The Bible and...: Part 5b: Theology

The Bible and...: Part 5b: Theology
Saturday, April 20, 2024 by Dr. James W. Walraven

Calvinists vs. Arminians. One is hard pressed to think of a theological debate filled with more bitterness and rancor. The debate has raged for centuries; libraries are filled with books advocating either the one side or the other.

No matter the amount of ink already spilled, the arguments continue on, unabated. Each side claims their view is the only true biblical view. With them, one must agree!

Sometime back, I reviewed a book “None Dare Call It Heresy,” a book whose author insisted that if anyone even more or less thought the word “Calvin” in a non-negative light, that person was preaching a false gospel, was cursed, and could expect to spend all eternity in Hell. Even if a person agreed with just one point of what the author labeled as “Calvinism” that person was eternal toast.

Not to be outdone, it doesn’t take a lengthy internet search to find Calvinists doing the exact same thing. If someone even dares to think the word “Arminius” in a non-negative light, one is preaching a false gospel, is an outright heretic, predestined (double pre-destined?*) to eternal Hell.

If that is what the World sees as examples of being “Christian”, it gives them yet one more reason to reject it outright (regardless of whether one thinks they were predestined to do that or not).

So, what’s the problem? The problem is that there are Scriptures that don’t fit neatly into either system, Scriptures that have to somehow be shoehorned in, forced to fit. There are numerous Scriptures that state that God is absolutely sovereign (1 Timothy 6:15); that God establishes all authority (Romans 13:1). See also especially Psalm 2.

There are others that indicate people have to make the choice to believe. John 6:28–9 (NAU): “Therefore they said to Him, ‘What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?’ Jesus answered and said to them, ‘This is athe work of God, that you believe in Him whom He bhas sent.’” The onus is on the people to believe.

A standard answer often given by Calvinists is John 6:44, regarding God’s choice and sovereignty over salvation: “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day” (NAU). Unless God draws the person, that person won’t be saved.

But then there’s John 12:32 where Jesus says: “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself” (NAU). Jesus is referencing his soon to be realized crucifixion.

On the one hand God the Father must draw each person for salvation to occur, on the other hand Jesus is drawing everyone. How does that work? The Bible is clear that not everyone will be saved, that most will choose the broad path that leads to their destruction, that few find and enter the narrow gate that leads to life.

Skeptics will shout: “See, the Bible is full of contradictions!” To which we’d reply, “Not at all!” What we’re seeing is the opposite sides of the same coin. God is both absolutely sovereign and people must accept God’s gift of salvation. That is one reason the Calvinist/Arminian debate has never been, and arguably never will be, “solved”. There is just too much that doesn’t fit cleanly within either the one system or the other.

We’ve previously discussed how we don’t like unresolved tension, that we want definite answers, even when the Bible doesn’t give them. What we’ve just been discussing tends to cause unresolved tension. Both the Arminians and the Calvinists seek to provide definitive answers to help us resolve that discomfort. The trouble is that however helpful some of their arguments might be, neither side can provide an ultimate final answer.

What ends up happening is that the theological system ends up taking precident over Scripture, All Scripture must be explained in terms of the system, regardlenss of whether any given passage cleanly fits or not.

In the next post, we’ll turn to a second problematic example: prophecy and end-times.

*A few extreme hyper-Calvinists (by no means all or even the majority) insist that God created the damned as damned, and then predestined the damned to Hell (double predestination).

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