From: Pilgrimpub@aol.com
Sent: Wednesday, July 06, 2005 8:27 PM
To: Mentonebay@aol.com
Subject: THIEF ON CROSS vs HYBRIDISM [07/06--2005]
THE "THIEF ON THE CROSS" REFUTES MANY HERESIES
INCLUDING THOSE OF BRETHREN WHO ARE "HYBRIDS" [07/06--2005]

For a man who had such an undignified, inglorious, disreputable initial appearance in the events related to the life and death of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Thief on the Cross (Luke 23) certainly has what could very likely be the most effective and useful testimony of any man in history. Yet we do not even know his name or from whence he came, although we certainly know whither he goeth.

This man's experience hanging on the cross next to our Lord at the crucifixion dispenses so much light on so many topics that we know of none who can compare with him. He was called to my mind once again recently, and I will herewith explain the particular circumstance.

An unsolicited email article showed up in my mailbox announcing the regrettable news that Spurgeon did not know the Gospel, and "Spurgeon was an Arminian, and thus, lost." A more startling announcement could hardly be imagined, and I made a brief response to pay my respects to the announcemnt under the "Reply All." email function.

Lo, and behold, who should I find coming back at me but two cronies from yesteryear, the dynamic duo of theological tomfoolery, Marc Carpenter and John Robbins, a couple of hybrids on the doctrine of regeneration -- one part Presbyterian and one part Hardshell.

If you have been on my list as far back as 1997, you may remember these two partners in Intrepid Theology, who fear not to de-regenerate any who fail to pass their doctrinal DNA scrutiny. I wrote at least a couple of articles about their attacks on Spurgeon in the "Trinity Review" magazine, and showed that their doctrine was essentially just another form of Pelagianism.

Unfortunately for these two critics of men such as Spurgeon, in due course of time, it seems that iniquity was found in John Robbins' doctrine by the ostensibly more enlightened Carpenter, and in consequence their ways parted. But somehow, both of them were among the mass of recipient names in the recent email, and both of them responded to me after I emailed a brief comment via the "Reply All" key. This resulted in a few head-bangings with both Robbins and Carpenter in regard to their peculiar dogmas about the Gospel and who may be rightly regarded as "regenerated" believers of it.

Their version of the Gospel is so charitable that it evidently comprehends at least everyone who heartedly receives their theological theoreticalisms about "no means" regeneration and justification based on a theory of "righteousness" which only they can successfully define to their complete satisfaction. Any lack of acceptance of their labyrinthianism is certain evidence of your unregeneracy. Remember the joke about the old Mennonnite who said to his wife, "Sometimes I doubt that there is anyone saved but thee and me, and I often have my doubts about thee"? That sorta sums up the attitude of these brethren.

I do not have an inkling on how Robbins, the Brother Logician of the Brotherhood, would get the Thief on the Cross under his tent, but I did notice that Marc Carpenter has appropriated the Thief to his tome of doctrine at Outside the Camp >http://www.outsidethecamp.org/letters72(1).htm<

According to marvelous Marc --

>>
God says that those who do not believe the gospel are unregenerate (Mark 16:16). Thus, the thief on the cross believed the gospel.
>>

BOB:
The fact is, there is no evidence that the Thief ever even heard or believed anything that even purported to be the Gospel. From the Scripture record, he heard fragments of truth about Christ at the crucifixion (23:34-43) which were sufficient in the hand of the Holy Spirit to turn his mind, heart, and tongue to acknowledge Christ as Lord.

>>
God says that the gospel reveals the righteousness of God (Romans 1:17). Thus, the thief on the cross believed the righteousness of God.
>>

BOB:
Ditto for this one, so far as the thief's knowing or believing the "righteousness of God" as defined by Carpenter. Indeed, he believed in Christ Who is made unto believers the righteousness of God, but he never heard or believed any such thing on the cross, so far Scripture reveals.

>>
God says that the righteousness of God is manifested in salvation conditioned on the atoning blood and imputed righteousness of Christ alone, without the deeds of the law, showing God to be both just and justifier (Romans 3:21-26). Thus, the thief on the cross believed in the atoning blood and imputed righteousness of Christ alone, without the deeds of the law, and believed that God is just and justifier. He knew that it was the work of Christ alone that made the difference between salvation and damnation.
>>

BOB:
There is as much evidence in the Scripture record of the Thief's believing this as there is that Carpenter has the slightest comprehension of the essentials necessary to the New Birth.

