September 9, 2024
Calvinists love to lecture the world on what they call the doctrines of grace as if the rest of the Christian world knows little or nothing about the grace of God. Are they accurate?
All five points or doctrines of Calvinism (TULIP) are said to reflect the grace of God. If you are a five-point Calvinist, then you believe that God alone saves, which they call monergism. We contribute nothing at all to our salvation, in their view. We are born unable to do anything to save ourselves. If mankind can’t do anything, including believing in or repenting from sin, to be saved, or to cooperate with God’s grace, then clearly God gets all the credit for our salvation. Few of them seem willing to candidly admit that God also deserves all the ‘credit’ (blame) for the lost being lost.
The lost go to eternal hellfire because God chose not to give them His grace and save them. If you are one of the chosen (elect) few, you get grace, but if you are not one of the elect selected few, you not only don’t get any grace of God, but you also get His eternal displeasure in hellfire. And they call that grace. That sounds nothing like the grace I read about in the Bible.
Why didn’t God choose all people to be saved?
God could have just as easily chosen to save all of humanity to glorify Himself, but He did not. We are told that God gets more credit or more glory this way, by sending countless souls to eternal hellfire for the misfortune of being born into this world. That is impossible to understand and appreciate, in my humble opinion. How could God get more glory by electing the majority of humanity to eternal damnation? One must stop thinking and reasoning to believe such a horrible concept of God.
Is the atonement of Christ an act of grace or an act of justice?
In Calvinism, the atonement of Jesus Christ is said to be all of grace to an undeserving, totally depraved, and wicked people. These souls are born enemies of God by the sovereign choice and decree of God. They say that Jesus Christ died for only the few He chose to redeem. Jesus did not die for the rest of humanity. I do not believe it, nor does the Bible teach it.
Whether elect or not, all men and women, according to Calvinism, are born by the will of God with a sin nature that forces and causes actual sins. Is the atonement an act of grace or simple justice? Does not God owe all of humanity atonement if this is really the case? This is fundamental justice, not a matter of grace. Will not the judge of the universe do right?
There is no doubt that actual sinners do not deserve to be saved. We can all agree on that. But when we understand that Calvinists believe we are born sinners, who can do nothing but sin, then the question of grace and justice arises. How is this view called grace? How is it justice? The atonement seems more like a necessary step by God to justify Himself to the universe because we were created by God, directly or indirectly, to be sinners. The atonement appears more like justice than like grace. Do you disagree?
What is grace?
Grace is often defined as unmerited favor, according to most Christians. Justice is not grace. It is a level playing field. Calvinists argue that the atonement is limited to the elect and applies to no one else. For those not elected, the atonement is a slap in the face by the unloving God of Calvinism. It is the complete abandonment of any of God’s grace if you are one of the non-elect. And with a straight face, they tell us that we sinned in Adam, before we even came into existence. Therefore, we are guilty of a capital crime deserving of damnation. On what planet in the universe might that travesty be called justice or grace?
Is grace really irresistible?
Calvinists call grace for the elect, ‘irresistible grace’ because the sinner can’t say yes to God. God must irresistibly save them. More importantly, sinners (the elect) can’t say no to God. Therefore, God must cause or force them into His kingdom against their wills. This must be the case, for sinners do not want anything to do with God by their Calvinistic definition. If they do become children of God, it is because God chose them and they had no say in the matter.
They call this irresistible grace. If you are one of the elect of God, you will be saved, and what you want has nothing to do with it. Salvation or election is unconditional. Saved people are made to desire salvation. They did not want to be saved in the first place, but now God has made them want to be saved. God is in complete, meticulous control of all their wants, desires, actions, choices, and decisions. If this is true grace, it has no meaning.
Irresistible grace is no grace at all, even for the elect, but especially not for the unelected. If God created us sinners, either directly or indirectly, then to claim that the grace of God saves us is ridiculous. The more accurate interpretation is that the justice of God saves a few of us. And God’s injustice lets the majority of us spend eternity in hell. God gives the elect justice, and God gives those not elected injustice. Neither are recipients of grace.
If God made us sinners, then tell me how it is that this theological system has anything to do with unmerited favor or grace? It makes no sense whatsoever. If God made us sinners, then the atonement is an act of justice, not grace.
“To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.” Romans 3:26. Paul writes that God is just, and His plan of salvation demonstrates His justice. At the same time, God’s plan also includes a way for sinners to be declared righteous by believing in Jesus Christ.
