Calvinism: False Gospel or True (but warped) Gospel?

Here are some new comments which were recently added to the Soteriology 101 post Calvinism Obscures the Simple Gospel.  It's kinda a friendly "debate" among non-Calvinists about if Calvinism is merely a warped version of the true gospel or if it's a false gospel.  (These are lightly edited for clarity.)

Kay made this comment:

In my opinion, Calvinism is a different gospel, not [merely] obscuring the gospel.  How can [Calvinists] believe what they do and still be considered the true gospel?    

Brian (non-Calvinist) replied:

Welcome Kay!  Thank you for the question.  Here is my take for what it is worth. 

Calvinism, imo, has a deformed view of the true gospel, but still the true gospel.

Calvinism’s Gospel – God has provided salvation sufficiently for all and planned for it to be “freely” and irresistibly accepted by some.

NT Gospel – God has provided salvation sufficiently for all and planned and provided for all to be sufficiently enabled to freely seek it.

The bigger problem, imo, is that Calvinism must have God as the author of evil for their idea of reprobation to work.  And reprobation is the logical outcome of believing the divine plan was that only some were to benefit from the offer of salvation.  The gospel, to them, is not good news for everyone.  And they admit it.

But they are professing the true gospel, but it is a deformed view of it, like looking at your real self in a warped mirror.  So, we shouldn’t immediately think Calvinists are all unsaved.  They would have to be if they believed in a false gospel, right?

I understand the view others have that Calvinists have a false gospel.  And the ones who call Calvinism the gospel certainly should be called out for claiming a false gospel.  But Calvinists still do invite each and every person to trust only in Jesus for salvation.  Yes, they undermine that message later to harmful results in many, especially those who never were truly saved but thought they were...

They believe the gospel.  They just also believe the false teaching that the true gospel is not intended to be believed by everyone.  That is certainly bad, false news that is related to the gospel, and it is harmful teaching that harms gospel ministry.  But I do not see it as part of the gospel.

I replied:

Kay, I agree with you that Calvinism is a different gospel.  And I agree with Brian that Calvinism does teach the true gospel… but the thing is, I believe it only teaches the true gospel on the surface layer [and, important point, they don't really mean what they say the way they say it].  But when we dig past that surface layer, there’s so much false teachings underneath that it contradicts the biblical surface layer, making it deserving of being considered a “false gospel” on the whole.

Just because something has a biblical surface layer doesn’t make it truly biblical on the whole.  It’s the deeper layers – the things they REALLY believe at the heart of it all – that determine if it’s truly biblical or not.  If we were to judge the biblical-ness of a theology on whether or not they say salvation comes through Jesus, then we would have to say that the Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons share the true gospel too.  So when is there enough error in a theology – despite the few good things they say on the surface – for it to be resisted as a false gospel, instead of tolerated and compromised with?

I believe Calvinism’s god and Calvinism’s Jesus and Calvinism’s faith and Calvinism’s path to salvation are very different from the Bible’s views of these things.  They might appear the same on the surface – because of Calvinism’s many layers – but at the heart of it, they are very different... so different, and so damaging, that Calvinism cannot be considered biblical truth on the whole, even if it has lots of true things on the surface.

This is something I wrote in an earlier comment on this post:

"Personally, and maybe this is just me, but I do say that Calvinism is a false gospel and that it severely damages God’s character, His Word, Jesus’s sacrifice, and people’s ability to be saved.

I believe the Bible says that God truly loves all people, that Jesus died for all sins of all people, that salvation is truly offered to all people, that God is not responsible for evil or sins or unbelief, and that the one 'work' we must do to be saved is to believe in Jesus (it is our responsibility, and all people have the option/ability to do it).

But this is the opposite of what Calvinism teaches (underneath all the deceptive layers they use to obscure it), which is that God only really loved the elect enough to save them, that Jesus only died for the elect, that salvation is only truly offered to the elect, that God is the ultimate (and essentially only) cause of sin, evil, and unbelief (but He punishes us for it), and that we cannot believe in Jesus unless and until God makes us do it.

These are opposing messages, opposing gospels.  And so I have to call Calvinism a false gospel.  It has a different idea of who God is, how God works, how salvation happens, who Jesus died for, who’s responsible for evil, etc.

If God says we have to believe in Jesus to be saved (that it’s our responsibility and choice), but Calvinism says we cannot believe in Jesus (that it’s not our responsibility or choice), then how can anyone be saved under Calvinism?

Calvinism attacks the very heart of salvation and God’s character, which is an attack on the gospel.

