Sovereignty and Conversational Confusion

This is a corrective and a challenge for both Reformed/Calvinists and non-Calvinists to be clearer when we talk about sovereignty with each other. I’m not going to here be arguing that Reformed theology/Calvinism is true or non-Calvinism is false. Rather I’m going to try to untie part of the Gordian knot that exists between us in how we understand each other.

Often the Reformed/Calvinist will accuse (sometimes rightly) the non-Calvinist have having a deficient view of sovereignty while the non-Calvinist will hear the Reformed/Calvinist talk about the implications of sovereignty as being some form of Compatiblism (which entails determinism) and then fail to make the necessary disambiguation in Reformed/Calvinistic thought between Sovereignty, Predestination, and Determinism.

Sovereignty on the Reformed view is rather mundane. Sovereignty simply has to do with God’s RIGHT to rule over all of his creation. God is the sovereign over all things, not most things. God is ALL-mighty, not MOSTLY-mighty. He has the right as king over all things. This is why in the WCF talks of sovereignty as:

“he hath most sovereign dominion over (all things), to do by them, for them, or upon them whatsoever himself pleaseth.”

Sovereignty then has to do with his RIGHT as Sovereign over all. However, this is where the disambiguation in Reformed theology comes in and starts to cause confusion for those who do not properly draw appropriate distinctions. Sovereignty means that God is the sovereign over ALL of his creation. This is why the Bible can talk about God working all things together for good for those who love him and are called according to his purpose. Notice that ALL things are worked out and are under the oversight and purpose of God. Not most things. Not some things. Not the things that he can control but not the freewill decisions that we do that go against his plan. All things. Nothing happens in his kingdom that is not permitted by him and all things are under the direction and control of his plan and purpose – his sovereign right as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, plan and purpose. The confusion arises at this point for many Reformed/Calvinists and non-Calvinists alike. Because, on the Reformed view, we believe that God has predestined and predetermined all things BECAUSE God is sovereign, we will often state God’s predestining of all things just AS, definitionally, God’s sovereignty. God sovereignly predestines all things but his predestination is not synonymous with his sovereignty. His sovereignty is dispositional – he has a right to rule over all. His predestination is active – he acts, because he IS sovereign, over all. God can predestine rightly, at least in part, because he is sovereign. Not vice versa.

This is further compounded because of how Reformed Christians will often critique non-Reformed positions. For example, when a misinformed Arminian (misinformed because Arminianism does not historically affirm Libertarian freedom) or an SBC Provisionist affirm Libertarian freedom and say that IF God predestined the person or acted irresistibly on the will that God would then be “controlling” (in the directly causal sense) or the “author of sin” or in some way that God is not permitted to do so, the Reformed person will see this person as saying that there is an area of God’s own creation that he is NOT sovereign over – that he does not have the absolute right as King over to do by, for, and upon it whatever he desires to do. So while the Libertarian may think that they are attacking Predestination or Determinism, the Reformed/Calvinist hears the objection as assuming some area that is not under God’s sovereign kingship. Thus, an objection against Determinism is given a rejoinder that the person is actually objecting to Sovereignty. This then fuels the confusion. The non-Calvinist will then hear that Reformed theology just defines Sovereignty AS Determinism.

This is further fueled by how each person understands the word “control.” Think of how I can say “nothing at my work is out of my control” and “I control the character in the video game with the joystick.” In the first, I may mean that there is nothing that goes on in my office that is without my notice or permission or power to direct, fix, act upon, anticipate, etc. It may even mean everything that happens is planned and directed by me. However, no one would understand that to mean that I am the primary causal agent meticulously and directly causing everything to happen. I am not the efficient cause of every last thing. And yet when I am controlling a character I am just such a cause. When the Reformed/Calvinist talks about nothing being out of God’s control, we mean it as an analog to the first kind of use of the term because we are Compatiblists. We understand that God, though the first mover, works in sovereign administration through the means of secondary causal conditions and agents. He determines whatsoever comes to pass, but that is providentially worked out via means.

