Fifty Shades of Pink's Election

Unconditional Election is the central theme of Calvinism.  It is the belief that God predetermined every man's spiritual destiny before the world was created.  The doctrine states that God chose some to be saved while others he predestined to hell without any human participation in the matter.  

A. W. Pink is one of Calvinism’s best known authors and experts on Calvinism’s doctrines including Election.  In the first chapter of Pink’s book “Doctrine of Election” he writes about the doctrine of Election which many feel is the foundation for believing in Calvinism.                          

Pink’s take on the Doctrine of Election should be read with great interest as he admits that the Doctrine of Election has some very questionable aspects.

“It is a difficult doctrine, and this in three respects.  First, in the understanding of it.  Unless we are privileged to sit under the ministry of some Spirit-taught servant of God, who presents the truth to us systematically, great pains and diligence are called for in the searching of the Scriptures, so that we may collect and tabulate their scattered statements on this subject. It has not pleased the Holy Spirit to give us one complete and orderly setting forth of the doctrine of election, but instead "here a little, there a little"—in typical history, in psalm and prophecy, in the great prayer of Christ (John 17), in the epistles of the apostles. Second, in the acceptation of it.”

Pink’s own take on the Calvinist doctrine of Election is very telling and remarkably chilling at the same time.  There are millions of Calvinists who believe a doctrine that has all the characteristics of another gospel.                                                                                                                                      
I will review Pink’s disturbing passage above from his book and it will be quite clear as to why

Pink's statements are so important to evaluate.

First, Pink admits that the doctrine is difficult to understand.  I certainly do not argue with his take on Unconditional Election because his confession is exactly what troubles me.  He is saying that it is not easily understood nor easily imparted.  True doctrines of scripture are not difficult or hard to understand.  True doctrine is easily imparted.  The Bible’s most precious and important doctrines are not difficult, not hard to understand and are easily imparted. Pink does us the favor of admitting that the doctrine is convoluted, misconstrued and lacking in actual substance.

Secondly, Pink admits that one needs to have a special teacher to teach the doctrine. One wonders what John and Peter would have thought since Acts records that they were unlearned and untrained men.  His statement is confirmation that this doctrine is remarkably shady in all respects.  If the only way to learn the doctrine is through a special teacher, it raises a clear red flag that the doctrine is questionable.  Imagine saying that one needs to have a special teacher to know the doctrine of the cross or regarding the resurrection for instance.  The fact is that the true doctrines in Holy Scripture are clearly stated and don’t require any “special teacher” except the Holy Spirit himself.

I have to agree with Pink that the only way anyone could ever come to believe this doctrine is by some kind of heavy indoctrination.  Reformed systematic indoctrination which is precisely what is happening today in Calvinistic churches.  Like the false doctrines of cults, indoctrination is the only way to get people to believe unscriptural doctrines.  You could give a million people the Bible and they would never concoct Calvinism's Election doctrine but teach them how to connect-the-dots and people will learn anything no matter how alien to scripture it is.

Thirdly, "great pains and diligence" is apparently what is required to figure this doctrine out.  I can heartily agree with Pink's confession on this too.  A doctrine this weak requires a great many pains to make it work even a little bit.  But I must ask, does one need to take great pains and diligence to know how powerful the blood of Christ is for us?  Of course not because Bilical understanding regarding the blood like all true foundational doctrines is clearly laid out in scripture.

Fourth, he mentions that one must “collect and tabulate their scattered statements on the subject” which is full proof that the passages of scripture used by Calvinism have to be knit together in some hodgepodge manner to build this doctrine.  He even uses the word “tabulate” to describe the methodology for coming up with this doctrine.  It is appalling that Pink uses a math term to illustrate how one understands   Calvinist Election.  This is not a term that speaks well of the doctrine's undeniable existence in scripture.  In other words, one must add up all the indoctrination in order to know it because apparently the doctrine is shrouded in some kind of dark cloud.  Why would God do that?                                

Imagine using the term “collect and tabulate” to describe how the doctrine of justification works for instance.  There is no need to collect and tabulate as one just needs to turn to Romans 5. Paul lays it out clearly and there is no need of collection and tabulation which is how a true Biblical doctrine should be identified in scripture.

Fifth, he states that it did not please “the Holy Spirit to give us one complete and orderly setting forth of the doctrine of election” to which I have a few significant responses.  This statement does not sound like the Holy Spirit to me since Jesus introduces us to Him as the one who reveals all truth to us. Therefore it begs the question as to why the Holy Spirit would hide a significant doctrine since he always clearly lays out every other legitimate doctrine in scripture.  Jesus portrayed the Holy Spirit as such:

When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.  John 16:13

It is easy to conclude then that Calvinism’s doctrine of Election is not a Holy Spirit breathed doctrine at all for if the Spirit had been pleased, he surely would have given at least one complete and orderly teaching in scripture of the doctrine.

