Calvinism needs to add words to scripture

[Ascetic X]

Calvinist theologians and pastors have produced much edifying material. We can learn a lot and grow into Christian maturity by studying their writings and hearing their sermons. Their evangelical zeal is of great benefit to the unsaved. Many of the most popular Bible teachers are Calvinists.

But some caution is advised.

It’s a shame that their foundational premise is unbiblical. They assert that Christ did not die for everyone. They suggest that God has rejected most people and even wills that they be damned.

For Calvinism to exist as a theology, scripture alone will not support it. So extra words are added to scripture.


1 John 2:2
Jesus is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of those for whom Jesus died in the whole world.

2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that ALL those for whom Jesus died should come to repentance.

1 Timothy 2:1-4
I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;
For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.
For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior;
Who will have ALL men, those for whom Jesus died, to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

2 Corinthians 5:19,20
To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world of those for whom Jesus died unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you, those for whom Jesus died, in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.

Acts 17:30
And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth ALL men, those for whom Jesus died, every where to repent:

 

[Jerome]

Charles Spurgeon rebuked Calvinists for contorting Scripture to fit their grand scheme:

I Timothy 2:4

"What then? Shall we try to put another meaning into the text than that which it fairly bears? I trow not. You must, most of you, be acquainted with the general method in which our older Calvinistic friends deal with this text. "All men," say they, —"that is, some men": as if the Holy Ghost could not have said "some men" if he had meant some men. "All men," say they; "that is, some of all sorts of men": as if the Lord could not have said "all sorts of men" if he had meant that. The Holy Ghost by the apostle has written "all men," and unquestionably he means all men. I know how to get rid of the force of the "alls" according to that critical method which some time ago was very current, but I do not see how it can be applied here with due regard to truth. I was reading just now the exposition of a very able doctor who explains the text so as to explain it away; he applies grammatical gunpowder to it, and explodes it by way of expounding it. I thought when I read his exposition that it would have been a very capital comment upon the text if it had read, "Who will not have all men to be saved, nor come to a knowledge of the truth."Had such been the inspired language every remark of the learned doctor would have been exactly in keeping, but as it happens to say, "Who will have all men to be saved," his observations are more than a little out of place. My love of consistency with my own doctrinal views is not great enough to allow me knowingly to alter a single text of Scripture. I have great respect for orthodoxy, but my reverence for inspiration is far greater. I would sooner a hundred times over appear to be inconsistent with myself than be inconsistent with the word of God. I never thought it to be any very great crime to seem to be inconsistent with myself, for who am I that I should everlastingly be consistent? But I do think it a great crime to be so inconsistent with the word of God that I should want to lop away a bough or even a twig from so much as a single tree of the forest of Scripture. God forbid that I should cut or shape, even in the least degree, any divine expression. So runs the text, and so we must read it, "God our Saviour; who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth."" —Charles Spurgeon, "Salvation By Knowing the Truth"

 

[DaveXR650]

Charles Spurgeon rebuked Calvinists for contorting Scripture to fit their grand scheme:

Yes he did. He even had the respect of guys like John R. Rice who were highly critical of Calvinism. If you have time, and look on the Martyn Lloyd-Jones sermon archive website and plug in the sermon "Arminianism, Calvinism, and HyperCalvinism, toward the end of the sermon, he goes into the dangers of making Calvinism too much of a rigid "deterministic system". It's good to listen to these guys, who actually did Calvinism the way it's supposed to be done. We should all listen to them.

Just remember, they were both 5 point Calvinists, who wrote and preached extensively on the subject. Lloyd-Jones believed that regeneration comes before faith, as a matter of fact. As long as you remember that, yes indeed. @Ascetic X is right in that if you are not a Calvinist you still don't want to reject all the good material they preached and wrote.

 

[atpollard]

For Calvinism to exist as a theology, scripture alone will not support it. So extra words are added to scripture.

