The 5 Points of Calvinism Are All Wrong; Reject All of Them

It is not unheard of for someone to claim to be a 1 Point Calvinist or a 4 Point Calvinist. It is also common for people who say they reject Calvinism altogether to still be practically influenced by Calvinistic concepts (especially related to Perseverance of the Saints- Calvinism’s 5th point). Calvinism though is actually a system wherein each point is dependent upon the others. If one point is true, they must all be true. If one point is false, they must all be false. Nevertheless, each point will be attacked here.

Total Depravity

The first point of Calvinism is the concept of Total Depravity. This point basically claims that man cannot repent towards God unless God regenerates him to new life first.

This point can be refuted simply by how the Bible teaches that repentance happens before new life in Christ through the Holy Spirit rather than afterwards.

Acts 11:18: “When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.”

Acts 2:38: “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”

Calvinism/Reformed Theology goes well beyond saying that people are sinners at birth. It actually teaches that people are confirmed, intensely hardened sinners at birth.

If sinners are totally depraved, no one could end up in a spiritual state worse than their first state. Yet the Bible says this is possible (see 2 Peter 2:18-22).

The Rich Young Ruler having great spiritual hunger, and yet lacking one thing which hindered from possessing eternal life, rebukes Calvinistic Total Depravity.

According to the Calvinistic Total Depravity concept, it is just as hard for anyone else to enter the kingdom of God as it is for a rich man. This opposes what the Bible teaches.

Man is actually depraved and wicked because he does indeed have spiritual capabilities which he does not exercise properly.

One of the biggest lies ever, bolstered by Calvinism/Reformed Theology, is that you must be a real Christian who is spiritually alive if you are struggling with sin or if you feel bad about sinning.

Adam and Eve’s actions immediately after they fell prove that they did not lose all spiritual understanding and capability after they died spiritually.

Adam and Eve undoubtedly had zero defects, morally and otherwise, when they were created. Yet they had the capacity to choose sin over obedience to God even in their pure, unfallen state. The Lord has made it clear that He demands and expects people to repent and obey Him in their fallen state in order to obtain His grace which is in Jesus Christ.

According to Calvinism’s implications, God fellowships with darkness by giving life to people and dwelling inside them before they are repentant (i.e. while they are yet unrepentant).

In teaching that spiritual life (or, regeneration) comes before repentance towards God, the Calvinists practically falsely claim that John the Baptist is the after-runner to Christ rather than the forerunner.

The Calvinists confuse and conflate man responding to God in obedient faith like he ought to with man seeking to exalt himself to Godhood. By the logic of the Calvinists, the soldier who does his duties and obeys his superiors is seeking to usurp their position and rule the army himself.

The Calvinists have chosen to believe that they don’t have freewill to worship and serve God acceptably. They seek to persuade others to make the same choice.

Unconditional Election

The second point of Calvinism is the concept of Unconditional Election which teaches that God randomly chose who would be saved before the world began (this is also known as Calvinistic predestination).

Unconditional Election is proven false by how it is seen in the Bible that people are commended or criticized in comparison to other people in regard to reception or rejection of the light of truth (see Matthew 8:5-13, Matthew 12:39-42, Luke 17:12-19, etc).

The Calvinist also betrays his own theology when he commends someone, or thinks better of someone, for accepting his points as he contends for Calvinism.

Inseparable from the Calvinistic concept of Unconditional Election is the lie that the Lord being sovereign over creation means that everything happens because He decreed for it to happen.

It is common sense that a sovereign ruler’s control, no matter how strong and how sure, doesn’t mean that the ruler causes everything in his realm to happen.

The Calvinists actually do think that they are skilled to understand what God has willed and what God has planned- since they claim to know that the answer to that is everything.

All Calvinism is Hyper-Calvinism. Both “Hyper-Calvinists” and “Regular Calvinists” believe that everything which happens was decreed by God to happen. The typical Calvinist’s actual definition of a Hyper-Calvinist is one who speaks or acts more consistently with Calvinism than they do.

Anyone who believes that God actually causes sin to happen is a) Surely going to hell and b) A consistent Calvinist.

