As much as I would love to respond to every question or objection or comment directed my way online (and there are multiplied tens of thousands of them), I have to prioritize my time before the Lord, especially when working on major book projects (which is almost always!). From time to time, however, I plan to take some questions or objections that catch my eye and provide short answers to them here on my Blog, the caveat being that, for the most part, I won’t be able to respond to the responses.
So, here are some responses to questions or comments posted by Calvinists following my recent debate with my friend and former student, Pastor Bruce Bennett.
When Bruce claimed that “Calvinism is the gospel,” citing C. H. Spurgeon, I took exception to this, calling the comment “ugly, arrogant, and divisive,” even if Spurgeon said it. James Grossi aske: Isn’t calling the comment “ugly, arrogant and divisive” in fact ugly, arrogant and divisive? I’m sorry you have such a bad opinion of Calvinists. I assure you, the ones I know aren’t arrogant. Remeber, seeing as they also preach salvation by faith through grace, they too are true believers and should be treated as brethren. Remember 1 John 2:9-11.
James, actually, I don’t have a bad opinion of Calvinists, and I would never say, “Arminianism is the gospel.” That’s what I was taking exception to. I found the comment to be terribly divisive and negative, whereas I had been making statements to the effect that when we reach out to the lost, we’re preaching the same message of repentance and faith, without discrimination.
Remember that pastor, himself a Calvinist, opened by reading from Ephesians 4, with a call to unity, then we all sang “Amazing Grace” together. And one of the first questions — if not the first question — asked had to do with unity in the midst of our differences. Unfortunately, my esteemed colleague Bruce Bennett repeatedly claimed that I was taking glory from God with my views, which I called obscene, and that my very act of faith was a “work,” which I repeatedly refuted with scripture. Bruce also questioned the salvation of some Arminians and also made the statement that “Calvinism was the gospel.”
Rhaevin81 asks: Dr. Brown, do you believe Paul could have rejected Jesus on the road to Damascus? If so does that mean the Bible which is God’s Word would have been altered because Paul never would have been a believer to write the epistles?
Yes, of course he could have, but God, who knows the end from the beginning and who transcends time, knew that he would not. God’s absolute foreknowledge and our ability to respond to God, by His grace, or refuse Him, are 100% compatible according to the Word.
AltoChristi36 wrote, Salvation comes by faith alone. To say we produced faith on our own which attained our salvation is to make me at least half responsible for my conversion.
Who is saying that we produced faith? Faith is a gift from God, and with that faith we can say yes to God or no to God. As I noted at the beginning of my comments, the entire Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, makes clear that if we have choices to make and that God does not predetermine our responses. Some of our choices grieve Him and others please Him, and He will respond to us accordingly. Again, the Bible explicitly states this from Genesis to Revelation. And Paul states plainly in Romans 4:16 that if salvation is by faith, it is not by works, something my friend Pastor Bruce seemed unable to grasp in the debate.
So, God alone gets the glory as Savior, since in a trillion lifetimes, we could never save ourselves, but it is those who receive His grace that will be saved. As a result, on that day (and in every day up to that point as believers), we will glory in the Lord alone.
