Charles Hodge’s Misquoted Quote on the Perseverance of the Saints

The doctrine of the perseverance of the saints can be so easily misrepresented, right? I did read one of the reasons to reject Calvinism is what Presbyterian preacher, Charles Hodge (December 27, 1797 – June 19, 1878) said about the perseverance of the saints. The commentary on 1 Corinthians has what I believe is a cherry-picked quote from Hodge himself:

“A false security of salvation commonly rests on the ground of our belonging to a privileged body: the church, or to a privileged class: the elect. Both are equally fallacious. Neither members of the church nor the elect can be saved unless they persevere in holiness. They cannot persevere in holiness without continual watchfulness and effort.”

Rejecting Calvinism Like Spurgeon’s Cigar?

Oftentimes, Calvinism vs. non-Calvinism can be a non-issue. You can have non-Calvinists who embrace Calvinists as brothers and sisters if the latter shows signs of being biblically born again. Charles H. Spurgeon is a preacher often admired by both Calvinists and non-Calvinists alike. Some non-Calvinists may admit that much of their literature such as various commentaries, hymns, textbooks, and the like are written by Calvinists. The moderate KJV Onlyist may be aware that Calvinist scholars were the ones who translated the KJV. Spurgeon is among the Calvinists who non-Calvinist brothers and sisters admire.

Fools Think They’re Always Right, Wise People Know They’re Fools in Need of Advice

Whether we like to admit it or not, humanity is not born wise. Sometimes, the best thing to say is, “If you want to see the biggest fool, why not look at the mirror?” As I was looking for a topic to write, Proverbs 12:15 would be a good topic. It says, “The way of the fool is right in his own eyes but a wise man listens to advice.” The KJV uses the word hearken which is to hear. The word for fool as the KJV Concordance is eviyl where we might’ve gotten the word evil. Interestingly, the name Evil-Merodach has the Hebrew word ewil which also means fool. I guess the word evil getting derived from eviyl just fits the picture perfectly.

Pastors Who Blackmail Church Members into Giving Tithes and Offerings Defy Joyful Giving and Aren’t Fit for Office

It’s really one thing for a pastor to teach about giving. Some churches still believe in tithing one’s income while others don’t. There’s the teaching of joyful giving in the New Testament (2 Corinthians 9:7). If one goes with the Old Testament law, tithing has been more than just a tenth of one’s income. It was giving a tenth that also included one’s livestock and crops. In the New Testament, we hardly consider a church member who gives 10% of his inventory to the church a tithe. Instead, it was treated as a donation. It seems that giving 10% has become the basic standard when one starts giving to God. However, it can be easily abused such as misquoting Malachi 3:10-11 in order to make a quick buck.

The Doctrine of Catholic Priests Save Souls Makes It Easier to Hide Priestly Scandals

There’s the Roman Catholic teaching priests play a role in saving the souls of men. I could remember a Catholic children’s Bible that says that priests have tremendous responsibilities in administering the sacraments. I remembered how I was once sprinkled with “holy water” so my behavior will change. Nothing worked. They say that I simply left the Catholic church because I left too early (and I stopped going to Mass at 12 years old having a faith crisis). The doctrine priests save souls has been a serious hindrance.

They Can Only Knew They’re Elect When It’s God They Select

Many times, the doctrine of election is hard to swallow. It’s often called cruel because it would give people no capacity to choose according to their will. It’s very easy to for non-Calvinist Christian ministers to preach, “The man who is elect is the man who selects.” Well, that’s partly true because the man is known to be elect because he selects God. However, what’s often overlooked that people left to themselves will never choose God. It’s easy to say that when I talk of Jacob and Esau, a non-Calvinist brother or sister can give me the friendly rebuke, “You’re looking for a comparison.” I guess non-Calvinist Christians can agree that Charles H. Spurgeon was a great man of God. However, they can say, “Spurgeon? He was just a man. Many Calvinists gave us good sources but I’ll disagree with election.” I don’t mind too much about that since Calvinism vs. non-Calvinism is never an issue. The issue is the doctrine of regeneration. The issue is preaching the right Gospel.

Pride-Based Good Works vs. Faith-Based Good Works

There’s always the false accusation by the works salvationist, “Those who believe not in salvation by works are against law and good works.” It’s also a common false accusation also by Arminians or the conditional security crowd that eternal security is but a license to sin I went to backtrack on the John Piper devotional because I ran into the July 10 devotional talking about proud works vs. humble faith. I decided to write about it as proud works vs. faith-based works. There’s a difference between doing works to get saved (self-salvation) vs. doing works only because one is saved. It’s very easy for the unbeliever to tell the believer, “I’m sure you are going to Heaven because you’re a good person.” However, the Gospel gets preached and it becomes offensive.