September 6, 2017 Show with Marc Grimaldi on “The Importance of Calvinism for Biblically Faithful Evangelism: What it Prevents & What it Preserves”

The Meaning of Calvinism and the Five Points of TULIP

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Afternoon Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. Lake City, Florida. And the rest of humanity living on the planet earth. We're listening via live streaming at iron sharpens iron radio .com. This is Chris Arns and your host of iron sharpens iron radio.

Wishing you all a happy Wednesday. On this sixth day of September 2017 I'm delighted to have My most recent former pastor back on the program today Pastor Mark Grimaldi who is one of two pastors at Grace Reform Baptist Church of Long Island Which is located in Merrick, New York.

And today we're going to be addressing I believe a very important theme the importance of Calvinism for biblically faithful Evangelism what it prevents and what it preserves. And it's my honor and privilege to welcome you back to iron sharpens iron pastor Mark Grimaldi.

It's great to be here Chris. Thank you.

My pleasure and in studio with me again is my co-host the reverend buzz Taylor and it's really good to be here for this subject. And if anybody would like to join us on the air with a question of your own our email address is Chris Arnson at gmail .com Chris ARN z n at gmail .com and please give us your first name at least Your city and state in your country of residence if it makes you feel more comfortable.

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Well, I Think an overview or a summary Might be helpful. This may seem redundant knowing my audience because I believe most of my audience is Calvinist in some degree, but not all of them are. I do get emails with questions for my guests from people from varying backgrounds and but if you could give a brief summary of what Calvinism is to begin with because obviously You immediately will have people saying well, that's the doctrines of men.

Namely John Calvin. Why what else would you call yourself a Calvinist. Calvinist? If it's found in the Bible and that kind of a thing just a summary of that if you will.

Yeah, yeah. Let me just say this first that John Calvin by the way is his his teachings and all the work that he's done Far exceeds the the five minutes we tend to think of the five points, but it's worth noting that it his work.

It really is what's laid the groundwork for most of our systematic theologies today. Institutes have been such a tremendous influence on Many throughout the world and throughout history in through the reference, you know The Reformation the Puritans is so much broader than just the five points.

However, that said we tend to think of Calvinism when we say are you a Calvinist? So you are a minion we think of the five points of Calvinism that's the bit where the big debate lies in those five points and the the five points we tend to think of them in the in the the acronym tulip is One of the best ways to remember what those five points are and the tulip tea and tulip stands for total depravity.

Which speaks of the the nature of man because of the fall? Saying that his his condition is is such that he is to pray that everything in man is Depraved. And and then the next letter in the acronym and tulip is is the you for unconditional election.

Which speaks of God electing his people before the foundation of the world not based on any condition that they would would fulfill. It's not God looking down the tunnels of time. Seeing who would choose him and who would not because if God were to do that based upon our choice Then he would choose no one.

So he actually elects a people for himself based upon his own wisdom and his own being and character. And then the L Atonement is that Christ died for a specific people for those whom the father has elected before time.

He died for those people and only those people. And so in one sense we can say is everyone that he died for those particular people will be saved. It will be his atonement will be six in the five points and the acronym is irresistible grace.

Which speaks of the work specifically of the Holy Spirit who? Applies the salvation that Christ has merited on the cross to his people, but he regenerates them unto the truth. So that they willingly come desire to come to God and will not resist that grace.

And it's not that they are kicking and screaming and I don't want to come as people would say well they're coming against their will it's that God changes the heart he opens the eyes and shows him the truth and When he pours out his love upon them and his grace.

They will be resistably they will want to come and they will Definitely in Christ. And then finally the last of the acronym the last letter is the P Which is for the perseverance of the Saints which speaks of the fact that those who are truly saved Will persevere to the end they will manifest the fact that they have been saved that God has elected them that Christ has died for them.

That they have been irresistibly Awakened by the Holy Spirit they will manifest that by their persevering to the end by the remaining faithful Until the end of their lives. So that kind of sums up those five points would sum up in a brief sense what the what we think of his Calvinism.

But again, he he is a lot broader than those five points as well. I'm sorry pastor mark. Were you saying something?

Reverend buzz Taylor has.

Save our listeners a little bit of time because I wasted a lot of time. When I got my first copy of the Institute Religion I remember opening up eagerly looking for the five points and I could not find them.

