There CAN be Peace Between Calvinists and Arminians Who ALSO Have God’s Love Motivating Them!
There CAN be Peace Between Calvinists and Arminians Who ALSO Have God’s Love Motivating Them!
[This is what I wrote to a group who were engaged in a Facebook debate for and against “Calvinism.”]
I have been studying, discussing, and debating this issue since 1977, when I got to know a brilliant Calvinist. Not having ever studied the relevant scriptures in depth, I was out of my league with him. That spurred me to get serious about the question.
The problem I have with almost ALL who are engaging in this debate is that hardly any are actually basing their argumentation upon even trying to balance ALL relevant Scriptural passages and embrace them with an equal love. And they argue like secular philosophers using vague generalities: “Calvin’s ‘predestination’ means we are nothing but puppets!” OR “If God calls us to repent and believe in Jesus that means we have ’free will’!” That has been going on for over 500 years, with absolutely no coming to harmony among those who claim to be serious in following Jesus!
Neither Calvin nor Augustine need to be even MENTIONED, because it is God’s apostle PAUL who wrote using the terms “foreknowledge,” “predestined,” “called,” and ”glorified.” And ALL who preached the gospel in the New Testament called upon people to repent and believe. Since GOD obviously did not find that mixture of “predestination” and “willing” confusing to HIM then we should passionately embrace each and every passage we find in the New Testament. But what we see instead within this never-ending and fruitless debate is one group pitting some passages of God’s word AGAINST other passages of God’s word. And instead of even TRYING to create a harmonious solution together, we are demonizing one another! For shame!
This attitude is both irreverent and the result of laziness. The fleshly instinct always loves easy answers for all issues. And SOME issues are easy to find a “yes or no” answer: “Is it ever ok to cheat on your spouse?” requires a simple “NO!” But what about a question like “Have you stopped beating your wife – YES or NO?” A simple ”yes” means that you USED to beat her; a simple “no” means that you still ARE!”
“Further, we know that all things work together for good for those who love God, for those who are called according to purpose. Because whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers. Further, whom He predestined, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.”
From the way Paul wrote in Romans 8:29-30, it seems perfectly obvious to me that he was describing the chronological and experiential sequence that leads to our final glorification in Christ. If I wind up sharing in His glory, it was because He had, through faith in Jesus, caused me to both love and become what was in Jesus as “justice” (a.k.a., “goodness”). And if THAT had been done, it was because HE first “called” me (and I responded, obviously DESIRING to yield to Him). And if He “called” me, it was obviously because HE had first chosen me long BEFORE He started planning how and when to “call” me (“predestinated”). And if He had chosen/predestined me “from the foundation of the world” (Ephesians 1:4, Revelation 17:8), it was because He had ”known” me far, FAR ahead of time (“foreknown”). That is the experiential sequence that leads to our sharing in the resurrection glorification of Jesus (as mentioned in 1 Corinthians 15:35-49).
That understanding described by Paul HAS to be embraced, because that is exactly what He said in very explicit and clear language! There seem to be many who like to interpret the “predestination” part to mean that He never applies that “predestination” to individuals, but only to the GROUP of believers. But that is logical suicide, because a ”group” necessarily implies every MEMBER of the group, no? If YOU are going to be sharing in Christ’s glory, then it is YOU who are justified, called, predestined and foreknown by God.
So your challenge in this endless debate is to think of a way in which EVERYTHING inspired by God is true, and HOW those divine truths can all work together in a way that honors the God who is both holy AND who earnestly “… desires ALL men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth!”
But that requires some serious homework mixed with a lot of prayerful conversations with our holy and loving God! But in our laziness about working diligently, mixed with our finding it easier to demonize our opponents rather than look for the revealed truth that may be in what they are saying, and YEARNING to create a common mind with them (as in Acts 15), we just pick a theological side and throw theological/philosophical “brick bats” at one another!
Can you imagine what Paul may be thinking about that? Remember that he is the one who wrote: “Now I PLEAD with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the SAME thing, and that there be NO divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the SAME mind and in the SAME judgment. For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe’s household, that there are contentions among you. Now I say this, that each of you says, ‘I am of Calvin,’ or ‘I am of Arminius,’ or ‘I am of Paul,’ or ‘I am of Christ.’ Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?” (pardon the ’paraphrase’ of 1 Corinthians 1:10ff; but you get the point!).
I am confident that it is PERFECTLY “okay” to God if we just tell Him, “I know that what you had Paul write is wonderfully true; but I just cannot understand HOW it is true when I KNOW that you also want ALL men to be saved at the same time.” But the more that you begin to actually understand it for yourself, I can guarantee that you will Love your Creator all the more, as you appreciate just HOW much planning He put into capturing your heart’s loyalty, just for you PERSONALLY! There is an old saying, “A man chases his woman until SHE captures HIM.” In the way of Salvation, we are all the ones being “captured” (a.k.a, “called”).
Remember that it is the VERY same Paul who wrote about God wanting ALL to be saved, who also wrote: “You will say to me then, ‘Why does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will? But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, ‘Why have you made me like this? Does not the potter have power over the CLAY, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?” (Romans 9:19-21)! We simply CANNOT ignore what Paul is clearly saying here, just to make our understanding “simple”!
And Paul was merely expounding upon what Jesus Himself had said: “Do not murmur among yourselves. No one CAN come to Me unless the Father who sent Me DRAWS him” (John 6:43). You must embrace the clear meaning of those kinds of passages with the same passion that you love to hear Him say “God SO loved the world…”, no? His Word is not some “menu system” to be used so that we can create our own “meal” of things that WE like to eat!
At age 84, I now DELIGHT in consider myself to have been “clay” in my holy “Potter’s” hands, from even my infancy!
I have made a rather extensive examination of the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments and I find NO philosophical discussion about HOW “free” our “wills” are. That man CAN make decisions is clearly assumed and described there. But a will that is “free” must mean that you can make a decision free from ANY internal restraints; MY experience of life makes it clear to me that we humans have an amazing range in severity of internal restraints /fears /compulsions /angers /lusts, so that NONE of us have wills that are properly described as “free.” A drug addict’s will may be “free” to decide when to cross the street, but certainly NOT about whether to pop that next pill! And even if your “will” WERE “free,” that does not mean that you can actual DO what you “will” to do, does it! Is that not what Romans 7 is SCREAMING to us? Paul, seemingly speaking on behalf of all of human nature, clearly cries out, “For the good that I WILL to do, I DO not do; but the evil I WILL not to do, that I practice. Now if I [actually] do what I WILL not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who WILLS to do good” (Romans 7:19-21).
I have worked and prayed pretty hard for a long time, in my desire to see our countless divisions healed, as Paul pleaded. I have come to see a solution that, to me, makes perfect sense and is also pretty easy to understand, ONCE you understand what is involved in the BIBLICAL meaning of “salvation.” It is in my “Blueprint for a Revolution: Building Upon ALL of the New Testament,” but it is too long to include here. It is for sale on Amazon and other places, but since I still own the copyright, I give it away freely (via email) to anyone who requests a copy and provides me with their email address (via FB Message or email).
ReedMerino@gmail.com
