Exposing Darkness

In 2009, we celebrate the 500th birthday of John Calvin (1509-2009).  Since his death his name has been attached to a set of doctrines know as Calvinism or the 5 points of Calvinism. Just recently a new brother attending our church named Lester Diaz ,has invited me to his own blog (The Real Pae) in which he has recently been examining the teaching of Calvinism. Calvin has gotten a bad rap in our day from being the blame of greedy capitalism, to denying that human beings have free will. While many have attempted to slander the man few know the truth about him. What I would like to do is just do an examination of the evolution of what we call the Doctrines of Grace and see if our modern evangelical doctrine handling it fairly. Before I begin let me preface by saying I am a Calvinist. Not that I am a follower of John Calvin, but rather I am a firm believer in the sovereign grace of God in salvation. I acknowledge that I myself cannot contribute anything to may salvation. I am a miserable sinner apart from God, lost without hope in this world. However, by God’s grace I have been able to see the truth and have been granted repentance.

Centuries before John Calvin was ever born, the fundamentals of his theology were in debate or should I say there were those who questioned the established view of the Christian church. In the 5^th century a British theologian named Pelagius began to question the extent of Original Sin’s corruption. Just for those who don’t know, Original Sin is the teaching that when Adam and Eve sinned and fell in the Garden, the entire human race has since inherited the devastating effects of sin. Rom 5:12 “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned” The death that is being spoken here is not physical death, because even Adam didn’t die in the garden, but lived 900 years. The death being spoken of here is spiritual death. Adam and Eve die spiritually and were now dead to God and dead in their sins. As Paul says in Eph 2:1 “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins” The idea is that this spiritual death left us absolutely dead to spiritual things, leaving us utterly corrupted and polluted by sins influence. Pelagius questioned the extent of sin and he suggested that sin had not left us utterly “dead” but rather “sick”. There was still an element of goodness in mankind and the ability to please God and be sinless. “Pelagius categorically denied the doctrine of original sin, arguing that Adam’s sin affected Adam alone and that infants at birth are in the same state as Adam was before the Fall. Pelagius also argued that though grace may facilitate the achieving of righteousness, it is not necessary to that end. Also, he insisted that the constituent nature of humanity is not convertible; it is indestructively good. “ RC SProul His argument is that “Why would God command us to do something that we are unable to?” In some respects his theory was logical but not biblical. The teachings of scripture on the the total depravity of man as a result of original sin are insurmountable. Therefore the great Catholic Doctor, Augustine set out to counter act Pelagius’ teachings and led to his ultimate censure by the church. The basic argument came down to whether or not man had the ability to have faith in God without divine aid. Hebrews 11:6 says, “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” The basic fundamental principal of Christianity was faith in Christ. As the verse above points out, faith is necessary to please God. But does the sinful nature which is dead in sin allow us to do anything “even have faith” and please God? Rom 8:6-7 tells us, “The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.” Here the apostle defines just how extensive the sinful nature’s effects are. The person is debilitated by his or her sin. They are UNABLE to do anything pleasing to God including to believe. In fact the bible teaches that the human mind is HOSTILE. Again in Eph 4:18 Paul underscores the condition of the human being who is under the power of sin : “They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.” Sin has done 2 things. It has hardened the heart, in that we are not sensitive to spiritual matters, and 2 we have become darkened in the mind, not able to understand spiritual matters. Therefore the human is left in a state of darkness/ignorance and alienated from the life of God. Going back to the OT we have even a clearer example of the extent of sins influence in man: “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” Gen 6:5. Augustine made it plain that apart from the grace of God giving us divine aid, no one can come to God of their own volition. The idea is that the will is free only to do what the nature constrains it to do. Because the sinful nature is hostile to God and unable to please God, it restrains us from doing anything to please God. When Jesus teaches Nicodemus on regeneration he explains that “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John3:3. Even further, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” 3:5. What Jesus is teaching Nicodemus is that the human nature has been so corrupted from sin, as the bible says, dead in sin and trespasses, that New Life must be breathed into us. Thus regeneration, being born again is necessary if we are going to see, or enter the Kingdom. As you can see the biblical argument is overwhelming. While the humanistic side of us may want to side with Pelagius we must see what God says.

As for Calvin, he didn’t even debate anyone on this issue. The Reformers by and large were in agreement. It wasn’t till after Calvin’s death, that his student Theodore Beza would confront one of his own pupils named Jacob Arminius who would revive Pelagius ideas again. As for John Calvin, he was simply so enamored with the majesty and sovereignty of God his entire life that he was dedicated to expound the riches of God’s grace. Calvin was persecuted by the French government and the Swiss Government for his ministry and lived as a man of many sorrows. He lost his 3 children and wife, and was himself sick with illness that eventually took him. He left a legacy, of commitment to expository preaching and thorough exegetical study of scripture. He wrote the “Institutes of the Christian Religion”: in less than 3 years, and it still is held in high regard by scholars and theologians today. Next week I will look more into his influence on Theodore Beza and what led to the formal 5 points of Calvinism. For one of my sermons on Calvin’s life click this link: Calvin Sermon.