Considering Calvin

Ask a Primitive Baptist minister if he is a Calvinist and it’s “Katie bar the door!” For the uninitiated, this question is likely to send him into a long discourse on the many reasons that he is NOT a Calvinist. There is validity in their position even if those who asked often find themselves wondering why they asked in the first place. In my experience, the appetite for a thorough response is rarely sufficient to consume the banquet that is served.

With that in mind, let’s consider the following statement from the revered Reformer:

“For no man is damned precisely because God has not chosen him, because he is not elected, but because he is a sinner, and does willfully refuse the means of grace offered.” (John Calvin)

A sober consideration of Calvin’s quip underscores one of the reasons that PB ministers are not Calvinists. Simply put: The gospel is NOT a well-meant OFFER of eternal salvation to all of humanity. This is the largest theological contradiction lurking in modern Calvinism. It is not possible to sincerely offer eternal salvation to a man for whom Christ DID NOT DIE. To restate that in a way that draws out the theological dilemma of Calvinism: You cannot believe both particular redemption and the well-meant offer.

The gospel is the DECLARATION (I Corinthians 15:1-4) of the finished work of Christ (John 19:30) on behalf of his chosen people (Matthew 1:21). It is attended by the assurance that those who believe it are among the beneficiaries of God's eternally saving grace (John 5:24, 6:47) and the admonition to follow the Lord in obedient discipleship as their reasonable service (Romans 12:1).

– Elder Daniel Samons

PS - There are many other reasons that Primitive Baptists are not Calvinists. I will not belabor them in this response. You’re welcome.