What Does Predestination Do To The Task Of Evangelism?
This question raises grave concerns about the mission of the Church. It is particularly weighty for evangelical Christians. If personal salvation is decided in advance by an immutable divine decree, what is the sense or urgency of the work of evangelism?
Evangelism is our duty. God has commanded it. That should be enough to end the matter. But there is more. Evangelism is not only a duty; it is also a privilege. God allows us to participate in the greatest work in human history, the work of redemption. Hear what Paul says about it. He adds a chapter 10 to his famous chapter 9 of Romans:
For “whoever calls upon the name of the LORD shall be saved.” How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!” (Romans 10:13-15).
We notice the logic of Paul’s progression here. He lists a series of necessary conditions for people to be saved. Without sending there are no preachers. Without preachers there is no preaching. Without preaching there is no hearing of the gospel. Without the hearing of the gospel there is no believing of the gospel. Without the believing of the gospel there is no calling upon God to be saved. Without the calling upon God to be saved there is no salvation.
God not only foreordains the end of salvation for the elect, He also foreordained the means to that end. God has chosen preaching as the means to accomplish redemption. He could have worked out his divine purpose without us. He could publish the gospel in the clouds using his finger in skywriting. He could preach the gospel himself, in his own voice, shouting it from heaven. But that is not His choice.
It is a privilege to be used by God in the plan of redemption. Paul appeals to an Old Testament passage when he speaks of the beauty of the feet of those who bring good tidings and publish peace.
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who proclaims peace, who brings glad tiding of good things, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!” Your watchmen shall lift up their voices, with their voices they shall sing together; for they shall see eye to eye when the LORD brings back Zion.
Break forth into joy, sing together, you waste places of Jerusalem! For the LORD has comforted His people, He has redeemed Jerusalem (Isaiah 52:7-9).
In the ancient world, news of battles and other crucial events was carried by runners. The modern marathon race is named after the Battle of Marathon because of the endurance of the messenger who carried the news of the outcome home to his people.
Lookouts were posted to watch for the approaching messengers. Their eyes were sharp and trained to the subtle nuances of the strides of the approaching runners. Those bearing bad news approached with heavy feet. Those runners bearing good news approached swiftly, with feet sprinting through the dust. Their strides revealed their excitement. For the watchmen the sight of a runner approaching rapidly in the distance with his feet skimming over the mountain was a gorgeous vision to behold.
That is why the Bible speaks of the beauty of the feet of those who bring us good news. We are favorably inclined to those who bring us good tidings. I will always have a special place in my affections for Dr. Walter Martin who brought me over to Christ. I know that it was God who saved me and not Walter, but I still appreciate the Walter’s role in my salvation.
To lead people to Christ is one of the greatest personal blessings that we could ever enjoy. To be a Calvinist takes no joy away from that experience. Historically, Calvinists have been strongly active in evangelism and world mission. We need only point to Edwards, Spurgeon and Whitefield and the Great Awakening to illustrate this point.
We have a meaningful role to play in evangelism. We preach and we proclaim the gospel. That is our duty and our privilege. But it is God who brings the increase. He does not need us to accomplish his purpose, but He is pleased to use us in the task.
We must never underestimate the importance of our role in evangelism. Neither must we overestimate it. We preach. We bear witness. We provide the outward call. But God alone has the power to call a person to Himself inwardly. I do not feel cheated by that. On the contrary, I feel comforted. We must do our job, trusting that God will do his.
The question of whether Christ died for all humanity or only for his own people has often been controversial. The major debate occurred in the early fifth century between the followers of Augustine and those of Pelagius. The Augustinians said that Christ’s death was truly effective and definitely secured salvation for those he intended to save. His death had merit for his sheep alone. Pelagians believed Christ’s death was designed to make possible the salvation of all men on the condition that they believe through the free exercise of their own wills.
For Whom Did Jesus Die?
Classic Christian theology teaches that the atoning work of Jesus Christ was
sufficient for all. The sacrifice Jesus offered to the Father was of infinite value. In that sense, what Christ did on the cross was
sufficient to cover the sins of every individual who ever lived.
We must, however, distinguish between the sufficiency of the atonement and its
efficiency. The atonement was sufficient for all, but is it
efficient for all? Does the atonement of Jesus Christ have the effect of saving every person? Clearly not. Not all persons are saved. Thus, the atonement is efficient in the fullest sense only for Christ’s people.
The system of thought called “Arminianism” teaches that God designed the atonement for all humanity. It is up to individuals to decide whether to take advantage of it, and God is waiting to see who, if any, will. Calvinism or Augustinianism, however, maintains that the intent of the atonement was for the elect alone. The Architect of the plan of salvation experiences no frustration of having his intentions denied, and the One who implemented the atonement experiences no frustration of having died in vain. God ensures by his sovereign control and saving initiative that every person for whom Christ died is saved.
The Total Inability of Man
When studying, the Reformed or Augustinian doctrine of predestination we find that it is grounded in the fact that humanity is so depraved in fallenness that, apart from the irresistible grace of God, no one could ever turn to Christ. Jesus made this clear.
“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.”
[John 6:44]
First, we notice that Jesus said “
no one.” This is a universal negative statement. It does not mean that some cannot come unless the Father draws them. Rather, it means absolutely no one can come unless God does something first.
Second, we notice that Jesus said “
can.” Remember the difference between
can and
may.
Can means “is able,” while
may means “has permission.” Jesus did not say that no one
has permission to come to him. Rather, he said that no one
is able to come to him. This is the doctrine of total human inability.
Third, we notice the word
unless. This introduces an exception. Apart from this exception, no one could ever turn to Christ.
Finally, we come to the word
draw. Some have said that
draw only means “woo” or “entice.” They agree that human beings are so sinful that no one is able to come to Christ apart from God’s grace, but they say that God gives grace to everyone. God’s grace has a limited effect, however. It does not force people to come; it only woos them. The final decision rests with the sinner.
This interpretation of John 6:44 is impossible, however. In James 2:6, we read,
“Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court?” in Acts 16:19 we find,
“They...dragged them into the marketplace.” The same Greek word is used in all three verses. Obviously, mere enticement is not in view here.
Kittel’s
Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, a standard scholarly work on New Testament Greek, tells us that the word translated
draw in John 6:44 means “to compel by irresistible authority.” It was used in classical Greek for drawing water from a well. We do not entice or persuade water to leave the well; we force it against gravity to come up by drawing it. So it is with us. We are so depraved that God must drag us to himself.
=========================================================================================
"What the Arminian wants to do is to arouse man's activity: what we want to do is to kill it once for all---to show him that he is lost and ruined, and that his activities are not now at all equal to the work of conversion; that he must look upward. They seek to make the man stand up: we seek to bring him down, and make him feel that there he lies in the hand of God, and that his business is to submit himself to God, and cry aloud, 'Lord, save, or we perish.' We hold that man is never so near grace as when he begins to feel he can do nothing at all. When he says, 'I can pray, I can believe, I can do this, and I can do the other,' marks of self-sufficiency and arrogance are on his brow." -
C. H. Spurgeon
=========================================================================================
The Fine Points of Calvinism
by Robert Charles Sproul
The late theologian Cornelius Van Til once made the observation that Calvinism is not to be identified with the so-called five points of Calvinism. Rather Van Til concluded that the five points function as a pathway, or a bridge, to the entire structure of Reformed theology. Likewise, Charles Spurgeon argued that Calvinism is merely a nickname for biblical theology. These titans of the past understood that the essence of Reformed theology cannot be reduced to five particular points that arose as points of controversy centuries ago in Holland with the Remonstrants, who objected to five specific points of doctrine found in historic Calvinism. Those five points have become associated with the acrostic TULIP: Total depravity, Unconditional election, Limited atonement, Irresistible grace, and Perseverance of the saints.
It is the task of this article to approach the question of Reformed theology from the perspective of what is called in philosophy the
via negativa. This method of approaching truth defines things in terms of what they are not; hence, it is called the “way of negation.” For example, when we speak of the nature of God, we say that He is infinite, which simply means that He is “not finite.” This is an example of the use of the way of negation. When we have a clear understanding of how to employ this method, the way of affirmation, its opposite, becomes manifest. As we look at what Reformed theology is not, it helps us to understand what it is.
We begin by saying that Reformed theology is not a chaotic set of disconnected ideas. Rather, Reformed theology is systematic. Historically, the principle of systematic theology has been this: The Bible, being the Word of God, reflects the coherence and unity of the God who’s Word it is. True systematic theology seeks to understand the system of theology that is contained within the whole scope of sacred Scripture.
The next point we make by way of negation is that Reformed theology is not anthropocentric. That is to say, Reformed theology is not centered on human beings. The central focal point of Reformed theology is God, and it’s the doctrine of God that permeates the whole of the substance of Reformed thought. Thus Reformed theology, by way of affirmation, can be called theocentric (God centered).
After Reformed theology articulates its doctrine of the nature and the character of God in the first principles of its system of doctrine, it does not thereafter forget its affirmations when it addresses other doctrines. Rather, our understanding of the character of God is primary and determinant with respect to our understanding of all other doctrines. That is to say, our understanding of salvation has as its control factor, right at the heart of it, our understanding of the character of God.
Reformed theology is not anti-catholic. The term
catholic refers to catholic Christianity, the essence of which may be found in the ecumenical creeds of the first thousand years of church history. Those creeds contain common articles of faith shared by all denominations that embrace orthodox Christianity, doctrines such as the Trinity and the atonement of Christ. The doctrines affirmed by all Christians are at the heart and core of Calvinism. Calvinism does not depart on a search for a new theology and reject the common base of theology that the whole church shares.
Reformed theology is not Roman Catholic in its understanding of justification. This is simply to say that Reformed theology is evangelical in the historical sense of the word. In this regard, Reformed theology stands strongly and firmly with Martin Luther and the magisterial Reformers in their articulation of the doctrine of justification by faith alone. It affirms the
solas of the Reformation, which are the formal and material causes of the sixteenth-century Reformation. Those two principles are the doctrines of
sola Scriptura and
sola fide. Neither of these doctrines are explicitly declared in the five points of Calvinism; yet, in a sense, they become the foundation for the other characteristics of Reformed theology. Reformed theology so far transcends the mere five points of Calvinism that it is an entire life and worldview. It is covenantal. It is sacramental. It is committed to transforming culture. It is subordinate to the operation of God the Holy Spirit, and it has a rich framework for understanding the entirety of the council of God revealed in the Bible.