If the words ‘just’ and ‘justice’ have meaning, Calvinist theology has rendered them meaningless. The Calvinist’s theology is a plan of injustice, not justice. And their God is not just when He sends the majority of humanity to hell for the sin of Adam and ‘sins’ that they commit as a result of being born a sinner with a sin nature. They are simply obeying (like a robot obeys) God’s will and His decrees. Should they not be rewarded for doing the will of God and not sent to hell? This system makes no sense and mocks the truth and the holiness of God.
Once saved, always saved. Once elected, always elected.
Once a person is elected to salvation, they can never be lost. This is the last of the five points, perseverance or preservation of the saints. Putting away some sin is part of their sanctification process, but sin will never be substantially put away until we die. Some of them believe and teach that Christians will sin in thought, word, and deed every day (Westminster Confession of Faith), even with the gift of the Holy Ghost and the grace of God. Their grace is weak and pathetic, lacking power over the practice of sin. According to Calvinists,Christians will live in sin all the days of their lives. The ‘grace’ of Calvinism keeps them saved. Their idea of grace and election is a license to sin and escape punishment.
One-point Calvinists (who espouse the preservation of the saints, which is very much like eternal security or once saved always saved) believe this as well. Their grace is also a license to sin with eternal impunity. These folks state that they have rejected all of Calvinism, but in truth, they accept the idea that once they are saved, they can never lose their salvation. It appears to me that they are still holding on to most of Calvinism. (See my article on Calvinism and Eternal Security.)
They have the free will to choose God initially, but lose that choice (free will) once they have been saved. Once saved, by meeting the condition of faith, their continued salvation is now unconditional. However, they previously believed that their salvation was initially conditioned on belief in Jesus Christ. Grace is resistible until a person is saved, then it becomes irresistible. That makes no sense at all.
I watched a YouTube video by Dr. Leighton Flowers, titled “Soteriology 101,” where he showed a clip of a man named Joe, a five-point Calvinist. In this clip, a woman asked Joe, Why is it necessary to preach the gospel if the elect will be saved with or without preaching the gospel. Joe said that his preaching of the gospel heaps more condemnation on sinners, and that is one reason God wants preaching to be done. According to this guy, Joe, preaching the gospel heaps more guilt on the heads of those who God has already determined to send to hell for eternity through no fault of their own. How in heaven’s name does preaching a gospel that a person can’t respond to heap guilt on their heads? Is it not ridiculous? Would God really go out of His way to heap more guilt on a person that He chose, through no fault of their own, to eternal damnation? To believe so is to make God a sadist and evil tyrant who takes delight in the misery of people He created for the sole purpose of torment in hell. Impossible.
The ugly truth
Flowers says he can’t know Joe’s heart, but Joe does seem to be somewhat compassionate about the plight of unchosen or non-elected sinners. Why would Mr. Flowers, a former Calvinist, say that? If Calvinism is true, then God Almighty has zero compassion for the non-elect, so why would Joe, as one of the chosen few, have any compassion on those lost souls he preaches to? God has no compassion on them, why would any Calvinist? This makes no sense at all. Neither does Mr. Flowers’ statement about Joe’s inferred compassion make any sense. To have compassion when God has none seems to be a form of unbelief. It is also an attempt to make Calvinism and its adherents appear more humane.
What does the Bible really teach?
That is what Calvinists teach and believe. However, this is nothing at all like what the Bible actually teaches. Nor does any of this make sense, or seem reasonable and rational. Now, let us consider what the Bible teaches about the theological system known as Calvinism. As always, God’s ways will be logical, reasonable, rational, truthful, and Biblical.
Biblical foundation of salvation and the doctrines of grace
“And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God.” Romans 2:3. Throughout scripture, we are told that we will reap what we sow. We are also told, “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” James 1:22.
For all Calvinists, including one-point Calvinists, being a doer of the word is not mandatory but ultimately optional. One-point Calvinists do not believe that ongoing salvation is conditional upon human effort. They believe salvation is unconditional, once it has been achieved. However, salvation is initially conditioned on faith.
Charles Stanley wrote in his book, titled Eternal Security, that a believer may not produce any fruit at all and will still be saved. In other words, a ‘believer’ can live in unrepentant sin and lose a few rewards in the process, but nonetheless is going to heaven. Once a person is saved, they can never lose their salvation. Before salvation, the grace of God is resistible. After salvation, the grace of God becomes irresistible.
“For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.” Romans 2:13. I am not aware of any Calvinists who genuinely believe this is true with respect to those who have been born again. The following is an excerpt from my book, When Lies Become Truth.
