Alan Dale Gross
Active Member
What is a hyper-Calvinist?
Is that what you are being accused of? When does Calvinism go wrong?
How do we sustain our strong Calvinistic convictions — to the nth degree! — without slipping into hyper-Calvinism?”
(The Transcript, or Audio is available at this link).
"Let me state the absolutely crucial thing here first, and then back up to the specific question,
and then circle back again at the end and end on the absolutely crucial thing. In my judgment,
the absolutely crucial thing is that we submit all of our thinking to what the Bible teaches — all of the Bible,
not just select parts of it, but all of it, rightly understood: the whole counsel of God.
"When I say “submit our thinking to what the Bible teaches,” I include bringing our thinking into biblical balance as well as biblical truthfulness.
"Wherever someone stands on any issue, it is possible to emphasize that issue to the exclusion of other issues.
"In that sense, any issue may become a hyper-issue,
meaning an overemphasis on some part of the Bible that silences other important parts of the Bible.
"That’s hyper — hyper-anything.
"That’s the absolutely crucial thing: believe and teach what the whole Bible, rightly understood, teaches,
and believe it and teach it in biblical proportion — biblical balance —
so that no Scripture is used to silence the meaning and importance of other Scriptures.
"I think probably the most common historic meaning for the term is that hyper-Calvinism refers to a distortion of historic Calvinism,
and the distortion says it is inappropriate and unbiblical to invite people to Christ unless they give some evidence of being among the elect.
"That’s a distortion. That’s a falsehood.
“The absolutely crucial thing is that we submit all of our thinking to what the Bible teaches.”
"The net effect of this viewpoint is to put a governor on the indiscriminate preaching of the gospel
and wholehearted engagement in world missions. You can hear it in the voice of a preacher who,
when William Carey wanted to go to India, said, “Sit down, young man. "When God wants to reach the nations, he’ll do it without your help.”
"In other words, “Don’t you go out there and preach the gospel indiscriminately to those pagans.
"You might tempt somebody to embrace the gospel when they’re not elect.” That’s hyper-Calvinism.
"In other words, the emphasis is put so completely on the unconditional election of God
and the spiritual deadness of man and the sovereignty of grace in conversion (all of which are true)
that the irrational and unbiblical inference is drawn
that we should not say to any non-elect person who’s spiritually dead, “Repent. Believe. Come to Christ.”
"We should never preach like that. We should never indiscriminately say to a whole crowd of people,
many of whom would be non-elect, “Come to Christ. Repent. Believe.”
"Now, the reason I say that’s irrational and unbiblical to draw that inference from election and deadness and sovereign grace is this:
nothing in reason says that summoning a spiritually dead sinner to repent
might not be the means God uses to perform the miracle of making him alive, and thus demonstrating he is elect.
"I say it’s unbiblical because the Bible tells us to preach the gospel to everyone,
and the sheep will hear the Shepherd’s voice in the preaching and follow him (John 10:27).
"Our job is not to know ahead of time who the sheep are.
"Our job is to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ, pray for converting power,
and plead for people to repent and trust God — trust him to do his regenerating work.
"God raises the dead. He grants faith, and he does it through preaching.
"We’re supposed to say precisely to dead bones, “Live! Live! Why would you die?”
"That’s the way we should preach: indiscriminately, to all people, offering the gospel to everyone, and trusting God to call his own."
Is that what you are being accused of? When does Calvinism go wrong?
How do we sustain our strong Calvinistic convictions — to the nth degree! — without slipping into hyper-Calvinism?”
(The Transcript, or Audio is available at this link).
"Let me state the absolutely crucial thing here first, and then back up to the specific question,
and then circle back again at the end and end on the absolutely crucial thing. In my judgment,
the absolutely crucial thing is that we submit all of our thinking to what the Bible teaches — all of the Bible,
not just select parts of it, but all of it, rightly understood: the whole counsel of God.
"When I say “submit our thinking to what the Bible teaches,” I include bringing our thinking into biblical balance as well as biblical truthfulness.
"Wherever someone stands on any issue, it is possible to emphasize that issue to the exclusion of other issues.
"In that sense, any issue may become a hyper-issue,
meaning an overemphasis on some part of the Bible that silences other important parts of the Bible.
"That’s hyper — hyper-anything.
"That’s the absolutely crucial thing: believe and teach what the whole Bible, rightly understood, teaches,
and believe it and teach it in biblical proportion — biblical balance —
so that no Scripture is used to silence the meaning and importance of other Scriptures.
The Indiscriminate Nature of The Gospel and Gospel Preaching.
"Now to the specific question, What is hyper-Calvinism?"I think probably the most common historic meaning for the term is that hyper-Calvinism refers to a distortion of historic Calvinism,
and the distortion says it is inappropriate and unbiblical to invite people to Christ unless they give some evidence of being among the elect.
"That’s a distortion. That’s a falsehood.
“The absolutely crucial thing is that we submit all of our thinking to what the Bible teaches.”
"The net effect of this viewpoint is to put a governor on the indiscriminate preaching of the gospel
and wholehearted engagement in world missions. You can hear it in the voice of a preacher who,
when William Carey wanted to go to India, said, “Sit down, young man. "When God wants to reach the nations, he’ll do it without your help.”
"In other words, “Don’t you go out there and preach the gospel indiscriminately to those pagans.
"You might tempt somebody to embrace the gospel when they’re not elect.” That’s hyper-Calvinism.
"In other words, the emphasis is put so completely on the unconditional election of God
and the spiritual deadness of man and the sovereignty of grace in conversion (all of which are true)
that the irrational and unbiblical inference is drawn
that we should not say to any non-elect person who’s spiritually dead, “Repent. Believe. Come to Christ.”
"We should never preach like that. We should never indiscriminately say to a whole crowd of people,
many of whom would be non-elect, “Come to Christ. Repent. Believe.”
"Now, the reason I say that’s irrational and unbiblical to draw that inference from election and deadness and sovereign grace is this:
nothing in reason says that summoning a spiritually dead sinner to repent
might not be the means God uses to perform the miracle of making him alive, and thus demonstrating he is elect.
"I say it’s unbiblical because the Bible tells us to preach the gospel to everyone,
and the sheep will hear the Shepherd’s voice in the preaching and follow him (John 10:27).
"Our job is not to know ahead of time who the sheep are.
"Our job is to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ, pray for converting power,
and plead for people to repent and trust God — trust him to do his regenerating work.
"God raises the dead. He grants faith, and he does it through preaching.
"We’re supposed to say precisely to dead bones, “Live! Live! Why would you die?”
"That’s the way we should preach: indiscriminately, to all people, offering the gospel to everyone, and trusting God to call his own."