Because they rose later and as a result of the remonstrance. But during the remonstrance the defenders of Calvinism They took they gleaned from him to develop the acronym. Yeah. Yes, and they were actually Responding to the five points of Arminian.

Well, yeah, that's what I was kind of hoping that mark would explain a little bit of was that you know. It came in the generation later, right?

And.

Wouldn't you say that you could summarize? Those five points in. There's two ways that I like to summarize them personally. I don't know if you remember pastor mark the voice of sovereign grace program.

Yes, and in the that was for our listeners who weren't familiar with that. That was a program that I developed in the 1990s originally that featured five different reformed churches who each hosted a night of the program Monday through Friday where their a sermon of theirs was featured in the half-hour program and During the opening announcements.

I Summarized what the doctrines of sovereign grace are by saying that God alone saves sinners because sinners cannot even Help save themselves, isn't that what an accurate?

Summary of those teachings. Yeah, that's a great summary of a Chris really is. That's what it comes down to that God is the one who and even we do is a work of God. Anything negative that we do when our sin belongs to us.

But yes, absolutely, correct.

And the other way I summarize it is that God does not try to do anything. Whatever he Intends to do he accomplishes.

Into the fullest that's exactly it. He's not there weeping. You know I'm just hoping that people will respond to the to the message that he sent out and what he's done in the in the the brutal crucifixion and and the Pouring out his wrath upon his son.

He's not hoping he's it's already settled. I mean he he's it's guaranteed He will accomplish and is accomplishing every single detail of what he has planned from the beginning, right? Well.

Calvinism, Evangelism, and the Danger of Pragmatism

The reason I one of the reasons I wanted to do this Topic or speak on this topic with you today the importance of Calvinism for biblically faithful evangelism what it prevents and what it? preserves is Because we who are theologically reformed or Calvinist or believers in the doctrines of sovereign grace or the doctrines of free grace Although that last term unfortunately has been adopted by a group of professing Christians that don't believe in the necessity of repentance so that once wonderfully Accurate Calvinistic label free grace has been polluted with false teaching identified with it today, but We who are in the camp of Calvinism are usually when it comes to the issue of evangelism We're usually on the defensive and today I wanted us to be on the offensive and I know we'll be Offensive to a lot of people listening, but we are usually Reacting or responding to the accusations of those outside of Calvinism regarding things like Calvinism kills evangelism it kills a passion for reaching the lost.

It kills a love for the lost. There's all kinds of accusations that the Arminian or the non-calvinist that could that could also include a Roman Catholic Eastern Orthodox a lot of Christendom outside of reformed theology would make accusations of all kinds.

But today I wanted to take the offensive about why a Evangelism or why in an effort in evangelism is sorely lacking and Is in fact unbiblical and even anti biblical at times if it is not Driven by Calvinistic theology, which we of course believe is purely biblical theology.

It's only a nickname to call it Calvinism and I know that there are even Calvinists who disagree with using labels like that, but you know for the sake of Clarity and abbreviation. I don't have any problem with calling things Calvinist or Calvinism.

Otherwise, I would have to be Describing in detail what I'm what I stand for every time I mention You know the doctrines of grace or something and I think it's a good nickname. Spurgeon thought it was a good nickname.

So that's fine with me. For instance, let's start with what it prevents. I think that if you Believe in the doctrines of sovereign grace and apply them to your evangelism because obviously somebody who's reformed May not even be consistent in his evangelism his or her evangelism.

They may be reformed by name and they may even be a reformed pastor, but they may use Non-reformed or even Arminian methodology either consciously or unconsciously when they're evangelizing. But if you're consistent as a Calvinist when you're evangelizing, one of the things you're going to be doing is not using man-made methodology for reaching the lost because Arminians very often tend to be pragmatic and They will use creativity and inventiveness Because they think that they're clever ideas and novel concepts will perhaps Convince a lost person of the truth believing that they with their cleverness and Giftedness and Even biblical faithfulness and the actual teachings of the Bible.

They think that they themselves can convince Theoretically any person on the face of the earth of the truth now, isn't that a a danger when we when we delve into the realm of pragmatism.

Yeah, Chris. In fact, if if God has a specific then developing any other means or is ultimately going to frustrate. Right or compromise or can't compromise the gospel now God in his grace. Don't get me wrong has he uses as we know the expression.

