Tuesday 9:47 AM
This morning i found myself listening to a short clip on Instagram of RC Sproul discussing that regeneration precedes faith. A deep and very important topic. A clear distinction was provided for me at the end of how different evangelism must be for an Arminian than from a Calvinist.
Previously, i have avoided using labels such as these but as i reflect back on the last 8 years in Christ, i realize how helpful it would have been to have had a better understanding of some Christian terms earlier on. There are two major camps in the area of soteriology (the doctrine of salvation) in Protestantism. One goes by the name of Arminianism and the other Calvinism. Eight years ago when my Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ came and found me and made me His own and reconciled me back to the Father, i not only had a sensational hunger for God's Word but i also had a desire to be around people that had come to long for the Lord Jesus like i did. The first logical place i thought to find those people were in church. Church - that's a whole other topic for another day. For now let's stay on topic. After seven years of attending four different churches for long periods of time i began to get discouraged and wondered if there were truly any real churches in our time. The Holy Spirit kept me strong in His Word and kept teaching me faithfully along the way, though! After the first seven years, two of which we didn't attend worship services but watched from afar online, my family could not not go to church any longer. We still had a longing to be with others that loved our Lord as well. We were led to a congregation that we had listened to for six months online before we attended in person. Through those six months of listening online we didn't have the confusion that we had had with the previous four churches. Specifically on the conflict of what and how the Word of God was being preached. So we chose to attend this new church that we had been listening to online for six months in person and it was like falling into the arms of Jesus all over again! There were actually elders in this church, not just those on staff. The pastor actually preached the Word of God, not his own word. The preaching elevated Jesus, not the pastor or the church itself. The preaching was serious and honored, not preaching that sought laughs or aimed at entertaining people. There was actually joining of church members. Real covenantal commitments being made to one another, not just attenders when they felt like it or when it convenienced them. Doctrine was being taught, not just motivational speeches that talk about Jesus aimed at comforting my flesh. But rather, truth being proclaimed and my flesh being convicted! And the singing! The singing was Hymns, not the cultural make me feel good "Christian" music that passes as worship music these days. i know that comes across a bit harsh, but it's the truth. Singing hymns began to deepen the doctrines that i was learning and the reality of truth began to sink deeper into my soul! The Lord was reaching places in my heart that had yet to be touched with His Word! And this continues to this day! Oh the sweetness of the soul singing our Lord's praises unto His glory!
And then shortly after we started attending, I recall a particular moment when the pastor was preaching about the man that Jesus healed at the pool of Bethesda in John chapter 5. The pastor, my pastor, made a simple statement, "Notice that the man didn't know who Jesus was." With that little sentence along with all the personal study of the Scriptures the Holy Spirit was leading me through at home - it clicked! The light bulb turned on! i now understood why what was preached in the first four churches that it was us that decided for Christ, was wrong. This passage clearly taught otherwise! This man didn't know Jesus from Adam. Literally. (Which is a massive subject all on it's own and very important.) Jesus chose to heal this man! Jesus chose to forgive this man and change his life forever and this man had no clue who Jesus was. This man was rescued and NOT because He believed in the story about Jesus loving us, the way we are hammered to "believe" in Him in our age. What i'm referring to is the way someone tells you that Jesus loves you and died for your sins and if you "believe" that then you are saved and headed for heaven. It was apparent i had been listening to another gospel for those first seven years. A gospel that i had also heard at the age of sixteen and raised my hand, prayed a prayer and then got baptized. The gospel that did nothing and produced no other changes in my mind, heart or life than to make me falsely believe that i was saved and headed for heaven.
It was at this point i began to realize how important these labels are in Christian circles. And more important to know and understand when you are searching for, how the culture says it, "looking for a church home." Some churches are Arminian and some churches are Calvinistic in their beliefs, preaching and teaching. This matters tremendously. Why? Because one believes you choose Jesus and the other believes Jesus chooses you. It seems to be a subtle difference and maybe insignificant. But it absolutely is not! The gulf between the two is reminiscent of the subtlety of the serpent in the garden talking to Eve.
Let's listen to some of the words that came straight out of Jesus' mouth during His incarnation on earth:
"It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have
spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe."
(For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and
who it was who would betray Him.) And He said, "This is why I told you that no
one can come to Me unless it is granted him by the Father." - Jesus, quoted in
John 6:63-65
Who gives life? Do we choose life? Do we choose to ask Jesus into our hearts? Who is it that Jesus says gives life? The Spirit gives life!
How is it that one comes to Jesus? It is granted him by the Father.
Let's also listen to what Jesus said just a few moments before He said these words. Before He said the above, He said:
"No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him. And I will raise
him up on the last day. It is written in the Prophets, 'And they will all be taught by God.'
Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me -" - Jesus, quoted in
John 6:44-45
Who are the only ones who can come to Jesus? Those whom the Father draws to Jesus!
What took place before they came? They heard and learned from the Father!
Who teaches those who come to Jesus? God!
Jesus says those that come are taught by God! (Take notice in both passages above the Triune God is present - Father, Son and Holy Spirit!)
These two passages above bring to mind Jesus' conversation with Peter in Matthew 16.
"Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples,
"Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" And they said, "Some say John the
Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to
them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ,
the Son of the living God." And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah!
For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven, And I
tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell
shall not prevail against it." - Jesus, quoted in Matthew 16:13-18
Again, straight out of Jesus' mouth we hear the reality that the Father reveals truth! It was not that Peter chose rightly to guess the true identity of Jesus. Peter knew the true identity of Jesus because the Father revealed it to him! And on that revelation, says Jesus, He builds His church! It is not that we are just smarter or better than our neighbor and therefore we choose rightly to believe a story about God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit and heaven and hell. No! It is that salvation is of the Lord! Not us!
Two central important distinctions that you need to be aware of as a professing believer in Christ is:
1) There is a massive difference between Arminianism and Calvinism.
2) Monergism - God is solely responsible and credited for our salvation. AKA: Calvinism
Synergism - The teaching that we are in part responsible and credited with God, by our cooperation, for our salvation. AKA: Arminianism.
Also, a term that is helpful in understanding the popular false teaching that is prevalent in many churches today is decision theology. It is the culprit of many false converts that are professing to be Christians that haven't the slightest clue about the Jesus of the Scriptures or Scripture itself. i know this all too well as i was one of them before the Holy Spirit regenerated my soul. Another term that is of importance is the doctrines of grace. Dig in! Do the research and see for yourself! And most importantly, to quote the Father in regards to His Son, (Matthew 17:5, Mark 9:7, Luke 9:35), "This is My Son, My chosen One; listen to Him."
All of this as a backdrop for my opening lines of how different evangelism has to be for an Arminian and a Calvinist. If you're an Arminian you must be sharing Christ with someone and hoping that you are saying just the right things at just the right time in full dependence upon the person you're talking to. How so? You're depending on them making the right decision to believe what you are telling them. And not only are you depending on them, you're depending on your own abilities as well. Not that we should be utterly irresponsible and loose with the Gospel, but an Armianian is more likely to look to self and the person they're witnessing to because they believe they actually took some part in the salvation of their own soul. Whereas a Calvinist, knowing that they had absolutely zero, zilch, nothing to do with their salvation is in absolute full dependence upon the Triune God for the regeneration of the soul of the one to whom they are witnessing. Knowing that God, and God alone, CAN give life to a dead soul leaves us as we always are, at the complete mercy of God! Not looking to our intellect, our communication skills or our abilities. Nor does it leave us at the mercy of the intellect of the person with whom we are speaking. We are entirely dependent upon the Triune God of the Scriptures to breathe life into the person we are speaking to. In other words, the result of the conversation is in God's hands, not ours and not the person we're speaking with.
Let us consult the Scriptures and listen in on a letter Paul wrote to the Corinthian church as he is helping them understand how they came to have faith in Christ:
"What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through who you believed, as the
Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.
So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who
gives the growth." - Paul, recorded in 1 Corinthians 3:6-7
We can no more be a part of our salvation or anyone else's for that matter than we were a part of our own existence in the first place. Salvation of any human being is fully dependent upon God! Not His people! But what an incredible privilege we have been given to have been entrusted with the truth to proclaim! And that God Almighty chooses to use His word about His Son coming out of our mouths as a means for the Holy Spirit to reach His people! Amazing!
One last thought! Once you have been given the eyes to see this reality in His Word, you see it everywhere in Scripture! You'll wonder how you could have missed it all this time. The thing is, we allow the words of others, even when it comes to God's Word, to have influence in our thinking and our view of things. We tend to listen to others and what they have to say about God's Word more than we listen to God Himself in His Word. Thank God He gives more grace and grants us repentance!
Grace and Space for you and for others, no matter what it looks like!
Here is the video clip i ran across this morning of R.C. Sproul as well as a link to a chart that gives a visual of the differences between Arminianism and Calvinism. May the Lord bless you with knowing His salvation!
