SATURDAY REVIEWS - IS IT POSSIBLE THAT THE DEBATE BETWEEN CALVINISM AND ARMINIANISM SHOULD UNITE AND NOT DIVIDE BELIEVERS? (PART 4)

 

The Day of His Great Wrath by John Martin

"Lord, my heart is not haughty 

Nor my eyes lofty, 

Neither do I concern myself with great matters,

Nor with things too profound for me."

Psalm 131:1, New King James Version

Is it possible trying to figure out if the universe is big enough for both God's Sovereignty and human free will and their relation in salvation is a great matter, too profound for us, past our pay grade?

I wish people debating this issue would:

1. Realize that this is a family squabble between people who are trusting God alone for their salvation.
2. Recognize those on both sides have studied Scripture with equal depth and love for the Word of God and the God of the Word.
3. Remember that Satan and Persecutors don't care which side you're on but are out to defeat you because you believe Jesus is Lord and not them.

The reality is too many overestimate human freewill. It's not as great as proponents think it is, nor is it the bogeyman Calvinists make it out to be.

You know, free-will makes me think about a '70's song called "Best of My Love." But who did it? I think it was a group that starts with the letter "E." Wait, I hear someone say The Eagles? "Best of My Love" by the Eagles is a great though depressing song, but I'm not talking about that song; the one I'm referring to is more upbeat with some girl singers. Oh, I remember. It was by the group The Emotions. 

Likewise, when I hear "free-will," I hear two different things. Some boast God is a perfect gentleman and would not violate our free-will. This theory makes me sick to my stomach - it can be described as "self-sovereignty." And while we can debate if Calvinists are right on their view of God's Sovereignty, it's evident God is Sovereign, not us.

To others, free will means God gives us the ability to choose whether we will be obedient to Him or disobedient. We can call this "human responsibility." The focus is on God, as it should be.

One of my all time favorite books is "Four Views on Eternal Security." It was uplifting to read the four authors - who identify themselves as Classical Calvinist, Moderate Calvinist, Reformed Arminian, and Wesleyan Arminian - as they talked about the wonder that God saves us. One author mentioned from the start he was convinced that John Calvin, Jacob Arminius, John Wesley, and the other authors were all saved, and later stated his responses to the other three were written not to win but to learn.

Folks, we've spent half a millennium debating this subject as Calvinism vs. Arminianism and a full millennium before that dealing with the theologies of Augustine and Pegaleus, and I personally feel it's arrogant to think we can solve it now. But if we look over the horizon, we see the real war we're fighting, and it's not against each other!