Free Will or Predestination?
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Free Will or Predestination? |
Bible Truth Free Will or Communion: |
The Protestant doctrine of Salvation by Faith Alone, first set out by Martin Luther, led to many new theological problems. (See Faith or Works). What exactly was "Saving Faith"? Was there any way of knowing for certain that you were really "saved"? Once saved by Faith, could you lose that salvation by sinning or falling away? What was the merit in a single act of belief that, on its own, gained you eternal Paradise? Many of the deeper-thinking Reformers began to find that Luther's theories provided few satisfactory answers. A FEARSOME DOCTRINE
It had been held by many of the Church Fathers, particularly Augustine, that God, being Omniscient, knew the future, and therefore knew in advance who would be saved. This was predestination. Calvin extended and refined this idea, stating that God not only knew what choice every person would make in his life, God had actually decided what choices everyone would make. Individuals had no choice in this. Human Free Will was only an illusion. Therefore God had decided that certain people would live a Christian Life and be saved. He had also decided that the rest would sin and be eternally damned. If you were predestined to be damned there was nothing you could do about it. God's will was Sovereign. All Humans were "totally depraved" and unable to do anything to help themselves. God's salvation was a gift of Grace that He bestowed on who He chose. Christ died, not to save everyone, but only to save a chosen, predestined "elect." WHY DID CALVIN NEED SUCH AN EXTREME THEOLOGY? He needed to deal with a lot of problems left over by Luther. If doing Good Works couldn't save us, what was the merit in a simple Act of Faith? And anyway wasn't making an Act of Faith, also a Good Work? What about people who claimed to be Born Again, and then did evil? Systematic academic theologians demanded a coherent, logical solution. Calvin based his system on God's Grace. The Elect were saved, solely by God's grace (or favour), not by their own choice. An Act of Faith was needed, but God had decided through irresistable Grace to make the Elect perform this. Not everyone who made the Act of Faith was among God's Elect, so some people who accepted Jesus would still be damned along with everyone else who was not among the Elect. God had therefore, according to Calvin, created millions of people who would be damned for eternity through no fault of their own. The whole system was logically more watertight than Luther's but at the penalty of being incredibly harsh. BUT SURELY THIS THEORY DIDN'T GAIN WIDE ACCEPTANCE? Curiously enough, it did. Calvinist theology spread rapidly, and became the basis for many protestant denominations. These included the Swiss Reformed Church, The Dutch Reformed Church, The English Puritans, The French Huguenots, The Presbyterian and Congregational Churches, The Baptist Churches, and through them the Pentecostal Churches and Assemblies of God. Jansenism, a Catholic form of Calvinism, was condemned as heretical in 1653. In the 1600s, a Dutch cleric, Jacobus Arminius, rebelled against the system and proposed a modification, stating that God wished to save us all, not only the Elect, and that individuals could choose to accept or reject salvation. This Arminianism was condemned as Catholicism by the Synod of Dort in 1619, and most of the main Reformed denominations stuck with hardline Calvinism until the 1800s. Many adherents continued to suffer anxiety and doubt, not knowing whether they were truly among the elect or not. Most Churches told members that if they kept the Commandments and lived reasonably well, they were probably among the saved. THE HIDDEN DOCTRINE In the freer religious environment of the 1800s, Calvinism began to come under heavy and sustained attack from inside and outside the Protestant Churches. People accused it of being a cruel and unjust doctrine. The idea that God would create people, make them behave in a certain way, and then condemn them to everlasting torture for behaving in that way, was seen as being contrary to everything the Bible taught. Many denominations quietly dropped Calvinism at this time, and moved back towards Arminianism. The Church of England, and some national Reformed Churches did this. Other churches like the Congregational, Methodist, Baptist and Presbyterian Churches split into Calvinist and Arminian branches. Others remained wholly Calvinist. DECEPTION However many Calvinist Churches began to hide their Calvinist doctrines from the majority of their Congregations. The doctrines were no longer preached to ordinary worshippers, although they were still held. This continues to this day. Calvinist doctrines on Election and the lack of Free Will are very hard to explain to modern believers, so many Calvinist Churches just don't bother. They hold evangelistic meetings and invite people to accept Jesus and "be saved" by Faith. They tell people that they are "saved" but fail to reveal the true Calvinist theology of the denomination, for fear this will frighten away new converts. For under Calvinist theology, the new converts' salvation is not as certain as they are told it is. This is a form of deception practised by many Calvinist groups, and it is often hard to find what the true beliefs of many Protestant groups are. If a church says it believes in Salvation by Grace Alone through Faith, it may well hold Calvinist beliefs. SO WHAT'S WRONG WITH CALVINISM? To many, Calvinism goes
