The Problems of Calvinism Part 2

Ads

The Problems of Calvinism, Part 2 is a few scattered thoughts on why I reject Calvinism, based in its not representing the facts of Scripture.

Contents

0.1 The Problems of Calvinism Part 2

1 IV. Jesus did not die for the Whole World
2 V. God’s Atonement is limited to the Elect.
3 VI. God’s Judgment is Distorted
4 Supplementary
5 Bibliography
- 5.1 More Articles about Calvinism

These are just my thoughts and observations. The Problems of Calvinism Part 2

IV. Jesus did not die for the Whole World

Calvinism teaches that Jesus ONLY DIED for the elect, and not for the whole world.

Rev 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. If God’s offer is strictly to the elect, then maybe the Calvinist is right, but God offers salvation to “whosoever will”. Is God lying? Is God taunting the elected to perdition unsaved man, saying you can have salvation when in reality God has preprogrammed him to make that an impossibility? Would God do this according to the character which is revealed about God? No.
Preach the Gospel to every creature. Mat 28:18-20; 2Cor 5:14-21.
God wills that all men come to salvation 1Tim 2:3-4.
John 3:16 “whosoever believeth“, so the criteria for being saved is not a pre-selection (election-predestination) but rather an action of belief in any person. Teaching anything else is to throw away the biblical gospel and create a non-biblical gospel, “another gospel” which Paul warned us about.
John 3:16 “God so loved the world” – The Calvinist changes the word “world” for “elect” here. If God would have wanted that concept, then he would have used that word. If the plain sense of a passage makes sense, look for no other sense. Don’t accept non-sense for an interpretation when the plain sense makes perfect sense!
1Jn 2:2 declares that Jesus is the propitiation for the sins of the entire world, not just the elect. His work could extend and save every single person in the world if they were only to fulfill the condition, belief in Jesus Christ’s work on the cross.
2Co 5:19 “…God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them.”Prov 30:6 “Add though not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.” also Rev 22:18-19
Eph 1:4 The Saints are chosen in Christ to be holy and without blame.

“British author Dr. H. H. Rowley writes, “Whom God chooses, He chooses for service. There is variety of service, but it is all service, and it is all service for God… The divine election concerns exclusively the divine service… Election is for service. This is not to ignore the fact that it carries with it privilege. For in the service of God is man’s supreme privilege and honor… To those who willingly and consciously accept the task to which they are called, the resources of God are open for the fulfillment of their mission, and here again is high privilege. Yet it is never primarily for the privilege but for the service that the elect are chosen… Their election is for service, and it is only valid insofar as, and so long as, they fulfill that purpose [God’s]” (The Biblical Doctrine of Election, pp. 42,45).”[1]

“Election and the kindred words, to choose, and chosen or elect, are used of God’s selection of men or agencies for special missions or attainments; but neither here nor elsewhere in the New Testament is their any warrant for the revolting doctrine that God has predestined a definite number of mankind to eternal life, and the rest to destruction… Election … the act of God’s holy will in selecting His own methods, instruments, and times for carrying out His purposes … is a fact of history and of daily observation” (Word Studies in the New Testament, Vol. IV, p. 16; Vol. III, p. 137).[1]

V. God’s Atonement is limited to the Elect.

Calvinism robs Christ’s work on the cross for all humanity. They declare that it is only for the elect, and no one else. They play there shell game with the pea again, which is the real will of God? If God willed Christ’s work for the whole world, the whole world would be saved. Then we start playing and manipulating “the will of God”, making it so complicated that nobody can understand it.

