Avoiding Calvinist Websites
(Excerpt from "How to tell if a church, pastor, or website is Calvinist". FYI, I added a note at the bottom of this post on May 5, 2021.)
Did you ever wonder about the websites that pop up when you type a religious question into a browser? Who are they? Are they reliable? Is the advice you're getting biblical and accurate? What is their theological view?
It's too easy to type in a question, find some "biblical" answer on a site, and think it’s the truth. We, Christians, tend to be a trusting bunch of people, especially when someone uses a lot of Bible verses or when it's a popular website with big name theologians or authors. And so we will probably not notice the Calvinist-bent that are found on many websites and blogs.
I wonder how many people have been led astray in this way. Probably a lot, because many of the popular sites - the first ones to pop up when I type in a question - are Calvinist.
Be careful about who you get your theological answers from. Do not just trust the website because they're "Christian," but research them a bit before putting stock in their answers.
[I highly recommend these anti-Calvinist websites: Soteriology 101 (here's the Facebook page and YouTube channel), Beyond the Fundamentals (but I do have some concerns about him, so be discerning), Hoppers Crossing Christian Church, and Idol Killer (I haven't yet watched him, but my husband has and really enjoys him. Here is his YouTube channel. FYI: In his Statement of Faith, it sounds like The Idol Killer believes we can lose our salvation. I do not agree that true Christians can lose their salvation.) Also see these newer (to me) ones: Alana L.... Living Christian... Great Light Studios... Faith on Fire. And this article: The Bible vs. Calvinism: An Overview by Patrick Myers, one of the best overviews to read about Calvinism and its errors.]
So how can you determine if a website is Calvinistic? Here are some ideas:
1. If they have one, look at their "statements of faith." Or look in the "about us" section to see if they identify themselves as "reformed" or "Calvinist." But a "statement of faith" won’t always be a dead-give-away because Calvinist theology can be worded in a way that escapes setting off alarm bells.
But it can provide clues, especially if you notice one or more of these kinds of words and phrases: election, predestination, decree, ordains, fore-ordains, sovereignty, sovereign control, monergism, "doctrines of grace," "we have a very high view of Scripture," "Gospel-centered movement/Biblical Christianity" (two deceptive names they give their theology), covenant theology, reformed theology, man is utterly depraved and totally wicked from birth, man is totally dead and unable to respond to God without the work of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit regenerates sinners before they can believe, or God fore-ordained all things since before time began. (Or do they call anyone a Pelagian or semi-Pelagian? Calvinists love to accuse people of this.)
The phrase "Before earth was created, God chose to redeem for Himself a group of people" should make you concerned. Many of us would interpret this as God choosing to take a group of people to heaven with Him, but that we have to decide to be part of that group or not, as in "God decided there would be people in heaven with Him, those who choose to believe in Him." But it could be that they really mean that God chose who got to be in that group and who didn't, as in "God predestined whom He would take to heaven, and those not chosen can never be part of this group."
(And be aware that many Calvinists know that Calvinism is a hotly-contested and highly-inflammatory subject, so they will do their best to avoid the terms “Calvinism” and “Calvinist.” Check out this highly Calvinist theology by J.D. Greear, who is attempting to downplay his Calvinism: "Pastor J.D., Are You A Calvinist?")
Here is an example of what's clearly a Calvinist Statement of Faith. Notice that most of it sounds fine, worded in such a way to not set off any alarms. But here are the things that should alert and alarm you: ... "reformed" and "doctrines of grace"
... the role of the Holy Spirit is to basically give us faith, instead of Him responding to our choice to put our faith in Jesus. [Calvinists don't believe faith is a choice, but that it's something Calvi-god (my name for Calvinism's god, who is NOT the God of the Bible) gives to the elect, and only the elect.]
... because of the fall, man became "inwardly depraved and, apart from a special work of grace, utterly incapable of returning to God. This depravity is radical and pervasive." [Calvinists love to emphasize how "depraved" we are, as if to show how supremely humble and "God-honoring" they are to reduce themselves so low and elevate God so high. (Yet, when they have to alter the gospel and God's character to do this, how humble and God-honoring are they really?) And it takes a "special work of grace" (Calvi-god's election of certain pre-chosen people and their regeneration by the Holy Spirit) to cause people - the elect only! - to return to God.]