against the whole flow of New Testament teaching. It
substitutes a vengeful, capricious and merciless God, for
the loving Father of Jesus's teachings. The
price paid for unravelling the tangled knot of Lutheran
logic is too high. In order to avoid the need for Good
Works, the Gospel has been distorted out of all
recognition. Jesus's teachings make little sense under
Calvinism, and make no sense at all if we do not have
Free Will to act on them. In addition Calvinism has led
to.. WHAT ABOUT THE BIBLE? As already stated, Calvinism seems directly opposed to the whole tenor of Jesus's teaching on Good Works (See: Faith or Works) and Jesus's constant exhortations to us to make the right choices. Why should He have spent so much of his ministry on this sort of teaching if we did not have the Free Will to profit by it? This is one reason why Free Will has always been so important to the historic Church, and why our deeds, (or works) are vitally important. We can see that the Bible also denies the idea of irresistible grace, showing that our Free Will does affect its action: 2 Cor 6: 1 As God’s fellow workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. (NIV). The Bible shows clearly that God wants everyone to be saved, and that He has not predestined anyone for damnation. 1 Timothy 2.3-4: This is good, and it is acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour, who desires ALL men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 2 Peter 3; 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. (NIV). 1 John 2: 2 He is the
atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but
also for the sins of the whole world. (NIV). ETERNAL SECURITY The counterpoint doctrine is the idea of the Eternal Security of the Believer, also known as "Once Saved Always Saved". This is an ideal taught by many Protestant churches. Believers are told that once they have been saved, they are "eternally secure" and that nothing can then make them lose that salvation. Is This Supported by Scripture? Matthew 24.10-13 And at that time many will fall away and will deliver up one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise, and will mislead many. And because lawlessness is increased, most people's love will grow cold But the one who endures to the end, he shall be saved. John 15.10 If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father' s commands and remain in his love 1 Timothy 4 1 The Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith Romans 11.21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either. 22 Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. This is written to believers. Galatians 6.7-8 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Philippians 3.11-14: in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on in order that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 1 Timothy 1 18-19: Timothy, my son, I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight, holding on to faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith. Hebrews 6: 4-6 For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 and THEN HAVE FALLEN AWAY, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God, and put Him to open shame. 2 Peter 2 20: If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. 21It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. Again, this passage is clear. Salvation can be lost. 2 Peter 3.16 Paul's letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. 17 Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position. The Christian's position is not so "secure" that it cannot be lost. Revelation 3.5 He who overcomes
will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot
out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge
his name before my Father and his angels. Scripture repeatedly makes clear that one has to overcome in order to achieve the promise, and that a Christian can lose their crown of salvation. The Teaching of "Eternal Security", Assurance of Salvation or "Once Saved Always Saved", is therefore unscriptural and extremely dangerous, since it can lead people into a false sense that they are guaranteed salvation whatever else they do. |
Geneva
Reformer John Calvin, developed a
doctrine that tried to solve all these problems without
relying on the need for sinners to do Good Works to gain
salvation. He found his answer in the harsh doctrine of Predestination.