Leaving Calvinism: Steve Jones
Another long look into Calvinism from a former Calvinist. But a very good one with lots of biblical points that throw Calvinism into doubt.
Calvinism Critiqued By A Former Calvinist
I really appreciate people taking the time to write out their stories. We can learn a lot from them and find encouragement through them.
I like this, but do not agree with the "II. Unconditional Election" point. I do believe that God did indeed foreknow those who would choose Him, and He chose those whom He knew would choose Him.
It's similar to how God chose a remnant in Romans 11:4-5 when He says that in the past He chose seven thousand people who did not bow the knee to Baal, and that He likewise chose a remnant at the present time. The people made their choice about worshipping Baal or not, and then God chose those who did not turn to false gods. He chose those who chose Him. (But what did He choose the 7000 for? If you go to 1 Kings 19:14-18, you see that He chose them, reserved them, not to be believers, but to be spared from death so they could be prophets alongside Elijah. Election is about God choosing someone for a job, a task, not about Him predestining them for salvation.)
I believe that from the beginning of time, God already knew who was going to choose Him, to love Him, and so, from the beginning of time, we are already His people in His eyes, His chosen ones. But it is based on our choice to choose Him, to love Him. And anyone and everyone has the chance to choose this. The offer of salvation is open to all.
"For those God foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son..." (Romans 8:29). If God foreknows you as one of His true believers, you've been predestined to grow to be more like Christ. A true believer has the Holy Spirit inside them to help them grow into what God wants us to be. And so contrary to Calvinism, predestination is not about God predestining whether we go to heaven or hell. It's about the Christian's "journey's end" being predestined. If you are truly a Christian, your path is headed in a direction that's been predestined, to become more like Christ and to reach glory in the end.
Also, I agree with him that election is a mystery. But in the Bible, election has more to do with being chosen for a certain job or responsibility, not about being elected for heaven or hell (as Calvinists would say).
"Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad - in order that God's purpose in election might stand: ... "The older will serve the younger." ... Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?" (Romans 9:11-12, 21)
This election is not about God choosing certain people for heaven; it's about God choosing to use certain people for big purposes, to give certain people a big job/responsibility. And in this case, when you read the chapter in context, you see that it's about God choosing Israel (Jacob) to be the bloodline that brought Jesus into the world. This totally contradicts a Calvinist's view of election, that God decides who goes to heaven and who goes to hell.
And I also disagree with his view in V. Final Perseverance. He's making the case that we can lose our salvation. I do not agree with that. He says we don't actually "possess salvation" until in the future, based on Peter 1:5: "... who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time."
People say this means that we don't actually get our "salvation" until later, until and unless we maintain it to the end, so it's not totally guaranteed now, which means we are at risk of losing it if we do not work to hold onto it.
But ... and this is a big BUT ... a simple glance at Strong's Concordance (with Vine's Expository Dictionary) shows us that "salvation" in that verse is not about the eternal salvation of our souls or about our eternal resting place in heaven or hell. It's about God's promise to spare us from His wrath, the "end times" kind of wrath that will be poured out on unrepentant mankind.
I believe 1 Peter 1:5 is saying that we are shielded on this earth by the Holy Spirit, through our faith in Him, until He "saves" us (the rapture) from the wrath that will be poured out on mankind in the end times. A whole different kind of "salvation."
And I think many of the warnings we read in Scripture that sound like "Don't lose your salvation" are really about "Don't lose the rewards that come with your eternal salvation" (or possibly "Don't lose your place in the rapture"). I don't think we can lose our eternal salvation, but we can lose the rewards that we build up in heaven, and we might be able to be left behind in the rapture if we are not living faithfully when Jesus returns.
But we cannot lose our eternal salvation because ...
