Why Fight About Calvinism?

In this regular feature Dave and Tom respond to questions from listeners and readers of The Berean Call.  Here is this week’s question:Dear Dave and Tom, I am really annoyed at Dave’s new book on Calvinism and I haven’t even read it yet.Your full page ad in your newsletter tells me we’re going to have Christians fighting Christians over complex theological issues and our witness to the world is going to suffer.

Tom:

Well they admit they haven’t read it yet, but what about this point of arguing over theological issues and what kind of witness?

Dave:

Yes.Tom, that’s one of the first things I say in the book and I explain why I was very reluctant to write the book.But in fact, we began hearing of more and more arguments, churches splitting, people aggressively saying Calvinism is THE gospel and I quote a number of evangelical leaders of today saying this is pure Christianity, this is the gospel, and some of them even saying that if you don’t preach the five points of Calvinism, you are not preaching the gospel.Now that’s pretty serious I think.I have friends who are Calvinists who wouldn’t believe that, but I’m quoting some of the major leaders who say that.

Tom:

Yes, so [there are] lots of people out there calling themselves Calvinists who do believe it.Although there are exceptions.

Dave:

Right, that’s true and I say at the very beginning, I do not want this book to bring division.What really compelled me, in fact as you know, the book was first titled: In Defense of God’s Character.I don’t like to get involved in detailed theological discussions and arguments.That can go on forever.I think we have something very basic here that’s involved.Either God loves everyone, or he doesn’t love everyone.Either Christ died for everyone or he didn’t die for everyone.Either God wants everyone in heaven and offers full salvation freely to all who will believe and receive it, by his grace, from his hands through Christ or he does not want everyone to be saved and he has predestined multitudes from before the foundation of the world, before they were ever born, they were predestined to go to hell to be tormented forever and there’s nothing they can do about it, nothing you and I can do about it, because [it’s] no good to preach the gospel to them.They can’t even believe the gospel.They can’t even make a decision to receive Christ because they are totally depraved and God must regenerate them, miraculously, sovereignly regenerate them before they can even believe the gospel and receive Christ. Now either God does not love all mankind; does not want everyone saved or he does.Now I think we can deal with that fairly simply.

Tom:

Dave, that’s not a hair splitting issue.

Dave:

I don’t think so.

Tom:

That’s not—I don’t think so either.So it needs to be addressed.

Dave:

So that is why we subtitled—well the title of the book is: What Love is This?For God so loved the world—

Tom:

Important question.

Dave:

Yes.For God so loved the world doesn’t mean that he loves the whole world.It means he loved the world of the elect?Then the subtitle is: Calvinism’s Misrepresentation of God.Now I think we can discuss that without splitting hairs—theological hairs.As you said, it’s not a hair splitting issue.I think we can discuss this without getting angry with one another and I am committed to defending the God I know and love—the God of the Bible.And over, and over, and over, and over it says he is not willing that any should perish.He would have all men to come to the knowledge of the truth.Christ is the propitiation for the sins of the whole world.God so loved the world he gave his only begotten Son.He sent not his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world….”There are hundreds of verses like that.

God’s mercy is over all of his creation.He is merciful, long suffering, he pleads with Israel, “Repent I don’t want to judge you and yet he really wants to judge them?And all the appeals in the scripture, “Choose you this day whom you will serve,” and so forth…all the expressions of God’s love and mercy are turned around to somehow explain it away.For example, when it says he would have all men to be saved.Well the Calvinist says well that doesn’t mean all without exception, it means all without distinction.By that they mean, all kinds of men, some old, some rich, some poor, some Aborigines, some educated and so forth.It doesn’t mean all without exception, it means all without distinction.

Tom:

Dave I’m confused all ready.

Dave:

Okay.If I have a store and I put a big ad in the paper, “all merchandise 50% off”, you come to my store and you want this piece of merchandise—no, no that’s not 50% off, that’s full price.But you advertised ALL merchandise 50% off.Well, I didn’t mean ALL without exception, I meant all without distinction.I am not distinguishing between this item and some of this and some of that and some of that.Tom, I think that misrepresents God.You have to force the Bible to say something that it doesn’t say.I think we can deal with that.I think it’s important.

Tom:

Well I think it is important Dave because a lot of people, maybe who have avoided this have said well; I’m sort of a Calvinist because I believe in eternal security.That’s not the issue and we said from the beginning and you stated earlier there’s a more aggressive presentation of Calvinist beliefs today than there has been five to six years ago, at least according to our surveys and what we have been watching.But people now have ideas that are shocking to them.Just the simple things, the simple ideas that the basic points of Calvinism that are being presented when people understand what they’re saying, it’s pretty shocking, I think.

Dave:

Well Tom I have friends, some of my best friends are Calvinists.We don’t quarrel about it and I don’t want to quarrel with anyone, but I am concerned for the character of my God and of the Christ that has redeemed me by his blood and I think he’s being misrepresented.Now if he’s not, if he really doesn’t love everyone and he really doesn’t want everyone in heaven, well then let’s discuss it and show me from the scriptures.