Grant Swart

Free-Willism, Legalism, Arminianism, Blasphemy and Idolatry are some of the parts which combine to form the body of a dreadful and monstrous beast which runs fiercely and defiantly through the church.

A vile and detestable thing exists, a pestilence and disease which causes festering sores to form on the belief system of many who congregate in so many churches today. Grotesquely seething and bubbling, it places a burden of immeasurable weight onto the backs of those who become infected by it. It is a virulent disease carried by a beast of biblical proportions, and which can only be eradicated by the dedicated and correct application of the Word of God. Such correct application as can only be facilitated by means of God’s free and Sovereign grace.

The phenomenal and odiferous beast has been proliferated from within the teachings of certain men in the church ever since Revelation was written to warn us about it. Descriptions and details of this despicable predator are provided on numerous occasions in Revelation chapters 11, 13 – 17, 19, 20.) This beast rose up from out of depths of idolatrous paganism.

Blasphemy

He is known by many names, the most descriptive of which is quite possibly “Blasphemy”. He is known as “Blasphemy” because he always accredits man with the work which God has done. Moreover, he can be encountered all around the world as he has seven heads. A hideous and powerful beast, he has ten horns. Only a very powerful beast will be able to sport ten horns! He wears ten crowns, which must mean that he is very influential and that he operates from a position of authority. He is deceptive like a leopard and he moves quietly and unpredictably on massive feet like a bear. Additionally, this beast is most persuasive, merciless and deceives with murderous intent. The shattered lives of millions lie in the wake of its passage through history (Rev 13:2-8).

This beast must be exterminated, and will be. God will ensure that this beast is destroyed, because his number is that of a man and no man can stand against his Creator (Rom 9:20). Therefore, the extermination of this beast which stands in stark opposition to God’s Sovereignty, will not be done by means of our strength, our authority or by the efforts of any man. Since the Fall, the unwarranted and superfluous pride of man has stood as an insurmountable obstacle between himself and God. Nowhere is this more clearly demonstrated than by the message which those of free-willist persuasion bring. No, this beast with all its abominable growing parts will fall by the simple preaching of the Gospel.

We are reminded by the account of Dagon, the false god of the Philistines, as recorded in 1 Samuel 5:2-7. Every time they picked him up off the floor and tried to make him stand up next to the ark of God, he fell face first into the dirt. Eventually they found him with his hands broken off from his arms and his head broken from his body, lying prostrate in the dirt before the ark of God. In the same way that this exalted the ark of God, free-will must be dashed into the dust and fall before our Saviour, when Christ is exalted.

The ark of God and Dagon could not occupy the same place, they could not be worshipped together by the same heart. Neither can Sovereign grace and free-will occupy the same place, or the heart of the believer. One of the two must be thrown out. Faithful Christian men will always throw free-willism out of their life in Christ. They will heave it into the dirt before the Sovereign God and stomp it into the dust beneath their feet.

Free-willism, Legalism and Arminianism can clearly be called by the name “Blasphemy”, as it a disease which forms a part of the body of a beast like Dagon. Those who proclaim and worship free-will are blasphemers of God.

However, as I said before, this beast goes by many names and another of these is “Idolatry”.

Idolatry

The foolishness of the world and the utter humiliation of men is best portrayed by the practice of idolatry. There exists     nothing more dishonouring to God than humans practicing idolatry. They are those who worship idols, who place even a small part of themselves on a level equal to that of an Almighty and Sovereign God.

A wretched sight it is to witness men and women worshipping gods which have been made by others, or sometimes even made by themselves. These ignorant men and women worship dumb gods in their practice of idolatry. Read about these hideously evil gods made by the hands of men in Psalm 115:4-8. They are gods who have mouths but cannot speak, who have ears but cannot hear, who have eyes but cannot see, who have hands and feet but cannot feel or walk. Idolatry is a hideous evil.

Throughout Chapter 2 of the book of Colossians, we read about which form of idolatry is the greatest abomination to God. That abomination which Paul is writing about is “will worship”, the worship of one’s self. People who attribute their salvation, or the salvation of others, to a decision they made by means of their own free will, are “will worshippers”. They are those who believe and proclaim that salvation is either completely, or partially, reliant on the will, the work, or the value of themselves. They are the most abominably evil idolaters, because they worship themselves.

