A Letter to a Fundamentalist

(On Salvation and Church History)


Dear Joseph,

I have received your letter of December 2, 1999 and the three packets of documentation between you and various ministries, which I have read. Since you have felt led to include me in the body of people to be judged by in your so-called heresy trial, I shall give an account of the hope that is in me regarding the gospel of Jesus Christ. I do so with the hope that it may be use by God for his glory. May this response provoke you and others to consider the things of God discussed in this letter but it is also written with the knowledge that the Holy Spirit will only open the eyes of those God has chosen. God shall judge all things and I welcome the opportunity for others to read this material and see who is bearing witness to the truth according to God’s word and who is speaking lies.

You tell me you shall send copies of this reply to all of the people on your distribution list (so I trust you will keep your word), then it is my pleasure to labor for a good period of time to speak on the things of God. You say you await my response and that you will read it and make an honest reply, then I shall look forward to hearing from you in the near future. You will need to have a bible present when you read this, because it would be to long to quote all the passages cited. I hope you and others will follow the pattern of the Bereans and see if what I have preached be true or not by the scriptures. I ask patience of all that read this letter and that you bear with me until the end. I welcome anyone to that feels lead to write me and give their comments or ask questions. This letter is not written with a haughty spirit but with the purpose of serving God, the one true Saviour, Christ Jesus the Lord, and to show love to my fellow man by declaring unto him the truth.
 

The theme of this letter over and over is that there is one salvation and it is the gift of God, given to whom he wills and when he wills. All salvation is the same as Peter's, which if you read Matthew 16:15-17, you will see that Peter's profession was not a work of his will or knowledge but his faith came by revelation from God (vs 17). To where God imputes the righteousness of Christ, there is no condemnation for sins, for Christ has made his people clean by his one perfect sacrifice, which was acceptable to the Father for the remission of sins. Matthew 1:21; ‘and thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins.’ He didn't suffer for those that aren't his people and to teach otherwise to make the blood of ‘the lamb of God’ not sufficient to save someone. For whom it was shed, it will be applied. God rules over all things and he reigns supreme over all his creation. As written in the

Gadsby’s Hymns:

1. Faith owes its birth to sovereign grace, 3. The precious cleansing blood of Christ
And lives beneath the throne, Is a delighful theme;
Where grace maintains her dwelling – place, When faith is lifted up the high’st,
And reigns supreme alone. See sings of none but him.

2. Faith yields to grace the glory due, 4. Faith owns the sceptre through the cross,
Nor dares assume her place; And yields obedience true;
But owns all doctrines must be true Counts all things else but earth and dross,
That spring from sovereign grace. To keep the Lamb in view.

 

I am not a writer, nor do I claim to be. I shall give this a noble effort and seek the Lord’s blessings and be thankful for the opportunity. I shall write a full account to your questions. I shall write as if this was my last chance to bear record to the Lord Jesus and the things I have learned over the years following him according to his word. Oh, it will be easy to find errors in grammar or lack of symmetry in this epistle, but it is only to the gospel and the substance of the other subjects that I desire to be gleamed. We that are God’s children (by the adoption of Jesus Christ) must give an account for the hope that is in us and as an ambassador of Christ, we must declare his word.
 

To your demise, I shall show you that if you had looked deeper into history what you would have also discovered. The very essence of the gospel of which you attack and call ‘Calvinism’ is found in Baptist history and yet this doctrine alone has provoked you to write and accuse many groups of being heretics and enemies of the gospel. It will be of no value to write and attack me for I am nothing. I have tried to remove ‘self’ from this letter as much as possible and to make it the Word of God and the facts of history speak for themselves. If I have erred in the use of either, than I welcome such knowledge to be presented to me that I may repent.
 

I shall in the due course address many of the subjects you raised in your letters regarding doctrine of election, Spurgeon, Calvin, Southern Baptist history, the Anglican Church, the 1611 KJV, and others issues you write about over and over. In some places I shall let others, such as Augustus Toplady on history of Arminianism and J. C. Philpot on Anglicanism, for they obtained much knowledge on the subject and have proven themselves to be in Christ and to speak truthfully on the things of God. It is also my hope that you will use the same rod of judgment against some fundamentalist that you love and admire such as John R. Rice, when I point out a terrible sin you have proclaimed against so many others that was also committed by Mr. Rice.

