I went looking for this first meme after it came to mind the other day. I then found many more memes explaining salvation according to Calvinism.
If you have loved ones who are being drawn into Calvinism, understand what it is at its core. These represent the true nature of its doctrines.
MacArthur’s quote is only true if you are one of the elect. If you aren’t, then according to Calvinism when God looks at you… You don’t matter. Jesus only died for the elect. God didn’t choose you, you are getting what you deserve, and have no one to blame but yourself.
Jesus loves me, this I know.As for you, I don’t think so.Only some to Him belong.We are right and you are wrong.Yes, Jesus loves me!Yes, Jesus loves me!Yes, Jesus loves me!John Calvin tells me so.
And if any of these offend you, don’t blame me. I’m not a Calvinist. But I am deeply concerned about those who believe these teachings about the nature of God and the work of Jesus Christ.
Here are some related posts:
I have a theory that most prominent Calvinists today have never spent any time “wandering in the wilderness”, and so they have never developed a close dependence on God. It shows in their lack of compassion to people who are struggling, who they assume to be lacking in election or in works.
Biblically, there are numerous examples of people with spiritually significant wilderness experiences: Abraham, Moses, Jacob, Elijah, Joseph, David, Jonah, Daniel, John the Baptist, Jesus, Paul, those referred to in Hebrews 11:38….
I’ve got a couple of videos coming up demonstrating “their lack of compassion” that will boggle your mind.
That’s an interesting observation you’ve made. I have a post on here with a video about how certain types of personalities are drawn to Calvinism. I think that is a factor as well. But what you said fits with the deconstruction that has come from the Calvinist camp. If all they “know” about God is what they’ve been taught from Calvinist teachers, then when they question that God during a difficult time they have nothing else to lean into. And if you are struggling, that’s a bad sign when you believe your “final salvation” depends on how you perform.
A lot of younger and newer Christians have ended up Calvinist in recent decades because it was the camp teaching a “high view” of God and His sovereignty. So people who cared about their faith latched onto it because it was systematic, heady, and popular. They were also indoctrinated to believe that Calvinism = The Gospel. If you deny Calvinism, you deny the gospel. Does every Calvinist teach this? No. But plenty of them proclaim this with no qualms (quoting Spurgeon).
What they didn’t anticipate is how Calvinists define sovereignty (another post) and the cognitive dissonance you have to live with in order to stay in these churches.
And then if you raise questions, you are the problem because you aren’t willing to just accept the “mystery” that is supposed to make all the cognitive dissonance magically go away.
Personality Types Drawn to Calvinism
https://sallieborrink.com/personality-types-drawn-to-calvinism/
I went ahead and wrote the post that tied in with Peggy’s comment.
Do Calvinists Lack Compassion?
https://sallieborrink.com/do-calvinists-lack-compassion/