Calvinism Makes God Disingenuous and This Proves It To Be False

What bothers me most about Calvinism is its proclivity to throw God under the bus in order to establish and defend its doctrines.  Ironically it does not make sense because Calvinism claims that they want God to get all the credit for salvation.  But in order for God to get all the credit for providing salvation they seriously malign and misrepresent God's character by making him insincere and downright disingenuous. This is not some vague inference found in Calvinist doctrine. This is full on doctrinal violence against God's character. Unfortunately, this assault on God's character resonates in every Calvinist doctrine and attributes to God many things that are simply not true.

I don't think that it is the Calvinist's intention to assault God's character. Calvinism does not misrepresent God to make him look bad. I think their troubling misrepresentation of God is not their goal but in order to protect their doctrines they are forced to presume things about God that are simply false and not backed by scripture. Sadly, the fact remains that Calvinism/Reformed doctrine assaults God's character even if this is not their objective.

This article focuses on how Calvinism makes God disingenuous at best and a liar at worst. We know that God cannot lie so the problem is not God's but lies with the doctrines of Calvinism. Scripture tells us that God is not a man that he should lie (Numbers 23:19). God is not duplicitous and he does not dabble in deception or falsehood. God is above reproach and his word is always good. What we have in the Bible is God's holy word and therefore it is a witness of his goodness. It is a witness that he does not lie. Scripture is clear that every offer that God makes to man is sincere and not deceptive.

Calvinism's doctrine of "Unconditional Election" states that God predetermined each man's fate before each man ever lived.  It goes on to say that God chooses the elect and everyone else is allowed a one-way ticket to hell.  They redefine words and cherry-pick scriptures here and there to try to support this doctrine.  However, their greatest mistake is ignoring passages that don't agree at all with this notion. This article addresses the many passages of scripture that stand as an immovable witness against doctrines that imply that God is disingenuous and insincere by making statements that he does not really mean.  

For instance, the idea that God predetermines that most people go to hell without those people having any responsibility in the matter and yet states in scripture that salvation is offered to all men implies that God is insincere and dishonest. The good news is that scripture reveals that there are hundreds of statements made by God that are clear and demonstrate that man has the ability to respond to God. 

The Gospel

The gospel in the Greek means "good news" or "good message" and scripture says it should be preached to all:

And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. Mark 16:15 (KJV)

The scripture above is commonly called "The Great Commission" and it was commanded by Jesus to his disciples to preach the good news to all people. If God already chose most people to be punished in hell, why would he also command that the gospel be preached to every creature?  Was He just rubbing it in? Was God laughing in heaven knowing some could never respond? Certainly not. This would make God disingenuous in his offering.

An example of such foolishness is if I were to invite someone to my house for dinner but don't have any intention of letting them come in to my home to eat dinner, I would be in fact disingenuous in my offer of dinner.

Is the Great Commission a perdifuous command by God or has Calvinism misrepresented God and his character by insisting that God have his people preach to the lost knowing they can't respond?

The Love of God

Jesus told his disciples to love their enemies and to pray for them too.  If God predetermines most people to be lost (some Calvinists say God makes them reprobate), then why would he purposefully damn those he made and yet tell us to love those who are our enemies.  Does God hold man to a higher standard than He practices? It is incoherent to say God randomly chooses some to suffer eternal punishment without having any say in the matter and yet demand that his people love their enemies. This would make God a hypocrite if he requires man to do one thing and then He does even a worse thing. God's love which is clearly described in the Bible has been twisted by Calvinism in to something that does not resemble what it is described as in the Bible.

There are many ways that God invites and beckons men to himself. Here are just a few:

Seek the Lord

The Bible has dozens of statements where God instructs man to seek him.  Here are just three of them:

Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.  Isaiah 55:6-7

The Lord is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you. 2 Chronicles 15:2 

And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.  Hebrews 11:6 

Why would God tell man in such thunderous volume to seek him if he will not be found by some of them by his own predetermination?  Why would God say that he can be sought if in fact man cannot seek God? How disingenuous this would be if true!

Come to Me

God often refers to the idea that men can come to Him even before they are His. Scripture indicates that some men refuse to come to God of their own volition. Check these out:

And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life. John 5:40                  

And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. John 6:35  

And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. Revelation 22:17 

Why would God give personal invitations throughout scripture if man could not come to him?

Turn To The Lord

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. James 4:8

Take with you words, and turn to the Lord: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips.  

Hosea 14:1-2

And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. Joel 2:13  

God has given men the ability to turn to Him. If God does all the turning then why does God require that men turn? Surely man can turn to the Lord if the Lord instructs him to do so.

