Sermon Tone Analysis

CALVINISM & ARMINIANISM REVIEWED

 

Introduction: Before when get into all the questions & debates from what may arise from these teachings are, we first need to lay the ground work and just try and understand what the Calvinist believe.

Then we can try and analyze & then come to some conclusions.

My goal tonight is to present it to you so you can understand what the positions are first, before you already take a position, and say I agree or disagree first I just want you to understand it & where the Calvinist is coming from.

§            *Ephesians 1:4-5**—*So when we are dealing with Calvinism & Arminianism we are primarily looking at “what does it mean to be” /predestined, elected before the foundation of the world, /the fact the God has /chose us, /and so on (Eph.1:4-5).

§            Nevertheless, these are Biblical doctrines that are not hidden in Scripture, but are taught & come up quite frequently, therefore, we need to work through them & try and understand them.

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*/       What I want to do is to try and set out the parameters of these issues which on the one hand: /*

(1)    Calvinism which stresses the Sovereignty of God totally excluding mans free will and the other side 

(2)    Arminianism which stresses mans free will.

/To speak of Calvinism is to speak of the Reformed faith/.

The term /Reformed/ is today basically synonymous with Calvinism and historically distinguishes the Calvinistic churches from the Lutheran and Anabaptist traditions.

The theology of Calvinism or the Reformed faith finds its roots in the writings of John Calvin, particularly as expressed in the /Institutes/ /of/ /the/ /Christian/ /Religion./

Calvin’s theology centers on the /sovereignty of God/, the other doctrines being tied to that premise.

The theology of Calvin is restated in the form of many confessional statements that have been adhered to over the centuries in Europe, Britain, and America.

/The Synod of Dort/

In the Netherlands a conflict arose between the followers of Jacobus Arminius and the Calvinists.

Calvinism was attacked for its teaching of /predestination/ and /reprobation/ as well as for other issues.

The States General called a synod (/a council or /assembly) in 1618 to settle the issue, but the Arminians did not come as equals.

Rather, the Remonstrants /(One of the Dutch Arminians who, in 1610, formally stated the grounds of their dissent from strict Calvinism), /were summoned to present their doctrines, which were subsequently condemned.

The synod reaffirmed the Heidelberg and Belgic Confessions.

The following points were affirmed at Dort and are given here in synthesized form.

/1.

Of/ /divine/ /predestination—/All men sinned in Adam and lie under the curse, but God made provision for salvation through the death of Christ.

The fact that some and not others receive the gift of faith stems from God’s eternal decree of election and reprobation.

Election is unconditional, not based on God’s foreknowledge; before the foundation of the world and purely out of His grace and according to His sovereign good pleasure, God chose some to salvation.

The non-elect are left to condemnation, yet God is not the author of sin.

/2.

Of/ /the/ /death/ /of/ /Christ—/While the death of Christ is of infinite value and sufficient to save the whole world, His atoning death extends to the elect only.

/3.

Of/ /the/ /corruption/ /of/ /man/ /and/ /his/ /conversion/ /to/ /God—/Man was created in the image of God, but through the sin of Adam all mankind is corrupted.

Sin has passed to the human race so that all people are born in sin and are children of wrath.

But while man is incapable of saving himself, God accomplishes salvation for elect individuals through the operation of the Holy Spirit.

Those whom He has chosen in eternity, He calls effectually in time.

The faith that realizes salvation is itself a gift.

/4.

Of/ /the/ /perseverance/ /of/ /the/ /saints—/Whom God calls, He also delivers from the dominion and slavery of sin.

Since God is faithful, He preserves those who believe to the end.

The Five Points of Calvinism

/Calvin Did Not Author The So-Called “Five Points Of Calvinism.”

/They originated at the Synod of Dort (1619) and are also a result of affirming the distinctives of Calvinism over the centuries since.

God as sovereign was central in the theology of Calvin, and that is reflected in the five points.

The five points emphasize God in His sovereignty and grace but also man in his depravity and sin.

The five points are popularly named: /total depravity; unconditional election; limited atonement; irresistible grace; and perseverance of the saints/.

(Theologians have nicknamed these points “tulip,” a popular acronym based on the first letters of the doctrines.)

/These Five Concepts Are Arranged Logically And Are Contingent Upon One Another.

/If man is totally depraved, then he is unable to make an initial response to God; God must call man to salvation through unconditional election.

God also makes provision for those whom He calls to salvation by the death of Christ; He secures their salvation by the effectual call of the Holy Spirit and keeps them secure in order that they might receive the eternal life He has promised them.

*       *

       *The Sovereignty of God**:* Foundational To The Entire System Of Calvinism Is The Doctrine Of The Sovereignty Of God.

1.      /Calvinism Asserts That The Sovereignty Of God Is Supreme;/ that He has absolute and indisputable authority over all creation, that nothing can lie outside of or be viewed as not being subject to the sovereignty of His will, that He is not only the Creator and Upholder but the Disposer of all events from the beginning of time to its close.”

2.

/Calvin Himself Taught That God’s Providence Is Manifested In Three Ways: /(1) God sustains all creation in its being—apart from Him it would be dissolved; (2) God daily bestows life and ability to all things as it pleases Him—apart from Him nothing could have life and existence; (3) God guides all things to their appointed end.

Calvin further taught that even though God sustains and guides the whole world and every individual, His providential care is particularly focused on the church, where He manifests His divine purposes.

3.

/Calvin Maintained, However, That Divine Sovereignty Does Not Abolish Man’s Responsibility/.