And I think one of the biggest dangers of Calvinism is that it presents itself as the true gospel, as biblical truth.  And so if people can tell there’s something wrong with it, they don’t end up just rejecting the Calvinism but they reject the Bible, God, the gospel.  Because they think they are one and the same.  (This has happened recently to several well-known Christians who left the faith.  But if they had known that Calvinism was not biblical truth, maybe they would’ve known enough to reject the Calvinism but keep faith in God.)

It’s because Calvinists are so deceptive - stealthily infiltrating churches and replacing the truth of the Bible and leading many people astray - that I feel it’s all the more critical to take a very firm stance against Calvinism, to call it out for the false gospel it is.  If we are overly gentle or tolerant or hazy about it, if we try to make it seem like our different versions can coexist just fine, then we’ll just be helping to confuse people and allowing Calvinism to sneak in and do its damage behind the scenes and in the long run.

I agree with Kevin Thompson from Beyond the Fundamentals who calls Calvinism a cancer that needs to be cut out from the church.  We can be and should be nice and kind and tolerant towards the people, but not towards the theology itself.  This is just my two cents on it.  God bless, everyone."

That was my comment, which got a little pushback from other non-Calvinists, but I stand by it.  I try my best to be gracious to Calvinist people (the ones we know are wonderful, godly people – truly wonderful!), but I take a very firm stand against the theology.  And I don’t think it does any favors to anyone or any good for the true Gospel, for God’s character, or for people’s faith to compromise with Calvinism, to be soft on it or accommodating with it.  [As my husband says, "Calvinism is nothing to be tangled with."]

I do not think a biblical surface layer equals a biblical theology.  I do not think that Calvinism’s surface layer of “we need to have faith in Jesus to be saved” is enough to make it truly biblical, not when their idea of “faith” and Jesus’s death and how we are saved differs wildly from the Bible.  (Not to mention that, in Calvinism, faith does not lead to salvation, but salvation leads to faith.)  Same words, sure, but very different definitions.  (And that’s how cults and corrupt leaders often take over and operate: same words, but hidden, different definitions.)

[New addition, not in my original comment: Imagine that me and my neighbor both said "I'm feeding fish."  Someone could go, "Oh, they're saying the same thing.  They're doing the same thing."  But I am feeding pellets to a tank full of pet fish I love and enjoy, while my neighbor is feeding river-fish worms that he put on a hook so that he can catch them, skin them, cook them, and eat them.  Same surface statement, but very different meanings with very different results.]

And so at what point are the errors in a theology enough to deem it “false” instead of merely distorted?

Personally, for me, when a theology completely changes the character of God, the definition of faith, the way people are saved, the work of the Holy Spirit, the intended effect of Jesus’s sacrificial death, etc., then it is enough error to call it a false gospel.  As Calvinism does and is.

And sadly, the fact that Calvinism has such a biblical surface layer is what’s so dangerous about it.  Satan works best through deception and small subtle attacks on God’s character and small subtle tweaks to God’s Word, not through outright lies and attacks on God’s character and God’s Word which we would all stand against.  This is why Calvinism sneaks in so well and so unopposed, because they say the right things on one level… while hiding (and slowly reeling us into) the deeper, unbiblical levels.  And so if we don’t nip it in the bud – if we tolerate it and allow it to grow and spread in the church because of its biblical surface layer – then we are only helping a destructive theology take over and crowd out biblical truth.  And I can’t be part of that.  So I will take a strong stand against it, despite the good things it says.

And to Brian [a very intelligent and educated man whom I have a lot of respect for]: You said that Calvinism’s Gospel is "God has provided salvation sufficiently for all and planned for it to be 'freely' and irresistibly accepted by some."

Does Calvinism’s god really provide salvation for all?  (Or is this just what they want us to think?)  What’s “sufficient” about it if Jesus never even died for the non-elect and if God made it impossible for them to believe?

If Calvinism’s god doesn’t truly provide salvation for all but the God of the Bible does, can Calvinism really be considered truth, at the heart of it all?  And if Calvinism’s god is truly the author of evil but the God of the Bible isn’t, are these truly the same God?  If Calvinism has a different God and a different way to salvation and different results of Jesus’s sacrificial death, can it truly be considered the true gospel?  How much deep, fundamental error will it take to finally deserve the label “unbiblical”?

Personally, I think your (Brian) heart is in the right place (concerned for those trapped in Calvinism and not wanting to hurt them) but I think you’re incorrectly thinking that if we say Calvinism is a false gospel then we’re saying no Calvinist is saved.  As you said: "So, we shouldn’t immediately think Calvinists are all unsaved.  They would have to be if they believed in a false gospel, right?"

But Kay never said that, nor do I.

