eternal uncertainty

  Calvinism has a strong realization that the salvation of a man depends entirely on GOD. This is in contrast to Arminianism (the evangelicals) that assumes that, ultimately, the choice of the individual is decisive. Calvinism rejects the idea of a “free will”. The Commentaries of the ‘Staten Vertaling’ (a Dutch Bible-version similar to the KJV) teach concerning 1Tim.2:4, (“God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved…”) the following:

…for if God wants all men to be saved, so all will be saved, since God does whatever He wants. Ps.115:3, Rom.9:19, Eph.1:11.

To the followers of Arminius it is pointedly asserted:

That anyone would say, that God wants this, if man also wants this; that salvation, in part, depends on God’s will, in partly on man’s will, is in conflict with what the apostle teaches in Rom.9:16,23, and Rom.10:20, and Rom.11:35,36; as well as elsewhere.

Amen! It is the Apostle Paul who, two chapters later (1Tim.4: 10), also explicitly states that “the living God is the Savior of all mankind…”. What a Good News message!!! But alas … this ironclad outcome falls beyond the horizon of the Calvinist, because he assumes a “limited atonement” – point number three of the five pillars of Calvinism*. Characteristic is also “the Comment” in connection with the above mentioned Bible verse (2:4):

This word all, used here, is also used for all kinds of…

In other words, God does not want all people to be saved. That explains the fundamental uncertainty about personal salvation within Calvinism. The Arminianist lacks certainty because salvation ultimately depends on the choice by man and the Calvinist lacks certainty because God’s love is selective. They limit (read: deny), as a matter of principle, the ransom that was paid for all, on Calvary (1Tim.2:6). As a gloomy blanket, this overshadows the powerful words wherewith every Sunday, in many churches, the church service starts:

Our help is in the Name of the LORD, Who made heaven and earth, Who is faithful and never forsakes the works of His hands…

——————- *The five pillars of Calvinism, known by the acronym TULIP are: 1. Total depravity, 2. Unconditional election, 3. Limited atonement, 4. Irresistable grace, 5. Perseverance of the saints.

Delen: