The
Church Infected with Calvinism
Over the years, I've received
inquiries from various
church members whose pastors preached the tenets of Calvinism. These
were concerned folks, and rightly so. The common concern expressed was:
“What can I do?” Because I have such deep respect for the relationship
between pastor and people, it's difficult to give advice on how to deal
with a Calvinist infection.
Churches can become
infected with Calvinism in several ways. First, the church can call a
pastor who's Calvinistic. If the church has already been groomed with
Calvinistic thinking, it may not want a man who isn't a Calvinist. In
such cases, pastor and church are a half-gospel match.
Secondly,
a pastor with a biblical Gospel rooted in a Universal Atonement can
come into contact with Calvinistic thinking, whether by conversations
with fellow pastors, by books or both. In time, the congregation will
start hearing philosophical statements from the pulpit that support
Calvinism. If you start hearing the argument about how God would not
and could not allow for sin to be paid for twice, then you've probably
got a pastor who's been infected. It won't be long before you start
hearing content about election, total depravity and irresistible
grace.
Thirdly, the pulpit committee of a
pastorless church finds a man who is a Calvinist, but fails to do its
doctrinal homework. The man may have good character, a decent track
record and overall appear to be doctrinally sound. But no one asks him
the critical questions regarding the gospel. They just assume that
because he's a Baptist, or whatever, he holds to orthodox views where
the gospel is concerned. If he preaches in view of a call, he may bring
messages that don't broach Calvinistic subjects. The church extends a
call, the pastor accepts, moves onto the church field and begins his
ministry. In time he'll start bringing messages that espouse
Calvinistic philosophy, such as unconditional election, particular
atonement
et al. The congregation, stunned with what it's hearing, don't
know
quite how to react.
This third scenario is all
too common. There are websites that instruct Calvinistic preachers who
accept calls to non-Calvinistic churches on how to gradually
'acclimate' the church to Calvinism. I saw one website with a two-year,
month-by-month plan for the stealth Calvinist to take a non-Calvinistic
church into 'Reformed Theology' land. It's almost cult-like and
certainly deceptive. A plan to take a church into Calvinism (Reformed
Theology) usually begins with the
philosophical argument God would be unjust to require
that sin be paid for twice, first by Jesus' suffering
on the Cross and then by the sinner, who rejects Christ,
suffering eternally in the Lake of Fire. The other side of
this argumental coin is the notion that universal atonement of
necessity teaches universal salvation. When he
feels he's sufficiently sold this
philosophy, he'll start dealing with 'universalistic'
passages, wherein he'll argue that (1) "all men"
CANNOT mean "all men [without distinction or exception]" but
rather "all [kinds of] men" and (2) "the world" MUST therefore mean
"the world [of the elect]" rather than "the world [consisting of every
man]."
While the Calvinistic pastor is
crafting pulpit content to fortify his philosophical
arguments, he will simultaneously be about the business of looking for
and mentoring members of the congregation who are now
open to Calvinistic logic. He'll slowly but surely
transform as many of these folks as possible into full-blown Calvinists
and, when possible, put them in places of church leadership, especially
teaching positions. In addition, when he's out and about in
the community, he
might meet fellow Calvinists, whom
he'll encourage to join the church. He knows that adding
Calvinists to his congregation, from both within and without,
will eventually result in a 'Reformed' church ensconced in
Calvinism. With the leadership of the church and a majority of the
congregation now in league with him, the plan of transition is
complete. The objectors, who are now in the minority,
are powerless to reverse the Calvinistic course.
Are there ways to
avert a Calvinist infection? Yes. For a church that believes in the
full efficacy of the blood atonement of Christ for ALL
sinners, it can codify that belief with a "Statement of
Faith" in its Constitution and By-Laws. In
addition to affirming the universal scope of Christ's death, it could
(1) disallow the call of a pastor who did not embrace it, and
(2) require the resignation of the pastor if and when he could
no longer proclaim it. Few if any churches have such
provisions in their Constitution and By-Laws. But they have
the ability to amend it at any time. If a church begins to
hear Calvinistic overtones from the pulpit, it has a window of
opportunity wherein it can confront the pastor, enquire as to
his intent, lovingly reason with him, request his resignation or remove him from office
by church vote. If they wait too long to approach him with their
concerns, they risk a church split. If and when the
pastor succeeds in building Calvinistic majorities in
both the leadership and the congregation, the church will
have passed the point of no return. The
doctrine of Limited Atonement (or Particular Redemption) is, in my
opinion, a doctrine of devils. I say this because it is a direct attack
on the work of Christ and the gospel. Bottom line: Any Calvinist
pastor who accepts a call to a non-Calvinistic church (1)
WITHOUT disclosing his Calvinism and (2) WITH the intent of
implementing Calvinism into the church is guilty of deception
and unethical behavior. He has NO business pastoring ANY church
without regard for his doctrine. If he comes before a pulpit committee
with full disclosure of his Calvinism and they're OK with it,
the pastor and church may be a good fit.
