December 30, 2002 – It is commonly claimed that the preaching of the Doctrines of Grace will inevitably lead to antinomianism (lawlessness), however, this cannot logically be the case.  Sin can never have the truth as its cause.  Jesus Christ is the TRUTH, and no sin can ever be charged to Him.  The enemy forever tries to bring this railing accusation against God’s doctrines, but he must lie, concoct and twist the truth in order to do so.  A true conversion and an effective profession of God’s Sovereignty is the product of the revealed hideous nature of our sin, and the clear recognition of our slavery and bondage to it, and necessarily of our desire to be free from its grasp.  It is the false convert, the reprobate (or maybe just the confused) that will suggest, “If I am eternally free, if I am eternally saved, if I need not worry about falling and if God hath chosen me from before the world’s foundations for life eternal – then I can do what I like and feed the desires of my flesh without concern”.  The true and faithful servant, upon learning of his freedom will proclaim,

“Oh mighty, merciful and beautiful God, if you would grant me one prayer, one desire of my heart, one plea from the depths of my soul, would you make me altogether SINLESS?  Not just that finished work you have performed in the eternal realms, but right here and now?  Would you strip off my wicked flesh so that I might serve you in purity as you desire to be served?”

In short, it is the fallen nature of the Arminian that makes him assume that our freedom leads to lawlessness, because IF he were free, HE would be lawless.   Only the unregenerate would take his freedom as a “license to sin”.  The truly born-again man, if he had the power to do whatever he wanted, would choose to NEVER SIN (if that were possible).  I believe the Doctrines of Grace cause me to desire to be SINLESS and not LAWLESS.

You will see in this concept an interesting principle which invisibly pervades every area of your life.  Arminians do not believe in the eternally regenerated nature of the re-born man, so they must rest on rules and laws.  In the deepest recesses of their souls, they have an overwhelming FEAR OF FREEDOM.

There is a principle of freedom that has been lost in our modern age.  The tyranny of bad doctrine has poised us on a perilous precipice.  Right doctrine is the FOUNDATION of freedom, and without it we can be assured that no rebellion, no emotional revival, and no patriotic resolution is going to shatter our shackles.

“It is absolutely necessary to the existence of a truly Christian Church that it should possess two qualifications:  one is authority; the other, freedom.  The authority of God, which calls for obedience of man, is the principle of faith and life; and freedom is necessary to the action of the Church.  Although these two principles may appear contradictory, they are nevertheless intimately connected.  True freedom cannot exist without authority; and authority, to be firm and salutary, must be blended with freedom… Some Roman controversialists seem to believe that Christianity consists wholly in authority (the authority in the Church is their chief dogma); but, while this is unquestionably far from being true, it is not untrue to affirm that a divine authority (the authority of Scripture) forms the outward principle of Christianity, and without it, faith is but a vapor that passeth away… There is a wide difference between the authority exercised by the Gospel, and that claimed by the Church of Rome.  For Rome rests her power on the earthly authority of councils and priests, while we derive ours from the will of God Himself, made known in the writings which He has inspired.  One is, the rebellious tyranny of fallen man; the other, the legitimate rule of Heaven itself.  Let us reject the one, and hold fast by the other.” – (Merle D’ Aubigne, Geneva, September, 1853)

Bad Government is founded on Bad Theology

Corrupt and tyrannical centralized government is the product of corrupt and tyrannical DOCTRINE.  Arminianism is an arm of the flesh used to restrain the works of the flesh.  It is will-worship, and it cannot lead to spiritual righteousness.  It is an attempt by worldlings to get the flesh to act right.

Those who rest in the Doctrines of Grace believe man to be corrupt from his conception, confessing that only rebirth will ever succeed in controlling the corrupt and carnal desires of wicked men.

1.      Centralized power will always reflect the crystallized corruption of individual men.  Statist government is an amplification of Original Sin and is the inevitable product of the denial thereof.

2.      De-centralized power is the only way to diffuse human depravity enough that regenerated Christian men will be permitted to live free.  The enemy of the purified conscience is raw power, centralized in the hands of unregenerate men who will rule outside of the strict dictates of Holy Scripture.