He uses crooked sticks to draw straight lines. He's used many Arminians throughout history of course to give the gospel and people have been saved through their testimony. And that's because the gospel is there.

Yes. However, it's it can be and oftentimes is shrouded by all kinds of techniques and and seven steps of you know different kinds of Steps that people have to take and trying to get people just to repeat a prayer or or just Different different ways that we try to get people to fit into a certain mold.

That we think if we do that that automatically that will make them safe. And and so it's a danger because it's it's as you said, it's man-made it puts the dependency upon upon people being saved on us that burden on us and It's no one can be saved through that means again.

God is gracious. Well, even when it's it has those kinds of trappings surrounding it for his glory and his grace. He does do that. Depending upon God's work trusting in him to accomplish his work and us being willing to be the vehicle of the messenger That carries the message which alone Can bring salvation as we know the gospel is foolishness right the message is foolishness first.

Corinthians 121. Right exactly. It's foolish. It's foolishness. It's the foolishness of how God says it's preached. But it all the more exalts the power of God right over man's pride and in man thinking that he's the one Who can do anything and so yet it's definitely Important to use God's means Holy Spirit.

It's almost like when he's he's the one that must regenerate. We have to depend upon him and rely on him to do that. And if we're taking that initiative on ourselves, we become then it replaced ought to be the ones to regenerate.

And bring about it's it's incorrect it can be very dangerous and has been oftentimes and has caused many people to Many people just to live in the church, but even in there we know that because many even even in those means.

Yes many years ago. I was a fairly new Christian. I believe I think it may have been in the 80s. It might have been in the 1990s. I don't remember exactly When I don't even remember what I had for lunch today.

I mean, I'm getting old. But I remember there was a Billy Graham crusade at the Nassau Coliseum and my Roman Catholic sister Mary Said to me are you going to the Billy Graham crusade and I told her that I was not planning on it and she said why and I said well the church that I'm a member of and myself personally Do not believe in the methodology and much of the theology that is preached by Billy Graham and those associated with them at these crusades and I'll tell you one and one vivid example.

I told my sister is that During an invitation to come forward For salvation at these crusades. You'll typically have hundreds if not thousands of people depending upon where What the venue is where these crusades are being held.

You will have people go forward and no matter what church they are a part of whether they're in a Roman Catholic Church or a liberal Protestant Church those at the front those those volunteers that have been Have been designed to counsel people Regarding salvation after they hear the message.

They cannot they are forbidden from Recommending any church and in fact they are told to they it is insisted that they Tell the people if at all possible just to return to the church where they came from.

So my.

Sister. After we went to the crusade on the on the bus ride back. We took a bus there the bus that was rented by a church a local Baptist Church and my sister said, you know it kind of makes sense what you told me about why your church doesn't get involved because I know that if Anybody referred them the people that who came forward to my own Roman Catholic parish, they wouldn't learn anything she actually said that about her own parish and and there was a the Baptist minister who who had the bus.

The rental bus for the crusade was sitting right across the aisle from me in the bus. And I said to the pastor just that a curiosity pastor Do you believe that the Roman Catholic gospel is a false gospel?

And he said yes. I said, well, why are you so actively involved in the Billy Graham crusade? Knowing that people who go forward cannot be dissuaded from returning to the Catholic Church. He said well, I just know a lot of people are saved there so I think that the the The ends justify the means and the good outweighs the bad.

I said really is that really the way that we're supposed to look at things when we are seeking to Win the lost for Christ when we are evangelizing and that that that is a completely foreign cops concept to the Bible, isn't it?

Yeah, absolutely. And it's also Chris. It's also a Really it at a front upon the Great Commission that Christ gave, you know, unfortunately. Today you have for not just today. This has been going on, you know For many years and even back to like you said with Billy Graham back when he was starting even early on.

There's this this notion that you know that all that matters is just get people saved just get him saved, you know go out there and get him saved and. And you know that and that is an important part of the Great Commission is to go out and to preach the gospel.

But there is the idea obviously of baptizing them and there's also Teaching them to observe the things that he's commanded and all three of those things. It's like a three-legged stool or critical to to the life of the glorifying God.

