Evangelist Tom Gilliam Exposed Part 3 - Calvinist in Sheep's Clothing

Tom Gilliam is a travelling evangelist. He preaches works salvation. This post is intended to reveal the deep heresy of Calvinism in which he is rooted. The following post will examine his Calvinist leanings from his own words. You can find his false gospel here: part 1 and part 2.

Calvinism has an acronym TULIP to describe its doctrinal positions.

T = Total Depravity

U = Unconditional Election

L = Limited Atonement

I = Irresistible Grace

P = Perseverance of the Saints

Each point is not based on the Bible and can be easily refuted. I will break it down into categories below to show evidences that he is teaching all of these points. He is a five-point Calvinist. These five points overlap, so the material below will often overlap with each other.

Unconditional Election

He denies the free will of man in salvation, the ability of man to actively put his faith in Christ to be saved. Instead, Gilliam asserts that faith is "given" to man so he can be saved. From a blog post on January 10, 2015:

...that believing is a miracle of revelation that must be given by God before exercised by man. Salvation is of The Lord.

And from 8/7/12:

Let us begin today in II Peter 1:1-3 to muse upon one of Peter’s precious pictures he calls precious faith. The word precious means rare, valuable beyond calculation, and one-of-a-kind. Faith is an unusual item. It is a gift from God, given only to His people.

Reiterated on 7/11/12:

All that transpires in regeneration (the ability, willingness, life, faith, repentance) comes from our Lord. Is it given to all men? The old evangelist said if our Lord gave it to all as a gift they would all do it.

Calvinism teaches that our own faith is a work, that if we think we got saved because we put our faith in Christ we're committing works salvation. Romans 4:5 says, "But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." The example in Romans 4:5 is a man who has faith but no works, which must necessarily mean that faith is not a work. The Bible says in John 3:18, "He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." I missed the part in that verse where it was talking about God giving belief. We escape hell by belief in the Son of God. Our faith saves us.

"Belief" is not given by God; eternal life is. Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Ephesians 2:8 says, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God." What is the gift of God? Salvation or eternal life. Who is it given to? Those who put their faith in Jesus Christ. Is that too hard to understand? I challenge anyone to find a passage that refers to faith as a "gift" from God.

And wouldn't it be completely pointless to tell people to believe the gospel? What good would that do to people if they "can't believe," that it must be "given" to them? It all makes perfect sense when you combine this Calvinist teaching with the sermon I reviewed in an earlier post. He never mentions "believe on the Lord Jesus Christ" to be saved. He believes God "makes" you believe. God said whosoever desires this water, the bread, Christ's flesh, let him take of it freely! Salvation is offered freely as a gift. So why doesn't Gilliam ever refer to it as such?

Here is a post from 8/29/13:

Let us muse again today from Matthew 2:15 and theme of Jesus King. Our Lord sending Jesus and His earthly family down to Egypt would lay the groundwork for Hosea 11:1 to come to pass. The Bible says in this text out of Egypt have I called my Son. I give Him all the glory that I too am a fulfillment of holy Scriptures. I was placed in Christ before the foundation of the world even before I was born into this world. He planned before time to call me, save me, justify me, sanctify me, and as Paul says I have already been glorify[sic] when he said I have been made to sit present tense in heavenly places.

All of the quotes used thus far demonstrate the teaching of "unconditional election," that there is absolutely nothing you do to be saved - God merely chooses you to be saved, and it's done. There is a condition on salvation - if you believe.

I guess God saved Bro. Gilliam before he got saved! What an irrational and illogical theology. If a Calvinist believes he is saved prior to believing on Jesus Christ, then what is the point of calling upon the name of the Lord? Is believing on Christ simply a formality with no real purpose? God did plan before time to save everyone, because Jesus Christ is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. And Christ made an atonement for the sins of the whole world. The Bible says God is not willing that any should perish, and Christ's sacrifices is sufficient for all to be saved - but only if they believe. But He does not choose who goes to hell or who goes to heaven before the foundation of the world. He wants everyone to be saved. God has already made His choice: everyone. But a person must respond in faith to the gospel's invitation to be saved.

Ephesians 1:13 says, "In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise." You're saved the moment you believe the gospel, not before. You are not saved before you believe. The Bible teaches we are born again, regenerated at the moment of belief. Calvinism teaches we are regenerated far before that. So, according to Calvinism, an outright atheist could go to heaven if he is "chosen." No, faith is necessary. Faith is the victory. God promised eternal life to any who will believe on His Son.

Irresistible Grace

Gilliam again asserts that man has absolutely no role in salvation in a post on 6/11/13:

It is He who does the deciding and not man. Man is entirely passive, the Holy Spirit is entirely sovereign regulating exactly whom He wills to be saved. Consequently John could say that the children of God or born not of natural decent nor of human decision or by the natural will of decision but they are born of God.