... This depravity "extends to his mind, will, and affections. Unregenerate man lives under the dominion of sin and Satan." [This doesn't just mean that the Fall affected all parts of us negatively, that it separated us from God and put us under the influence of sin and Satan. It doesn't just mean that depraved people don't generally want God or seek God. It means that depraved, unregenerate people (ultimately meaning those predestined to hell, because the elect are predestined to be regenerated) are incapable of seeking God or wanting God or thinking about God. They can only always want to sin and choose to sin. They can never want to - never have the ability to - seek God, want God, choose God, or obey God, because Calvi-god predetermined they would get the "unregenerate" nature, which only comes with the desire to sin and rebel and reject God. Whereas, Calvi-god regenerates the elected people by giving them the Holy Spirit to "wake them up spiritually," giving them the "regenerate" nature which contains the desire to seek him, obey him, repent and be saved. Calvi-god determines which nature you get, and you can only do what your nature tells you to do. And you can never do anything to change or affect your Calvi-god-determined nature, meaning that the unregenerate can never be or want to be regenerated. If you weren't chosen as one of the elect, then your mind, will, and affections (desires) will always be depraved, and you will always be incapable of wanting/seeking/choosing/obeying God, and you will never be able to do anything to change your condition. Because you weren't chosen.]
... "Man's response to the gospel is rooted and grounded in the free and unconditional election of God for His own pleasure and glory." [This means that Calvi-god decides who responds to the gospel and who doesn't. The "unconditional" part doesn't mean that Calvi-god offers salvation unconditionally to everyone. The "free and unconditional" part is only for the elect, meaning that Calvi-god gives faith/salvation to the elect without any conditions they must meet first, not even "choosing to believe the gospel" or "choosing to put your faith in God" or "accepting Jesus." Because Calvinists believe these things are "working for salvation." And since we can't work for salvation, they say that we can't do these things either. (But the problem is they mis-define these as "works.") And so the elect are prechosen for salvation and regenerated (filled with and regenerated by Calvi-Holy Spirit) before they can even understand/respond to the gospel and before they believe and repent. In Calvinism, being chosen and regenerated has to come first, so that the elect have the ability to hear/respond to the gospel and to believe and repent. Everyone else - those not chosen - remain prisoners to their depraved "sin nature" and can never be saved.]
... "the gospel is only effectual to those who genuinely repent of their sins and, by God's grace, put saving faith in Christ." [In Calvinism, this doesn't mean that anyone can repent, just that those who do repent - which will only be the elect - will be saved. In Calvinism, "God's grace" determines who has faith and who doesn't. And Calvi-god's grace is only for the elect. So if he didn't choose to give you his grace, then you never have the chance to find saving faith in Jesus.]
... "Anyone turning from sin in repentance" [I only include this because, while it is a critical part of salvation, Calvinists say this instead of anything having to do with someone putting their faith in Jesus, or accepting Jesus, or choosing to believe in Jesus. There is no room in Calvinism for these things because, as I pointed out, they believe this is "working for our salvation." And so in the absence of those kinds of phrases, they say "repenting of sins." Although I don't know how they can think that choosing to believe in Jesus is "works," but repenting of sin is not. Interesting! Although they would probably say that the elect don't repent to become saved, but that they repent because they were already chosen to be saved, because the Holy Spirit regenerated them.]
... "persevere in the faith (one of the five petals of the Calvinist TULIP] ... the believer's ultimate confidence to persevere is in the sure promise of God to preserve his people to the end." [This means that if you are definitely one of the elect then God will cause you to persevere, to keep your faith till the end. But the downside is that if you don't persevere, you must not have been one of the elect. And you won't know for sure whether you are truly elected or not until the end, until and unless you persevere to the end. Talk about "working" for your salvation!] ... God "creates the Church, calling sinful men out of the whole human race" [To me, this sounds like they are NOT saying that God calls all sinful men of the world to repent and become part of the Church, but that Calvi-god has called and chosen certain, specific men from the whole human race to be part of the Church. Big difference!]