However, because our critics in this discussion are Incompatiblists of the Libertarian variety, and often fail to disambiguate between external criticisms and internal ones, they will take an externalist critique of Compatiblism’s Soft Determinism which thinks it unavoidably and definitionally entails Incompatiblism’s Hard Determinism, and then use that as if that is what Reformed/Calvinism AFFIRMS, and move into an internal criticism of saying that on Reformed/Calvinism God controls all things in the SECOND sense of the term. This however, because it moved from an external critique to an internal critique not only begs the question of Incompatiblistic Libertarian Freedom, but it also sets up a strawman of Reformed/Calvinism that is different from what we actually affirm.

Notice then what a simple definitional usage of a term like sovereignty can do and how the role it plays in dialogue can so quickly make communication derail. We need to be far more self-aware of how we use and understand terms and how other people, from within their own systems, use and understand those same terms. Without it, we will simply be in a grand narrative of talking past each other.

Can a Calvinist be certain of their salvation?

Can a Calvinist be certain of their salvation? (internal critique)

An important thing to note is that we do not place our hope or faith in our election – we place our faith and hope in Jesus Christ and him crucified as a fulfillment of the good promises of God. He has promised good to us and by our faith in him, we cling to his promises.

Why do I have assurance? Because God is good and faithful and has given certain means of grace to his people – word and sacrament, sanctification and the inner witness of the Spirit to me. We should not conflate a strong and confident assurance with a kind of epistemic certainty that is not susceptible to solipsism. ALL views are susceptible to solipsism. I do not need to know that I know that I am elect in Christ. I need to know that God has made promises to his people and described what his people will experience upon true conversion, and have given means of grace and assurance to his people to build them up in the faith. THE GROUNDS OF ASSURANCE ARE CUMULATIVE but rooted in God’s covenant love.

We could ask, how does the Arminian or the Provisionist know that they have the right kind of faith that will finish the work of redemption and please God enough to make his provision actual for them? How do they know that they wont walk away from it tomorrow if tragedy strikes and be removed from the body forever? How do they know that they are not a butterfly dreaming?

The question before us is already a poorly formed objection to Calvinism. Inherent in the question is a kind of decisional theology advocated by semi-pelagians like Finney and company. It looks to you and your own sincerity and conviction as the grounds for your assurance and hope. This is exactly the wrong place to look. We do not look to ourselves as the final cause of our hope, but to Christ.

Tim Challis writes of this kind of baseless assurance:

“When you seek assurance of your salvation, where do you look? Will you take refuge in the sincerity of your prayer? Will you comfort yourself by saying, “I meant it with all my heart”? If you take refuge in your own sincerity or in the passion you felt years ago when you prayed a prayer, you are building your assurance on shakey ground.”

And let me add, if you look to the conviction and passion of your prayer from this morning, the ground is just as shakey. The Reformed tradition is gritty and real and true to life. It recognizes that our assurance may wax and wane. We may go through dark nights of the soul. To try and demand a kind of epistemic certainty of Calvinism that is beyond all real Christian experience, or else throw it to the waste bin, is the height of a special pleading objection – to set the standard of expectation so high, beyond what even the objector’s own theological system would permit, is an obscenely uncharitable and flat out naïve way to engage in theological reflection.

We can ask these questions of epistemology of ANY view. There is nothing special or unique about Reformed soteriology in this regard.

We can have reasonable assurance by looking to God, his promise and covenant keeping nature, his glory in the finished work of Christ, and pressed to our souls by word and Sacrament, church and Spirit. We continue to work out our salvation, or the assurance thereof, with fear and trembling, but we know that God has said that those who love him love his word, love his body, love their neighbors, mortify the flesh, grow in prayer, display the fruit of the Spirit more as they mature, and long for deeper fellowship with God. Without some kind of defeater for the faithfulness of God, the work of the Spirit in my life, and the promises that accompany them, I have no reason to doubt my inclusion in the people of God. Simply asking “yeah but do you know that you know” is not an objection. It’s posturing. Look to Christ and his life, death, burial and resurrection, and the promises of God for his people that accompany them, and you will have assurance because God cannot lie. But you can… if you navel gaze and look to your own faithfulness, you will have no reason for hope and only cause for despair.  

The Grounds of Assurance

The Westminster Confession of Faith says in chapter 18:

This certainty is not a bare conjectural and probable persuasion grounded upon a fallible hope; but an infallible assurance of faith founded upon the divine truth of the promises of salvation, the inward evidence of those graces unto which these promises are made, the testimony of the Spirit of adoption witnessing with our spirits that we are the children of God, which Spirit is the earnest of our inheritance, whereby we are sealed to the day of redemption.

