Happy Riches answers question by Anonymous.
The idea that people are saved by faith was soundly rejected by English Puritans in preference for double predestination. The doctrine of predestination basically states that the elect are chosen for salvation before they were born and everybody else is condemned to burn in the flames of hell for eternity. According to these erroneous beliefs, what this means is the elect are under a covenant of grace and they are saved, no matter what they do.
Even though those who exalt Puritanism hate to admit this, what is known as the Ann Hutchinson controversy essentially delineates the Puritan position and its theological legacy to the United States of America.
Hutchinson began denouncing various Puritan ministers in the colony as really preaching a "covenant of works" and sometimes spoke as if John Cotton were the only minister in the entire colony who was preaching a "covenant of grace" correctly.…Hutchinson's views on the "covenant of grace" seemed indistinguishable from the heresy of antinomianism, the view that the elect did not have to follow the laws of God or morality. — History of the Puritans in North America - Wikipedia
Today, many Calvinists in the United States are renown for doing whatever, whenever, wherever, to whomever, as it does not really matter, because they believe that they have eternal salvation and will not be thrown into the eternal flames of fire that is the second death.
John Wesley was once part of the Church of England tradition, which was Calvinist. When he came to the United States, he was very troubled about his own salvation—those who are genuinely seeking truth usually are until their salvation is experientially secured. The Moravians he met were pietists and possessed the Joy of Salvation—unknown among the Calvinists that he associated with. Upon returning to England, John Wesley had an experience whereupon he believed he was truly saved, because he was chosen by Jesus to be circumcised of heart, and now possessed the Joy of Salvation.
Puritans adhere to the Pharisee’s message that Jesus railed against when calling them hypocrites; for they say that God exists and claim that they are they are chosen by Him. They know what God requires but fail to measure up. Worse still, they do not come to the Son of God so that He may give them the Joy of Salvation.
Essentially the difference between Puritans and Pietists is a matter of experience. Puritans are like students who cram philosophy into their heads and become puffed up with false knowledge (Col. 2:8; 1 Tim. 6:20; 1 Tim. 6:4). Pietists can be equated with people who have on the job training, because they are apprentices to the Master, having been chosen to be His disciples (John 15:19; John 15:16).
The Puritans and their ilk are those to whom Lord Jesus would say:
- You search the scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness to me; yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. (John 5:39-40)
People, who would identify as Pietists, are those referred to as the babes in the following passage, when Lord Jesus was speaking to the Puritan types, as recorded in the book of Matthew:
- At that time Jesus declared, “I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to babes; yea, Father, for such was thy gracious will. All things have been delivered to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:25-30)
Out of the Pietistic movement have come all the revivals of the Great Awakening. The Puritans (and those who subscribed to Calvinism) just happened to benefit from these awakenings, because they began to preach the Gospel of Lord Jesus Christ, even though (unwittingly in many instances) they taught the doctrines of Satan afterwards, which lead people astray. Nothing has changed. People subscribing to these Calvinist teachings, today, preach the gospel when convenient, but afterwards lead people away from experiencing the truth through a relationship with the Son of God.
- I write this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. (1 John 5:13)
- God desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (1 Timothy 2:4)
Once they have preached the gospel that people do not have to be born only to die, because Lord Jesus Christ has risen from the dead, after having paid the price for sin, they then lead people away from the truth with a salvation of works based in unbelief that faith is essential for salvation. This they call the perseverance of the saints: worked hard, make money, earn degrees, tell everybody what you think you know and how they are going to suffer eternal torment because they are not like you, saved before you were born.— Can you smell the stench? (Joel 2:20; Amos 4:10)
To further illustrate the difference between the two groups, consider the following passage of Scripture.
- But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings which are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:14-17)
Puritans and their ilk (who espouse TULIP) will never quote “the sacred writings which are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” but will only quote what follows: “All Scripture is inspired….” Then they will begin to cut and paste texts to teach their doctrines that the blood of Jesus is insufficient to cover everybody; people who have the baptism of the Holy Spirit are of the Devil; limited salvation, except if you acknowledge what they say; nobody has freewill, every person is evil—except them, they can commit whatever evil they like, because they were saved before the foundation of the world.
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