Thursday, September 7, 2023

Pastor Harry Ironside Was NOT A Calvinist

Romans 4:3-7, “For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.”

On Moody Bible Institute's website, they boldly lie and misrepresent Dr. Harry Ironside, calling him a moderate Calvinist:
“Doctrinally during the 30 years after his resignation from the Salvation Army, Ironside underwent a gradual transition through the prayerful study of the Scriptures to a position of moderate Calvinism.”

SOURCE: https://www.moodymedia.org/articles/harry-ironside
WRONG!!! The leaders at Moody who wrote and sanction the preceding statement are LIARS!!! Kindly said, I have all of Dr. Ironside's books and and I agree with 99% of Dr. Ironside's theology. I love the guy! Where in the world did Moody Church (who today have chosen to become wicked Calvinists), get the wrong idea that their former pastor Dr. Ironside, was a Calvinist? Well, they are twisting the truth, as false prophets always do!

Dear reader, the Holy Bible is very simple to understand if you keep it simple! It shocks me that Moody Church today would even dare to connect Pastor Harry Ironside with Dr. John MacArthur. These men teach two VERY DIFFERENT plans of salvation from one another. Take a look for yourself at what Dr. MacArthur teaches, and now look at what Pastor Harry Ironside teaches! I am telling you with biblical authority that John MacArthur is wrong and of the Devil!!! Dr. Ironside gets the Gospel 100% correct!!! Shame on Moody Church and Moody Bible Institute today and beware of them! I wouldn't give you a dime for what Moody Bible Institute has become spiritually. CALVINISM IS OF THE DEVIL!!!

Calvinism is often described by using the helpful acronym, T U L I P:
T - Total Depravity (This heresy claims humans are so depraved as to not be able to even make a choice, total inability to believe. This ends up in teaching that man must be born again BEFORE he believes. I agree with Pastor Harry Ironside that men are totally depraved, and that the Holy Spirit must draw men to Christ, but the Bible is very clear that the Holy Spirit draws “ALL MEN” (John 12:32), not just some whom God chooses. The grace of God that brings salvation appears to “ALL MEN” (Titus 2:11). So, clearly Harry Ironside did not ascribe to the typical Calvinist's misunderstanding of the total depravity of the sinner. Dr. Ironside was no Calvinist!

U - Unconditional Election (Calvinists errantly teach that God has chosen who will be saved and who will go to Hell, because these latter have not been gifted to believe. This is supposedly to the glory of God. Faith gifted to the elect by the Holy Spirit is said to bring true conversions, while personal faith is considered a “work” that produces false conversions. Calvinism says we believe because we were chosen; the truth is that God chose us because we believe.)

L - Limited Atonement (Many Calvinists errantly teach that Jesus Christ died only for those He chose to be saved, and that the Gospel is not for all. Pastor Charles Spurgeon succumbed to this horrible false doctrine, as does Dr. John MacArthur and Moody Bible Institute. In sharp contrast to the heresy of Limited Atonement, the Holy Bible says in 1st John 2:2 that Christ “is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”)

I - Irresistible Grace (Calvinists errantly believe God only calls some to be saved, and they cannot resist. They will be saved automatically, regardless of whether they want to be or not, while those whom He deems 'reprobates' have no chance of salvation. Is grace truly grace if it cannot be rejected? Throughout the New Testament we find the word “WHOSOEVER,” which is an open free invitation from God for all sinners to come to Christ by faith alone in the Gospel for eternal life.)

P - Perseverance of the Saints (This heresy says those whom God chose will not be lost, and they will continue in faith, love, holiness and righteousness. However since these people do not know who the “elect” are, there is the torment of uncertainty, which results in a works/Lordship salvation in an attempt to prove to themselves they are indeed elect. In sharp contrast, Biblical Christianity teaches the Preservation of the Saints, not the persevering (hanging on for dear life to convince yourself you are really saved). Harry Ironside believed in the perseverance of the Holy Spirit, with which I fully agree. As Dr. Ironside rightly says, if someone who once claimed to be a born-again Christian, now denies Christ as Savior, it just means they were never saved at all. Dr. Ironside did not ascribe to the Calvinist heresy that a person who still lives in willful sin, never repented, so their faith in Jesus is counterfeit. As 1st Corinthians 3:15 proves, not all saints 'persevere' in holiness, because this horrible man received no heavenly rewards, “saved; yet so as by fire.”)
I haven't found any teachings by Pastor Harry Ironside to convince me that he was even a one-point Calvinist. Quite the contrary, this dear man of God was very sound in his theology, unlike Moody Bible Institute today (who promote John MacArthur and openly promotes Satan's counterfeit Bible revisions).

