Errors of Hyper-Calvinism

Over and against these four important convictions, I want to briefly respond to four teachings that I have encountered in traditional reformed churches, usually in their zeal to combat Arminianism. By trying to avoid the dangers of Arminianism, which lacks in the appreciation of God’s Sovereignty (His full control over everything that happens), these views fall into the opposite error in failing to recognize that humans have responsibility (and therefore the possibility) to make their own choices. 

1 “Faith and sanctification are not the actions of regenerated people. Since they are gifts of God, they cannot be the work of humans.”

I have had to argue against this teaching in churches of various traditional reformed churches. I believe this to be wrong, for throughout Scripture God’s Sovereign rule does not remove or reduce human responsibility. When faith and sanctification are lacking, the fault lies with humans, yet where they do exist the credit goes to God.

It is true that humans, without the work of the Holy Spirit, refuse to acknowledge their state of spiritual death and refuse to seek and follow God. Yet, through the work of the Spirit many are changed so that they begin to see who they are in light of God’s holiness and consequently embrace the Gospel.

In our science book, in the chapter on magnetism, the problem was stated: If you have two similar bars of metal, and one is a magnet, while the other is just a bar of iron, how can you tell which one is the magnet?*

This gave me the following (limited) illustration. Picture God as powerful magnet, and the human as a simple bar of iron. By itself the iron would not attract the magnet. Yet, you observe that they in fact attract each other. How is it possible? The domain theory states that the magnet produces a magnetic field. Under the influence of this field the particles inside the iron begin to line up with the magnet, so that it begins to act like a weak magnet. Transformed in this way, the iron bar now is able to respond to the magnet’s attraction by attracting the magnet.

Left to our own human nature, we would neither seek God nor would we want His presence in our lives. Yet, when we come under the impact of the powerful work of His Word and Spirit we begin to change. We are quickened: a spiritual life begins to grow in us so that we begin to seek God and to yearn for His presence.

2 “All those who are baptized (in a genuine church), have received irresistible grace. God’s promises in baptism are unconditional.”

This was taught by our pastor when I was accused of heresy.  In fear of Arminianism, even a theology professor insisted that God’s promises in baptism are unconditional (for the infants of believers).  Yet, the sacraments are for the (true) believers; by faith we must appropriate God’s gifts; otherwise we will not (in the end) benefit from them. Rather, for those who despise God’s promises, the covenant becomes a curse. Irresistible grace is true when we consider God’s work in “the elect”, who were foreordained for salvation.

In Egypt, all of Israel received God’s promise of dwelling in a “and of milk and honey”, yet most of them refused to follow God in trust and obedience; many wanted to return to Egypt.

3 “All gracious gifts of God and work of the Holy Spirit are only promised and given to the elect.”

I have had to argue against this teaching when I met with people from, or influenced by, the Protestant reformed churches.  Yet, where the Bible teaches us about people “always resisting the Holy Spirit” and “the sin against the Holy Spirit”, it shows us that certain workings of God’s Spirit have been and are actually resisted, and therefore such workings are not restricted to the elect.

If God’s grace (I am not writing “saving grace”!) is only for the elect, then there are no promises for all who hear the Gospel, and the “Gospel” is only “Good News” for those who happen to be elect.

4  “How we live as Christians has no bearing on our salvation.”

Again, in our home church this actually was a prevalent view until I challenged it. Our pastor even published an article in which he rejected John McArthur’s explanation that true faith always results in a transformed heart, resulting in good works. In this article he agreed with Zane Hodge, who claimed that since “We are only saved by grace, through faith”, the lifestyle of the “Christian” (read: baptized church member) is of no real consequence for his salvation. Some church members loved to ‘prove their point by referring to the passage, “We may be unfaithful, but God will always remain faithful.”  

Yet, the churches have always insisted that a godless lifestyle without repentance and fruit of godliness proves that there was no true faith or saving grace.  God’s faithfulness not only implies salvation for the true believer, who produces fruit of faith, but also in bringing judgment on those without true faith, who fail to produce the fruit of faith!

When we were young, we lived under the impression that we were already believers; we just needed to prove this by pursuing a life of obedience to our parents, our Christian teachers, and the elders in the church.

If we were serious in these efforts, then God would smile upon us and lovingly forgive us the sins that still remained in us.

Only much later did my wife and I realize that this was not in accordance to Paul’s teaching. Rather, when we have a heartfelt desire to please God out of pure thankfulness for his amazing grace, this is evidence that He has graciously forgiven our sins and has given us His Spirit to dwell in us as a foretaste for eternal life, lived for His glory!  Earlier, we could not recognize how self-serving we still were or how inconceivably great His love for us is that, while we were yet sinners, He gave up his Son to take our punishment.