Four Implications of Calvinism
by Mark Huss
©Fundamental Evangelistic Association
CALVINISM - preachers
preach it, authors write of it, seminary students discuss it, and theologians
pass it on to others. By all appearances, Calvinism, or its more popular name,
the "Doctrines of Grace," looks and sounds biblical to many. . .but is it? Writing to the church at
The purpose of this article
is to analyze certain implications of Calvinism in light of biblical revelation
and to call back those who have left God’s pure Word to pursue the alloy of
human wisdom which John Calvin and his followers teach so that they might say
with the Psalmist, "Make me to understand the way of thy precepts: so
shall I talk of thy wondrous works" (Psalm 119: 27). In writing to the
church at Colasse Paul warned, "Beware lest any
man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men,
after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ" (Col. 2:8). Paul
also wrote these words of concern to the church at
Implication One: Death Before the Fall
The first
implication of Calvinism to consider deals with death and when this death
occurred.
According to John Calvin, "The reprobate like the elect are appointed to
be so by the secret council of God’s will" (Calvin’s Institutes II,
chapter xxii, page 11) and "…their doom was fixed from all eternity and
nothing in them could transfer them to a contrary class…" (Calvin’s
Institutes III, chapter iii, page 4). Also, according to Calvin, "…Not
all men are created with similar destiny but eternal life is foreordained for
some, and eternal damnation for others. Every man, therefore, being created for
one or the other of these ends, we say, he is either predestined either to life
or death" (Calvin’s Institutes III, chapter xxiii).
In John Calvin’s thinking,
God appointed some of His future creation to eternal damnation. If John Calvin
is to be believed, then we must understand that God placed death upon certain
men before the creation of man and before the fall of Adam. Is this consistent
with biblical revelation?
God, in His omniscience,
knew that death would not come into existence until Adam fell. Genesis 2:17
states, "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely
die." It was at the time of Adam’s fall that God placed death (physical
and spiritual) upon the human race, not before the creation of man, and
certainly not before man’s fall into sin. The Bible says, "Wherefore, as
by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed
upon all men, for that all have sinned" (Rom. 5:12). Death did not pass
unto men until man’s sin, "For since by man came death…" (1 Cor. 15:21). Notice also that at the time of Adam’s sin,
death (physical and spiritual) passed "upon all men" not a
"class" of men as Calvin taught. It is worth noting that the Bible
clearly teaches that men will suffer God’s eternal judgment of their sin after
they are righteously judged by God at the future Great White Throne judgment (Rev.
20:11-15). Nowhere does the Scripture teach that God has appointed certain men
to perdition prior to their creation by Him.
We know from the biblical
record that all of God’s creation was good including man, "And God saw
every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very
good…" (Gen. 1:31). We also know that God created all men for His pleasure
as Revelation 4:11 states, "For thou hast created all things, and for thy
pleasure they are and were created." Ezekiel 18:23,32
and 33:11 teach that God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked. God would
not have placed eternal death upon men and separation from Him before He
created them, and at the same time say He created them for His pleasure. Much
less would God pronounce His creation good if before its existence He had
plagued His creation with the death of certain men.
However, this is exactly what Calvin and his followers teach.
Steven Houck in his booklet
God’s Sovereignty in Salvation states, "His will is so sovereign that He
has determined just exactly what comes to pass in this world. God has
determined and appointed absolutely everything…. What is even more amazing is
that this determination took place in eternity…. Since God is the sovereign
God, Whose counsel stands forever, Whose will can never
be frustrated, and Whose purpose is not disannulled; we must conclude that His
will and determination is sovereign particularly in salvation…. For He is the
infinite Creator Who has the right and power to do with His finite creatures
exactly what he pleases. . .even with respect to eternal destiny. For since God is sovereign, His will must not only be the
determining factor in salvation, but also in everlasting destruction.
God not only selects some to be saved and glorified, but He also appoints others
to destruction" (pp. 5-7). Is this true? Did God appoint some to eternal
destruction? Did it please God to determine eternal death to some before their
creation by God? In Ezekiel 33:11, the Lord makes a very interesting statement
about Himself. He says, "Say unto them, as I live, sayeth
the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked…." Notice that
God prefaces His statement with, "As I live." How long has God lived?
The Scriptures teach that God is eternal and immutable.
. .that is, He changes not. Therefore, from eternity past (that is throughout
all of eternity and even before the creation of man) God has never had any
pleasure in the death of the wicked. How then can Houck say, "God not only
selects some to be saved and glorified, but He also appoints others to
destruction"? When man fell into sin, the two-pronged dagger of death
(physical and spiritual) entered the human race. These two points of the dagger
are not mutually exclusive of one another and never have been. To say that God
applied spiritual death to certain men prior to the fall of man not only makes
God a liar regarding His statements about His creation work, but also displays
a significant lack of trust in God’s revealed word. It is also doctrinal error
since predestination in the Scripture only concerns itself with making a
believer’s future adoption certain. Dr. H. A. Ironside
wrote concerning predestination, "It is the Father who has predestinated
us to the adoption of children. Nowhere in the Bible are people ever predestinated
to go to hell, and nowhere are people ever predestinated to go to heaven. Look
it up and see. We are chosen in Christ to share His glory for eternity, but
predestination is always to some special place of blessing. Turn to Romans
8:29. Predestinated to what? Predestinated ‘to be conformed
to the image of His Son.’ You see, predestination is not God from
eternity saying ‘This man goes to Heaven and this man goes to hell.’ No, but
predestination teaches me that when I have believed in Christ, when I have
trusted Him as my Saviour, I may know on the
authority of God that it is settled forever that some day I am to become
exactly like my Saviour" (In the Heavenlies, Expository Addresses on Ephesians, pp.
