The Anti-Calvinist Rant

  First:   The last scene of the Passion of the Christ   (7 minutes long)  Today, let's remember why Jesus came to earth, died, and rose again: “… ‘Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the whole world.”  ( John 1:29 ) "For what I received I passed onto you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures,"  ( 1 Cor. 15:3-4 ) “Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men.”  ( Romans 5:18 ) "Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies,"  ( John 11:25 ) “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.”  ( Ephesians 1:7 ) “Jesus answered, ‘I ...

Friday is the day of heartbreak and suffering and loss. Saturday is the day of waiting and despair and hopelessness. But Sunday... thank God ...  Sunday is coming ! Hang in there, dear ones who are discouraged about life, who are exhausted from treading water, just trying to make it through, and who feel hopeless about the future. Hang in there... because Sunday's coming. Sunday's coming. (Two great, encouraging songs for the hurting, exhausted people:  Worn  by Tenth Avenue North and  Fell Apart  by The City Harmonic.)

Take some time on this Good Friday to remember what Jesus went through to bring us forgiveness, to offer us all eternal life - and then thank Him for it.   Some great songs and videos about it: Jeremy Riddle's  "Sweetly Broken"   Cloverton's  "Christmas Hallelujah" Michael W. Smith's  "Secret Ambition" Crowder's  "I AM" The City Harmonic's  "Oh What Love" "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Jesus Christ. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood."  ( Romans 3:23-25 ) “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life   in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  ( Romans 6:23 ) “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”   ( Romans 5:8 ) "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us...."  ( 1...

[This is an update of my original post on this topic.  I wanted to shorten it a bit, make it more readable, and add few notes, verses, and links.] (Okay, so, I'm gonna try to contain my anger with Calvinism on this one, but I'm not going to do a good job of it.) Let me start by saying that I believe that babies and mentally-handicapped people are not held accountable for being unable to trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior.  I believe that in their innocent state, God covers them with His saving grace.  As we age, though, we learn about right and wrong and become capable of making conscious decisions, and it is then that we become accountable for our decisions. But Calvinism doesn't - can't - agree.  [Many Calvinists believe that babies who die go to heaven, but they are being inconsistent with their theology.  And I'll explain why later.] I do not claim to know for sure what the Bible teaches about this issue or to be able to explain how everything works out....