God Saves Us With a Lie?
Blog state
Here is a big problem with Calvinistic theology. It discounts the testimony of non-Calvinists and how they came to be saved.
If Calvinism is true, God decreed that non-Calvinists would hear the truth (Calvinism) and reject the truth. He also decreed that they would hear a lie, and believe that lie, which lead to them accepting Christ. Let me explain!
The testimony of most non-Calvinists (and ironically, Calvinists too) is someone shared the Gospel with them. This is usually a process of some iteration of the Romans road, followed by inviting them to accept Christ as their saviour, which (per their testimony) they did, and were Christians ever since. The problem being the way they were told how to be saved was, call upon the name of the Lord and believe in Him. If Calvinism is true, that is a lie, because in Calvinism you can’t do anything to be saved. You have to have been elected by God and then regenerated so that you could believe, but that isn’t what people are told when they get saved. Therefore, supposing Calvinism is true, they believed a lie!
So most became free in Christ by believing a lie, but Jesus said the TRUTH will set you free!
So then, after people are taught Calvinism and reject it, why would God decree one of His children to reject the truth and believe a lie, when that child is aware of the truth? By Reformed theology, God wants people to believe lies (He is willing them to). The problem is it is Satan who wants people to believe lies, which is why He blinds them to the truth of the Gospel.
2 Corinthians 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
In Calvinism, it is God making them believe a lie, not Satan, even though they have confessed with their mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in their heart God raised Him from the dead. (Which is the truth that sets free). A lie (the non-Calvinist Gospel, which is just the Biblical Gospel) sets people free if Calvinism is true.
Further, if Calvinism is true, God is making me and millions of non-Calvinists believe a lie. If Calvinism is false, it simply means Calvinists are deceived and non-Calvinists believe the truth based on discernment. If Calvinism is true, non-Calvinists can’t do anything to change their acceptance of the lie they believe (non-Calvinism). If it is false, Calvinists can know the truth but refuse to do so. That might be the crux of it. Accepting responsibility for ourselves, accepting we could be mistaken all on our own, our fault. If I am mistaken about Calvinism, it isn’t some flaw in me or my reasoning. It is what God willed for me for His glory and purposes! I don’t have to self-analyze, admit fault, and self-correct! Do those three things not require HUMILITY?
What if a Calvinist is wrong about Calvinism?
There is no way out now. Even if they blame Calvinist teachers for deceiving them, they still have to ADMIT that they were deceived. This opens up to someone that they are VULNERABLE to being deceived. What else might they be deceived about? This threatens EVERYTHING they have identified themselves with. It takes their ultimate Scapegoat in God from them. If that security blanket is taken away, it leaves very few options to point a finger at other than themselves. Much more comfortable to live in cognitive dissonance (which one can learn to cope with) than to have to face oneself, before God!