34-35). In Romans 8:29 we are told, "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." Concerning this verse, (Romans 8:29), Dr.
W. L. Pettingill wrote, "Whosoever will may
come. He [man] is only to come, and God does all the rest. God will…undertake
for him, and thereafter see to it that all things work together for good unto
him. This is His eternal purpose which He purposed before the world was…. The
word ‘for’ in verse 29, has the force of ‘because’ and
it introduces the reason for our assurance that all things are working together
for our good…. The past tense continues through the whole passage, although the
glorification is yet future, for God is able to count things done even when
they have not been done. Our glorification is according to His purpose, and
nothing is to be suffered to thwart His purpose. Having been
foreknown and predestinated and called and justified, we shall also be
glorified" (Bible Questions Answered, p. 374).
Predestination has nothing whatsoever to do with sending certain people to
heaven and others to damnation as Calvin taught. Predestination’s purpose
(according to Scripture) is to conform the believer to
the image of God’s Son. Mark G. Camron, a Baptist
leader and professor wrote, "Scripture teaches that God has predestinated
those who have believed (and those who will believe) to be conformed to the
image of His Son. In other words, it is the plan of God, determined beforehand,
that every believer is going to be made like unto the Lord Jesus Christ…. God
has determined that those who are saved are going to be like His Son" (The
New Testament. . .A Book-by-Book Survey, pp. 200-201).
C. H. Spurgeon declared, "Mark then, with care, that OUR CONFORMITY TO
CHRIST IS THE SACRED OBJECT OF PREDESTINATION" (Treasury of the New
Testament, Vol. II, p. 72; emphasis Spurgeon’s). This conformity to the
image of Jesus Christ will take place when the body is redeemed at Christ’s
future appearing and this will be the time of our adoption. Romans 8:23 says,
"And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits
of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the
adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body." Ephesians 1:5 says,
"Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to
himself, according to the good pleasure of his will." This verse explains
that the believer is predestined to adoption. However, as mentioned, adoption
is defined for us in Romans 8:23 as future, occurring at the redemption of our
body. Adoption is what we are predestined for. Adoption is receiving the full
privileges of being a child of God, whereas presently we only have the firstfruits of the Spirit. Adoption is not our salvation.
We are born again into the family of God, not adopted. The belief that adoption
and the new birth are the same thing is error and is
not the teaching of God’s Word. Adoption takes place when a believer receives
his glorified body and is conformed to the image of God’s Son. Writing on the
subject of adoption the well known Baptist pastor I. M. Haldeman
explained, "There are great facts concerning us as believers which relate
us to the dispensation of the fullness of times…. He has predestinated us to
the place of sons in that dispensation, as it is written (Ephesians one)…. The
expression, ‘the adoption of children’ in the Greek is uiothesia….
The compound word, therefore, signifies ‘son placing.
. .the place of a son.’ Thus, as believers, we have been
predestinated in that coming dispensation to the place of sons" (The
Book of the Heavenlies, pp. 4-5).
The teaching of
predestination by Calvin and his followers is clearly in contradiction to
biblical revelation. Recognizing there are only two chapters in Scripture where
the words predestinate or predestinated are found (Romans 8:29-30; Ephesians
1:5,11) and understanding that there is no reference in these four verses to
Heaven or hell, but only to believers ultimate conformity to Jesus Christ, John
Calvin’s teaching on predestination must be rejected. It is human wisdom
attempting to mix itself with God’s pure Word. Let us close the first
implication with the clear, succinct teaching of former pastor Edward Drew.
"People have had it drilled into them that away in the past God
foreordained [predestined] that certain people should be lost and certain
others should be saved. I would like to get that out of your minds this
morning. Just let me begin by saying that that isn’t in the Bible…. God’s
predestination is not salvation. God’s predestination is that those who receive
the Lord shall be like the Lord Jesus. That is predestination and nothing else
is. God from the beginning, by His foreknowledge, predestinated that every
believer should be made like Christ, and nothing else
in the Book is predestination. That predestination is that God ordained one to
be saved and another to be lost in hell eternally is not within the covers of
this Book…. God has ordained from the foundation of the world that if you will
trust His Son, He will make you like His Son. That is what we have here…. Those
whom God predestinated to be like Christ, He called out. . .not before He saved
them, but when He saved them, He called them out to be like Him…. It isn’t that
God called you and didn’t call somebody else. God’s predestination is being
worked out now. In eternity past He determined that you should be like Jesus,
and now that you are saved He calls you out, that while you are here you should
show forth the Lord Jesus Christ" (Morning message on Romans 8: 29-32;
March 1, 1942).