It's not just get people saved and and you can see even in that it's it's kind of a it's it's a man-centered Gospel, it's a man-focused attention as opposed to glorifying God seeing him as the ultimate end of all things which includes not just not just The gospel but also the other aspects of teaching them the truth and so on Billy Graham was going to save people through through that means again We know that but overall that he also there was because people were just left in their condition if they said the prayer they were given an assurance that they were saved even though many of them went back and just did whatever they did and and had a false assurance and.

And also went back as you said to Roman Catholic churches or churches that you know We're teaching a false gospel and other and other avenues and so on and just and so there were a lot of there's a lot Damage that was done as well to those Crusades.

What if it could have been? They could have been in some way Sanctified and brought into the to the true way of reaching out with the gospel a lot of great good could have come through them. And a lot of great good has come through others who have so yeah, that definitely very dangerous.

Reverend Buzz Taylor and look what happens when I've talked to a lot of people, you know when you ask them How did you come to Christ and I'm not kidding almost? Almost unanimously. It's you know, well, I went forward at some kind of a crusade or something like that, you know.

It's it's amazing. You would think that there were no other way.

Yeah, yeah, and in fact When non Calvinist will visit a Calvinist Church now, I know that there are rare exceptions there are Calvinist churches out there that have Invitations at the end of the service, although they have a different meaning behind what is going on.

In fact, my old friend. Did you. I don't know if you ever met or remember. Dr. Robert J Cameron who yes. He was a dear friend of mine and they were formed Episcopal Church. Then he became a PCA pastor then he became an OPC pastor before he went home to be with the Lord.

But he had invitations believe it or not. He was a thoroughgoing Calvinist and he had invitation, but he would not declare as Non-Calvinist pastors typically do. He did not declare that that these people who recited a prayer were certainly saved which is Something that's frequently done.

Isn't that also a Danger because you could be misleading a false convert to and giving him comfort and encouragement to Fearlessly continue on in unrepentant sin. Oh, yeah.

In fact, it's that's something that's been happening and probably much more than we even realize in droves. For many many years, which is just many people. I mean look at our country, right? It wasn't too long ago I don't know where it's at now, but we're like 90 something percent of our country claim to be Christian.

You know in Kenya when I went to Kenya in 2000 I remember Keith on the hill saying that there was it was. The majority of the people in Kenya said they were kind of they were Christians and yet it was like has the worst crime rate in in like well.

What makes these people they're putting their confidence in space is put in their confession or an action that they perform. And that's part one of this one of the schemes of a lot of these again. These are minions who would preach.

Who would have the altar call and that kind of teaching is they get you to do something in an active sense? And what happens is you then put your confidence in the act? Well, I did this I did that ten years ago and it's not in Christ.

Your confidence is not in Christ. It's in the act. So I remember when I did this I went. I could remember one time real quick I was online. This is years ago when I thought there was. There was some merit to actually trying to to have some reasonable discussion about Christian issues online.

And then I realized the hard way that you just can't do that today, unfortunately. But there was a there was the chat rooms when AOL was big back in the day. And I remember somebody was asking about they were interested in in the gospel and they were just saying hey What do I need to do it and somebody was directing them through the whole?

Okay. Now you're saved a keyboard within five minutes of time of interacting with this person gave them an assurance. Now I'm not saying that person could not have been possibly saved. But that's the kind of thing they have this assurance because they said and they went through the routine and said the words.

They they did the magic spell as it were they have an assurance that they're saved when in reality. They're not the issue of regeneration. It's not a reality the reality of the things aren't affirmed and and so on.

So it is it or in a prayer that they've said and not in Christ for their salvation now.

The Gospel Invitation, Repentance, and Baptism

Many of our listeners might be shocked to hear that no one in church history at least in recorded church history and It and especially not in some kind of a routine manner or regular practice had altar calls until the 19th century and the rise of Charles Finney.

The Charles Finney who was a heretic who? was not even semi Pelagian but purely Pelagian believing that The salvation did not require Any act of the Holy Spirit at all? In fact, he even denied substitutionary atonement in regard to the death of Christ.

So this this Anxious bench or mourners bench which became the altar call? Didn't even exist in all of church history not in your Baptist churches or any of the other churches that were known for passionate evangelism not even the revivalist Methodists prior to Finney Did this and That isn't that is something that even though church history is not absolute proof of anything it should it should give you Serious reason for pause and to seriously consider something if you're doing something novel that for eighteen hundred and fifty years was never practiced.