Your comment regarding ‘Protestants’ calling so-called early church fathers ‘Christians’ is a great evil. Sadly this practice is common in theology books and has been taught in seminary schools for hundreds of years (including the Baptist). Augustine, Jerome, Erasmus, etc, they were all lost men looking for salvation through sacraments. It is a fact that Augustine, inspite of professing a love for God and sound doctrines in some things, believed in forced conversions or death. He in earlier years professed the doctrines of grace (which people point to and praise) but later wrote of grace through sacraments.

Many have only concentrated on things he wrote that appeared to be good, and/or have not been taught of his rejection of the gospel as found in Christ which causes Christians to not see him in a proper light. You can find some true things said about God by the false religious leaders in the time of Christ and by any cult group that has split off from mainstream Christianity. So, the point you made regarding it being wrong to call Roman Catholics Christians we are in 100% agreement, however you are at odds with the “Sword of the Lord” folks, including Curtis Hudson and John R. Rice which I shall document for you later in this letter. It is also very foolish to assume as man is lost just because they have mistakenly called noted writers of the past Christian when they were not.

You assume that every person that repeats favorable comments about men that have a reputation for being followers of Christ have studied for themselves and have with knowledge praised men of darkness as men of God. You have admitted to recently learning evil things about men that you had been told were faithful men of God, so why do you assume everyone else knows these things? I think I now understand how this error has become so common. If you notice in the scriptures how God didn’t have the writers of the gospel record any good things about Judas Iscariot. Because Judas was a ‘Son of Perdition’ and it was to be clear that we were not to praise him in any way. Since the disciples didn’t immediately look to Judas when Christ said the one of them would betray him, we can be sure that Judas fit in with them and said and did many good things (as a human would judge).

Unfortunately, most of the book on so-called ‘Church History’ only details the lives and beliefs of the leaders that were involved with the formation of the Whore before it became known as Roman Catholicism. Many of the ‘early Fathers’ were clearly heretics but since they are the primarily people recorded in history, it is to them that men of God have tried to sort out the better ones from those that were the most evil. We are not able to go back and discover the true of the early centuries at this time and we are best left to just follow the scriptures and not to seek to follow the teachings of men that came afterwards. There will be a time in the future when all things shall be revealed.

I must say that in your latest letter to me you have ignored the fact that I already told you I agree that many, if not most of the leaders during the reformation were unconverted men (though not for the reason’s you list). I will follow no man other than as they follow Christ. While I hold the doctrines of grace and some of them can be summed up in the acrostic known as the TULIP, these doctrines didn’t originate with Calvin but with God and it is taught in both the Old and New Testament. As for some of the men you write about, Martin Luther held ‘baptismal regeneration’ until his death and it is still taught by Lutherans today.

 Luther, Calvin and many other reformers that came from Romanism and they were State-Churchmen with a persecuting spirit. The Church of England, which was founded by King Henry VIII and he held Catholic doctrine his whole life. All King Henry really did was to reject the Pope as a supreme Bishop. I agree with you about the evil fruits of many of the so-called Christian leaders of the past. I referred you to some good books on this subject years ago, “The Reformers and Their Stepchildren’ and ‘The Anatomy of a Hybrid’. Both are by Leonard Verduin. He did excellent research but even though he is a ‘Calvinist’, he is in great error as he accepts all the leaders of the Reformation as Christians.  I found this shocking because he documents their lives in detail and shines light on the evil conduct of many of them. So, it is his research that is of value, not his conclusions and opinions. His research is very exhaustive and is documented. These books by Leonard Verduin will provide you much historical information.
 

Another thing you should know, while it is true that Rome (Popes) started the burning of heretics, the Kings that became ‘Protestant’, used CALVIN & LUTHER's teaching to help break away from the power of the Pope over them.
 

The Protestant Kings also killed, tortured, and imprisoned the Ana-Baptist, Catholics, Jews, and others that didn’t submit to their Church/State rule. During the Inquisition in Europe, the majority of deaths were done to Protestants in France and England (but also Italy & Spain) simply for rejecting the Pope and his religion (90% or more of these Protestant were former Catholics). In England, while the public worship of Catholics was banned, it was primarily limited to those involved with treason that were put to death. However, it was because they were Roman Catholic, that some seeking to be faithful to the Pope sought to heed his command to overthrow the excommunicated King and Queen of England.

We can’t be blind to history, nor to the fact that many of the Puritans persecuting people themselves in the early days of America when other settlers didn’t follow their ways. It is wrong to assume all the Puritans were of the same cloth, just as you correctly state that all Baptist are not the same. I am thankful to God to all that stood for freedom of worship in this country including the Baptist. Most of the use of religion in the Reformation period had more to do with politics than the salvation of souls. This has been true of wars since the beginning of time and much of the politics has been forgotten and the spiritual aspect of the reformation greatly exaggerated. ‘Regeneration’ is a work of the Holy Spirit and ‘Reformation’ is a work of men.

