I LOVE CALVINISTS
- Tony Vance
- Oct 6, 2015
- 6 min read
I love Calvinists. There was a time, those words would be hard for me to say. That is not to say I love Calvinism, or Reform Theology (as my more sophisticated Calvinist like to call themselves), for that matter. I was raised an Arminian, of sorts, or at least I was born into an Arminian type church. The denomination I am involved with now (Free Will Baptist), oozes Arminianism, and I choose it as the denomination I would hang my hat, and have for almost 30 years. I now consider myself a Molinist, as it is the best definition of my soteriology, as of today. Soteriology? Maybe this word and, Calvinist, Arminian, and/or Molinist has you scratching your head, “What are you talking about?”
Soteriology?
Let’s start with the easy one, soteriology. Soteriology, “The branch of theology dealing with the nature and means of salvation.” (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/soteriology) In essence it is the how, what, where, and why of salvation. This leads me to the other words; Calvinist, Arminian, and/or Molinist. These are the how, what, etc. of soteriology. Each view, sees salvation hinging on a few, albeit crucial, factors. They are not as important as they once were, to me. Some crucial areas of disagreement between Calvinist and Arminians are election and foreknowledge. Does God predestinate the elect, or are the elect foreknown, thus elect. Molinist get to have it both ways. (For a serious discussion on Calvinism, click HERE, Arminianism, HERE, and Molinism, HERE).
DOCTRINAL PURITY?
There are certain issues, on which I will hold my ground, battle the last infidel, and give not an inch. These are, at the least: Christ’s Divinity (Rob Haughton’s article, addresses this well, HERE), salvation by Christ’s atoning (and that word is flexible, though the meaning is not) work, and God’s Word is true (and, again, this is debatable, depending on terminology). In an article, from last year, on The Gospel Coalition Website, Joe Rigney shared the distinctions of doctrine, I found useful:
Essential for the life of the church. These doctrines are necessary for salvation; without them, there is no true church.
Essential for the health of the church. These are necessary for Christian growth; getting these doctrines wrong doesn’t put people outside the kingdom, but it may make them sick and unable to thrive. This category is best regarded as a spectrum—the closer you get to Category 1, the sicker you get.
Essential for the practice of the church. These doctrines are necessary for functional unity. While you may not regard Christians who differ with you as sick or unhealthy, the practical considerations necessary to get along may prove too burdensome.
Non-essential doctrines or adiaphora (things indifferent). These doctrines should never divide Christians, meaning that those who differ could be members and even elders at the same church with no division at all.
(http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/weigh-doctrines-for-christian-unity)
Essential doctrines would include the Divinity of Christ, whereas the fourth category would be things such as eschatology (the study of end time events). In between would be a lot of doctrines we could debate that fall within the other categories, 2 and 3, but this article is not concerned with the debate, no, we are looking at the agreements.
I love me some Calvinists!
This leads me to my confession, maybe long in coming, but without reservation, I readily admit; I LOVE CALVINISTS! This journey to my love for all things Calvinist, goes thru people, not the teaching of the doctrine, albeit, it is a factor. Men like John Piper, John MacArthur, and even John Calvin (yes that John Calvin, did I say, he is one of my favorite theologians-seriously, read some of his stuff-spellbinding), have swayed me to a deep appreciation for all things Reform, especially Reform guys. Another reason for my journey to this deep appreciation for the ‘other’ side is interactions that I now have with many Calvinist, on a regular basis, which I will deal with at the end. Which leads me to why I love these Calvinist so much.