“What an important and beautiful passage of scripture (Romans 2:13). How often have you heard this passage preached on or written about? The men (Calvinists) I have quoted teach the opposite of this truth. Don’t they teach that the hearers of the law are justified and the doers of the law are non-existent?[1] Indeed, they do. Sinners are lawbreakers. They are hearers of the law, not doers of the law. The beauty of the gospel is that it turns lawbreakers into lawkeepers. These repentant doers of the law are justified and sanctified by grace through faith. This is gospel justification, not forensic justification. Only those without any sin can be forensically justified. Sinners are worthy of eternal death, but they find pardon and adoption when they repent of all sin and believe in Jesus.
It seems clear that loving obedience to God is the very essence of life, the gospel, and the Bible. It appears that in many, perhaps most, contemporary (Calvinist) theologies, obedience to God becomes an unrealistic option in life with God rather than the very heart of it. Bottom line, with all these lies that have become truth, is that we can be saved and not love God supremely or our neighbor equally. In other words, we can be heaven-bound while constantly breaking the two most important commandments of God. We can be Christians and habitually not obey Jesus Christ. We can be saved by grace through faith and still sin like we love the Devil supremely. We can be genuine Christians without making Christ Lord of our lives. If that is how you really live, regardless of your profession, then know for sure that you will lose your immortal soul if you don’t repent. I genuinely believe that. I care enough about God to tell you the truth. There is no end to those who will tell you that you can live a life of sin and still go to heaven. You will have no trouble finding those who will extend to you this false comfort. However, the truth is the only sure comfort we have in this life.
As the leaders of the organized church go, so go its members. As the church goes, so goes the world. When the church declines morally, the world and culture will follow. Look no further than the organized church for an explanation for the moral crisis in America. Look at what church leadership is telling us. Many are telling us that we are holy when we are not. We are told we can be holy and unholy at the same time. We can go backwards and forwards at the same time. We can be followers of Christ and not follow Him. Jesus said Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for a tree is known by its fruit. Jesus also said a good tree can’t bring forth evil fruit. Not according to contemporary theology, for a good tree will almost always produce bad fruit (Charles Stanley, for example). All of these lies that have become truth have the same practical effect.
The result is to teach Christians not to fear God. Without the fear of God in the organized or visible church, there is no limit to the wickedness Christians will practice.
We are told the fear of God is the awe and reverence of God. Additionally, we are told that we can have the fear of God while continuing to sin. Is this not another lie from the enemy of our soul?
“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths”, 2 Timothy 4:3.
If this isn’t a perfect description of the theology of many so-called Christians, then I don’t know how to describe it better. Does it apply to you? Do you reject what I am saying because that might mean you need to make some changes in your belief system and life?
If Christians believe they can continue committing sins like lying, stealing, cheating, fornicating, adultery, slander, and sodomy and still go to heaven, then how can a rational person seriously believe Christians will undertake social reforms? These reforms are desperately needed. Abortion (legalized murder) is still the law of the land. Pornography, violence, and racism—among other sinful behaviors—continue to escalate. If so-called Christians refuse to curb their sins, what makes us think societal reformation is anything but blind credulity? “Christians” might well be committing these very sins, which cry out for social change.
“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14 KJV.
How often have you heard this passage of scripture? Many Christians can quote it by heart. It makes me very upset that the clearly written conditions for God hearing and answering are being unmet because of the teaching of carnal Christianity including once saved always saved and all that entails. Do you wonder why the promise of revival[2] is unfilled? Our so-called leaders and shepherds are telling us that it is impossible and God doesn’t really expect us to comply with the conditions. Because of the teaching of men, such as those I have quoted, revival and the healing of our land will not occur unless we believe and obey God and not man. When Pastors and teachers tell us that it is normal “Christian” practice to sin or not turn from our wicked ways, then our land will not be healed, nor will our sins be forgiven. These folks are calling God a liar, teaching unbelief, and promoting sin. As a result, many people will go to hell—woe to them who cause others who believe in Jesus to stumble in sin.
What about grace?
What about the grace of God? Antinomians, which is an accurate label for the majority of churchgoers, believe they have the only correct definition of grace (as do Calvinists). They are quick to point out that anyone who disagrees with them is denying the doctrine of grace and is somehow a legalist or Pelagian. They think God is one-sided and that His grace allows us to do just about anything we want without the threat of eternal damnation. Their idea of grace is a license to sin without eternal damnation as a consequence. Scripture warns us about ungodly persons who get a foothold in our congregations, “who turn the grace of God into licentiousness” Jude 4. Real Biblical grace is a beautiful thing. No person can live without true grace. No sinner can be saved apart from the grace of God. We are saved by grace through faith. No Christian will persevere to final salvation apart from God’s grace. And the fault will be theirs and not God’s.