Sixth, he admits that the doctrine is put together “here a little, there a little"—in typical history, in psalm and prophecy, in the great prayer of Christ (John 17), in the epistles of the apostles.”  In other words, Pink admits here that the doctrine is extrapolated by pulling short snippets out of their original context in scripture.  “Here a little and there a little” is not a good foundation for a doctrine of the magnitude that Calvinism has made Election.  We all know false doctrines that are built with this kind of approach to theology.  The only passage he mentions is John 17 and this is laughable because this passage is clearly about God choosing some men to be his apostles and to preach the gospel but has nothing to do with the election of some men to be punished in hell.

Based on Pink's own take of  Election we should be very skeptical of this Calvinist doctrine of election.  Even Pink after his own many years of taking great pains to understand the doctrine admits that it has significant problems.  Calvinism's Election is a doctrine by the “connect-the-dots”

approach.  All cults have doctrines that meet the same criteria that Pink poses in his statement above. One would have hoped for more from a doctrine that is unfortunately believed by far too many and is the foundation for the five points of Calvinism.

Darrell Brantingham

(Check out my pithy comments on Calvinism on my Twitter account @confrontcalvin.)

Choosing To Believe Biblical Election

Choosing Calvinism’s doctrine of Election is what devoted Calvinists do and they do so without any clear passage of scripture that fully explains the doctrine they believe in. The Calvinist’s choice to believe Unconditional Election is really a mystery especially for those that teach such a notion.  How can someone who teaches others not see how absolutely void of scriptural foundation Unconditional Election is?  Even the revered Calvinist author, A. W. Pink wrote that Calvinist election is based on “scattered statements” and has to be built “a little here and a little there.”                             

The facts are these.  Election does exist in the Bible.  However, the key to understanding “Election” in the Bible is to understand that God makes different kinds of elections (choices) in scripture according to his purposes. There are at least four uses of "election" that I find in scripture and there could be more than four.  A scriptural example is included below for each kind of election that I see in scripture:

Our first usage of election is God's choice to send Jesus to the world that he might save the world:

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16                         

Secondly, God has elected that all men have an opportunity to be saved and this is backed by many clear scriptures.  This is God’s second election.  Here are just two of many of these passages found in scripture:

1 Timothy 2:4-6
This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people.                                                                               

2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

Thirdly, God elects different people and even nations to fulfill his many purposes on earth.  These purposes include gifting, calling and ministry.  For instance, God chose an entire people group to become a nation to show forth his goodness and he called this nation “Israel”.

God also chose certain men to be his leaders and prophets in the Old Testament.  For example, God chose Jacob to be a father of Israel while not choosing Esau (Romans 9:13).  God chose Christ's disciples specifically to build his church upon (John 17).  God chose some to be apostles and others to have other kinds of specific ministry callings (1 Corinthians 12:29).  There are hundreds of scriptures that depicts God choosing folks for his purposes and most of these are conditional in nature.  An example of God choosing for a purpose is:        

“For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. 
Deuteronomy 7:6                                                                    

Fourth, God has elected that those who have been born-again will have access to participate in all the glorious promises of God.  Those who do not believe in Christ and his completed work will never have access to these promises.  God has chosen only those who believe to experience his marvelous promises.  These passages are usually the ones that Calvinists try to make about salvation but this is clearly erroneous.

The fact remains after all the rhetoric that there is not even one scripture where one finds that election is tied to language about salvation.  However, there many election passages which speak of God’s purposes for those who have been born again.

The passage below is often used by Calvinists as proof of election for salvation but this is simply faulty exegesis of the passage.  The passage below is written to those who are already saved and speaks of God’s election for those who are born again to apprehend God's awesome purposes for them:                                                                                                                                      

Ephesians 1:3-4
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. (This passage is written to the “holy and faithful” and is about the purposes that God has for all those who are saved already.)

These four elections are what I see about election in scripture.  The various mentions of election are sprinkled about scripture according to the purpose of the passage.  One should never make take every use of the words "election" or "chosen" as having the same purpose because they clearly do not.  The context of the passage must be considered and this is Calvinism's greatest error because they do not take into account the actual context of the passage when exegeting scripture.

There is no justification for Calvinism’s Unconditional Election in scripture!
   

For as convincing as the above explanation of the uses of "election" in scripture, the greatest argument against Calvinism’s Election is the fact that there is not even one passage that states that God has chosen some for salvation and some to be damned---NOT ONE!   

Darrell Brantingham                        

(Check out my Twitter account @confrontcalvin)

Celebrate Christ's Completed Work!

We live in a day when the amount of information coming at us is an incredible overflow.  We are literally inundated with information coming at us from every direction including books, the internet, radio and TV.  It is truly information overload and this is just as true in the Christian community as it is in secular society. Unfortunately this leads us to distraction from what is really most important. What is most important?  Jesus and his completed work is the answer! 

Recently I tweeted that Christ's work of redemption at the cross and resurrection was the true gospel. A Calvinist responded: "That is pretty basic stuff." Apparently to him Christ's work was no big deal and nothing to get excited about.  We need to be careful that we do not become so lukewarm that we take for granted what Christ has done for us.                                                                          

Christ's completed work changed the world in a way that nothing has ever done and it has changed us too.  But if we are distracted by much lesser things then Christ's completed work becomes "ho-hum" and no big deal to us.  This is not good.  We need to remember Paul's admonition to the Corinthians:

But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 2 Corinthians 11:3 

Our pure devotion to Christ includes our understanding and devotion to his glorious completed work.

