Calvinism Series: Calvinism is the Gospel?

Is Calvinism the Gospel? (Part 1)

For a Calvinist, the doctrinal distinctives of Calvinism (the "doctrines of grace") are nothing more or less than the gospel of Jesus Christ found throughout the pages of the New Testament. Charles Spurgeon:

"There is no such thing as preaching Christ and him crucified, unless you preach what...is called Calvinism...It is a nickname to call it Calvinism; Calvinism is the gospel, and nothing else."

Despite their equating of Calvinism with the gospel, I have yet to meet a Calvinist who claims to have embraced the five points of Calvinism when he turned in faith to Christ Jesus. Does this mean that they were not really saved before they came to understand and accept Reformed Theology as the gospel? If the five points of Calvinism can be equated with the gospel, which is "the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes (Romans 1:16), why don't we hear Calvinists talking to the unsaved about the 5 points? If the Calvinist version of the doctrines of grace is equivalent to the true gospel, and if believing the true gospel is necessary to salvation, then why is it that most true Calvinists avoid any discussions of these "doctrines of grace" when they are trying to win the lost to faith in Christ? These are important questions that demand an honest, straightforward answer.

To the Galatians, the apostle Paul says:

"I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, 7 which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed." (Galatians 1:6-8)

It is possible, according to Paul, to turn away from the Lord after you have turned to the Lord. The question is this: Is the gospel of Calvinism, or the so-called 5 points of Calvinism, the gospel that Paul preached and that the Galatians believed when they turned to the Lord? We know that Paul was:

"...not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes." (Romans 1:16)

So if the "doctrines of grace" that Calvinism proposes is the gospel, then why did Paul not preach these doctrines if he declared he was not ashamed of the gospel? When you first came to faith in Christ, or came to Christ in faith, did you believe in the 5 points of Calvinism? Or did you simply believe in and personally embrace the truths of Scripture in which we are told that Christ died for our sins and then rose victorious from the grave? As Paul states:

"I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures." (1 Corinthians 15:1-4)

If the gospel you believed in at your conversion was the true gospel of 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, what does that make the five points of Calvinism? Remember that this so-called gospel of Calvinism totally altered your understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ when you converted to Calvinism. Reformed theologian Herman Hoeksema says:

"...for me the truth of the gospel and the Reformed faith are synonymous."

Calvinist David Engelsma:

"Calvinism is the Gospel. Its outstanding doctrines are simply the truths that make up the Gospel."

Calvinist Arthur Constance:

"Calvinism is the Gospel and to teach Calvinism is in fact to preach the Gospel. It is questionable whether a dogmatic theology which is not Calvinistic is truly Christian."

If you're a Calvinist now, WHEN did the truth of the gospel and the Reformed faith become synonymous to you? Odds are it was some time after you at least thought you had received Christ as Lord and Savior. Could you really have been saved believing that which turned out not to be the true gospel after all? If we must believe the gospel to be saved, then are all Calvinists lost between the period when they thought they received Christ as Lord and Savior and when they became convinced of Calvinism?

Lorraine Boettner:

"...we...hold that a full and complete exposition of the Christian system can be given only on the basis of the truth as set forth in the Calvinist system."

Thus, according to Boettner, your Christian system is, at best, only partial and incomplete if it is not in accordance with Calvinism.

Boettner:

"The Bible unfolds a scheme of redemption which is Calvinistic from beginning to end, and these doctrines are taught with such inescapable clearness that the question is settled for all those who accept the Bible as the Word of God."

You either believe that the Bible teaches the Reformed doctrine of redemption, and by extension, the Reformed doctrine of reprobation, or you do not accept the Bible as the Word of God. The Calvinist claims for Reformed Theology go much further than this.

B.B. Warfield:

"...Calvinism is just Christianity...nothing more or less than the hope of the world."

Boettner:

"There is no consistent stopping place between Calvinism and atheism."

Calvinism Series: Intro (4)

Introduction Part 4

All devout believers have a formally agreed upon standard by which to judge and evaluate all doctrines which they claim to be biblical. It is NOT Calvin's "Institutes of the Christian Religion," "The Canons of Dort," The Westminster Confession of Faith," or "The Heidelberg Catechism" that should be the determining facor as to what we believe. It is not Augustine, Calvin, or Edwards that we are to rely upon for our understanding of the truth. Every Christian not only has the right, but the RESPONSIBILITY to personally search the Scriptures to discern what they mean by whaty they say:

2 Timothy 2:15-17
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 16 But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness. 17 And their message will spread like cancer. Hymenaeus and Philetus are of this sort,
2 Peter 1:19-20
And so we have the prophetic word confirmed which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; 20 knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation,
Acts 17:11
These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.

As Christians, we can and should learn from our spiritual elders, but we are not bound to what they teach unless it passes the objective test of scriptural truth! Calvinists David Steele and Curtis Thomas state:

"The question of supreme importance is not how the system under consideration came to be formulated into five points, or why it was named Calvinism, but rather is it supported by Scripture? The final court of appeal for determining the validity of any theological system is the inspired, authoritative Word of God. If Calvinism can be verified by clear and explicit declaration of Scripture, then it must be received by Christians; if not, it must be rejected."

I couldn't agree more. Loraine Boettner states;

"In all matters of controversy between Christians, the Scriptures are accepted as the highest court of appeal."

Charles Hodge:

"It is the duty of every theologian to subordinate his theories to the Bible, and teach not what seems to him to be true or reasonable, but simply what the Bible teaches."

According to the former two quotes, I would wholeheartedly agree with Calvinists as to how to evaluate a theological system or any of the distinctive of that system. This principle can be stated: All Christians are obligated to believe and embrace all views that agree with the teaching of Scripture. Conversely, if the distinctives of a theological system are found to be in conflict with the teaching of God's holy and infallible Word, that system or the errant distinctives of that system ought to be rejected.

With all my heart, I embrace the grace of God and the fundamental and foundational truth that salvation is by grace and grace alone.

Ephesians 2:8-9
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Unbelievers are absolutely and utterly dependent upon the grace of God to SAVE them. Believers are absolutely and utterly dependent upon the grace of God to SUSTAIN them.

Reformed Theology misrepresents God's saving grace in order that it may appear to correspond and conform to the equally disturbing "Reformed views" of sovereignty and predestination. For example, for those in a hopeless "caste" of humanity (I call it a "caste" because in societal "classes", there is the potential that one can change their class...however, in a caste, one is completely bound by that caste, unable to change from one caste to another) that Calvinists call the reprobate, Reformed Theology denies even the existence of a grace intended to save them. The Calvinist will rightly say that it is not the fault of the GRACE of God that many people cannot be saved. Calvinists wrongly say or suggest that it is the GOD of grace Himself that is ultimately responsible for the plight of the reprobate. Blaming God for the damnation of those who end up in hell is either explicit or implicit in all forms of authentic Calvinism.

For most Christians, even without a fully developed and systematically stated alternative to Calvinism, a simple and unbiased comparison of what Calvinism teaches with what Scriptures says is sufficient to raise all kinds of theological red flags. Take any important passage directly addressing the doctrine of salvation. Read it carefully, keeping in mind the immediate and greater contextual considerations. Then on a piece of paper, write down what you think the meaning of that passage is (outside the lens of whatever system of theology you adhere to). Then look at what Calvin and other Reformed teachers have to say about the same passage. It is highly unlikely that you will be able to see what they see unless and until they show it to you. Even then, they may have to be very persuasive and do some theological twisting of the Scriptures to get you to agree with them.