In Romans 6:1, we read, “What shall we say then? Are we to continue to sin that grace might increase?” Yes, says the doctrine of eternal security. This is precisely what the teaching of ‘once saved, always saved’ declares. It tells those who buy the lie that grace will, in fact, increase as your personal sin increases. And what does the Apostle say? “May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?” Romans 6:2. If we have died to sin, that is, if we have stopped sinning, how can we continue to sin? It is not possible. If we continue to sin, we have not experienced the true grace of God.
The apostle of grace tells us, “Do not let sin reign in your mortal body that you should obey its lusts” Romans 6:12. “For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but grace. What then, shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be! Romans 6:14,15. Here again, Paul, the apostle of grace, tells us that grace does not excuse a person from obedience to the law. The truth is that grace turns us into law keepers who are no longer under the curse of the law because we have ceased from sin or lawbreaking. Grace constantly changes the heart to love, obey, honor, and appreciate God. And when the heart is changed, the law is no longer a hard taskmaster.
The Bible alone defines the concept of God’s grace. Do you know the following? The grace of God teaches us to deny ungodliness and to live sensibly and righteously in the present evil age, Titus 2. Grace is much more than unmerited favor. The grace of God is consistently cleansing and holiness-producing. Those who use the grace of God as an excuse for carnal living are deceived. True grace produces repentance, faith, and every other Biblical virtue. The passage in Titus 1:1, as I have mentioned a few times, states that the grace of God is according to godliness. True grace always promotes and encourages God like behavior in us.
Only a hypocrite pretends to be something they are not. Some so-called Christians want to settle into a life of ease, and woe to anyone who attempts to shake them out of their comfort zone. Listen to Jeremiah.
“Your prophets have seen for you false and foolish visions; And they have not exposed your iniquity so as to restore you from captivity, but they have seen for you false and misleading oracles” Lamentations 2:14.
An authentic prophetic voice is more concerned with exposing sin than with impressing people with signs and wonders.
Listen to what the prophet Ezekiel said, “Because with lies ye have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, by promising him life.” Ezekiel 13:22 KJV emphasis added.
The false doctrines I have addressed in this book most definitely strengthen the hands of the wicked by promising the unrepentant “Christian” eternal life. In the Books of Ezekiel and Jeremiah, the false prophets promised the Jews life without their complete departure from their wicked ways. Is this not precisely what is going on today? It is most assuredly. We have countless pastors, teachers, and prophets telling us that living in sin is a normal Christian experience and that the promise of eternal life doesn’t depend on our repentance from sin. Run away from such false teaching.” (End of excerpt.)
Closing comments regarding grace
The true grace of God, explained in the above excerpt, is destroyed by the doctrines of Calvinism. There is not an ounce of grace in any of the five points of Calvinism, which is a tragedy. What bitter irony this is, that the system that boasts about the doctrines of grace knows nothing at all about the Biblical grace of a loving God toward all humanity.
God is beautiful in holiness when seen through the light of truth. Calvinism is a direct assault on the integrity and holiness of God. It is so tough to understand how any honest Christian can adore or trust the God of Calvinism. I find it impossible. Only a religious deception could so darken the mind that the God of Calvinism is trusted and worshiped. Fortunately, the God of the Bible can be trusted in all things. He is for us and not against us. He wants all of us to be saved and go to heaven, but He will not force anyone. God is interested in your voluntary love for Him, and He offers salvation as a free gift—a token of His grace.
Grace Evangelical Society And Free Grace Theology
Free Grace Theology was systematized by theologians such as Dr. Charles Ryrie and Dr. Zane Hodges in the 1980s. Today, it remains strong, led by men such as Charles Bing and Joseph Dillow. It was Ryrie and Hodges’ attempt to refute the Lordship Salvation controversy originating from the Reformed tradition, particularly as presented by John MacArthur. Reformed theologians believe that this Free Grace viewpoint is responsible for the “easy believism’ or “antinomianism” in many churches today. I agree, but wonder why the Reformed Camp can’t see that “easy believism, carnal Christianity, and antinomianism” also come from Augustinian Calvinism and their perverted ideas about grace.
Dr. Kenneth Wilson, M. D., D.Phil. wrote a book titled, “Hersey of the Grace Evangelical Society, Become a Christian without faith in Jesus as God and Savior.” I introduce this in closing to illustrate more clearly the diverse views on what scripture actually teaches about salvation and grace.