Implication Two: Man’s Will Is Non-Existent
The second implication of
Calvinism deals with mankind’s unique ability to choose. John Calvin says,
"The only time free-will might be reasonably asserted to have existed was
in Adam before the fall. Adam could have resisted if he would, since he fell
merely by his own will. In this integrity man was endowed with free-will, by
which, if he had chosen, he might have obtained eternal life." Notice that
Calvin emphatically stated that if man ever had a free-will it was only true of
Adam. However, he goes on to make it clear that even Adam never had free-will
to choose. "Nevertheless, there is no reality in the free-will thus
attributed to man, in as much as God had decreed the fall, and therefore must
have in some wise already biased Adam’s will. It was not left in neutral
equilibrium, nor was his future ever in suspense or uncertainty. It was certain
that sooner or later Adam would fall into evil, and with that inevitable fall
there disappeared every trace of the free-will which man may have had. From
that time the will became corrupt along with the whole of nature. Man no longer
possessed the capacity to choose between good and evil" (Calvin’s
Institutes II, chapter iv, page 8). Is Calvin’s
teaching that man has no free-will consistent with biblical revelation?
In Genesis chapter two,
Adam (before the fall) is told by God to keep His commandment, "…of every
tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the
tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt
not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest
thereof thou shalt surely die" (Genesis 2:17).
Would God require Adam to obey His command if Adam had no ability to obey? If
God had, according to Calvin’s teachings, "biased Adam’s will" to
disobey God, then God would be the responsible agent of man’s sin! God’s
biasing of Adam’s will is not found in Scripture,
rather it is a presupposition by Calvin to support his errant teaching.
Dr. S. H. Kellogg,
Presbyterian missionary to
If man lacks free-will to
carry out any decision between good and evil other than those determined in
eternity past, then man has no choice but to carry out an already determined
plan. It is important to realize that the teaching of Calvinism regarding
free-will is actually no different than what is taught by ungodly materialists,
fatalists, and others who deny any free-will in man. For example, materialistic
psychology teaches that man is at the mercy of whatever stimuli that would
appear in his environment. Dr. Thomas Szasz,
Professor of Psychiatry Emeritus, puts this view into perspective, writing,
"The materialistic interpretation of nature, as the term implies, entails
viewing all signs as the manifestations of physiochemical processes, such as
human beings observe when they look at nature. Joy and sadness, fear and
elation, anger, greed. . .all human aspirations and
passions. . .are thus interpreted as the manifestations of unintentional,
amoral, biochemical processes. In such a world, nothing is willed; everything
happens" (Insanity. . .The Idea and Its
Consequences, p. 350). This kind of thinking is no different than the
evolutionist’s idea that man is simply a product of nature; that is, nature has
determined for him to act a certain way. Interestingly, the idea that man has
no free-will is also the teaching of the New Age and other false religious
systems that say man is simply an agent by which a greater power (cosmic
conscience) acts out its will in the life of man to bring him into a
"perfect oneness." This is known as determinism (the doctrine that
outer events and human choices are the results of antecedent conditions,
physical or psychological).
Therefore Calvinism, like
most secular philosophies, actually reduces man to the level of an animal since
man, like the animal, can only carry out that which has already been determined
for him whether by God or nature. Essentially Calvinism does not recognize man
as the highest order of God’s creative work (capable of independent choice),
even though God created man in His own image. In Calvinistic thought, man
simply carries out that which God has determined, as an animal does when it
carries out its basic instincts. This is the same determinism that saturates
secular thought. For the Calvinist, the choices that one makes are not really
the choices that he thinks he makes; rather, they are predetermined choices
that God has made for him.
Calvinism also promotes the
secular doctrine of fatalism. Fatalism is the teaching that all things are
subject to fate, or that they take place by inevitable necessity. It is indeed
odd that Bible believing Christians would allow themselves
to think the same thoughts regarding predestination and free-will as those who
follow Islam and Hinduism. Samuel M. Zwemer,
writing from a vast knowledge of the Muslim mind, said, "The terminology
of their teaching is Calvinistic, but its practical effect is pure fatalism.
Most Muslim sects ‘deny all free agency in man and say that man is necessarily
constrained by the force of God’s eternal and immutable decree to act as he
does.’ God wills both good and evil; there is no escaping from the caprice of
His decree…. Fatalism has paralyzed progress; hope perishes under the weight of
this iron bondage…" (Religions of Mission Fields,
pp. 224, 245). A.S. Geden also speaks plainly
concerning fatalism. He writes, "The Muslim is a fatalist…. The Divine
will is irresistible, and has decreed in every detail the entire course of the
universe which He governs, and the fate each moment of every creature therein….
The only attitude possible for man is that of complete and passive
resignation…. Its dogma of predestination and of fate is based upon its
conception of the Divine nature…. The Divine government…leaves no room for
human free-will, forethought or choice"
(Comparative Religion, pp. 102,103). J.N.D. Anderson, an authority on Islam,
says, "A Muslim is required to believe in God’s Decrees. As we have
already seen, the orthodox belief is that everything. . .good or evil. .
.proceeds directly from the divine will, being irrevocably recorded" (The
World’s Religions, p. 82). Lastly, a statement from Nicol
MacNichol, speaking in the Wilde Lectures at Oxford,
said, "If there is no room for free choices life becomes a mere
puppet-show…. ‘The doer and the Causer to do are one,’ says the Hindu peasant,
and so saying accepts and justifies everything that happens, whether it be
called good or ill" (Is Christianity Unique? p. 56).
