Calvinism’s doctrine of God’s sovereign rule over all things is far from an abstract teaching with little if any effect on the lives of ordinary believers. (Really? God's doctrine of something was named after a man? This criticism may sound innocent and trifling, but it is not! The doctrine of predestination, if that is what he is talking about existed long before Calvin or the Reformed Baptist's vaunted Reformers! This kind of thinking leads to men speaking about man-made titles or words, rather than using the words of scripture!)
Rather, Calvinism has many practical implications. While they may not automatically follow from simply holding to Calvinistic doctrine, they do follow naturally when Calvinism is truly believed and embraced from the heart. This list is not intended to suggest that non-Calvinists deny any of these truths, only that Calvinism certainly implies them. (We are amazed that he says "may not automatically follow". Where is the Holy Spirit in all of this?? How can any man-made concept give confidence? Is it not the Holy Spirit the only one who can do this? As for "truly believed and embraced" what does that mean?)
1. Calvinism gives us confidence in the Bible’s sufficiency. God saves His chosen people through the Word of Christ (1 Corinthians 1:18). That means preachers have no need to use innovation in persuading anyone of the gospel. The salvation of souls depends on the gospel, faithfully preached and effectively applied by the Holy Spirit, not on the creativity or ingenuity of the preacher. This implication is wonderfully freeing to the preacher. (It is "Calvinism" a cold-dead set of principles that gives confidence! We also notice that he confuses the "Word of Christ", which is not found in the passage he cites, with the gospel regeneration when he says, "The salvation of souls depends on the gospel, faithfully preached and effectively applied by the Holy Spirit...". Now we do not know how precise he is on the term salvation, but we can say that the new birth is not dependent on any means, so it certainly does not depend on the preaching of the gospel.)
2. Calvinism helps calm our anxieties. The Bible teaches that God works “all things after the counsel of His will” (Ephesians 1:11) and “all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). People often feel anxious or fearful because they’re trying to control things that are outside of their control (Luke 12:25). (It is "Calvinism:" that calms our anxieties. So all that is needed in the human heart is an intellectual understanding that God controls of all things. What the writer has not answered is how can an individual be sure he is elected. After all, the fact that predestination does not assure this. Only the Spirit of God can give us this assurance and then not always, for purposes which are hidden from us.)
But Scripture teaches that God works all things for the good of His chosen people which means we have no reason to be anxious. We can know that everything which comes to pass is God’s love to us, no matter what we feel or how things seem. We, therefore, can quiet our fears because God governs all things for the good of His people. (This is true, IF ONE IS OF THE NUMBER OF THE ELECT.)
But the Bible teaches that God alone rules the human heart (Proverbs 16:1, 9; 21:1; Jeremiah 10:23). (This thought is contradicted bur what he has said above.)
5. Calvinism makes us bold to obey the Lord. Calvinism teaches both that God is sovereign over everything we choose, and that we are responsible to obey Him. Sometimes people fear that if they obey the Lord, they’ll miss out on something or that others might oppose them and do them great harm. (It is blasphemous to say that "Calvinism" does anything when it comes to spiritual matters. Calvinism does not teach anything. The Holy Spirit and Jesus are the ones who teach.)
6. Calvinism supports a heart for missions. Missions cannot fail because Christ’s blood guarantees its success. (What is missions? The author does not define it. Do moneyed missionary societies have a guarantee from God of their "success"? And what does the author define as "success"? Does it mean the number of people that have accepted Jesus, who have walked up the isle? He does not say!)
7. Calvinism fosters deep humility. While some who profess Calvinism are proud of their newfound understanding and are only looking to win theological debates, they have not really internalized what they claim to believe. Calvinism teaches that we are deeply sinful and can do nothing to save ourselves. (Calvinism has been substituted for the Holy Spirit.
Therefore, those who truly believe in Calvinistic doctrine will be deeply humble before the Lord and before their fellow human beings.
8. Calvinism undergirds our assurance of salvation. If salvation initially depends on our free will, then it would seem that it finally depends on our free will as well. In other words, if we are saved by our free will in the first place, then it would only make sense that we could freely choose to leave salvation. (So an abstract idea; a theological concept; a concept based on the writings of a mortal sinful man is that gives us assurance. We have met many Old School Baptists, who embrace predestination [not Calvinism], who have had times of gloominess wondering if they are the elect of God. How is this explained if what the author says is true?)
9. Calvinism leads us to worship. Non-Calvinistic theologies make salvation depend, in the final analysis, on the free will of human beings. Conditional theologies, however, are not conducive to worship. Should we sing praises to God about our choices and our efforts? That is not worship. (The author also shares this dependence on Free Will. They believe that the preaching of the gospel can make people born again.)
The Bible teaches that God alone saves. And that’s why we worship Him. We fall on our faces with joy and gratitude that we did nothing at all for our salvation. God did everything. The Father chose us for salvation in eternity. The Son accomplished our salvation at the cross. And the Holy Spirit applies salvation to us by uniting us to Christ and keeping us forever. We were dying of our sins, but God graciously and freely gave us life. And that is why we worship Him and glorify Him. (Now comes the spiritual frosting on an Arminian cake of free will. They give allegiance to the Spirit's role, but in their actions, they put the emphasis on the means to the new birth.)
