If a Calvinist Preached on the Gospel from your Pulpit

Besides calling for tar, feathers, and pitchforks, what would happen if a Calvinist preached on the Gospel from your pulpit this coming Lord's day? What would you expect to hear? A diatribe on Reformed soteriology? I think most of my Synergist brethren on this board would be surprised. Charles Spurgeon said of the Gospel:

"On Christ, and what he has done, my soul hangs for time and eternity. And if your soul also hangs there, it will be saved as surely as mine shall be. And if you are lost trusting in Christ, I will be lost with you and will go to hell with you. I must do so, for I have nothing else to rely upon but the fact that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, lived, died, was buried, rose again, went to heaven, and still lives and pleads for sinners at the right hand of God."

Spurgeon knew his Reformed soteriology well. Spurgeon once wrote:

"And I have my own private opinion, that there is no such thing as preaching Christ and him crucified, unless you preach what now-a-days is called Calvinism. I have my own ideas, and those I always state boldly. It is a nickname to call it Calvinism. Calvinism is the gospel, and nothing else. I do not believe we can preach the gospel, if we do not preach justification by faith without works; nor unless we preach the sovereignty of God in his dispensation of grace; nor unless we exalt the electing, unchangeable, eternal, immutable, conquering love of Jehovah; nor, I think, can we preach the gospel, unless we base it upon the peculiar redemption which Christ made for his elect and chosen people; nor can I comprehend a gospel which lets saints fall away after they are called, and suffers the children of God to be burned in the fires of damnation, after having believed. Such a gospel I abhor. The gospel of the Bible is not such a gospel as that. We preach Christ and him crucified in a different fashion, and to all gainsayers we reply, ‘We have not so learned Christ." [Spurgeon’s Sermons, vol. I (Baker Books, reprinted 2007), 88-89.]

In the Prince-of-Preachers mind, Calvinism embodied the Bible's teaching on predestination and election, but if you were to listen to a Spurgeon sermon, how likely would you be hit over the head with Calvinism as the topic? The truth-be-told, not too often. Spurgeon was more concerned with preaching the full counsel of God. Peruse the collection of Spurgeon sermons at the following link (Spurgeon Library: Home page) to see how often Spurgeon singled out Calvinism for a sermon.

So, what would you hear if a Calvinist preached on the Gospel at your church this Lord's day? You would hear an impassioned plea for every unsaved person in attendance to repent of their sins and place their faith in Jesus Christ alone for their salvation. You would hear that the Gospel saves and keeps us saved. The good news of Jesus Christ is our hope for all eternity. You may hear that we should never take the Gospel for granted. As Paul told the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 13:5, "Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you--unless indeed you fail the test?"

You will never hear the Calvinist preacher tell the non-elect to close their ears and not listen to his message. The Calvinist preacher knows he does not possess perfect knowledge. He has no special gift to look into a person's soul and determine whether they are one of the Elect. However, the Calvinist preacher understands the preaching of the Gospel is the means of salvation. After all, scripture says, "How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS! (Romans 10:14-15)." So, the Calvinist preacher will proclaim the Gospel with fervor. He will exclaim, "Behold, now is “THE ACCEPTABLE TIME,” behold, now is “THE DAY OF SALVATION” (2 Corinthians 6:2b). He will beg you not to put off for one moment the scriptural command that all people everywhere should repent (Acts 17:30). The Calvinist preacher knows only those appointed unto eternal life (Acts 13:48) will believe but who actually has been appointed is not his concern. The secret things belong to the Lord. He must fulfill his charge to preach the Gospel in power and boldness.

When the Calvinist preacher has finished his message you will find little to make you unhappy. You may not see an altar call, but there will definitely be a call to repent and believe.

 

I will not disagree with that. There is only one Gospel. It is either preached correctly or it is not.

 

I am not going to argue with you that the theological foundation is the same for Monergists and Synergists. It is quite different. Having been under Synergist preaching for the first 20 years of my Christian life, I heard many gospel messages. There were times when the preachers' synergistic theology was quite clear. However, there were times when the message was quite biblical. Had you not known that the preacher was a Synergist you would not have been able to tell by his preaching during that message. I heard gospel messages delivered by Calvinist preachers when I was still a Synergist. I had no idea they were Calvinists until later when I finally became one. All I heard was the gospel.

It is a different matter if a preacher is teaching through a passage such as Ephesians 2:1 or 1 Corinthians 2:14. In that case, the preacher has a responsibility to rightly divide the Word and proclaim what it means. Unless the preacher is dishonest, his theology is going to come through like a beacon when he preaches those passages.

On a practical note, I have preached in front of Synergists. I did not make a point to announce myself as a Calvinist because there was no need to. I just preached the Word. No one came up to me afterward and said, "Aha! You are a Calvinist!" Had I made a point of preaching on predestination and election they most certainly would have known I was one. In the end, they responded well to the preached word.

 

I will not speak for Brian, but I will say that being a Synergist does not mean someone is unsaved. I was one for 20 years. I did not suddenly become a Christian after becoming a Calvinist. Looking back I am thankful for the happy inconsistency in my life.