Molinism Is Deeper Life Junk Theology
By David J. Stewart | August 2020
Hebrews 13:9, “Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein.”
I really don't like theologians. They are an annoying bunch of people. I seriously doubt if any of them are soulwinners. These people sit around debating theological concepts, while the world goes to Hell without Jesus Christ. I don't like how intellectual men attempt to analyze, categorize and pickle God's truths into a jar on a college shelf somewhere. Jesus commanded us in John 5:39a to “SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES,” not search through hundreds of deeper-life theological textbooks. I detest manmade theology!!!
Molinism is not Biblical. An unsaved man invented this concept. “Molinism” is named after a 16th-century Spanish Roman Catholic Jesuit theologian named, Luis de Molina (1535-1600). Molinism is a strange doctrine! I dread theologians, I really do, they take the simple truths of the inspired Word of God and make them utterly complicated. A common term that advocates of Molinism use is “middle knowledge” (also called: “counterfactual knowledge”). What utter nonsense! Pastor Max Younce once made a statement that explains this: “God only knows the things that would have happened, if the things that happened, hadn't happened.” Middle knowledge simply refers to God's knowledge of what would happen under different circumstances (i.e., hypothetical situations).
For example: What would Jonah have done if the storm never came? What would Jonah have done if the whale hadn't swallowed him? Theologians call this “counterfactual knowledge.” It bothers me that theologians even waste their time thinking and debating about this stuff, instead of preaching sound doctrine and going soulwinning! I discourage people from studying theology. The Lord commanded us in John 5:39a, to 'SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES,' not study theological concepts by a bunch of dead religious professors!
The only reason I am writing this article is because I am being asked by web visitors about Molinism. Unfortunately, Molinism has become a popular philosophical subject today, so I decided to simplify it and shed the light of God's Word upon it, to see if it is Biblical. Molinism is definitely unbiblical. The fact that Molinism is named after a Catholic theologian is enough reason for every Christian to reject it!
I strongly disagree with Molinism when it comes to salvation. Calvinism says God chooses who will be saved, and then forces them to receive His grace (aka, Irresistible Grace). Arminianism says men choose of the own freewill whether to accept or reject Christ (that is what I believe, but I am not an Arminian). Molinism says God in His foreknowledge knows who will receive or reject Christ under certain circumstances, and then God creates those favorable circumstances for those whom He knew would get saved. I reject Molinism completely, because it is manmade. I am a Bible-believer. I don't follow John Calvin, Jacob Arminius or Luis de Molina! I follow the inspired Holy Bible!!!
I feel like Molinism is another episode of The Outer Limits. Why do intellectuals have to dissect, analyze, categorize and label everything in the Bible? Psalms 145:3, “Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.” Stop trying to figure out God, because you cannot! Why would God have to manipulate the circumstances if He already knows who will be saved? Honestly, I think these people are thinking too much! It hurts my brain when I delve into apologetics, it really does. I don't want to think that hard. Do you know why they call it Molinism? It is because Molinism is a theological concept invented by A MAN, which is not Bible doctrine!
Molinists use the term “middle knowledge.” This allegedly is a type of knowledge that God has, which concerns hypothetical situations. For example: What would happen if you were born in Africa instead of the United States? What if you had been born a male instead of a female? What if you had been born blind instead of with sight? This is a bizarre and strange doctrine of devils folks. Molinism is of the Devil. God doesn't possess different types of knowledge. Theologians are weird people!!! Our great God is omniscient. He knows all. The Lord doesn't have different types of knowledge, only weird theologians do. God save us from religious intellectuals. In 2014, I used to have to go home and search online to see what theological terms meant, that Pastor Marty Herron used in his sermonettes at Harvest Baptist Church on Guam. That is a shame! Evangelist Billy Sunday (1862-1935) had the right idea:“I want to preach the Gospel so plainly that men can come from the factories and not have to bring along a dictionary.” —SOURCE: William T. Ellis, “BILLY SUNDAY: THE MAN AND HIS MESSAGE,” p. 58; Moody Press, ©1959
I am not against learning theology, but I see it as a hindrance to preachers, when they use those big theological terms in public, which is way over the average person's understanding. As another example: Here's just one of hundreds of complicated quotes from Evangelist Ravi Zacharias (that Harvest invited to speak and bid Godspeed to in June of 2017), that loses the crowd totally:
“Just like philosophers try to argue against causality by hitting against the cosmological argument. They try to argue against design by hitting against the etiological argument...” —Dr. Ravi Zacharias, Salt Lake City (2004), Utah, speaking to reprobate Mormons
Say what Ravi? I thank God for grammatically-challenged country preachers who say “be” instead of “is,” and “ain't” instead of “was,” but they say it like it is! I'll tell you what, I know what the old-fashioned Baptist country preacher is trying to say, loud and clear; but Ravi Zacharias leaves people in the mud, while he preaches in the stratosphere over their heads.
