Doctrines that divide

The spirit of Calvinism and Arminianism

 2 Tim 2:15-18

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman

that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word

of truth.

16 But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will

increase unto more ungodliness.

17 And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is

Hymenaeus and Philetus;

18 Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the

resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of

some.

KJV

 1 John 4:1-3

Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits

whether they are of God: because many false prophets

are gone out into the world.

2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that

confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of

God:

3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ

is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit

of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should

come; and even now already is it in the world.

KJV

Jude 3-5Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was need-ful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.4 For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this con-demnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.5 I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.KJV

2 Peter 2:1-3But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.2 And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.KJV

Studying God’s Word begins with Humility

John 7:17 If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.KJV

Rom 6:17-18But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.KJV

Rom 11:33-34O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!34 For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?KJV

Deut 29:29The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed be-long unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.KJV

The END

Influenced by Calvinism

John Knox

Theodore Beza

Jonathan Edwards

Charles Hodge

Charles Spurgeon

John Whitefield

R.C.Sproul

James White

Presbyterian

Congregationalist

Reformed Baptist

Hugenots

Pilgrims

Puritans

Scottish

“The Doctrine of Grace”

"Total depravity," also called "total inability," asserts that as a consequence of the fall of man into sin, every person is enslaved to sin. People are not by nature inclined to love God but rather to serve their own interests and to reject the rule of God. Thus, all people by their own faculties are morally unable to choose to follow God and be saved because they are unwilling to do so out of the necessity of their own natures. (The term "total" in this context refers to sin affecting every part of a person, not that every person is as evil as they could be).[27]

"Unconditional election ＂ or “sovereign election” asserts that God has chosen

from eternity those whom he will bring to himself not based on foreseen virtue,

merit, or faith in those people; rather, his choice is unconditionally grounded in his

mercy alone. God has chosen from eternity to extend mercy to those he has chosen

and to withhold mercy from those not chosen. Those chosen receive salvation

through Christ alone. Those not chosen receive the just wrath that is warranted for

their sins against God

"Limited atonement," also called "particular redemption" or "definite atonement",

asserts that Jesus's substitutionary atonement was definite and certain in its purpose and

in what it accomplished. This implies that only the sins of the elect were atoned for by

Jesus's death. Calvinists do not believe, however, that the atonement is limited in its

value or power, but rather that the atonement is limited in the sense that it is intended

for some and not all. Hence, Calvinists hold that the atonement is sufficient for all and

efficient for the elect.[29] The doctrine is driven by the Calvinistic concept of the

sovereignty of God in salvation and their understanding of the nature of the atonement

"Irresistible grace," also called "efficacious grace", asserts that the saving grace of God

is effectually applied to those whom he has determined to save (that is, the elect) and

overcomes their resistance to obeying the call of the gospel, bringing them to a saving

faith. This means that when God sovereignly purposes to save someone, that individual

certainly will be saved. The doctrine holds that this purposeful influence of God's Holy

Spirit cannot be resisted, but that the Holy Spirit, "graciously causes the elect sinner to

cooperate, to believe, to repent, to come freely and willingly to Christ

"Perseverance of the saints" (or preservation) of the saints (the word "saints" is used to

refer to all who are set apart by God, and not of those who are exceptionally holy,

canonized, or in heaven) asserts that since God is sovereign and his will cannot be

frustrated by humans or anything else, those whom God has called into communion with

himself will continue in faith until the end. Those who apparently fall away either never

had true faith to begin with or will return to the faith

Most objections to and attacks on Calvinism focus on the "five points of Calvinism,"

also called the doctrines of grace, which are a point-by-point response to the five points

of the Arminian Remonstrance and which serve as a summation of the judgments

rendered by the Synod of Dort in 1619. Calvin himself never used such a model and

never combated Arminianism directly, as Calvin died before Arminius's birth. The

Articles of Remonstrance were authored by opponents of Reformed doctrine and

monergism. They were rejected in 1619 at the Synod of Dort, more than 50 years after

the death of Calvin.

