There is a subtle counterfeit to the gospel that hides comfortably in calvinistic circles. It does not parade itself with altar calls or decision cards. It does not urge you to “invite Jesus into your heart” or “make your decision for Christ.” In fact, it often prides itself on rejecting such language as man-centered and unbiblical. And yet, at its core, it perhaps shares some of the same characteristics. I am speaking of the tendency to tie one’s conversion, and even one’s assurance before God, to the day or moment they came to embrace the doctrines of grace. In the ‘decisionist’ camp, salvation is linked to my decision, the day I chose to believe, repent, or commit. In the calvinistic ‘knowledge’ camp, salvation is linked to my realization, the day I grasped the truth of God’s sovereignty in salvation, &c. The packaging and vocabulary may change, but the root is the same, as the pivot point of salvation is shifted from the finished work of the cross to an event or experience in time, rather than to the death and resurrection of Christ, where salvation was actually accomplished. Many Calvinists would recoil at the comparison, but the logic is not far removed when a man’s assurance rests more on the clarity of his doctrinal framework than on the finished work of Christ.
The gospel does not begin with “when I believed” or “when I understood.” It begins with when GOD…when God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, Ephesians 1:4; when God promised eternal life before the world began, Titus 1:2; when God sent His Son to redeem us, Galatians 4:4-5; when God commended His love toward us, In that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us, Romans 5:8; when God raised Him from the dead, securing our justification, Romans 4:25; when God reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, II Corinthians 5:18; when God commanded the light to shine out of darkness and shone in our hearts, II Corinthians 4:6; when God delivered us from the power of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son, Colossians 1:13; when God made us alive together with Christ, even when we were dead in sins, Ephesians 2:4-5, and when God called us by His Spirit and granted us faith in Christ. Philippians 1:29. The list could go on, but surely even the dullest eye can see the pattern, from first to last, salvation is not when we…but when GOD. “For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things, to whom be glory for ever. Amen.” Romans 11:36. And though doctrine guards the gospel, right doctrine is not the gospel. Christ is the gospel. I Corinthians 1:23-24. And the grace of that gospel is not when we understood Him, but when He was lifted up on the cross, bearing our sins in His own body, when God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, when God sent His Son in the fulness of time to redeem us, when God raised Him from the dead securing our justification, and when God called us by His Spirit and granted us faith in His Son. From first to last, salvation is not when we…but when GOD. We are not saved because we understand grace; we understand grace because the God of grace has saved us in Christ, and that changes how we see everything. Ephesians 1:18.
Somewhat related is this, that not long ago, I heard of a ‘pastor’ in Florida that sort of suddenly came to a knowledge of the calvinistic scheme. Who knows, perhaps he got a hold of a copy of Pink’s “Sovereignty of God” or something, it matters not, but what I thought was sort of unusual, (and perhaps I am wrong in this,) is that after proclaiming to his congregation that calvinism was now the main course, (and watching about half of them lose their appetite,) he carried on preaching, same chef, new recipe; same pulpit, new flavor; no doubt served up with his latest “understanding” of the Bible. I don’t mean to sound harsh, but what? Carrying on as ‘pastor’ as if really nothing has changed? Perhaps because it was all he knew, which situation reminds me of the steward in Luke 16:3, who, when faced with the loss of his position, said within himself, “what shall I do, for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship, I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed?” Stepping down would have meant facing his spiritual poverty; instead, he stayed in the role, not because the Lord had confirmed it, but probably because he could not imagine life without it?
Don’t misunderstand me, it is a great mercy when someone bound in the delusion of free will is granted even a glimmer of gospel light from the scriptures, but what I fail to understand is how, after such an upheaval of everything once believed, it’s back to business as if the truth of the gospel just required some minor adjustments? He kept the same pulpit, the same title, the same approach, only now with different theological seasoning. But Paul’s words come to mind, “ye have not so learned Christ.” Ephesians 4:20. The gospel does not renovate the old man; it puts him to death, makes all things new, and leads us to a knowledge of CHRIST. II Corinthians 5:17. Whilst I don’t dispute that some sort of mind reformation occurred, when a man is completely knocked off his horse, he doesn’t simply brush himself off, lick his wounds, and carry on as if nothing really happened; the course of his life is forever altered, his steps directed in the way of life, and his heart constrained by the love of Christ. A true encounter with the gospel should not merely adjust our vocabulary; it should humble us to the dust, strip away our self-assurance, and compel us to start afresh at the feet of Christ. When Christ lays hold of a man, the change reaches beyond his steps and speech; it also transforms the very object and nature of worship. Philippians 3:3.
“The light of the glorious gospel of Christ,” II Corinthians 4:4, and the “knowledge of the truth,” I Timothy 2:4, do not merely refine acceptable worship, they slay idolatry and raise up the only worship God receives, worship in Christ. Before the Lord opens our eyes, our worship is as the Athenians, “to the unknown God,” Acts 17:23, blind, misguided, and wholly unacceptable. Like the woman of Samaria, we knew not what we worshipped, John 4:22, for it was without the knowledge of Christ. Such worship, no matter how sincere, is nothing more than the vain offering of Cain, rejected because it is not offered through the Lamb God has provided. Hebrews 11:4. Only when Christ is revealed to the soul, II Corinthians 4:6, does worship become worship in truth, for only then is it anchored in His person, His finished work, and His perfect righteousness. And when that revelation comes, it leaves no room for boasting in ourselves, not in our decisions, not in our realizations, not even in our doctrinal precision. For “he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.” I Corinthians 1:31. I’m so thankful that the LORD is ‘patient’ with us all, and that He always teaches His people Christ. John 6:45. MPJ