Quite soon after I made a decision for Christ, a pastor friend told me about a debate going around in the Christian world called the Arminian versus Calvinist debate. I don’t want to go too deep doctrinally here, but the Arminian position emphasizes free will, believing that individuals have the choice to accept or reject God’s salvation. On the other hand, the Calvinist position emphasizes God’s sovereignty, believing that God predestines certain individuals for salvation. The way my friend said it made me feel it was a hot debate that had emerged only most recently. But later I learned that this most divisive debate had been around since the 17th century. For centuries, Christians on both sides have debated each other on this issue, and it is still going on! I have many friends who are Arminian and many friends who are Calvin. For me, I am just Alvin.
In the grand scheme of things, I don’t think it is that important for you to understand what the debate is about, and to decide whether you are Arminian or Calvin. Billy said briefly last Sunday that both words are not found anywhere in the Bible. However, I sometimes hear Christians say this matter is actually quite important because depending on which side of the debate we land, this changes the way we think of evangelism, and do evangelism. One must evangelize if one leans towards the Arminian position that emphasizes free will. But if one leans towards the Calvinist position that emphasizes God’s sovereignty, there is no need to evangelize. If God has chosen someone for salvation, he will be saved eventually. And if he hasn’t chosen someone for salvation, there is nothing we can do to change that for him. I will have to disagree with that.
After Paul said all that he wished to say about God’s sovereignty in the election chapter in Romans 9, what did he do? He went on to say his heart’s desire was to pray for, and evangelize to, the Jews in Romans 10. Romans 10.1 says, “Brethren, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation.” The matter is settled. We are to pray for, and evangelize to the lost, no matter if we are Arminian, or Calvin, or something else. The command to pray for, and evangelize, does not change if we switched camps. But how does that work? We understand evangelism if we are Arminian. But how are we to understand evangelism if we are Calvin? Please read again Romans 9, and Romans 10 before you arrive this Sunday. Come, and let’s think about this together, and worship our God.
Your Friend
Alvin