From the TeachingtheWord Bible Knowledgebase Church - Contemporary Issues 'Are You a Calvinist?' By Dr. Paul M. Elliott Taking on a man-made label is problematic, and actually un-biblical. One Name should be label enough for every true saint of God. He's Not in the Text A very well-known Reformed preacher once delivered a powerful sermon on the first chapter of Ephesians and related passages. In this message he set forth what are often referred to as the doctrines of grace. He began by setting forth the great doctrine that God by His free grace chose a people for Himself in Christ before the foundation of the world. He expounded the fact that these chosen ones of God are predestined to adoption as sons by His sovereign choosing. He also preached the great fact that redemption is by God's grace alone through faith alone, accomplished in full by the shed blood of Christ alone, apart from any human works or merit, because the totally depraved sinner has no such offering that is acceptable to God as a propitiation for his sins. He went on to preach about the great work of God the Holy Spirit in applying the redemption accomplished by Christ to the elect of God by convicting them of sin, bringing those who are dead in trespasses and sins to spiritual life, giving them the gift of saving faith, and indwelling them as the down-payment of their ultimate and glorious redemption. He also preached the marvelous fact that this entire plan of God has as its ultimate goal the gathering together of all things in both Heaven and earth under the headship of Christ. 1
At the end of the service, a man came up to this preacher and said that he thought it was a wonderful message. "But," he said, "in preaching such a message from such a text, why didn't you mention Calvinism?" The pastor replied, "Because I did not find the words "Calvin" or "Calvinism" anywhere in the text." "I Am of Paul" - "I Am of Apollos" Now, the pastor who gave this reply was a "Calvinist " in the sense that he taught with fervor God's plan of salvation as stated above. But I believe that his answer to the man's question applies a great truth in a very pointed way. Many people are anxious to wear labels, or to apply labels to others. But in the Word of God we find that Paul took the Corinthians to task for this: Now I say this, that each of you says, "I am of Paul," or "I am of Apollos," or "I am of Cephas," or "I am of Christ." Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? (1 Corinthians 1:12-13) For when one says, "I am of Paul," and another, "I am of Apollos," are you not carnal? Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers thro ugh whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, you are God's building. According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 2
Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one's work will become clear; for the Day [of judgment] will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is. If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone's wo rk is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire." (1 Corinthians 3:4-15) There is just as great a danger in saying, "I am of Calvin" - "I am of Luther" - "I am of Wesley" - "I am of Arminius" - or in saying "I am of (fill in the blank with any name you wish)" as there is in saying "I am of Paul" or "I am of Apollos." The Problems of Labels I am often asked the question, "Are you a Calvinist?" This is how I respond. The man who says, "I am a Calvinist " is saying, in effect, "I agree with Calvin's positions all the way up and down the line." Such an outlook is problematic indeed, for at least five reasons. To begin with, I doubt there have ever been two human beings on earth who totally agreed in every detail of their theology. In the case of Calvin, it would take a literal lifetime of study to fully understand whether or not you agreed with the entire scope of his massive Institutes of the Christian Religion, his commentaries on many books of the Bible, and his other w ritings. Secondly, to make the statement "I am a Calvinist " but to mean only "I generally agree with the teachings of Calvin" does a great disservice to those who hear you say, "I am a Calvinist." They are left to speculate as to which parts of Calvin's t eachings you agree with fully, agree with partially, or disagree with completely. Thirdly, to say "I am a Calvinist " effectively makes Calvin the standard. But the question that God asks us is not, "Do you agree with Calvin?" but rather, "Do you 3
submit to My Word?" Scripture is the standard by which both we and Calvin and every other Christian, preacher or layperson, must and will be judged. Fourthly, some men today are called Calvinists because they often invoke the name of Calvin, but in fact their theology is nothing like Calvin's. Sometimes their theology is actually Roman Catholic at its core. They teach that man is justified before God by faith in Christ plus their own works, a heresy that Calvin opposed with such fervor that he frequently worked himself into ill health. Finally, labels are often uncritically applied to an individual by others. Many would call me a Calvinist because I believe that the exposition of Ephesians chapter one that the prominent preacher gave above is the truth. Calvin certainly believed it as well. But that does not make me a Calvinist. While I am on the same page with the great Reformer in vast areas of theology, I strongly disagree with him in a number of important areas. Let me offer two examples. In his Institutes, Calvin vigorously promoted the doctrine of infant baptism. I vigorously believe that Scripture proves Calvin entirely wrong on this. In his Commentary on Romans, Calvin teaches that chapters 9 through 11 tell us that all the promises of God to ethnic Israel have been transferred to the Church. I disagree with Calvin's interpretation of those chapters on exegetical grounds. I believe that Romans teaches us that God is not finished with ethnic Israel. I believe that Romans tells us of a coming day, after "the fullness of Gentiles has come in," when a generation of those who are the physical seed of Abraham will be, in their entirety, the spiritual seed of Abraham as well - believers trusting in the shed blood of Christ for salvation, members of His one true and indivisible body for eternity. I could say much more, but this is enough to demonstrate that the Biblical warning against man- made labels is of great practical importance. 4
The Label We Should Wear This leaves a question that I am also sometimes asked: Is there a label that we should bear? There is only one, and that is the name of Christ. For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family [of believers] in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:14-19) And they shall see His face; and His name shall be on their foreheads. And there shall be no night there; and they need no lamp nor light of the sun; for the Lord God gives them light: and they shall reign forever and ever. (Revelation 22:4-5) Is not that Name, which is above every name, label enough for every true saint of God? tq0381 Copyright 1998-2013 TeachingtheWord Ministriesmmmmmwww.teachingtheword.org All rights reserved. This article may be reproduced in its entirety only, for non-commercial purposes, provided that this copyright notice is included. We also suggest that you include a direct hyperlink to this article for the convenience of your readers. 5