“No one can come to Me [TOTAL INABILITY] unless the Father who sent Me [UNCONDITIONAL] draws him [IRRESISTIBLE]; and I will raise him up on the last day [PRESERVATION].” - John 6:44

Who has ABILITY? (“No one can come”)
What is the CONDITION? (“The Father draws” - period)
Who can RESIST? (“Draw” permits no effective resistance or it was “not drawn” - fish in a net, sword from a sheath)
Who will PERSEVERE? (“Jesus will raise them“ - all the same them that the Father draws).

No extra words, just believing that Jesus meant what He said.

 

[atpollard]

Particular Baptists … upholding Baptist Biblical Truth since 1689.

 

[Ascetic X]

“No one can come to Me [TOTAL INABILITY] unless the Father who sent Me [UNCONDITIONAL] draws him [IRRESISTIBLE]; and I will raise him up on the last day [PRESERVATION].” - John 6:44

Who has ABILITY? (“No one can come”)
What is the CONDITION? (“The Father draws” - period)
Who can RESIST? (“Draw” permits no effective resistance or it was “not drawn” - fish in a net, sword from a sheath)
Who will PERSEVERE? (“Jesus will raise them“ - all the same them that the Father draws).

No extra words, just believing that Jesus meant what He said.

Sorry, but you did indeed add extra words in brackets.

Being drawn to Christ can be resisted as in the case of the rich young ruler; and can also be rejected, as in the case of Judas.

You might say that no one can resist God’s will, for He is sovereign. But apparently most people do resist it.


I Timothy 2:3,4

For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.


Matthew 22:14

For many are called, but few are chosen.

 

[Ben1445]

John 6:37
All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.

Of course those means that some of all people and not literally all people.
It means all people groups that the Father gives will come. It couldn’t really mean that God loves all people who He draws or anyone could be saved.

We couldn’t have that now, could we??

 

[atpollard]

Sorry, but you did indeed add extra words in brackets.

Seriously?
The words in brackets simply identify which phrases in the verse correspond to which TULIP doctrines.

That was a pathetic deflection and avoidance of the fact that ONE VERSE supports 4 of the 5 Doctrines of Grace.

 

[atpollard]

Being drawn to Christ can be resisted as in the case of the rich young ruler; and can also be rejected, as in the case of Judas.

Are you saying Jesus lied in John 6:44?

 

[Ascetic X]

Are you saying Jesus lied in John 6:44?

Are you denying

Matthew 22:14

For many are called, but few are chosen.

 

[Ascetic X]

Seriously?
The words in brackets simply identify which phrases in the verse correspond to which TULIP doctrines.

That was a pathetic deflection and avoidance of the fact that ONE VERSE supports 4 of the 5 Doctrines of Grace.

The Calvinist “Core Doctrines of Grace (TULIP)“
are not doctrines of Grace, but of predestination.

• Total Depravity: Sin corrupts every part of human nature, making humanity incapable of choosing God.
• Unconditional Election: God chooses individuals for salvation based solely on His will, not foreseen human choice.
• Limited Atonement: Christ’s death was intended specifically for the elect only.
• Irresistible Grace: The elect cannot resist God's saving grace.
• Perseverance of the Saints: Those saved will remain in faith until the end.

There are no scriptures that support this Calvinist heresy.

 

[rockytopva]

Someone said in the long ago... "Man's extremity is God's opportunity."

But... As far as I am concerned... "Man's extremity is God's big headache!"

People can get carried away in their conclusions. The best way to measure someones spirituality is in the spiritual fruits. Such a ones will first of all be good people.

 

[atpollard]

Are you denying

Matthew 22:14

For many are called, but few are chosen.

No, the seed scattering on all sorts of soils is “called” and most (like the Pharisees) bear no fruit, but those that the Father draws (as described in John 6:44 and “his sheep that hear his voice and follow”) are “chosen”. The Doctrines of Grace affirm scripture.

 

[atpollard]

John 6:37
All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.

Of course those means that some of all people and not literally all people.
It means all people groups that the Father gives will come. It couldn’t really mean that God loves all people who He draws or anyone could be saved.