Where God circumcises the hearts of people, they are humbled and seek after holiness. While there is outward change in most of the reformation it wasn’t all that we have been taught. A King or Prince in Europe commanded the people to be Lutheran, or any other religion has about the same effect as Cortez and the Conquistadors after they conquered Mexico and the Aztec Indians in the early 1500s. Oh, the cannibalism and worship of the ‘sun god’ was done away with and in the name of Christ, the people were given crosses, pictures of Mary, and a unbloody sacrifice of the mass to worship, but they were no closer to God. This also follows true in Peru a few decades later when the Conquistadors conquered the Incas, and destroyed their idols and gave them new ones to worship.

This was reformation in the Western Hemisphere under Spain. It must be taught unto the people that most of the Reformers kept the State/Church concept and a belief in revolution (rebellion) if they didn’t believe the government was ‘lawful’ or ‘rightful rule’. This has surfaced again today in both the ‘Reconstructionist movement’ and in the ‘Reformed Camps’. Christ taught his followers to walk as they were called and to obey the government, pay their taxes and submit in all things not sinful . Any movement that tries to justify rebellion and revolution in the name of Christ is opposing his commandments and is not preaching the truth. We need to examine things by the light of God and not just by writers of history that have sought to elevate political movements as spiritual. Americans need to examine from the bible on how they should view their own revolutions.

I am thankful to God for this country but I shall not praise those that committed sin by rebelling against the teachings of Christ. It doesn’t matter that they sought to justify their actions in the name of liberty and in God’s name. So, as for your charges against the Anglican religion, I shall not defend the Anglican or Lutherans for they both hold Romish doctrines. They both have modified some of the excesses, like selling for indulges and praying to Mary and other Saints, but both keep sacraments and baptismal regeneration. Acts and works are the center of their way of salvation, which is a way that leadeth unto death.

I shall try to make full reply to issues you raised regarding the gospel and history but we don’t have real communication when you make many false assumptions and ignore what I have previously written. You wrote “As you know, we have communicated in -the past concerning the subject of Calvinism. We finally parted company when I challenged you to please produce even one Scripture verse that states that the Lord Jesus Christ died on the Cross of Calvary and gave His Life a ransom for only the Elect. I shared with you a number of irrefutable Scriptures that clearly state that the Lord Jesus Christ died for all of mankind! You could not find and send to me that one missing verse in all of the whole entire Holy Bible that states that the

Lord Jesus Christ died for only the Elect! And very respectfully, you still cannot produce that one missing verse! The day that you produce that verse, I will repent and forever become a Calvinist! Of course, we both know such a day will never occur! For such a verse does not exist! Your letter to me is nothing more than a smoke screen to avoid and hide from the real truth of Holy Scripture – that Calvinism is a manifestation of a false gospel; and that the doctrine of Limited Atonement is a false doctrine of devil's!” YOU LIE AND SPEAK NOT THE TRUTH!

We have had letters in the past, prior to you starting up this current ‘trial’ in which I addressed your objections. I shall again show you many verses that declare this truth but you refuse to acknowledge what the grammar and text says. You must ignore it or read around it to avoid putting yourself into a state of confusion. I have no trouble admitting that certain text, when not properly understood by the whole of scripture seem to clearly say the Christ died for all men (all meaning every single person. Sheep & Goats or Elect & Reprobate).

Honesty, is a virtue and it would be helpful to communicate if this would be found in your letters. Your quote from above is seen in many of your letters to other people on your list and while it is true you can become a ‘Calvinist’, you can’t become a born-again Christian by the act of your will or because of head knowledge regarding doctrines. You can recite as many sinners prayers as you desire and to no avail. I walked the aisle many times and was lead in a sinners prayer over and over in my life but I was still in darkness, even though I wanted to be saved and believed Jesus was born, lived, died, rose and will come again.
 

Look and see what Christ has said and what God by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit has given to man to know about God, his kingdom and his judgment on this world. Submission, belief, and willingness to follow Christ at all cost is the question that God has before all men. Matthew 7:13-29 will show you the difference between true saving faith and the false faith of human effort. One of my favorite verses in the bible which God used to make his word powerful to my mind and heart is verse 29, "For he (Jesus) taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes." Preaching today is weak and they make God's word and meaning uncertain but Christ words are to be taken with authority.