Jeremiah 19:3-5 shows an easy, obvious proof that not everything which happens was decreed by God to happen. It is evident that God did not decree the murder of children to happen nor any other evil thing.

Isaiah 45:7 is a reference to God bringing calamity as a matter of righteous judgment. It doesn’t teach that God created moral evil. Read the passage in its context.

The warning in James 1:13 for the tempted not to say that they are tempted of God is more proof that God being sovereign does not mean that He causes everything that happens to happen.

Calvinism essentially teaches that man has no actual responsibility for anything he does through its twisted view of God’s sovereignty.

Jesus’ joy and grief expressed in the Bible at the actions of others would just be hypocritical acting if Calvinism is true.

Limited Atonement

The third point of Calvinism is the concept of Limited Atonement. This is the teaching that Christ died only for those who were (supposedly) elected to salvation before the foundation of the world.

This concept is refuted by the Bible’s teaching that Christ died for as many people as have turned from God and sinned.

Isaiah 53:6: “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

There are many whom Christ died for who will yet end up lost and go to hell.

2 Peter 2:1: “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.”

1 Corinthians 8:11 also proves that those whom Christ died for can perish. This truth in itself very obviously causes all of Calvinism to come crashing down.

Irresistible Grace

The fourth point of Calvinism is Irresistible Grace. This teaches that the allegedly unconditionally elect whom Christ allegedly only died for cannot refuse God’s grace that brings salvation.

The implication of this point is obviously that God’s grace could never be received by anyone else besides the unconditionally elected ones. However, the Bible teaches that God’s grace that brings salvation is indeed offered conditionally to all people. We cannot earn God’s grace, yet one actually receiving God’s grace in Jesus Christ is conditional; not unconditional. It is common sense that something being offered freely does not necessarily mean that it is offered unconditionally. People resist God’s grace all of the time.

Matthew 23:37: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!”

This is speaking of the Jews’ resistance to come to Jesus in order to obtain His grace. It is obvious from Scripture that those who won’t be gathered to Him in that way will be gathered together to face eternal punishment.

There is no conflict between God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility. Yet Calvinism portrays such a conflict to exist by its twisted definition of God’s sovereignty which falsely claims that man cannot fulfill his responsibilities towards God unless God irresistibly causes him to. A term derived from this concept which is essential to Calvinism, and to Reformation Theology in general, is Monergism. Monergism implies it is up to God to cause man to fulfill man’s end of God’s covenant. This is blasphemous and presumptuous.

Monergism doesn’t hold up in light of the illustrations of Scripture. If Israel under Joshua had believed in Monergism in trying to conquer Canaan, they would have utterly failed and all got killed. Those who come to believe in Monergism inevitably become spiritual wrecks.

The Calvinist will inevitably do things inconsistent with Calvinism in order to defend it and cause people to embrace Calvinist doctrine. This makes it evident that the entire concept of Monergism is a contradiction and a mockery to common sense. Calvinism is logically inseparable from Monergism.

The Prodigal Son decided to repent and his father got glory without moving his son to repent by irresistible force.

Believers in Calvinism/Reformed Theology, in order to be consistent, must find fault with the Apostle Peter for telling people to save themselves from this untoward generation in Acts 2:40.

God gets no glory from man if He essentially forces man into submission like Calvinism implies.

Calvinists typically won’t use words like favoritism and coercion when they talk about God’s drawing and keeping of the allegedly elect. Yet Calvinism implicitly pins these things on God’s character.

Christ was one hundred percent the healer on earth- though people had to cooperate to be healed. Calvinism implies that Jesus tracked people down and irresistibly compelled them to be healed.

The Israelites believing that they needed to diligently keep the Passover instructions to be saved by the Passover blood did not oppose salvation by God’s grace through faith. It rather illustrates real salvation by grace through faith.

Perseverance of the Saints

The fifth point of Calvinism is Perseverance of the Saints. It teaches that the allegedly unconditionally elect who could not resist God’s grace can never fall from grace and have their election reversed. Many basically hold to the 5th point of Calvinism without admitting its influence upon themselves.