By the way, all the modern Bible revisions pervert the meaning of repentance. Instead of correctly defining repentance as “a change of mind,” all of the new Bibles render it as turning away from sin and a changed life. Case in point, look at Mark 1:15 in the Satanic Easy-To-Read version (ERV). The false idea that a person must turn away from their sinful ways, as a requirement to be saved, perverts the Gospel of free grace. Effectively, it means keeping the law to be saved. As Christians we SHOULD live for Christ. That is what the Bible teaches in Romans 3:31. If we MUST live for Christ, that is the heresy of works. If we WILL live for Christ, that is the heresy of Calvinism.

Here are some great helpful quotes from Pastor Ironside...
“Turn to your Bible and read for yourself in the only two chapters in which this word predestinate or predestinated is found. The first is Romans 8:29-30, the other chapter is Ephesians 1:5 and 11. You will note that there is no reference in these four verses to either heaven or hell but to Christ-likeness eventually. Nowhere are we told in scripture that God predestinated one man to be saved and another to be lost. Men are to be saved or lost eternally because of their attitude towards the Lord Jesus Christ. Predestination means that someday all the redeemed shall become just like the Lord Jesus” —Pastor Harry Ironside, a quote from his awesome book: “Full Assurance,” chapter 9

“D.L. Moody used to put it very simply the elect are the 'whosoever wills' the non-elect 'whosoever wont's'. This is exactly what scripture teaches, the invitation is to all, those who accept it are the elect. Remember, we are never told that Christ died for the elect.” —Pastor Harry Ironside, a quote from his awesome book: “Full Assurance,” chapter 9

“Whosoever means, whosoever. Only a biased theologian, with an axe to grind, could ever think that it meant only the elect.” —Pastor Harry Ironside, a quote from his awesome book: “Full Assurance,” chapter 9
I love Pastor Ironside, who gets repentance 100% correct:
1. "How may I be sure that I have repented enough?"

Very often the real difficulty arises from a misapprehension of the meaning of repentance.

There is no salvation without repentance, but it is important to see exactly what is meant by this term.

- It should not be confused with penitence, which is sorrow for sin;
- It should not be confused with penance, which is an effort to make some satisfaction for sin;
- It should not be confused with reformation, which is turning from sin.

Repentance is a change of attitude toward sin, toward self, and toward GOD. The word (in the Greek Testament) literally means "a change of mind." This is not a mere intellectual change of viewpoint, however, but a complete reversal of attitude.

SOURCE: Pastor Harry Ironside, a quote from his awesome book: “Full Assurance,” chapter 9
What a great and helpful quote! Penitence is sorrow for sin. Penance is trying to atone (cover) your sin by righting your wrong. Reformation is turning from sin. NONE of those are repentance! In the Bible we see that Judas was sorry for betraying Jesus. The Bible says he even returned the 30 pieces of silver. Judas hung himself and went to Hell. You see, you cannot be saved by penance, penitence or reformation; the Bible says: YE MUST BE BORN AGAIN! (John 3:3-7).

Biblical repentance is simply “a change of mind” from WRONG THINKING to believing the Gospel to be saved. It's that simple! You don't get saved by repenting, you get saved by BELIEVING! Repentance is automatic. The man who believes has repented. John 6:47, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.”

It is clear to me that Pastor Ironside was NOT even a one-point Calvinist, in the traditional sense of the word. Moody Bible Institute are being very dishonest. I can see why they would try to change the truth, to defend themselves, since they have shifted in their beliefs over the past 75 years. Shame on Moody Bible Institute for accusing Pastor Ironside of “gradually transitioning” his views from that of a free grace Gospel, to one of perverse Satanic Calvinism!!!

Sadly, Moody today promote one of the biggest heretics in history; namely, Dr. John MacArthur (the godfather of modern Calvinism, who boasts of being a 5-point Calvinist). By the simplistic Biblical explanations that he gives, Dr. Harry Ironside can no more be called a “Calvinist” than the apostle Paul could be called a Roman Catholic. Dr. Ironside was right in his theology, and Moody Church is all wrong today! The folks at Moody should be honest and just admit that they have decided to become Calvinists, straying away from their free grace roots begun by Dwight L. Moody (1837-1899). Get right with God all you folks at Moody!


“Faith is the only righteous thing that I can do!” —Pastor Jack Hyles, “God's Reversal Of Psalm 51

1st Corinthians 16:24, “My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.”

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