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"These ruralites are so primitive, therefore they can't be truly human,"
insisted the haughty urbanites.
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'Arminians are not Christians!'
You will hear that asserted often from some 'reformed' pulpits!
They complain, and insinuate like this, "there are some less enlightened pastors who explain to their congregations that those pesky Arminians are Christians but just a little ignorant and confused, and just need better instruction in the doctrines of grace. Such are actually saying that God does a really lousy job of saving those Arminians. But when God saves, He saves completely, producing staunch and sound Calvinists like us! Our almighty and sovereign Lord won't do anything less. Anything less can't be God's work." And their congregations consent with loud "amen"!
'Arminians are not Christians???'
The answer to that injurious and blasphemous notion is quite simple: these 'reformed' people are ignorant (oh how could these elitist folks be ignorant of anything?) of the distinction between eternal salvation administered by God's free and sovereign grace, and temporal salvation through the gospel ministry administered by God-sent men.
When God saves, He saves to the uttermost, always complete and perfect every time... from predestination all the way unto glorification, never misses one beat on any elect. And He does not need any help from anyone whatsoever, reformed elitists included.
God saves by turning condemned dead sinners into justified regenerated children of God... all equally, and perfectly fitted for eternal glory... and all by His own free grace, based on the same finished work of Jesus Christ. That's eternal salvation. In this there is no variation or deficiency at all; it is always complete and perfect. All are equally saved in every sense of the word. That deals with the BEING of God's children.
God appoints the gospel ministry for the instruction and conversion of His children to the truth of their salvation by His free and sovereign grace in Christ Jesus. This deals with the WELL BEING of God's children. The well being of God's children is through the gospel ministry, and a whole host of different human factors are involved in the gospel ministry.
God's children are at different stages of conversion through the gospel ministry... but they are perfectly and equally God's children by the free and sovereign grace of God.
Apostle Paul called the believers in Corinth SAINTS... as well as those in the church in Thessalonica. Look at the saints in the seven churches in the book of Revelation.
There is a vast degree of practical sanctification in the children of God through the gospel ministry.... EVEN THOUGH all of them are equally and definitively sanctified from their state of condemnation and death unto that state of justification and eternal life.
Some elite Americans think this way: ONLY the Americans who have gone through Ivy League schools and achieved the American Dream are true Americans! The rest are not even Americans! That's the mentality of many 'reformed' folks towards God's children who haven't attained their standard of doctrinal correctness concerning salvation!
(Actually, the reformed folks are quite messed in a whole host of things too! - but they are too high minded to notice or acknowledge it!)
O if only these sincere 'reformed' folks are aware of the 'deformity' of some of their own doctrines!
A biblical distinction is the essence of sound theology.
