Calvinism Exposed

by Jay McMullan
© 2004

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Calvinist Point #4

Irresistible Grace.

     The Calvinists believe that the Grace of God that leads only those who are called by Him to salvation, is so great that none of the truly chosen people of God will be able to resist that grace. Therefore, there is absolutely no way, those called of God, can turn away from the calling of God, before salvation or even after the time they are regenerated or born-again. If this were so, the true believers on earth would be nothing more than mere robots serving a tyrant that is a respecter of persons. This kind of thought is absolute heresy. Acts 10:34, “Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons”.

     Is it possible for a man to resist the grace of God? As has been stated in the former paragraph, the Calvinists believe it is absolutely not possible since God’s grace is irresistible. Perhaps, if you believe that there are two categories of people on this earth, those who are called of God and those who are not called of God, you may be able to deceive yourself into believing that the former group cannot resist God’s grace. But, instead of looking at what Calvin’s new theology taught, let’s look at the scriptures again:

Matthew 23:37
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
Acts 7:51
Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.
Hebrews 10:28-29
He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: [29] Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?
Hebrews 6:4-6
For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, [5] And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, [6] If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. This scripture completely blows their point away, otherwise it would not be in the Bible. This PROVES beyond a shadow of a doubt that there are those that can lose their salvation.
Hebrews 10:38-39
Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. [39] But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.
Genesis 6:3
And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.

     It is clear that from the beginning of time, that not only mankind has resisted the grace of God, but also angels, as we know Lucifer tried to rise above God and was cast out of heaven. Again, the points of Calvinism are destroyed by the Word of God. Even though God’s grace is wonderful, God loves man enough to give him the free will or choice, to decide if he wants to follow God’s grace or not.

Calvinist Point #5

Perseverance of the Saints.

     Calvinists doctrine says, “It follows from what was just said that the people of God WILL persevere to the end and not be lost. The foreknown are predestined, the predestined are called, the called are justified, and the justified are glorified. No one is lost from this group. To belong to this people is to be eternally secure.”

     Eternal security, or “Once saved, Always saved”, as it sometimes referred to is another doctrine that falls short of God’s Word. The believer is certainly secure in his salvation if he continues in the faith. But one of the clear teachings of the Bible is that there are, in fact, those that are able to walk away from the salvation that they have received by believing on Christ. The Bible shows very specific qualities of the one that can fall from grace.

Hebrews 6:4-6
For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, [5] And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, [6] If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.

     1. They must have once been “enlightened”. This means they must have been born-again to have seen the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 2. They must have tasted of the heavenly gift. This most certainly refers to eternal salvation else, what is the “heavenly gift”? 3. They must have been made partakers of the Holy Ghost. When one is born-again, the Holy Spirit comes into the believer’s life and the person is made a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17) There is also the baptism of the Holy Ghost, the promise of the Father spoken of by Jesus before He ascended to heaven (Acts 1:4) 4. They have to had tasted the “good Word of God and the powers of the world to come”. How can this be done without the Holy Spirit being inside of the believer. There is no way to really understand the Bible than to be born-again. To the person that is born-again, the Word of God becomes more than a book, it is alive!

    I attempted to glean some information from R.C. Sproul's blog but it is difficult to ascertain exactly what Sproul believes since, with every one of the five points of Calvinism, he prefers to call the points something other than what they have been called for over five hundred years. Sproul and his "Ligonier" organiztion are considered to be at the forefront of Calvinism in the modern age.

     It is almost comical as I read through Sproul's blog, how he obviously struggles with the 5 Points of Calvinism so strongly (yet he is considered to be one of the leading Calvinist in this generation) that he has to reword each of the five points. Obviously, any new believer who would try to make sense of The Five Points of Calvinism or of Sproul's confusing undoctrinal diatribe would be lost and would not understand the mind, the will and the purpose of God.

These are quotes directly from R.C. Sproul's web site.

On Total Depravity “I like to replace the term total depravity with my favorite designation, which is radical corruption.” On Unconditional Election “Unconditional election is another term that I think can be a bit misleading, so I prefer to use the term sovereign election.” On Limited Atonement ”I prefer not to use the term limited atonement because it is misleading. I rather speak of definite redemption or definite atonement, which communicates that God the Father designed the work of redemption specifically with a view to providing salvation for the elect, and Christ died for His sheep and laid down His life for those the Father had given to Him.” On Irresistible Grace “I have a little bit of a problem using the term irresistible grace, not because I don’t believe this classical doctrine, but because it is misleading to many people. Therefore, I prefer the term effectual grace, because the irresistible grace of God effects what God intends for it to effect.” On Perserverance of the Saints “The only reason we can give why any of us continue on in the faith is because we have been preserved. So I prefer the term the preservation of the saints, because the process by which we are kept in a state of grace is something that is accomplished by God.”

     Each and every point of Calvinism will not stand up to the litmus test of Christianity and Biblical doctrine.I have observed those of the reformed theology who pride themselves on using huge words in an attempt to make themselves look super intelligent. We must remember the Word of God is simple, simple to convey and simple to understand and simple to receive! No matter how intelligent a man may seem, if his teachings do not line up with the WHOLE council of God, they must be thrown out. The Five Points of Calvinism simply do not stand up to the Word of God nor the Pauline Revelation. Many Calvinists become arrogant and haughty as one would expect when they believe they are in God’s Special Believer’s Club. The Jews are known for their arrogance that grew from being the “promised seed of Abraham”. It would be good for the Calvinist to study these scriptures and the WHOLE Bible thoroughly, asking the Holy Spirit for guidance. Those of you who see the error in Calvinism must take a stand against the poisonous doctrine that it is and stand for the true doctrine of Christ.