NOTE

The Synod of Dort (also known as the Synod of Dordt or the Synod of Dordrecht) was a National Synod held in Dordrecht in 1618–1619, by the Dutch Reformed Church, to settle a divisive con-troversy initiated by the rise of Arminianism. The Synod concluded with a rejection of the Arminian views, and set forth the Reformed doc-trine on each point, namely: total depravity, un-conditional election, limited atonement (arguing that Christ's atoning work was intended only for the elect and not for the rest of the world), irre-sistible (or irrevocable) grace, and the persever-ance of the saints. These are sometimes referred to as the Five points of Calvinism. The Decision of the Synod of Dort on the Five Main Points of Doctrine in Dispute in the Netherlands, popularly known as the Canons of Dort, is the explanation of the judicial decision of the Synod.[10]

These "preoccupations" often took the form of controversy for John Calvin. One of his most formidable opponents to his doctrine of predestination was a former Carmelite friar, Jerome Bolsec(McNeill 172). Bolsec charged Calvin with making God the author of sin with his doctrine of predestination(McNeill 172). Calvin took Bolsec's charges before the city government in 1551 which led to the eventual ban-ishment of Bolsec(Walker 478). This episode led Calvin to an even greater insis-tence on the vital importance of predestination than ever before(Walker 478).

Early Opponent to Calvinism

Classical Arminianism

Depravity is total: Arminius states "In this [fallen] state, the free will of man towards the true good is not only wounded, infirm, bent, and weakened; but it is also imprisoned, destroyed, and lost. And its powers are not only debilitated and useless unless they be assisted by grace, but it has no powers whatever except such as are excited by Divine grace."[11]Atonement is intended for all: Jesus's death was for all people, Jesus draws all people to him-self, and all people have opportunity for salvation through faith.[12]Jesus's death satisfies God's justice: The penalty for the sins of the elect is paid in full through Jesus's work on the cross. Thus Christ's atonement is intended for all, but requires faith to be effected. Arminius states that "Justification, when used for the act of a Judge, is either purely the imputation of righteousness through mercy… or that man is justified before God… ac-cording to the rigor of justice without any forgiveness."[13] Stephen Ashby clarifies: "Arminius allowed for only two possible ways in which the sinner might be justified: (1) by our absolute and perfect adherence to the law, or (2) purely by God's imputation of Christ's righteousness."[14]Grace is resistible: God takes initiative in the salvation process and His grace comes to all people. This grace (often called prevenient or pre-regenerating grace) acts on all people to convince them of the Gospel, draw them strongly towards salvation, and enable the possibility of sincere faith. Picirilli states that "indeed this grace is so close to regeneration that it in-evitably leads to regeneration unless finally resisted." [15] The offer of salvation through grace does not act irresistibly in a purely cause-effect, deterministic method but rather in an influence-and-response fashion that can be both freely accepted and freely denied.[16]Man has free will to respond or resist: Free will is limited by God's sovereignty, but God's sovereignty allows all men the choice to accept the Gospel of Jesus through faith, simultane-ously allowing all men to resist.

Election is conditional: Arminius defined election as "the decree of God by which, of Himself, from eternity, He decreed to justify in Christ, believers, and to accept them unto eternal life."[17] God alone determines who will be saved and his determination is that all who believe Jesus through faith will be justi-fied. According to Arminius, "God regards no one in Christ unless they are en-grafted in him by faith."[17]God predestines the elect to a glorious future: Predestination is not the prede-termination of who will believe, but rather the predetermination of the believer's future inheritance. The elect are therefore predestined to sonship through adop-tion, glorification, and eternal life.[18]Christ's righteousness is imputed to the believer: Justification is sola fide. When individuals repent and believe in Christ (saving faith), they are regenerated and brought into union with Christ, whereby the death and righteousness of Christ are imputed to them for their justification before God.[19]Eternal security is also conditional: All believers have full assurance of salva-tion with the condition that they remain in Christ. Salvation is conditioned on faith, therefore perseverance is also conditioned.[20] Apostasy (turning from Christ) is only committed through a deliberate, willful rejection of Jesus and re-nunciation of saving faith. Such apostasy is irremediable

John Wesley has historically been the most influential advocate for the teachings of Arminian sote-riology. Wesley thoroughly agreed with the vast majority of what Arminius himself taught, main-taining strong doctrines of original sin, total depravity, conditional election, prevenient grace, unlim-ited atonement, and possibly apostasy.

