The Evangelical Universalist Forum

How Does A Calvinist Know He/She Is Born Again?

Practices Christian Living
#1

The new birth takes place when we are brought into contact with God’s saving grace. We will see God and His Son and His holy revealed will as beautiful and most valuable. We will see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ in the Gospel. God becomes our Supreme Treasure. His holy revealed will becomes beautiful bringing joy to our hearts. In this way we obey out of love. We are free to obey with joy. This doesn’t mean we never mess up. But when we do God will eventually convict us and bring us back to Himself as He restores to us the beauty of holy love. This is how we know we are born again.

  1. Those who are born again practice righteousness.
  1. Those who are born of God don’t make a practice of sinning
  1. Those who are born of God love others
  1. Those who are born of God confess the Son and have Him
  1. Those who are born of God believe that Jesus is the Christ
#2

Well, Cole . . . I don’t think a Calvinist CAN know – at least not until the end. If he makes it all the way, then I guess he’s among the lucky ones.

But honestly, how do you know you’re a Calvinist? Dear brother, take a little time to settle into your beliefs. Seek God. Most folks take weeks, months, years, even decades to think through all these things. That’s part of why you’re having so much trouble figuring out where you are, I feel sure. You can have all the time you need to think through this. God isn’t going to give up on you if you’re amongst the elect, and even if you’re not elect, He’s still not going to give up on you – ever. You are safe in His arms. It’s going to be okay. He WILL bring you home.

You don’t have to figure it all out all at once. Hey, you don’t ever have to figure it all out. In fact, I don’t expect to ever figure it all out, either, and I’d be disappointed if I did. Since God is infinite, I look forward to a never-ending exploration of His awesomeness. What could possibly be better? So sit back and relax; meditate on the scriptures; give the Holy Spirit time (lots of time) to speak to your heart and lead you in the right way.

Blessings and love in Jesus,
Cindy

#3

Hi Cindy!

Well, I gave the evidence on how one knows. What do you think of that?

#4

But those who are elect must also persevere (that’s the ‘P’ in TULIP). If you persevere, then you’re elect, but how do you know you will persevere until you’ve actually done it? According to Calvinism, one of the things that prove you are elect is that you persevere until the end of life. This is not something you can choose to do – either God has ordained that you will make it, or else He has ordained that you will not make it. Therefore, as a Calvinist, you cannot know.

#5

Cindy,

I gave the scriptual evidence and the Biblically based evidence in my OP. What do you think? Yes God’s children do persevere.

#6

He who began a good work in us will bring it to completion.

My little children, I am writting these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. - 1John 2:1

We have recieved Jesus as our perfection. Recieving Jesus means that He is the ground of our salvation. He is the bottom of the foundation of our hope. It is His righteousness and perfection and love for us that ultimately counts before the Father. Faith in Jesus recieves Jesus as my substitute righteousness and perfection and love. This is why I can hope even when I stumble. My standing with God is the righteousness of my Advocate.

#7

And yet I’m sure we’ve all seen people who have fallen away – people who thought God had “begun a good work in them.” Not to mention the author of Hebrews stating that it’s impossible to renew to repentance those who have tasted the good things of God, etc., but have since fallen away. So how does a Calvinist know he’s not one of those ones – the falling away ones? He can’t. Perhaps tomorrow he’ll change his mind, after all.

#8

Hi Cindy!

I’ll leave it at that since you don’t respond to the evidence that I’ve provided. Anyway, may God bless you and give you more love as He reveals more of His glory to you!

#9

Michael,

I am sure Cindy read all your evidence as to how one can know if one has been born again.
And she did respond to your question. She very clearly stated that in CALVINISM one can never
really know (100% certainty as opposed to confidence) one is one of the elect. She was right in
saying that according to 5 pt Calvinism, one must wait until judgement day to find out if one was truly a
Christian or not. Paul Washer (Calvinist extraordinaire) has admitted to not being sure and hoping he will never fall away.