The Arminian/Papist concept of government (as exists now in the U.S. and around the globe), rests on the belief that temporal government must be endowed with unbridled power to change behavior through legislation (The flawed belief that many laws will necessarily make good men).  The doctrine of Rome, which Arminians eagerly embrace, inevitably consolidates the reins of temporal power into the hands of centralized corrupt civil government, which in turn is controlled secretly by the hand of Papal Rome as we will show.   Arminian theology is the foundation of tyrannical government, therefore, by default; Arminians inevitably command obedience to Antichrist and not to Jesus Christ.

Be Ye Separate

The scripture says, “…Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest ye be consumed in all their sins” (Num 16:26).  We are not to take part in the wickedness of corrupt men because it will lead to our own destruction, just as the New Testament agrees when it says, “…Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues” (Rev. 18:4).  So we see the biblical principle of separation from evildoers is not negated by dispensation or covenant.  We will examine this doctrine of separation in more detail in the articles which will follow.

Who is the “Power”?

The command to disobey unbiblical dictates and unrighteous tyranny (the kingdom of usurpers) is evidenced by the scriptures.  A strict and permanent penalty is delivered upon the heads of those who refuse to disobey an unbiblical edict.  Every man must eventually decide who is the “power” (or authority) we are commanded to obey in Revelation 13:

“Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.  Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation” (Romans 13:1-2).

If the “power” is the government then, by default, Christians are commanded to obey Antichrist, which clearly cannot be the case, because in Revelation 14 we are commanded to disobey antichrist government.  If the “power” in Romans 13 is the institutional church, then Protestant Christians are to be commanded to rejoin with Rome, or their lukewarm churches must needs begin to “bear the sword” as a means of vengeance against those who do evil (see Romans 13:4, the verse that modern pacifists ignore).  If the “power” of Romans 13 that is to be obeyed is the true Church of God, the assembly of called out Saints, the servants of the Most High, then our obedience to Antichrists in church and state is an abomination which necessarily dishonors God.

“…If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,  The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:   And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.” (Rev 14:9-11)

Every man has been required to declare himself on this issue.  Papist doctrines (the whole of Arminian doctrine naturally included) declare that men are to obey the unbiblical dictates of Pope, Priests, Presidents, Pastors, Prophets and Parliaments.  Cleaning the outside of the cup is seen as obedience to God, even if it is the product of thoughtless, stupid and servile fear.  In contrast, traditional Protestantism is based on an obedience to Holy Writ that is born of love, affection for God, a regenerated Will, and a converted mind.  Fallen Protestantism, however, as a harlot daughter, has rejoined her Romish mother church in legalistic worship, emotionalism and a disdain for the authority of God-breathed Scripture.

Freedom in the temporal realm is impossible when Arminian tyranny reigns in the professing church.  Wrong doctrine by those who also participate in Babylon’s electoral process merely perpetuates our enslavement.  But we have more to fear than just the propagandized reactions of stupid, spiritually retarded, politically-charged religionists.  A “patriot” resistance movement awash in mystic Charismatic emotionalism, carnal affections, biblical illiteracy, historical ignorance and paranoid delusions only serves the purpose of continued papist domination.  If a rebellion were to spark, we would see one hideous tyranny replaced with a far more heinous one.

We have no need of a revival of hyper-emotionalism and prosperity based enthusiasm.   We have need of an absolute REVOLUTION.  The Gospel of God’s Sovereignty needs to be preached, not particularly towards the regeneration of the “unchurched”, the lost, the secular man, but towards the conversion of the religious man, and the professing “Christian”.

An ex-Arminian friend, after being convinced of the true Gospel, said recently, “NOW, I am ready to die for Christ!”  You see, the willingness to die for Christ is a product of the true Gospel.  Before, this man was only ready to sit back and get raptured.

Our cultural fall is the product of our corporate apostasy.  Blind nationalism, built upon the shifting sands of false doctrine, will only lead to the emotional tyranny of unfulfilled expectations.  The enemy gathers his forces, and prepares himself to make a final war against God’s Gospel.  God is, once again, pouring out His sovereign truth upon those who He has prepared to hear it, and to receive it.  To embrace it and meet the battle IS a sign of our assurance.  To neglect so great an offer, and by doing so to shrink from the fight, is a sure sign of apostate presumption.

“The Lord, our God, is clothed with might,

The winds and waves obey His will;

He speaks, and in the shining height

The sun and rolling worlds stand still.

Rebel ye waves, and o'er the land

With threatening aspect foam and roar,

The Lord hath spoken His command

That breaks your rage upon the shore.” *

"Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth" (Rev. 19:6).

I am your servant in Christ Jesus,

Michael Bunker