Also pay attention to any other "historic confessions" that they believe in, such as the London Baptist Confessions, Westminster Confession, New Hampshire Confession, Abstract Principles, Canons of Dort, Heidelberg Catechism ... (Check out this list and this other list of the historic confessions that are common in reformed churches. I haven't read these confessions myself; I am just passing on what I've found online. And apparently, the "Baptist Faith and Message" 2000 seems to have a clear Calvinist-bent, especially given that Albert Mohler is one of the main shapers of that statement. See point #5 in that link, about the trend towards Calvinism.)... the role of the Holy Spirit is to basically give us faith, instead of Him responding to our choice to put our faith in Jesus. [Calvinists don't believe faith is a choice, but that it's something Calvi-god (my name for Calvinism's god, who is NOT the God of the Bible) gives to the elect, and only the elect.]
... because of the fall, man became "inwardly depraved and, apart from a special work of grace, utterly incapable of returning to God. This depravity is radical and pervasive." [Calvinists love to emphasize how "depraved" we are, as if to show how supremely humble and "God-honoring" they are to reduce themselves so low and elevate God so high. (Yet, when they have to alter the gospel and God's character to do this, how humble and God-honoring are they really?) And it takes a "special work of grace" (Calvi-god's election of certain pre-chosen people and their regeneration by the Holy Spirit) to cause people - the elect only! - to return to God.]
... This depravity "extends to his mind, will, and affections. Unregenerate man lives under the dominion of sin and Satan." [This doesn't just mean that the Fall affected all parts of us negatively, that it separated us from God and put us under the influence of sin and Satan. It doesn't just mean that depraved people don't generally want God or seek God. It means that depraved, unregenerate people (ultimately meaning those predestined to hell, because the elect are predestined to be regenerated) are incapable of seeking God or wanting God or thinking about God. They can only always want to sin and choose to sin. They can never want to - never have the ability to - seek God, want God, choose God, or obey God, because Calvi-god predetermined they would get the "unregenerate" nature, which only comes with the desire to sin and rebel and reject God. Whereas, Calvi-god regenerates the elected people by giving them the Holy Spirit to "wake them up spiritually," giving them the "regenerate" nature which contains the desire to seek him, obey him, repent and be saved. Calvi-god determines which nature you get, and you can only do what your nature tells you to do. And you can never do anything to change or affect your Calvi-god-determined nature, meaning that the unregenerate can never be or want to be regenerated. If you weren't chosen as one of the elect, then your mind, will, and affections (desires) will always be depraved, and you will always be incapable of wanting/seeking/choosing/obeying God, and you will never be able to do anything to change your condition. Because you weren't chosen.]
... "Man's response to the gospel is rooted and grounded in the free and unconditional election of God for His own pleasure and glory." [This means that Calvi-god decides who responds to the gospel and who doesn't. The "unconditional" part doesn't mean that Calvi-god offers salvation unconditionally to everyone. The "free and unconditional" part is only for the elect, meaning that Calvi-god gives faith/salvation to the elect without any conditions they must meet first, not even "choosing to believe the gospel" or "choosing to put your faith in God" or "accepting Jesus." Because Calvinists believe these things are "working for salvation." And since we can't work for salvation, they say that we can't do these things either. (But the problem is they mis-define these as "works.") And so the elect are prechosen for salvation and regenerated (filled with and regenerated by Calvi-Holy Spirit) before they can even understand/respond to the gospel and before they believe and repent. In Calvinism, being chosen and regenerated has to come first, so that the elect have the ability to hear/respond to the gospel and to believe and repent. Everyone else - those not chosen - remain prisoners to their depraved "sin nature" and can never be saved.]
... "the gospel is only effectual to those who genuinely repent of their sins and, by God's grace, put saving faith in Christ." [In Calvinism, this doesn't mean that anyone can repent, just that those who do repent - which will only be the elect - will be saved. In Calvinism, "God's grace" determines who has faith and who doesn't. And Calvi-god's grace is only for the elect. So if he didn't choose to give you his grace, then you never have the chance to find saving faith in Jesus.]
