Six Problems Faced by Calvinists

I am nearing the end of The Five Points of Calvinism: Defined, Defended, and Documented by David Steele, Curtis C. Thomas, and S. Lance Quinn. The appendices are very helpful. Although often Calvinism can be seen as intellectual and not practical, in Appendix E, Curt Daniel describes the practical outgrowth of Calvinism in the believer's life. One of his subsections is "Pitfalls Peculiar to Calvinists" (pp.192-195). It is quite insightful. In it, he lists six problems that Calvinists face on a routine basis:

1. Pride. Personal pride. Pride in being a Calvinist. Pride in being "enlightened" by the Calvinistic doctrine. Looking down our noses at our Arminian brothers. Cure: Ephesians 1:4-6 ('What do you have that you did not receive?').


2. Intellectualism. "Too often we Calvinists spend more time discussing the doctrines of grace than living the grace of the doctrines." Cure: 1 Corinthians 8:1 ('Knowledge alone puffs up').


3. Apathy and Lethargy. This occurs when Calvinists are more interested in election than in practical living. The Puritans, by the way, applied the doctrines of grace to the growth of their own personal piety with wonderful results.


4. Anti-emotionalism. Calvinists are always at risk of becoming cold, unapproachable, or distant, "the frozen chosen". We should instead exhibit the warmth of grace, for God seeks those who will worship him in spirit and in truth.


5. Chronic Introspection. Not the normal self-examination prescribed by scripture (2 Corinthians 13:5), but the sort that goes too far. "True self-examination should lead to renewed faith and love and obedience. False introspection leads to more introspection, and actually less faith. It produces more doubt, not faith. For example, some worry that they might not be among the elect. But this does not lead them to put faith in Christ. If that is the result, then it is not true introspection."


6. Hyper-Calvinism. This is something Arminians are not prone to (nor are they prone to hyper-Arminianism). By over-reacting against Arminianism, Calvinists are prone to place more emphasis on the sovereignty of God that the responsibility of man. This is easier to understand with our finite minds, but theologically imbalanced.

This is a short synopsis. For more, I would encourage you to read the book for yourself.