Similarly, the Belgic Confession says in article 24:

So we would always be in doubt, tossed back and forth without any certainty, and our poor consciences would be tormented constantly if they did not rest on the merit of the suffering and death of our Savior.

And the Canons of Dort say in articles 12 and 13 of section 1:

Assurance of their eternal and unchangeable election to salvation is given to the chosen in due time, though by various stages and in differing measure. Such assurance comes not by inquisitive searching into the hidden and deep things of God, but by noticing within themselves, with spiritual joy and holy delight, the unmistakable fruits of election pointed out in God’s Word—such as a true faith in Christ, a childlike fear of God, a godly sorrow for their sins, a hunger and thirst for righteousness, and so on.

In their awareness and assurance of this election, God’s children daily find greater cause to humble themselves before God, to adore the fathomless depth of God’s mercies, to cleanse themselves, and to give fervent love in return to the One who first so greatly loved them. This is far from saying that this teaching concerning election, and reflection upon it, make God’s children lax in observing his commandments or carnally self-assured. By God’s just judgment this does usually happen to those who casually take for granted the grace of election or engage in idle and brazen talk about it but are unwilling to walk in the ways of the chosen.

So we see several sources of assurance:

·         Westminster points to "the divine truth of the promises of salvation," and the Belgic Confession specifies "the merit of the suffering and death of our Savior" upon which those promises rest. Westminster cites these Scriptures for support:

·         Hebrews 6:17 In the same way God wanted to demonstrate more clearly to the heirs of the promise that his purpose was unchangeable, and so he intervened with an oath, 18 so that we who have found refuge in him may find strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us through two unchangeable things, since it is impossible for God to lie. 19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, sure and steadfast, which reaches inside behind the curtain

·         Westminster continues, "the inward evidence of those graces unto which these promises are made," specified by Dort as "a true faith in Christ, a childlike fear of God, a godly sorrow for their sins, a hunger and thirst for righteousness, and so on," and Westminster cites:

·         2 Peter 1:4 Through these things he has bestowed on us his precious and most magnificent promises, so that by means of what was promised you may become partakers of the divine nature, after escaping the worldly corruption that is produced by evil desire. 5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith excellence, to excellence, knowledge. 10 Therefore, brothers and sisters, make every effort to be sure of your calling and election. For by doing this you will never stumble into sin. 11 For thus an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be richly provided for you.

·         1 John 2:3 Now by this we know that we have come to know God: if we keep his commandments.

·         1 John 3:14 We know that we have crossed over from death to life because we love our fellow Christians. The one who does not love remains in death.

·         2 Corinthians 1:12 For our reason for confidence is this: the testimony of our conscience, that with pure motives and sincerity which are from God—not by human wisdom but by the grace of God—we conducted ourselves in the world, and all the more toward you.

·         Westminster wraps it up with, "The testimony of the Spirit of adoption witnessing with our spirits that we are the children of God," referring to Romans 8:15-16, "which Spirit is the earnest of our inheritance, whereby we are sealed to the day of redemption," citing these verses:

·         Ephesians 1:13 And when you heard the word of truth (the gospel of your salvation)—when you believed in Christ—you were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the down payment of our inheritance, until the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of his glory.

·         Ephesians 4:30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

·         2 Corinthians 1:21 But it is God who establishes us together with you in Christ and who anointed us, 22 who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a down payment.

Distinguishing True Assurance from False

The Canons of Dort say that "by God's just judgment" some "who casually take for granted the grace of election or engage in idle and brazen talk about it but are unwilling to walk in the ways of the chosen" become "carnally self-assured" rather than having an actual assurance of faith. So how can an "infallible assurance" (in Westminster's language) and this "carnal self-assurance" be distinguished?

A.A. Hodge's commentary on the Westminster Confession takes a stab at the question.

