Dr. Couch, what do you think of Dave Hunt’s book on Calvinism? Many Bible teachers endorsed it.
ANSWER: Many Bible teachers, even published ones, are not really scholars when
it comes to exegesis and knowledge about church history. So we don’t
take a vote on doctrine as to who believes this or that. We must exegete
carefully the biblical texts to find the truth.
Let’s play a little game for a moment. Let’s
drop the word “Calvinism.” Now what do we see with careful exegesis of
the Word of God? We see:
(1) God being absolute sovereign. (2) God
controlling His universe with His absolute providence. (3) We see
total depravity of the human race, with “none seeking after God, no not
one” (Rom. 3). (4) We see absolute predestination and election, i.e. no
one gets saved unless they are sovereignly drawn by Christ and the
Spirit of God. (5) And we see those who have come to Christ kept for
eternity!
Textually, we do not see Limited Atonement,
i.e. (Christ died only for the elect)! It is extremely doubtful if
Calvin taught this false doctrine. And whether he did nor didn’t doesn’t
matter. I can prove that Christ died for all. His sacrifice is
sufficient for all but applied only to the elect. So then, I can be
“Calvinistic” in essence but not in every detail as to what Calvin
taught. Thus, if you want to throw away that dirty word (Calvinism), go
ahead, but this above is what the Bible teaches and does not teach!
Your question about Calvinism is an indictment
against our theological schools that used to be clear on the subject
but are now in the dark. The big Evangelical seminaries, Bible colleges,
and institutes, were mostly Calvinistic and did not mind teaching it in
the classrooms. They are now turning liberal, however, and moving away
from “basic” Calvinism (minus Limited Atonement). The rejection of basic
Calvinism is a neon blinking sign of how we’ve moved away from strong
and deep theology. The ignorance theologically today is gross!
Thanks for asking.
Dr. Mal Couch
