John Calvin and His Unsound Doctrine

Charles Spurgeon claimed, “Calvinism is the gospel, and nothing else.” The Gospel? Good luck finding Calvinism in 1 Corinthians 15:1-6 (where the Scriptures defines the gospel by which we are saved).

  1. Calvin’s hero was Augustine, and he followed his teachings.
    • Calvin wrote, “Augustine is so wholly with me, that if I wished to write a confession of my faith, I could do so with all fulness and satisfaction to myself out of his writings.”
    • Augustine is referred to as “the first real Roman Catholic.”
    • “There is scarcely a single Roman Catholic dogma which is historically intelligible without reference to his teaching.”1 This includes worship and prayer to Mary, to saints, and the whole nine yards.
    • Augustine was the “first true Predestinarian.”2
    • Augustine believed in the allegorical method of interpreting the Bible from Origen and the Alexandrian school. This means he did not really believe the Bible but took it all figuratively.
  2. John Calvin was a Nicolaitan. Jesus said he hates their deeds and doctrine (Revelation 2:615).
    • Nicolaitans are those who conquer and rule over the laity.
    • Calvin is referred to as “the Protestant pope of a pope hating people.”
    • He ruled Geneva in some attempt to have the church reign over the literal kingdom of heaven just like the Roman Catholic Church and the Muslims.
    • So naturally, since he was reigning on earth himself, he denied the literal millennial reign of the Lord Jesus Christ. He was referred to as “the Genevese dictator.”3
    • He banished Anabaptists from Geneva for their theological views.
    • He would burn you at the stake if you did not agree with him doctrinally.
    • He jailed and punished people for all kinds of reasons, like not naming their children approved names, etc.
  3. He believed in Baptismal regeneration.
    • He believed in sprinkling babies.
    • Calvin believed non-elect babies go to hell.
  4. He believed that Jesus died only for some men and not others.
    • He taught God purposefully damned sinners before they were born, and “elected” them to hell by making sure not one drop of Christ’s blood was shed for them.
    • He denied that all sinners have the capacity to repent and believe in Jesus Christ.
    • He taught that conversion begins with the new birth without the convert believing the gospel, but that believing came after the sinner was saved against his will.

Foundations of Calvinism

Two Philosophers

See Colossians 2:8 for the Biblical view of man’s philosophies.

  1. John Calvin
  2. Augustine

Two Councils

The Scriptures present a very negative view of councils.

  1. The Canon of Dort
  2. The Westminster Confession of Faith

The Philosophy Called Calvinism

This is a product of philosophy and theology. It is NOT the result of taking Scripture in context and comparing Scripture with Scripture. The main points of Calvinism are summed up in the acronym TULIP:

  • T – Total Depravity
  • U – Unconditional Election
  • L – Limited Atonement
  • I – Irresistible Grace
  • P – Perseverance of the Saints

Total Depravity – Has To Do With THE WILL & ABILITY

What is said: Depravity means “moral corruption.” The depravity of man is a Biblical doctrine and used as a smokescreen to cover up to what they are really referring. This is why they add the word “total” to the beginning.

What is meant: Total depravity to a Calvinist has nothing to do with man’s sinful nature or fallen condition, although they emphasize these truths. What a Calvinist really believes is Total Inability. This means that a man has no ability to freely believe and receive Jesus Christ.

They arrive at this by denying man has a “free will,” which the Bible plainly teaches. So the belief is that the GRACE of God over-powers the will of those pre-chosen to be saved and saves them without their believing or using their will. This overlooks the conscience and the law of God written in the heart of man (Romans 2:14-15). The bottom line is that Calvinism teaches that man is totally incapable of believing the gospel or choosing Jesus as Savior.

Unconditional Election – Has To Do With God CHOOSING Heaven Or Hell Before They Were Born

What is said: Unconditional election is God choosing people for Heaven and hell in eternity past before they were born. Some were created for destruction.

What is meant: This based upon a perversion of the Biblical terms of election and predestination. In Calvinism, everything that happens is based upon God’s “eternal decrees” from eternity past. This makes God the author of sin.

Limited Atonement – Has To Do With Jesus ONLY DYING FOR THE ELECT

What is said: Jesus died only for the elect.

What is meant: Jesus did not pay the price for the sin of the whole world, but only for those preselected and created for life. Is this what Jesus meant by John 3:16?

Irresistible Grace – Has To Do With God’s Grace Overpowering The Chosen

What is said: Irresistible grace is the Holy Spirit working against the will of man and forcing them to be changed from evil to good people.

What is meant: This assumes that God’s will cannot be resisted (despite tons of Scripture pointing out the opposite). Everything in history, according to Calvin’s tale, is predetermined (predestined) to happen.