As I’ve said before, Calvinism has a biblical surface layer (the layer it uses to trap people and to get them to put their guard down)… and through this biblical surface layer, many people can still find Christ and salvation and the true gospel in it, because they are unaware yet of the unbiblical layers, the unbiblical foundational beliefs of Calvinism that they have to be educated into.

Yes, I agree with you that Calvinists “believe the gospel” (because it has a biblical surface layer and lots of good things to say), but just because they have a biblical surface layer and just because people can still find Jesus through it, doesn’t make the theology itself biblical.  It just means people can still find Jesus in it despite its deeper, unbiblical teachings.  (It would be like someone going to a Jehovah’s Witness church and hearing about the need to believe in Jesus to be saved, and so they believe in Jesus… unaware that their view of Jesus is wrong and the theology itself is unbiblical overall.)

Not to mention that Calvinism is usually about taking over non-Calvinist churches, about converting those who are already Christians to Calvinism.  And so, yes, many Calvinists are true believers… and many people can still find the true gospel in it, in the surface layer… but this does not make Calvinism a true, biblical gospel on the whole.  And I judge it more based on what it is “on the whole” than what its surface layer is.

Personally, I think it’s more damaging to the Church and biblical truth to be too soft on Calvinism, too compromising with it, than it is to take a firm, clear, mince-no-words stand against it.  (Yet we still need to be loving and gentle with the people, of course, with those who are trapped in it and who are just doing their best to be good, humble, God-honoring Christians as best they know how.  It’s not the people I have a problem with; it’s the theology.)

God bless!  And please take what I say only worth a grain of salt.  It’s just my opinion based on my experience with our church being taken over by Calvinism.  God bless!

[Note: This wasn't in my reply, but I would've liked Brian to clarify his comment: "And the ones who call Calvinism the gospel certainly should be called out for claiming a false gospel."  How can he say that Calvinism preaches the true gospel but then say here that people who call Calvinism the gospel are claiming a false gospel?  I'm not sure what he means here, unless he's trying to say that they preach a true gospel but that it's wrong to call Calvinism itself "the gospel."

And he says "But Calvinists still do invite each and every person to trust only in Jesus for salvation." But do Calvinists really believe that each and every person can trust in Jesus for salvation?  They say one thing knowing that they mean something else.  What they say doesn't match what they believe.  And I have to judge Calvinism not based on what they say (the deception they speak), but on the views/beliefs they hold which contradict the Bible.  So I don't care if they "say" the true gospel.  They don't really mean it the way the Bible presents it, and that makes them false.]

Brian replied:

Thank you Heather for your thoughtful reply.  You will need to work through, imo, the conflicting idea, imo, that people who strongly believe a false gospel can be called by you as “wonderful godly people, truly wonderful” and yet not be lost!

I replied:

Brian, I understand what you’re saying, and I appreciate your perspective and challenge.  I know it’s a messy topic.  And Andy said it well: “This is definitely an issue with quite a bit of nuance that can’t just be addressed in a couple of sentences.”  And so while it might be clear in my head, it’s harder to get across.  (And you’ll have to excuse my lengthy, blathering replies.  It’s not necessarily directed to you, but I am just trying to explain myself more clearly, trying to be careful because this is such a serious, sensitive topic.)

But for me, I guess it comes down to the difference between the conflicting layers of Calvinism, and what we should do with Calvinism on the whole.  Calvinism has a biblical surface layer (where we find the true gospel which can and does save many people) but it also has a deeper layer (their true beliefs which contradict/alter/negate the surface layer).  That’s why I say I agree with you (they have the gospel) and yet agree with Kay (they ultimately are a false gospel when taken as a whole).  Calvinism has two conflicting layers, and I am judging it based on the whole thing, instead of just the biblical surface layer.

It’s like a two-layered cake: vanilla on the outside, chocolate on the inside.  If we look at the cake without cutting into it, we’d say it’s a vanilla cake.  And we would be correct to a degree, on one level.  It IS a vanilla cake… but it’s not JUST a vanilla cake.  There’s more to it than meets the eye.  And it takes digging into it to realize it.

Calvinism has the biblical truth in the surface layer, but it has a deeper layer which changes what the cake is, on the whole.  It’s no longer just a truth-filled cake.  It’s now a truth-coated cake filled with unbiblical teachings.  And the unbiblical layer is so huge and damaging and it alters/negates the surface layer so much that the whole thing can no longer be taken as pure, biblical truth (at least in my opinion).

Calvinists themselves equate Calvinism with “the gospel.”  And so if we affirm their gospel, then we appear to affirm Calvinism on the whole.  I can give credit to them for having the gospel and biblical truth on the surface, but not on the whole.  And if that surface layer is really just there to make it appear like they agree with what the Bible plainly says and to trap people and reel them into the deeper unbiblical layer, then I’d be doing no great service to the Church or the Truth or God’s Word to give them credit for their biblical surface layer.  I’d be merely helping them spread their unbiblical theology through their deceptive tactics.