... "Anyone turning from sin in repentance" [I only include this because, while it is a critical part of salvation, Calvinists say this instead of anything having to do with someone putting their faith in Jesus, or accepting Jesus, or choosing to believe in Jesus. There is no room in Calvinism for these things because, as I pointed out, they believe this is "working for our salvation." And so in the absence of those kinds of phrases, they say "repenting of sins." Although I don't know how they can think that choosing to believe in Jesus is "works," but repenting of sin is not. Interesting! Although they would probably say that the elect don't repent to become saved, but that they repent because they were already chosen to be saved, because the Holy Spirit regenerated them.]
... "persevere in the faith (one of the five petals of the Calvinist TULIP] ... the believer's ultimate confidence to persevere is in the sure promise of God to preserve his people to the end." [This means that if you are definitely one of the elect then God will cause you to persevere, to keep your faith till the end. But the downside is that if you don't persevere, you must not have been one of the elect. And you won't know for sure whether you are truly elected or not until the end, until and unless you persevere to the end. Talk about "working" for your salvation!] ... God "creates the Church, calling sinful men out of the whole human race" [To me, this sounds like they are NOT saying that God calls all sinful men of the world to repent and become part of the Church, but that Calvi-god has called and chosen certain, specific men from the whole human race to be part of the Church. Big difference!]
2. Do a search on their site for posts on "predestination" or "election" or "Calvinism" or "reformed theology" to see what their view on these issues are.
3. Google the name of the website, along with the words "Calvinist" or "reformed" and see if anyone else has identified them as a Calvinist site.
4. Find a tab on their site that shows you what resources they recommend or authors they like. If you see several of these names (learn them, remember them), sit up and take notice: John Calvin, D.A. Carson, Matt Chandler, Mark Dever, Jonathan Edwards, J.D. Greear, Wayne Grudem, Tim Keller, John MacArthur, Albert Mohler, J.I. Packer, Arthur Pink, John Piper, R.C. Sproul, Charles Spurgeon, Paul Washer, James White. (Check out this post for some examples of Calvinist theologians and authors and groups and websites: Is J.D. Greear a Calvinist?. And here is Wikipedia's list of well-known Calvinists.)
5. Look up Calvinist websites to see which blogs or websites they recommend. Calvinists tend to stick together.
6. Google to find lists of reformed/Calvinist sites, such as:
Known Calvinist Sites:
These are the websites (not including video/YouTube websites) that, in my estimation, either definitely are or most likely are Calvinist (based on their statements of faith, the views they present, the Calvinists they promote, etc.) And just because a website or person denies that they are Calvinist doesn't mean they are not Calvinist. Look at what they teach and not at what they call themselves. Many Calvinists will not admit it because it might scare us off or because it exposes what their theology really is by name, allowing us to research it and evaluate it. They want you to think that what they are teaching is merely "Scripture" so that we let our guard down and trustingly accept what they teach. (Many of the websites that pop up on the first page of search results in any online theological search are Calvinist. Be careful!):
The Gospel Coalition
Acts 29
9 Marks
White Horse Inn
Lifeway
Desiring God
Founders
Ligonier
Wayne Grudem
Got Questions
Christianity.com (Found plenty of Calvinist articles and authors here)
Theopedia (as clearly seen in their post on free-will)
gty.org (John MacArthur's Grace To You, a.k.a. "Grace To Few")
Focus on the Family (It's veiled and not emphasized, but I do believe Calvinism is evident on this site, especially in the fact that they refer you to known Calvinist sites about theological matters in their articles.)
Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (I believe their "Standards of Doctrine" totally shows that they are Calvinist, especially their point on regeneration.)
Albert Mohler
Reformation 21
Tim Keller blog
aomin.org (Alpha and Omega Ministries, James White, FYI: Apologia Studios is listed as related to aomin)
Greenbaggins.wordpress blog
Monergism blog
Challies.com (Tim Challies)
Reclaiming the Mind
Ligon Duncan's blog
The Cripplegate
The Resurgence (I found this in a list, not sure what the actual name of the blog is. The Resurgence Report?)
Pyromaniacs (Phillip Johnson)
Josh Harris (joshharris.com)
tullian.net (Tullian Tchividian)
Reformed Theology
Ed Stetzer (I'm not sure if he is or not. Look it up yourself.)
