I just wanted to share why I became a Calvinist (Feel free to share!)

Welcome here vesselofmercy, What a great testimony! Thanks for sharing that with us! You are so right that coming to the doctrines of grace is so humbling when one realizes the amazing sovereignty and grace of our Lord! God bless you! How did you happen to come to calvinism?

Yes I would like to share more, no time right now, will log on tomorrow and try to do it justice.

ksen said:

I was saved in 1992 in a small, rural Baptist church. The pastor there always had bad things to say about Calvinism, so not knowing any better I accepted what he had to say.

In 1998 we moved to a different state and we started attending another Baptist church. The pastor was pretty much the same in his views on Calvinism. Then I started getting involved in the religious discussions on a different forum and I was confronted with the truth of what Calvinism taught and not my own spoon-fed caricature of Calvinism.

I still rejected Calvinism, but now it was willful and not out of ignorance. As time went on and I was confronted with more and more evidence from Scripture as to the Predestination and Election of the Saints and God's Sovereignty over His creation. I didn't have an answer for them.

As the debates raged on I got more and more turned off by the twists and turns that the non-Calvinists had to take in order to explain away what Scripture clearly said.

Finally, I took the plunge and accepted with my heart what my head had already understood: that salvation is indeed of the Lord.

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Great testimony! The Doctrines of Grace or the five points of Calvinism is a very objectionable thing for the human mind. The mind wants to reject such an idea, as you well know. It really takes the grace of God to get a sinner or a saint to see and believe such a thing.

Here is my testimony - http://www.christianforums.com/t1803525

Thanks for sharing such a special work of God's grace with us! As you said it is very humbling to think that such sinners could be 'chosen' by a righteous, holy God to be His own! God bless!

Well, Dawn, Friday the 13th may have not been good for the Knights Templar, but it seems to have been good to someone.

Recognize that all true Christians will be Calvinists in glory....

Wow, I mean simply reading your testimonies really sheds light on God's sovereign grace. For me I started out pretty much heavily Arminian. My uncle even warned me that "Calvinists were not to be trusted. That they were simply intellecutalized everything." At this time I put the pretense of listening to it, already arguing from the other side.Then later on I found out then some of the Christians whom I respected, were Calvinists. I found that really odd, so I started reading more into the doctrines, and TULIP. I tried to be objective by perusing through various sites and also reading on the arguments from each side. Yet I found that being unbiased was impossible. The flesh is corrupt and therefore it wasn't until I understood the extent of human depravity that I actually took heed, and as Acts 17:11 says, "Testing everything with Scripture. I simply didn't want to embrace what I beleived to be a parrot of John Calvin. Plus I was unwilling and unprepared to defend doctrinally Calvinistic views with my predominantly Arminian Christian sphere. So instead, I read books like"Why Am I Not A Calvinist" and "Chosen but Free" (by Norman Geisler, a self-proclaimed Calvinist" His views seemed to coincide with mine at the time being. I later came to realize Geisler is not a true Calvinist. It was not until I changed churches was I taught the rich doctrines, and how no one in the right mind would accept the idea that God monergistically saves man, and other Calvinist ideas, if it were not for the grace of God.So my transition was one from me, "Calvinism, as something difficult to understand yet, I cannot argue that the 5 points are indeed biblical. To what Spurgeon said,"That Calvinism is just biblical Christianity."Still among Arminan circles however, I do not go under the staunch banner of Calvinism, not that I am ashamed but rather that I rather appeal to them through scripture in what is biblically Chrisianity, because of the gross mispreceptions that go along with the label of a Calvinist. Am I a Calvinist? Doctrinally speaking, I agree and am still learning because a surface level understanding of TULIP does not do the Reformed view justice. But I'd rather identify myself as a Christian that is Word Centered, and strives to live a God-centered life. I did not believe it to be fruitful to tell every professing Christian about the TULIP lest they show genuine desire to know, not that I am witholding anything, but in discussing scripture it is truly unavoiding to not bring up election, depravity and other characteristics that are so apparent. In fact often times I share with my Arminian friends why we should not be so fearful when we go out to evangelize, and then they so "Oh, you mean that Calvinist view." I get slightly irratated because it is a Biblical view, and but merely taxonomizing it to be Calvinist and brushing it off in ignorance, is really foolish. Yet, I am not to get so provoked over that, but to stick with scripture. So by not intentionally identifying myself as a Calvinist, among nonCalvinists unless asked, not because of the fear of man, but for the interest of the spiritual growth of others. Be all things to all men, however doesn't mean that we put on Arminian clothing, to blend into the crowd and then but merely preaching the Word and telling others that God is Holy and Just and not merely loving. And that salvation is not a choice of man, but a choice of God. Please pray that God may continue to reform my mind, that I can unlean anything view that is not completely biblical. I praise Him for His sovereignty and election.