The thing is, Calvinism wants us to take it face value.  It wants us to think that when they say “God loves sinners and Jesus died for sinners and we need to believe in Jesus to be saved” that they really mean that God loves all sinners (all people), that Jesus died for all people, and that we all have the chance and ability to believe in Jesus and be saved, that it’s our choice.

That’s what they want us to think they really mean so that they don’t alarm us, buying them time to reel people deeper into Calvinism.  And of course, this surface layer can reach and save a lot of people… because most people don’t realize what’s hiding underneath.  (But when they do learn the deeper layer after becoming saved through the surface layer, it often messes up their faith and their trust in God severely.)

I don’t think Calvinism should be taken at face value or should be given credit for having a biblical surface layer… not when that layer is there to trap people and when it’s contradicted by the deeper layer.

If we dig past the surface layer (and I know I don’t need to explain this to you, Brian, because you are far more intelligent and educated than I am, but I’m just saying it to explain myself more fully), we discover that they don’t really mean what they said the way they said it at first.  What they really mean is “God determined your sins and has already determined whether you will believe in Him or not; He either causes you to believe or causes you to reject Him and there’s nothing you can do about it; He loves only the elect enough to save them; Jesus didn’t die for the non-elect and so the non-elect have no chance or ability to believe and be saved”.

This is far different than what they wanted you to think they meant at first.  And I think it’s deceptive enough and damaging enough that it should be called out and condemned, not encouraged by giving them credit for having a biblical surface layer.  

[I know I’m harsh.  I wish I could be softer on Calvinism, more "can't we all just get along and agree to disagree"... but I can't.  I try, but I can't.  And for the record, it bothers me that I have such strong opinions on things.  And it bothers me even more that I feel compelled to share my strong opinions on things.  Many times, I wish I could just shut up and sit in contented silence, letting everyone else share their views while I nod and smile in loving, humble, gentle, quiet tolerance.  But that's just not me, as much as I wish it was sometimes.  And I don’t think it’s helpful to those trapped in Calvinism or who are at risk of being sucked into Calvinism to be overly gentle about Calvinism, not when it’s so sneaky and deliberate in its deceptive tactics and so destructive to faith and Truth and God's character and God's Word.  I can't.  I just can't.  If I've experienced what I've experienced firsthand with Calvinism and learned what I've learned through all my research... but then I don't share it or speak up when I should, to help others, to help the Church... then it's on me for not doing my part.  But if I do speak up and warn others... but they don't listen... then it's on them.  I'd rather do my part so that I can stand before the Lord with a clean conscience in the end, knowing that I did all I could reasonably do with the information and tools I had, even if I don't like being put in this position and don't like being viewed as "harsh."]

Calvinism cannot and should not be taken at face value because they don’t really mean things the way they first say them.  [Does God operate with deceptive double-talk?  Or does Satan?]

In my mind, the true biblical gospel boils down to “Jesus died for all our sins.  Believe in Him and you will be saved.”  And Calvinists want you to think, at first, that this is what they believe too.  But what they really believe is “Jesus died for some people's sins.  And you'll believe in Him IF you are one of the pre-chosen saved ones.”  

They make it sound like they mean “We’re saved because we believe,” but what they really mean is “We believe because we’re saved.”  As Calvinist Loraine Boettner says in The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination: “A man is not saved because he believes in Christ; he believes in Christ because he is saved.”

But Scripture says “believe and be saved” not “you’ll believe because you are saved”:

“… Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31)

“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

“Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved…” (Mark 16:16)

“Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12)

Calvinism, at the heart of it all, cannot be the same gospel as the Bible, the same way to salvation – not when they reverse the order of belief and being saved, reversing which leads to which.

And so yes, Calvinists have the true gospel on the surface if we take them at face value.  And this is why many people can be saved in Calvinism.  But it’s IN SPITE of Calvinism, not because of it.  Thankfully, many people aren’t aware of the deeper unbiblical layer of Calvinism until after they become believers, which is why they can be saved with the surface layer.

But sadly, it’s because people aren’t aware of the deeper layer that Calvinism spreads so easily and is succeeding in flipping the gospel and biblical truth on its head.

Anyway, thanks for your reply, Brian.  I do like to be challenged in things like this so that I can deeply consider what I am saying/thinking and if I am being fair enough to the other side.  I might not often come across with an attitude of fairness and gentleness and respect, but I do try to have fair beliefs and views of it.  And I am working on my attitude, on being more gentle (it’s been a process for me since we lost our church of 20 years over this issue, our friends, our whole social circle, our dreams for our kids and their futures, etc.).  God bless!

