Tolerant Calvinists Are Not Necessarily Unregenerate!


  For those of you reading this who are scratching your heads wondering.. 'What in the world kind of a subject is this and what's the purpose of such a subject I ain't never heard of?' the answer is very simple. There are people in the evangelical community going around teaching the false doctrine that "All Tolerant Calvinists are unregenerate". For those of you who already know what I am talking about, well.. you know. The purpose of this paper is to show the error of such false doctrine and in so doing give light and encouragement to any who might have been taken in by it. Let it be well understood at the outset that I am in no way supporting toleration of false brethren. Anyone who tolerates people who hold to false doctrine and a false gospel is on Extremely Dangerous Ground and needs to repent and depart from them. Those who refuse to repent and depart may rightly be judged as lost themselves.

There are people who say Tolerant Calvinists are unregenerate. This is against the teachings of the Bible and the Son of God. It absolutely cannot be found in Scripture either by direct statement or by example.

 I'll begin by defining the terms in the topic.
First; What is a Calvinist ?
A Calvinist is a person who believes in the popular system of theology known as 'Calvinism' which is expressed by the well known acronym, TULIP; alternately referred to as the "5 points of Calvinism" or the "doctrines of grace." This definition may be expanded to include other points of theology but this is the 'nut-shell' definition which we can safely say describes all who call themselves 'Calvinists'.

Second; What is a Tolerant Calvinist.
A 'Tolerant' Calvinist is one who Tolerates something or someone. Within the context of our subject it means 'to regard people who hold to a false gospel as Christians'.  
Now before I go any further let me repeat myself by saying that this is an  Extremely Dangerous Practice !
I cannot emphasize this enough folks. If any reading this are of the camp who are spreading your false doctrine that 'All Tolerant Calvinists are unregenerate' please do not take what I say here out of context and try to say I am teaching religious toleration.
Mark it right here; Religious Toleration is unBiblical! I will demonstrate this in this paper. Right now just catch the definition of a Tolerant Calvinist. To fine-tune it and get closer to home in terms of what's going on in the evangelical community...

*A 'Tolerant Calvinist' is a Calvinist who regards Arminians as Christians.

By that definition just about anybody who knows anything at all of Christianity within the evangelical community should know what I am talking about.

Next question;
Is Toleration Biblical? And the answer is a resounding No! Without even having to demonstrate from the Bible we can safely say that Sin is not Tolerable! Anybody who denies that is not a Christian ladies & gentlemen. And believe me there are many false professors who try to tolerate their sin and justify it. Some say "We are saved by grace not law. We're not under the law" while they continue in their sin. Others say "I can have Jesus as Savior without having Him as Lord." These are doctrines of demons and those who hold to them are not Christians. If anyone reading this knows such people and thinks they are saved you need to repent and depart from them. Otherwise you must be judged unsaved yourself.

Next question;
Do Christians sin? Answer; Yes.
Abraham lied; Gen 20:2
Noah got drunk; Gen 9:21
Isaac lied; Gen 26;7
Jacob lied; Gen 27:24
Aaron committed idolatry; Ex 32:3-5.. and lied about it; verse 34
Moses committed murder; Ex 2:12.. and whacked the rock; Det 32:51
David Murdered a man and stole his wife; 2Sam 12:7
Peter spoke as Satan; Matt 16:23.. He cursed and denied Christ right in His presence; Mark 14:71 / Luke 22:60, 61.
Thomas denied Christ's resurrection; John 20:25
Peter and Barnabas condoned a false gospel along with the Galatian believers... Galatians 1:6-9ff

The last one about Peter & the Galatians is germane to this paper.

Next question;
Is it possible for a true, born-again, regenerate Christian to engage in the sin of Toleration. And the answer to this question is a resounding Yes! The book of Galatians was written to this very purpose ladies & gentlemen. People known as the Judaizers went there and began preaching the false gospel of justification by works of the law and it was so convincing that an Apostle fell for it! In so  doing he was not only tolerating the Judaizers he was compromising.. nay he was denying the true Gospel. The language used by the Holy Spirit could not be clearer. We have a closer look here.

Paul says of the Galatians;
Gal 1:6  I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:  KJV.

And of Peter & Barnabas;
Gal 2:11  But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed.
Gal 2:12  For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision.
Gal 2:13  And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation. KJV

The Galatians, along with both Peter and Barnabas, were >removed< from Him that called them. They were removed to such a point that their conduct demonstrated it and marked them as hypocrites. That means they were taken away from the true Gospel and were going after another, false gospel. And what was that false gospel they were following?