Those that are called of God and love him will submit to his Lordship, his Kingdom, his commandments and if we don't, then we shouldn't call him Lord. John chapter 10 says ‘his sheep hear his voice and follow him’. I believe that with all my heart and those that don't follow him and hear other voices are not his sheep.  We have both made it clear to each other that we believe in a different God and a different gospel. You are more honest than most ‘freewillers’ that want to act like everyone is one. I had decided in my last letter to discuss the person and work of Christ and not address your other areas of contention.
You have told me in your letter that I reject Christ because I tell you that God’s will is always done (in heaven and in earth). God will save all that he chose to save and all others will be left in their sins. I do believe that God, as the potter with the clay can do as he pleases and make one vessel to honor and another to dishonor. To whom God gives mercy is solely up to him and not man.

You can take Romans chapter 8 & 9 out of your bible, but I shall not. You must ignore all the Scriptures that say God hates certain people since you think he loves them all. God elected the nation of Israel in the Old Testament, did he not? The Old Testament was a shadow of things to come and the church of Christ is the fulfillment of the elect people. You must think it was unfair of God to only bless one nation (Israel), but I tell you God has mercy on whom he will and he did no wrong to the other nations that were left to their sins and the darkness of idolatry.  You tell me; “I’m now on trial in God's Holy Court for heresy”. But, I as all people will give an account for everything in my life. I stand on the rock of Jesus Christ and plead his mercy. I shall give you a reply but it will not be you, nor the others on your list that are “God 's Jury” as you claim but it shall be the “Word of God” that all things shall be judged. If we were members of the same local church, then a part of your jury ideal could apply but now you have in this way of addressing things gone awry from your profession of the independence of each local body.

 
Again you lie when you say; “Every argument that you have raised, is adequately covered in the material sent to you. You are now on trial in God's Holy Court for heresy. If I give you that one missing verse that states that the Lord Jesus Christ only gave His Life for the Elect, and you will be completely exonerated!” You didn’t acknowledge one single point in my previous letters. I shall once again give you several verses now and more later, even though you said one is enough. John 10:15; “As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.”

Now, unless you are a man of no sound reasoning, you will accept the terms as the elect, sheep, remnant, church (meaning assembly called of God) as interchangeable words. Now this verse says Christ died for the sheep, if you say he also died for the goats, then the verse is meaningless and you accuse Christ of speaking nonsense. Read Ephesians 5:25 and try to believe it for what it says without adding to it: “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it.” Do you want to desecrate the sacrifice of Christ and say he gave himself for those in hell that will be judged for their sins? The scriptures declare Jesus laid down his life for the sheep (church). Ephesians 5;26-27 says “That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that is should be holy and without blemish.”

This tells me why and for whom Christ died. Those that believe Christ died for every man on earth can’t accept what Christ has taught. To deny the true covenant, the shed blood of Christ for the elect only, one must misinterpret many scriptures and just ignore the ones that can’t be explained away. This is not hearing the voice of Christ, believing his words, and following him. If you are an honest person, these two verses alone would tear apart the basis for your rejection of the truth of this doctrine taught by Christ. You should immediately repent for rejecting the truth and for attacking those that have held this doctrine. But, unless God grants you a new heart, I expect you to continue to demonstrate that you don’t really care about what God’s word says when it goes against your doctrine.
 

It is clear you don’t understand the purpose of Christ mission on earth and what is the gospel because you keep saying over and over, "Christ died for all men that they may be saved." This is not true and if any other reader holds this doctrine, they don’t know the gospel! It is true that none of his sheep will be lost, but the goats that were not given to the Son prior to the foundation of the world will go to hell. So many are lost. This doctrine of saying Christ died for ‘sheep and goats’ goes against the biblical account of Christ birth, the words Christ himself preached, and the book of Romans. God makes his people willing in the day of his power (Psalms 110:3) and he quickens whom he will (John 5:21). If God didn't give life to some of the spiritually dead human race, then none would be saved or could be saved due to their bondage to sin and hatred for a holy God. “Jesus will save his people from their sins.”

 You should look closer at the meaning of his name, which the angel announced prior to his birth. JESUS CHRIST is the way, the truth, and the life, no man cometh to the Father but by me." (John 14:6) The question is what is truth? Who is Jesus? There are many false Christ and false gospels in his name, which he warned about in the book of Matthew. The majority of the pastors today are deceiving the people just as in Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Elijah. This men in the pulpits lie and say they were called of God but they show otherwise when they tell the people they are at peace with God when the are in rebellion against him.
 

