Is It Sin Against God To Not Be A Calvinist

Short answer. Yes. Long answer, I'll give it. But first, I'd like to share a quote from Charles Spurgeon:

"The old truth that Calvin preached, that Augustine preached, that Paul preached, is the truth that I must preach today, or else be false to my conscience and my God. I cannot shape the truth; I know of no such thing as paring off the rough edges of a doctrine. John Knox's gospel is my gospel. That which thundered through Scotland must thunder through England again."

Take notice of the title of this note, it does not say, "Are You Really A Christian If You're Not a Calvinist?" But rather the question is whether or not it is sin to disregard it, and is it the true Gospel that you preach or present if it is not a Calvinistic/Reformed Gospel. (Please do not get caught up in the name Calvinism, it is the same thing the early church taught including Augustine and Paul himself. I am sure I could certainly find a name associated with any other theology you put forth i.e. Pelagius, Arius, Arminius, Finney, and so on.)

So then what better an outline for the bulk of Calvinistic theology other than the TULIP, or the five points of Calvinism. I plan to go through each point, and distinguish whether or not it would be a sin against Almighty God to believe otherwise. So with no further ado:

Tulip = Total Depravity/Inability

Calvinist: "The belief that man is completely and utterly unable to turn to God and receive Christ without the Spirit first melting his heart of stone, raising him from a spiritual deadness, causing him to be born again and turning him to God. Not that man is as bad as he possibly could be, but is not able to do any good, or the ultimate good of believing upon Christ. He is totally depraved in extent (his whole being) not in degree (level of "badness")."

In other words when Ephesians 2:1 says, "Your were dead in trespasses and sin." It means just that, not that you were "sick" but that you were dead. Or in Romans 3:10-18 when it says that "No one is good...no not one!" That is exactly what it means, "no one", for all our righteousness is as filthy rags in the sight of God (Isa. 64:6).

Do not get me wrong, we all certainly have the freedom to come to Christ, because Christ has given the open invitation, for the scripture says "whosoever will" (Rev 22:17). It is not the freedom that is questioned but the ability. I have the freedom to run 30 miles/hr, only I lack the ability, and unless given a supernatural ability to do so I will not ever be able to. In the same way no many can come unto Christ unless the Father draw him (John 6:44), because his will is bound to its sinful nature (Eph. 2:3).

Why is it a sin to teach otherwise?
Inevitably what occurs if this doctrine is ignored is a misunderstanding of conversion. There is then a misunderstanding of the role of the Holy Spirit in conversion, God is not praised as He should be, as the Author and Finisher of our faith (Heb.12:2), and man gets the idea that he can cause His new birth by going up during an altar call, or praying the "sinner's prayer", when in fact it takes a supernatural regeneration of the heart. It is sin to misunderstand the glory that belongs to God the Spirit.

tUlip = Unconditional Election

Calvinist: "The belief that God chose those whom he was pleased to bring to a knowledge of himself, not based upon any merit shown by the object of his grace and not based upon his looking forward to discover who would "accept" the offer of the gospel. God has elected, based solely upon the counsel of his own will, some for glory and others for damnation (Romans 9:15,21). He has done this act before the foundations of the world (Ephesians 1:4-8)."

This doctrine does not rule out man's responsibility to believe in the redeeming work of God the Son (John 3:16-18). Scripture presents a tension between God's sovereignty in salvation, and man's responsibility to believe which it does not try to resolve, and so we must not try, as John Piper says, "better your mind be broken, than the scriptures be broken." Both are true -- to deny man's responsibility is to affirm an unbiblical hyper-calvinism; to deny God's sovereignty is to affirm an unbiblical Arminianism.

Why is it sin to teach otherwise?
Well firstly, if you reject this one then it means you rejected the doctrine of total depravity, so then you have rejected two fundamental doctrines of the Bible. Here is a simple fill in the blank. If salvation is not by works of the law, nor by anything you offer, and you are completely lost in sin and blind to the light of the Gospel, then God must have ____ you (Hint: Chosen). Logic 101. If this doctrine is rejected, then one is inclined to believe it was by his doing that he was saved, just like I stated in the last doctrine, you take from God all the glory due to his name, and give it to the free-will choice of man. "Salvation belongs to the LORD." -Psalm 3:8

tuLip = Limited Atonement/ Particular Redemption

Calvinist: "The belief that Christ's penalty and death purchased the full redemption of His chosen people, His elect. Not that Christ's death only made it possible to be saved, but that He actually saved His people upon the cross."

Talk about a controversial topic. But once again it is a logical continuation of the truths already presented. Election does not automatically save the person, for there is no remission of sins apart from the shedding of blood (Heb. 9:22), only Christ's blood has the power to actually save His elect. Jesus lays His life down for His sheep (John 10:15), but not all are His sheep (John 10:26).

Why is it sin to teach otherwise?
Here is the choice you must make. Either Christ only made it possible, so then what is being said is that Christ only did 75% if the job or even 99%, but you have to throw in the last bit in order to be saved. So then you do not limit the extent, but you certainly limit the power. Or you can say, as the Calvinist does, that the extent is limited but the power is not. His death had the power to save the souls of the lost sheep. If you teach the other way you are destined to admit that it was possible that none would be saved, Christ made the sacrifice and then sat and hoped that people would come to Him. Or you can believe that the Lord made the ultimate sacrifice and sovereignly draws His sheep to Himself.

tulIp = Irresistible Grace

Calvinist: "The belief that God sovereignly draws His elect to Himself. The result of God's Irresistible Grace is the certain response by the elect to the inward call of the Holy Spirit, when the outward call is given by the evangelist or minister of the Word of God."

So then Christ's elect will certainly and assuredly be saved. Once the light of the Gospel is opened to their hearts they can not resist, but will be drawn with bands of love (refer back to John 6:44).

Why is it sin to teach otherwise?
In order to shorten this a bit, I will refer you back to the other doctrines which I have mentioned, especially Total Depravity, because it deals with the same subject. If God's grace is resistible then man will always reject it and choose sin over it, because that is what his nature is bound to (Eph 1:3), his mind is at enmity with God and cannot turn to God nor can it (Rom. 8:7).

tuliP = Perseverance/Preservation of the Saints

Calvinist: "The belief that the redeemed can never be lost or plucked from the hand of God. The by the grace of God they will persevere, strive and battle to be holy and sanctified."

This is not by man's strength, but by God's grace that they are kept in the faith. Not too many I know will deny this truth, but there are many out there who will. Just read over the words of Paul in Romans 8:35, and know that this list includes yourself, not even you can pluck yourself out of the hand of God by some grave sin. Please don't take that as license to sin, because that is not what I mean, God's grace will sanctify you and cause you to walk in His commandments.

Why is it sin to teach otherwise?
Because what is taught is that you can lose your salvation by some grave or mortal sin you commit and then you must work your way back into the good graces of God. Thus, you preach a works based salvation, and you do not acknowledge the power of God to keep you in the faith. "Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ..." -Phil 1:6 Remember that verse.

Conclusion
So we see here that if these truths are neglected or cast aside, then so is the glory of God in salvation, so is His sovereignty, power and grace. Instead it is replaced with a man-made salvation plan, suited to fit the likes of human nature, and watered-down to a half-truth which amounts to an untruth.

Many will find a problem with the theology and instead of asking about it or looking into what is being said in light of scripture, they just ignore it, or mock it. Still most of those people must face the reality that words like election, predestination, sin, dead in trespasses, lost, blind, sovereignty, drawing, etc. are used commonly in the Bible and must be dealt with. To not deal with them is a sin within itself and an ignorance toward the Word of God Almighty.