Still Contemplating Calvinism…

So….I’ve been recently reading a lot, and watching a lot of lectures/debates on Calvinism (again!). Honestly, this topic has been one that has intrigued me since I began a serious journey in biblical studies, nearly 20 years ago. The trigger this go ‘round involved my recent study in John 6. Our church is currently going through John’s gospel, so when I encountered those penetrating verses—you know the ones…

• All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.
• And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.
• No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.

…yeah, those passages—I found myself pulling out Theologians like Pink; Spurgeon; Edwards; Calvin; Sproul; Piper; Carson—Calvinist men I highly respect. But I also had to balance it, so, I also grabbed Arminius; Cottrell; Shank; Wesley; Brown; Walls; Moore, to name a few. For several hours…well, days! I just kept reading the two positions. Both groups were able to defend their position robustly, and with some humorous sarcasm at times! But as someone who labels himself an Arminian, I still wasn’t convinced to retreat from my convictions.

What I was challenged to do however, was to study the appropriate biblical texts on the subject, along with a systematic approach to the Bible, to look afresh at this very important topic. This conversation unveils a number of very pertinent questions for the serious Bible student. Here are a few I have been re-wrestling with:

• What does it mean for God to be Sovereign?
• What is the nature of freewill?
• What does it mean for God to “love the world?”
• Does our sinful state presuppose an inability to respond to the Gospel?
• What is the ordo salutis (i.e. order of salvation)?
• Can one lose their salvation?
• Is election unconditional?
• Can God’s grace be resisted?
• What is the nature of God’s decree?
• How the heck is Romans 9 to be interpreted!!!!

 I think the two camps are two honest attempts to understand the character of God and his relationship to His creation. And as “noble” (or, “open minded”, check out the Greek word if you’re interested) Bereans (See Acts 17), we are to (1) take seriously all the Bible has to say about faith and practice, and (2) never grow bored or apathetic when theological issues are hard to resolve.

All this to say, I am still thinking through this issue. I am still an Arminian, but I never want to close myself off from the truth. Like the Bereans I want to “go to the scriptures to see if these things be true.” And so that’s what I plan to do! And probably will be doing that until I die. Then, the Lord will sit both me and my Calvinist friend down, and explain things fully!

One final word. I think as serious Bible students there is a perpetual state we live in, where there is a real tension in regard to these kinds of topics. My encouragement is to live in that tension, with humility as the key character trait to guide you. Furthermore, I think there are two extremes we want to avoid when wrestling with theological differences: 1. Apathy—just not caring to dig in and seek the truth. “Let’s just all get along” and 2. Close mindedness—thinking we have it all together and never open to change our position if the truth leads us there. The answer is to “study to show ourselves approved (see 2 Tim 2:15).” And then to be humble and always open minded to the truth!

Alright..back to reading!