This is a teaching of "irresistible grace," which says that when God decides to save someone in his sovereign will, man is utterly unable to resist the Spirit's drawing to salvation. Did you know the word "sovereign" never occurs a single time in the entire Bible? I do believe God is all powerful, but he is not in control of everything in this world. Man can resist the gospel. Read in Acts 7:51: "Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye." You can't resist something unless it's already trying to pull you in... need I say anything else or does the Scripture speak loudly enough? Irresistible grace is a bunk doctrine.

2 Corinthians 4:4 talks about the "god of this world" blinding people from believing the gospel. The god of this world is the devil. Are you telling me the devil and God are working together to stop people from believing? God wants all men to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4, 2 Peter 3:9, 1 John 2:2, John 3:16). How can I know that God truly saved me if my own faith is irrelevant to salvation? How can a Calvinist know he has been "picked" by God to be saved? Because he has works? That's works salvation! Did I just "wake up" saved one day? Of course salvation is conditional. Philip wouldn't baptize the Eunuch until he believed. "What doth hinder me to be baptized?" Philip replied to him, "If thou believest with all thine heart thou mayest." It's the Eunuch's faith that justified him before God - not the faith God supposedly "gave" him! "If" is a conditional word. "If" we believe, we will be saved! Salvation is not unconditional. You must believe on Christ.

1 Thessalonians 4:14: For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

The Calvinist is quick to point out there's absolutely nothing you can do to be saved. Even the faith necessary to be saved is given to you. But then he'll say if you haven't repented of your sins, you're still lost. Or if you haven't given up worldly lusts, you're lost. If you don't endure until the end, you're lost. They say one thing, then say another. The Bible says in 1 John 5:13 that these were written "that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God." You can know if you have eternal life - if you believe on Jesus Christ! It's that simple, so why is he trying to make it so hard to determine whether you're saved or not? If you believe, you're saved. It's that easy.

Total Depravity 

In a post on 5/2/12:

Let us muse again today from Ephesians 2:1 and the before and after picture of grace. We are looking at the position of humanity. Our text tells us also that it is a depraved state. The rotting flesh of this corpse verse one tells us can do nothing but trespasses and sin.

Gilliam is pushing the "T" in Calvinism here, "total depravity" of man. This teaches that everyone, including children are depraved until God "chooses" them to be saved. A dictionary definition of this word tell us it means "utterly reprehensible." There is no way every person in this world is depraved, perverted, or reprehensible. "Depraved" is not found in the Bible, but "reprobate" is. The two are synonymous. Not everyone in this world is reprobate or depraved. The Bible says reprobate people are rejected by God for salvation; read Romans 1. These are people are who given up to uncleanness and unnatural affections. Is he still willing to say kids are depraved, too? I would say everyone is a sinner, but I won't say everyone is depraved. How would we even distinguish an average sinner from the Jeffrey Dahmer types? Not everybody is a homosexual, serial rapist/murder. And even unsaved people can keep parts of the law of God, such as not committing adultery, divorce, or murder. This doctrine of Calvinism teaches that everyone is a sick, vile, twisted sinner - great way to win somebody to Christ, right? Tell them they're a degenerate, low-down, depraved scumbag. That's very loving. You don't have to view yourself as the scum of the earth in order to be saved. Simply acknowledge you are a sinner that deserves hell - nothing more. God does not expect you to weep and grovel over your past sins. The gospel is good news, not bad news. Believe on Christ and all your sins are forgiven!

Reprobates are rejected by God, and yes, they are utterly depraved and unable to acknowledge the truth of the gospel - ever. But only a minority of people have become reprobate. And even before a person became reprobate, God loved him and wanted him to be saved. The Bible says that "God so loved the world that He gave His only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." God is not willing that any should go to hell, but that all men should believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. God wants every one to be saved and has even provided the propitiation to do so. But it's our faith that makes us whole again, our faith in Jesus Christ. Revelation 22:17 says, "And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." Whosoever wants to be saved of their own free will, simply put your faith in Christ. God has already made his choice. Now man has to make his choice: either reject or accept Jesus Christ.

Limited Atonement

A post from 8/10/13:

The word "save" means to clear from the punishment, guilt of sin, and the evil powers it holds over its captives. Will Christ do this for all? The text says he will do it for His people. He is the kinsman redeemer having established kinship with His people before time began. Let us remember God never saves anyone against their will but they will never be saved until He makes them willing according to Psalms 110:3. No man’s will has ever gotten free enough from its fallen nature to choose God apart from being made willing by Him who saves His people from their sins.

