What is the heartbeat of a true Calvinist? What I mean is, what is the utmost desire of the person who holds to reformed theology? Perhaps a better question would be, what should be the heartbeat of a Calvinist?
I believe the heartbeat of many Calvinists is simply to win a theological debate with an Arminian. While claiming to hold to Pauline Theology (which I believe does speak very Calvinistically), these people fail to see the heartbeat of the apostle Paul.
One of the favorite proof text of the Calvinist is Romans 9. We like to point out that God chose Jacob before Jacob was even born. (Romans 9:11). God did this so that his purpose of election might continue, not because of works, but because of his call. We like to point that out.
But how many Calvinism verses Arminianism debates begin with Romans 9:1-3:
I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit— that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh.
In this passage we see the heartbeat of the apostle Paul is the salvation of his people, his relatives, the Jews. This is echoed in the very beginning of the next chapter as well. This passion is the springboard for his discourse on election.
Friends, if you claim to believe the doctrines of Paul, but do not share the heartbeat of the apostle Paul, then do not call yourself a Calvinist. If you simply just want to win a debate, then you need to examine yourself, because the heart of a Calvinist is a zeal for evangelism and a passion for the salvation of lost souls.
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