By Mark W. Christy, PhD
Both on the popular level and unfortunately to some extent among scholars, the centuries old debate between those who hold to Arminianism and Calvinism has grown increasingly emotional and disconnected from sound exegesis of Scripture. To better understand this argument, a faithful steward would be well-advised to read and study from both sides while maintaining a firm footing in Scripture. In an attempt to do just this, I recently purchased multiple books which purport to defend the Arminian view (more or less) using sound exegesis of Scripture. As I complete my first one, Is Calvinism Biblical? by Robert N. Wilkin, my frustration abounds due to his apparent ineptness (if not deliberate misrepresentation) in regard to the opposing view along with his eisegesis of Scripture.
Throughout his book, Wilkin argues that Calvinists are left with no real assurance of their faith because they maintain real believers persevere by leading faithful lives following their confession. For the Calvinists, he argues, saving faith requires “more than being convinced that Jesus guarantees the eternal destiny of believers.”[i] For him however, “being convinced” alone is sufficient for the believer’s eternal security. While this basis may indeed offer one a high degree of control in their desire for absolute assurance, Wilkin fails to offer a sound exegesis of the Bible’s teaching on the potential for one to deceive themselves (cf. Jer 17:9; Acts 8:13, 21; James 1:22-27; 2:14-26). Calvinists, however, recognize this frailty and place their hope in God’s election and look to His work in their lives via the renewal efforts of the indwelling Holy Spirit.
Building on his previous argument, Wilkin represents Calvinists as affirming when “a believer falls away prior to death, he will be eternally condemned.”[ii] While such a statement is sure to appeal to the emotions of his readers, it will also derail their understanding of Calvinistic doctrine as he misguides them down the path of full-blown ignorance. To be clear, Calvinists do believe that ‘those’ who fall away will not make it to heaven. However, ‘those’ is not referring to believers but rather to those who make false professions like Simon the Magician who believed, received baptism and yet remained unconverted (Acts 8:13, 21). They wish to take Christ at His own word when He says, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter” (Matt 7:21).[iii]
With a faulty foundation firmly established, Wilkin tells his audience that “Calvinists believe the basis of escaping eternal condemnation will be our works.”[iv] This accusation is an overwhelming misrepresentation of Calvinism whereby a conscientious and informed reader would be right to question Wilkin’s scholarly credentials before proceeding. In an article posted on Ligonier Ministries’ (a Bastion for the Calvinistic Faith) website, the standard position of Calvinism in regard to works and “escaping condemnation” was represented: “If we rest on our own works, eternal punishment will be our end. But if we rest on the works of Christ by faith alone, we will enjoy eternal life.”[v]
This position, affirmed by Ligonier Ministries, warns against placing one’s confidence in works, which aligns with Christ words to false believers who arrived in heaven and pointed to their works as evidence for their faith: “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness’” (Matt 7:22-23). Instead, they properly represent the Calvinistic position when they encourage the faithful to rest only upon the works of Jesus Christ.
As any informed reader should know, classical Calvinism is wedded to the Reformation teaching called the doctrine of justification by faith alone. This doctrine is well-established in Scripture. Jesus, in John 5:24 for example, proclaims, ““Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.” Likewise, Paul in Romans 8:1, states, “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Referring to both of these verses for support, John Macarthur, one of the most prominent contemporary Calvinists, writes, “It is a done deal, not a goal we work toward. Eternal life is a present possession, not a future hope. And our justification is a declaration that takes place in the court of heaven, so no earthly judge can alter the verdict. When God Himself says ‘not guilty,’ who can say otherwise?”[vi]
Instead of surveying these prominent Calvinists, which even in itself should be the minimum level of effort expected of one desiring to publish a work that claims within in its title that it will employ biblical exegesis in its evaluation, Wilkin chooses to turn their beliefs into a straw man of his own making in such a way that Calvinism, though completely misrepresented, becomes a ready servant who surrenders to his critique while offering no justifiable and biblically warranted rejoinder.
After forcing Calvinism into his own box, he then employs eisegesis to deliver the fatal blow. This is readily apparent throughout his book as he offers a string of Scriptural arguments where each Scripture stands basically alone in its defense of a particular point. This approach to exegesis, however, quickly becomes mere proof-texting of his views as he fails to consider other texts which prove helpful in better isolating the meaning of the text he wishes to rely upon.
One example of this can be found in his discussion on assurance of salvation. Here, he correctly states that Calvinism teaches that “assurance is found in [one’s] perseverance over [one’s] lifetime.”[vii] Instead of surveying the many texts used by Calvinists to affirm their position on this matter and demonstrating their faulty interpretation, he asks, “Do we find that teaching in John 11:25-27?”[viii] Whether or not this passage offers support or condemnation for the Calvinistic faith is largely irrelevant unless of course it makes clear propositional truth claims which can only be understood to mean what is said. When one turns to this passage, one receives the same instruction referred to by John Macarthur in Romans 8:1. Even Wilkin, though disparaging the position of Calvinists and upholding this text as a clear proof in its fallacy, agrees with Macarthur at least in regard to the truth he derives from Christ’s words in John 11:25 where he says, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies.” From this proclamation, Wilkin rightly declares that “[a]ssurance of [r]esurrection [i]s by [f]aith [a]lone.”[ix] In his following discussion, he once again fails to discuss the nature of saving faith, whether it is mere belief or works-producing, by exegeting the relevant passage; rather, he imbues meaning into Christ’s words in such a way that he makes his understanding of the nature of true saving faith to be Christ’s intent. While one can of course sympathize perhaps with his objective, one must demand a much more solid defense of his views from Scripture that speaks to the nature of faith more clearly. With this in view, it may do him well to reconsider James words on the matter as a place to start: “[F]aith without works is dead.”[x]
[i]Robert N. Wilkin, Is Calvinism Biblical?: Let the Scriptures Decide (Denton, TX: Grace Evangelical Society, 2017), 115.
[ii]Ibid.
[iii]All Scripture references are taken from NASB1995.
[iv]Ibid., 117.
[v]“Eternal Punishment”, Ligonier Ministries, Available at: https://www.ligonier.org/learn/devotionals/eternalpunishment.
[vi]John Macarthur, “No Condemnation”, Grace to You (January 27, 2020), Available at: https://www.gty.org/library/blog/B200127/no-condemnation#!.
[vii]Wilkin, Is Calvinism Biblical?, 121.
[viii]Ibid.
[ix]Ibid., 122.
[x]2:26.