Perseverance of the Saints – Has To Do With

What is said: God perseveres in keeping the believer saved.

What is meant: The main emphasis is that those who are truly saved will persevere to the end in the faith.

This of course denies the possibility of carnal Christians (even though there are – 1 Corinthians 3:1 “And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.”).

The one thing Calvin had right was eternal security. Ironically, this belief does not lead to eternal security. Spurgeon and Calvin can both be shown to have doubts and hope that they were part of the elect.

“The only difference between a Calvinist and an Arminian when it comes to assurance is that the Arminian requires holiness to prove salvation while the Calvinist demands holiness to demonstrate election, which then substantiates salvation”4

Or as well known Calvinist Lorraine Boettner states:

“We can never know that we are elected of God to eternal life except by manifesting in our lives the fruits of election – faith and virtue, knowledge and temperance, patience and godliness, love of the brethren. It is idle to see assurance of election outside of holiness of life” (Predestination, p. 309).

It should be noted that this philosophy is “Lordship Salvation.” As Laurence Vance points out:

In seeking to justify their position, lordship salvation advocates do appeal to the Scripture for support. The problem, however, is that they rely almost entirely on modern versions of the Bible for their proof texts.5

The topic of Lordship Salvation is a whole other study itself. It is part of Perseverance of the Saints under Calvinism.

Key Verses To Defeat the Follies of Calvinism

Matthew 23:37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!

Calvin’s Lordship Salvation crowd says that opponents believe in cheap grace. Cheap grace? In the Bible grace is not only cheap, it is FREE!! If it is not free, it is not grace at all!

Romans 5:15 “But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.”

So, Mr. Calvin, everything is eternally decreed before the foundation of the world?

Jeremiah 19:3–5 “And say, Hear ye the word of the Lord, O kings of Judah, and inhabitants of Jerusalem; Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, the which whosoever heareth, his ears shall tingle. Because they have forsaken me, and have estranged this place, and have burned incense in it unto other gods, whom neither they nor their fathers have known, nor the kings of Judah, and have filled this place with the blood of innocents; They have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it into my mind:”

Results of Calvinism

  • It kills soul winning.
  • It kills personal responsibility.
  • It kills missions.
  • It kills reconciliation (if you are not as they are, you are not elect and not saved)
  • It kills honesty.
  • It kills the gospel.
  • It kills sound doctrine.

How To Recognize a Calvinist.

The main weapons of Calvinism are ignorance and intimidation. They call anyone who doesn’t agree with them an Arminian and then proceed to apply every heresy to Arminians. The Bible believer is neither a Calvinist nor Arminian. Here are the words and catchphrases used by a Calvinist:

  • “Reformed Theology”
  • “Calvinist,” “Calvinism”
  • “Sovereign Grace”
  • “Common Grace”
  • “Doctrines of Grace”
  • Although sometimes they just hijack the word “grace.”
  • “Providence” is used to mask a Calvinist indoctrination.
  • “Total depravity”
  • “Total inability”
  • Use of the terms predestinated, election, and chosen contrary to Scripture.
  • The Westminster Confession
  • Frequent reference to prominent Calvinists: John MacArthur, J.I. Packer, Author W. Pink, John Gerstner, John Piper, Albert Mohler, James Montgomery Boice

King James wrote regarding the Synod of Dort (Unconditional Election):

The doctrine is so horrible, that I am persuaded, if there were a council of unclean spirits assembled in hell, and their prince the devil were to put the question either to all them in general, or to each in particular, to learn their opinion about the most likely means of stirring up the hatred of man against God their Maker; nothing could be invented by them that could be more efficacious for this their purpose, or that could put a greater affront upon God’s love for mankind, than this infamous decree by the late Synod, and the decision of that detestable formulary, by which the greater part of the human race are condemned to hell for no other reason, than the mere will of God, without any regard to sin; the necessity of sinning, as well as that of being damned, being fastened on them by a great nail of the decree before-mentioned.

Charles Wesley’s poem entitled “The Horrible Decree” puts is this way:

O Horrible Decree,

Worthy of whence it came!

Forgive their hellish blasphemy

Who charge it on the Lamb6

“The Other Side Of Calvinism”

For further study on Calvinism, I highly recommend “The Other Side Of Calvinism” by Laurence M. Vance. This book is the definitive work on the subject and is available on Amazon and from Vance Publications.


  1. The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1949-1950)., s.v. “Augustine,” vol. 1, p. 368.
  2. Paul K. Jewett, Election and Predestination (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1985), p. 5.
  3. Stefan Zweig, The Right to Heresy (London: Cassell and Company, 1936), p. 107.
  4. Vance, Laurence M. The Other Side of Calvinism. Revised Ed. Orlando, FL: Vance Publications, 2014. Page 596.
  5. Ibid. 583.
  6. G. Osborn, The Poetical Works of John and Charles Wesley, Vol. III (London: Wesleyan-Methodist Conference Office, 1869), p. 34.