Brian replied: 

Thank you Heather for your reply… But to be honest, I only see it as a fuller explanation of your position without directly addressing my comment.  Let me rephrase my last comment as a direct question.

Do you really believe the Calvinists whom you know as “wonderful godly people, truly wonderful”, and I’m assuming they believe firmly in Calvinism, which you call a false gospel, are truly saved while believing a false gospel?  In other words, can someone get saved with the true gospel, become nice Christians, and believe fully and support fully the teaching of a false gospel, denying the true gospel.

I personally don’t, and would consider them not yet saved, no matter how godly they might seem, if indeed Calvinism is a false gospel.  I would think the same of those who professed to be at one time evangelicals, but now believe and teach Roman Catholicism’s salvation from sin through sacramental grace and proxy faith.

I hope that clarifies what I’m wanting you to consider. 

Larry (another commenter) points this out:  "If I understand correctly, you [Brian] hold that the existence of saved Calvinists is proof the 'Calvinist Gospel' is a true gospel (although warped)."  [I think this is worth noting.  Brian seems to think that since there are Calvinists who are true believers then it must mean that Calvinism cannot be a false gospel... and that if we say Calvinism is a false gospel, then we're also saying that no Calvinist can be saved.  I, however, don't agree.  I think it's more nuanced than that, less black-and-white, less "throwing the baby out with the bathwater."]

My reply:

Brian asks: “Do you really believe the Calvinists whom you know as “wonderful godly people, truly wonderful”, and I’m assuming they believe firmly in Calvinism, which you call a false gospel, are truly saved while believing a false gospel?”

I think that, yes, Calvinists can be (and most probably are) true believers… because they either became Calvinists after becoming Christians, or they heard the biblical surface layer of Calvinism and put their faith in Jesus and then learned the deeper unbiblical parts of Calvinism.

[But I would doubt the salvation of those who became “saved” through honest Calvinist theology.  Such as if a Calvinist told them that we can’t choose to believe in Jesus but that God has to give us faith, and so they just waited for God to give them faith and then they woke up one day and went “Well, I guess I’m one of the elect,” without ever having made a conscious choice to believe in Jesus… then I would doubt the authenticity of their faith.  (Like John MacArthur who claims he always believed, that he never rebelled, and that he couldn’t even discern the moment God put saving faith in his heart.  That’s suspect, to me.)  But most Calvinists don’t evangelize that way or come to faith that way.  Most preach/think (at first) as if we can really make a choice about Jesus, and so, yes, people can be saved through that.  And then it’s only afterwards that they get sucked into the deeper, unbiblical layer.  Like I said, I think Calvinism is more about hijacking those who are already Christians.]

And you asked: “In other words, can someone get saved with the true gospel, become nice Christians, and believe fully and support fully the teaching of a false gospel, denying the true gospel.”

I never said they deny the true gospel.  I think they believe the true gospel, but they’ve added a deeper, unbiblical layer to it later (after becoming a Christian) that they’ve been tricked into thinking coincides – in mysterious ways – with the surface layer, thinking it’s just a deeper understanding of the surface layer.  I think they got trapped in bad theology after becoming saved.  But instead of calling them all non-Christians, I’d rather give them the benefit of the doubt and try to help them see the error of the deeper layer, so that they can spit out the bad but keep the truth and their simple faith in Jesus.

You said: “I personally don’t, and would consider them not yet saved, no matter how godly they might seem, if indeed Calvinism is a false gospel.”

So then do you think true Christians cannot fall into error or get sucked into bad theology or be deceived later by cleverly-devised myths?  If they fall for bad theology later, does it mean they were never saved to begin with?  Paul warns the Church about not falling for error, but I don’t think he accuses them of never being truly saved if they do.

Once again, this is no expert opinion.  It’s just my view based on knowing the people I know and watching Calvinism take over our church up-close.  But in no way is this meant to be a blanket statement of all Calvinists.

And when I say “Paul warns the Church about not falling for error, but I don’t think he accuses them of never being truly saved if they do”… I’m not saying there are not cases where those who seem to be believers are truly unsaved.  I’m sure there are plenty of cases of that.  But I am saying that I don’t think Paul ever makes a blanket statement that every believer who falls into error was never a true believer.

True believers can get swayed later by lies, but it doesn’t mean they were/are not really saved.  Just my two cents.  And maybe this starts entering the realm of the debate over "once saved always saved."  And so for the record, I do not think true, Spirit-filled believers can lose salvation, even if we fall into theological error later.  Once again, just my two cents.  God bless!