1John 2:2 “And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” If the plain sense of Scripture makes perfect sense, why do we have to redefine common and basic words like “world”? Didn’t he clarify his meaning when he talked about “our sins”, and “not for ours only” to clearly include the unsaved world’s sins? Didn’t John make it emphatic by placing “whole” before world that this includes all the unsaved people? To get the Calvinist understanding of this verse, you have to do great violence to the text to get their. You have to overturn the clear and obvious teaching of Scripture to somehow get the other. This is like turning Judas into the best and favorite before God. I am sure there are arguments out there to that effect, but simply, Why would anybody do this when the obvious meaning is so obvious?
Hebrews 2:9 Christ tasted death “for every man“. Again, how can you change the obvious meaning that Christ’s work on the cross of atonement is for all men?
1 Tim. 2:6 Christ gave Himself a ransom for “all“. We can go through Scripture from Genesis to Revelation and analyze the word “all” in a thousand different ways, but the clear meaning in these passages is that “all” means all mankind. If God was only referring to the elect, there are other “clear” ways of saying that. Why confuse? Why put it in a way that seems exactly opposite of what you are wanting to say?
John 1:29 Christ was the Lamb of God “that taketh away the sin of the world.” Again, clarity is clear. This statement is very different from “Christ taketh away the sin of the elect”. If that is what John wanted to say, why didn’t he say it correctly? Does Jesus and the apostles not know what is in the mind of God? Were they inspired except in these key passages of Scripture? If they are right, why does Calvinism make them out to be incompetent liars?
Isaiah 53:6 “all” have gone astray, and God laid the iniquity of “all” on Jesus. While the Calvinist comes down very strong on all have sinned here, why is that not just as effectively “everybody” in the applying of the atonement? If we were to argue that “all” have gone astray really means only the unsaved, those not elected to salvation, the Calvinist would have a fit opposing that. Why the duplicity in not insisting on both “all”s being equal?
John 16:8,9 God is working to reprove all men of their sins.

VI. God’s Judgment is Distorted

Calvin teaches,

“Who then shall be saved? That is what His sovereign will decides and nothing else. It is purely a matter of the divine sovereign will which, doubtless for good reasons known to God Himself, but none of them relative to anything distinguishing one man morally from another, chooses some and rejects the rest” (Calvin’s Institutes III, chapter xxiii, page 10)

The problem with Calvinism is that it puts the judgment of all men before creation instead of at the Great White Throne Judgment. God has elected (chosen) a plan or method of salvation before the foundation of the world, but God has not chosen and judged those who will not accept it from the beginning of the world. Final judgment and condemnation is always at the end of the times in the Bible. Never is a particular person judged and condemned before they have committed the sin. As in God’s warning to Adam, “if you do so-and-so, then you will be judged and condemned with so-and-so”. It is always presented as a warning or threat, and never as a past reality without any possibility of avoiding it. To avoid the judgment and condmen, you simply listen to God (which is having faith in God).

Final judgment comes on man for two reasons: 1.) He has refused Jesus Christ as his Savior, i.e. he has not chosen in his free will to believe in God’s provision of salvation. 2.) Because of his own evil works or sins.
Mat 25:41 The Lake of Fire is the final resting place of all those in rebellion against God, and all unsaved men will go there. The lake of fire was NOT created FOR MAN, but FOR SATAN AND HIS ANGELS! At the beginning (in God’s mind) the place of punishment was created at Satan’s rebellion FOR SATAN AND HIS ANGELS, without man entering into that purpose for creating the lake. The doctrine of perdition is not present!
Verses in which God’s will is that men NOT PERISH! 1 Tim. 2:3-6; 2 Pet. 3:9; Acts 17:30; John 3:16-17; Ezekiel 33:11

Supplementary

Elect Angels – (Matt 24:31; Mark 13:27) These angels are those chosen for service for God.
Everybody’s Elect to Salvation or Perdition – There is a logical inconsistency with this concept. To be elect is to be selected as being special, and this special element has to do with two things (hence the reason for being elect), (1) there is a special quality inherent in the selected one which makes it special, (2) being selected has to do with the purpose for which it is selected. If everybody is selected, then nobody is elected. Election by its definition is a select number based on the individual qualities within these that are best suited for the designated purpose.

Bibliography

[1] Article, by Mark Huss “Four Implications of Calvinism“. Huss reflects on what if Calvinism was true?
[2] Article by Paul L. Freeman “What’s Wrong with Five-Point Calvinism?”

The Problems of Calvinism, Part 2

The Problems of Calvinism Part 2