I’ve been in a baptist church for many years and have met Calvinists from different backgrounds and countries. I’ve also observed that Calvinism is less present in non-baptist churches.
Over the past 20 years , I met Calvinists that were the classical 5 pointers and others 3 pointers or hyper-calvinists
It’s first wrong to assume that rejecting Calvinism makes one an Arminian. I’m not. I hate Calvinism but have no hatred against the Calvinists.
When questioning the Calvinists on verses like John 3 and 1 Tim 2:4, 1 John 2:2 the usual response is that non-Calvinists do not understand Calvinism and adopt straw man fallacies.
The Calvinists like reminding their Christian heritage, the puritans and the reformers. Many teachers have rose among them like White, Piper, Sproul, McArthur who advocate Calvinism. Why following a doctrine named after a man – John Calvin?
The true gospel is simply explained in John 3:14-21 and this is the main scripture that I consider being attacked by Calvinism.
What is Calvinism in simple words? Well, we could recall the acronym TULIP to sum this up:
Total depravity: Man cannot seek God(and will not) as he’s utterly sinful
Unconditional election: God chooses who will be saved as He wishes related on the point above (T) since man is unable to initiate a response to God
Limited atonement: Jesus died only for the elect based on the point above (‘U’)
Irresistible grace: Since Jesus died only for a few elects in point above (L), God brings these elects to salvation, which they cannot resist
Perseverance of the saints: Since God has already chosen who will be saved, then forcibly none of them can be lost and the latter shall persevere, for nothing can thwart God’s plan.
These 5 teachings are closely interweaved and proving one of them to be false will cause others to lose credibility.
Total depravity
Man is depraved yes but not totally as the Calvinist claim such that man cannot respond to God or repent unless caused by God. There is no righteous or perfect man, except the man Jesus Christ. All have sinned and have thus turned away from God and lost. True, man does not seek God and understands God because he is lost. This is the very reason why the Gospel of light should be preached to give opportunity to every man to get out of darkness like Romans 10 says:
“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” Romans 10:13-16
This is a promise that anyone (not just a few elect) who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Notice that the decision comes from the sinner to decide if he wants to repent or not and call on the name of Jesus for salvation. But how will they know unless they hear the gospel as Paul says?
The bible has countless examples of servants of God who honored God like Abraham, Moses, Enoch, Joshua, Job, David etc. All these men had their flaws but God still commended them many times because in their freewill they decided to trust God, chose the right path instead of the wrong path.
It is unquestionable that God intently gave man the freewill to chose. In fact it’s based on this choice to refuse or accept salvation that man is judged. This is indeed what caused the fall of humanity when the woman has chosen to take the defended fruit and disobey God. If not man by his own freewill chose to sin or do good, then who is causing that? Is it God? Man was created in the image of God and is not a robot (worst than animals). However, God always appealed men to chose the right path.
“Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live” Deut 30.
Without freewill, how can genuine love exists? I love my wife and married her out of my own freewill. No one forced me to marry and love her. If someone did, how would I be able to love her? My children honor me when they willingly obey me and do what is right. They do so without the need for me to take a stick or ask them to obey. It is the same with our relationship with God the Father.
If man had no freewill, what would then be the purpose of repentance? Repentance is a personal decision that not even God can do for man, for God cannot repent in our place.
Without the freewill of man God would not be glorified. Example:
“Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.” “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.” The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger. Job 1
“Then the LORD asked Satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth. He is blameless—a man of complete integrity. He fears God and stays away from evil. And he has maintained his integrity, even though you urged me to harm him without cause Job 2
Are these words of God regarding Job demonstrate a man totally depraved (integrity, blameless, upright, shuns evil, fears God)? God was pleased with Job’s conduct. If Job was influenced by God to be upright, then Satan would have said “It’s because you control him like a robot and has no freewill that he is blameless“.
No, Satan could not say that because Job has chosen out of his own freewill to honor God, which demonstrates that man is not totally depraved. Job, John, Peter and the rest of the apostles have given up their rights, crucified their own self and will to please God. Self-denial, willingly giving up the desires of our flesh for God’s sake and holiness are worship unto Him. This is a form of worship and there’s nothing to brag or boast about.
Unconditional election
One on the main text used to support Calvinism is Romans 9.