The Bible teaches that God’s conditional grace, when really obtained according to its terms, must be continued in. Those who obtain grace can fall from it by hardening their hearts to the light of God’s Word. The Bible teaches that there is freewill after conversion to Christ as well as beforehand. The concept that there is not stems from Calvinistic influence.

The Apostle’s exhortation for the new disciples to continue in the grace of God in Acts 13:43 would be unnecessary and insane if Calvinistic Irresistible Grace and Perseverance of the saints were true.

Hebrews 3:12-15: “Take heed, brethren (and this is holy Christian brethren- the first verse of Hebrews 3 says this directly), lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end; While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation (that is, the provocation of God by the Israelites in the wilderness).

Revelation 3:4-6: “Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments (my note- and only a truly born-again Christian has garments worth keeping); and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy. He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.”

Matthew 24:9-13 shows how the Christian still has a course to finish which they are not guaranteed to finish without disqualification. The falling away which these verses describe would be meaningless activity if all of those who turned away were never really on the right track (the narrow way to eternal life in Christ) to begin with.

Judges chapter 2 and many other places in the Bible prove that God’s faithfulness to His covenant won’t profit His people if they are unfaithful to Him.

Romans 1:17 actually demonstrates that continual justification before God is conditioned upon continually living by faith in doing righteousness in God’s eyes. Working righteousness, as defined by the Bible, is not a by-product of salvation. It is rather a necessary expression of a living faith in Christ.

Salvation by faith alone= You don’t really have to live like a disciple of Christ. James recognized that implication and contended against those who promote the concept (such as Calvin, Luther and the entire Reformed Theology crowd) as he wrote the epistle of James. Anyone who can’t see how James’ epistle totally aligns with Paul’s epistles shouldn’t be teaching the Bible at all.

The warnings about falling away from Christ in the Apostle’s epistles must be for saints (that is, authentic Christians; not dead people who are labelled as saints)- since these are the very ones whom the epistles are addressed to.

1 John 2:19 does not say “they were never of us”- though that is what believers in Calvinism/Reformation Theology read into it.

The exhortations to the seven churches of Asia in Revelation chapters 2 and 3 are one blatant constant rebuke to Calvinistic Irresistible Grace and Perseverance concepts. Jesus rebuked many in the seven churches of Asia for many things- yet never for thinking that they needed to labor nor for anything related to believing in Synergism (the idea that man must exert his own strength in cooperating with the power of the Holy Spirit). These chapters also especially prove that Christians are truly on probation and that their ultimate salvation is not guaranteed yet. Jesus also did not esteem the righteousness of those whom He commended in Revelation chapters 2 and 3 as filthy rags.

Acts 24:15-16 and 1 Timothy 1:19-20 prove that maintaining a good conscience towards God is necessary to continue in faith and thus continue in His grace.

The only ones who can recover from falling are those who consider it inexcusable that they fell. Those who believe they must sin daily in thought, word, and deed have a mindset which is utterly contrary to this. 1 Corinthians 10:12-13 demonstrate how we must recognize our capability of falling and also believe that God is able to keep one from falling.

A warning against unconditional eternal security for Christians is virtually the last thing spoken of in the Bible (see Revelation 22:18-19).

From the perspective of Calvinism/Reformed Theology, there is no such thing as a 2nd chance or a 3rd chance- since the non-elect never had a real chance at all while the elect have Jesus’ personal righteousness covering their past, present, and future sins already.

Calvinists and other unconditional security believers will tell people in general that the sins they are committing will send them to hell- yet they wouldn’t tell those in their own camp that they’ll go to hell for doing the very same things. This displays partiality, a double standard, and hypocrisy.

It makes sense that Satan wants true Christians to think that all who fall away from Christ were never really true believers in Him to begin with. Calvinism is actually a key tool of the devil to cause the elect to fall away and have their election in Christ reversed.

Calvinism is downright evil and there is no truth at all in the Calvinist system.

Ephesians 5:11 says: “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.”

In order to walk in the light of Christ and not be His enemy through compromise with darkness, it is necessary to have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to Calvinism and Calvinistic influence.