Brian replied:

Sure, Heather, believers can fall into believing unsound doctrine that is unhealthy, which is how I view Calvinism.  But no, I don’t believe they can start believing a false gospel, which would be by its very nature an act of denial of the true gospel, imo.

For your view to be true, “wonderful godly people” can believe a true gospel and a false gospel at the same time and still be godly.  Hmmm.   Believing and teaching harmful doctrine would not be a “wonderful, godly” thing.  And believing and teaching a true gospel and false gospel at the same time would also not make me identify someone as “wonderful, godly”.

Thanks for the conversation and answering my pointed question.  I’ve nothing more to add.  Keep up the good work, standing for the truth!

My reply:

Brian, thanks for your thoughts and for making me think deeply about this. 

And to clarify, not that it will make a difference, but when I said “godly,” it was less about their beliefs and more about their behaviors and how they live: they are some of the most thoughtful, loving, helpful, self-sacrificing people I know.  The kind of Christians I would want beside me through any hard time.

But I agree that to believe a true gospel and yet a contradictory false gospel at the same time (though they don’t realize it) is not ultimately “godly” – not truly God-honoring or accurately representing God and His Truth – even if they behave in some of the most wonderful ways we would expect of Christians.

God bless!  And thanks for asking deep, probing questions.  Iron sharpens iron. 

[I didn't add this to my comment but maybe should have: 

Brian thinks that true believers cannot, at some later point, fall into believing a false gospel (and so if someone does later fall into a false gospel, it must mean they were never really saved to begin with).  

I, however, think the Bible does show that the Church, true believers, can and do fall into false gospels.  

Paul warns and condemns the church of Galatia about this when he writes: "I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel - which is really no gospel at all.  Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ."  (Gal. 1:6-7)

The "gospel" the Galatians began believing in - after coming to faith in Jesus - was that in order to be saved they needed faith in Jesus PLUS Jewish laws and customs (circumcision, in particular).  Clearly this is a different way to salvation (faith plus works), a false way.  And yet true believers were falling for it.

As Paul says, "You foolish Galatians!  Who has bewitched you?... Are you so foolish?  After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?" (Gal. 3:1-3)

They clearly started in the faith believing the true gospel, but then were bewitched - tricked - into the false gospel of "faith plus works."  

Three take-aways here: 

1. Christians can fall for false gospels later.  They can be tricked, bewitched, into foolishly believing a false gospel after starting faith "with the Spirit," in truth.  

2. The fact that Christians believe various things about salvation doesn't make it true.  Just because Christians - after getting saved - begin believing something else doesn't mean it's "the true gospel, just warped," as Brian claims about Calvinism.  He thinks Christians can't fall for false gospels, and so if Christians fall for Calvinism, it must mean that Calvinism cannot really be a false gospel.  But as Paul said, the Galatians - though they were saved - began believing in "a different gospel, no gospel," and it was even deserving of eternal condemnation (verses 8-9).  And notice that, like Calvinism, the Galatians weren't really denying that salvation comes through Jesus - they still believed the true gospel, that salvation comes through Jesus - they just added another layer to it that Scripture doesn't support.  But the true gospel plus certain kinds of unbiblical layers equals "a different gospel," not merely a "true but warped" gospel.   

3. Just because we fall for a false gospel after coming to faith in Christ doesn't mean we were never truly saved to begin with or that we lost our salvation.  (But it will have a detrimental impact on our faith, our witness, our eternal rewards, and the Church.)  Paul continues to acknowledge the Galatia church as "brothers" in the Lord, as true believers.  But he challenges them to get back in line with the true gospel, to reject the lies and deceptions of false gospels that seek to pull them from the pure truth.  There'd be no need to warn Christians about not falling for false gospels if Christians were not at risk of it.  

True Christians can fall for false gospels later, but it doesn't mean they lost their salvation or were never really saved to begin with.  And I think this is the case with many Calvinists.  

So what is the gospel, according to Scripture, and why would I say Calvinism is a false gospel?

1 Cor. 15:1-4: “Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you… that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures…”

The gospel is that Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and rose again, and through His death we are saved.  And yes, Calvinists believe this at a most basic (limited) level.

But who is the “our” in “our sins”?  What is the fuller picture of the gospel, of Jesus’s death, “according to the Scriptures”:

1 John 2:2: “He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.”

John 1:29: “… ‘Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the whole world.”

1 Timothy 2:3-6: “This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.  For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ, who gave himself as a ransom for all men …”

1 Timothy 4:10: “… that we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men…”

Romans 5:18: “Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men.”

