Calvinism, Arminianism, and Dispensationalism

Watch the videos first before reading my commentary.





Calvinism and Arminianism as described in the above videos are both wrong and typify extreme view points. Theologians would have you think that these are the only options that exist. In reality, the only answer to these theological extremes can be found in rightly dividing the word of truth according to the Pauline model.

Calvinism is a theological superstructure based on the five points, commonly summarized by the acronym TULIP. If one can disprove any of these five points, the entire flower wilts despite some Calvinistic claims to the contrary. In other words, four point Calvinism is also scripturally unsustainable. Works such as The Other Side of Calvinism by Lawrence Vance or The Power of God unto Salvation by Joel Fink have already demonstrated in voluminous detail the interconnectedness and spurious nature of Calvin’s theological framework. Consequently, our goal here is not to write a lengthy dissertation rehashing information that has already been addressed. Rather our purpose is to offer a few key points demonstrating that mid-Acts dispensationalism is the answer to Calvinistic confusion.

• I Timothy 2:4—“Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” The express stated will of God is that all men be saved. This stands in direction opposition to Calvinism which teaches a limited atonement for the elect only.


• II Corinthians 4:4—“In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” Despite the fact that God’s will is that all men be saved, the reality is that all men will not be saved because some will reject the gospel. This causes a theological problem for the Calvinist who believes that the sovereign will of God can never be thwarted. II Corinthians 4:4 teaches that Satan is actively thwarting the will of God by blinding the minds of the lost. Satan knows that the preaching of the gospel of grace has the capacity to turn on the light of understanding in the minds of the lost, and therefore, he actively works to silence the clear preaching of the cross work of Christ. Furthermore, this verse highlights the true nature of the Calvinistic doctrine of Total Depravity. Rather than simply teaching that man cannot save himself, Total Depravity teaches that man is totally unable to respond to gospel on his own and needs the Irresistible Grace of God to regenerate him so that he can believe. This theological double speak stands in direct contradiction to the verse. The preaching of the gospel turns on the light of understanding in the mind of a lost man at which point he is perfectly able to decide for himself whether or not he is going to believe.


• Matthew 20:28—“Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” At face value, this verse as well as Mark 10:45, seem to be teaching a Limited Atonement. This is a prime example of why the word of God needs to be rightly divided. Historically, as of Matthew 20:28, according to all the information that God had progressively revealed up to this point in history, the atonement was limited to Israel first and any gentile who would identify himself with Israel. John 1:11 states, “He came unto his own, and his own received him not.” Matthew 1:21 reads, “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.” Moreover, in Matthew 15:24, Christ states, “. . . I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” According to the Apostle Paul, in “time past” the gentiles were, “strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world.”(1) Moreover, Paul clearly states that during his earthly ministry, “. . . Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers.”(2) Consequently, during Christ’s earthly ministry, He came to atone for the sins of his people (Israel) as well as any gentile who associated himself with God’s nation. Therefore, in “time past,” the atonement was limited.


• I Timothy 2:5-7—“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; 6) Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. 7) Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity.” Paul in I Timothy Two teaches the exact opposite of what Christ taught in the upper room in Matthew 20:28. Notice that Paul says that Jesus Christ gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. In other words, when the time was right in the outworking of God’s plan, further information about what Christ accomplished at the cross was made known and revealed to humanity. Verse seven confirms that Paul was made a preacher and an Apostle of this due time message. As a result, in Paul’s epistles the atonement is revealed to be unlimited.


• Romans 3:22—“Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference.” According to Paul, salvation is being offered today “unto all” people. In other words, the atonement is unlimited in its potential application; Christ offered his life’s blood for the sins of all of humanity. However, the actual application of the righteousness of God is only “upon all them that believe.” That is to say, the only requirement to have the righteousness of God imputed to your account is to believe that Christ died, was buried, and rose again as the only complete payment for your sins. Christ did not just die to pay for the sins of the elect as Calvinism teaches with its Limited Atonement doctrine. Rather, Christ shed his blood to pay for the sins of all humanity. However, not everyone is going to chose to believe.


• Ephesians 1:4—“According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love.” When a Calvinist reads this verse, they insert the word “to be” before the phrase “in him” which results in the following reading, “According as he hath chosen us to be in him before the foundation of the world.” This misreading of the passage greatly alters its meaning. We are not chosen or predestinated for anything until we by faith chose to get into Jesus Christ, i.e. we are chosen in him. In other words, God chose Jesus Christ(3) before the foundation of world, and we are chosen also because we by faith have been placed into Jesus Christ. If I board a plane in Michigan this afternoon heading for Florida the destination of that plane is predetermined, baring complications or disaster. However, no one forces me to board the plane. The choice to board or not board is left to my own volition (free will). So, it is with salvation. We are not forced on to the plane or into Christ against our will. Rather, when we willing believe the gospel the Holy Sprit baptizes and seals us in Jesus Christ. Then once placed into living union with the head of the body of Christ, we are chosen, elected, and predestinate to a glorious future in him.

Therefore, we see that the doctrine of Calvinism is completely inconsistent with the scriputures.

Endnoes
1) Ephesians 2:11-12
2) Romans 15:8
3) Isaiah 42:1