From Genesis to Revelation
man is continually shown to be exercising his God-given ability to choose, even
after the fall of Adam. In 1 Kings 18:21, the worshippers at
Throughout the Bible man is
seen to be responsible for his actions and accountable for his response’s to
God’s overtures. All of this indicates that man has a free-will. That this is
so obvious in both the Old and New Testaments little more needs to be said
about it. To do so would be to recount the story of man from Genesis to
Revelation. In closing the second implication it would do well to ponder the
words of M. R. Vincent, a gifted Presbyterian scholar and writer. "That
the factor of human freedom [free-will] has full scope in the divine economy is
too obvious to require proof. It appears in numerous utterances…and in the
entire drift of Scripture, where man’s power of moral choice is both asserted,
assumed, and appealed to" (Word Studies in the New Testament, Vol. III,
p. 136). Also, the author of the article on Will in The International
Standard Bible Encyclopedia helpfully points out, "The words employed
and passages cited show clearly that man is always regarded as a responsible
being, free to will in harmony with the Divine will or contrary to it. This is further shown by the various words denoting refusal"
(Vol. V, p. 3085).
Though God be good and free be heaven,
No force divine can love compel;
And though the song of sins forgiven
May sound through lowest hell,
The sweet persuasion of His voice
Respects the sanctity of will.
He giveth day: thou hast thy choice
To walk in darkness still.
. . .
Implication Three: Jesus Did Not Die for the Whole World
The third implication of
Calvinism has to do with evangelism. Calvinism teaches that only those to whom God has determined in eternity past to come,
will come. Let us remember that Calvin believed, "The reprobate like the
elect are appointed to be so…" (Calvin’s Institutes II, chapter
xxii, page 11), and "Their fate was the direct immediate appointment of
God" (Calvin’s Institutes III, chapter iii, page 4). Houck said,
"Christ did not die for everyone. He died for the elect
of God and for them alone" (Subjects of Sovereignty, p. 13).
While a Calvinist can be busy telling everyone the gospel message, he believes
that only those whom God has chosen (or elected to believe) will ultimately
believe. This means that the Calvinist can actually communicate to the
unbeliever that if he or she is not one of those chosen by God before the
foundation of the world, then Jesus Christ did not die for them and that they
cannot be saved. Houck said, "He sent Christ to die, not for all, but for
only those whom He intended to save" (ibid. p. 13). The bewilderment for
any unbeliever listening to this kind of teaching is significant. After hearing
the teaching that Jesus Christ only came to save some and not all, many
unbelievers will continue to live a life of sin rejecting the salvation message
of Jesus Christ having realized that they may not be part of the group that He
came to save. Others will reject the gospel and become the catalyst of unbelief
for many others since they have been told that the God of the Bible created
certain people predestined to hell.
As a point of historical
note, Charles Taze Russell, the founder of Jehovah’s
Witnesses, experienced this very bewilderment I have spoken of. In the book,
Jehovah’s Witnesses, Proclaimers of God’s Kingdom it
explains, "Charles’ parents sincerely believed the creeds of Christendom’s
churches and brought him up to accept them too. Young Charles was thus taught
that God is love, yet that he had created men inherently immortal and had
provided a fiery place in which he would eternally torment all except those who
had been predestined to be saved. Such an idea repulsed the honest heart of
teenage Charles. He reasoned: A God that would use his power to create human
beings whom he foreknew and predestinated should be eternally tormented, could
neither be wise, just or loving. His standard would be lower than that of many
men." The article concludes with "…turning away from church creeds
and searching for the truth…" (page 43). Did
young Charles find the truth? No he did not, and
neither have millions of other Jehovah’s Witnesses. One can only wonder how
many false cults and other heretical groups had their beginning from the ideas
of John Calvin and others who taught that God only came to die for a select
group of people.
Arno C. Gaebelein,
a well-known writer of biblical expositions as well as doctrinal and prophetic
books, and for many years the editor of Our Hope magazine, was asked to
comment on a question regarding a very pronounced Calvinistic book. The name of
the book was The Sovereignty of God by author A. W. Pink. The question
was, "Do you think Mr. Pink’s book is scriptural? I recently read this
book and it has upset me as no other book I ever read. I was attacked by
terrible doubts as to God’s justice and His very Being!" Dr. Gaebelein’s strong reply followed: "Mr. Pink used to
be a contributor to our magazine. His articles on Gleanings on Genesis are
good, and we had them printed in book form. But when he began to teach his
frightful doctrines which make the God of Love a monster we broke fellowship
with him. The book you read is totally unscriptural. It is akin to blasphemy.
It presents God as a Being of injustice and maligns
His holy character. The book denies that our blessed Lord died for the ungodly.
According to Pink’s perversions He died for the elect only. You are not the
only one who has been led into darkness by this book. Whoever the publisher is,
and whoever stands behind the circulation of such a monstrous thing has a grave
responsibility. It is just this kind of teaching which makes atheists" (Our
Hope, Vol. 37, No. 11, May 1931, p. 684).
For example, consider the
words of the famous agnostic Col. R. G. Ingersoll who
wrote over a century ago these poignant words to Christians who had saturated
themselves with Calvinistic teaching and thought. "The Bible was the real
persecutor. The Bible burned heretics, built dungeons…and trampled upon the
liberties of men. How long, O how long will mankind
worship a book? How long will they grovel in the dust before ignorant legends
of the barbaric past? How long, O how long will they pursue phantoms in a darkness deeper than death? Unfortunately for the world,
about the beginning of the sixteenth century a man by the name of Gerard
Chauvin was married to Jeanne Le Franc, and still more unfortunately for the
world, the fruit of the marriage was a son, called John Chauvin, who afterward
became famous as John Calvin…. This man forged five fetters for the brain.