>>
IMMEDIATELY upon regeneration, God gives that person a KNOWLEDGE of the only ground of salvation. Thus, there is NO SUCH THING as one who has been quickened by the Holy Spirit who believes in salvation conditioned on the sinner. This goes for the thief on the cross, this goes for John the Baptist, this goes for Paul, this goes for EVERY regenerate person.
>>

BOB:
The fact is, KNOWLEDGE essential to the new birth is communicated in some form, and is the truth empowered by the Holy Spirit, and is necessary for regeneration to take place. No one who is totally ignorant of Christ is regenerated before he has some knowledge of Christ. The Thief had several fragments of truth about Christ which were sufficient for the Spirit of God to use the instrumentality of truth to bring about his regeneration (new birth). "And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me" (John 6:45). So it was with the Thief.

Carpenter denies that such teaching, hearing, and learning are necessary to the new birth, as he holds to the "direct operation" Spirit-alone theory of the Hardshell Baptists.

>>
The TRUTH is that when the Holy Spirit quickens someone, that person is given SPECIFIC KNOWLEDGE. The Scripture bears out the fact that there is some ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE that every true believer knows and believes.
>>

BOB:
Here Carpenter, like all Hardshells, has the cart before the horse. The "specific knowledge" that is given by the Lord is before and in order to the new birth, is essential in the new birth, and is the Holy Spirit's instrumentality in bringing to pass the new birth. The "no means" new birth theory held by Carpenter will produce the type of inverted teaching which characterizes Carpenter's hobbyhorse. In every instance of a conversion recorded in the New Testament, an essential degree of truth communicated in some form to the subject was a forerunner to the new birth of the subject.

>>
Knowledge of doctrine is not a prerequisite to salvation. But when the sovereign God saves someone, he sovereignly GIVES that person KNOWLEDGE of GOSPEL DOCTRINE.
>>

BOB:
Here again Carpenter's Hardshell doctrine is denying the essentiality of the Gospel as the Holy Spirit's instrument in regeneration. He has one ignorant beforehand, but immediately AFTER regeneration, all at once the person suddenly is sovereignly given "knowledge of Gospel doctrine." This completely separates the Gospel from the Holy Spirit as the instrument by which He brings about the new birth. This is why the Hardshells have opposed missions, evangelism, and witnessing efforts to the unregenerate, for they do not believe in the necessity of the truth in the Spirit's work of the new birth.

>>
You do not believe that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation to everyone believing (Romans 1:16).
>>

BOB:
Here is the typical Hardshell "inverted eyesight" approach to Romans 1:16 and the Gospel. Their theory is that the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation to those who are ALREADY BELIEVERS, already born again. Hardshellism has therefore always been an enemy of missions, evangelism, and any form of preaching the Gospel to the unregenerate.

>>
You think that the universal atonement advocates believe the true gospel. This shows that you don't even know what the gospel is.
>>

BOB:
The fact is, this shows that Carpenter himself does not know what the Gospel is, nor what constitutes the New Birth.

He obviously equates the Gospel with a particular theoretical interpretive delineation on the "extent" or "efficaciousness" of the atonement, and if one does not accept that theory he allegedly does not accept the Gospel, Christ, and the Bible, and is yet in an unregenerate state.

To make his case for that idea in regard to the conversion of the Thief on the cross, it is no marvel that Carpenter must extra-scripturally presume that God directly and without "means" gave the Thief such knowledge by a "direct operation." The thief certainly did not have much time or opportunity to visit Outside the Camp and imbibe this knowledge nor to obtain it from some other Hardshell source.

Carpenter reminds me of the quagmire of the Campbellites. When confronted with the thief's obvious lack of baptism, the Campbellites often will retort, "How do you know but what he had already been baptized?" In other words -- resorting to speculative and wishful thinking in the hope of somehow diverting attention away from the facts revealed in the Scripture record.

-- Bob L. Ross

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