We couldn’t have that now, could we??

If the Father drew every person without exception and every person without exception shall come to Jesus, then “atheists” literally COULD NOT EXIST! Do you believe that atheists do not exist because 100% of all humanity is drawn to Jesus?

The question is not “what we can have”, the issue is “what God has said”.

 

[atpollard]

Total Depravity: Sin corrupts every part of human nature, making humanity incapable of choosing God.

This is a Baptist site, so we are technically Particular Baptists rather than ”Calvinists” (a Sola Scriptura ‘Baptist Distinctive’ thing).

So here is what Baptists believe about (T):

Of the Fall of Man, of Sin, and of the Punishment Thereof​

Chapter 6​

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​

PARAGRAPH 1​

Although God created man upright and perfect, and gave him a righteous law, which had been unto life had he kept it, and threatened death upon the breach thereof,1 yet he did not long abide in this honor; Satan using the subtlety of the serpent to subdue Eve, then by her seducing Adam, who, without any compulsion, did willfully transgress the law of their creation, and the command given to them, in eating the forbidden fruit,2which God was pleased, according to His wise and holy counsel to permit, having purposed to order it to His own glory.

---

1 Gen. 2:16–17
2 Gen. 3:12–13; 2 Cor. 11:3

---

PARAGRAPH 2​

Our first parents, by this sin, fell from their original righteousness and communion with God, and we in them whereby death came upon all:3 all becoming dead in sin,4 and wholly defiled in all the faculties and parts of soul and body.5

---

3 Rom. 3:23
4 Rom 5:12, etc.
5 Titus 1:15; Gen. 6:5; Jer. 17:9; Rom. 3:10–19

---

PARAGRAPH 3​

They being the root, and by God's appointment, standing in the room and stead of all mankind, the guilt of the sin was imputed, and corrupted nature conveyed, to all their posterity descending from them by ordinary generation,6 being now conceived in sin,7 and by nature children of wrath,8 the servants of sin, the subjects of death,9 and all other miseries, spiritual, temporal, and eternal, unless the Lord Jesus set them free.10

---

6 Rom. 5:12–19; 1 Cor. 15:21–22,45,49
7 Ps. 51:5; Job 14:4
8 Eph. 2:3
9 Rom. 6:20, 5:12
10 Heb. 2:14–15; 1 Thess. 1:10

---

PARAGRAPH 4​

From this original corruption, whereby we are utterly indisposed, disabled, and made opposite to all good, and wholly inclined to all evil,11do proceed all actual transgressions.12

---

11 Rom. 8:7; Col. 1:21
12 James 1:14–15; Matt. 15:19

 

[Martin Marprelate]

Calvinist theologians and pastors have produced much edifying material. We can learn a lot and grow into Christian maturity by studying their writings and hearing their sermons. Their evangelical zeal is of great benefit to the unsaved. Many of the most popular Bible teachers are Calvinists.

But some caution is advised.

We should always exercise caution.

It’s a shame that their foundational premise is unbiblical. They assert that Christ did not die for everyone. They suggest that God has rejected most people and even wills that they be damned.

This is unbiblical. Scripture speaks of 'A great multitude, which no one could number, of all nations tribes, peoples and tongues, standing before the throne.....' If no one can number them, then who are you, may I ask, not only to number them, but to find the insufficient? Also, would you like to explain to me how the number gets any bigger under Pelagianism or Arminianism?

For Calvinism to exist as a theology, scripture alone will not support it. So extra words are added to scripture.


1 John 2:2
Jesus is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of those for whom Jesus died in the whole world.

Unfortunately, you have added words to the Scripture. The words 'for the sins of' are not found in any ancient manuscript. Secondly, you are making the assumption that 'the whole world' means 'all the people in the whole world,' which is adding to Scripture again; and thirdly, If the Lord Jesus is the propitiation for all the people in the world, the God is propitiated in respect of all the people in the world and therefore all the people in the world are saved. Is that what you believe?
I am going out in a few minutes, and will deal with the other texts later, save for this last one.

