All Christians are sinners. Bible says, “If we say we have
no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. (1Jo 1:8)”. Yet there
are two particular sins which are notoriously common with people adherent to ‘Doctrines
of Grace’ which is also called ‘Calvinism’. Though these sins can be there among Christians belonging to other denominations, yet a wrong understanding of
Calvinistic theology can make these sins very obvious. I will address both of these and write a
rebuttal for the same from Scripture. I am not writing this with a ‘holier
than thou’ attitude, but I know these things because I have also committed
these sins after starting to believe in Calvinism. So let me address these
primarily as a means to admonish Calvinistic believers:
1) Pride of our Theological knowledge:
Honestly speaking, of all the denominations in protestant
Christianity, most number of Christian works are written by Calvinistic
preachers and teachers. People like John Calvin, Jonathan Edwards and other
puritans have written so many great works in Christian faith which is a
treasure house and a shining gem of Christianity. When a Christian discovers
these great truths of Calvinism from Scripture, he would be overjoyed and glad
about the greatness and magnificence of God’s wisdom. But sometimes, these ‘new’
Calvinists, tend to compare their theological knowledge with believers who are
theologically naïve and develop a sense of superiority complex, thinking that
they know so much from Scripture. This would manifest in two ways:
a)
Not willing to learn further from Scripture
or from other Christian works.
b)
Having ‘holier than thou’ attitude with
Christians who are not as theologically mature as them.
I want to share two verses for these people.
"God opposes the proud, but
gives grace to the humble." (Jam 4:6)
Bible says it is God who reveals all
the truths of Scripture to man, since naturally man is blind (Eph 1:4). When
God is revealing to us more from Scripture, a true Calvinist would be more and
more humble about the magnificence and greatness of God’s wisdom and knowledge
rather than being proud of his theological superiority. A consistent reformed
Christian would exclaim with Paul in pure humility:
Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! "For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?" "Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?" For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.
(Rom 11:33-36)
If you think you are rich in theology, consider again: God
can take away all the theological knowledge from you anytime if you are proud since it is God who has given you wisdom to understand this and you did not 'choose' on your own.
So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. (Rev 3:16-17)
I want to clarify another important thing with regard to this. I am
not in anyway encouraging theological ignorance and this should not be taken as
an excuse to not to learn theology at all. A Christian should always be ready
to listen to what God is speaking to us through Scripture and through the work
of Godly teachers and preachers with an attitude which Samuel had to listen to Lord’s voice(1 Sam 3:10)
2) Prayerlessness:
It is one of the duties of a Christian to watch and pray daily. Prayer is
a means of communication of our thankfulness and petition to God. When we are
newly into reformed faith, sometime, we undermine the importance of prayer. We
think, “Since God has predestined everything in my life, why should I have to
pray? Anyway irrespective of whether I pray or not, God is not going to change
what he has destined. So why should I pray?”
To answer this question simply: “We
have to pray because, God has commanded us to do so”. Let me explain to you in detail. The duty of a
Christian is to obey God and enjoy Him forever. One of the means of obedience
is through pray. Bible gives ample amount of instructions for a Christian to
pray. Our Lord taught us how to pray in Matthew 6. Yet if we are not praying,
it means we are disobeying God. And Bible says that God hears our prayers and
acts accordingly. Let me explain to you with this following verse:
At
the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word,
to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison--
(Col
4:3)
Paul
asks the believers to pray for his work. He says that God will hear their
prayer to open the door for the word. Many Arminians think that God doesn’t
know our future and only by our prayer that we can ‘remind’ God to act. But
Paul knows that God has ordained everything what is going to happen in future.
Paul would have known this verse: Remember the former things of old; for I am
God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the
end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, 'My
counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,' (Isa 46:9-10)”. Yet
he is asking the believers to pray because:
a)
It is a commandment of God for Christians to
pray.
b)
God chooses to act providentially through the
means of our prayer. In that way, we are not believing in a fatalistic gods of
Islam and Hinduism but to the God who listens to our prayer and rewards our
efforts by His action, though all these are ordained already before the foundation
of this world.
That was the reason why Paul is asking all the believers to pray
regularly. Therefore let us all be living a prayerful life, consistent with
what is taught in Scripture. I humbly write all these for the edification of
fellow warriors of Christian faith so that we would be more and more sanctified
in Christlikeness.
If you have liked this, you can also read Why I am not an Arminian?
If you have liked this, you can also read Why I am not an Arminian?
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