Modern Pelagian Cult

[Caretaker]

God bless you;

Just had a go-round with a staunch adherent to Pelagius and Finney. There appears to be a movement afoot with several linked websites, but the origin of the modern movement and source of this cult is very obscure/hidden. Maybe you could take a look at it and it would sure be nice to pin-it down.

It has a great deal of the Seventh Day Adventist flavor with their contention that the mark of the beast is a system rather than an individual, coupled with extreme legalism.

This is a new one on me with rejection of original sin and imputation of both sin and the righteousness of Christ. There are links to three or four websites which carry the same teachings, but without reference to a common denomination/organization.



eternalconsequence.org/


thesinmuststop.org/

Repentance: is granted and commanded by God to ALL men everywhere. (Acts 5:31; 11:18; 17:30-31; 20:21; 26:20; Ro. 2:4; 2 Ti. 2:25; 2 Pe. 3:9). (Repentance is NOT an apology for being sinful!) The process of repentance is to sweep, scrape, scrub and cast out of doors all defilement of the heart IN ORDER to make it clean for the reception of the Holy Spirit. (Matt. 12:43-45; Lk. 11:24-26). Repentance is a change of mind, inclinations and desires, which translates into a total change in character and conduct. (Mt. 3:8; Mk. 4:12; Lk. 8:15; Jn. 8:34; 8:36; Lk. 19:1-10; Acts 26:20; 2 Co. 6:1; 5:17; 1 Thess. 1:9; 2 Tim. 2:19; Tts. 2:11-12). Genuine repentance is initiated by God through a crisis of conviction leading to a season of godly sorrow for sin. (Jn. 16:8; Acts 2:37; 4:8-10; 5:31; 11:18; 2 Co. 7:10). The DESIGN of Bible repentance (from Genesis to Revelation) is clearly, ‘forsake’ your wickedness, ‘purge’ your heart of evil and SEEK the Mercy of God. (Isa. 55:7; Jer. 26:13; Pro. 28:13; Jon. 3:8-10; Matt. 12:41; Lk. 15:11-32; Acts 3:19; 2 Co. 7:10-11; 2 Tim. 2:19; Jas. 3:7-10; 1 Pe. 4:1; Rev. 2:5; 2:16; 2:20-22; 3:3; 3:19)! In repentance ALL filthiness and overflow of wickedness is 'laid aside' and in meekness is the Implanted Word received. (Lk. 8:11-15; Jas. 1:21; 4:6; 1 Pe. 5:5-6). The passions and desires of the flesh are crucified (Ro. 6:6; Gal. 5:24). (This happens in Repentance, not afterward. It’s done once for all NOT to be repeated!) Old things pass away and all things become new. (Ro. 2:29; 6:4-6; 12:1-2; 2 Co. 5:17; Eph. 4:22-24; Col. 2:11-12; 3:5). All KNOWN sins of the flesh have ceased. (Pro. 28:13; Isa. 55:7; Jer. 26:13; Ezk. 18:21-23; Jon. 3:8-10; 1 Co. 6:9-10; Gal. 5:19-21; Eph. 5:5-7; Jas. 1:21; 1 Pe. 4:1; Rev. 21:7-8; 22:15). To dismiss Scriptural repentance is to nullify reconciliation with God and without conversion there is no Divine forgiveness. (Lk. 13:3; 24:47; Mk. 4:12; Acts 3:19; 2 Co. 7:10). Genuine Repentance is a condition for salvation. (Mk. 1:15; Lk. 13:3; Acts 5:31; 11:18; 17:30; 20:21; Ro. 2:4; 2 Co. 7:10; 2 Pe. 3:9).

[Keith]

Thanks Drew. We need to keep ever mindful of the deception in the world today.

[doug]

These will come along more and more as the day draws near.

[Murph]

I had seen this on another web site but didn't know what it was. I hadn't seen it before and have never heard of Pelagius and Finney...

Thanks for posting all that Caretaker.

[veterinarian]

Somehow, I was not grasping about this cult's beliefs. So I went on a search, and found this site:

www.monergism.com/thethreshold/articles/onsite/pelagiannatural.html

We find Pelagianism among the Pharisees in the New Testament. Remember, the foundation of Pelagianism is the belief that we do not inherit Adam's sinful condition. We are born morally neutral, capable of choosing which way we will turn. Sin is something that affects us from the outside, so that if a good person sins, it must be due to some external influence. This is why it is so important, according to this way of thinking, to avoid bad company and evil influences: It will corrupt an otherwise good person. This Pelagian mentality pervaded the thinking of the Pharisees, as when they asked Jesus why they he did not follow the Jewish rituals. "Jesus called the crowd to him and said, 'Listen and understand. What goes into a man's mouth does not make him 'unclean,' but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him 'unclean.'" This theological orientation was so unfamiliar to the disciples that Jesus had to restate the point: "For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man 'unclean'" (Mt 15:1020). Later, Jesus scolded the Pharisees with these harsh words: "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous, but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness" (Mt 23:2528).

Therefore, Jesus told them that they must be "born from above" (Jn 3:5). The Pharisees believed that God had given them his grace by giving them the law, and if they merely followed the law and the traditions of the elders, they would remain in God's favor. But Jesus said that they were unbelievers who needed to be regenerated, not good people who needed to be guided. "No man can even come to me unless my Father who sent me draws him" (Jn 6:44), for we must be born again, "not of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God" (Jn 1:13). "Apart from me you can do nothing. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit-fruit that will last" (Jn 15:5, 16).

This message was at the center of the apostolic message, as Paul defended the grace of God against the Judaizing heresy that sought to turn Jesus into merely another Moses. Centering on the person and work of Christ, Paul and the other apostles denied any place for self-confidence before God. Instead, they knew that we possess neither the ability, free will, power, nor the righteousness to repair ourselves and escape the wrath of God. It must all be God's work, Christ's work, or there is no salvation at all. Surely the Judaizing heresy that troubled the apostles was larger than the issue of Pelagianism, but self-righteousness and self-salvation lay at the bottom of it. As such, the Council of Jerusalem, recorded in Acts 15, was the first church council to actually condemn this heresy in the New Testament era.

I think I understand things better now. I went to the first link that Caretaker posted; it had excellent information, but these poor tired eyes of mine and my computer screen conspired to make all the charts very hard/impossible to read. If this site I have found has bad information, could someone please post a correction for me? Thanks.