It bothers me that these deeper life theologians will debate over junk like Molinism, while the world is going to Hell. I am all for soulwinning! Let the deadbeat religious crowd argue over hypothetical theology. I am going to preach the simple Gospel, and not enter into theological debates with deeper-lifers over how big a rock can God lift. I have been invited to join many Facebook groups who want to debate theology. I have refused them all. I don't want to waste my time debating with religious intellectuals. I'm going to continue spending my time preaching the free grace Gospel to the common man—the man on his way to work who reads my blog while sitting on the bus, the mother who reads my blog while drinking her morning coffee at the kitchen table, the young person in college who is reading my blog articles. God deliver us from dried-up, dead, fuddy-duddy, theologians!!! ...“The Lord is not compelled to use theologians. He can take snakes, sticks or anything else, and use them for the advancement of his cause.” —Billy Sunday
“I don't know any more about theology than a jack-rabbit does about ping-pong, but I'm on the way to glory.” —Billy Sunday
“I want to preach the gospel so plainly that men can come from the factories and not have to bring a dictionary.” —Billy Sunday
“The backslider likes the preaching that wouldn't hit the side of a house, while the real disciple is delighted when the truth brings him to his knees.” —Billy Sunday
“Too many churches are little more than four walls and a roof.” —Billy Sunday
Amen and amen! We know that God does work in the heart of every believer according to his will. The Bible does say in Philippians 2:13, "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." And we read concerning our leaders in Proverbs 21:1, "The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will." The Bible says that God hardened Pharaoh's heart, that he would not let God's people go, so that God could be glorified through the plagues upon Egypt, and shew forth His strength. My opinion on the matter is that no one understands God's workings. God works in mysterious ways. The Lord said His ways and thoughts are above our ways and thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
And again in the book of Jonah we see that God interceded to influence Jonah to do His will. Jonah 1:4, “But the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken.” Jonah 1:17, “Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.” Jonah 2:10, “And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.” God interceded in Jonah's life, but Molinism is something different. Molinism claims that God uses his MIDDLE KNOWLEDGE (a false concept) of potential hypothetical outcomes, to alter the circumstances in our lives to compel us to fulfill His sovereign will. There is no such thing as God's “middle knowledge” in the Holy Scriptures. God doesn't need to consider all the different possible outcomes, so He can figure out the best route to take. I discourage people from becoming boggled down in dead theology; but rather, we should obey the Lord's command to “SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES” (John 5:39a).
God deliver us from deeper-life neo-evangelicals! In 2014 I attended the shameful Harvest Baptist Church on Guam. Talk about a dead institution! They have absolutely no soulwinning program at all. Harvest is just a place to send your children to school (at Harvest Baptist Academy). The Bob Jones graduates employed there meet for a social gathering each Sunday (entertainment, shallow sermonettes, a neo-evangelical nightmare). When I attended the church the Lord gave me a burden to befriend them with THE TRUTH. Instead of embracing me as a caring friend, they ousted me and counted me their enemy. They did the same thing to the Apostle Paul for telling THE TRUTH (Galatians 4:16). One of the books that I gave the pastors (which greatly offended them) is a book that contains a printed audio sermon by Pastor Jack Hyles titled: 'Somebody's Got To Milk The Cows.' The sermon offended them because it exposes lazy pastors!
I had never heard of Molinism until a web visitor asked me about it recently. I found this video, in which Evangelist William Lane Craig explains it. Unfortunately, William Lane Craig is an unsaved false prophet. Dr. Craig teaches Lordship Salvation, which is a perversion of grace. When anyone attacks the grace of God, they are attacking the God of grace, and the gift of grace (which is eternal life), and the guardian of grace (which is the New Testament church), and the goal of grace (which is to preach the Gospel to the world). We cannot get people saved with a false gospel message!
Psalms 145:3 says God's greatness is unsearchable. Men are trying to figure out God, slap a theological label on Him, and try to own God. It cannot be done. Of all that I have read by theologians, one thing is certain—they all disagree with each other! I simply believe the King James Bible. I think it is nonsense to delve into hypothetical situations of what could have happened, because it DIDN'T HAPPEN. Jesus said if the miracles done in Capernaum had been done in Sodom, they would have repented, but that DIDN'T happen in Sodom, and they didn't repent. Jesus was simply making an observation, not suggesting a parallel reality from an episode of The Twilight Zone. I really hate apologetics! I dare say even one of them go soulwinning!!!