Here’s where Calvinism goes off-track and becomes a false gospel.  The Bible says that Jesus died for all people so that God could offer salvation to all people because God wants all people saved.  But Calvinism says “No! Only the elect.”  This doesn’t just warp the gospel; it changes it (the gospel, Jesus’s death) into something it’s not, into a plan of salvation for only a few pre-selected people even though the Bible says no such thing.  In fact, it says the opposite.  This is not the same kind of “good news.”  It is a different kind of “good news,” limited to only a few people, contrary to what the Bible says.  And if it’s contrary to something Scripture clearly says, I think that’s enough to make it false.

(Calvinism’s errors are not about things the Bible is unclear on, true mysteries.  Calvinism’s errors are about things the Bible clearly says.  The Bible clearly says one thing, but Calvinism goes “Nope!  It doesn’t mean that.”  This makes it not just warped, in my opinion, but false.  A direct attack on God’s Truth.)

And not to mention that 1 Cor. 15:2 says, “by this gospel you are saved.”  According to this and other verses, belief leads to salvation.  Salvation is a result of belief.  (And anyone can believe.)  But Calvinism reverses it, making belief the result of salvation.  In Calvinism, salvation leads to belief (for a few preselected people).  

In the Bible, it's “by this gospel you are saved.”  But in Calvinism, it's “by election you are saved before the beginning of the world, and then you will believe in the gospel.”  So technically, in Calvinism, since salvation happens before belief in the gospel and faith in Jesus, then it technically means that people are saved without the gospel and faith in Jesus.  Calvinism is not a gospel of "salvation by faith in Jesus."  It's a gospel of "salvation by election before faith in Jesus."  

I think this is warped enough to be a different way to salvation.  A different gospel.  A false gospel.

Either Jesus died for everyone (what the Bible says)... or He didn't (what Calvinism says).  Either belief leads to salvation (what the Bible says)... or salvation leads to belief (what Calvinism says).

These cannot be the same gospel, the same salvation, the same way to be saved.  They just can't.  Can they?

But once again, this doesn’t mean most Calvinists are not saved.  I think most Calvinists are Christians who don’t realize they’ve been bewitched into false teachings about Christ’s death, His work on the cross, and how to be saved.  And if they did realize that Calvinism is an attack on God’s truth, they wouldn’t have fallen for it.  But sadly, they’ve been tricked and educated into thinking it’s just “deeper truths,” when it’s really different “truths.”

(And if Satan truly is the father of lies and deception and half-truths - and if Calvinism really does tell lies and deceptions and half-truths about God, His character, His Word, Jesus's death, the way to salvation, what faith is, etc. - then are we not compromising with Satan and furthering his work if we compromise with Calvinism?  Are we not calling his deceptive half-truths "the true gospel" if we call Calvinism "the true gospel... just warped"?  How warped does something have to be before it goes from true to false, from the truth of God to the lies of Satan?  Isn't reversing "belief leads to salvation" and attacking Jesus's death (limiting what He accomplished, who He died for, who can be saved) warped enough to make Calvinism a false gospel?  If not, then what is?)]

 

Ed Chapman (maybe not quite reading or understanding my full comments) challenged some of us other non-Calvinists with this:

Larry, and Brian…and Heather,

Yesterday, and today, you guys really surprized me by agreeing with the following:

“Calvinist Gospel” is a true gospel (although warped).

Calvinism, in my view, is the most dangerous, and abusive sect of cults that I have ever witnessed in my life.  About 15 years ago, I DISCOVERED Calvinism, not even knowing what it was yet, through Spiritual Abuse Blogs.  The doctrines that I heard are doctrines that I had never ever heard of before.  And the abuse that I read completely disgusted me.

And now, to read that from all of you guys…it puts a sour taste in my mouth...

My reply: 

Ed, thanks for your thoughts, but let me clarify my position as succinctly as possible.

Calvinism, in my estimation, is not just a warped version of the true gospel.  It’s a deception, presenting the true gospel but only as a way to sucker people into their deeper unbiblical layers.  It’s a false gospel on the whole, covered in the deceptive veneer of the true gospel.  It teaches the true gospel on the surface, but there are so many unbiblical teachings underneath which alter/contradict/negate the biblical surface teachings… and consequently, it has to be taken as false gospel on the whole, even if they do say some good biblical things now and then, on the surface.

So, no, I do not say that the “Calvinism gospel” is the true gospel.  It is a corruption of the true gospel.  A wolf in sheep’s clothing.  They share the true gospel on the surface but mean something very different underneath, which makes it deception and half-truths, very similar to how Satan best operates, in my opinion.

I go so far on my blog as to call it heresy.  And I recently wrote a series about the deceptive, cult-like tactics it uses to trap people.  So I totally agree with you when you say: “Calvinism, in my view, is the most dangerous, and abusive sect of cults that I have ever witnessed in my life.”

