Calvinists say that God is sovereign over individuals’ salvation and that humans also have moral agency. Many who object to Calvinism see this as an irreconcilable contradiction. A paradox.
But do paradoxes automatically negate objective truth?
I would say no. And a clear illustration of this is quantum mechanics. Here is a simple question: Is light a wave or a particle?
The answer to the question may surprise you: it’s both. The concept is called “particle-wave duality,” and it is so named because scientists have observed that in some circumstances, light behaves like a particle, while in others, light behaves like a wave. This would seem to be a paradox. How is this possible? Although scientists still don’t have an explanation it is accepted as true, and it underpins much of the scientific community’s understanding of quantum physics today.
However, if there are paradoxes in the natural realm, we should not be surprised when we encounter seeming paradoxes in the spiritual realm.
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When Calvinism is rejected on the basis of this perceived paradox, two precious things are lost: a reverence for God’s inscrutable wisdom, and the comfort of the complete salvation that Christ won at the cross.
First, Calvinism forces us to reckon with a God whom we cannot understand exhaustively. This is part of God’s holiness — He is “wholly other” and qualitatively different from us. God’s ways are infinitely higher than our ways, and His thoughts are infinitely higher than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9). The result of this is twofold:
1. We should not expect that we, as finite creatures, can comprehensively understand God’s works. A God whose ways fit neatly into your mental box is not a God at all — He’s a figment of your own imagination.
2. It should cause us to worship God. Because God is so high above us in wisdom, power, and goodness, worship is the proper response when we encounter things about Him that perplex us. There is certainly room for wrestling with hard truths (see Job), and God knows that we are like dust — but our ultimate goal is to trust and submit to His character.
Second, rejecting this paradox strips the Gospel of its power. A common objection against Calvinism is that if Jesus died for the elect only rather than for every single individual in human history, then the offer of the Gospel is empty. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth. The Gospel invitation only has power to save if Jesus’ death not only erases a person’s debt before God, but also procures the faith and repentance required to lay hold of that forgiveness.
The Arminian or “free will” system believes that Christ died for every individual to make salvation possible, and that salvation is then contingent upon the individual’s free will. This leaves a part of the plan of salvation up to human determination. In this system, Jesus’ Gospel invitation says “I did most of the work, now close the last small gap by believing in Me.” The problem is that the Bible tells us that no one can believe on their own (2 Corinthians 4:3-4, Ephesians 2:1-3). For you to believe the Gospel, God must exercise the same power on your dead heart that He used when He spoke the world into existence (2 Corinthians 4:6). And it’s clear that God does this for some (those Jesus died for) but not for others. If He did it for every single human being, then no one would go to Hell — and yet, people sadly do.
But the thing is, there is good news in the tension between Jesus dying only for the “elect” (John 10:15) and, at the same time universally offering the Gospel to all (John 3:16, Matthew 11:28). That is because Jesus has procured everything we need to be saved — not just forgiveness of sin, but also the faith by which we receive forgiveness!
We see this in John 10. In verse 15 Jesus says, “I lay My life down for the sheep” — this is referring to Jesus’ substitutionary, sacrificial death on the cross for His people. Shortly after, in verse 27, Jesus says, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” Did you catch that? The same sheep that Jesus lays down His life for, also end up following Him — that’s the faith and repentance that Jesus provides for all those He dies for. Of course, the sheep themselves do exercise repentance and faith as an act of their will, but that’s because Jesus procured it for them as part of His comprehensive salvation. John Piper puts it this way: “You did not make the cross effective in your life by believing. The cross of Christ has become effective in your life by purchasing your faith. You owe your faith to the cross.”
That is great news! If it were up to us and our spiritually dead hearts, not one of us would be saved (2 Corinthians 4:3-4). But, since Jesus died to secure the faith of everyone who would trust in Him, and since He also sincerely invites all to come to Him, any sinner can come to Him and find a complete salvation! If God’s elect are a multitude no man can number (Revelation 7:9), and God’s election is completely unconditional (Romans 9:11,16), why should there be any reason for someone to think that they are excluded?
Think about it this way: On Calvinism, Jesus’ offer of the Gospel is sincere because His offer contains within it the very power to save! Helpless sinners are not left to trust in their own frail free will to save them. I rejoice daily that the very faith that unites me to Jesus is Jesus’ gift to me.
So, don’t throw out Calvinism on account of alleged paradoxes. Instead, embrace a God whose ways span beyond the grasp of human understanding, and whose Son is unstoppably mighty to save those who come to Him.
G.T.Grobinski lives in Washington D.C. with his wife and daughter. By day he works in financial services. By night he enjoys spending time with family, reading the Puritans, and watching Chicago sports.