That is one reason why I love Pastor Jack Hyles (1926-2001) so much, he was a soulwinner and got things done. These deadbeat neo-evangelicals today are sitting on the premises instead of standing on the promises. They meet at church and gather around the Word (usually the Devil's modern perversions) for men's and ladies' Bible studies, but they never go soulwinning! They let the local community go to Hell, while they play church and give money to pay the undeserving incompetent pastor's salary. As we see in the story of Jonah, God does sometimes change the circumstances of our life, especially in answer to prayer. Prayer changes things! I believe that. I heard a wonderful sermon yesterday by Dr. Hyles called: 'God, Listen To me, Talk To Me, And Do Something!' You may feel like God is ignoring you, and not listening, but the Bible teaches that He always hears every word you speak (Psalms 139:1-6). God even knows your every thought (Proverbs 24:12).
I don't believe that God ever makes decisions for us, because we have a free will. I do believe that God sometimes will change or control life's circumstances, especially in response to prayer. The whole reason for the theological concept of Molinism is to reconcile between God's will versus man's will. God has a sovereign plan for the world. Sovereignsimply means that God is in absolute authority. God is in control and ultimately His plan for humanity will be completed. Sometime men get it wrong! I remember when dozens of tornadoes struck the United States, killing many. Evangelist Jack Chick attributed the tornadoes as God's judgment upon the United States for not supporting Israel. I was so upset when I read that garbage that I wrote this article to refute it as nonsense. We don't know when God creates a situation, or intercedes, so we should simply trust Him.
I had never even heard of Molinism until recently. Don't worry, I'm not going to start writing about apologetics. I'd rather watch paint dry, the house settle, and wait for the return of Halley's Comet in 2061 (it last appeared in 1986). In other words, theology is REALLY BORING! Don't get me wrong, I love Bible theology (which simply means the study of God), but I loath manmade theology.
No man can fully comprehend all that God is or does. We know that God works in the lives of His saints, and has promised that all things will work together for good. Romans 8:28-29, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.” The Bible doesn't say all things will BE GOOD. It says all things will WORK TOGETHER FOR GOOD. God can take the lemons in your life and make lemonade! Amen! God can take those stumbling stones and turn them into stepping stones. The key is Jesus Christ! There is no Friend like the lowly Jesus, no not one!
I don't like the term Molinism for a few reason. First, a Roman Catholic invented it. Second, it is not found in the Bible. Third, there is no need for extra-Biblical religious concepts. Fourth, God is omniscient (all knowing) and doesn't posses different types of knowledge. We see in the Scriptures that God works in the lives of His saints. We don't need to find religious terms invented by reprobate Catholics to define our faith. By promoting and praising the term "Molinism," people are foolishly promoting a Roman Catholic man who went to Hell, unless he repented of his false religion before he died. All I need is contained within the inspired pages of the King James Bible!!!
The Word of God is what we are commanded to study, not manmade theology. Jesus said in John 5:39, "SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES"! I discourage my web visitors from studying secular theology, because it will take you away from studying the inspired Word of God. I have been listening to Alexander Scourby read the King James Bible all week, and I am having a great time!!! Theology is not the Scriptures, it is man's opinion of the meaning of the Scriptures. Theology wants to fit you with glasses, but the Lord wants to open your eyes with the truth. Beware of secular theology! I don't need to study Soteriology (the study of salvation) to know that salvation is of the Lord (Jonah 2:9). I don't need to study eschatology (the study of the end times) to understand the book of Daniel and Revelation. The inspired King James Bible is all you need! I am going to keep it simple. I don't want a bunch of manmade theological concepts in my mind. I want the precious Word of God in my mind!
All these deeper life preacher's seminaries (cemeteries) are destroying soulwinning churches! I would give a dime for places like Faith Baptist Bible College And Theological Seminary in Iowa, and Bob Jones University in South Carolina, and Moody Bible Institute in Illinois, who are producing deadbeat theologians and neo-evangelical yuppie ministers! Oh how America needs soulwinning men of God who preach the Gospel of free grace! Evangelist Tom Williams rightly said: "I haven't been to seminary, I ain't been messed with!" I fully agree. The Apostle Paul called the Gospel, “the simplicity that is in Christ” (2nd Corinthians 11:3-4). The Devil wants to complicate the Gospel, to hinder men from being saved. God deliver us from these deeper-life theologians, who have found things that God doesn't even know, and have absolutely no desire to win souls to Jesus Christ.
In summary, we are taught in 2nd Timothy 3:16-17, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.” You don't need to study deeper-life apologetics to be throughly furnished unto all good works. All those “isms” and “ologies” will warp your brain! Everything we need to be complete in Jesus Christ is found within the inspired pages of the King James Bible.
Truth + Half Truth = a Lie
Romans 16:17-18, “Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.”
1st Kings 18:17, “And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah,
that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth
Israel?”
END OF ARTICLE
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—Pastor Curtis Hutson (1934-1995), “Salvation
Crystal Clear.”
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