And Reverend Buzz Taylor, you know, Chris though along along those same lines, though I think a lot of this has to do with evolutionary teaching as well because There is a thinking out there a mentality that the system used to be broken and people weren't getting saved now.

We've refined the system so much now. Finally people are being saved. Yeah, you're right.

That is an interesting way of putting it, but I think you're right. So we're gonna get our first break right now. If anybody would like to join us and we do have a couple of people waiting to have their questions asked and answered.

But if anybody would like to join them with a question of your own if you want to get in line. Our email address is Chris Arnzen at gmail .com. Chris Arnzen at gmail .com. Please give us your first name your city and state and your country of residence.

If you live outside of the USA and please only remain anonymous if it's about a personal and private matter, don't go away. We'll be right back with Pastor Mark Romaldi of the Grace Reformed Baptist Church of Long Island and Merrick, New York.

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We are talking about the importance of Calvinism for biblically faithful evangelism what it prevents and what it preserves. With pastor Mark Romaldi one of two pastors at grace reform Baptist Church of Long Island, New York.

In Merrick, Long Island, New York, and if you'd like to join us on the air, our email address is chris arnson at gmail .com. Chris a are n ze n at gmail .com. Please give us your first name. City and state.

The country of residence if you live outside of the good old USA and only remain anonymous if it's a personal and private question. One of the other things that would go along with pragmatism and even inventiveness in an adding Terminology and adding even promises To people when we're evangelizing them that are nowhere to be found in Bible in the Bible like for instance Invite Jesus into your heart.

Now that concept is nowhere found in the Bible. Is it pastor Mark?

No, no and I think part of where they where they draw that from Chris is it is a misunderstanding of Revelation is a chapter 2 or 3. When I think chapter 2 when the when Jesus is speaking to the seven churches of Asia and in one of the churches when he rebukes them He says behold I stand at the door and knock if anyone hears my voice.

No.

I will come in and so on. And and that text is actually dealing with it with a church. Calling them to repentance and calling them to return to the Lord and he and how he would return to them. What happens so unfortunately as people have taken that and have wrested it from its context and Would say that look that's you, you know, that's speaking to you as a nun but an unbeliever and The Lord is knocking and he's knocking and he's knocking and he's waiting for you to answer.

And if you just open that door, you know, you answer it. He'll come in and so I think I think from there. You get into a lot of the the ideas of asking the Lord to come into your heart.

Oh, you know that kind of terminology and Reverend Buzz Taylor, you know, really though one of the things I've noticed since I Was once not reformed and I now am reformed that one of the things I've discovered in the reform camp, of course is a very meticulousness in interpreting the word accurately, you know original intention and all that and Just what you have mentioned in in Revelation 3 where?

You see Jesus knocking on the door. Of course, we all know the painting and you know. There's no knob on the outside of the door. You know, you have to let him in and we have just automatically said over the years.

This is the hearts door. Well, the text never said that. When he is talking about churches, he's talking about yeah, he's talking just like you just said pastor mark. He's talking about churches. He's not talking about hearts at all he's talking about churches and When he says he's standing at the door and knock you have to interpret it.

First of all, if it's not the only way is that he's knocking on the door of the church, but would you change the words? That's so innocuous. Well, you know, it's the hard Jesus is knocking at your hearts door I mean, you know, wow, that's that's really nice, you know, who could possibly contend with that but yet it is not being accurate scripturally and We've got a whole concept of evangelism based on that now.

Yeah, in fact, I can vividly remember my dear friend and I know that you are familiar with him. I don't know how close you are with him, but Ed Moore Pastor of North Shore Baptist Church in Bayside, Queens.

I could vividly remember a Sermon he preached in the 90s and I'm in fact when family radio was still biblically sound I remember I submitted a sermon that had preached to them and they played it actually quite frequently on conference echoes but the in the sermon he said You want to invite Jesus into your heart you want to invite Jesus into your heart?

He doesn't want to be in your wretched sinful Filthy heart he wants to rip it out of you and give you a new one. And that is true. I mean people through I mean things have very serious consequences. We might think this is a trivial matter of nitpicking but people think therefore.