I must admit, I’m a little irritated, what can I say, I get upset when God’s truth is attacked. I get upset when people take the truth and twist it, especially when the lies are aimed at my own family.
Just recently a friend of my wife gave her a book called “The Five Points of Calvinism” by George L. Bryson. My Bryson attempts in his book to describe five point calvinism, the refute each point.
While I haven’t gotten all the way though the book, I find that his arguments are very weak and don’t stand up to the truth.
In his book he uses scripture that isn’t directly applicable to make his point. Allow me to describe what he says about “Total Depravity” and why it is wrong:
In his chapter about total depravity he opens with the verse John 1:12-13:
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
Mr Bryson comments, “Does it not seem almost too obvious that John is telling his readers that receiving Christ which he equates with believing in Christ, is the prerequisite to becoming a child of God or being born…of God?”
Actually, no, Mr Bryson, I don’t get that from John 1:12-13 at all. I read it to say that some people receive Christ, and to those people Christ gave the right to become children of God, those people also believe in His name, and where not born of themselves or their will, but where renewed by God. I don’t see any ifs, buts, or dependence on anything but God. Those that have received Him are saved, and where born of God.
My Bryson continues and quotes John 20:31:
“but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.”
Mr. Bryson says that the signs are recorded so that we can believe Jesus is Christ, the Son of God, and that we may have life in His name.
No Calvinist will dispute that, indeed it agrees with other passages such as:
Romans 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
The distinction is that a Calvinist will say that nobody can ‘pick’ God because they are dead in their sin:
1 Corinthians 1:18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
Where we not all perishing before we where being saved?
What about 2 Tim 2:24-26:
And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.
How do people know the truth? Because God granted them repentance. Only then do they come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil.
The point that Mr. Bryson is trying to make is that the verses he quotes in John can be interpreted to mean that people choose to have faith in Christ, then Christ saves them. He makes the point that faith comes first, then salvation which is why Calvinism is wrong. The problem is that the Bible teaches that nobody has faith apart from God:
Hebrews 12:2a looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith
And the Bible also teaches that God chooses who will call upon Christ. When many disciples deserted Jesus, he plainly states the reason:
John 6:64-65 Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him.”
If Mr. Bryson was correct in that people choose to have faith in Christ, then Christ would have named that as the reason why people deserted Him. As a matter of fact, these people already choose Christ, yet they didn’t have any control over their salvation because, “the Father has[n't] enabled [them]“.
While Mr. Bryson’s arguments can be easily disputed using a plain interpretation of John 6, the most disturbing thing is that he doesn’t actually quote a single verse that actually describes the unregenerate state of man, which be believes is capable of having faith in Christ, and the entire point of the total depravity doctrine. Here is the truth about mankind:
We are not righteous, not even one (Romans 3:10)
We don’t understand (Romans 3:11)
NOBODY seeks after God (Romans 3:11)
Nobody does good, no, not one. (Romans 3:12)
We are dead in sin (Eph2:1, Col 2:13)
We are slaves to unrighteousness (John 8:34; Rom 6:6, 17, 20)
We are alienated from God (Col 1:21)
We are hostile to Him (Rom 5:10; 8:7)
We are spritiually blind (2 Cor 4:4)
We are captives (2 Tim 2:26)
We are trapped in Satan’s kingdom (Col 1:13)
We are powerless to change our sinful natures (Jer 13:23; Rom 5:6)
We are unable to please God (Rom 8:8)
We are incapable of understanding spiritual truth (1 Cor 2:14; John 14:17)
In order to believe Mr. Bryson’s arguments you would have to ignore every passage of scripture that plainly teaches we are spiritually dead, and somehow come to the conclusion that we can have faith in Christ in our spritually dead state. Perhaps Mr Bryson believes that we get just enough grace to be able to choose, but the bible doesn’t teach that anywhere. Either we have the Spirit of God and lean on his righteousness and grace or we don’t.
Another problem with Mr Bryson’s views are that they dictate what his beliefs are concerning the cross. Because Mr Bryson believes that all men can be saved though faith and choosing Christ before they are regenerated, he must also believe that Christ did not save his sheep on the cross (John 10) but rather Christ’s work on the cross simply provided the possibility for all people to be saved. Either Christ paid the price for the elect and they are saved (truth) or Christ paid the price for everyone and some choose not to be saved (false) which is the same as saying that Christ paid for the possibility of you choosing him, but his blood failed to save those who didn’t choose him. The problem with this view is that nowhere in the scripture do we read about the blood of Christ failing to save people who didn’t choose him, rather we read everywhere in scripture that the blood of Christ has paid the price and his sheep are redeemed:
John 6:44:
No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.
God chose his people for salvation in eternity past (Eph 1:4-5,11) and sent his son to die for those people. The blood of Christ has all of the power and authority to save and does not depend on anything else. Salvation is a GIFT from God, not an offer from God!
Edit:
After reading for a while on this subject I found a few other interesting sites:
http://dory.typepad.com/wittenberg_gate/2004/12/john_644_what_d.html
http://biblicalthought.com/blog/george-bryson-cross-examined-by-james-white-on-john-644/
George, please know that I’m not comparing your book to Calvinism, rather I’m comparing your book to God’s word and it just doesn’t stand up. Consider 1 Cor 1.:
26 For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. 27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; 28 and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, 29 that no flesh should glory in His presence. 30 But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption— 31 that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the LORD.”
Simply put, God comes right out and says who he saved, and why he saved them, to Glorify himself. If people picked God, then this passage wouldn’t make a lick of sense.
What about Romans 9:
6 But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel, 7 nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, “In Isaac your seed shall be called.” 8 That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed. 9 For this is the word of promise: “At this time I will come and Sarah shall have a son.” 10 And not only this, but when Rebecca also had conceived by one man, even by our father Isaac 11 (for the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls), 12 it was said to her, “The older shall serve the younger.” 13 As it is written, “Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.” Israel’s Rejection and God’s Justice 14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not! 15 For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.” 16 So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy. 17 For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.” 18 Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens. 19 You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will?” 20 But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, “Why have you made me like this?” 21 Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?
In this passage, God plainly says that he elected people (even before they where born), then in verse 14 Paul defends God and says we have no bases to challenge him because he created us. Again, this passage doesn’t make a lick of sense if people picked God. Why would Paul defend God’s sovereignty here if we didn’t automatically think that it was unfair for God to pick Jacob before he was even born.
I could go on and on, since God demonstrates his Glory by saving people that can’t save themselves on every other page.
The point is that your book argues that God is not sovereign unto the point of saving people, only unto the point of making people savable. Not only is that false doctrine, but it limits Christ’s work on the cross and frankly takes some of God’s glory away. This is a really big deal, and I beg you to reconsider your position as you will be held accountable in the end. Limiting God’s work in salvation is an absolutely terrifying position to put yourself in.
schu