What is his completed work?

You can look at all Jesus did as his completed work from his incarnation, all the way through to him sitting down at the right hand of the Father immediately following his ascension.  You could also narrow it down to his work on the cross and resurrection too.  For the purposes of this article, I am going to focus on Christ's completed work accomplished from the cross through his reclining at the right hand of the father.

Christ's Work at the Cross                                                                                                

Christ's completed work at the cross is truly most amazing and deserves its own full attention.  Of course there have been volumes of sermons, articles and books written on Christ's work at the cross. I pray however that we do not ever take this work for granted in favor of a more "captivating" side doctrine or Bible truth.  Christ's work at the cross should never be taken lightly or forgotten.

What Christ did at the cross is truly amazing!  He made atonement for our sins and redeemed us.  He defeated sin and the devil:

"He himself bore our sins" in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; "by his wounds you have been healed."  1 Peter 2:24

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.” Galatians 3:13 

Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, Hebrews 2:14

When Jesus died, we died with him.  This is a most powerful dynamic that many Christians don't know, value or apply to their lives.

For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. Romans 6:6-7

As you read the above passages, I pray that you are filled with awe and wonder instead of thinking that you have heard it so many times.  If you find yourself not impressed with these scriptures it could be that you have lost the greatness of Christ's completed work having been distracted by many other things in your life.

Christ also brought us close to God through the cross.                                                  

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.  Ephesians 2:13 

Through the cross we received atonement for our sins and the propitiation of our sins.  Propitiation is a huge word with an even bigger meaning. Propitiation means that God was appeased and satisfied so that the judgment of death was acquitted for us.  See the scripture below:

...we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world. 1 John 1:1-2 

We could go on and on here and we have only touched the tip of the mountain in terms of what Christ did for us through his ordeal of being crucified.  Suffice it to say that Christ being crucified for us and its ramifications can never be overstated.                                                    

I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. Galatians 6:14             

When Jesus cried out "It is finished" at the cross he finalized his work at the cross and it was significant because he had paid a price that cost him everything and the punishment he took on in his battered body was only a microcosm of the horror of sin that he had taken on in his innocence.  He quite simply died due to the crushing weight of the sin of all mankind that was laid upon him.

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21

The Resurrection

Though it was finished on the cross, Christ's completed work or redemption for man was not yet done.  Christ would need to rise from the dead.  The cross and resurrection were the perfect "one - two" punch that man needed desperately.  In fact, the two worked together to give man victory over death.  Together they took care of our death problem which was man's primary consequence of the fall. The cross made us dead but the resurrection raised us up to new life and this life we now have is the life of the Son.

...just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.  For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. Romans 6:4-5                      

And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, Ephesians 2:6

The cross took care of the old man (old nature) by putting him to death.  Our resurrection with Christ gave us new life and made us a new creation.  Jesus proved his resurrection by appearing to his disciples over a forty day period.  Like Christ's work at the cross, there is so much more to share on his resurrection.  But we proceed to the final point of Christ's work.

The Ascension

For some the ascension of Christ might seem a lesser subject than the cross and resurrection but the ascension should never be looked on apart from the cross and resurrection anyway.  It is clearly tied only to what Christ had already accomplished.  An ascension by Christ would have meant little to us had Christ not endured the cross and beat death at the resurrection.  The ascension of Christ is simply the progressive flow of the completed work and it is worthy of mention and remembrance.

There is something so glorifying of the Lord Jesus that is in the ascension for through it we see the triumph of God.  The ascension is the celebration of the victory at the cross and resurrection.  It is therefore worthy of mention because Christ gets the glory for his work of redemption for man.

Therefore it says, "WHEN HE ASCENDED ON HIGH, HE LED CAPTIVE A HOST OF CAPTIVES, AND HE GAVE GIFTS TO MEN." Ephesians 4:8

After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. Mark 16:19 

 After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. Hebrews 1:3                          

Jesus reclined at the Father's right hand having done all.  He had accomplished all that the Father had given him to do.  He had come born as an infant to be clothed in humanity.  He had ministered to those in need and he had taught his disciples in preparation for them to lead the church and preach the gospel.  He had endured the cross for the joy set before him.  He rose from the dead after three days and then ascended to God's right hand in victory and majesty, having done all.                    

What a time in heaven it must have been to witness Jesus taking his victorious seat at the right hand of the Father! How the angels and saints must have roared in thunderous worship and praise!  Jesus had accomplished the most important work that would ever be done in the history of the cosmos.  He had earned glory and honor and God would give him a name above every other name.              
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,  Philippians 2:9

So friend, get excited again about Jesus and his completed work for it is the great theme of scripture. His completed work makes us complete too!

Darrell Brantingham

(Read my pithy tweets on Twitter @confrontcalvin)