It’s been almost three years since I have come to embrace Reformed Theology and the doctrines of grace. While my theology is still being formed and I am still growing in knowledge, I can say with absolute certainty that I have never been on such solid theological footing as I am now.
The doctrines of grace, or Calvinism, teach that salvation is all of grace. From beginning to end, salvation is a free gift of God for which no man is worthy. Salvation is a gift that is offered to everyone but not given to everyone. Once received however, it can never be lost, and it can never be taken away. Whether I was capable of articulating it or not, embedded deep within my theology was the proud, lofty idea that there was, in me, something good and worthy that God saw fit to save. At some level, I truly believed that God saved me because He saw something good in me. Nothing could be further from the truth. Apart from the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit there is nothing in me that could ever choose anything good or desire God. I am, by nature, a sinner and worthy of nothing but eternal destruction. This erroneous understanding of salvation spilled into and colored everything in my theology. It produced the kind of person that is unstable, gullible, fearful, mystical, and proud. The list goes on. God, in His mercy, delivered me from error to truth. While the journey has been painful, I thank God for taking every idol in my Christian world and smashing it to smithereens. What has been left in the aftermath – what has been left in the wake of all of this ripping out and demolishing is nothing but the cross of my crucified Savior. Now I can sing in a way that I couldn’t before, “And I love that old cross where the dearest and best for a world of lost sinners was slain.”
Among the many gifts that God has given the body of Christ are teachers. To that end, I am extremely grateful to the authors of a new book on Calvinism called, of all things, “Against Calvinism: Logical Arguments to Disprove the Doctrines of Grace.” You can read all about the book here. If B.B. Warfield was right (and I believe he was) when he said evangelicalism would stand or fall with Calvinism, then those who love the doctrines of grace should be prepared to explain it and defend it. This book will help the believer do just that.
Authored by three brothers in Christ, Jeff Peterson, Eddie Eddings, and Jon Cardwell, “Against Calvinism” is one of the most, shall we say, unique presentations ever to be written on the doctrines of grace! Written in parody, the authors lay out arguments on both sides in a way that simple minds (like mine!) can understand. They have done the body of Christ a great service and I am ever thankful for brothers like these whose sole desire in producing a book like this is that Christ be preached crucified.
If you are interested in strengthening your faith, and learning more about the Gospel of Jesus Christ then you will do well to read this book. If you ask me, it ought to be required reading for every convert because at it’s heart, it is a book about the Gospel of Jesus Christ!
You can order the book here.
Lastly, for sound biblical teaching and, of course, hearty laughter, I invite you to visit each of their blogs at: The Lighthearted Calvinist, Calvinistic Cartoons, Facets of Grace, Justification By Grace.
Amen Christina! Reformed theology is Biblical theology. Salvation is all of His grace and you are so right that understanding this is essential to one’s spiritual stability.
I join with you in promoting this terrific little book that explains clearly and cleaverly the differences between Calvinism and Arminianism.
Amen, Diane! It is so wonderful to hear from you! Thank you for taking time out of your schedule, in light of everything that is going on in your neck of the woods, to visit! I am so excited for Wednesday’s Open House and I am praying for September 18th. Lord bless you and all the saints at Harvest Bible Chapel in Carson Tahoe!
Terrific little book it is!!! Blessings!
Christina, it”s been about 3 years for me, too. I feel like I am a completely different person than I was before the Lord opened up the Doctrines of Grace. I was on the performance wheel of feeling like I never measured up to God’s standard. Praise the Lord that it is by grace alone, by faith alone, in Christ alone! Soli Deo Gloria!
Persis, what a surprise to learn that you are relatively new to the doctrines of grace. I’ve always sensed such a depth and maturity from you that I just assumed you had been at it for so long. You certainly can take that as a compliment!
And oh, can I relate to the “performance wheel” experience! Never enough and never an end in sight. How I thank God for removing that yoke and delivering me from error to Truth!
As you may well know, the votes are in for Jon Cardwell to do the audio book version. Jon is able to master many accents as well as mimic the falsetto voice of Barry Gibb. I also want to cast a vote for Jeff Peterson who, I believe, has the singing voice of another Bob Dylan, and could write and sing the Against Calvinism soundtrack…if one is ever released. Thanks for your kind review and if this is ever made into a mini-series for television, I vote for you to head up the promotional campaign.
To have one’s singing voice compared to Bob Dylan’s is certainly no compliment…..
Thanks for the kind words concerning our little effort to speak biblical truth.
Brother Eddie & brother Jeff, the thank you goes to you for your labor of love.
Lord bless you both!