“CALVINISM THE TRUTH: ARMINIANISM THE LIE”

This was one of the first booklets that I ever picked up on Calvinism, I remember getting to the part that spoke about ‘limited atonement’ and I remember throwing it across my bedroom in disgust. As you can tell, the book hated arminians and wasnt afraid to say so. As a young enthusiastic pentecostal arminian convinced that it was God’s will that ‘none should perish’ the thought of Christ only dying only for the elect had to be heretical and the tone of the writers sickened me and convinced me that calvinists were highly religious bigots!

I had heard the gospel through a brethren movement known as The churches of God these were an evangelical network typical of many closed brethren gospel assemblies. Charles Spurgeon describes the exclusive nature of the brethren exclusive nature in the following quote.

“The Brethren look upon all other denominations, however evangelical in sentiment, and however high their standard of personal religion, as so largely infected with error in doctrine, as well as wrong in relation to church government, that they believe it would be sinful to associate with them for the promotion of religious ends. And this conviction, which is never absent from their minds, naturally has the effect of puffing them up with spiritual pride. Believing that they alone of all religious bodies have attained to the knowledge of the truth, it could hardly be otherwise than that they should look down on every other Christian sect with supreme pity, mingled, even according to the admission of some of their own number, with contempt. . . .”

The brethren held a strong emphasis on scripture, in many ways I am glad I was converted under their ministry because I believe that their gospel content was very biblical. However my experience of God in my conversion was particuarly supernatural. I soon met some pentecostal and charismatic believers and I felt that their experience related more to my own although I had huge question marks over their theology. I later found myself recieving the gift of tongues and eventualy decided to leave the ranks of the brethren because I couldn’t see the case for the cessation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Joining the pentecostals was not problem free for I continualy encountered views among Christians that were wild, varied and contradictory!

Having pitched my tent with the pentecostals I spent years trying to reconcile Baptism in the Holy Spirit with regeneration and speaking in tongues. If only someone had pointed me in the direction of Piper,Kendal, Dr Loyd Jones, Grudem or Storms I could have been saved much earnest wrestling and grief!

I think the brrethren, while not being calvinists, certainly caused me to be predisposed to an understanding of God’s sovereignty. I remember one night reading the following passage in Ephesians 1

” even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,” v4-5

This night I recieved something of an understanding of election, I was only converted about a year but the revelation that I was chosen blew me away! This must have spilled over into my evangelism because I seemed to work for the salvation of others as if their salvation depended on me but within myself relaxed in the confidence that God would save his elect. I also had a deep suspicion of people who rushed enquirers through ’sinners prayers’ and I often doubted the Christian experience of many who were initiated in this fashion.

However with my transition into pentecostalism things began to change, I found myself surrounded by arminians. For me I never really understood the theology of election but I mistakenly limited it to the realm of ‘once save always saved’ or ‘could a beliver be lost again?’ And for many years I found myself adopting a rather arminian position. The works of David Pawson particuarly influenced this transition. I had the joy of speaking to David at the Elim conference one year and I remember him warning me with the following words ‘keep away from the works of the reformers’!

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