Calvinists Are Only Concerned About Teaching and Defending a Doctrine
By
John Orlando
I had been attempting to share the truths of Calvinism through e-mail correspondence (a very difficult task indeed!) with one person who claimed to be genuinely interested in understanding it. As the correspondence unfolded, I found myself answering one objection after another, and each time I answered, I noticed that it seemed that the person completely ignored what I said, and simply offered another objection. Here is one of the objections; with my answer below it:
It has you teaching and defending a doctrine. It
actually dominates your every thought and direction as a Christian. A flag
comes up here.
I don’t want to be presumptuous by speaking for my other brothers and sisters who are Reformed, but I think I can safely say that most of us are merely trying to teach and defend the full counsel of God’s Sacred Word, for that is in fact the only doctrine that pervades all of Reformed thought. Again, Reformation theology isn’t just about one particular doctrine, it is about the whole of the Bible, and it is zealous to teach and defend the grace and glory of God.
For us, to object that it dominates our every thought is akin to saying that we should be careful not to be consumed with the full counsel of the Scriptures, and that we should not have our minds transformed by the Sacred truths contained therein, which things are supposed to be goals to strive for rather than something that would cause a “flag” to come up. Our every thought and direction should be dominated by these things, for to have them so dominated is to realize what it is to walk by faith, and not by mere human philosophies. To quote A.W. Pink, “Are your thoughts, my reader, concerning this world and God’s relation to it, based upon what you see? Face this question seriously and honestly. And if you are a Christian, you will, most probably, have cause to bow your head with shame and sorrow, and to acknowledge it is so. Alas, in reality, we walk very little “by faith.” But what does “walking by faith” signify? It means that our thoughts are formed, our actions regulated, our lives molded by the Holy Scriptures, for “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God…It is from the Word of Truth, and that alone, that we can learn what is God’s relation to this world.” (Sovereignty of God, p.13).
The problem is that you do not understand Reformation theology, yet continue to make judgments about those things that you don't understand. And the irony here is that you have said before that we should basically just focus on evangelism. Well, isn’t evangelism just one thing (doctrine)? Evangelism is vitally important, but what about discipleship? What about prayer? What about all of the other things that are related to growing in the grace and knowledge of Christ? Reformed theology, rightly understood, encompasses all of those things and more, yet you keep focusing on just one aspect, evangelism, to the neglect of everything else. And, I would further add, that it is actually impossible to either rightly understand, or engage in such things as evangelism, prayer, etc., without first understanding Calvinism, because it is in Calvinism where we are brought to see the absolute sovereignty, majesty and holiness of God, the radical depravity of fallen man, and the perfect work of Christ on the cross and all that entails, to name just a few things. Much more could be said, and has already been said concerning these matters, but I will leave it at that. Again, your “flag” is simply misguided.
In closing, if Reformed theology is "nothing less than Biblical Christianity," then what else is there that we should be teaching and defending? "The old truth that Calvin preached, that Augustine preached, that Paul preached, is the truth that I must preach today, or else be false to my conscience and my God. I cannot shape the truth, I know of no such thing as paring off the rough edges of a doctrine. John Knox's gospel is my gospel; that which thundered through Scotland, must thunder through England again." Amen and Amen.” – Spurgeon