Calvinist Flyswatter

Founders Fizzle While Florida Burns

In this article Brother Bob Ross once again demonstrates that the purpose of Founders Ministies (yes, they really believe what they are doing is a ministry) is to convert Christians to Hybrid Calvinism.

Charles
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FOUNDERS FIZZLE WHILE FLORIDA BURNS -- WARRING FACTIONS WASTE CHURCH MONEY [06/22--2007]

It appears that leaders at the Florida Baptist Convention headquarters in Jacksonville have spent a lot of money on a mail-out to Florida pastors which ostensibly opposes "Calvinism."

In response, now the "Founders Ministries," headed by Tom Ascol of Cape Coral, is going to raise and spend $20,000 to send out a DVD to the same pastors which is ostensibly designed to propagate "Calvinism" and expose "Arminianism."

All this while Florida burns -- both in sin and in the world to come -- if it does not hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Both of these parties give lip serve to believing the Great Commission to preach the Gospel to every creature is incumbent upon the churches, yet neither side seems to have any compunction of conscience against spending thousands of dollars to promote an old and bitter theological controversy which has been extant for hundreds of years and is still unresolved.

Not only so, but to further emphasize the utter futility of such a waste, even the materials which are being used by both parties do not properly represent the issues in involved. Both sides misrepresent historic, creedal Calvinism.

The Founders are using a DVD entitled "Amazing Grace," which presents a non-creedal pedobaptist view of "regeneration" or the new birth which alleges that sinners are "born again before faith." This is what we call "HYBRID CALVINISM," for it is a mixture of truth with error.

I do not know if any of my readers has the "Amazing Grace" 2-disc DVD, but I will nevertheless document for the readers the Hybrid Calvinist heresy of this unfortunate caricature of creedal "Calvinism."

On the DVD, disc #1, at 1:32:22, under the theme of "Born Again," the Narrator, Eric Holmberg, spins the Hybrid Calvinist Presbyterian palabber about being "born again before faith." This was expected since there are at least five "Baby Regenerationist" Presbyterians among the twelve men who appear on the DVD, in addition to Tom Nettles of Southern Baptist Seminary who also teaches this same error.

Holmberg says the following, in summation of his comments:
"Being born again is the first act of God's grace. It makes us new creatures in Christ, and as new creatures, we are no longer haters of God, no longer at enmity with God, . . . and as a result we repent and have faith in God and what He has done for us through the cross. BEING BORN AGAIN MUST OF NECESSITY PRECEDE FAITH."

Holberg therefore has the sinner as a "BORN AGAIN UNBELIEVER."

This is classic non-creedal HYBRID CALVINISM, as taught by "Baby Regenerationists" theologians such as Shedd in his Dogmatic Theology, by Berkhof's Systematic Theology, by R. C. Sproul, by "Reformed Baptist" James White, by Tom Ascol's "Founders" website, by Tom Nettles at Southern Seminary, by Iain Murray of the Banner of Truth, and by others who have been deluded by this travesty of Creedal Calvinism on the New Birth.

This heresy was originally hatched in the post-Reformation nest of the "Baby Regenerationist" Presbyterians who teach that "covenant" infants born to believers are "regenerated" either before birth or shortly thereafter, LONG BEFORE they are believers in Christ.

Evidently, Tom Ascol wants to make BaptoPresbyterians out of Florida Baptist preachers!

This is the modern distortion of Creedal Calvinism on "Effectual Calling" wherewith Tom Ascol wants to waste $20,000 to propagandize the Pastors in the Florida Baptist Convention as if this is "Calvinism."

This is more grotesque than the "chads" ordeal in Florida in the last presidential election. $20,000 wasted to promote Hybrid Calvinism!

If a Florida pastor swallows this heresy, he will soon probably stop giving a public invitation, his evangelistic emphasis will be retarded, professions of faith and baptisms will decline (apparently much to Ascol's delight), and perhaps even a church split will develop. At least, this is the usual "pattern" when a preacher adopts and starts preaching Hybrid Calvinism. I have seen it happen for over 50 years.

IS THERE A BETTER WAY TO SPEND $20,000?

A few years ago, we selected 35 sermons by Spurgeon, all of which were on the Gospel. We called it, "The Gospel According to C. H. Spurgeon."
>http://members.aol.com/pilgrimpub/2274book.htm< [The book is also available in Spanish].

We had the financial assistance of several contributors for this project in which as many copies as possible were donated to Seminary and Bible school graduates. Hundreds of copies went to the graduates of Southern Baptist seminaries, and hundreds went to graduates in other schools. We believed it would be a wonderful tool to assist these young graduates to get the best possible grip on how to present the Gospel of Christ. No one did it better than Spurgeon.

Don't you think that a better way for Tom Ascol to spend $20, 000 would be to send this book, or Spurgeon's "The Soul Winner" book, to the Pastors in the Florida Baptist Convention?

I believe either of these two books would do more to assist pastors in their ministries in evangelizing the "elect" in Florida than the DVD, featuring Holmberg, Tom Nettles and the Presbyterian "Baby Regenerationists," who advocate the "born again before faith" Hybrid Calvinism.

After all, preachers are first and foremost commissioned by the Lord to "preach the Gospel," not the theological phantasmagoria of Hybrid Calvinism.

posted by Charles @ 8:47 PM