Calvinist Theology FAQ: The Real Stakes
Many are drawn to Calvinism by its claims of grace and sovereignty, but beneath the surface lies a system that subtly but decisively undermines the very heart of the gospel. The issues at stake are not academic—they strike at the foundation of justification, assurance, and the revealed character of God. If we accept the Calvinist redefinitions of faith and predestination, we lose the very ground of our sonship and inheritance in Christ. This is not a secondary matter. It is salvific.
1. The Redefinition of Faith: From Gift to Work
The central error of Calvinist theology is its redefinition of faith. Scripture presents faith as the simple, non-meritorious response of the sinner to God’s testimony concerning His Son—a desperate cry for deliverance, not a virtuous act. Paul is explicit: “To him that works not, but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness” (Romans 4:5). Faith is not a work, nor is it a mystical gift reserved for a hidden elect. It is the means by which the ungodly are justified.
Calvinism, however, insists that the natural man is so depraved he cannot even believe the gospel unless God first regenerates him. Faith is recast as either a virtuous work or a secret gift given only to the elect. This collapses the biblical doctrine of justification by faith alone. Instead of resting in Christ’s finished work, the believer is forced to look inward, measuring the “quality” or “genuineness” of his faith—a treadmill that never leads to rest.
There is no biblical distinction between “head faith” and “heart faith.” The heart, in Scripture, encompasses mind, will, emotions, and conscience. The gospel is not a riddle for the spiritually elite; it is God’s public record concerning His Son, offered to all. The natural man can believe it—not as a meritorious act, but as the cry of one who knows he is lost and needs a Savior. To redefine faith as a work is to destroy the very assurance the gospel brings.
2. Predestination: God’s Sovereign Purpose or Arbitrary Decree?
Calvinism’s doctrine of predestination is not the biblical teaching of God’s sovereign plan for His Church, but an arbitrary decree in which God selects some for salvation and others for damnation—regardless of anything in them or any response to the gospel. This is the so-called “double predestination,” which, if followed to its logical end, makes God the author of evil and renders the gospel’s free offer a sham.
This portrayal is a direct assault on the revealed character of God in Christ. Scripture never presents God as capricious or unjust. Biblical predestination is God’s foreordaining of the Church’s inheritance in Christ, not a secret lottery of souls. Election, in its proper context, is God’s sovereign choice of individuals in time to fulfill His purposes. But predestination is about the guaranteed inheritance of those in Christ—the sons brought to glory, the Church as His masterpiece.
If we accept the Calvinist view, we lose the assurance that God is both loving and just. The gospel becomes an inscrutable mystery, accessible only to a hidden few, and the rest are left in darkness by divine fiat. This is not the God revealed in Jesus Christ, who died for the sins of the whole world and offers salvation freely to all who believe.
3. The Error of Fruit Inspection and Closed-Loop Theology
Calvinists further undermine assurance by insisting that visible fruit is the only reliable evidence of faith. This turns the Christian life into a perpetual self-examination, where the believer is never allowed to rest in Christ but must constantly prove his election by his works. This is a closed-loop system—predictable, rehearsed, and utterly devoid of new light or edifying discovery. It neglects the reality of God’s pruning work and the varying seasons in a believer’s life. Pruning may temporarily obscure visible fruit, but it is God’s tool for deeper growth, not a sign of reprobation.
Assurance is not found in the shifting sands of our performance, but in the unchanging testimony God has given concerning His Son. When we believe that testimony, we receive the Holy Spirit, who then reveals the deeper spiritual riches of our inheritance in Christ. The gospel is both accessible to the natural man and inexhaustibly rich for the spiritual man. To make assurance contingent on fruit is to rob the believer of the very rest Christ purchased.
4. What Is Lost If Calvinist Error Is Accepted?
If we accept the Calvinist redefinitions, we forfeit the gospel’s free gift. Justification by faith alone is replaced by justification by election or by works disguised as “fruit.” Assurance is lost, replaced by endless introspection or fatalistic resignation. Most grievously, the character of God is distorted: the loving, just Father revealed in Christ is replaced by a distant, arbitrary sovereign whose secret will trumps His revealed promise. The inheritance of the sons is made uncertain, and the conscience is never cleansed.
5. The Scriptural Alternative: Rest in Christ’s Finished Work
Paul’s gospel is clear: God justifies the ungodly who believe, apart from works. The Church’s inheritance is foreordained in Christ, not parceled out by secret decree. The natural man can believe the gospel as a cry for deliverance and, upon believing, receives the Holy Spirit, who reveals the riches of Christ. God prunes His children, but never casts them off. Our assurance is anchored in God’s testimony, not our performance.
To return to the simplicity of faith is to recover the gospel, sonship, and the full assurance of our inheritance. Anything less is to fall back under the yoke of bondage and to lose the very rest Christ died to give.
Do not let anyone move you from the hope of the gospel. The finished work of Christ is enough. Justification is by faith alone—apart from works, apart from election, apart from fruit inspection. Hold fast to what you have in Christ, and let no system rob you of your assurance or distort the face of your Father.