God instilled man with reason and with a will, and people are held responsible for their decisions.

On the other hand, man’s responsibility does not dethrone God from His sovereignty.

God does not simply wait to see what man’s decision will be before He moves to action; rather, God subdues the actions and decisions of men to accomplish His purpose.

In a word, God is not governed by any circumstances outside of Himself, but only by His own good pleasure.

God thereby determines the result of all people, events, and things.

4.      The result of God’s sovereignty is that His purpose will be achieved.

Nothing can thwart His plan; history will be worked out according to the predetermined will of God.

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*       *Quote From /George L. Bryson/

 

For more that a decade I was the host of a Christian talk show called “Scripturally Spreaking.”

On many different occasions the topic of Calvinism in general, and the Five Points of Calvinism in particular, was introduced either by me, and in-studio guest, or a caller.

I can clearly remember one discussion in which a Calvinist guest was debating with an Arminian caller over the question of whether or not predestination was taught in Scripture.

When the question before us was simply a matter of */affirming/** or **/denying/* predestination, I appeared to be on the side of my Calvinist guest.

The caller expressed surprise at my agreement with my guest because he incorrectly thought that I must have been a Calvinist because of this agreement.

When I explained to him that I was not a Calvinist, the caller’s surprise then turned to confusion.

My guest then admitted that he was also surprised, if not confused, for he too wrongly assumed I was a Calvinist because I agreed that predestination was taught in Scripture.

The mistake both my Calvinist guest and Arminian caller had made was to assume that the distinctive of Calvinism is the Calvinist’s affirmation of predestination.

However, it is not the Calvinist’s */affirmation/* of predestination that distinguishes them from other Evangelicals.

Rather it is the Calvinists */definition/* of predestination that distinguishes them from other Orthodox and Evangelical believers.

To understand the Five Points as Calvinists do, you must see them as the expression of the Calvinistic */definition/* of predestination.

The Calvinistic definition of predestination must in turn be viewed as the basis of the Calvinistic */doctrine/* of salvation.

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*R.C.Sproul— *Predestination has something to do with the relationship of our ultimate destination and that something is done about that destination by somebody before we arrive there “When I call my travel agent to book a flight, the question is soon raised: “What is your destination?”

Sometimes the question is put more simply: “Where are you going?”

Our destination is the place where we are going.

In theology it refers to one of two places; either we are going to heaven or we are going to hell.

In either case, we cannot cancel the trip.

/God gives us but two final options/.

One or the other is our final destination”… heaven or hell, is decided by God not only before we get there, but before we are even born.

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*/Option Means: /*1. the act of choosing; choice; 2. the power of freedom to choose.

Having an option implies there is a choice in the matter which means “a will.”

/What predestination means/, in its most elementary form, is that our final destination,

/ /

/Calvin Defined Predestination As Follows/: “Predestination we call the eternal decree of God, by which he hath determined in himself what he would have to become of every individual of mankind. . . .

eternal life is foreordained for some, and eternal damnation for others.

Every man, therefore, being created for one or the other of these ends, we say he is predestinated either to life or to death.”

In other words, YOU WILL BE SAVED OR DAMNED */FOR/* ALL ETERNITY BECAUSE YOU WERE SAVED OR DAMNED */FROM/* ALL ETERNITY

*/A.

The TULIP System/*

*/       /**/T – /**/Total Depravity/** **–* Among Calvinist there are basically two schools of thought with regard to “total depravity” the “Hard View” & “Soft View.”

However, the difference between authentic Calvinists (as it related to depravity) is one of */degree/* and not */kind./*

*1.

*The Soft View: The unregenerate man is sinful in every area of his life, but not necessarily as sinful as he can be.

/The whole of mans being has been affected by sin, the corruption extends to every part of man, his body and soul: sin has affected all (the totality) of man’s faculties, his mind, will, etc/.

Another author says that: /no matter how much each of us has sinned, we are able to think of worse sins that we could have committed.

Even Adolph Hitler refrained from murdering his mother.

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*2.       *The Hard View: Other Calvinists see the /soft view/ of Total Depravity as a compromise.

Another author says that: /man by nature in all his existence, with all his heart and mind and soul and strength, has become a servant of sin, and that he is entirely incapable of doing good and inclined to all evil.

/

*3.       *The /Inoperable /Will of Man: What we cannot do because of Total Depravity from a Calvinistic perspective, is of course very important to a Calvinistic definition of Depravity, especially as it relates to a gospel presentation directed at the unregenerate.

*/a)        /**Ephesians 2:1**: The Unregenerate Are Not Only Unable To Do Good *(as well as unable to refrain from doing bad) spiritually in a general sense, but more specifically, they are */unable/* to respond to God or the Gospel (*/to any degree/*) while in an unregenerate state or */before/* */being born again/*.

The unregenerate man (in so far as responding to God, the Gospel, etc. is concerned) is dead and therefore */inoperable/*.

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1)        Spiritually Death to a Calvinists Means: the elimination of all human ability to understand or respond to God, not just a separation from God.

According to the Calvinists, the unregenerate man is */unable to receive Christ as Lord and Savior/*, */believe in Christ/* or */the Gospel when preached to him/*, or do anything to */accept the free gift of eternal life/* offered to him and be saved.

*/b)        /**The Response To Ephesians 2:1:* Death in the Bible is a strong expression meaning that fallen beings are totally separated from God.

As Isaiah put it, “But your iniquities have separated you from your God (Is.59:2).

Death does not mean a total destruction of all ability to hear and respond to God, but a complete separation of the whole person from God.