Index To All Sections Part 1: An Introduction to John Calvin and his Doctrines of Grace Part 2: Introduction to the acronym T.U.L.I.P - each letter stands for one of the five fundamental tenets of Calvinism.
2A. Total Inability
2B. Unconditional Election
2C. Limited Atonement
2D. Irresistible Grace
2E. Perseverance of The Saints Part 3: When the Gospel Becomes a Lie
Part 4: God’s Sovereignty and Character
You Are Here  Part 5: Hypocrisy Unlimited
Part 6: Conclusion Part 7: The Sins of Augustine. Part 8: Calvinism in the First 1500 Years Calvinism And The Book of Romans HERE
Hypocrisy Unlimited?
Either John Calvin was a misguided zealot or innumerable verses from both Testaments show God to be a very hypocritical evil being who's intent is vastly different from His words. There is no third option. Ezekiel 18:31-32 and 33:11
Because, as He said, God took no pleasure in the death of the wicked He entreated the nation of Israel to cast away their transgressions, turn from their evil ways and live. This of course knowing full well that they could do neither. "Cast away from you all your transgressions which you have committed and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! For why will you die, O house of Israel? "For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies," declares the Lord God. "Therefore, repent and live." (Ezekiel 18:31-32 NASB) "Say to them, 'As I live!' declares the Lord God, 'I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then will you die, O house of Israel?' (Ezekiel 33:11 NASB)
Jeremiah 13:
The verses below were addressed to "This wicked people, who refuse to listen to My words, who walk in the stubbornness of their hearts and have gone after other gods to serve them and to bow down to them (V. 10) (Emphasis Added) Listen and give heed, do not be haughty, For the Lord has spoken. Give glory to the Lord your God, Before He brings darkness And before your feet stumble On the dusky mountains, And while you are hoping for light He makes it into deep darkness, And turns it into gloom. But if you will not listen to it, My soul will sob in secret for such pride; And my eyes will bitterly weep And flow down with tears, Because the flock of the Lord has been taken captive. (Jeremiah 15-17 NASB) "This is your lot, the portion measured to you From Me," declares the Lord, "Because you have forgotten Me And trusted in falsehood. (Jeremiah 13:25 NASB)
Calvinism would have us believe that the Judeans would not hear because they could not hear. So why exactly did God call them 'wicked' when it was He who never intended to make it possible for them to listen and obey? And it would be a new low in hypocrisy for Him to weep over their situation which He, not they, had control over. Amos 4:6-12 (All Emphasis Added) (6) "But I gave you also cleanness of teeth in all your cities And lack of bread in all your places, Yet you have not returned to Me," declares the Lord. (7) "Furthermore, I withheld the rain from you While there were still three months until harvest. Then I would send rain on one city And on another city I would not send rain; One part would be rained on, While the part not rained on would dry up. (8) "So two or three cities would stagger to another city to drink water, But would not be satisfied; Yet you have not returned to Me," declares the Lord. (9) "I smote you with scorching wind and mildew; And the caterpillar was devouring Your many gardens and vineyards, fig trees and olive trees; Yet you have not returned to Me," declares the Lord. (10) "I sent a plague among you after the manner of Egypt; I slew your young men by the sword along with your captured horses, And I made the stench of your camp rise up in your nostrils; Yet you have not returned to Me," declares the Lord. (11) "I overthrew you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, And you were like a fire brand snatched from a blaze; Yet you have not returned to Me," declares the Lord. (12) "Therefore thus I will do to you, O Israel; Because I will do this to you, Prepare to meet your God, O Israel." (Amos 4:6-12 NASB)
In the verses above, God resorted to increasingly severe measures in an effort to get the nation to "return to Him" (also see Deuteronomy 28). The words "Yet you have not returned to Me" repeated five times in six verses show that none of them had the desired effect. However, it would have been grossly outrageous for God to smite the nation with ever increasing punishments because they did not return to Him, if He was the One who had not granted them the grace to do so.
Matthew 23:37
If Calvinism is true then what our Lord said in what was His last public preaching was nothing but sanctimonious hypocrisy. Although He had unconditionally chosen not to grant them His saving grace, Jesus publicly proclaimed that He "wanted" to gather Jerusalem's children together but they were unwilling.