Adrian Warnock (he writes at patheos.com)
Bible.org
dougwils.com (Blog & Mablog, Douglas Wilson)
Crossway.org
carm.org (Matt Slick)
J.D. Greear
Truth for Life (Alistair Begg)
compellingtruth.org
michellelesley.com
Abandoned to Christ (sunnyshell.org)
strivingforeternity.org (Andrew Rappaport)
Grace Online Library
The Aquila Report
biblereasons.com
heidelblog.net
moodymedia.org (Erwin Lutzer)
theocast.org
apuritansmind.com
reasonabletheology.org
str.org (Stand to Reason)
Naomi's Table Bible Studies
enCourage
Women with the Master
Solid Food Resources
The Bible Thumping Wingnut
The End Time
Sheologians
Relatable
Tulips & Honey
The Verity Fellowship
Women Under Grace
servantsofgrace.org
bloggingtheologically.com
Delivered by Grace
Wretched
Just Thinking
The Publicans
WWUTT/pastorgabe
wordofhisgrace.org
Proverbs 9:10 Ministries
forthegospel.org
whatchristianswanttoknow.com (After looking up "predestination" and "election" on this site and reading some of the articles, it appears that some are not-too-Calvinist and some are quite Calvinist, but in a "softened" way. Just my opinion. I would call it a "soft Calvinist" site. So be discerning.)
Reformed.org and almost anything else with "reformed" in the title
Almost anything with Calvinist in the title (unless it's a site against Calvinism)
Blogs listed with Calvinist site, The Gospel Coalition:
Between Two Worlds and Evangelical History (Justin Taylor)
Christ is Deeper Still (Ray Ortlund)
DeYoung, Restless, and Reformed (Kevin DeYoung)
Pure Church (Thabiti Anyabwile)
Wit's End (Melissa Kruger)
Kingdom People (Trevin Wax)
Heavenward (Scotty Smith)
The Gospel-Driven Church (Jared C. Wilson)
Ordinary Pastor (Erik Raymond)
For the Love of God (D.A. Carson)
Other Calvinist (or potentially Calvinist) Ministries, Groups, or Conferences:
Anything by The Gospel Coalition, 9Marks, Acts 29, Ligonier Ministries
Kuyper conferences
G3 Conferences for pastors and leaders (some big name Calvinist speakers there like Tim Challies, James White, Paul Washer. And some Calvinist ministry partners like The Gospel Project, Founders, Grace to You, 9Marks.)
Sovereign Grace Churches (formerly Sovereign Grace Ministries. I'm not sure if these guys provide programs or resources for churches, but I'll include them anyway because they are a big name. )
Shepherd's Conference (a ministry of Grace Community Church, pastored by John MacArthur)
Weekender Conference (hosted by 9Marks)
Founders Conferences
Cross Conferences
Q conferences
t4g.org (Together for the Gospel conferences, sponsored by Lifeway and Crossway. A celebration of all things Calvinist, with dogmatic Calvinist speakers like John Piper, John MacArthur, Ligon Duncan, Albert Mohler, Kevin DeYoung, Matt Chandler, Mark Dever, Thabiti Anyabwile, and more. Oh my goodness! It doesn't get more Calvinist than this! It should be called "Together for Calvinism"!)
