Cornestone Sermon on Predestination Part 2

I apologize for the lack of content as of late. School and work is very hectic but my goal is to start posting at least once per week. I still want to continue to address this sermon on Calvinism which was preached at Cornerstone Community Church in Wildomar, CA so this will be part two dealing with 3:23-38. Click HERE to view Part 1 of my critique. Also, as a side note, some asked me to contact Pastor Ron directly and I decided to go ahead and attempt communication. Pastor Ron rejected my attempt and never even wrote me back. It has been well over a month so I doubt that I will ever hear anything back. He apparently is confident that what he spoke was right and true. I will keep this post short as it only deals with one scripture, John 3:16.

This perhaps is the single most recognized verse in the world. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.” The funny part is he touts this verse as if Calvinists do not believe it or something. Just for the record John 3:16 is in Calvinist Bibles as well. His big point seems to be that it says “whosoever” therefore everyone can believe. I see that as a bit of a leap but either way this does not change anything. I heartily affirm that whoever believes in Jesus Christ and repents of their sins will be saved. The offer is there and it is genuine. The problem is not with the offer but with the audience. If Pastor Ron would have just read three verses later he would read this: “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.” This shows the importance of not just proof texting to make a point. This whole section is an illustration of the necessity of the new birth in salvation. It is clear that whoever believes will be saved but the problem is that men love the darkness and will not come to the light therefore the solution is the new birth. God removes the heart of stone that men have and replaces it with a heart of flesh that no longer seeks after the darkness but rather runs to the Light (Eze 36).