and tell people the truth in love ???�Now I dont know wether to Laugh or Cry...:winksmile:...xo