Acts 17:30
And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth ALL men, those for whom Jesus died, every where to repent:

Calvinists do indeed believe that God commands all men everywhere to repent. Hyper-Calvinists may add extra words, but true Calvinists, like Calvin himself, take the words as written in the Bible.

 

[Ben1445]

If the Father drew every person without exception and every person without exception shall come to Jesus, then “atheists” literally COULD NOT EXIST! Do you believe that atheists do not exist because 100% of all humanity is drawn to Jesus?

The question is not “what we can have”, the issue is “what God has said”.

The hypocrisy when it comes to the word all is amazing.
Not all who are chosen are believers.

 

[Ben1445]

This is unbiblical. Scripture speaks of 'A great multitude, which no one could number, of all nations tribes, peoples and tongues, standing before the throne.....' If no one can number them, then who are you, may I ask, not only to number them, but to find the insufficient? Also, would you like to explain to me how the number gets any bigger under Pelagianism or Arminianism?

This is the request of a finite mind that cannot fathom God.
The result is a weird kind of Gnosticism.

 

[Martin Marprelate]

2 Corinthians 5:19,20
To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world of those for whom Jesus died unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you, those for whom Jesus died, in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.

Once again, I think you are adding words to Scripture. You have made the text read that God was reconciling all the people of the world unto Himself. Are all the people of the world reconciled to God and/or He to them? Does He no longer impute the trespasses of any of the people of the world to them? I don't think so. Perhaps He would do so but He is just not mighty enough to manage it? But the Scripture asks, 'Is anything too hard for the Lord?' (Genesis 18:14), and expects the answer 'No.' See also Psalm 115:2.
Next, look again at 2 Cor. 5:20 in the KJV (or NKJV or NASB). Firstly, all Calvinists believe that the Gospel should be preached to all, and we are indeed to beseech all men without exception to be reconciled to God. Secondly, the word 'ye' is in italics, meaning that it is not in the Greek original. IMO, the verse does indeed mean that it is not merely aimed at the Galatian Christians but at all men; not, of course every single person in the world, but every person whom Paul preached or witnessed. The same applies to 6:1.

1 Timothy 2:1-4
I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;
For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.
For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior;
Who will have ALL men, those for whom Jesus died, to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

So, when you pray, do you include in your prayers, all nine billion people living in the world today? Do you even name all 200+ countries where they live? Of course not! The 'all men' men here refers to all sorts and conditions of people: rich and powerful as well as poor and helpless. That is why he goes on to mention, 'for kings and all that are in authority.' I am no fan of Kier Starmer, the British Prime Minister; he's hopeless, not to mention an avowed atheist, but whenever I lead prayers in my church, I pray for him and his government, 'that we may live a quiet and peaceable life...etc.' God will the salvation of all manner of people. The Countess of Huntingdon, who was a great supporter of the 18th Century 'Great Awakening' used to say that she was saved by the letter M. In 1 Cor. 1:26, we read, 'For you see your calling brethren, that not many wise acoording to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.' She declared that if Paul had written, 'Not ANY noble...,' she could not have been saved. Why not? Because, 'Salvation belongs to our God who sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb.'

 

[Ben1445]

Because of Christ, there is total ability.

Romans 5:18
Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.

If the gift has not been given for the taking by every single person, you must either concede that it doesn’t mean all men and Scripture is false or that some people who look like men are not really men but lower life forms.

I’m not prepared to accept either of those statements.
I find it much easier to believe exactly what it says. That if you may be included in all men, the gift came upon you.
To say otherwise is to say that you are not part of all men, aliens??, or God is lying.

Did the gift come to Israel. Then if you are Jewish, it is for you.
Did it come to Australians? If you are Australian, then it is for you.
Are you a member of one of the all people groups? Then in that the gospel is to all people groups, it is to yours. Believe the gospel and come to Jesus. Jesus has said that anyone who comes to Him, He will not cast out.
The gospel is to all men. Are you a person? Do you need a Saviour? Then the gospel is for you.