Joh 17:9 I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.

CCWoody said:

Recognize that all true Christians will be Calvinists in glory....

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Amen to that brother.

Surely that will humble anyone that smugly says,

"If God predestined everything, did God predestine me NOT to be Calvinist?"

I would like to share something I heard but yet cant find it in their writings, Calving and Luther asked their disciples not to be call by their names (Calvin - Luther) but to follow and seek in the word of God the doctrines of Grace. Does any one in here have a better understanding or knowlged on this matter?

In 1992 I was immersed in a Southern Baptist Church in Seattle Washington. Before this I had been Roman Catholic.

This Baptist Church was small and not specifically Reformed. They held OSAS, certainly but they were pretty calvarminian otherwise.

I read a lot of books and eventually moved back to the Detroit area.

In Detroit I connected with a congregation of the General Association of Regular Baptist Churches. This church was very fundamentalist, at the same time though, the Pastor, Dwight Wagner was coming to conviction on the 5 points and was preaching on them.

This was my first exposure to Calvinism in any structured form.

Shortly after this I connected with a congregation of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. The people here gave me books by R. C. Sproul.

"Chosen by God" sealed the deal, as it were.

From this point on I searched the Scriptures and the confessions and what other godly men had written and I came to the solid conclusion that these doctrines of Grace are the very essence of biblical doctrine and with Spurgeon I confess that this thing called Calvinism is nothing more than biblical Christianity.

Ethan_Fetch said:

In 1992 I was immersed in a Southern Baptist Church in Seattle Washington. Before this I had been Roman Catholic.

This Baptist Church was small and not specifically Reformed. They held OSAS, certainly but they were pretty calvarminian otherwise.

I read a lot of books and eventually moved back to the Detroit area.

In Detroit I connected with a congregation of the General Association of Regular Baptist Churches. This church was very fundamentalist, at the same time though, the Pastor, Dwight Wagner was coming to conviction on the 5 points and was preaching on them.

This was my first exposure to Calvinism in any structured form.

Shortly after this I connected with a congregation of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. The people here gave me books by R. C. Sproul.

"Chosen by God" sealed the deal, as it were.

From this point on I searched the Scriptures and the confessions and what other godly men had written and I came to the solid conclusion that these doctrines of Grace are the very essence of biblical doctrine and with Spurgeon I confess that this thing called Calvinism is nothing more than biblical Christianity.

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Sproul does a great job - I have several of his books. You're right, of course, the doctrines of grace are clearly spelled out in Scripture. So clearly it never ceases to amaze me that some folks don't see it.

Anyway - glad to have you here. In real life (as opposed to cyber-space) you're just a stone's throw away from me. We like Detroit and spend time there fairly regularly (esp. @ the JLA).

edie

I was saved at 17 years old, in a Reformed Baptist church back home in Washington. 3 years later I'm stationed down in GA, surrounded by non-calvinists, and it's quite the struggle with these people. I guess this isn't so much how I became one, but what I've experienced since being one. I have heard quite a bit of people talk down about Calvinism since I've been down here, and what a heresy it is. I just recently found a reformed church, New Hope Baptist, and I thank God so much for it. I've sat down with several Pastors (since I've been here) that were interested in my beliefs, and where I came to those conclusions. And through all of the trials I've faced down here, God has blessed me so much and strengthen my faith tremendously.