The King James Bible

No, all translations are NOT the same, unless you think the following numbers are the same:

  • 3,000 and 30,000 (1 Samuel 13:5)
  • 70 and 72 (Luke 10:1)
  • 77 and 490 (Matthew 18:22)
  • 50,070 and 70 (1 Samuel 6:19)

We believe the King James Bible that we hold in our hands from cover to cover without apology or excuse. Rather than correct the Bible, we let it correct us. New versions are not the same because they change names, numbers, prophecies, and key doctrines. We serve “the Son of God,” not “a son of the gods” (Daniel 3:25), and there is a difference.

We believe the King James Bible is God’s preserved word. This can be proven:

  1. Prophetically
  2. Numerically
  3. Practically

To summarize, God proves He is God by prophecy (Isaiah 41:22-23; 42:8-9; 43:18-21; 44:6-8; 44:28-45:25; 46:9-10; 47:1-15; 48:3-7). It is so important that the Holy Bible contains 1,817 individual prophecies on 737 subjects in 8,352 verses. That is 27% of 31,102 verses.

A simple reading of key prophetic passages about our Lord Jesus Christ will show modern translations of the Bible destroy/remove/corrupt the prophecies themselves. Try Genesis 22:8 and Daniel 9:26 for starters.

The numerics in the King James Bible both in the text itself and also in the book, chapter, and verse system are so astounding that it could not possibly be from any other source than the Almighty. The numerics tie in directly with prophecy. We can give numerous examples at a moments notice, just ask. Additionally we can point you to resources documenting so many examples of these truths that it will blow your mind.

Practically, the King James Bible is unique in that it is not “politically correct.” Not only does it say things that NO other translation would print regarding social hot topics dealing with things from gender to sodomites, it also speaks in a way that is counter to the culture norms of an apostate Laodicean church. As a matter of fact, look up the following Scriptural words in another translation: damned, damnation, sodomites, effeminate, “pisseth against the wall(like a urinal – yes, that separates the boys from the girls – apparently Somebody knew about restroom confusion thousands of years before it made a headline).

We don’t want “smooth things,” we want “thus saith the Lord” (Isaiah 30:10; Jeremiah 23:36-38; Deuteronomy 4:2; 2 Corinthians 2:17).

Let us give an answer to the Bible correctors who would attempt to slander us. We have NEVER said or taught the following that people who are led to Christ out of another translation are not saved. Nor have we ever said you have to use the King James Bible to lead someone to the Lord who doesn’t even speak English. They resort to putting words in our mouths to slander us, because they don’t have an answer to what we have said above.

Membership & Baptists

A new believer or candidate does not need to understand everything in order to join. It is important they not be in opposition to these scriptural items.

How to Become A Member of Liberty Baptist Church

Outside of restoration, there are three ways to join the church.

  1. By baptism here at Liberty after salvation.
  2. By transfer of letter (church membership) from another Baptist church of like faith and practice.
  3. By statement of faith that you have been scripturally saved and afterward baptized by immersion.

Baptist Distinctives

Here is an Acrostic where the first letter from each spells BAPTISTS

  • Bible as final authority
  • Autonomous
  • Priesthood of the believer
  • Two ordinances (Baptism & the Lord’s supper)
  • Individual soul liberty
  • Saved membership
  • Two offices (Pastors & Deacons)
  • Separation of church and state.

Baptists are different.

  1. A regenerated church membership is not required of the other major denominations, as those denominations count on sprinkling a baby to regenerate it. Scripturally we cannot accept any kind of infant baptism for any reason.
  2. The autonomy of the church means absolute freedom from any and all outside interference from state, government, other churches, other religious bodies, or other individuals.
  3. Another distinctive is eternal security.
  4. Rejection of a Nicolaitan hierarchy which overthrows the priesthood of the believer.
  5. The term “Baptist” is necessary, because if it is not labeled as such, then there is no doctrinal mark whereby it can be proved to be never-Roman Catholic. “Baptist” is the one organized church that has never and will never agree with Rome on the priesthood, the mass, Mary, the plan of salvation, the future, the leadership in the local church, the position of the believer in Christ, or the GOALS and AIMS of the church as a missionary organization.
  6. Baptists are not “Protestant,” as they did not come out of the Roman Catholic church.
  7. Since the book of Acts there have always been believers who believed in salvation by grace through faith in the finished work of Christ (death, burial, and resurrection).

The Baptists have an unusual place in all of these matters, for they are the only group that obeyed the New Testament when it came to water baptism. Baptists can trace their “distinctives” clear back to the book of Acts. No other group can do that.