Wesley departs from Classical Arminianism primarily on three issues:Atonement – Wesley's atonement is a hybrid of the penal substitution theory and the governmental theory of Hugo Grotius, a lawyer and one of the Remonstrants. Steven Harper states "Wesley does not place the substitionary element primarily within a legal framework...Rather [his doctrine seeks] to bring into proper relationship the 'justice' between God's love for persons and God's hatred of sin...it is not the satisfaction of a legal demand for justice so much as it is an act of mediated reconciliation." [24]

Wesleyan Arminianism

Possibility of apostasy – Wesley fully accepted the Arminian view that genuine Christians could apostatize and lose their salvation, as his famous sermon "A Call to Backsliders" clearly demon-strates. Harper summarizes as follows: "the act of committing sin is not in itself ground for the loss of salvation...the loss of salvation is much more related to experiences that are profound and pro-longed. Wesley sees two primary pathways that could result in a permanent fall from grace: uncon-fessed sin and the actual expression of apostasy." [25] Wesley disagrees with Arminius, however, in maintaining that such apostasy was not final. When talking about those who have made "shipwreck" of their faith (1 Tim 1:19), Wesley claims that "not one, or a hundred only, but I am persuaded, sev-eral thousands...innumerable are the instances...of those who had fallen but now stand upright."[

Christian perfection – According to Wesley's teaching, Christians could attain a state of practical perfection, meaning a lack of all voluntary sin by the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, in this life. Christian perfection (or entire sanctification), according to Wesley, is "purity of intention, dedicating all the life to God" and "the mind which was in Christ, enabling us to walk as Christ walked." It is "loving God with all our heart, and our neighbor as ourselves".[27] It is 'a restoration not only to the favour, but likewise to the image of God," our "being filled with the fullness of God".[28] Wesley was clear that Christian perfection did not imply perfection of bodily health or an infallibility of judgment. It also does not mean we no longer violate the will of God, for involuntary transgressions remain. Perfected Christians remain subject to temptation, and have continued need to pray for forgiveness and holiness. It is not an absolute perfection but a perfection in love. Furthermore, Wesley did not teach a sal-vation by perfection, but rather says that, "Even perfect holiness is acceptable to God only through Jesus Christ."

From the horses mouth

“God preordained, for his own glory and the display of His attributes of mercy and justice, a part of the human race, without any merit of their own, to eternal salvation, and another part, in just punishment of their sin, to eternal damna-tion.”

“By predestination we mean the eternal decree of God, by which he determined with himself whatever he wished to happen with regard to every man. All are not created on equal terms, but some are preordained to eternal life, others to eternal damnation; and, accordingly, as each has been created for one or other of these ends, we say that he has been predestinated to life or to death.”

Book 3 of The Institutes of the Christian Religion in chapter 21

Calvin’s Scriptural support

He begins with Abraham, showing how the Lord chose this man to be His special repre-sentative out of all the people of the world

Israel, who descended from Abraham, was also then chosen by God. Calvin quotes verses such as Deuteronomy 7:7-8 which says, “The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because you were more in number than any people: for ye were the fewest of all people: but because the Lord loved you.”