I think it’s one of the biggest, most seductive, most sinister threats to the evangelical church, which is why we need to mince no words about condemning it as such (and it’s why I call their god Calvi-god, to differentiate his actions from the God of the Bible), even if I have to admit that they do (deceptively, disingenuously) share the true gospel on the surface in their hopes that they can sucker naive people into it.

I hope that’s clear enough.  God bless.

[And if that wasn't clear enough, then I would have tried this: "Calvinism = a false gospel hiding under the facade of the true gospel."]  

On a different note, Andy commented about Calvinists he knows:

They then became a Calvinist sometime later not from reading the Bible, but when they were taught it by other people either through Calvinist preaching, Calvinist books, or Calvinist friends and then overlaid that Calvinism on top of the Bible.  So what you almost always hear preached or taught or presented to an unbeliever on the surface from a Calvinist is nearly always the true gospel.  But what you hear from them when they tell you the deeper theology they believe in is a different and false gospel.

I replied:

Yes!  Absolutely, I agree.  This is why many Calvinists are true Christians.  They were Christians first, then Calvinists… or they heard the surface-layer true gospel and believed it and then were educated into the deeper unbiblical layers.

Sadly, it got to the point at our church where I couldn’t stomach anymore even the good things the Calvinist pastor said when he was trying to SOUND non-Calvinist… because even though I agreed with what he said on the surface, I knew what he really meant underneath and how deliberately deceptive he was being in how he presented his beliefs.  Thankfully, most people didn’t know what he really meant and so they could probably get a lot of good teaching from it.

But since this is also how it spreads so easily and slyly, I am now at the point where I wish they would just be upfront with their terrible beliefs, just tear off the non-Calvinist-sounding surface layer and say what they really mean, warts and all, which our pastor has done a few times here and there “God doesn’t love everyone. He chose some for eternal life and the rest for damnation…. Jesus died only for HIS people… God controls the devil… God ordained your childhood abuse for His glory and to humble you…. Even babies are born rebellious, God-hating, wicked sinners. No one gets a free pass to heaven. Everyone needs to repent, and if they don’t, they don’t go to heaven.”

It would sound terrible if they were upfront with their true beliefs, but at least we’d know what they really believe, and they couldn’t sucker naive, trusting, well-meaning people in with cult-like tactics and carefully-worded deceptions.

Thanks for your comment, Andy.  God bless!

And finally, here's an earlier comment of mine in reply to Larry who said "... would we do well to sit back and let our [Calvinist] brothers believe and teach others to believe this about our Lord?  I’m thinking we are called to contend against such teaching.":

Amen to this!  Unfortunately, Calvinists present their theology as “minor differences about second-level issues,” convincing people (and churches they’re trying to take over) that the differences between Calvinism and non-Calvinism are so minor that we shouldn’t fight over them, that we should all just agree to disagree and lovingly put our arms around each other and sing Kumbaya.

I think this is strategic, especially in stealth Calvinism. They’re trying to keep the opposition quiet as they take over non-Calvinist churches, convincing us that God wants us all to be joined in humble unity even if we have “minor disagreements” about “non-critical” things they teach.

But I think Calvinism hits at the very heart of God’s character and the gospel (salvation, Jesus’s sacrifice, faith) and it contradicts the plain teachings of the Bible.  This makes their teachings not minor, secondary issues… but fundamental, critical issues which affect everything else we believe and which determine the way we read the Bible and if we take God at His Word.

And if the gospel, God’s character, Jesus’s sacrifice, salvation, people's souls, and biblical truth are not worth fighting over, nothing is.

Calvinism is a slow poison that works from the inside out, rotting churches and people’s faith slowly over time, oftentimes without people’s awareness, until there’s nothing left to salvage at the end.  This is why I think it’s so critical to fight against it now, before it spreads more, hurting more naive, trusting, vulnerable people and churches.  (We recently lost our church to it.)

The more Calvinists present Calvinism as “the gospel/Christianity”, the harder it will be later to reclaim the true, pure teachings of God’s Word.  Time is of the essence, and our silence and refusal to fight back only gives them more time and room to spread their unbiblical theology.

Personally, I think a lot of people who recently “left the faith” were trying to get away from Calvinism, not God.  But since they were taught to believe that Calvinism IS the gospel, they didn’t know there was a difference.  They didn’t know they could have just gotten rid of the Calvinism but kept the faith.  Sad.

(See "Calvinism's heart-breaking destruction."  And for more on my look into stealth Calvinism, see “The 9 Marks of a Calvinist Cult.”)

God bless.  Keep up the good fight.  And happy 2024!