The Gospel Project (see this link for more on this, or google "The Gospel Project and Calvinism")
Known Calvinist Preachers or Authors:
Danny Akin
Randy Alcorn
Sam Allberry
Jason K. Allen
Wendy Alsup
Thabiti Anyabwile
Aaron Armstrong
Tom Ascol
Augustine (whom Calvin based his theology on)
Matt Barrett
Voddie Baucham
Herman Bavinck
Joel Beeke
Alistair Begg
Jon Bloom
Loraine Boettner
Matt Boswell
James Pettigru Boyse
Anthony Bradley
Jerry Bridges
Josh Buice
Mike Bullmore
Wade Burleson
Rosaria Butterfield
John Calvin (of course)
William Carey
D.A. Carson
Anthony Carter
Matt Carter
Tim Challies
Francis Chan (commonly referred to as “Calvinist Light”)
Matt Chandler
Bryan Chapell
Vincent Cheung
Ray Comfort
Tim Conway
Brian Croft
Leonce Crump
Robert Dabney
Mark Dever
Kevin DeYoung
[*See note below this list]
Mark Driscoll
Ligon Duncan
Jeff Durbin (Apologia Church)
Jonathan Edwards
Carl Ellis
Zack Eswine
Sinclair Ferguson
Elyse Fitzpatrick
John Frame
Todd Friel
Gloria Furman
Timothy George
Louie Giglio
Greg Gilbert
John Gill
Graeme Goldsworthy
J.D. Greear
Wayne Grudem
Collin Hansen
Joshua Harris
Darrell Harrison
Susan Heck
Costi Hinn (he says it himself)
Mark Hitchcock (According to Br.d., from the comment section of a Soteriology 101 post, Mark is basically a Closet Calvinist. I don't know about this because I only just now heard about him, but I'm including his name for you to research yourself. But I did find this video where he basically says that sinners need to get the Holy Spirit in order to believe and that faith is a gift given to us by God, which is definitely Calvinistic. Start at the 3:50 minute mark. And if you're interested, see my post "Is Faith a Gift God Gives (forces on) Us?")
Justin Holcomb
Michael Horton
Gabriel Hughes
W. Bingham Hunter
Tim Hurd
Phil Johnson
Ken Jones
Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones
Timothy Paul Jones
Tim Keller
D. James Kennedy
Ted Kluck
John Knox
Greg Koukl
Melissa Kruger
Abraham Kuyper
Steve Lawson
Mike Leake
Jonathan Leeman
Shai Linne
Martin Lloyd-Jones (didn't know if this went under "L" or "J" so I did both)
Crawford Loritts
Martin Luther (wasn't a follower of Calvin, but had similar beliefs)
Erwin Lutzer
Gabe Lyons (Q conferences and website, Qideas)
John MacArthur
CJ Mahaney
Debi Martin
Eric Mason
Conrad Mbewe
Al Mohler
Daniel Montgomery
Douglas Moo
Russell Moore
Robert Morey
Patrick Morley ? (He doesn't seem to say much about it on his blog, but from what I can tell, he graduated from Reformed Theological Seminary and says, in the statement of faith on his "Man in the Mirror" blog, that for lost people to be saved, regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential. See the note below this list for more on that.)
Iain Murray
Tommy Nelson (Denton Bible Church)
Tom Nettles
Trillia Newbell
Steve Nichols
Dane Ortlund
Ray Ortlund
John Owen
J.I. Packer
Darrin Patrick
Ben Peays
Jackie Hill Perry (most likely)
Justin Peters
Arthur Pink
John Piper
David Platt
David Powlison
Elizabeth Prata
Andrew Rappaport
Eric Raymond
Eric Redmond
Tony Reinke
Ron Rhodes (Reasoning From The Scriptures)
J.C. Ryle
Scott Sauls
Tom Schreiner
David Schrock
Luci Shaw
Sunny Shell
Matt Slick
Matt Smethurst
James K.A. Smith
Scotty Smith
R.C. Sproul
R.C. Sproul Jr.
Charles Spurgeon
Sam Storms
Owen Strachan
Allie Beth Stuckey
Joni Eareckson Tada
Justin Taylor
Tullian Tchividjian
Steve Timmis
Derek Thomas
Joe Thorn
Bob Thune
Paul Tripp
Ted Tripp
Carl Trueman
Jeff Vanderstelt
Kevin Vanhoozer
Bruce Ware
B.B. Warfield
Rick Warren
Paul Washer
Trevin Wax
James White
George Whitefield
Don Whitney
Warren Wiersbe
Jen Wilkin
Jared C. Wilson
Doug Wilson (Blog & Mablog)
Herschel York (I don't know who this is but found his name on someone else's list of Calvinists)
These are just some of the more well-known Calvinist authors and/or preachers, but there’s many more not listed here.
[*NOTE, UPDATE: I removed James Dobson's name because I have no other indication so far that he could be Calvinist other than a statement on his website that in order for lost people to be saved, they need to be regenerated by the Holy Spirit.