I have and do preach that the one and only way of Salvation is through Jesus Christ. Does not the bible say the way is narrow and straight is the gate and few be there that find it? If a person doesn't receive the words of Christ (not mine), then they are yet still in their sins. Only by the grace of God granting them repentance and faith will they be saved. When Christ is not preached properly, people can't tell if they are truly saved. How can they be expected to truly examine themselves to see if the be in the faith or proof their own election as the scriptures command if they don’t know the truth? The bible say in John 6:24 "God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." So many that claim to be standing on the rock are to the detriment of their own souls are standing on a foundation of sand. Their faith will not withstand the temptations that come in life.

 They will not endure sound doctrine but will follow new teachings that come and go with the times. This is why doctrine is so important and the purpose that God has called the elders to preach sound doctrine and in due season. If preaching doesn't go beyond an inch deep, then such little topsoil is not sufficient for growing good crops and those that think they have the true seed are unable to discern if they really know Christ.
 

In the New Testament every professing Christian is called to examine himself whether he be in the faith, to prove his election! How can you prove this when you deny that election is by God? At this time, you can’t because you are not able to believe the words of Christ. Trying ones profession is not a popular thing to do, but the scriptures command it to be done. Read Matthew 15:1-9. How does a person know that Christ isn't speaking about them if they don't make sure they are following the real Christ? A true Christian that is in error will repent when truth comes and no Christian has any basis for his faith other than the imputed righteousness of Christ. In the parable of the sower, which you will find in the gospels, only 1 of the 4 types of soil represents the Christian and that is the one that the Lord prepared the soil (regeneration of the heart).

This goes against the heart of the false doctrine of freewill, for God regenerates a man prior to calling upon him in faith. A blind man can't see, a deaf man can't hear and a dead man is not alive. What is taught in the churches today is that when a man decides to be saved and call upon the Lord, then he is regenerated and given the new birth. This is a lie and a false gospel. Lazerus in the tomb represents the sinner dead in trespasses and sin. For him to come out of the grave, God had to give him life first. After God gave him life, then he answered to the voice and call of Christ. I hope you don’t think their was a chance the Christ would have been made a fool of and Lazerus would have failed to come?

God made Lazerus willing in the day of his power. You argue freewill all that you want but to those the love God, they will simple believe what Christ has taught. This miracle with Lazerus illustrates the teaching of Christ; “All the Father giveth me, shall come unto me" and it is rejoicing and for the comfort of God's people not to doubt the power and promise of Christ for he also said "and all that come unto me, I will no wise cast out" (John 6:37). Seems like freewill people only like the second part and just as Satan quoted scripture to Eve and Christ, the bible out of context can be used for evil.

Read John 8:31-59, take notice of how these people that believed on him at first but without the work of the Holy Spirit reacted as Christ spoke the truth to them. Also read John 6:38-69 and I hope you take good notice of vs 63 which shows it takes the work of God first and not the will (flesh) to awaken a man, 65 when Christ said "NO MAN CAN COME UNTO EXCEPT IT WERE GIVEN UNTO HIM OF THE FATHER. Notice in vs 66 that many left him after saying that. Why was that so offensive to them? Did Christ say it is up to them to decide? Are men saved by the one the runneth or the one that willeth or is it God that showeth mercy? Now the story gets better for in vs 67-69, you see why one that Christ has called unto himself will not leave and go join a false shepherd or religion (see John 10:4-5).
 

In Romans 9:15-24, it is clear that God does as he pleases with the human race just as a Potter with clay but ‘Arminian’ preachers boldly state that the clay (man) tells the Potter by his ‘freewill’ to save him and make him a vessel of honor. How can you reconcile this with the book of Romans or what I already stated 'No man cometh unless the Father draweth' or 'no man can come unto me (Jesus), except it were given unto him of the Father'. Take a close look at John Chapter 17 and see whom Christ will give eternal life to (vs 2) and whom he prays for and whom he doesn't.
 

To where God imputes the righteousness of Christ, there is no condemnation for sins. Christ has made them clean by his one perfect sacrifice, which was acceptable to the Father for the remission of sins. Matthew 1:21, and thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. He didn't suffer for those that aren't his people and to teach otherwise is to make the blood of the Lamb of God not sufficient to save someone. You have God both punishing Jesus and the sinner. For whom it was shed, it will be applied. God rules over all things.