Ray Comfort wrote a Facebook post called “Why I’m neither Calvinist nor Arminian”. The basic gist of the article is summed up in his conclusion that “every moment that you and I spend arguing about theological interpretation is time we have lost forever that could have been spent in prayer for the unsaved or in seeking to save that which is lost.”
I don’t adopt his byline, but I deeply appreciate Ray Comfort’s point. I want to push it a bit, however.
Deep theological discussions along the continuum of the church’s thought on sovereignty versus free repentance for all is a valuable way to deepen our understanding of God’s nature, his desires for us, and his image in us.
Different people have different perspectives and are drawn more deeply to different aspects of who God has revealed himself to be. As mature Christians, the Holy Spirit can help us to hold a thoughtful, informed position while simultaneously having an open heart and open mind to the other.
In the article, Ray Comfort mentions Wesley and Whitfield. While it is true they had passionate disagreements, there was a love and respect that went deeper. Ironically, I think this example proves the very point Comfort is trying to make by focusing on their differences.
Wesley was willing to call those with whom he disagreed ‘brothers’ and had the capacity to love and learn even while having sharp disagreements.
Disagreement over our understanding of truth is not itself division–too many believers misunderstand this. If we gloss over the differences in our understandings for the sake of appearing harmonious on the surface, we lose the opportunity to sharpen one another and go deeper into truth. The desire to avoid conflict can often set us up for more problematic conflict later because we haven’t explored our ideological and theological starting points together. And the fact is we all have them, even if we’ve never thought about it.
On the other hand, if we place our need to be right over our ultimate need to be in fellowship with Christ and our neighbor, then, yes, we are in trouble. That, according to Paul, is pride and spiritual immaturity.
I’ve spent the last 3 years in a church community and a home group where we experienced both deep, loving fellowship and differences of understanding and theological emphasis. We were Baptist and Methodist and non-denominational. Some grew up Catholic, others agnostic. We talked deeply and directly and we all were the better for it. Those folks became my dear, dear friends. I long for more of our theological conversations when life may allow it!
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.”
Colossians 3:16 is suggests that teaching, admonishing [implies a form of conflict], gratitude, worship, and the richness of God can all go hand in hand. If we only ever talk about those things on which we agree or only ever seek to learn from those with whom we already agree, we are losing out on the richness of what is possible in a God’s family.
So, to my Arminian friends, be confident, find a Calvinist friend and call him or her “brother” or “sister”. Learn from them and know that Calvinists are holy, godly people, too. (I think that may surprise some in my camp.)
To my dear Calvinist friends, be confident, find an Arminian near you, and embrace them as your brother or sister. Learn from them and know that Armenians believe in the absolute sovereignty and grace of God, too!
To Calvinists and Arminian alike: remember that our traditions are fairly young relative to the life of the Church. The thousands of years of rich history in the Church before Martin Luther are a deep well of a God’s activity in our world from which we all need to be drinking deeply. True Christianity did not start in 1513.
I place myself willingly in the Arminian stream of understanding. But that is subordinate to my desire to be as deep and wide and rich an orthodox follower of Jesus as I can, to love God with all my heart, soul, and strength, and to love my neighbor as myself. That, after all, even as Wesley readily acknowledged, really is the essence of true Scriptural holiness.
Even Calvin might agree…
