Featured How Should Arminians and Calvinists Approach One Another?

" Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;
2 and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.
3 But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;
4 neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.
5 For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
6 Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.
7 Be not ye therefore partakers with them.
8 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:
9 (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth; )
10 proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.
11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.
12 For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. " ( Ephesians 5:1-12 ).

I agree.
It is a shame to speak of those things which are done by those who know not the Lord, even in secret.

Shall we as believers not instead take Paul's example before Felix, Festus and Agrippa?

 

Or perhaps Jesus example when dealing with Pharisees

 

That's not our prerogative...
That was His.

 

Says who? Where?

 

I believe I've made pretty much every Biblical and historical argument for Calvinism on this forum that one can possibly make.

As Jesus would say, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." My only intention has been to counter anti-Calvinist prejudice, that we are heretics rather than lovers of the Bible and Jesus Christ.

 

I just provided where.

He tells His people through His word not to speak evil of men ( Titus 3 ) and that it is a shame to speak of the things that unbelievers do, even in secret ( Ephesians 5 ).
After all is said and done, God is their judge, not us.

Jesus is God, and I note that even when He was confronting the Pharisees and Sadducees,
He never did speak one word against Rome.
When He was before Pilate, He never condemned the actions of Rome against Israel.

Rather, He told him that if His kingdom was of this world, we would fight...
But it isn't, and when He comes, He will set things right.
Until then,
Should we not rather follow His example and commandments in places like 1 Peter 2:13-17, Proverbs 27:21, Romans 13:7 and Matthew 22:21?
I believe so.

Good evening to you, sir.

 

But then He says the time will come when you sell your tunic and buy a sword.

 

I can tell you from personal experience that I'm not going to choose to obey God unless He chose me first. (John 15:16) When I believed in free will, I used it as a license to sin.

If Jesus bought and paid for me on the cross, as a unique individual, then He deserves my love and obedience in return.

 

If limited atonement, unconditional election, and other Calvinist doctrines make you think less of God, don't believe them. Your love for God matters more than the rightness of your theology.

1 Corinthians 8:2-3
Anyone who claims to know all the answers doesn’t really know very much. But the person who loves God is the one whom God recognizes.

My only hope is that you won't become prejudiced against Calvinists as somehow being Bible-rejecting heretics.

 

Arminians and Calvinists both limit atonement to those who believe. It's just that Arminians take the long way to get there, claiming that humans do the limiting by their choice of rejection. Of course the flaws in that thinking are obvious, but still they hold on. The only true universal atonement proponents are those who claim that all humans will eventually enter heaven, if not immediately after death then sometime after some punishment brings repentance.

 

Sure, but the idea that some people are never given a chance to freely choose salvation goes against normal human standards of fairness.

 

That doesn't exactly exhibit much of an understanding of depraved human nature.

 

Sure, but how often do Arminians listen to that?

 

I have asked God to not make me a Calvinist if he doesn't want me to be a Calvinist. In the very least, I believe that God wants me to dispel myths about Calvinism, so that people will be relieved of their prejudice against Calvinists.

Since I am a Calvinist who believes in God’s irresistible grace, I accept that God will make me a provisionist, Arminian, or Molinist if He so chooses, according to His own glory and purposes. (Psalm 115:3, Psalm 135:6)

At the end of the day, your love for God is more important than the rightness of your theology:

1 Corinthians 8:2-3
Anyone who claims to know all the answers doesn’t really know very much. But the person who loves God is the one whom God recognizes.

 

As I said, universal atonement has significant fallacies.

 

Context helps...

1 Corinthians 8:1-4
Now concerning food offered to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” This “knowledge” puffs up, but love builds up. If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God, he is known by God. Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “an idol has no real existence,” and that “there is no God but one.”

 

I would never go to the Lord and state to Him that His way to save was wrong or unfair!