DJB said:

I was saved at 17 years old, in a Reformed Baptist church back home in Washington. 3 years later I'm stationed down in GA, surrounded by non-calvinists, and it's quite the struggle with these people. I guess this isn't so much how I became one, but what I've experienced since being one. I have heard quite a bit of people talk down about Calvinism since I've been down here, and what a heresy it is. I just recently found a reformed church, New Hope Baptist, and I thank God so much for it. I've sat down with several Pastors (since I've been here) that were interested in my beliefs, and where I came to those conclusions. And through all of the trials I've faced down here, God has blessed me so much and strengthen my faith tremendously.

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Sometimes the message of the Cross still seems foolish even to those who are being saved. Thus the common hatred for the doctrines of Grace even among the redeemed.

Thanks for your testimony, brother.

God is REALLY Sovereign.

I really never knew fully what a Calvinist was for a long time. I just started talking to various people about my views of scripture and they kept calling me a "Calvinist."
I had heard the term but didnt think that it really applied to me until MUCH later on. After the Lord led me out of my "Freewill Baptist" I started seeing the label as a compliment. I still just call myself a Biblical Christian though.

I became a Calvinist after Iwent to Bible college. It just seems that the Bible supports Calvinism, and it doesn't seem to support the contrary. Of course, I came from the point of view (originally) where I would look at the Bible from the temporal sense only and not consider the eternal sense. I thouhgt I had control over the aspects of my life. Then I realized that God could not be sovereign if He did not have the control that I attributed to myself. The grace that was bestowed on me would be because of something I did which would allow me to boast about the faith I recieved from the Lord which I thought I just believed because I chose to believe. Now I realize that it really has nothing to do with me, and that it is only because of the grace and will of the Father that I came to Him through His Son. I grew up Pentecostal, and I still go to a Pentecostal church but I study Calvin now. And I believe that he was able to produce some of the most sound theology that I have ever read. It just makes sense. The Lord wrote all of the days ordained for me in His book before one of them came to be. I'm still studying though, and I'm just loving the intelligence of the Calvinist position.

Glad to have you all on board! Thanks so much for sharing and welcome, to those of you who are new, to Semper Reformanda! Hope you'll be blessed here!

I was loved by God before time began, appointed for salvation, saved by grace at the perfect moment in the Lord's plan in my life, born into the kingdom of God a free-willer, but have turned from that for a Christ centered life.

1 Co. 13:11(NKJ) said:

When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

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And THAT is why I became a Calvinist.

theApostateFreewiller said:

I was loved by God before time began, appointed for salvation, saved by grace at the perfect moment in the Lord's plan in my life, born into the kingdom of God a free-willer, but have turned from that for a Christ centered life.

1 Co. 13:11(NKJ)
When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

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And THAT is why I became a Calvinist.

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First posts don't get any better than this

Welcome to CF & Semper Reformanda

edie

ksen said:

I was saved in 1992 in a small, rural Baptist church. The pastor there always had bad things to say about Calvinism, so not knowing any better I accepted what he had to say.

In 1998 we moved to a different state and we started attending another Baptist church. The pastor was pretty much the same in his views on Calvinism. Then I started getting involved in the religious discussions on a different forum and I was confronted with the truth of what Calvinism taught and not my own spoon-fed caricature of Calvinism.

I still rejected Calvinism, but now it was willful and not out of ignorance. As time went on and I was confronted with more and more evidence from Scripture as to the Predestination and Election of the Saints and God's Sovereignty over His creation. I didn't have an answer for them.

As the debates raged on I got more and more turned off by the twists and turns that the non-Calvinists had to take in order to explain away what Scripture clearly said.

Finally, I took the plunge and accepted with my heart what my head had already understood: that salvation is indeed of the Lord.

Click to expand...

I'm not exactly calvinist, but our stories are similar. I was raised pentecostal and there seems to be no good thing said about calvinism. One of the greatest inspirations and teachers in my life has very calvinist/persbyterian views even though we went to a Pentecostal University (Lee University in cleveland,Tn). He actually makes sense when he talks about scripture without saying anything super spiritual like i was used to hearing in pentecostal settings. He's a life saver to me, and i'm still looking into Calvinism. I'm not very well educated in it though, so i'm still a theological wanderer. You're story made me happy. And relieved. Thank you.