A statement like this could be Calvinist or not. Calvinists would mean that the Holy Spirit regenerates SINNERS (specific, preselected sinners, before they believe) to make them believers. But non-Calvinists (and I believe this is the biblical meaning) would say that He regenerates BELIEVERS, that if we choose to believe in Jesus (and anyone can) then the Spirit regenerates us, transforming us into a "born-again, new creation," sealing us for the day of redemption and helping us grow in faith.
And so both Calvinists and non-Calvinists would say that regeneration by the Spirit is necessary for salvation. But what makes all the difference is when you think it happens.
If you think you were predestined to be saved first, and then you are given the Holy Spirit so that He can regenerate you (make you born-again) before you believe, to cause you to believe in Jesus, then you are Calvinist. In Calvinism, regeneration/being born-again happens before and leads to belief (for prechosen people only).
But if you think that God makes salvation available to all, that anyone can believe, and that when/after we choose to believe in Jesus, then we get the Holy Spirit who regenerates us and makes us born-again, then you are not a Calvinist. In the Bible, belief comes before and leads to regeneration/being born-again (and anyone can believe).
Titus 3:5 tells us that we are saved through the "rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit," so regeneration is critical to being truly saved. (If you never truly believed in Jesus, then you were never truly born-again by the Spirit, which means you aren't truly saved.) But these verses clearly show that belief comes before getting the Holy Spirit, that we get the Holy Spirit after/as a response to our decision to believe in Jesus:
Acts 2:38: "... Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."
John 7:39: "By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive..."
Ephesians 1:13-14: "And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession - to the praise of His glory."
And who are God's possession, who are his children?
John 1:12-13: "Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God - children not born of natural descent... but born of God."
You get the right to be "born of God" after you believe. You will be born-again (regenerated by the Spirit) after and as a response to your decision to believe in Jesus.
And so a phrase like "in order to be saved, sinners need to be regenerated by the Holy Spirit" is not clear enough to identify if someone is Calvinist or not. (A better, more accurate wording would be that the Holy Spirit regenerates "believers," making them born-again, not just "sinners," which sounds like He causes certain sinners to believe.) And so what you need to find out is what they believe comes first: regeneration or belief in Jesus. (Thank you to Howard for helping me clarify this.)]
[With a list of Calvinists this big, who's left? you might be wondering. Well, here is a link to a list of people who don't support/preach Calvinism (names are at the bottom of the post). From this list, I like Greg Laurie and Billy Graham. {While I don't think Greg Laurie is a Calvinist, his Harvest church says, under the "salvation" heading, "Before Creation, God chose those who would be saved." It sounds Calvinist but I wonder if it's meant in a "God chooses anyone who chooses Him" way, that salvation is open to all but only those who willingly choose Jesus are chosen to be saved, which is something I heard Greg preach once. But it's worth being discerning about, since Calvinism is creeping in everywhere.} I also like Charles Stanley (not his son, Andy Stanley, who I think challenges the integrity/authority of the Bible). And I would add to the list Ralph "Yankee" Arnold, a pastor I haven't watched but my husband recommends his videos against Calvinism. And Dr. Tony Evans, the pastor we watch every Sunday as a family. He doesn't preach directly against Calvinism per se; he just preaches Scriptural truth as it was meant to be understood and in a practical way. And Scriptural truth understood correctly will always contradict Calvinism. Also, a friend of mine who left her EFCA church because Calvinism took it over prefers Dr. Andy Woods, who also preaches against Calvinism.]
This information should help you start learning to identity Calvinist websites, authors, pastors, and churches. And this is becoming so important because Calvinism is spreading everywhere!
*ADDED NOTE, May 5, 2021:
On a personal note: After having seen firsthand how Calvinism stealthily infiltrates and takes over a church, I want to share with you something that Kevin from Beyond the Fundamentals said in the video "Stealth Calvinism in Oklahoma" (my paraphrase): "By the time you realize what's going on and start looking up information about Calvinism online, it's too late."