GRACE
If there is a place to start, it starts with grace. Paul stated, in response to his desire to have an infirmity removed, three times he sought its removal, but, 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NLT) “Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.” Calvinists have a deep appreciation for grace, unlike many of my Arminian friends (a ‘why I love Arminians’ will be forthcoming) seem to have. Many Arminians seem to feel grace is fragile, weak in its efficaciousness, unable to cover my faults, failures, and sins-at times. Not Calvinists, NO, they appreciate grace’s strength, its power, its effectiveness. Many Arminians believe in a sort of, precarious salvation, teetering on the brink of back-sliding, as one sin puts you in deep danger. Some even believe your salvation is fragile, and grace is not a keeping grace, but they are the extreme. I should make clear, unlike my Calvinist friends, I don’t think your salvation is unable to be ‘lost’, or as I like to say, as Paul did, “shipwreck” our faith, 1 Timothy 1:19 (NLT) “Cling to your faith in Christ, and keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked.” But, again, it is not the differences, but the appreciation for the things we agree on: Ephesians 2:8 (NLT) “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.” AMEN.
“What is grace? The catechisms many of us learned as children give us the answer: “Grace is the unmerited favor of God.” The first thing that we understand about grace is what it’s not—it’s not something we merit. In fact, if that is all we ever understand about grace, I’m sure God will rejoice that we know His grace is unmerited. So, here’s our working definition of grace—it is unmerit.”- R. C. Sproul
Sovereignity
Another area of appreciation for Calvinists, is their APPRECIATION for God’s sovereignty. As a Molinist, this is less of an issue, theologically, as when I held a more Arminian understanding of sovereignty (though I will say, Arminians believe in sovereignty, but God exercises it in different relation to our choices, theologically speaking as an Arminian would). I love that Calvinist refuse to allow anything to usurp God’s authority or throne. They have the highest regard for God’s say, in all things of the universe, as I do, and as the scripture points to, Revelation 19:6 (KJV) “And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.” Elsewhere, Psalm 93:1 (NLT) “The LORD is king! He is robed in majesty. Indeed, the LORD is robed in majesty and armed with strength. The world stands firm and cannot be shaken.” Here, my Calvinist friends and I have great appreciation, of the truth, GOD IS SOVERIGN! I can stand with them in this great reality of one of God’s attributes.
“We must simply listen to God when it comes to the sovereignty of God. We must have God tell us what it means for him to be sovereign, lest we import limitations or possibilities into God that he doesn’t find in himself.”-John Piper
SOLA SCRIPTURA
The final area (and this is not the only things we agree on…just all for this article) of our agreements is an appreciation for ‘sola scriptura’. For those unfamiliar with this Latin term, it is a call of the Reformation of ‘Scripture Alone’. This is (was) in response to the Church’s (Roman Catholicism, to be precise) teaching of traditions of the church on equal, if not above, with God’s Word. Reform folk (Calvinist) have the highest regard for scripture. There is debate, within greater Christendom, over terms like infallibility and trustworthiness of scripture. This is not an issue with most reformed friends of mine. There is a belief that the Word of God is enough, and solely enough, for the Christian to know God’s will, follow His desires for us, and understand what He wants to say to us today. Psalm 119:105 comes immediately to mind, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” Calvinist would AMEN and agree with that, as any Bible believing saint could testify, but the high regard and respect of scripture is what pulls me closer to my Calvinist friends.
“Since Scripture imparts salvation, effective evangelism depends on the faithful proclamation of the Word. God will prepare the soil and bring forth the fruit. We must be faithful to plant the seed.”-John MacArthur
A final thought, or reason, why I have a special place for Calvinists, is the personal interactions I have had for the past couple of years. There are various Reform leaning podcasts, books, and other material that has pushed me to an appreciation for Calvinism, but the straw that broke the camel’s back (sorry, but it is an under used cliche') was my interactions with Calvinists. Granted, most of that is through Social Media of some sort, but the groups I have become part of, and the friendships I have formed, with Calvinists, has given me a deeper appreciation for Calvinism. Not seeing them as monsters or hooded freaks, changed my perspective, as I discovered they love Jesus, are trying to get life figured out, and want to be a better witness for Christ and His Kingdom. Yeah, we can agree on that.