GES states that all one must do to be saved and justified is to believe the promise Jesus made about guaranteeing everlasting life (eternal security). Salvation is by faith alone, and that faith may exist without any good works as evidence. According to Ken Wilson, the historic Christian Church did not teach or believe this about eternal security. Even Luther, in the beginning, never thought this (salvation) was a one-time event but a process over a person’s lifetime.
“No historical record exists of anyone believing in eternal security until at least the Protestant Reformation (began in 1519), and even this can be questioned,” page 11 of his book. GES proclaims that only those who believe in eternal security can be saved! You heard that correctly. Of the many millions of real Christians who lived over this long period of time, only those who believe the promise of everlasting life or eternal security, made by Jesus, were actually saved. To be a justified Christian, you must believe in eternal security!
Could it get any more ridiculous? Yes, it can. A person must believe in eternal security and have the assurance of their eternal salvation. “If you are not assured of the guarantee that you will live forever with God-regardless of your subsequent behavior and even loss of faith-then you are not justified (saved)” page 13. All those who do not believe in eternal security are damned to hell according to these blind guides. If you believe in Lordship salvation (like me), you are damned. Wilson says that means that about 97% of Calvinists, Arminians, Catholics, and Orthodox over the many centuries are damned to hell. But if you ever did believe in eternal security, even if you later denied and repudiated it, (like me) you are saved! I am both saved and damned at the same time, apparently. Go figure.
Can it get any worse? Yes, it can. They also believe that a person, to become a Christian, doesn’t need to believe that Jesus Christ is both God and man and our savior from sin. All a person needs to believe is that someone named Jesus made a promise of eternal security or everlasting life.
All this is referred to as grace by these individuals. Not one word about repentance from sin nor holiness of heart. Not one word about what Titus and Peter say about the true grace of God.
With all my heart, I believe this false teaching about grace and eternal security is sending countless people to hell. I think a person can believe in eternal security and be saved if they actually live above what is permitted in their doctrines. These folks teach that believing in eternal security is the only condition of salvation. Words escape me. This kind of Christianity will destroy the world, not save it.
I repeat myself and close with this:
The apostle of grace tells us, “Do not let sin reign in your mortal body that you should obey its lusts” Romans 6:12. “For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but grace. What then, shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be! Romans 6:14,15. Here again, Paul, the apostle of grace, tells us that grace does not excuse a person from obedience to the law. The truth is that grace turns us into law keepers who are no longer under the curse of the law because we have ceased from sin or lawbreaking. Grace always changes the heart to love, obey, honor, and appreciate God. And when the heart is changed, the law is no longer a hard taskmaster.
The Bible alone defines the concept of God’s grace. Do you know the following? The grace of God teaches us to deny ungodliness and to live sensibly and righteously in the present evil age, Titus 2. Grace is much more than unmerited favor. The grace of God is consistently cleansing and holiness-producing. Those who use the grace of God as an excuse for carnal living are deceived. True grace produces repentance, faith, and every other Biblical virtue. The passage in Titus 1:1, as I have mentioned a few times, states that the grace of God is according to godliness. True grace always promotes and encourages God like behavior in us.
Only a hypocrite pretends to be something they are not. Some so-called Christians want to settle into a life of ease, and woe to anyone who attempts to shake them out of their comfort zone. Listen to Jeremiah.
“Your prophets have seen for you false and foolish visions; And they have not exposed your iniquity so as to restore you from captivity, but they have seen for you false and misleading oracles” Lamentations 2:14.
An authentic prophetic voice is more concerned with exposing sin than with impressing people with signs and wonders.
Listen to what the prophet Ezekiel said, “Because with lies ye have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, by promising him life.” Ezekiel 13:22 KJV emphasis added.
The false doctrines I have addressed in this book most definitely strengthen the hands of the wicked by promising the unrepentant “Christian” eternal life (eternal security). In the Books of Ezekiel and Jeremiah, the false prophets promised the Jews life without their complete departure from their wicked ways. Is this not exactly what is going on today? It is most assuredly. We have countless pastors, teachers, and prophets telling us that living in sin is a normal Christian experience and that the promise of eternal life doesn’t depend on our repentance from sin. Run away from such false teaching.”
[1] I understand and agree that Paul is addressing the fact that the Jews along with the rest of humanity are not doers of the law in their unregenerate state. Those who have been born again by the grace of God, through faith, become doers, not simply hearers, of the law. The passage applies before and after conversion. Remember that God will not justify the wicked (those presently doing evil), Exodus 23:7.
[2] True revival as opposed to counterfeit revival is a subject of much confusion. Much of what is called revival today is about signs and wonders and not holiness and repentance.