Gal 2:16  Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. KJV

The false gospel was the message that was so prevalent then as it is now and so attractive to human flesh; that one can be justified by the works of the law. If I may say ladies & gentlemen, you can't get any false-er than that while attempting to maintain the appearance of Christianity. This is why the Roman Catholic Church survives and thrives folks. The foundation of that empire of darkness is their gospel that teaches men are justified by works. Add to that their claim to be the one true Christian Church and you have a two-fold potent poison that leads men to perdition! And this is what Peter, Barnabas and the Galatian Christians were following. No wonder Paul says that people who bring such a message are under the curse of God. Gal 1:6-9. Peter and the Galatians were placing themselves back under that curse. And we know that there were people in the Galatian churches that were true Christians being bewitched and led astray by this false gospel for Paul says of them;

Gal 4:6  And because  -ye are sons,-  God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
Gal 4:7  Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a  -son;-  and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
Gal 4:8  Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods.
Gal 4:9  But now,   ~after~   that ye have known God, or rather
*are known of God,*
{Such is a description of a true Christian}
 how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?  KJV

And yet, these Christians were so  removed from the true Gospel that Paul says of them;

Gal 3:1  O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? KJV

They were 'bewitched', or mesmerized, to the point of being so far removed from the Gospel that they were walking in  *disobedience* to the truth. Can you now see how serious this situation was? This is a prime example of true Christians being led astray and deceived under the influence of false teachers who brought a false gospel. And Paul says they were so far removed that they were walking in disobedience to the truth of the Gospel!

So we see that it is not only possible, but actually happens, that a true, regenerate Christian can sin by Tolerating false brethren; And by Compromising, and Denying the true Gospel.

Again it is said by some; A regenerate person cannot believe the antithesis of the Gospel.
But God says they can folks right there in the book of Galatians! Moreover we have more evidence of this in the book of Acts;

Acts 15:
1 And certain ones who came down from Judea taught the brothers, saying, Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.

These were very likely the same Judaizers mentioned in the book of Galatians. Antioch was within the region of Galatia, if not part of it.  These ‘certain men’ came into this area and began teaching the exact same false doctrine Paul addresses in his letter to the Galatians. In Acts the preaching of a false gospel had such an effect that the Apostles had to write letters to the Christians in Antioch, which when they read them they rejoiced! Obviously many true, regenerate Christians were ‘bewitched’ and led astray by this false gospel.. including an Apostle, Peter! If the Apostle Peter, as well as Barnabas.. if men of such caliber can succumb to false doctrine who would suppose that men of lesser degree are immune? Moreover, and this is the point.. there can be no doubt that the brethren who gave ear to such false doctrine thought that those who taught it were regenerate as well as those who embraced it. In other words they were ‘Tolerating' all over the place. Without question they were compromising the truth and giving ear to a false gospel. It would be ludicrous to try and suppose that Peter, Barnabas and the Galatians didn't think the Judaizers were true, regenerate believers! Yet this situation is still very active in this day and there are people going around saying that those who find themselves in the same position as Peter & Barnabas are necessarily unregenerate. I daresay if these people had been present in Galatia they for sure would have risen up and proclaimed... "Ah-HA! Peter, and Barnabas are UNregenerate!"

Moreover such people claim that the Tolerant Calvinist, by his toleration of Arminians, shows that he does not know the difference between a false gospel and the truth and therefore must be unregenerate. But such is just as ludicrous folks. Did not Peter and Barnabas know the difference between a false gospel and the truth? Of course they did. That's not the problem at all. The problem is that false doctrine can be so subtle that even the very elect, who know the difference between a false gospel and the truth, can be fooled.

So we see from Scripture that it is not only possibly, but actual, that folks can find themselves in this situation. Now let me put it in context of the point of this paper with the next question.

Are Calvinists, who say Arminians are saved, necessarily unregenerate? Absolutely No!

What is an Arminian? Among other things an Arminian is a person who holds the damnable doctrine that Jesus Christ has died for everybody in the entire human race who ever was or ever will be born including all those who were already in Hell before the cross, which includes everybody who perished in Sodom & Gomorrah and the flood! That doctrine ladies & gentlemen is from the pit of Hell and anybody who believes it cannot possibly be a Christian. Such a false doctrine requires works because, in that doctrine it is not the Atonement that makes the difference between saved and lost. It's the work of the sinner in his free-will acceptance that does. This is essentially the same thing the Judaizers were preaching back there in Galatia; salvation based on something the sinner does. In Galatia it was Circumcision. With the Arminian it's his Decision. Therefore Arminianism is a false gospel and Arminians cannot possibly be Christians. But now... what about people who call themselves 'Calvinists' because they hold to the "doctrines of grace" of which one doctrine says that Jesus Christ died only for His sheep, the elect and no one else? Keeping in mind that the death of Christ, or the Atonement, is the Gospel, it is clear that the Arminian and the Calvinist hold to two separate... and very different, nay even opposing "gospels" and they cannot both be the truth. Clearly those who hold religious fellowship with each other are Tolerating each other.