True assurance, however, may be distinguished from that which is false by the following tests:

1. True assurance begets unfeigned humility; false assurance begets spiritual pride. 1 Corinthians 15:10; Galatians 6:14.
2. The true leads to increased diligence in the practice of holiness; the false leads to sloth and self-indulgence. Psalm 51:12-13,19.
3. The true leads to candid self-examination and to a desire to be searched and corrected by God; the false leads to a disposition to be satisfied with appearance and to avoid accurate investigation. Psalm 139:23-24.
4. The true leads to constant aspirations after more intimate fellowship with God. 1 John 3:2-3.

It is common for Calvinists to cite 1 John 2:19 in the case of those who either were falsely assured or who deceived others (knowingly or not) into believing they were saved:

They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us, because if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But they went out from us to demonstrate that all of them do not belong to us.

Conclusion

Calvinists teach that to be assured of salvation, you must look first to Christ, his merits, and his promises, then to the fruits of faith that he has granted you. It is not found by inquiring into the decree of election, nor by looking chiefly to yourself. It is not necessary to be assured of salvation in order to be saved, but it is a good thing to strive for nonetheless. There are ways of distinguishing it from "carnal self-assurance," and those who have such false assurance are mistaken about their salvation.

Inspiring Philosophy and Aron Ra

In this episode I chat with Michael Jones from Inspiring Philosophy about his recent debate with atheist Aron Ra on the question, "Is Christianity Dangerous?" 

Enjoy the show!!!

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Here are some excerpts from peer reviewed articles on the role of Atheism in Albania and the former Soviet Union:

 From the article, “Violations of Freedom of Religion in Albania” by Barbara Frey, OPREE, vol IX, no. 6. 1989.

 “Belying the Constitution, however, anti-religious activity commenced almost immediately after the new government was formed. In August 1945, the government passed an agrarian reform law which deprived religious institutions of much of their property. A series of show trials and executions were held, following which the Jesuit order was banned in 1946 and the Franciscans in 1947. In 1946, all Catholic priests, nuns, and monks were expelled. Many priests were imprisoned, executed, or assassinated.” pp4-5.

 “At about the same time, the Ministry of Education banned the teaching of religion in state schools. In April 1947, the Party of Labor recommended introducing anti-religious teaching in schools. The government also attempted to halt religious instruction by clerics and lay-people even in homes.” p5.

 “Once the statues were passed, criminal penalties which had formerly protected the constitutional guarantee of freedom of religion were removed from the Albanian Penal Code.” p5.

 “Public meetings were held at which the public denounced the clergy and vowed never to practice religion again. People’s tribunals decided which public celebrations were religious in nature and how to replace them with appropriate national atheistic holidays. During public proceedings, crowds turned over their crucifixes, icons, bibles, and other religious items. Children whose fathers were priests denounced them as fakes, and “thunder sheets” (fletë-rrufe) were posted attacking those parents who had given religious names to their children.” p6.

 “All possible signs of religion were eradicated. Graveyards and tombstones were cleared of religious symbols: only the Communist star was permitted. Religious phrases were attacked too: the term “P.K.” meaning Përpara Krishit (in English, B.C.) was replaced with “P.E.R.” for Para Erës Sëre (“Before the New Era)... Despite stated constitutional guarantees, the People’s Assembly passed Decree No. 4334 on 13 November 1967 (Published in Gazeta zyrtare on 22 November) which cancelled the legal status of religion... Radio Tiranë announced that Albania was now the “first atheist state in the world.” Religious freedom was removed from the statures; it would shortly be removed from the constitution as well.” p7.

Speaking of the 1976 Constitution:

 “Article 37: The State recognizes no religion whatever and supports atheistic propaganda for the purpose of inculcating the scientific-materialist worldview.” p8.

 “Article 55 of the 1977 Criminal Code: Fascist, anti-democratic, religious, warmongering or anti-socialist propaganda, as well as the preparation, distribution or the possession for distribution of literature with such a content in order to weaken or undermine the state of the dictatorship of the Proletariat are punishable by imprisonment of between three and ten years. If these actions occur in time of war or if they have caused particularly serious consequences, they will be punished with imprisonment of not less than ten years or with death.” p9.

 “The government had already instituted another facet of it’s anti-religious campaign. On 23 September 1975, it passed administrative Decree No. 5339 (also the similar Legislative Decree No 5334...) which stipulated that, ‘Citizens who have inappropriate names and offensive surnames from a political, ideological, and moral standpoint are obliged to change them...’ therefore, it is legitimate to insist on the use of national names so that... the names of people do not become an indicator of the religious affiliations and divisions of yesteryear in the eyes of future generations.” p9.

