[Note: This article was originally posted on Path Treader Ministries. I have decided to leave it mostly unedited. Square brackets indicate the exceptions.]
Long time readers of [Path Treader Ministries] will know that I am by no means a Calvinist. Yet, a while back, I wrote a post on [God Squad Apologetics] that, apparently, made me sound like one. "Oh no, this page is run by Calvinists!", one person commented. "Disappointed [Brian], I didn't know you held this view", another lamented. Because of course, I'm here to please the people instead of God, right?
But of course, I'm not a Calvinist. In fact, I get accused of being an Arminian by Calvinists, some of whom have outright declared me a heretic. So, obviously, I'm neither a Calvinist or an Arminian. So what am I? Well, I guess I'd call myself a Mediate. There are some parts of Calvinism I agree with, there are some parts of Arminianism I agree with. Here's the question: Why?
In truth, whenever a Christian preaches, we shouldn't be preaching "isms". What matters with doctrines isn't who first described them, whose church they came out of, what list of affirmations or denials they have etc. What matters is do they have Biblical support? Or, more importantly, do they come from the Bible?
In the aforementioned post, the answer was yes. I'm not a Calvinist, but I do believe in predestination. Why? Because the Bible explicitly says "For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son..." (Romans 8:29a) and "In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will," (Ephesians 1:11). That's not some kind of "ism", that's what the Bible says. It's what the Bible said centuries before Calvin was even born.
Why, then, were Christians so offended? Why did none of them even attempt to explain why they thought I was teaching something erroneous? My message was dismissed as "Calvinism". Some readers explicitly expressed disappointment. I was even flat out accused of twisting the scriptures, without even a hint of an alternative interpretation. But not one dissenting voice sought to edify the body of Christ, or bring glory to the Lord. No one sought to teach, no one sought to learn, it was a complete mess.
Of course, this goes beyond Calvinism and Arminianism. This is just the example I chose for today's post. Ultimately, regardless of our various "isms", what matters is God's word. Every word of God is pure, even if they offend you. Therefore, do not dismiss the scriptures. Study them. Bury yourselves in them. Drown in them. It is far better to swallow your pride than to receive a rebuke from God.