I’ve dealt with four misunderstandings of Calvinism related to the doctrine of total depravity. In this blog I begin to deal with a number related to the doctrine of unconditional election. Here are the first two:
- Misunderstandings related to Unconditional Election
(1) Calvinists are fatalists!
I looked up the dictionary definition of fatalism, but I think it has little to do with what the people who make this charge actually mean. Let me tell you what I think they mean. I think they mean to say that Calvinists think that nothing we do changes our final destiny. I think they mean that there is no relationship between how a person acts and where he will spend eternity. I think they mean that somehow a person’s destiny in eternity is fixed regardless of how he responds to the gospel here in this life. If that is what they mean by fatalism, then it has nothing to do with mainstream Calvinism. Calvinists believe that the promises of the gospel are true for any person who will receive them by faith. The promise of Acts 16:31 is true without exception: “They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”” Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved is absolutely true for everyone. The person who repents of his sins and believes in the Lord Jesus Christ will be saved without exception. Election does not mean that God is free not to keep His gospel promises. It does not mean that He may not save you even if you believe in Christ. Listen to the first systematic statement of the doctrines of grace, the Canons of Dort:
SECOND HEAD: ARTICLE 5. Moreover, the promise of the gospel is that whosoever believes in Christ crucified shall not perish, but have eternal life….
(2) Calvinists believe the elect will be saved no matter what we or they do!
Once more this is absolutely not what the doctrines of grace teach. Consider these words of chapter 3 of the 1689 Baptist Confession:
God is neither the author of sin nor hath fellowship with any therein; nor is violence offered to the will of the creature, nor yet is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established …
Here the Confession makes clear that God honors human liberty and the contingency (conditionality) of second causes in the working out of His eternal plan. This means that what people do does matter! The Confession teaches this because it is absolutely the teaching of the Bible. 2 Timothy 2:10 gives us Paul’s doctrine of the election: “For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory.” If Paul believed that the elect would be saved no matter what they or we do, how could he have uttered these sentiments? Election does not mean that the elect will be saved no matter what we or they do. It means that they and we will certainly do certain things! It means missionaries will suffer. It means that the elect will believe. It means that both of these things will happen, and in this way the elect will be saved!
The Seventh and Eight Misunderstandings
Dr. Sam Waldron is the Academic Dean of CBTS and professor of Systematic Theology. He is also one of the pastors of Grace Reformed Baptist Church in Owensboro, KY. Dr. Waldron received a B.A. from Cornerstone University, an M.Div. from Trinity Ministerial Academy, a Th.M. from Grand Rapids Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. From 1977 to 2001 he was a pastor of the Reformed Baptist Church of Grand Rapids, MI. Dr. Waldron is the author of numerous books including A Modern Exposition of the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith, The End Times Made Simple, Baptist Roots in America, To Be Continued?, and MacArthur’s Millennial Manifesto: A Friendly Response.
