Calvinism was an unlikely and, frankly, an inconvenient theological persuasion for me to stumble into. Unlikely because the tradition I was raised in was completely uncalvinistic (though the theological expressions were never used or discussed). Case in point, I had never even heard the term “Calvinism” until I was about 28 years old — roughly 3 years into my position as assistant pastor in a non-denominational, apostolic church— though I had been raised in church. I dare not over-exaggerate my position in that church; I was more like an assistant TO the pastor than a co-elder as we were simply a small community church, but I was able to minister in the stead of the pastor when he was out of town and assist with bible studies, Sunday school, music, etc. That being said, the inconvenience of becoming a Calvinist would have obviously become apparent had I not first become a fully convinced trinitarian. That church was and is a committed “oneness” church and when my views of the Godhead came in conflict with the views of the church, it was only proper for me to withdraw myself from the leadership team to avoid unnecessary and unorderly division. But, like many churches today we never addressed theological matters formally. We never studied alternative perspectives, discussed relevant passages in a systematic way, or examined disputed interpretations of those passages. This is not a slam against churches who do not dive deep into all these areas consistently; each church and every pastor has to decide how they will utilize their time and which areas need greater focus in their context. I only say this to point out that issues related to Reformed theology were quite foreign to me growing up.
About a year before leaving that church, however, I had begun studying Church History pretty vigorously along with topics like Bible translations, creeds and confessions, and others. Like most, I experienced the initial “shock” of having been introduced to (albeit bad representations of) Calvinism. The first time I came across the term was when I discovered that many of the scholars I was reading in the aforementioned topics were Calvinists. After a quick google search (not a recommended method for accurate, comprehensive study) I wondered how any Christian could believe Calvinism was true: God decides who will go to heaven and who will go to hell before He creates the world? Man doesn’t have free will?? God causes all the sin in the world??? Nonsense!, I thought. Little did I know at the time that these were really just caricatures of Reformed theology, caricatures many — if not most— non-calvinists still believe about Calvinism today. Nonetheless, this began what has proved to be one of the most beneficial and spiritual edifying studies of my Christian walk. These questions led me to dive deep into Biblical themes such as atonement, justification, sanctification, God’s attributes, and the like in ways I had never really pondered them. I was forced to be honest with the Scriptures and with myself and was determined to believe whatsoever the Bible taught — an endeavor I trust every true believer desires to do. For me, that journey has made me a Calvinist.
In this series of blog posts I hope to lay out and expound upon some of the big questions connected to Reformed theology. This might be for some of you the first you’re hearing about Calvinism. I’ll try my best to give you a better introduction than I was presented with via Google and Wikipedia. My goal is not to try to “convert” you to Calvinism but rather to provide basic information on an issue that has been prevalent to our Christian heritage for 2,000 years — and especially for the past 500 years since the Reformation period. You may find that you’ve never really thought through many of these issues in depth. Whether you agree or disagree with me in the end, it will benefit you tremendously to study what God teaches on these topics and to contemplate their significance.
Being able to give an account for our beliefs on these issues is not only relevant to us within the gates of Christianity, so that we can win arguments against our brethren as some Christians are so eager to do, but those on the outside want to know what the Church believes about God, the Bible, Man, and the World. Atheists, as well as other religious groups around the world constantly lob attacks against the Christian faith for our beliefs and have since the dawn of the Church. It behooves us, as Peter writes, to “sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you,…” (1 Peter 3:15 LSB). Non-Christians raise objections continually against the consistency and accuracy of our Scriptures, the logic of our faith, the justification for evil in a world supposedly ordered by an all-loving, all-powerful God, and so on and so forth. We need an answer; thankfully, we Christians believe God has given those answers in His Word.
Now, the question may be raised why it is necessary to fully consider and debate amongst ourselves these topics and their implications. This question is usually raised in statements like, “What does it matter? Can’t we all just get along? Let’s just agree to disagree. Jesus doesn’t like when we debate with each other.” One can at least partially sympathize with these concerns. It is certainly uncomfortable at times to express disagreement. And yes, the effort required to study, understand, and honestly engage with these issues is extensive and can be exhausting. While we would all love to be (and should strive to be) a people who agree on every point of doctrine, only a fool would believe we are. There are real and important differences in what we believe. Yes, we could bury our heads in the sand and act like they aren’t there but they are. The differences we have do not disappear just because we take the easy way out and do not address them. They come out in our liturgies, our prayers, our fellowship (or lack thereof) one with another, our worship, and in our actions. Therefore it remains needful to examine our various beliefs in light of the Scriptures we share, constantly pursuing truth, allowing ourselves to be challenged and grow in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. The matters of our faith are eternal matters; let us not treat them as worthless, insignificant, or unworthy of our time.
I’ll admit from the onset, just as I did in the book I wrote concerning the doctrine of the Trinity, that I am no renowned scholar. I do not possess great educational accolades. There are plenty of better equipped men and women of the faith from the past and in the present to explain more thoroughly the issues I’ll discuss in these blog posts. In fact, throughout this series I’ll try to point you in the direction of some of their resources that have helped me on my theological journey. The information provided here will be basic, elementary, and introductory since most of you who will be reading these blog posts will be simple folks like myself. Many of you haven’t been to Bible college or seminary. All you know about Calvinism (if you know anything at all) may very well be from what you have read on the internet or heard some independent fundamentalist, KJV only, anti-Calvinist Baptist preacher say from the pulpit that one time (maybe not the most objective source, just saying). I am not seeking to be exhaustive or authoritative on any of these topics. I only hope to (1) explain how various key passages of Scripture have helped shape my theological convictions over the last few years, (2) help you to understand how anyone could possibly be a Calvinist, and (3) if nothing else wet your appetite for a deeper understanding of central themes in the Bible and the various interpretations thereof.
Some of the topics we will explore in this series:
Free Will: Do we have it? What is it? Why does it matter?
God’s Omniscience: What does God know and how does He know it?
Election and Predestination
Sin: What is it? How does it affect man?
The Atonement: Definite or Universal?
I pray God will give us all the grace to handle these important but sensitive topics with gentleness, sincerity, and wisdom. May the Lord bless us as we study His Word.
Amen.
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