These fetters he called points. That is, predestination, particular redemption,
total depravity, irresistible grace, and the perseverance of the saints. About
the neck of each follower he put a collar, bristling with these five iron
points…. Who can estimate the misery that has been caused by this most infamous
doctrine of eternal punishment? Think of the lives it has blighted.
. .of the tears it has caused. . .think of the millions that have been driven
to insanity by this most terrible of dogmas. This doctrine renders God the
basest and most cruel being in the Universe. Compared with Him, the most
frightful deities of the most barbarous and degraded tribes are miracles of
goodness and mercy. There is nothing more degrading than to worship such a God.
Lower than this the soul can never sink. If the doctrine of eternal damnation
is true let me have my portion in hell, rather than in heaven with a God
infamous enough to inflict eternal misery upon the sons of men" (From Col.
R. G. Ingersoll’s Fourty
Four Lectures Complete: Heretics and Heresies , circa 1875). It would seem
obvious that if an erudite unbeliever such as Col. R. G. Ingersoll
can see the terrible discrepancy of Calvinistic teaching that a born again
believer who is indwelt by God’s Holy Spirit should be able to do so as well.
A Calvinist must understand
that the belief system he is attached to gives the unbeliever an excuse not to
believe the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. A Christian would never give an
unbeliever any reason to remain in unbelief would he? If unbelievers are told
that God died for some, and not for all, would they question God’s love and
will for them, personally? Would not Satan use this to confuse them and keep
them from the gospel message that Jesus Christ died on the cross for their
sins? Regrettably, this is exactly what the teaching of Calvinism does. This
writer has met many angry people who have rejected the gospel because they have
understood and now believe the teaching of Calvinism that they were very
possibly not a part of the group Christ died for. Is this consistent with biblical
revelation? Are these the kinds of questions that God’s Word seeks to raise in
the minds of the lost? Certainly not! "Whosoever will…" is the
consistent biblical invitation to the lost (Revelation 22:17).
Jesus Christ has given the
church His mandate to go into all the world and preach
the gospel to every creature (Matt. 28:18-20; 2 Cor.
5:14-21). It is very clear from the Scripture that God is a saving God. From
Genesis to Revelation, God voices His desire for the lost to be saved. The
Scripture teaches, "For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God
our Saviour; Who will have
all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth" (1 Tim.
2:3, 4). Divine language cannot be made any more clear!
Who did Jesus Christ come
to save and to die for? John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world, that
he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not
perish, but have everlasting life." Romans 5:6-8 says, "For when we
were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly…. But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet
sinners, Christ died for us." The benefits of His death were directed
toward sin in providing redemption (paying our indebtedness to sin and breaking
its dominion over us). Ephesians 1:7 declares, "In whom we have redemption
through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His
grace." 1 John 2:2 states that Jesus Christ is the propitiation for the
sins of the whole world. That is, propitiation is God’s recognition of what
Jesus Christ accomplished on the cross in behalf of the world, whether man
enters into its blessings or not. To say anything different than what God’s
Word says concerning our Lord’s death and it’s application to men will not only
bring God’s reproof, "Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee,
and thou be found a liar" (Prov. 30:6), but also
God’s judgment (Rev. 22:18,19). It is important to realize that our Lord’s
death provided reconciliation towards man and the world in relation to Himself.
Second Corinthians 5:19 states, "…God was in Christ, reconciling the world
unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them." What other
conclusion can be reached but that God desires all men to be saved and has made
provision for all men to come to Him?
According to John Calvin a
sinner can only be saved if they are a part of God’s elect. However, election
in Scripture only concerns itself with service that is according to the purpose
of God. British author Dr. H. H. Rowley writes, "Whom God chooses, He
chooses for service. There is variety of service, but it is all service, and it
is all service for God…. The divine election concerns exclusively the divine
service…. Election is for service. This is not to ignore the fact that it
carries with it privilege. For in the service of God is man’s supreme privilege
and honor…. To those who willingly and consciously accept the task to which
they are called, the resources of God are open for the fulfillment of their
mission, and here again is high privilege. Yet it is never primarily for the
privilege but for the service that the elect are chosen…. Their
election is for service, and it is only valid insofar as, and so long as, they
fulfill that purpose [God’s]" (The Biblical Doctrine of Election, pp. 42,
45). M. R. Vincent, writing from his vast knowledge of Biblical
languages explains, "Election and the kindred words, to choose, and chosen
or elect, are used of God’s selection of men or agencies for special missions
or attainments; but neither here nor elsewhere in the New Testament is their
any warrant for the revolting doctrine that God has predestined a definite
number of mankind to eternal life, and the rest to destruction…. Election. .
.the act of God’s holy will in selecting His own methods, instruments, and
times for carrying out His purposes. . .is a fact of history and of daily
observation" (Word Studies in the New Testament, Vol. IV, p. 16; Vol. III,
p. 137). H. H. Hobbs clearly states, "When reduced to its simplest
elements election is twofold. first, God elected a
plan of salvation which He accomplished in Christ. Man may either reject this
plan or accept it…. Secondly, God elected a people to make known His plan of
salvation…. Thus election is to both salvation and evangelism. In both, the free-will of man determines the final result" (What
Baptists Believe, pp. 106-107). That is, by free-will a man can
believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved, yet doubt God’s elective purpose
for him resulting in a fruitless and barren life for the Saviour.