Calvinist pastors who set out to take over non-Calvinist churches are banking on the fact that most people don't know what Calvinism is, giving the pastors plenty of time to weave in Calvinism in sneaky, subtle, tricksy ways before people catch on to (and research) the red flags. By that time, too many people in the church have been suckered into Calvinism (without realizing it's called Calvinism), believing that they're just learning the "deeper truths of Scripture," that they're being humble, intelligent, God-glorifying Christians for embracing these "hard truths," that they're honoring God by submitting to His "sovereign authority," feeling like they've joined the upper-level of the spiritually-elite (which now includes most of their spiritual social-circle too). And they've been programmed, through subtle manipulation from the pastor over the years, to view anyone who disagrees with the pastor as "unhumble, resistant, arguing with God, disagreeing with the Bible, divisive, etc."
By this time, it's too late to turn the ship around. It's too late to save your church.
And so if this issue (the Calvinism that took over your church) is brought to light, most likely it will lead to a church-split of some kind. Or it might end with you being one of the only ones to leave the church while everyone else supports the pastor (as it was for us). Nevertheless, it's your job to speak up, to do what you can to sound the alarm for as many people as possible. And as quickly as possible.
Time is of the essence. (If we hadn't waited and researched for 6 years before speaking up, maybe we could have reached more people.) And so even if you aren't sure yet what Calvinism is, even if you have only an inkling that something is wrong but you're not sure what, start telling people. Start telling them that you think something is off, that you all need to listen more closely to what the pastor is teaching and to compare it all against the Bible for yourselves. (If you sense something is wrong, most likely there are others who do too. But we're all afraid to speak up, feeling like we're the only ones who sense a problem. And so we all keep quiet, and the Calvinism spreads.) Pass out cards or send emails with the anti-Calvinist websites I listed near the top of this post to as many people as possible, telling them to look them up and to listen for if anything sounds familiar. And I recommend doing this before the pastor catches on, or else you could find yourself being shamed into silence or threatened with church discipline for being "divisive". (But honestly, if what the pastor is teaching is biblical truth, it should hold up under scrutiny, right? So he shouldn't have anything to worry about if people explore his Calvinist theology deeper or read things against it. If he's preaching clear, biblical truth then all the research we do should only convince us more of the accuracy of his theological views, right? So he should have nothing to fear. Unless ... Calvinism is wrong.)
And if you think the pastor is a Calvinist, DO NOT accept any offer of his to take you through their "Calvinist indoctrination" books (my wording, not theirs), to "help you understand the gospel better." Instead, ask him what authors/books he recommends, and then go home and do a search for them online with the words "Calvinist, Calvinism, or Reformed" to see if others identify them as Calvinists.
And, as Kevin essentially says in the video, do not be afraid to be "divisive" about this issue. If there is anything worth being divisive about, it's about the fundamental truths of God's Word. You are not hurting the body of Christ by trying to expose/resist Calvinism. You are trying to help it, trying to remove the cancer that has taken over the body of Christ.
It was sad to me that - even though I left comments on the church blog against Calvinism (until they stopped allowing comments, because of me) and even though we sent long letters to all the elders about our concerns about Calvinism before we left the church and even though we told those who asked us why we left that it was because of the pastor's bad theology, his Calvinism - after we sent our resignation letter, we got a note from the office thanking us for "leaving quietly." How sad that we left so quietly, that we didn't do more to warn the people in the congregation about what was happening right under their noses. Maybe if we weren't so quiet for so long, maybe things would have ended differently. (And since we left, they have joined up with 9Marks and The Gospel Coalition. I bet the congregation has no clue where they're headed. But little do the leaders know that I didn't leave all that quietly. This whole blog - where I have been shouting as loudly as I can about the dangers of Calvinism - is all because of them. So, thank you to the stealthy Calvinist pastor who took over our church and to the Calvinist elders who sided with him. None of this would have been possible without you!)
Do not roll over and allow a backwards, unbiblical theology to supplant God's Truth. If Calvinism is a false doctrine that destroys the Gospel and God's character (which I believe it is) then we must fight it. We must not compromise God's Word or allow false doctrine to spread without a fight. As Kevin points out in a different video, Calvinists will use your politeness, niceness, and tolerance against you, as an opportunity to shove their Calvinism in more forcefully. Don't make it easy for them. If there's anything worth being divisive over, it's this! After all, if we don't speak up and sound the alarm, who will?