Eternal Security

How To Know You Are Saved

God’s word tells us that we can know that we are saved.

1 John 5:13 “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”

Please see the post “How To Get To Heaven” for a explanation of the gospel and how you can know for sure you are saved. We are here to help if you have any questions or would like to receive Christ.

Eternal Life

John 3:14-18 “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

John 10:28-30 “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.”

John 6:35–37 “And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not. All that the Father

giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.”

1 Peter 1:3–5 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

Revealed in the last time: Your soul is saved. Your body is not yet saved/redeemed. Meaning, salvation is not complete until the redemption of the purchased possession – your body (1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Ephesians 1:12-14; 4:30; Romans 8:19-23).

You get your glorified body at the rapture (1 Corinthians 15:51-58; 1 John 3:1-3; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). This is called the “redemption of our body” (Romans 8:23), “the adoption (Romans 8:23) and “the manifestation of the sons of God” (Romans 8:19). This is when salvation is “revealed in the last time” and made manifest. It is showing something outward by means of a glorified body that was already done on the inside when God saved your soul.

Sealed to the day of the redemption of your body (The Rapture).

Ephesians 1:12-14 “That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.”

Ephesians 4:30 “And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.”

The purchased possession is your body that will be redeemed.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

Romans 8:23 “And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.”

This happens at the Rapture (When Christ comes back for the church: John 14:1-3; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)

1 Corinthians 15:51-54 “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.”

At salvation we become part of the body of Christ

2 Timothy 2:12–13 “If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.”

The denial has nothing to do with salvation. According to the first part of the verse, it is the denial of a Millennial reign with Christ (Hebrews 3-4). Verse 13 makes it abundantly clear that Jesus Christ will not “deny himself,” and if you are saved, you are “members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones” (Ephesians 5:30). If you quit believing on Christ after you are born again, that wouldn’t change your destination whatsoever (Romans 8:29); nothing can separate you from Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29); nothing can separate you from Jesus Christ (Romans 8:38-39)!

2 Timothy 2:13 “If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.”

1 John 3:20-21 “For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.”

Ephesians 5:29-32

For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

1 Corinthians 12:12–13 “For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.”

1 Corinthians 12:27 “Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.”

Christ Paid For Your Sins Once For All, FOR EVER!

There were no seats in the Tabernacle and Temple in the Old Testament, because their work was never completed. Jesus sat down showing “it is finished.” One payment for sins for ever.

Hebrews 1:2-3 “Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;”

Hebrews 10:10-13 “By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.”

If Christ “purged our sin” with “one sacrifice for sins for ever,” what are you going to do to make sure the work is complete after “the offereing of the body of Jesus Christ once for all”?

If you perish, did you ever have eternal life? Either you have eternal life or you do not. Either you have the Son or you don’t. Once you have the Son and His Spirit, they never leave you (Ephesian 1:12-14; 4:30; Hebrews 13:5-6; John 6:37).

People confuse being a child with how one conducts themselves as a child

You must be born again by the Spirit into the family of God (John 3:3-7). Once you are a child of God (John 1:10-12). For you to lose your salvation which you did not purchase  (Titus 3:5-7) and do not keep (1 Peter 1:3-5), you would have to be unborn of the Spirt Who has already sealed and cannot leave you. That is not possible.

When a child does not behave correctly, the do not become unborn! They get disciplined (read Hebrews 12:5-7).

You can lose your testimony, your health, your family, your job, your possessions, rewards in heaven, and the privilege of reigning as a king during the 1,000 year reign of the Lord Jesus Christ on this earth. You cannot lose your new birth. You did not save yourself and you do not keep it. If we had to keep it, we would lose it (1 John 1:8). Thank God that He keeps it and not us.

Soul Winning & Missions

Liberty Baptist Church has a heart for reaching the world with the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We practice door to door visitation, public witnessing, and street preaching.

We support missionaries through our finances and prayers. You can find a list of our missionaries as well a their most recent prayers letters at the back of the church and here online.

Mark 16:15 “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”

Matthew 28:18–20 “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”

Philippians 4:14–18 “Notwithstanding ye have well done, that ye did communicate with my affliction. Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only. For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity. Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account. But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God.”

Proclaiming Liberty In Jesus

Our theme is “Proclaiming Liberty In Jesus.” Our theme verses are:

Isaiah 61:1-3

  1. The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me;
    Because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek;
    He hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
    To proclaim liberty to the captives,
    And the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
  2. To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord,
    And the day of vengeance of our God;
    To comfort all that mourn;
  3. To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion,
    To give unto them beauty for ashes,
    The oil of joy for mourning,
    The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
    That they might be called trees of righteousness,
    The planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.

What a difference Jesus makes!