The Practical Value of Calvinism

Or What I lose if I lose this.

I admit it. I like theology. I like doctrine. I like digging into the Bible and finding out how to think right. I know, I know, "doctrine divides, but service unites." So they say. But I'm okay with that because I want to be divided from error. So I read my Bible and study carefully and work at finding out how to correct my thinking. "Too heavenly-minded to be any earthly good," they've told me. Especially when my studies lead me to Calvinist theology.

I believe, on the basis of what I see in Scripture, that Natural Man is depraved at his core, intent only on evil, hostile to God, dead in sin, unable to respond to Christ because of his own depraved condition. I believe that God sovereignly chooses whom He will save, not on the basis of foreseen faith or any such thing, but solely on the basis of His purposes and His glory. I believe that when Christ laid down His life, His sacrifice was capable of paying for all sin, but His intent was to pay for the sins of His sheep and to purchase faith and repentance for them, thus insuring that all of His own would surely be saved. I believe that those whom He chooses will, at some point, be unable to resist His calling and choosing of them and will surely come to Him. And I believe that, despite our own frailness, God is fully willing and able to retain those whom He has chosen to save. That, dear readers, constitutes the primary differences between "Reformed theology" and ... not Reformed theology.

"Fine and dandy," some have told me (okay, no one has actually used that phrase), "but what good is it? What difference does it make? How is that in any way applicable to living the Christian life?" And I have to tell you, it is. So, what have I got to lose if I choose to move away from this position?

I would certainly lose a large sense of humility. If, indeed, it was my faith and my choice and my repentance that actualized God's grace for me, I would see that as no small deal. If God chose me because He saw I'd make the right choice someday, then good on me! You see, right now I've nothing to hang my pride on. Right now I'm chosen for reasons I don't know and for reasons that have nothing to do with my value, talents, or abilities.

I would lose a Sovereign God. I know, those who disagree with me see God as "much more sovereign" if He can allow His creatures autonomy. It makes zero sense to me. Either He is Sovereign or my free will is sovereign, but not both. So if it is my free will, then it is not God. He's just along for the ride.

I would lose my assurance. If it is my will and my faith and my repentance that put me here, then if any of those give way, I'm out of here. And from what I read in Hebrews 6, it is dramatically not "once saved, always saved." It is, instead, "once lost, always lost." And, let me be frank (even though that's not my name), if anyone could lose it, I have. So I'd just have to settle for eternal damnation as my certain lot.

I would lose a large portion of the "amazing" that is "grace" right now. Believing that He chose me before the foundation of the world and predestined me for adoption to the praise of the glory of His grace is huge. Believing that He chose me "according to the purpose of His will" rather than due to anything in me makes His grace stupendous. Believing that it was not my faith, my choice, my repentance that I mustered up somehow, but all His doing that saved me makes His grace beyond comprehension.

I big piece of what I would lose would be peace. If it is, indeed, up to humans to choose the right thing, to muster up their faith, and to repent, then my arguments are critical and every time I share the Gospel with someone who does not respond in faith would feel like a failure ... because it would be. Any missed opportunity to share the Gospel with someone would be a disaster because mine could have been the deciding one and they could have been saved if I had only done what I was supposed to. Beyond that, any confidence I had that God would accomplish His will in hardship, trials, and the like would be gone. The tragedy of 9/11, for instance, was just an event that Human Free Will inflicted on us and on God. A loss of this set of beliefs would be the end of any real peace for me.

My losses, then, would be humility, God's Sovereignty, my assurance, and amazing grace and peace. But Jesus assured us that who is forgiven much loves much. If it turned out that it was my doing that actuated God's grace, well, my gratitude would be sorely decreased. As it is, it makes me want to share it, to tell others, to live it. But if it was, after all, my doing, then I can take it or leave it. I did God a favor by choosing Him. Maybe I'll do Him a favor by serving Him when I feel like it. Of course, I'm exaggerating, but if the basis of salvation is grace, the basis of Christian living is gratitude, and mine would be sorely depleted.

Then add in the erosion effect. Apparently I have no means of understanding plain Scripture. God isn't nearly as big as I thought He was. We aren't nearly as bad as I thought we were. God simply chooses whom will choose Him, like mean kids on the ball field who choose their friends for their team. Besides, since I lost it long ago, it's all pointless anyway now.

No, I have to be honest. I have truly come to these conclusions based on what I consider to be straightforward Scripture. I cannot seem to push it any other way but where I am. And I arrived here almost against my wishes, because it was not where I started. But I could not tolerate going back -- back to the inferior God and the superior Man and my own capabilities in all this. God's Sovereignty alone makes it all worthwhile. Yes, I came to this place by Scripture, and, yes, it's a lot of doctrine, but it's very practical doctrine, affecting how I think and live and view the world. I don't think I could afford to lose it if I wanted to.