The Internet Monk
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A Path Through Those Thorny TULIPS
A Short Agenda for Peace between Calvinists and Non-Calvinists in the SBC
by Michael Spencer
1.
The vast majority of Calvinists are not hyper Calvinists, and it would
be a fine thing if those who are concerned about Calvinism would get
that straight. William Carey was a Calvinist. The guy who told him that
when God wanted to save the heathen He would do it without Carey's help
was a hyper Calvinist. Gill was hyper. Spurgeon was not. There are no
hyper Calvinists in the Southern Baptist Founder's Movement. Calvinists
know the difference, and a lot of us would sit down and be more peaceful
if everyone else could get that detail worked out.
2. Calvinists are not anti-evangelism and anti-missionary. You keep bringing this up, but where are the anti-evangelistic, anti-missions Calvinists you are talking about? The Calvinists I know are always talking about evangelism and missions. They are dedicated apologists and on fire for planting churches in frontier areas. They are zealous for the message of salvation for sinners. They revere soul winners like Spurgeon, Edwards, Whitefield and Carey. They long to be like Kennedy and Piper. As a person who labors in evangelism and missions, this criticism really cuts deeply and personally because it is so untrue.
"These truths remind me that evangelism is absolutely essential for people to come to Christ and be saved, and that there is great hope for success in leading people to faith, but that conversion is not finally dependent on me or limited by the hardness of the unbeliever. So it gives hope to evangelism, especially in the hard places and among the hard peoples." - Dr. John Piper
3. A lot of new and ignorant Calvinists need to...well, shut up. I know that isn't the politest phrase in the book, but it is the truth. Most of the damage done in these matters is done by people who are in what Calvinists call the "cage phase," those inaugural few months when you know very little except some version of TULIP and you won't be quiet about that. These are people who need to get a very large stack of books and get some roots going, but instead they go and pick a fight with whoever is least likely to understand what they are talking about. These converts- often impressionable students or very unread laity- can be obnoxious, immature and thoughtless in their assaults. They've done a lot of damage and there is no apologizing for them. I would say they should be recognized for what they are- untaught, ignorant, and often, young. Most them will grow out of it. A few remain that way until their next phase.
4. There are some very real questions and debates between Calvinists and non-Calvinists and we shouldn't act as if it were a crime or a threat to talk about these things or take positions. I mean, how many hundreds of thousands of times have Christian people debated predestination, free will, election, etc? These aren't illegal topics. Any perceptive person who reads the Bible is going to ask someone about these matters. The subjects of free will and predestination are some of the greatest dilemmas among those who believe in God of any age, culture or denomination. The fact that people come to convictions on these matters and take up theological stands is not a threat. Are we really so fragile we can't handle these topics? Do non-Calvinists really want to say they can't handle that much diversity?
5. If there are Calvinists or non-Calvinists out there saying those who hold to the other position are not Christians, that is ridiculous, abhorrent and to be rejected in every way. Not only have I never heard such a thing among Calvinists, I hear a great deal of admiration for Arminians in their zeal and energy for the Gospel. Whatever theological differences exist, they are not over essentials, and those who press any item to the point of excommunicating the other side are dividing over matters that give no one the right to question anyone's profession.
6. Another dose of reality is in store for any Calvinist who thinks the Southern Baptist Convention is going to be reformed along the lines of Reformed Baptists. I have two words for that: Forget it. I have no doubt that the resurgence of Calvinism in the SBC will impact many churches, but let's get real. Calvinism in the SBC is going to be a minority report for the foreseeable future. The agenda is to work alongside non-Calvinists for the things we all believe in, and not to see our mission field as the theological conversion of the SBC.
If you want to see what can be done in the SBC, look at Founder's churches like Capitol Hill Baptist in D.C., where Mark Dever has turned a dying congregation into a church full of twenty-somethings hungry for the Gospel. And it's a real Southern Baptist Church. If you want to be a Reformed Baptist, then become one or start your own. Don't be a pain in the...neck to a good SBC church just because you aren't hearing an exposition of TULIP every Sunday.
