On his website, Arminian Perspectives, Ben Henshaw has a questions page at which he answers questions about Arminianism and Calvinism that visitors to his site pose in the comment section of the page. This excerpt from that page is not a question and answer, but an exchange between Ben and a man named Gene (“Now Dimly”), who was a Calvinist but reconsidering his Calvinism (and this exchange might actually capture a point when his abandonment of Calvinism was reached or close to complete) :
Gene: I found an interesting and timely quote from Wayne Grudem in his Systematic Theology [1st edition]. The context is the question of the sinner’s “freedom to do right, and to do what is pleasing to God.” Here it is:
“The application to our lives is quite evident: if God gives anyone a desire to repent and trust in Christ, he or she should not delay and should not harden his or her heart (cf. Heb. 3:7–8; 12:17). This ability to repent and desire to trust in God is not naturally ours but is given by the prompting of the Holy Spirit, and it will not last forever.” (p. 498)
I found several problems, but I’ll briefly mention a couple (which up until recently I would have missed). First, if we’re unconditionally elected then we shouldn’t have to worry about missing out on the Spirit’s prompting since we’re guaranteed to be saved. Second, if this is so, then why bother telling us that it won’t last forever? Third, if the initial work of the Spirit in us (according to Calvinism) is regeneration, then this ability to repent and believe now is naturally ours since regeneration has made us new creatures who can (and will) now repent and believe. Then of course there’s the problem with telling the reprobate that they have the ability to repent and their desire to trust God is from the Spirit, when in actuality the Spirit will not cause them to be born again since they are not elect–this is akin to teasing the damned with desires that they cannot act upon and gives them a false hope.
Now, while I do appreciate this book and his theological wisdom, this quote is very illogical and leaves a bad taste in my mouth in regards to what I recently held as true. Calvinism seems to be falling apart at the seams as I study these things. What I can’t believe is that this has all happened to me in the course of one week without any intention on my part. Amazing.
Ben: You are quite right that Grudem’s comments are incoherent, and you did well to notice the many problems (and there are actually more). This is not uncommon among Calvinist writers. His comments here majorly contradict fundamental Calvinist claims. Indeed, he sounds like an Arminian. That is often the case when Calvinists are trying to make sense of their doctrines against the backdrop of plain Scriptural claims or the reality we live in every day. Arminianism simply fits better with Scripture and reality, so Calvinists easily lapse into language that is essentially Arminian in nature and alien to the fundamental claims that stand behind and define Calvinist thought.
May God lead you into truth.