During my days in Jacksonville, FL, I
worked with
a young man who was a strong Calvinist and with whom I shared a call to
preach. We had many conversations
about the gospel. I was unable to convince him to rethink his
philosophical views. A church in
Alabama contacted him about being their pastor. He went to preach in
view of a call and subsequently received a call to become their pastor.
Before he
accepted, I asked him if the church was a Calvinistic church. He said
they were not, but would be in time. I advised him not to sell his
Jacksonville home until he was sure the church was OK with his
Calvinism. I'm so glad he took my advice. Within three months of
becoming pastor, he had the church in turmoil. Instead of acquiescing
to his Calvinism, the church decided to cut their losses and request
his resignation. Fortunately for him, he was able to move his family
back to Jacksonville and get his old job back.
The
opposite scenario happens in other churches. When a traditionally
non-Calvinistic church blindly calls a stealth Calvinist as pastor, and
the doctrinal tension finally builds to a pitch, the pastor, thinking
he's doing God a service with his Calvinism, will blame the
congregation
for its 'rejection of truth.' If the church splits over the new
teaching, he may stand fast and let the disgruntled sheep leave. With a
remnant signing on to his philosophy, he'll start building a
Calvinistic congregation with a half-gospel at its core. If he's lucky,
enough of the flock will stay with him, able to support him
financially. He may be a great Bible expositor in most aspects. But his
gospel-deficient Calvinism will keep the church in an infected
state.
I know of another situation in the
Midwest where the pastor became a Calvinist while serving a church that
was traditionally non-Calvinistic. He was able to move the church
gradually into Calvinism. In time, all adult Sunday School teachers had
embraced Calvinism. The Associate Pastor, however, never bought into
the infection. Years later, when the pastor left for another church in
another state, the church called the Associate Pastor, a non-Calvinist,
to be the new pastor. One of his first orders of business was to
replace every Calvinist teacher in his adult Sunday School. That was a
tough and courageous decision to make. But he was serious about
rectifying the half-gospel infection that had found a home in his
church.
So what do you do as a universal
atonement
biblicist when Calvinism raises its ugly head from the pulpit? Well, if
you're not a member of the church, but just searching for a church
home, get out of there and keep looking. Don't get wrapped up in the
programs, etc. Judge the church by it gospel. If you are a member but
hold no key positions, talk to your pastor and express your concerns.
Don't get ugly about it. If the pastor is adamant about his half-gospel
and it's a matter of conscience for you, it may be time to move on.
This is easier said than done when one has been a church member for
years under several pastors that maintained a biblical gospel. Deep
roots are hard to pull up. But in the end, you'll have to decide
whether a half-gospel ministry is something your heart can tolerate and
support.
If your church has lost its pastor
and
you're asked to serve on the pulpit committee, make sure you ask any
prospective pastor what his gospel is BEFORE he ever steps foot into
your church. Any preacher who embraces the tenets of Calvinism should
be removed from further consideration. If you are just a member that's
not on the pulpit committee, make sure the committee is going to ask
these questions. When I lived in Jacksonville, FL, I was asked to
participate in an ordination council with a view to ordaining a fine
young man. There were several that participated. When it came my time
to ask the candidate any questions I might have, I asked only one, and
it was this: “For whom did Christ die?” He answered correctly to my
satisfaction – “For ALL!” If he had answered, “The elect”, or anything
else that suggested belief in a Limited Atonement, I would not have
been able, with good conscience, to sign his ordination
certificate.
The infection of Calvinism is
widespread across many churches today. Many denominations are known for
their Calvinistic doctrine. They are what they are. There's no changing
them. But in a denomination like the Southern Baptists, there is a mix
of Calvinist and non-Calvinist congregations. If your pastor is a
graduate of Southern Seminary in Louisville, KY, he is likely a
half-gospel preacher, infected with the tenets of Calvinism. If you're
a member of a non-Calvinistic, Southern Baptist church, and your church
considers and calls a graduate of Southern Seminary, prepare to be
infected.
Most Calvinist preachers are good
men, including those
from Southern Seminary. They typically have a strong view of scripture,
of justification by faith and are decent Bible expositors. But their
Calvinism leaves them with half a gospel – the offer of salvation
through faith in Jesus without a corresponding assurance that a basis
for that faith exists in the atonement of Christ.
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