I am a Calvinist. I love Calvinism. It changed my life for the better.
That being said, 5 pt CALVINISM IS IN GREAT NEED OF BEING REFORMED.

Thankfully God has already raised people up to do this very thing.
Try and read some T.F. Torrance,
It will change your life, if you’re open to it.
I guarantee it.

#10

Well, we can know based on the evidence I provided. The only thing in Reformed theology that needs changing is perhaps limited atonement and eternal suffering. Annihilationism may work. If Paul Washer was a Calvinist extraordinaire he should know that you cannot fall away. Not forever anyway.

#11

To be honest Michael I was initially a bit confused by what you wrote, not that I disagreed with it but that I couldn’t see anywhere where you made Calvinism specifically fit into it per se. Anyway that aside… I doubt a Calvinist could surely know given “for example” there could lay any tragedy ahead that could elicit any dark and natural response from am exacerbated and exhausted heart that in the eyes of a Calvinist could sow seeds of self-doubt as to their ability to stay as ridged in their self-concept of election given the performance-based essence of religianity.

Not only that… this crippling and crushing doubt for a Calvinist could quite quickly act like a spiral chasm leading to the only possibly self-condemning conclusion “I must not have been a true believer after all” – and to protect the pack any dyed in the wool Calvinist would probably heartily agree – and hence the birth of many an atheist.

IMO Calvin erred greatly in misunderstanding ‘election’ by dragging it out of its biblical timeframe and setting.

#12

Quite right, Davo. No Christian can ever know with certainty that they are ‘born again’. All the supposed ‘evidence’ Cole cited is equally applicable to all other Christian denominations, including Arminianism and Universalism.

I know plenty of people who practice righteousness who aren’t Calvinists. Blimey, I know plenty of people who practice righteousness who are atheists!

I know plenty of people who don’t make a practice of sinning who aren’t Calvinists. Some of them are atheists too.

I know plenty of people who love others who aren’t Calvinists. Some of them are atheists too.

I don’t know any people who confess the Son and believe Christ is Lord who are Calvinists. Everyone I know who does these things is not a Calvinist.

QED

And as Cindy pointed out, we all know people who displayed all these qualities at a certain time in their lives, and ended up as apostates. There are some particularly egregious examples of ex-Christians who have become militant atheists - John Loftus, for example, a former preacher who now devotes his life to attempting to debunk Christianity.

And what’s all this about the Calvinist being “free to obey with joy”? The Calvinist, as Cole never tires of reminding us, has no free will. He only does what God makes him do.

All the best

Johnny

#13

The question posed by the OP zeroes in on one of the critical weaknesses of Calvinism and why Luther is to be preferred: The Calvinist syllogism forces the believer into destructive introspection. As Luther frequently observed, the only rescue from this destructive introspection is the baptismal promise. See Phillip Cary, “Why Luther is Not Quite Protestant.”

#14

akimel,

Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test! - 2 Cor. 13:5

#15

Michael, I always fail to meet the test. Don’t you?

#16

Not always:

We have received Jesus as our perfection. Receiving Jesus means that He is the ground of our salvation. He is the bottom of the foundation of our hope. It is His righteousness and perfection and love for us that ultimately counts before the Father. Faith in Jesus receives Jesus as my substitute righteousness and perfection and love. This is why I can hope even when I stumble. My standing with God is the righteousness of my Advocate.

#17

I think that a Calvinist has truly no ground for trusting in a being which predetermined all of her sins and will eternally torture billions of sentient creatures who have had absolutely no other choice.

#18

lotharson,

It’s clear that you have no idea what a Reformed Calvinist is. You continually misrepresent them.

#19

As I understand it… Calvin was just like everyone on this forum, a flawed, fallible human being who held to certain interpretations he imposed upon Scripture – IF we’re all honest we all do this to varying degrees. That some have chosen to venerate and follow Calvin’s conclusions is their God-given freewill choice.

#20

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