Dear Editor,
Alas! My Calvinistic brothers in Christ are being treated as unclean lepers, once again, in articles by Rev. Guy, and so, I feel compelled to crawl out from under my rock once more to defend my like-minded Christian friends who are also saved by grace. Previously, we were charged with being heretics, which is as serious a charge as can be made against one who trusts in the blood of Jesus Christ to wash away his sins. As the apostle Peter warns us, “…there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.” (II Peter 2:1)
Now, in the Nov. 8 edition of the newspaper, Rev. Guy attacks Calvinists again, saying, “So how is it that some men feel that they can contradict the Lord’s words and limit His free offer to contradict the Lord’s words and limit His free offer of salvation to but a select few/” 55 years ago, I received Jesus as my Lord and Savior, through faith and I experienced the unspeakable joy of having been born again. About 15 years later, by the Spirit of God, I came to the indescribably joyous realization of just how much Christ loved this depraved sinner. My soul became almost overwhelmed by the glory of the Scriptural truths known as the doctrines of grace, or, Calvinism.
Paul expressed something of these things In Ephesians 1:3-6. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ.” Today, I will not try to define, or redefine, any of Paul’s words in a questionable way. I do not feel free to contradict the Lord’s words, but will be content to allow the Spirit to speak through the Word to those whose hearts are open. I will only say this, “Oh, the love of Jesus!”
I am more than grieved that many of my brothers and sisters in the faith are being accused of feeling free to contradict the Lord’s Word. I have never met a brother who believed in election, predestination and so forth who felt free to contradict our dear Savior. In truth, it is only because we believe the Bible that we believe as we do. Otherwise, we would continue under the delusion that the human will is sovereign and not God, as unbelievers seem, almost universally, to suppose.
Changing the subject, a bit, Rev. Guy may be surprised to learn that we Calvinists also quote C.H. Spurgeon, who, when asked by a church member how he reconciled the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man in salvation, said, “I never try to reconcile friends.” Neither do we. We love Spurgeon. Theologically, he was one of us. He was the greatest preacher I have ever known of and profit greatly from his sermons, devotionals and other writings. Spurgeon also wrote, “The Christian should work as if all depended on him and pray as if it all depended on God.” Amen, to that! Clearly, Rev. Guy does not understand us, so why must harass us?
Dr. Mike Ahlberg – Sharon
Presbyterian Church.
