Should The Calvinist Blush for Preaching The Gospel? (revised)

Many Arminians charge that the Calvinist does not need to preach the gospel because he believes that God will save His elect anyways. But is the fact that God will bring in His elect with or without our help a sufficient reason to halt evangelism altogether? Here are my thoughts:

I would argue that the Calvinist should be the most effective in evangelism. Because the Calvinist knows that God is the one granting repentance and is sovereign over changing a hardened heart to flesh, they ought not waver on the solid gospel of scripture (teaching on law, judgment, hell, while then sharing Christ’s life, death, resurrection, and grace). For the Calvinist should know that it is this message which God primarily uses to bring a walking corpse to life. As it is usually said “we are the means to God’s ends”. But not only are WE the means to God’s ends, but the MESSAGE we carry is the means to God’s ends! The message of the gospel is God’s message and is His primary means of saving the lost. We are simply the carriers of that message.

The Arminian’s hope cannot be in the message alone because people are autonomous. The Arminian’s hope is in getting sinners to recite “the sinner’s prayer”. Thus the gospel becomes dumbed down and more convenient in an effort to sway people to pray such prayers. Thus people aren’t genuinely saved because the gospel becomes less genuine. As the saying goes “ideas have consequences” and the ideas of Arminianism do not further the gospel in the long run but only damper it.

Secondly, because the Calvinist knows there is an elect, but does not know which unbelievers are elect, the gospel is to be proclaimed to everyone. Further, the Calvinist’s gospel stands in the form of “you MUST repent and believe to know you are right with God, otherwise you are not right with Him”, in which case the dead corpse sees the urgency of being right with God and seeks to know that he is.

But the Arminian supposes that a sinner can will themselves to love God, and therefore use their best judgment in regards to salvation. Therefore, the Arminian gospel is in the form of “take my offer of salvation if you will or leave it if you will”, in which case the dead corpse is told he will be saved if he follows through with a special thought, feeling, or action and will more likely walk away feeling bribed rather then exposed as one in need of Christ.

Again, Arminians usually attempt to catch Calvinists in a standstill. This is by pointing out to Calvinists, if they really believe God saves whom He wants, they are waisting their time evangelizing since God will save His elect anyways. However, Calvinists participate in brining in God’s elect. This is a perfect bases for not only evangelism but ‘right’ evangelism. Namely, evangelism that does not waver because it is known that God saves through the message. This is as opposed to believing God saves those who will give Him some kind of emotional, mental, or physical response.

However, because Arminians believe so strongly that men’s wills are free, in the sense of being totally indifferent, it is extremely difficult to know if one is ever truly saved! Because Arminians deny total depravity, sinner’s wills are assumed to be more powerful then they really are. This dramitically effects the aproach we take when witnessing. This also creates huge problems for the Arminian to know if he is actually born again. Has he willed to be saved enough as he ought? Has he un-willed it as much as he shouldn’t? No one can know for sure. Welcome to the nightmare of Semi-Palagianism (God’s efforts anticipating our efforts).

Nevertheless, there are two other major points I want to raise in regard to the Arminian’s claim. That is, the charge that Calvinists do not need to preach the gospel because God will save His elect anyways. First I would point out that when a Christian shares the gospel, it IS God sharing it to them also. I am not equating the evangelist to God or God to the evangelist. I am saying that the church is the body of Christ. The church is about God’s business, namely His message (the gospel) and His mission (His kingdom). So God is ultimately the one evangelizing, but it is through us, His body, that part of the work is carried out. Christ carries out His work of evangelism, but does it through us, His body.

Secondly, as my girlfriend pointed out to me one day, the Arminian himself has no reason to evangelize (apart from the above reason). My girlfriend explained that the reason the Arminian does not have to evangelize is because the Arminian believes God has made himself known to all men (Rom 1). The Arminian also believes the Holy Spirit “draws” all men, not efficaciously (entirely), but in a prevenient sense (anticipating and expecting a response from them). The Arminian claims, by way of his own testimony, that he would not be a Christian if it wasn’t for God alluring him in some way. This just begs the question though. If God wants all men to be saved equally, thus draws all men equally, then we have nothing to add to God’s drawing. God says all men are without excuse. He has given us general revelation along with the Holy Spirit’s drawing. And He has done so upon every conscious individual. So why does the Arminian need to evangelize? God draws everyone equally and all men are without excuse equally. But is the Arminian still going to evangelize? Why? I suggest it is for the same biblical reasons the Calvinist does.

I don’t mind Arminians excusing Calvinism. What bugs me though is when the Arminian wants to excuse Calvinism on ridiculous grounds. Another Arminian contention with Calvinism is God’s judgment. In the James R. White vs. Steve Gregg radio debates, Steve Gregg (Arminian) rhetorically asks Dr. White (Calvinist) in a whiny voice “why would God allow the non-elect to heap up more judgment upon themselves… as though they needed more.”

The real inconsistency with this is that Steve Gregg believes God is omniscient (all-knowing), and biblically so. If God then, knows who will not choose Him for salvation, then the question still remains even for the Arminian. Why does God allow those whom He knows will not choose Him for salvation remain alive on planet earth any longer? The longer they remain alive and daily sin, the more they are heaping judgment upon themselves. “As though they needed more!” The Arminian shares the same “problems” with the Calvinist, but only in slightly different ways. In the Calvinist view, we know why God allows sinners to continue in sin (and the reason is sadly offensive to some Christians). In the end, sinners get what they deserve and God gives it to them. God remains just in the end, and sinners get what they deserve. In the Arminian view, God allows sinners to continue in sin (even those He knows will never choose Him), but it’s not known why.

Whether Calvinist or Arminian, these “problems” are here to stay. However, these are really not problems once God’s word is studied more. The Arminian attempts to say the ball is only in the Calvinist’s court. The Arminian is supposedly “more loving” and “less appalling”. But these offensive issues are not let out of the bag for any bible believing Christian.

We must learn to defend the Christian faith consistently. We need to stop being little children who give ad-hominem arguments and instead humbly approach Scripture.

I would love to know what your throughts are about this!