Pastor Kim, change the direction of your sermon

The original Korean text: https://blog.naver.com/stevision/220191199860

 

Pastor Kim, change the direction of your sermon.

 

I couldn't help but feel sorry for your sermon on CTS yesterday.

 

Your criticism on Calvin is unfair. You blamed Calvin, saying, "Calvin himself was a man of strict faith who slept only four hours a day. But a lot of people were killed for having different faith from Calvin's, in Geneva where he ruled."

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But really did those who were executed in Geneva, where Calvin was the leader of their religion, meet death just because they had the belief that was different from Calvin's private faith? Some of the executed were probably those who committed economic crimes, violent crimes, and sexual crimes, and some of them must be those who denied orthodox Christian doctrines, such as Trinity. Is there anyone who you think was hated and killed by Calvin because he opposed Calvin's belief of 'double predestination'? That's the only thing you can take issue with, but I wonder if anyone ever died so. However, even if someone was executed for denying double predestination, isn't he guilty of rejecting God's word in that direction, since there are clearly words in the Bible that support double predestination? If you deny the double predestination, you have to say that man can be saved by his own determination. But isn't that a claim that clearly violates the Bible?

 

The typical example that the people like to mention when they say of Calvin's faults is Michael Servetus, who stubbornly opposed the doctrine of Trinity and was burned to death. Isn't this man the one who intended to serve a god other than the God the Bible testifies? How does the Bible tell you to punish those who seduce people to secretly serve other gods? Doesn't it say that you must put them to death without pity even if they are your family? In my judgment, Calvin did not execute those who had different faith from Calvin's personal faith but those who lived a life that the Bible forbade. This is a legitimate act in the eyes of God and a good attitude of a faithful servant of God.

 

The leader needed in the kingdom of God (in the church) is a man faithful to the principles (the laws) of Christianity, never a hypocritical man of dereliction who does not punish wicked men to show off his meekness and generosity. Why did God chose Calvin and make him the teacher for hundreds of millions of Christians? Calvin's motto was: "As the Bible says!" So God called him to be his servant. I wonder if pastor Kim has ever read Calvin's work, Institutes of the Christian Religion. Calvin is not a man just anyone can criticize.

 

The sermon you gave yesterday damaged Calvin's reputation and hurt the pride of many Presbyterians who follow him. Your sermon was not a decent sermon.

 

From today, do not unfairly criticize servants of God who faithfully follow the words of the Bible, and do not condemn servants of God who do their best to keep the orthodox doctrines. Take a new direction of your sermons and try to interpret the words of the Bible rightly so that your sermons may be in the basic spirit of the whole Bible and in the orthodox doctrines and may be good sermons for the contemporary believers.