When we say “Calvinism,” we sometimes mean different things. Sometimes we mean the five points of Calvinism: total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace, and the perseverance of the saints. Those are five basic truths that emerge from certain debates in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Calvinism represents biblical preaching and expounding the word of God.Calvinism is something bigger than that. I would want to go back to the 16th century and to the theology of Calvin. What did Calvin introduce? Calvin introduced something that’s very important, and that is preaching and expounding the whole Bible. Calvin was a theologian, but he was also a preacher. He spent the whole of his life preaching through books of the Bible beginning in the first verse of the first chapter to the last verse of the last chapter of that book. He did that throughout the course of his life. Calvinism represents biblical preaching and expounding the word of God.
Calvinism can mean many other things, for example, an emphasis on the sovereignty of God and the majesty of God; that could be said to be the essence of Calvinism. To be sure, that also is biblical. Paul’s response, for example, in Romans chapters 9, 10, and 11, is to say that “Behold the majesty of God,” and “Who are you to reply against God?”.
Calvinism. Yes, it is a system of theology. It is a way of understanding the big picture as opposed to the small picture. It is about understanding the whole of the Bible.
