Why waste time on an argument between Christians, and focus on the unsaved?
Why waste time on a controversy between Christians?
The argument goes on to suggest that it’s just Satan trying to distract Christians with foolish arguments. Obviously, this was not the view of an Arminian or a Calvinist, but of a non-Calvinist who is perplexed by all of the controversy and wishes for it to just go away. I, myself, did not wish to enter the debate. I would listen to my Calvinist, brother in law, exchange verses with my non-Calvinist, father, and would be perplexed at how each side could make such bible-based statements, and yet still have room to disagree. One side emphasized the sovereignty of God, and the other side emphasized the love of God.
Are they both right? Not so, says the one, and, not so, says the other, and yet they both claim to affirm the sovereignty of God and the love of God. There is a similar dispute regarding the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man, called the Sovereignty-Responsibility Tension.
Calvinism concludes: “Yes, God is absolutely sovereign and knows all. Yes, human beings are called to make a genuine decision to place faith in Christ unto salvation. These two facts seem contradictory to us, but in the mind of God they make perfect sense.” (GotQuestions.org, emphasis mine)
However, if something contradictory should make no sense to us, but make perfect sense to God, then why should God ask man to come and reason with Him? Isaiah 1:18: “‘Come now, and let us reason together,’ Says the LORD.”
In the Old Testament, there used to be a contradiction. It was regarding the Messiah who is described as suffering, and the Messiah who is described as reigning. “Which is it?”, the Jews would puzzle over? The answer was simple: Both. The first time, He came to suffer, and the second time, to reign. That is perfectly logical. Therefore, does the Calvinism/Arminian controversy have a perfectly logical solution?
Yes, Calvinism is wrong.
One must have a good sense of humor, in order to enjoy the spectacle of Calvinism vs. Arminianism. God is indeed sovereign, but He also allows man to operate with a free-will within the parameters of what He permits. God sets the table, and then forces man into making choices, and no one is free not to choose, since that, in and of itself, is a choice.
So why even bother with this discussion? We might also ask, why discuss any Bible topic? The fact is that Calvinism and Arminianism leads to dramatically different perspectives on how God relates to man. I have personally witnessed how dramatic of a change that takes place within the world-view of a person who embraces Calvinism, both in terms of evangelism and prayer, such that if they are elect, they will come, and prayer does not change God, but changes man. There are some Calvinists who even teach that it is wrong to randomly tell anyone that God loves them, because you might be lying to them if Jesus never died for them. In terms of evangelism alone, the Calvinist comes away from the discussion with a greater appreciation for Irresistible Grace, while the Arminian comes away from the discussion with a greater appreciation for the power of the Gospel.
