Kirkland: "Calvinism: None Dare Call It Heresy," Text, Part 8

Kirkland: "Calvinism: None Dare Call It Heresy," Text, Part 8
Friday, November 4, 2022 by Dr. James W. Walraven

Categories: Apologetics / Apostasy / Contemporary issues / God’s sovereignty / Scripture discussion / Spiritual deception / The church / Thought for Today

Chapter 7 of Kirkland’s book: Calvin’s Perseverance, along with chapter 8: No Assurance of Salvation, function as something of a unit. They are difficult to assess.

One of his main points is biblically spot on: “The biblical doctrine of eternal security teaches that one who has been truly saved by God’s grace is kept eternally saved by God’s grace” (page 74). I’d agree that that is what the Bible teaches.

He asserts, “Calvin taught that he could not believe unless God first regenerated him and gave him faith to believe. It is not surprising, therefore, that Calvin or any Calvinist cannot have an assurance of salvation and, therefore, he must adhere to his preservation of the saints theory” (page 80).

The question is: What to Calvinists teach about the perseverance of the saints and eternal security?

Kirkland notes that it is an error to equate eternal security and Calvin’s perseverance of the saints. He states, “God has not left our eternal destiny in our ability to persevere. For God to do that would result in a salvation by works” (page 74). Thus, for Kirkland, the perseverance of the saints teaches a salvation by works. He goes on to quote Calvin, Pink, and others to prove his point.

Kirkland says, “The Bible has many specific examples of believers who did not persevere according to John Calvin’s theory” (page 76). He cites the sinful actions of Noah, Abraham, Jacob, David, Moses, and others. He again quotes Pink, where Pink states that if there is a reserve in obedience, hell is the destination. The author avoids the issue of the role of repentance and seeking God’s forgiveness after committing sin.

Even worse, “In the seven churches in Revelation, only one was found acceptable. By Calvin’s guidelines, the members of all these churches were going to Hell” (page 76).

If one backslides, if one sins even once, one is in deep eternal trouble, one’s salvation is doubtful. Kirkland, via Pink, and others, maintains that perfect obedience, or something close to it, is required in order to persevere. Perseverance is solely based on the works of the believer, and as being works based, is yet another aspect of the heretical nature of Calvinism.

Kirkland notes that Calvin had no assurance of his own salvation (page 79). He cites moments where R.C. Sproul had momentary doubts (page 81). He mentions a comment of John MacArthur’s where he states that some of those attending may be defectors but not know it yet. Thus for Calvinists, eternal security is impossible.

For Kirkland, the only “security” Calvinists have is to rely on is their own works-based perseverance. Is his assessment accurate?

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