Gilliam outright denies that Jesus Christ died for everyone. He says that Christ only died for some - His people. This is the teaching of "limited atonement." 1 John 2:2 says that Christ is the propitiation for the sins of saved people, and not just us, but also for the sins of the whole world. 1 Timothy 4:10 says, "For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe." Whole must not mean whole, and all must not mean all in Gilliam's vocabulary. Again, let's hit this heresy out of the park, 2 Peter 2:1 says, "But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction." God even purchased the false prophets who would not believe on His Son. The sacrifice of Christ was for all people, even the unsaved. If you want to be saved, simply trust Him.

Limited atonement teaches that Jesus Christ did not die for the sins of the whole world. Rather, He died only for those He chose to be saved. How can a Calvinist truly know he's saved if he can't even claim to have believed on Jesus Christ to be saved? To say that the blood is limited in whose sins it can wash away is to say that you can't know for sure if you were picked to be saved. Therefore, a Calvinist will look to see if he "perseveres" or endures in the faith until the end of his Christian life to see if he was truly saved, ergo, works salvation. Calvinists often examine one's works rather than one's beliefs to see if he is saved.

God does not "make" us willing. Psalm 110:3 says, "Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth." In the entire context of Psalm 110, it's a prophetic passage regarding the earthly rule of Jesus Christ. Does the verse say "thy people shall be made willing"? And where does it say that these people are made willing to believe on Jesus Christ? This verse isn't even close to being about salvation. Those who twist the Scriptures like to take prophetic or harder-to-understand verses and pervert them to prop up their false doctrine.

Jesus said in John 11:26, "And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?" Why would Christ even ask that question if it's impossible for a man to believe of his own free will or choice? That would be a cruel joke if the God of the universe has already chosen a person to hell and is asking him if he wants to believe. That's sick. Romans 10:10 says that "whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Whosoever means you, me, or anyone else. 1 Timothy 4:2 says, "[God] will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth." God's will is that all will believe! But His will doesn't come to pass. Why is that the case? Because salvation is conditional on if you believe. Can such a simple truth as this really have evaded Brother Gilliam for so long?

The following quotes are from an "In Christ" series dated 5/26/05 and a "Portraits of the Trinity" series dated 7/12/11:

How could I boast in my salvation? The Bible tells us in Ephesians 2:1, “And you hath He quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins." The word ‘dead’ is the word for a corpse. Can a corpse boast in having done anything? All I could do is glory in the Lord who has raised me from the deadness of my sins. How could I boast in the thought of me accepting Him by an act of my will? The Bible says in I Corinthians 2:14, “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God…” Is not our will of choice a part of the natural man? Paul tells us in Romans 9, “So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.” The only thing that I might boast in is the Lord who has made me willing in the ‘day of His power.' (Psalm 110:3) Everything I did in salvation was done because the Lord did it first causing me to do what I did.

God does exercise control over who gets salvation, when they get salvation, and how they get salvation. To Him be all the glory! 

Gilliam calls accepting Christ "boasting." If Bro. Gilliam asks me how I know how I'm going to heaven, and I tell him I put my faith in Jesus Christ, he would call me a boaster. Ephesians 2:8 says it's by grace are ye saved by faith. It does not say that you are saved because God picks you to be saved. If Gilliam and Calvinism are correct, why would God add the formality of "believing on Jesus Christ" if it has no meaning? If God has already chosen a person to be saved, what's the point in their believing on Christ? Fortunately for Gilliam, he was one of the lucky few that God picked to be saved. Who's the boaster now, Bro. Gilliam?

Perseverance of the Saints

The last point about his Calvinist leanings is his teaching on "perseverance." Here is a post from 9/20/2009:

The ear of faith given only through the New Birth is so important when dealing with spiritual things. All faith begins with God giving us the ears of our heart and the ability to hear God speak. There is a promise made to those who can hear. It is ‘he that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death’. For the one who walks faithfully with our Lord to the end, death will not come near you. To be absent here will mean that I am present there. The Bible said that Enoch walked with God 300 years and he ‘was not’ for God took him. It will be a glad day when we will be ‘was nots.'

The "P" of TULIP is "perseverance of the saints." As a Baptist and Bible-believer, I hold to preservation of the saints. What does preservation mean? It means that we are preserved in Christ by the sealing of the Holy Spirit. We are closed in His hands. We are eternally secure by order of His promise of everlasting life, that we shall not come under condemnation. Once sealed, always preserved!