“the grace of God was displayed in a more special form, when of the same family of Abraham God rejected some,” and then he refers to Malachi 1:2-3 which explicitly states, “Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? saith the Lord: yet I loved Jacob, and I hated Esau.” (21:6)Calvin quotes this very text from Malachi in Romans to substantiate predestination. He then quotes from Romans 9:15, itself another quote from the Old Testament: “For he (the Lord) saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have com-passion on whom I will have compassion.” Calvin then later asks, “And what pray, does this mean? It is just a clear declaration by the Lord that he finds nothing in men them-selves to induce him to show kindness, that it is owing entirely to his own mercy, and, ac-cordingly, that their salvation is his own work. Since God places your salvation in himself alone, why should you descend to yourself?” (22:6)

“We shall never feel persuaded as we ought that our salvation flows from the free mercy of God as its fountain, until we are made acquainted with his eternal elec-tion.” (21:1)

In Volume 4 of John Calvin’s Tracts and Letters, a letter written by Calvin in April of 1541 can be found. It is a fairly lengthy letter written to Monsieur de Richebourg because his son Louis, a young man, had recently died. Louis had been a student of Calvin at the Academy in Geneva, and the impact of his young friend’s death can be heard at the beginning of this letter to the deceased’s father:

“When I first received the intelligence of the death…of your son Louis, I was so utterly overpow-ered that for many days I was fit for nothing but to grieve…I was somehow upheld before the Lord by those aids wherewith he sustains our souls in affliction, …however, I was almost a nonentity.”

Then listen to how Calvin uses the doctrine of predestination to minister to this grieving father:

There is nothing which is more dispiriting to us than while we vex and annoy ourselves with this sort of question – Why is it not otherwise with us? Why has it so happened that we came to this place? [In other words, why has God allowed this to happen to us?] …It is God, therefore, who has sought back from you your son, whom he committed to you to be educated, on the condition, that he might always be his own. And therefore, he took him away, because it was both of an advantage to him to leave this world, and by this bereavement to humble you, or to make trial of your patience. If you do not understand the advantage of this, without delay, first of all, set aside every other object of consideration, and ask of God that he may show you. Should it be his will to exercise you still further, by concealing it from you, submit to that will, that you may become the wiser than the weakness of your own understanding can ever attain to.”

Westminister Confession

The Westminster Confession of Faith is a Reformed confession of faith. Drawn up by the 1646 Westminster Assembly as part of the Westminster Standards to be a confession of the Church of England, it became and remains the 'subordinate standard' of doctrine in the Church of Scotland, and has been influential within Presbyterian churches world-wide.

In 1643, the English Parliament called upon "learned, godly and judicious Divines", to meet at Westminster Abbey in order to provide advice on issues of worship, doctrine, government and discipline of the Church of England. Their meetings, over a period of five years, produced the confession of faith, as well as a Larger Catechism and a Shorter Catechism. For more than three centuries, various churches around the world have adopted the confession and the catechisms as their standards of doctrine, subordinate to the Bible.

Unconditional Election

Irresistible Grace

Summary and Comparison

1. Are we Free moral agents?

2. What is the quality of our Freedom?

Does a person have free will?

What do you mean by “free will”? Do you mean:

1. That a person is not forced from the outside to make a choice?

2. That a person is responsible for his or her choices?

3. That a person is the active agent in a choice made?

4. That a person is free to do whatever they desire?

5. That a person has the ability to choose contrary to their nature (who they are)?

Libertarian Freedom: “The power of contrary choice.”

If you ask whether a person can choose against their nature (i.e. libertarian freedom) the answer, I believe, must be “no.” A person’s nature makes up who they are. Who they are determines their choice. If there choice is deter-mined, then the freedom is self-limited. Therefore, there is no “power” of contrary choice for we cannot identify what or who this “power” might be.

Calvinist quote

St. Augustine was the first to deal with this issue in a comprehensive man-ner. Until the forth century, it was simply assumed that people were free and responsible, but they had yet to flesh out what this meant. Augustine further elaborated on the Christian understanding of freedom. He argued that peo-ple choose according to who they are. If they are good, they make good choices. If they are bad, they make bad choices. These choices are free, they just lack liberty. In other words, a person does not become a sinner because they sin, they sin because they are a sinner. It is an issue of nature first. If people are identified with the fallen nature of Adam, then they will make choices similar to that of Adam because it is who they are. Yes, they are making a free choice, but this choice does not include the liberty or freedom of contrary choice.