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From the article, “Soviet Books and Pamphlets on the Theme of Atheism: Statistics and Crucial Points” by Paul Roth, OPREE, vol V, no. 4. 1985.

“Indeed, the Soviet constitution permits public atheistic propaganda but not religious propaganda. A religious book offered to the public would be an offense against the constitution. Thus, it is not surprising the Soviet authorities consider so-called “illegal” importation of Bibles into the Soviet Union as an offense against the laws of the state.” p9.

 “Those books and pamphlets which belong to the categories ‘Marxism-Leninism,’ ‘Social Sciences,’ and ‘Philosophy, Sociology, Psychology’ are based on atheism. Those which belong to the category ‘Atheism and Religion’ are anti-theistic, often militantly atheistic, with the exception of those texts which are intended for export to foreign countries.” p10.

 “Most of the titles, 17, are concerned with ‘atheistic education of the population’ (total number of copies 761,000)... Some publications deal especially with the question of how a person can accomplish atheistic education goals in mathematic classes by using films.” p14.

“In connection with the previously discussed group, we must also observe the following thematic category which presents ‘Atheism as a provision for a fulfilling life’ to Soviet citizens... Religion is presented as the reason for spiritual and intellectual problems. Religion is to be replaced by a life based on atheistic principles with an atheistic value system and holidays and rituals free of religious content.” pp16-17.

“If we attempt to draw a conclusion from the statistic taken from “New Books,” which, we reiterate, are obviously incomplete, we can state the following: 1) Clearly, atheistic literature in the Soviet Union belongs to the category of prescribed literature, not popular literature.”

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From the article, “The Current Situation of Religion in Albania” by Peter Prifti, OPREE, vol III, no. 3. 1983.

 “Questioning the zeal, if not the integrity of critics of Albanian atheism, Hoxha said that there are hundreds of millions of people in the world who do not believe in religion. Why then all the astonishment at socialist Albania? He closed his defense by saying, ‘Our state is atheistic by the will of its people.’” p2.

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From the article, “Grave Violations of Religious Rights in Albania” by Gjon Sinishta, OPREE, vol III, no. 5. 1983.

 “Enver Hoxha again set the stage for action with his infamous speech of February 6, 1967, urging the Albanian youth to fight “religious superstitions.” A ruthless campaign against all religions followed. Everywhere churches were burned or turned into sports arenas, dance halls, movie theaters, apartments, etc. Priests and bishops were publicly beaten. The Franciscan church of Arrmadhe in Shkodra, together with the Friary, was set afire one evening and four elderly Franciscans were burned to death. During 1967, according to the journal of Albanian writers, Nendori (November), about 2200 mosques, churches, chapels, monasteries and other religious buildings were vandalized and closed. Of that number, 327 were Roman Catholic. On November 22, 1967, the government published Decree No. 4337 ordering the annulment of the religious charters and of all laws pertaining to state-church relationships. All religious rites were prohibited and grave penalties were imposed on violators. The remaining priests were sent to forced-labor camps for ‘re-education.’ The Albanian Party and government boasted that it had become the first totally atheistic state in the world.” p13.

“With these articles Albania became the only country in the world where the suppression of religion and the propagation of atheism have become a constitutionally mandated state policy... Prior to the actual enactment of such official acts, the government manifested the same kind of suppression of religion. Fr. Stephen Kurti was executed in 1972 for baptizing a child in a labor camp at the parent’s request. In 1974 the government also sentenced the three remaining Catholic Bishops to detention camps for conduction religious services in private. Following the constitutional outlawing of religion, in 1977 Fran Mark Gjoni of Shkodra was brought to trial for the possession of Bibles. Gjoni admitted, when presented with the Bibles taked from his home, that he had found them in parks and at the seashore where they had been left by tourists or floated in by sea. For his ‘crime’ Gjoni was sentenced to 12 years in prison... For religious criminals such as Gjnoi, according to reports from recent refugees, the government has at least six prisons, nine concentration camps and 14 areas of external exile.” pp14-15.