How is it that an Arminian and a Calvinist can both read from the same Bible and yet both come to very different opinions on many portion of Scriptures? Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and other cults like to portray Christianity as very divided and this same question is often the line of reasoning they themselves use to try to show that Christianity is false. With so many factions in the Church, who is correct? Is anyone correct and how can we know?
These questions, no doubt, have plagued the Church. How often have I myself wondered as I was reading my Bible, “How can they not see this in the Bible? It’s so plain to me!” How is it that people can read the Bible and read the Bible and read the Bible and yet still continue to miss the plain teachings of Scripture on various subjects?
I believe that we could try to answer this question in several ways:
1. The Tradition Factor – There can be no doubt that some people have been trained to read the Bible in a certain way, looking for certain doctrines. For example, how is it that Mormons can read Isaiah 29:4 and see the Book of Mormon prophesied? How can Mormons read John 10:16 and see the reference to “other sheep” being the Indians in the Western hemisphere? How can Roman Catholics read Matthew 13:55-56 and see the reference to Jesus’ brothers and sisters as being His cousins and not His actual brothers and sisters? How can Catholics read Matthew 1:25 and continue to teach the perpetual virginity of Mary?
The answer to all the above is simple: traditions. Jesus said that our traditions can nullify the Word of God and make it non-effective (Mark 7:13 NIV).
2. Spiritual Blindness – 2 Corinthians 4:4 says, “In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” Jesus said that Satan is the father of lies and Satan has nothing to do with the truth (John 8:44). We must not ignore the possibility that many people are held in captivity to the devil by his blinding of their eyes to the gospel (1 Corinthians 2:14).
3. Pride – Some may perceive the truth of Scripture but are too proud to let go of their traditions and admit that they are wrong. This was my case when it came to “the sinner’s prayer.” For years I had believed in and practiced the sinner’s prayer as the response to the gospel, but once I begin to see from studying the gospels and Acts that none of the Apostles nor Jesus Himself ever spoke of the sinner’s prayer, never gave an altar call for salvation, and in fact the Bible seems to teach that baptism is the proper response to the gospel in demonstrating the willingness to become Jesus’ disciple (Acts 2:38-39, 41), I had to swallow my pride, admit I was wrong and begin to teach the truth. [Editor’s note: This is just a personal example Roy is using. Most SEA members would probably disagree with him about the sinner’s prayer. Not that baptism is not required for the Christian, but that a person cannot become a disciple of Christ through prayer (if that is even what Roy is suggesting.]
Pride destroys. Proverbs 18:12 says, “Before destruction a man’s heart is haughty, but humility comes before honor.” James 5:5 says that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble, and then in James 5:6 we are told to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God that He may exalt us. God detests pride but He honors humility and it takes humility to read the Bible and allow the Holy Spirit to show us our sins, our errors, and our traditions that are robbing Christ of His glory and honor.
4. Theological Preconceptions – This by far is the main reason that Arminians and Calvinists can differ when reading from the same Bible. There are certain things that each reader brings to the Bible before they read it: language, culture, and presumptions. We understand language differences but we misunderstand the other two factors. First, culture often will dictate how we read the Bible. For example, my brother from India and the Christians in India know much about persecution and tribulation. I do not. We in the United States can sit and debate whether the Church will go through the Great Tribulation but in many places such as Africa or India, they are simply wondering if they are in the Great Tribulation from the amount of suffering they endure.
Yet presumptions about certain doctrines tend to be our focus when it comes to the Arminian/Calvinist debate. For instance, Calvinists often begin to read their Bibles with the notion that TULIP is biblical and all through the Scriptures. As C.H. Spurgeon said, “The gospel is Calvinism. They are one and the same.” Are they? I hope not. Yet Calvinists begin to read their Bibles with the notion that Calvinism is biblical and from Genesis to Revelation, the “doctrines of grace” as defined by Calvinism fill the pages of the Bible.
However, we Arminians often begin with the notion that Calvinism is false. Lucky for us, we don’t have an acronym to summarize our doctrines [Editor’s note: We actually do now! — FACTS] but we do begin to read our Bibles with two main notions: First, that God is love and has revealed Himself in that way (John 3:16; Romans 5:8-9; 1 John 4:7-11). Second, because of God’s great love He has reached out to fallen humanity in His Son to reveal Himself, His nature, His will, and His great love for us by saving us through the death and resurrection of His only begotten Son (1 Corinthians 15:1-4; Galatians 1:4).
Conclusion
So where does that take us? Calvinists often ask how is it that Arminians can read Romans 9-11 and not see the sovereignty of God in election unto salvation (unconditional election). Yet because we Arminians begin with the assumption that God is love and that He truly desires to save all who would come to Him in faith (conditional election), we see in Romans 9-11 that Paul’s argument is not for a deterministic understanding of election but that his point is that God has not cast off His chosen people (Israel) but that the condition for election into God’s Israel has always been by faith (Romans 11:20-24). Do you see how the presumptions of our theology allowed us to come to that conclusion?
Some will now argue that we are thus not using proper rules of exegesis to interpret Scripture. After all, Scripture must interpret Scripture! I agree. That is why we must seek to overcome our presumptions, our pride, and our traditions in order to understand and obey the Bible. I am not arguing that we need to blindly follow Arminius or Calvin. We need to allow the truths of Scripture to come forth and we must seek to simply follow the Bible as best we can. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 promises us that the man of God is fully equipped for every good deed by the Bible. I pray that we will be fully equipped and useful to the Master.
