The Debate Must Send Us Out
This is the last study in the series. You have read about depravity, election, the atonement, grace, and perseverance. You now know more than most Christians about an old debate. The question is what you will do with it.
Paul has a warning for this moment: Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth (1 Corinthians 8:1). A believer can spend a year arguing about Romans 9 and never once tell a neighbor about the cross. Whatever else these passages teach, none of them excuses us from the commission Christ gave.
“And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”
“Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.”
Three things have to survive this debate: our witness to the lost, our prayers for them, and our love for the brethren. This study takes them in turn. Along the way it tries to be honest about the one place where the debate really does touch what we say to a lost person.
When did you last tell a lost person about Christ? Your answer will say more about your theology than your view of Romans 9 does.
Loading the rest of this article
For Deeper Study
- The Soul WinnerAmazon C. H. SpurgeonA Baptist pastor's classic lectures on winning people to Christ with wisdom, tenderness, and earnestness. Spurgeon was a Calvinist, and the book shows why that never cooled his plea to sinners.
- The Gospel Worthy of All AcceptationAmazon Andrew FullerThe Calvinistic Baptist reply to hyper-Calvinism, and a key work behind the modern missions movement. We differ on election and the atonement.
- Evangelism and the Sovereignty of GodAmazon J. I. PackerReformed. A short, thoughtful case that God's sovereignty supports evangelism. Read it to see how a Calvinist reasons. We differ on election.
- Whosoever Will: A Biblical-Theological Critique of Five-Point CalvinismAmazon David L. Allen and Steve W. Lemke, eds.Non-Calvinistic Southern Baptist scholars on grace, the atonement, and the Gospel call to all. Closest to the view taught here.
- Arminian Theology: Myths and RealitiesAmazon Roger E. OlsonClassical Arminian. Its conclusion offers rules of engagement for Calvinists and Arminians that any brother can profit from.
- Foxe's Book of MartyrsAmazon John FoxeThe classic Protestant record of those who died for the faith, from the early church to the English Reformation.
As an Amazon Associate, Theologica earns from qualifying purchases.
Calvinism and Arminianism: What Is the Debate?
Calvinists and Arminians both confess salvation by grace, but they differ on election, the atonement, human ability, the power of God's call, and the security of the believer, and we hold a non-Calvinistic Baptist position that is neither system.
Open Doctrine