1. Calvinism gives us confidence in the Bible’s sufficiency. God saves His chosen people through the Word of Christ (1 Corinthians 1:18). That means preachers have no need to use innovation in persuading anyone of the gospel. The salvation of souls depends on the gospel, faithfully preached and effectively applied by the Holy Spirit, not on the creativity or ingenuity of the preacher. This implication is wonderfully freeing to the preacher. (It is "Calvinism" a cold-dead set of principles that gives confidence! We also notice that he confuses the "Word of Christ", which is not found in the passage he cites, with the gospel regeneration when he says, "The salvation of souls depends on the gospel, faithfully preached and effectively applied by the Holy Spirit...". Now we do not know how precise he is on the term salvation, but we can say that the new birth is not dependent on any means, so it certainly does not depend on the preaching of the gospel.)
2. Calvinism helps calm our anxieties. The Bible teaches that God works “all things after the counsel of His will” (Ephesians 1:11) and “all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). People often feel anxious or fearful because they’re trying to control things that are outside of their control (Luke 12:25). (It is "Calvinism:" that calms our anxieties. So all that is needed in the human heart is an intellectual understanding that God controls of all things. What the writer has not answered is how can an individual be sure he is elected. After all, the fact that predestination does not assure this. Only the Spirit of God can give us this assurance and then not always, for purposes which are hidden from us.)
But Scripture teaches that God works all things for the good of His chosen people which means we have no reason to be anxious. We can know that everything which comes to pass is God’s love to us, no matter what we feel or how things seem. We, therefore, can quiet our fears because God governs all things for the good of His people. (This is true, IF ONE IS OF THE NUMBER OF THE ELECT.)
But the Bible teaches that God alone rules the human heart (Proverbs 16:1, 9; 21:1; Jeremiah 10:23). (This thought is contradicted bur what he has said above.)
5. Calvinism makes us bold to obey the Lord. Calvinism teaches both that God is sovereign over everything we choose, and that we are responsible to obey Him. Sometimes people fear that if they obey the Lord, they’ll miss out on something or that others might oppose them and do them great harm. (It is blasphemous to say that "Calvinism" does anything when it comes to spiritual matters. Calvinism does not teach anything. The Holy Spirit and Jesus are the ones who teach.)
6. Calvinism supports a heart for missions. Missions cannot fail because Christ’s blood guarantees its success. (What is missions? The author does not define it. Do moneyed missionary societies have a guarantee from God of their "success"? And what does the author define as "success"? Does it mean the number of people that have accepted Jesus, who have walked up the isle? He does not say!)
7. Calvinism fosters deep humility. While some who profess Calvinism are proud of their newfound understanding and are only looking to win theological debates, they have not really internalized what they claim to believe. Calvinism teaches that we are deeply sinful and can do nothing to save ourselves. (Calvinism has been substituted for the Holy Spirit.
Therefore, those who truly believe in Calvinistic doctrine will be deeply humble before the Lord and before their fellow human beings.
8. Calvinism undergirds our assurance of salvation. If salvation initially depends on our free will, then it would seem that it finally depends on our free will as well. In other words, if we are saved by our free will in the first place, then it would only make sense that we could freely choose to leave salvation. (So an abstract idea; a theological concept; a concept based on the writings of a mortal sinful man is that gives us assurance. We have met many Old School Baptists, who embrace predestination [not Calvinism], who have had times of gloominess wondering if they are the elect of God. How is this explained if what the author says is true?)
9. Calvinism leads us to worship. Non-Calvinistic theologies make salvation depend, in the final analysis, on the free will of human beings. Conditional theologies, however, are not conducive to worship. Should we sing praises to God about our choices and our efforts? That is not worship. (The author also shares this dependence on Free Will. They believe that the preaching of the gospel can make people born again.)
The Bible teaches that God alone saves. And that’s why we worship Him. We fall on our faces with joy and gratitude that we did nothing at all for our salvation. God did everything. The Father chose us for salvation in eternity. The Son accomplished our salvation at the cross. And the Holy Spirit applies salvation to us by uniting us to Christ and keeping us forever. We were dying of our sins, but God graciously and freely gave us life. And that is why we worship Him and glorify Him. (Now comes the spiritual frosting on an Arminian cake of free will. They give allegiance to the Spirit's role, but in their actions, they put the emphasis on the means to the new birth.)
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For now, until Welsh Tract Publications is reorganized as an LLC, I will handle the financial transactions. Understand that Welsh Tract Church does NOT have any affiliation with Welsh Tract Publications. Like the website and the YouTube channel, these websites were created by the friends of Welsh Tract Church. We do not believe in any extra-church organizations or "ministries". Flash Drives are now available.
The Lord Bless you!
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