If we are Free in the sense that we can choose between two things Without coercion.then we are responsible for rejectingThe Grace of God or accepting it. God’s judgementthen on the wicked is seen to be Just and the Glorification of the Righteous to an eternal home in Heaven is the reward of their faithfulness in continuing in the TRUTH unto the end

Deuteronomy 30:19I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:

Joshua 24:15And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

Genesis 3 King James Version (KJV)3 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of ev-ery tree of the garden?2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

The Genesis Account

There is no true Freedom to choose in Calvinism, all things flow from Godand are determined. What then are the implications?

VERSES THAT ARE USED TO SUPPORT THE CALVINIST DEFINITION OF

GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY

The foundational error of Calvinism is to assign a definition to divine “sovereignty”

(a word that nowhere appears in Scripture but that is used in reference to God’s

Kingly omnipotence) that makes it impossible for man to have a choice in salvation,

even though the Bible says that he does, and then building upon that faulty

foundation.

Arthur Pink begins his book “The Sovereignty of God” with three chapters on “God’s

Sovereignty.” After citing the following key verses such as Eph. 1:11, which says that

God worketh all things after the counsel of his own will, he concludes with these

words: “The Lord God omnipotent reigneth. ... No revolving world, no shining of star,

no storm, no creature moves, no actions of men, no errands can come to pass otherwise

than God has eternally purposed” (p. 46).

Ephesians 1:11 -- “In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated

according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own

will.”

Daniel 4:35 -- “And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth

according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and

none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?”

Isaiah 14:27 -- “For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his

hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?”

Proverbs 21:30 -- “There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the LORD.”

VERSES THAT ARE USED TO SUPPORT THE CALVINIST DOCTRINE OF TOTAL

DEPRAVITY (THE BONDAGE OF THE WILL)

According to the Calvinist doctrine of Total Depravity, man is not only

unrighteous and dead in trespasses and sins, he is this in such a sense that he

cannot even believe on Christ for salvation, in such a sense that he cannot

make any choice in regard to salvation. Ever since the fall, man’s will has

been in bondage so that he cannot even respond to God’s offer of grace.

In the words of the Westminster Confession Total Depravity is defined as

follows: “Man, by his fall into a state of sin, hath wholly lost all

ability of will to any spiritual good accompanying salvation; so as

a natural man being altogether averse from that good, and dead

in sin, is not able, by his own strength, to convert himself, or to

prepare himself thereunto.”

“Man’s freedom of choice has been forfeited since the Fall. ... The Bible teaches human

inability and total depravity” (Arminianism Examined, p. 4).

Dr. Jeffrey Khoo, a Presbyterian who heads up

the Far Eastern Bible College in Singapore

QUOTE

Ephesians 2:1-3 -- “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;

wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the

prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of

disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of

our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the

children of wrath, even as others.”

1 Corinthians 2:14 -- “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for

they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually

discerned.”

2 Thessalonians 2:13 – “But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth.”

Arthur Pink uses this verse as proof for the Calvinist doctrine that the new birth precedes faith.

Scriptures that proves that Salvation involves our cooperation in a definite way And it is we who finally determines our Fate through our Free choice.

2 Tim 2:19-26Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let ev-ery one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniq-uity.20 But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour.21 If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work.22 Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.23 But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes.24 And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gen-tle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the ac-knowledging of the truth;26 And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.KJV

Titus 3:4-8 But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renew-ing of the Holy Ghost;6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Je-sus Christ our Saviour;7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.8 This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to main-tain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.KJV

1 John 2:28-3:5-1228 And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.29 If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.3 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.5 And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.10 In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.11 For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.12 Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous.KJV

End of part 1