[Editor’s note: This was published prior to 2021. It is republished here so it can be accessed.-JS]
Have you ever been frustrated by your friends or relatives when discussing Bible issues because they hold so strongly to their “faith only” position on salvation? Have you ever wondered how someone can insist their deceased friend is going to heaven despite no evidence of submission to God in their lives at all? The reason is a system of belief put to paper by a man named John Calvin who lived in the 1500’s. His writings, commonly referred to as Calvinism, are the backbone of what all “faith only/once saved, always saved” groups believe.
Anyone who comes to the word of God without preconceived notions will easily see that faith, repentance, and baptism are necessary to become a Christian. It is easy for us to see and maddening to understand how so many sincere people are blind to it. What blinds them is Calvinism.
At this point, many of our religious friends would protest, “We take the Scriptures alone. My faith is based on no man’s writings!” They may mean what they say but what they don’t know (but their religious leaders do), is the five points of Calvinism guide their explanation of Scripture. Notice I said their explanation of Scripture, not what Scripture says. Mark 16:16; John 3:3-5; Acts 2:38; Acts 22:16; I Peter 3:21; etc. say what they mean and mean what they say. Calvinism is why those verses must be explained away. Because they hold to an idea of what the Scriptures say instead of what they simply say.
John Calvin wrote his Institutes of the Christian Religion in 1536. It dominates most Protestant Denominations and influences them all to be “faith only” groups. To understand why your friends believe the way they do, let’s examine what are called the Five Points of Calvinism. They are best expressed by an acronym that spells the word tulip.
Total Hereditary Depravity (man is born in sin)
Unconditional Election (God chooses the saved and damned)
Limited Atonement (Jesus died for the saved alone)
Irresistible Grace (Faith is an irresistible act of the Holy Spirit)
Perseverance of the Saints (Once saved, always saved)
Basically, Calvinism teaches that Adam’s sin is transmitted to all mankind at birth and we are born so sinful, so depraved that we are incapable of doing anything good including believing. God has chosen (predestined) who will be saved and who will be damned. Since God has chosen, before time, who will be saved there was no need for Christ to die for anyone else. Faith is something that happens to the saved. Those God has elected have a miraculous experience of the Holy Spirit that changes (regenerates) their nature from entirely depraved to entirely pure and saved. You can neither choose salvation nor refuse it. Since God chose the saved and totally regenerated them, there is no way they can be lost.
At this point you may exclaim, “Who can believe such a thing?!?!” But you must understand, this is what drives people to refuse baptism as an essential act of salvation. Here is a short list of the five points and Scriptures that clearly refute them.
- Total Hereditary Depravity
Calvinists teach that all humans are born in sin and damned before God because of Adam’s sin. The Westminster Confession of Faith puts it this way: “the guilt of sin was imputed…and corrupted nature…to all their posterity1.” This sinful nature makes all mankind, “utterly indisposed, disabled, and made opposite to all good, and wholly inclined to all evil1.” Scripture says no such thing. We are born without sin and innocent before God. Sin is a choice once we become old enough to, “know how to refuse the evil and choose the good,”-Isaiah 7:16.
Scriptures: Isaiah 7:16; Ezekiel 18:1-29; Matthew 18:3; 19:14; James 1:13-15; I John 3:23; Acts 17:30
- Unconditional Election
Since Calvinists teach we are incapable of choosing salvation, God has to choose us. The other side of that coin is that God is also choosing the damned. Thankfully, God has given us free will to, “choose this day whom you will serve,”-Joshua 24:15.
Scriptures: Matthew 11:28; 24:27; John 1:12; Acts 10:34; Romans 2:11; Ephesians 6:9; I Timothy 2:4; II Peter 3:9
- Limited Atonement
According to Calvin, God has already predestined who will be saved. So, why should Jesus have died for those that have no hope? This point of Calvinism isn’t defended by all who hold to faith only salvation. They are referred to as “Four Point Calvinists.” Either way, this idea does not have its beginnings in the Bible, nor can it be defended by it.
Scriptures: Luke 19:10; John 1:29; II Corinthians 5:14-15; I Timothy 1:15; Hebrews 2:9; I John 2:1-2;
- Irresistible Grace
This is why people say they “get saved.” What they are saying is the Holy Spirit came over them in a way they could not refuse. Calvinism teaches God sends the Holy Spirit into his elect and completely transforms (regenerates) their very being from totally inclined to evil to totally pure and saved. Calvinism teaches we are incapable of having faith or even repenting until this irresistible experience occurs. This is also why they deny baptism its efficacy. They feel they are completely changed at this moment of “faith” and have no need of anything else. Irresistible salvation is never taught by God. We have the choice to accept or deny Jesus as our Savior and Lord.
Scriptures: Deuteronomy 30:15-18; Matthew 11:28; Mark 8:34-35; John 3:16; Acts 7:51; 17:30; I Timothy 2:3-4; Hebrews 5:8-9
- Perseverance of the Saints
If we are born in sin, chosen by God, Christ died just for us, and the Holy Spirit entered and regenerated us; then how can we possibly be lost? This is then conclusion of Calvinism. It is not the conclusion of Scripture.
Scriptures: Galatians 5:4; I Timothy 1:19-20; 6:9:10; James 5:19-20; II Peter 2:1-22; Revelation 2:10
Jesus tells us to believe, repent, confess, and be baptized. If we do, he will forgive us of our sins and save us if we serve him faithfully. That is the teaching of the word of God.
“Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”-Acts 2:38
Amen.
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