"And you were also 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..." (Ephesians 1:13-14)
Those who believe - truly believe - are sealed by the Holy Spirit. And those who are sealed by the Holy Spirit are "predestined" for glory (Romans 8:30) and guaranteed to get their inheritance, to be redeemed on the day that God comes to get us again (Ephesians 4:30), sparing us from His wrath that He pours out on unrepentance mankind (1 Peter 1:5). Because believers are not appointed for God's wrath (1 Thessalonians 5:9). (But if someone truly does "leave the faith," I don't think they were truly a believer to begin with. "They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us." 1 John 2:19)
Our "final salvation" is not contingent on our lifetime of good works and faithfulness, as if we have to keep working to secure our salvation. Jesus secured salvation for mankind at the cross, and we acquire it when we make Him Lord of our lives (Romans 10:13).
And our lifetime of good works and faithfulness is the natural result of true saving faith, of being led by the Spirit. And so if you don't see evidence of faithfulness in your life (feeling the Holy Spirit's conviction when you sin, growing to be more like Jesus, loving others and being forgiving and being concerned with their souls), then you should really contemplate if you truly made Jesus Lord and Savior of your life ... or if you just convinced yourself you did.
(Or maybe you are truly saved but backslidden, having lost sensitivity to the Spirit through unconfessed sin. It wouldn't mean you lost your salvation, just that you lost your fellowship with God and need to repent and get back on track with Him. Besides, why would believers be warned to not "grieve the Spirit" if the real warning is to not "lose the Spirit". "And do not grieve the Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption" (Ephesians 4:30)? If you could lose your salvation, it should read "And do not grieve the Spirit of God or else He might leave you.")
"Good works" is evidence of our faith and salvation; it's not how we secure our salvation.
And do we really think God doesn't know who His own people are? Do we think He is tricked into giving the Spirit to anyone who claims to believe, who tricks themselves into thinking they are Christians?
No!
God knows our hearts better than we do. And if we truly believe, truly make Jesus our Lord and Savior, then we will get the Holy Spirit and eternal life. And we cannot lose it once we have it.
We can trick ourselves into thinking we are Christians when we aren't, but we can't trick God!
And if we "lose our faith," we never really had real faith to begin with!
(Also see my post "Can You Lose Your Salvation?")
Calvinism Critiqued By A Former Calvinist
I really appreciate people taking the time to write out their stories. We can learn a lot from them and find encouragement through them.
I like this, but do not agree with the "II. Unconditional Election" point. I do believe that God did indeed foreknow those who would choose Him, and He chose those whom He knew would choose Him.
It's similar to how God chose a remnant in Romans 11:4-5 when He says that in the past He chose seven thousand people who did not bow the knee to Baal, and that He likewise chose a remnant at the present time. The people made their choice about worshipping Baal or not, and then God chose those who did not turn to false gods. He chose those who chose Him. (But what did He choose the 7000 for? If you go to 1 Kings 19:14-18, you see that He chose them, reserved them, not to be believers, but to be spared from death so they could be prophets alongside Elijah. Election is about God choosing someone for a job, a task, not about Him predestining them for salvation.)
I believe that from the beginning of time, God already knew who was going to choose Him, to love Him, and so, from the beginning of time, we are already His people in His eyes, His chosen ones. But it is based on our choice to choose Him, to love Him. And anyone and everyone has the chance to choose this. The offer of salvation is open to all.
"For those God foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son..." (Romans 8:29). If God foreknows you as one of His true believers, you've been predestined to grow to be more like Christ. A true believer has the Holy Spirit inside them to help them grow into what God wants us to be. And so contrary to Calvinism, predestination is not about God predestining whether we go to heaven or hell. It's about the Christian's "journey's end" being predestined. If you are truly a Christian, your path is headed in a direction that's been predestined, to become more like Christ and to reach glory in the end.
Also, I agree with him that election is a mystery. But in the Bible, election has more to do with being chosen for a certain job or responsibility, not about being elected for heaven or hell (as Calvinists would say).
"Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad - in order that God's purpose in election might stand: ... "The older will serve the younger." ... Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?" (Romans 9:11-12, 21)
This election is not about God choosing certain people for heaven; it's about God choosing to use certain people for big purposes, to give certain people a big job/responsibility. And in this case, when you read the chapter in context, you see that it's about God choosing Israel (Jacob) to be the bloodline that brought Jesus into the world. This totally contradicts a Calvinist's view of election, that God decides who goes to heaven and who goes to hell.
And I also disagree with his view in V. Final Perseverance. He's making the case that we can lose our salvation. I do not agree with that. He says we don't actually "possess salvation" until in the future, based on Peter 1:5: "... who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time."
People say this means that we don't actually get our "salvation" until later, until and unless we maintain it to the end, so it's not totally guaranteed now, which means we are at risk of losing it if we do not work to hold onto it.
But ... and this is a big BUT ... a simple glance at Strong's Concordance (with Vine's Expository Dictionary) shows us that "salvation" in that verse is not about the eternal salvation of our souls or about our eternal resting place in heaven or hell. It's about God's promise to spare us from His wrath, the "end times" kind of wrath that will be poured out on unrepentant mankind.
I believe 1 Peter 1:5 is saying that we are shielded on this earth by the Holy Spirit, through our faith in Him, until He "saves" us (the rapture) from the wrath that will be poured out on mankind in the end times. A whole different kind of "salvation."
And I think many of the warnings we read in Scripture that sound like "Don't lose your salvation" are really about "Don't lose the rewards that come with your eternal salvation" (or possibly "Don't lose your place in the rapture"). I don't think we can lose our eternal salvation, but we can lose the rewards that we build up in heaven, and we might be able to be left behind in the rapture if we are not living faithfully when Jesus returns.
But we cannot lose our eternal salvation because ...
"And you were also 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..." (Ephesians 1:13-14)
Those who believe - truly believe - are sealed by the Holy Spirit. And those who are sealed by the Holy Spirit are "predestined" for glory (Romans 8:30) and guaranteed to get their inheritance, to be redeemed on the day that God comes to get us again (Ephesians 4:30), sparing us from His wrath that He pours out on unrepentance mankind (1 Peter 1:5). Because believers are not appointed for God's wrath (1 Thessalonians 5:9). (But if someone truly does "leave the faith," I don't think they were truly a believer to begin with. "They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us." 1 John 2:19)
Our "final salvation" is not contingent on our lifetime of good works and faithfulness, as if we have to keep working to secure our salvation. Jesus secured salvation for mankind at the cross, and we acquire it when we make Him Lord of our lives (Romans 10:13).
And our lifetime of good works and faithfulness is the natural result of true saving faith, of being led by the Spirit. And so if you don't see evidence of faithfulness in your life (feeling the Holy Spirit's conviction when you sin, growing to be more like Jesus, loving others and being forgiving and being concerned with their souls), then you should really contemplate if you truly made Jesus Lord and Savior of your life ... or if you just convinced yourself you did.
(Or maybe you are truly saved but backslidden, having lost sensitivity to the Spirit through unconfessed sin. It wouldn't mean you lost your salvation, just that you lost your fellowship with God and need to repent and get back on track with Him. Besides, why would believers be warned to not "grieve the Spirit" if the real warning is to not "lose the Spirit". "And do not grieve the Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption" (Ephesians 4:30)? If you could lose your salvation, it should read "And do not grieve the Spirit of God or else He might leave you.")
"Good works" is evidence of our faith and salvation; it's not how we secure our salvation.
And do we really think God doesn't know who His own people are? Do we think He is tricked into giving the Spirit to anyone who claims to believe, who tricks themselves into thinking they are Christians?
No!
God knows our hearts better than we do. And if we truly believe, truly make Jesus our Lord and Savior, then we will get the Holy Spirit and eternal life. And we cannot lose it once we have it.
We can trick ourselves into thinking we are Christians when we aren't, but we can't trick God!
And if we "lose our faith," we never really had real faith to begin with!
(Also see my post "Can You Lose Your Salvation?")