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. (Matthew 23:37 NASB)
Those who hold to reformed doctrine make valiant but ineffectual efforts to somehow explain this. Arthur Pink's Version: In his book Sovereignty of God Arthur Pink said But did those tears make manifest a disappointed God? Nay, verily. Instead, they displayed a perfect Man. The Man Christ Jesus was no emotionless stoic, but One "filled with compassion." Those tears expressed the sinless sympathies of His real and pure humanity. Had He not "wept" He had been less than human. Those "tears" were one of many proofs that "in all things it behoved Him to be made like unto His brethren" (Heb. 2:17). [01]
According to Pink, as God Jesus did not choose these people to come to Him but as a man He displayed deep sympathy and wept over them. In other words, His human nature and His Divine nature were at odds. As God He caused their unwillingness - as man he wept over their unwillingness. Now that really makes a whole lot of sense. James White's Explanation
Because this passage comes after a scathing indictment of the Pharisees (Among other less than polite terms Jesus called them hypocrites, offspring of vipers, and sons of them that slew the prophets) some Calvinists believe that when Jesus said "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem", He was only speaking of the leaders of Jerusalem - the hypocritical Pharisees. These corrupt religious leaders were not willing to let Jesus "gather" their children. In his book The Potter's Freedom James White, director of Alpha and Omega Ministries, wrote The context would not lead us to conclude that this is to be taken in a universal sense, Jesus is condemning the Jewish leaders, and it is to them that He refers here. This is clearly seen in that 1 It is to the leaders that God sent prophets; 2 It was the Jewish leaders who killed those prophets and those sent to them; 3 Jesus speaks of "your children," differentiating those to whom He is speaking from those that the Lord desired to gather together. 4 The context refers to the Jewish leaders, scribes and Pharisees. A vitally important point to make here is that the ones the Lord desired to gather are not the ones who "were not willing! Jesus speaks to the leaders about their children that they would not allow Him to "gather." Jesus was not seeking to gather the leaders but their children. This one consideration alone renders the passage useless for the Arminian seeking to establish free willism. The "children" of the leaders would be Jews who were hindered by the Jewish leaders from hearing Christ. The "you would not" then is referring to the same men indicated by the context; the Jewish leaders who "were unwilling" to allow those under their authority to hear the proclamation of the Christ.
James White then says that Matthew 23:13 "is speaking to the same issues". But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in ourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. [02]
Rebuttal
Let's examine his points in the order he presented them in 1.) "It is to the leaders that God sent prophets"; 2.) "It was the Jewish leaders who killed those prophets and those sent to them;" The Old Testament does not bear this out. Yes, many of the Lord's prophets were killed - but not necessarily by the leaders. I'm not saying that they didn't have anything to do with it but I was unable to find a single instance specifically points to the religious leaders as being responsible. So who is explicitly mentioned in the Old Testament as having killed the prophets? The Kings - Jezebel and Ahab for when Jezebel destroyed the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifties in a cave, and provided them with bread and water. (1 Kings 18:4 NASB) 'You shall strike the house of Ahab your master, that I may avenge the blood of My servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the Lord, at the hand of Jezebel. (2 Kings 9:7 NASB)
Saul And the king said to the guards who were attending him, "Turn around and put the priests of the Lord to death, because their hand also is with David and because they knew that he was fleeing and did not reveal it to me." But the servants of the king were not willing to put forth their hands to attack the priests of the Lord. Then the king said to Doeg, "You turn around and attack the priests." And Doeg the Edomite turned around and attacked the priests, and he killed that day eighty-five men who wore the linen ephod. (1 Samuel 22:17-18 NASB)
Although the people killed Zechariah the prophet and son of the priest Jehoiada, it was King Joash who ordered the killing. See 2 Chronicles 24:20-21 below The People 1 Kings 19:10: He said, "I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away." (1 Kings 19:10 NASB) 2 Chronicles 24:20-21: Then the Spirit of God came on Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest; and he stood above the people and said to them, "Thus God has said, 'Why do you transgress the commandments of the Lord and do not prosper? Because you have forsaken the Lord, He has also forsaken you.'" So they conspired against him and at the command of the king they stoned him to death in the court of the house of the Lord. (2 Chronicles 24:20-21 NASB) Nehemiah 9:23-26
In the ninth chapter of Nehemiah, the Levites summarized God's kindness and forbearance to them and their fathers. After recounting what God did in freeing them from Egypt and their 40 year wanderings etc. obviously referring to the nation as a whole they added, "You made their sons numerous as the stars of heaven, And You brought them into the land Which You had told their fathers to enter and possess. "So their sons entered and possessed the land. And You subdued before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, And You gave them into their hand, with their kings and the peoples of the land, To do with them as they desired. "They captured fortified cities and a fertile land. They took possession of houses full of every good thing, Hewn cisterns, vineyards, olive groves, Fruit trees in abundance. So they ate, were filled and grew fat, And reveled in Your great goodness. "But they became disobedient and rebelled against You, And cast Your law behind their backs and killed Your prophets who had admonished them So that they might return to You, And they committed great blasphemies. (Nehemiah 9:23-26 NASB)
3.) "Jesus speaks of "your children," differentiating those to whom He is speaking from those that the Lord desired to gather together." As a reminder the verse says Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. (Matthew 23:37 NASB)
There is no basis to assume that when Jesus said "Jerusalem" He was specifically speaking to the leaders. Matthew 3:5 clearly indicates that the word "Jerusalem" refers not to the physical city nor the leaders but to the people. Then Jerusalem was going out to him (John the Baptista0 and all Judea and all the district around the Jordan; (NASB)
This is substantiated by Mark 1:5 that says a lot of people went out to be baptized by John And all the country of Judea was going out to him, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins. (Mark 1:5 NASB)
In the following verse Jesus wept over the people in Jerusalem not the leaders whom he called "blind men" and "blind guides", fools and hypocrites, whitewashed tombs, serpents, brood of vipers etc. (See Matthew 23 below) When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, "If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes. "For the days will come upon you when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, and surround you and hem you in on every side, and they will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation." (Luke 19:41-44 NASB)
And, on His final journey He called the women who were tearfully following Him "Daughters of Jerusalem". And following Him was a large crowd of the people, and of women who were mourning and lamenting Him. But Jesus turning to them said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, stop weeping for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. (Luke 23:27-28 NASB)
Besides which if Jesus' expression of grief over Jerusalem in verse 37 was addressed only to the Pharisees, His words in the very next verses (38 and 39) would also have to be directed only to them. Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. The Scribes and Pharisees were not the one who would call him "Blessed" when they next saw Him. It was the common people - a large crowd that "heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took the branches of the palm trees and went out to meet Him, and began to shout, "Hosanna! blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel." (John 12:12-13 NASB). Even if Jesus were referring to His Second Coming as some believe, He had to speaking to all of the people of Jerusalem, not just the Scribes and Pharisees. 4.) The context refers to the Jewish leaders, scribes and Pharisees. We simply cannot deduce that because this lament immediately follows Jesus' blistering chastisement of the Pharisees He was referring only to the religious leaders and not the general population of Jerusalem. The very same words are also found in Luke 13:34-35 spoken immediately after some of the Pharisees warned Jesus to leave Jerusalem because Herod was trying to kill Him. Just at that time some Pharisees approached, saying to Him, "Go away, leave here, for Herod wants to kill You."