Now  the question is; is the "Calvinist" necessarily unregenerate? The Arminian most definitely is but what about the "Calvinist"? Well... what about Peter and Barnabas? Were they unregenerate because they fellowshipped with false teachers? No. So the answer to the question here is; No! A "Tolerant Calvinist" is not necessarily unregenerate. Some are.. and some are not. Those who are are called... Christians! Those who are not are called... Dead Calvinists; because they are still dead in their sin even though they believe in TULIP, or the doctrines of grace. See my paper on Dead Calvinists.

Next question... which I am sure you all are anticipating;
What's the difference and how do you tell that difference?
The difference is... a Calvinist might possibly be regenerate whereas a Dead Calvinist is still unregenerate. He's still lost in his sin.
How do you tell the difference? Simple. You do exactly what Paul did in Galatia; you show them the truth, thereby exposing their Sin, and call them to repent! IF... they repent and depart, thou hast gained thy brother. But IF..  they refuse to repent, and continue to say... "I don't care what you say... Arminians are my Christian brothers", then you have no choice but to regard that Calvinist as a Dead one and have no religious fellowship with him. If you don't, then you are no different than the Dead Calvinist because you are agreeing that it is OK to Tolerate unregenerate people who hold to a false gospel. You are agreeing with the Dead Calvinist that Arminians are saved and you must be judged as unsaved as well.

Part of the problem here is that, the Arminian heresy is so-o-o-o very subtle because it dresses up in Scripture, that it is possible for a truly regenerate Christian to be taken in, or as Scripture says, bewitched. That's why there are so many warnings against deception in the New Testament and they are directed to ~true believers~. The Lord Jesus Himself issued one.

Luke 21:8
*And he said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them. KJV

*And he said, Take heed that ye be not led astray: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am he; and, The time is at hand: go ye not after them.
ASV

*And He said, Take heed that you are  ~not deceived,~ for many shall come in My name, saying, I AM! Also, The time has come! Do not go after them.  MKJV

*And He said, Watch that you not be led astray. For many will come on My name, saying, I AM! Also, The time has come! Do not go after them. LITV

And a parallel;

Mat 24:23 
*Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
 24  For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. KJV

*Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is the Christ, or, Here; believe it not.
 24:24  For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. ASV

*Then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ! Or, There! Do not believe it.
Mat 24:24  For false Christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders; so much so that, if it were possible, they would deceive even the elect. MKJV

*Then if anyone says to you, Behold, here is the Christ! Or, Here! Do not believe.
 24  For false christs and false prophets will rise up. And they will give great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. LITV

If a regenerate Christian cannot be deceived, or cannot believe the antithesis of the true Gospel then such exhortations make no sense. This is not to say that a true, regenerate Christian can be deceived to the point where he loses his salvation. A Christian cannot lose his salvation. But it is very possible for a Christian to fall into sin by being deceived ~temporarily~ as we have seen, and when that happens God will see to it that he is brought to repentance. This is exactly what took place in the book of Galatians.

Again the thing to do here is teach the truth of the true Gospel and call men to repentance. If they repent you have found some of Christ's sheep. But if not then it's time to depart. But to level a charge of "You're unregenerate" against them is to short circuit this Biblical instruction and dishonor God!

Scripture teaches Separation, not Toleration. It also teaches the truth of Repentance. Repentance is a marvelous display of the grace of God towards His people because not only do we need repentance in coming to Christ in the Gospel, but we will continue to need it all the way to the coffin because we will continue to sin after we are saved. 

So, those who are going about saying that  all Tolerant Calvinists are unregenerate need to re-think their doctrine and repent. Such a doctrine is against the Scriptures and is therefore a doctrine of anti-christ! One result is the unBiblical practice of weeding out the good with the bad and that job belongs to angels not men and doesn't happen until the end. Another is that it can cause a true, regenerate believer to engage in the sin of doubting his salvation. Therefore you are partakers of other men's sins when you tell them they are unregenerate when in fact they are not. Moreover, you are engaging in the sin of calling good evil and that is a very serious practice!

Isa 5:20  Woe to those who call evil good and good evil; who put darkness for light and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!

If you are one of those people then you need to recognize your sin of false doctrine and you need to repent. If anyone reading this knows of such people you need to exhort them to repent. If they do not then you need to have no religious fellowship with them, otherwise you share in their evil practice.

Le 19:17  You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall always rebuke your neighbor, and not allow sin on him.

Those who tell a Tolerant Calvinist... "you're unregenerate" and the Tolerant Calvinist is regenerate, are engaging in hatred towards the brethren.

Further if you are one who considers Arminians, who hold to false doctrine and a false gospel, as saved Christians, then you too need to recognize your sin of Toleration and repent. And again if anyone reading this knows of such people you need to exhort them to repent. If they do not then you need to have no religious fellowship with them, otherwise you share in their evil practice as well.  2John 9-11.

Pr 13:18 Poverty and shame shall be to him who refuses instruction, but he who listens to correction shall be honored.

For His glory

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