Conversely, he who is saved can believe in God’s elective purpose resulting in
a fruitful and productive life for the Saviour. The
apostle Paul realized God’s elective purpose for him and so have many other
faithful believers throughout church history. Like Paul, all believers should
understand God’s elective purpose for them. Quoting Dr. Rowley once again he
says, "To be the elect of God is not to be His pampered favorite. It is to
be challenged to a loyalty and a service and a sacrifice that knows no limits….
Just as the prophets in the moment of their consciousness of their election to
their office felt a trembling humility and a burning sense of the task to which
they were called, so should all the elect who compromise the Church of Christ
feel an ever renewed humility of spirit and wonder at the greatness of their
privilege, together with a burning of heart at the greatness and urgency of the
task to which they are elect…. And when a Church turns in on itself and becomes
a mutual improvement society, and regards itself as a little
In Ephesians 1:4 the
Scripture teaches that the saints are chosen in Him to be holy and without
blame before him in love, not chosen to salvation. Robert McClurkin
writes, "We are not chosen to be put into Christ, ‘but chosen in Him’….
God places every believer ‘in Christ’ to share His election. Christ is God’s
Elect, ‘Mine Elect in whom My soul delighteth’
[Isaiah 42:1]. He was elected to fulfill a mission and to perform a task…. Keep
in mind then that election is ‘in Christ.’ We are not among the elect until we
come into Christ by repentance and faith" (Biblical Balance on Election
and Free Will, pp. 29,40). Living holy lives and doing
those good works that God has created us for in this present age of grace is
God’s elective purpose for His saints. How will this be accomplished? By allowing the Spirit of God to have His way in our life so that a
consecrated and obedient walk before Him is the result. Ephesians 2:10
explains, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good
works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." (See
also Titus 2:14; 3:8; 3:14).
The doctrine of Election is
dynamic Biblical truth that correctly orients all believers to the purposes of
God, and as such, demands responsibility and decision.
If men are not elected or
chosen to salvation as John Calvin taught then how are men to be saved?
Galatians 3:8 says that, "…God would justify the heathen through
faith…." Faith is the means for salvation and Jesus Christ has provided
the way of salvation. Faith always has an object and for the sinner this will
be Jesus Christ and His work on the cross for them. Men put their faith on the
perfect finished sacrifice of our great God and Saviour
Jesus Christ whose blood was shed for them for the remission of their sins and
who rose again bodily from the grave. This salvation is given to anyone who
will admit his lost condition as a sinner. Then when he, by faith, receives the
Lord Jesus as the one who died for him and rose again, he shall be saved from
the guilt and penalty of sin.
How does faith come? Dr. C.
I. Scofield explains, "There are three things,
grace, faith, salvation, and these are all the gift of God. But here is the
significant fact, dear friends, here begins your responsibility: of this
wonderful trio. . .grace, faith, salvation. . .you
have already received the gift of faith. Now you are saying: ‘If I have faith,
if already God has given me faith, why am I not
saved?’ Because you have not used it rightly. . .that
is all…. Dear friends, do not make difficulties about things where there are no
difficulties. Faith is a gift and you have it" (In Many Pulpits With C.
I. Scofield, pp. 90-91). Dr. H. A. Ironside said, "Faith is the gift of God…. All men may
have faith [in Christ Jesus] if they will; but alas, many refuse to hear the
Word of God, so they are left in their unbelief. The Holy Spirit presents the
Word, but one may resist His gracious influence. On the other hand, one may
listen to the Word and believe it. That is faith. It is God’s gift, it is true, because given through His Word" (Full
Assurance, pp. 98-99).
A Calvinist will teach that
if man expresses his faith toward God and His Word (regarding salvation) it
would be a work of man. But faith defined in Scripture is not a work. Romans 4:5 clearly teaches, "But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth
the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." The teaching of
Ephesians 2:8,9 is also clear, "For by grace are
ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not
of works, lest any man should boast." Commenting on these verses
Washington Gladden said, "What says the text? ‘By grace are you saved
through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God’…the pronoun
translated ‘that’ cannot refer to faith, and must refer to salvation by grace.
Read the next verse. ‘Not of works, lest any man should
boast.’ What is not of works, faith, or salvation? To say that faith is
not of works, is nonsense; to argue that salvation is not of works, is to do just what Paul is doing. The grace of God, the
pardon and sympathy and help of God, is God’s free gift; it is nothing that we
have earned or merited; it is gratuity…. The act of accepting salvation is
surely man’s act, and that act is faith. The free act of God in bestowing
salvation is grace; the free act of man in accepting it is faith" (A
Homiletic Encyclopedia, R. A. Bertram, editor, p. 32).
J. F. Strombeck
in his book, Shall Never Perish writes concerning faith, "There is no
merit in faith. If there was the slightest merit in faith, it could not be a
channel through which grace could work. It would be a counter agent to grace
which, by its very nature excludes merit on the part of the saved one. Faith
does not only exclude the thought of merit, it actually includes the idea of
helplessness and hopelessness. In faith one calls upon another to do that which
one is unable to do for oneself. A child in the family
is sick and near death. The family physician is called. In so doing the parents
confess their own inability to deal with the illness and express their
confidence in the doctor. There is no merit in calling the doctor. Their faith
in the doctor merely gives him the opportunity to work. The object of the sinners faith is Christ. [Hebrews 11:1 states, "Now
faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not
seen"]. He did not come into the world to help men to be saved. He came to
save that which was lost. . .that which was beyond all
human help. As Savior, He came to give His life as a ransom.