Not all saints persevere until the end of their lives. We know Samson and Saul did not, yet they are in heaven today.  I believe in eternal security of the soul, that once you're saved, you're always saved. No matter how many sins you commit, you will have been forgiven of all of them the moment you placed your faith in Christ. You cannot lose your salvation for any reason. Your home in heaven is a permanent guarantee. In John 11:26, Jesus told us, "And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?" What a comforting thought, that my actions in my life do not indicate or validate my salvation, but rather the promise of God is what keeps me until the end. But as a side note, Christ asked, "believest thou this?" I thought belief was given to an individual! Why would Christ ask someone if he or she believes... somebody needs to introduce Jesus Christ to John Calvin.

Gilliam mentions those persevere until the end are those who overcome. Who is he that "overcometh"? Brother Gilliam's mind must have slipped for a second. That, or he didn't read his Bible. Here are the people who overcome:

1 John 5:4-5: For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

How do I overcome until the end? By walking faithfully in obedience with God? No... if you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, you've already overcome! Your - I repeat, YOUR - faith has overcome the world! It says "our" in the verse above - possessive. Not God's "faith" that He gives us; our faith. If you believe in Christ, you've overcome. You will not be harmed by the second death, the lake of fire. It is not dependent on how you live your life. Salvation is a free gift. Gilliam can't do a simple word search to find out what "overcome" means.

Lastly, here's a post where he assaults "once saved, always saved" on 5/20/10:

Let us begin today to muse from Colossians 1:23a and a great verse on the subject of Perseverance. Do not confuse the doctrine of eternal security with perseverance. Many who teach eternal security, once saved always saved, lean towards a belief that even if you live your whole life in sin you will still end up in Heaven. Paul, in verse 23a, deals with a Definite Perseverance in the phrase, ‘if ye continue in the faith’. The word ‘if’ here when used with this particular verb tense means ‘you will assuredly do.' The one who is truly saved will assuredly continue to live in the faith. It is not a question of ‘if you do this or that’ you will be saved. But it is a question of because you are saved ‘you will do this or that.'

If I live my whole life in sin but I've believed on Jesus Christ, according to Gilliam, I can't make it into heaven. I don't know how many other ways I can prove that he believes in works salvation. He states that if you are truly saved, you will inevitable endure until the end of your life. He is pushing the perseverance of the saints. This doctrine teaches that if a person does not endure in the faith until the end of his life, he was never really saved to begin with. So salvation is about enduring until the end? Which part of "not of works" does Gilliam not understand? Your works have absolutely no role in your salvation, before or after. How does a Calvinist know he is saved? By examining his works, by whether he endures until the end of his life. A Calvinist, like Gilliam, is looking to his works to validate his salvation rather than his personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

I bring up Saul and Samson once more. They did not persevere until the end of their lives, yet they are in heaven today. Both of them committed suicide after God judged them for their wickedness by allowing them to be captured into the hands of their enemies. I thank God that no matter how I live my life, whether I walk with Him until the end or not, my salvation is settled by the simple promise that He made me, "Neither shall they perish." My salvation is kept and preserved until the end by the promise of God, not my own perseverance. It's not by works!

Concluding Remarks on Gilliam and Calvinism

It is clear that Tom Gilliam is a works-salvation Calvinist. You can scroll through his blog and website and easily find many more Calvinist references. If you are a true Baptist, you will reject this man's wicked teachings. If you believe in faith alone as the way to heaven, you should have no fellowship with this heretic.

I find it remarkable that some people can read the Bible and come to the conclusion that they were special enough to be chosen to be saved. What arrogance! What pride, what boasting! "Oh, God loved me so much he chose me and not you! I'm going to heaven simply because I was lucky enough to be selected! I hit the jackpot!"
And it's men like Tom Gilliam, who I've listened to time after time, that causes me to truly want to push the Calvinists further away. They stick their noses in books written by Calvin and Spurgeon and think that they are getting closer to God. Actually, they're getting more acquainted with the devil, who is the author of Calvinism. To assert that God damns most and saves a few purely out of His own will is disgusting. The god of Calvinism is a sick monster. It's reprehensible because it goes against every single passage in the New Testament, against a loving God who does NOT will that people go to hell. He has made such an easy way out of hell, by providing the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ, Who paid for our penalty of sin by enduring the wrath of God. The gospel is powerful to those who believe it. It's easy to go to heaven. But it's our decision on whether we believe. To deny that we have no role in salvation is to deny the very act in how we are saved: by placing our faith alone in the shed blood of Christ alone.

Brother Gilliam, muse on this: you're going to hell. Repent of your dead works and Calvinist gospel and put all your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. You don't need to turn from your sins, you don't need to read anymore of John Calvin, you don't need to endure until the end of your life, but simply believe that Christ paid for your sins and you will be saved. He is waiting for you to call upon Him. He already wants you to be saved. But he can't save you if you're going about to establish your own righteousness.