After He sent a message to the "fox" Herod Jesus said "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not have it! (Luke 13:31, 34 NASB)
5.) Matthew 23:37 and 23:13 - Were the Pharisees more powerful than God?
Are these two verses "speaking to the same issues" as James White claims.
"But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. (Matthew 23:13 NASB) "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. (Matthew 23:37 NASB)
Vs. 13) is the first sentence of a long denouncement of the Pharisees which stretches over 24 verses - eight of which begin with the words "Woe to you". He calls them "blind men" and "blind guides", fools and hypocrites, whitewashed tombs, serpents, brood of vipers etc. Verse 37 begins another topic altogether - a lament over Jerusalem One other problem that has to be considered in light of the Calvinist belief that since the sinner has not even the slightest desire to please God, it is God who must give him a new heart (regeneration) thereby making him willing. Calvinists believe this grace of God is irresistible which means the Holy Spirit overcomes all resistance. But according to James White the leaders were not only "unwilling" to allow those under their authority to hear the proclamation of the Christ, but would not let Jesus "gather" the people to Himself. Mr. White himself ties this to Matthew 23:13 where Jesus says (Emphasis Added)... "But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. (Matthew 23:13 NASB)
If God has unconditionally elected some or all of the people of Jerusalem to be saved, then the Pharisees shutting off the kingdom of heaven" and "not allowing" Jesus to gather them to Himself means that they (the Pharisees) were more powerful than God. On the other hand, if the people were not among the elect then it was God not the Pharisees who had closed the doors of Heaven against them. On the other hand if these people were hopelessly reprobate and preordained NOT to be saved then Jesus was quite hypocritical when He said that He longed to gather them to Himself.
Jesus Marvelled
Mark 6:6
Interestingly Mark 6:6 says that Jesus sometimes "marvelled" (Greek thaumazo) at the unbelief of his hearers. But if Total Inability were true then it could not have been any surprise to Jesus that men did not believe in Him or what He taught. By the same token... Luke 7:9 says that Jesus marvelled (Greek thaumazo) at the Centurion's faith, going as far as to say that He had not found so great a faith in Israel.
If faith is, as Calvinism claims, a gift of God and that man can do nothing of himself to stir up faith, then what was there to marvel at? Why would Jesus praise the Centurion's great faith when it was merely faith that God had sovereignly bestowed on him. Also See If Calvinism is True, Why Does The Bible Praise Faith?
Conclusion
Calvinism would have us believe that God quite simply wasted not only His time, but the time and efforts of His prophets in pleading with those could never respond unless of course He regenerated them.
Besides which if Calvinism is true then both God's and Jesus' weeping and mourning over innumerable people who refused to repent because they could not do so was nothing but an elaborate sham. If God was that moved by the plight of people through the ages, why did He not simply grant them His Irresistible Grace which would have caused all of them to have a change of heart and return to Him, thus avoiding all round misery?
Continue On To Part VI - Conclusion HERE
To quote Judge Booker - Looked at objectively, Calvinism is nothing more than a system of baffling, almost mystical theological complexities and contradictions piled one on top of the other. It is a tradition so revered and so exalted that most Christians are assumed to be not intelligent enough to understand it fully. Therefore, we require an intellectual elite - a Reformed priesthood - to explain it to us as if we were medieval Catholic peasants.
End Notes
[01] Arthur W. Pink. Sovereignty of God. Lulu.com, 2007. Chapter 11 - Difficulties and Objections. Page 124. Online at
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/pink/sovereignty.xiv.html
[02] James White. The Potter's Freedom: Calvary Press; Revised edition (May 15, 2000) Pgs 137-138) | 