Free-willism, Legalism and Arminianism, is at best, a partial worship of one’s self, which equates to having only a partial trust in the completed work of Christ. Adherents to Free-willism and works based religions regard themselves as being either partial, or complete saviours of themselves, because free-willism makes their will, their work or their value a requirement for their salvation.

Those who regard their salvation as partly or completely dependent on their own will, are lost and without Christ, because they believe as idolaters do. They are those who talk about God and about grace, who pay lip-service to the redemptive work of Christ, who boast about being indwelled by the Holy Spirit, but they worship themselves. They place their trust in their own decision. Their hope lies in the possibility of their own goodness. Their peace is derived from that which they must do, not from that which Christ did.

Christ paid for our sins, past, present and future, not because of our sins, but in spite of our sins. He shed His Blood for us, not because He hoped that some of us would decide to accept Him, but in spite of any of our decisions. He died for us, even when He knew that we would not seek Him (Romans 3:10-12). God gave up His very life for us, in spite of the fact that He knew that not one of us were, are or could ever be good.

We cannot place our hope of salvation in something that naturally abides inside of ourselves, such as our free-will. Yes, while we do have free will, we cannot place our hope on our experience, because salvation and deliverance comes from outside of ourselves. No part of that redemption lies within ourselves. Our Hope is in God’s Son, not in our diseased free will or insincere decisions. Free-willism, Legalism and Arminianism upholds the lie that it is our will, our decisions and our actions that separates us from eternal damnation, rather than the Sovereign will of God, complete work of Christ and effectual call of the Holy Spirit.

Finding the light switch when we are blinded by our dead batteries: 

It is my sincere and heartfelt prayer that those who are shackled by the confusing, frustrating, contentious, pride-filled, insecure and worthless religion of Free-willism, Legalism or Arminianism, will experience the Light of the true Gospel being shone into the darkness of their idolatrous and blasphemous beliefs. The true Light of the Sovereign Christ can break the hands and hack off the heads of all the Dagon-gods who place such unbearable weight on those who uphold Free-willism.

When that Glorious Light comes, it is never because we first willed it to come. We know that because within the saved believer shines God’s Perfect light. We can distinguish it from false light because it is clearly visible to those who have been truly set free. True believers know that they have been truly set free, because God turned on the light while they were blind and we could not find the switch.

The light which is promised by Free-willism could not light the way for an ant, for it is generated by a set of batteries inside of man’s free will, which have no charge left in them (Isaiah 64:6). God’s light is generated by His eternal, perpetual, Sovereign Will and His perfect free grace. Those who have God’s light do not accredit that light to their own decisions, like free-will blasphemers do. Neither do those who have God’s light worship the power of their own will, like idolaters do. They who have God’s light have it all from free Grace.

Mr Writer, and Mr Free-Willer and the Liars:

“But, Mr Writer”, you may ask, “could our belief in free-will decisions really be so bad as to warrant such a terrifying description? Are we not at liberty to interpret Scripture in such a way, as we are led to do by our conscience?”

To which I would answer: “In light of Scripture as damning to Free-willism as written in Romans 9:18-20, even words such as I have used are inadequate to describe such a beast that would bring eternal death to millions. We would be well advised not to treat God’s Word as chess pieces in an eternal game against the Creator.”

In my country there are many scholars and theologians who have been deceived by Free-willism, who like addicts have simply been unable to put aside the self-righteous pride which keeps them from the truth. One of these blasphemous and idolatrous Free-willers who has been writing in opposition to God for years, has publicly stated that Dave Hunt, rather than Jesus Christ or the Holy Spirit, is God’s gift to the church.

According to the very same man, God is not in control and it is wrong to proclaim that He is. It is his belief that saying such a thing would be prohibitive to the lost being saved, as if it were their decision to make in the first place. He makes repulsive statements such as this in spite of verses such as Isa 14:24, 46:10, Dan 4:35, Job 1:21, Act 2:23, Psa 103:19, Matt 5:45, Gal 1:15, Luk 1:52, Pro 16:9, and others.

In spite of these and other similar blasphemous and idolatrous statements, this game-playing Free-willer has laid claim to being a believer in Christ. This is but one very small example of how destructive Free-willism has been to the faith of those who simply need to hear the truth of Gospel and to be saved by God’s free grace.

Even though this Free-willer thinks he has the power to resist it, I hope that the wonderful free Grace of God also comes to bless his life and the lives of all those who read here.

Romans 9:

18  So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.

19  You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?”

20  But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?”

 

 

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