. .to die, and thereby take upon Himself the judgment for sin.
Jesus gave a clear
illustration of what faith in Him means. He said to Nicodemus: "As Moses
lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted
up: that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal
life" (John 3:14,15). The Israelite in the
wilderness showed his faith by looking on the serpent of brass that hung on the
pole (see Num. 21:5-9). In this one act of faith was expressed a confession of
sin and utter helplessness and an acknowledgment that God’s provision was his
only hope. He did not understand the significance of the serpent, nor why it
was made of brass. He did not analyze his faith to see if it was sufficient. He
did not question the intensity of his look. He surely claimed no merit for
looking. There were just two things in his mind: his own absolute hopelessness
and the sufficiency of God’s provision. And this is all that there is to that
faith through which the lost are saved. There is no power in faith that
contributes to salvation…. Sometimes one hears sinners invited to come to the
cross and lay their sin burden there. If this were possible, it might be contended
that faith is a work, but even this is impossible. No person can take the sin
burden off of himself. The sin burden must always rest upon a person and it
stays on the sinner until it is taken and placed upon Christ and that can be
done only by God. "The Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all"
(Isa. 53:6).
If man is totally incapable
of doing anything to remove the sin burden from himself, he is much more
incapable of contributing anything to the doing of all of the things already
mentioned as being true of the one who is saved. Through faith (that is the
acknowledgment of one’s own utter helplessness and hopelessness and the casting
of one’s self upon God’s provision) God is able to act in grace. That is the
meaning of: "It is of faith that it might be by grace." That is also
the meaning of: "As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become
the sons of God" (John 1:12). The meaning of faith then,
as well as the meaning of grace, excludes every possible vestige of human
merit" (John Strombeck, Shall Never Perish,
pp. 25-28). Romans 10:17 is clear about the origin of faith when it
says, "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of
God." It is clear from the Scripture that man is the one who must hear and
believe. John 5:24 says, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My Word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath
everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from
death unto life." If the Word of God is distorted and the gospel is skewed
by saying only certain ones can believe and Jesus Christ may not have died for
them, then man will not hear and faith will not come. That is, man will not
apply his faith to the redemptive work of Jesus Christ for him. The unbeliever
is then given an excuse not to believe.
Why would any believer ever
want this to be an end result? Biblical revelation contradicts Calvin’s
teaching and understanding of the gospel and its application to men.
Implication Four: God’s Judgment Is Distorted
The fourth implication of
Calvinism pertains to the timing of God’s judgment. John Calvin taught that
before the world began God had already declared eternal judgment on some for
reasons man cannot understand. Calvin teaches, "Who then shall be saved?
That is what His sovereign will decides and nothing else. It is purely a matter
of the divine sovereign will which, doubtless for good reasons known to God
Himself, but none of them relative to anything distinguishing one man morally
from another, chooses some and rejects the rest" (Calvin’s Institutes
III, chapter xxiii, page 10). A Calvinist will make God judge man and his
sin before God’s time of judgment as given in His Word. This judgment,
according to Calvin, will not be relative to anything that would morally
distinguish one man from another, but rather is purely a matter of God’s will.
Is this what the Scripture teaches?
It is true that God has
judged sin throughout history. One only has to recall the "great
deluge" of Genesis chapter six, or the death of Jesus Christ on the cross
of
A Calvinist would believe
that those who are described as "cast into the lake of fire" are
those who, before the foundation of the world, were decreed by God to be there.
Is this true? No, it is not! According to the Bible, men will be judged to the
lake of fire because their name was not found written in the Book of Life. . .
"And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the
lake of fire" (Rev. 20:15). The Scripture also teaches that men are judged
according to their works (Rev. 20:13). According to the Scripture, an
unbeliever’s judgment is qualified by God in two ways: first, his works; and
second, his name being found in the Book of Life. Nowhere in Scripture can we
find the false teaching that God in eternity past decreed some to the lake of fire.
According to Jesus Christ, the lake of fire was prepared for the devil and his
angels (Matt. 25:41) who fell from their right standing with God before the
fall of man. That is, the original intent of the lake of fire (prior to man’s
fall into sin) was punishment for Satan and his angels because of their
rebellion against God. After the fall of man into sin at Eden, God broadened
the lake of fire to include those of the human race who would choose not to
believe in God’s promised redeemer effectively taking their names out of the
book of life and proving their unbelief by their works (Genesis 3:15). This is
worth noting since nowhere in Scripture do we find a place of eternal residence
other than the lake of fire and the New Jerusalem prepared as a bride adorned
for her husband (Rev. 21:2). It is also revealing since it tells us that God
never had any desire or plan for mankind other than for man to always be with
Him. This truth is consistent with Scripture (1 Tim. 2:3-6; 2 Pet. 3:9; Acts
17:30; John 3:16-17; Ezekiel 33:11). Indeed, an unbeliever’s eternal residence
will be the lake of fire, but not because our Lord decreed it to be!