The Calvinists think it is talking about God showing grace to some and not to others when in fact Paul was making a contrast between 2 nations i.e. how God in His sovereignty showed grace to the Gentiles v/s the Jews and that He was not unjust to offer salvation to non-Jews (Read the context as from Romans 9:1). Can the Jews blame God for showing mercy to whom He wants (i.e the Gentiles). The hardened heart of the Jews opened the doors to the Gentiles (Romans 10:16-21). Is God unjust if He wants to extend His mercy on every man? We’ll see later on (John 3) that salvation is conditional on man’s response and perseverance without jeopardizing God’s Sovereignty.
What is the purpose of the Great Commission or preaching the Gospel if whatever happens, the elects will come to know the truth through an internal call and be saved?
I remember sharing the gospel on a campus when one day a lady from a Calvinist background told me “You see this guy did not respond to the gospel because he was not an elect at first hand“. This shocked me but it was a logical reasoning if God has already chosen some people to be saved. What would motivate a Calvinist to preach the gospel if ultimately God has taken the whole responsibility to attract only the elects to him?
If fact we see the contrary, Jesus has taken this responsibility to attract every man to Him. Unfortunately, many man resist the gospel.
Jesus said : ” And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” John 12:32
Limited atonement
“He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world” 1 John 2:2
This is actually what we read in John 3. Jesus died not only the sins of our sins(speaking of the believers) but for the sins of the whole world. Since Jesus died for the whole world, He wishes that all men to be saved:
“This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus” 1 Tim. 2:2
God wants all men to be saved but we know that not all men will be saved because many intently prefer to continue in darkness as we read in John 3.
I know no more dangerous and stupid doctrine as Limited atonement, it must have been carved by the most evil of Satan’s fallen angels.
More details here: https://cedricphilippe.wordpress.com/tag/john-316/
Irresistible grace
Regarding election, the first question that comes to my mind is : How is a Calvinist sure he/she is an elect? Would I be considered a non-elect due to the fact that I’m a strong opponent of Calvinism? Am I an heretic for opposing Calvinism? What does it bring more to a Calvinist of believing in Calvinism? Is not the knowledge that salvation is obtained by grace through faith sufficient? I don’t believe in Calvinism and still I have the assurance of salvation. Why then should a non-Calvinist Christian adhere to Calvinism? An elect is nothing more than a Christian and predestination pertains to becoming like Christ.
Calvinism distorted and twisted the meaning of Romans 8:9, which says:
“For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.”
This verse is not saying that some people were predestined to be saved but rather predestined to become like Jesus, once they are saved. This is the work of the Holy Spirit, sanctification and transformation in the beauty of Jesus (see 2 Cor 3:18).
God is omniscient and there is no doubt that God knew beforehand who will believe in Him. To those that will believe in Him, God determined beforehand that a work/process of transformation/sanctification will begin for them such that the end result would be Christlikeness. These Christlike people i.e. the Christians, God summoned/invited them(ἐκάλεσεν) to be partakers or savor justification of sins and future glorification of their bodies(1 Cor. 15:43).
God can be resisted, again due to our freewill. This is what God blamed Israel for during eras. Why would God punish Israel or the whole world if they had no freewill? The Israelites had a hardened heart and refused to listen(and they still reject the Messiah). They turned to idols and refused to repent out of their own freewill and not because God hardened their heart. Were not the Pharisees strong opponents of Jesus? Even regarding the gospel we read that some man refuse to turn away from their sins for fear that all these become expose (John 3). So here the Calvinists claim that these people were not elects and this explains why they resisted. Well, what the scripture says is that men are judged and condemned because they refused the gospel.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.”
If those who refused the gospel did so because God had not predestined them to be saved then we have a serious legal and judgment issue. If God sent His Son to die only for the elects (and not the world) then why would the verdict goes like God condemning them for not believing? The verdict should then have been something different. I’m not sure how many Calvinists actually preach the gospel. But people resist the gospel not once, not twice but countless times before repenting. The testimony of Nicky Cruz is a good example. If Wilkerson deduced that Nicky Cruz was resisting the gospel because he was not an elect then, Nicky Cruz would not have been an evangelist today.
Perseverance of the saints
I have touched a bit on this subject while studying the Epistle to the Hebrews.
More details here: https://cedricphilippe.wordpress.com/2013/04/13/epistle-the-hebrews-1026-31/
Cedric Philippe 
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