Return To The Lord

For if ye turn again unto the Lord, your brethren and your children shall find compassion before them that lead them captive, so that they shall come again into this land: for the Lord your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn away his face from you, if ye return unto him. 2 Chronicles 30:9

Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. Isaiah 55:7

Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art the Lord our God. Jeremiah 3:22

Men can clearly choose to sin and even turn away from the Lord. It makes sense then that God allows men to return to Him by choosing to do so. Returning to God is something men can do or God would never have mentioned that he could.

 Repent

Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God; Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations. Ezekiel 14:6

Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord God. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your

transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin. Ezekiel 18:30

From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Matthew 4:17 

Repentance is an action of man. In the Old Testament the Hebrew word "repent" means to turn around and go in the other direction. In the New Testament "repent" in the Greek means "to think new". Either way, God requires that men repent and man clearly has the ability to do so. If man has no ability to repent, then why would God insincerely command him to repent?

Whosoever

The Bible uses the word "whosoever" often in scripture and it is often used in terms of the "whosoever" responding in action to something that God presents to him. Here are just a few examples in scripture:

Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. Ezekiel 33:4

Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. Matthew 10:32   

That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. John 3:15-17 

The use of the word "whosoever" shows that men are accountable to God's offerings. The word "Whosoever" appears in the KJV 182 times so it is not a rare occurrence.

 Men Told To Choose

Calvinism often refers to God's "election" of people for salvation while holding that God only chooses a few. This is simply not Biblical. The fact is God actually chose to have men choose how they will respond to him. Here are a couple of examples:

And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.  Joshua 24:15

And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Deut. 30:9 

Conditional Statements

There are 1595 "ifs" in scripture.  Many of these "ifs" are God making a conditional statement to men or nations with the idea that they respond one way or the other. God clearly sets forth conditions for man to respond.  We are told by Calvinists that man has no ability to respond on his own. Why then would God give a conditional statement to someone who has no ability to respond? Would this not make Him disingenuous?

"If" you make the Most High your dwelling – even the LORD, who is my refuge – then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent."  Psalm 91:9-10

"If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your righteousness like the waves of the sea." Isaiah 48:18

And the Lord said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes. Genesis 18:26 

"...if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord', and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."  Romans 10:9

Why would God issue the above conditional statement and hundreds of other "if" statements if he had already predetermined all things including who would be saved?  Is God being insincere? Never!

The good news is that God is not the caricature that Calvinism has created.  God is not mendacious or insincere. God is not insincere. God is not a liar!  Calvinism's doctrines directly counter the many scriptures I posted above and therefore must be rejected. These passages crush Calvinism's TULIP.! God cannot have predestined certain men for hell before he was born and then still make man responsible for responding to his many invitations to seek him, come to him and turn to him. God cannot reach out to man if man was totally unable to respond to Him. God cannot make grace irresistible to some if he offers grace and salvation to all. God cannot limit atonement to just some if he offers the sacrifice of his son to all.

The God who tells us in James 5:12 to "let our yes be yes and our no be no" does not do double-speak and yet Calvinism itself is rampant with double-speak. If God tells mankind to seek him than he can be sought. If God tells man to turn to him then men can turn to him. If God tells man to return to him then he will receive men when they return. If God states in his word that God loved the world, then God did indeed love the world.

Why does Calvinism insinuate that God is insincere in his commands and offerings? Is it their intention to harm God?  No. Unfortunately, Calvinists make these insinuations in order to justify their doctrines because if man has ability to respond to God then Calvinism's pet doctrines like Unconditional Election are proven to be false. Calvinists would in fact deny that they are insinuating that God is disingenuous but if it is true then they are the ones who are disingenuous for claiming that God says things he does not mean. Calvinistic double-speak is madness!

In this article I have proven three very significant things. First, I prove that God is not disingenuous, insincere or false and that it is actually Calvinism that is often disingenuous and perfiduous. If God has initiated hundreds of invitations, commands and offerings to men but they could not respond, he would in fact be insincere and dishonest.

Secondly, I have proven that man can respond to God or else all God's wooing's, invitations, commands and conditional statements are bogus and dishonest. God has given man the ability and these hundreds of scriptures prove that God communicates his love and mercy to man.

Thirdly, this article emphatically crushes Calvinism and its doctrines. I recommend to my readers that they direct those who are seeking the truth about Calvinism to read the content presented here. I can't imagine any objective believer who values the word of God not seeing the truth that is here regarding the false doctrines of Calvinism. Since Calvinism's doctrines imply that God is insincere then Calvinism has only proved that it is completely false since God does not mislead man in scripture.

Friends, despite Calvinism's false presumptions, there is good news and the good news is that God cannot be indicted as being insincere or disingenuous in any way, shape or form. God is good and his offering to man is good. God in his infinite wisdom and sovereignty gave man the ability to respond to him. How wonderful this message is to us and to all men---it is surely good news!

Darrell Brantingham

(Check out my pithy tweets on Twitter @confrontcalvin)