7. While critics of Calvinism are talking about the "extreme" Calvinists who are going to kill missions and evangelism, it would be good to remember that there are plenty of Calvinists in evangelicalism today whom everyone acknowledges are good, solid, evangelistic, Biblically balanced voices.
Ever heard of J.I. Packer? In many ways Packer is the dean of evangelical theologians and he is certainly a Calvinist. James Kennedy, the author of Evangelism Explosion and a nationally known speaker, including many visits to the SBC pastor's conference, is a Calvinist. Joni Erikkson Tada is a Calvinist. So is Steve Green. Many Southern Baptists love John Macarthur and he is a Calvinist. So are Timothy George and D.A. Carson. These are just some of the people that we all know whose Calvinism doesn't seem to be an issue. Well, if their Calvinism isn't a problem, why should Al Mohler's be an issue? For that matter, why should my Calvinism be an issue?
8. The Baptist Faith and Message Statement has been controversial in the SBC, and I know many moderate/liberal Southern Baptists despise it. While Calvinists would probably change a few words, I can truthfully say it presents my faith very adequately and it has never been a problem for me, as a Calvinist, to say I believe it. I can, if required to do so, preach and teach within its parameters easily.
I think this is very important, because for theological judgments to be made, there must be a theological confession upon which those judgments are based. I have frequently been criticized about my theology by a Southern Baptist pastor who refuses to have any statement of faith in his church and believes that one may lose salvation a la Arminian Methodism. The fact is, my beliefs are safely covered by the BFM and unless a body with a different confession requires me to subscribe to that, I am represented by the belief statement of my denomination.
9. Calvinism isn't growing in the SBC in a vacuum. As I have written elsewhere, reformation Christianity is addressing issues that the current Arminian theology dominating in the SBC is not addressing adequately. The church growth movement is fueling the resurgence of Calvinism with its pragmatic approach to the Body of Christ. The Worship wars are influencing many towards the more God-centered, less culturally trendy worship in reformed churches. Compromise on issues ranging from Biblical authority to the character of God are impacting Arminian evangelicals while Calvinists are standing with historic orthodoxy.
The message of the Gospel itself seems to be obscured in many SBC churches. Seeker friendly preaching is lite on Biblical truths. Constant evangelistic messages leave many Christians hungry for meatier, more theologically challenging teaching. Frankly, many churches have become so methodologically pragmatic, that there is a serious lack of any sense of reverence or seriousness in any aspect of church life. For these reasons, the strengths of Calvinism are standing in contrast to the weaknesses of Arminian evangelicalism. It is no wonder that interest in Calvinism is growing.
The call for reformation in the SBC is real, and Calvinism is growing because it provides a real alternative with substantial and Biblical answers. The SBC's house is in disorder after a century of revivalism followed by decades of increasing pragmatism and theological shallowness. While the mainstream SBC will never say "Calvinism is the answer," it might start by admitting it has some very real problems, and Calvinism is not one of them.
10. Finally, let me say something about Charles Spurgeon. Baptist Calvinists all love Spurgeon, and I am no different. He represents, for us, the essence of the argument. Wouldn't it be great if all our preachers and all our churches and all our schools were burning with the light that burned in that great Calvinistic Baptist? When we are accused of being extreme or anti-evangelism or coldly elitist, we think of CHS, and wonder at the accusation. He represents the polar opposite of all that Calvinists are criticized for, and we want to be like him! There is no single piece of advice I give to people than "read Spurgeon."
Spurgeon was accused, in his day, of being an Arminian and a hyper Calvinist. He was a Baptist who walked away from the Baptist Union because it opened the doors to higher criticism, yet his school today still trains Baptist pastors for churches all over the world. He complimented Wesley and minimized the name of Calvin. He was the most gifted invitationalist you will ever read, and his church never had a public invitation. He was humorous, generous and common. He lived and preached by TULIP, yet made many a modern scholar doubt if he believed any of them.
I believe we could make it through this period of controversy if both sides were to look at Spurgeon. Non-Calvinists should look at Spurgeon and realize it is our our aspiration to live out our theology like him. Calvinists should look at Spurgeon and remember how he lived out his theology while making Christ the great theme of his ministry.