How Little Grace is Too Much Works?

Not many professing Christians would assert outright that they purchased their salvation. In fact, many would list among their “essentials of the faith” the doctrine of “salvation by grace through faith.” But the tendency of the sin nature to lean toward Pelagianism and its Arminian kin is insidious, and takes more subtle forms. (Q: How do you know you’re saved? A: Well, I’m a good person.)

But if we truly believe that sin has radically corrupted our nature, so that without the prior choosing of God and the Spirit’s washing and regeneration we would willingly choose to continue in our sin rather than turn to God in repentance and faith, then the only sure foundation of our salvation is the sovereign saving and keeping power of almighty God through Jesus Christ.

We don’t talk much of God’s sovereignty in salvation. It’s considered by some as too divisive. We do, however, talk a lot about grace, singing of “Amazing Grace,” “grace that is greater than all our sin,” and saying things like “there but for the grace of God, go I.” Ironically, however, behind any notion of grace lies that old argument-starter – sovereignty in salvation.

Were it not for God’s prior sovereignty in shedding grace on us, our radically corrupted sin nature wouldn’t even reach a hand out to accept God’s gift, much less stumble around looking for it. And Paul was not concerned about being too “divisive” when he confronted Peter – in public, no less (Galatians 2). Peter’s acquiescence to a faction within the believing community (not an unfamiliar situation, to be fair) led to the appearance that he supported a view of the necessity of Gentile circumcision. Paul saw clearly that this was a direct challenge to salvation by grace (through faith).

Some who point to their belief in “salvation by grace through faith”, however, also reject debate about Calvinism, the doctrines of grace, or sovereignty in salvation, claiming that those are peripheral issues about which true Christians can disagree, and which are good for nothing but disrupting unity.

For the purposes of much-maligned argument, however, let’s suppose that the Calvinist believes that God’s sovereignty in salvation carries implications regarding the dichotomy between faith and works as the instrumental cause of salvation. Let us also suppose that the Calvinist believes that the less grace is operative in the process of salvation, the more works is operative (from the human perspective). That is, the more a man claims to have contributed to his salvation, the less room there is for that salvation to have been secured through grace (by God).

Let us further suppose that the Calvinist sincerely holds that the less a man believes that God is sovereign in salvation, the more that man must rely upon some other causal agent to secure his salvation. Since the Calvinist and anti-Calvinist alike would agree that Satan is not in the salvation-securing business, by process of elimination no one is left to procure salvation but man. And, ineluctably, if salvation is secured by human will, it is a false salvation. Those who proclaim it proclaim a false gospel.

One can see, then, that for that Calvinist sovereignty in salvation is not a peripheral issue, about which believers can disagree without consequence, but is instead crucial to salvation: is salvation of man, or is it of God? This is why reformed theology regarding salvation, Calvinism, TULIP, and sovereignty in salvation can all be referred to as “doctrines of grace.” For Paul, circumcision was not a peripheral issue about which culturally diverse believers in an era of transformational religious expectations could disagree. Instead it was a matter of preaching a false gospel. It was about believing a false gospel that could not save because it diminished grace and elevated law (works).

Calvinists might be wrong that God’s sovereignty in salvation presents such an issue. They might be wrong – frequently are – to lose sight of the purpose of accuracy regarding salvation and instead focus on winning arguments. But believing it, they would be heartless, indeed, if they did not attempt to persuade their brothers in Christ.

Take Calvin off the Shelf

An article recently appeared on Ron’s Reflections (pastorron7.wordpress.com) regarding Calvinism, election and predestination. Pastor Ron faithfully presented what Scripture teaches about responsibility in salvation: God is absolutely sovereign, and man is absolutely responsible. He described this as one of those doctrines we believe but can’t fully comprehend. On these points, I agreed with Pastor Ron. But the conclusions he drew about Calvinism and sovereignty in salvation were problematic.

Ron said:

“I have come to the conclusion that it [Calvinism] isn’t as important as many think it is… or at least that’s my view. This topic is like a book I keep on my library shelf… it mostly stays there. When needed, I take it off the shelf and read a little. But I don’t carry it with me everywhere I go and discuss it with everyone I see. Thus I would call it a “book-shelf belief.” It is there when I need it, but it doesn’t dominate my life.”

And he further said:

"For the most part, the average Christian doesn’t know (And probably doesn’t care) what Calvinism or predestination is. They know something of it, but haven’t chosen to study it in depth. That’s not bad, it just means they are more interested in other things like Prayer, Evangelism, Missions, and making it from one day to the next."

In response, I said this:

“I agree that some believers become doctrinaire, and that their promotion of their doctrinal system becomes aggressive and un-Christlike. Yet this attitude is not confined to "Calvinists" (your criticism here is painted with a fairly broad brush).

“In fact, some of the most vitriolic and uncharitable behavior I've witnessed has come from Arminians who oppose any notion of God's sovereignty in salvation.

“Re: ‘For the most part, the average Christian doesn’t know (And probably doesn’t care) what Calvinism or predestination is. They know something of it, but haven’t chosen to study it in depth. That’s not bad, it just means they are more interested in other things like Prayer, Evangelism, Missions, and making it from one day to the next.’

“I don't think that it is possible to be "more interested" in Prayer, Evangelism and Missions without the real implication of the doctrines of grace coming into play. If we are interested in Prayer, then we must have some notion of whether God is sovereign to accomplish what we request, most especially in the area of salvation, because when we pray for the salvation of someone else, we are all practically "Calvinist".

“Again, if we are interested in Evangelism and Missions, we must have some notion about whether we are engaging in our own works, whether conversion is based upon our work, or whether evangelism and its fruits are based upon God's sovereignty.

“I -- for one "Calvinist" (5-pointer, unashamedly) -- agree with your assessment that Scripture teaches both the absolute sovereignty of God in salvation and man's absolute responsibility for sin at the same time. But the tendency of the sin nature is not to lean naturally toward God's sovereignty in salvation (except for prayer, interestingly), but toward man's absolute freedom. This Arminian error results in significantly troublesome practical theology.

“For instance, a deacon advocates the building of a new gymnasium, under the guise of promoting evangelism, and encourages everyone to loosen their pocketbooks because "if we don't build this gym, someone will not be saved." Again, an RA teacher scares the boys into thinking they must all be missionaries because "if you don't go to Botswana, someone there will go to hell."

“So, on the contrary, our notions of predestination and election, of "Calvinism", should not be collecting dust on the bookshelf, nor can they be, if we are wrestling with being obedient in Prayer, Evangelism and Missions.”

I know what Pastor Ron means when he says that Calvinism “doesn’t dominate my life.” But, curiously, though we don’t think about it, argue about it, or teach about it all day, we are nevertheless subject to the sovereignty of God every moment that we draw breath. In the most real sense, then, “Calvinism” -- God’s sovereignty over us in salvation and in sanctification – does most assuredly dominate our lives. Faulty thinking about His sovereignty – or choosing not to think too hard about it – yields significant practical problems for the Christian life.

Take Calvin off the shelf, do a little dusting, and enjoy the sovereignty of God.