Regrettably, some will be
lost, but God will not be the agent of their perdition. They are the ones who
by their works have proven they knew not the Saviour
and are thus cast into the lake of fire. Presently, God is acting in mercy and
grace and is not dispensing such judgment until the Great White Throne. God has
not consigned anyone to the lake of fire as yet. The Calvinist believes and
teaches that God has already judged some to the lake of fire, even before their
creation by God. It is true that God will be the judge, but not until grace and
mercy have been expended, the tribulation has come and gone, and Jesus Christ
has reigned on the earth for one thousand years. Until then, His grace and
mercy are extended to man. 2 Peter 3:9 says, "The Lord…is longsuffering to
us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to
repentance." In other words, God is longsuffering to us (giving us who
know Him time to proclaim the message of salvation) so that others might be
saved. The Scripture teaches this in 2 Corinthians 5:14-21. It says, "For
the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus
judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: And that he died for all,
that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him
which died for them, and rose again. Wherefore henceforth know we no man after
the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth
know we him no more. Therefore if any man be in
Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold,
all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to
himself by Jesus Christ and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To
wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself,
not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of
reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did
beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. For
he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the
righteousness of God in him." The love of Christ and the duty that accompanies
our being an ambassador for Him requires us to proclaim God’s reconciliation to
all men. All were dead, He died for all, all need to be saved, and all who
believe will be! We are to view the lost as such so that in giving them the
gospel some will truly believe and be saved.
What terrible loss awaits
the Calvinist who makes God to be something that He is not.
God is a saving God. "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" (Rev.
22:17). God’s Word concludes with a Gospel invitation to "whosoever
will." We must be careful not to fall into the errant teaching of
Calvinism, but cling to God’s Word alone and not man’s teachings that contradict
Biblical truth. 2 Timothy 2:23-26 says, "But foolish and unlearned
questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes.
And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to
teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God
peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; and
that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken
captive by him at his will."
For the Calvinist, there
are many ‘why’ questions that can never be answered. Reconciling their
understanding of election, predestination, adoption, and foreknowledge is an
impossible exercise for the Calvinist. This inability to reconcile these terms
of Scripture is answered by the Calvinist with such statements as, "God is
sovereign, and man cannot understand these doctrines until we get to
heaven." Whatever cannot be explained or understood is placed under the
sovereignty of God. Yet the Scripture teaches the meaning of these terms. When
understood in their biblical context, they beautifully come together to present
a perfect picture of God and His saving grace. G. B. Stevens in his work The
Theology of the New Testament writes, "Theology has often applied these
ideas to the subject of man’s final destiny. Whatever may be the logic of such
an application, it is exegetically unjustifiable. It is a use of Paul’s words
which he does not sanction, and which misapprehends the point of his argument….
I reply that Paul does not teach the eternal, unconditional predestination of
some men to final salvation and of others to final condemnation. He does not
teach the doctrine of predestination which Calvin taught, nor does he teach the
doctrine as held by historic Calvinism…. If we should assume, for the sake of
argument, that in Romans 9-11 Paul was speaking of human destiny, [Paul is not
speaking about human destiny in these chapters, rather he is discussing the
historic missions of men and nations i.e. Pharaoh, Jacob and Esau] and that he
held the Calvinistic view of God’s purpose, we might summarize his argument
thus: God has from eternity appointed some to eternal salvation and others to
eternal perdition, ‘in order that he might have mercy upon all.’ On the
contrary, Paul’s whole doctrine of sin assumes that Adam fell freely and
voluntarily. His sin was contrary to the will of God. It equally assumes that
all men who perish do so by their own fault. The salvation of all is the aim of
the gospel. God "willeth that all men should be
saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth" (1 Tim. 2:4). Christ came
to be the "Saviour of all men" (1 Tim.
4:10). The maxim which emerges from Paul’s discussion of the mysteries of God’s
providence and purpose is: "That he might have mercy upon all" (Rom.
11:32). God may choose some and reject others; he may appoint some to one
career, others to another; his ways are past finding out; he may do what he
will; but whatever he does, it is to the end ‘that he may have mercy upon all.’
It would be a glaring contradiction for Paul to affirm that God does not will
the salvation of some, but has eternally appointed them to perdition. Happily
for his consistency, he has never recorded such a statement or its equivalent.
It is reasonable to suppose that consequences which Paul has not himself drawn
from his own doctrine of predestination, and which if drawn would contradict
his explicit teaching regarding the universality of God’s purpose of grace, are
not a part of his system of thought" (pp. 385, 386). If one will come to
God’s Word in humility and believe what God has written, the believer will
learn God’s truth. Paul told Timothy that he "…hast
fully known my doctrine…" (2 Tim. 3:10). The Scripture admonishes the
believer to "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of
truth" (2 Tim. 2:15). My prayer for those who are caught in the error of
Calvinism would be that they fully know, like Timothy, God’s truth as well, leaving the alloy of human wisdom that defines
Calvinism and come back to the humble fellowship that believers have with the
Spirit of God who leads and guides His people into all truth.
C. H. Mackintosh, a noted
writer and Bible commentator wrote concerning God, "He, blessed be His
name, has not confined Himself within the narrow limits of any school of
doctrine, high, low, or moderate. He has revealed Himself. He has told out of
the deep and precious secrets of His heart. He has unfolded His eternal
counsels, as to the church, as to