Why are people so resistant to Reformed theology?

When we find ourselves resisting what Scripture teaches, it may be because the Bible challenges our presuppositions about who God is and how He should act. From one of our Ask Ligonier events, Burk Parsons reflects on his former objections to the doctrines of grace.

#AskLigonier

[mauricewilsondaddybob]

What does reformed mean what's it reformed from, the gospel the Apostle Paul preached first time wasn't good enough?

[yurizafurizaki]

I came in contact with Reformed Theology after years of studying the Bible. And the first time I heard about it, it all fell into place. It's like I had found the piece of the puzzle to get everything to make sense, and the answer was Reformed Theology.

Too many confusion out there when all we need is not man's interpretation of the Bible, we need God to interpret His Word, and ways to do this are by diligently reading, studying the Bible, meditating on it.

Engaging with other Christians is of course very important but we have to be wise when absorbing their interpretation of the Word.

[js-]

Yes! Why me, LORD??? Thank YOU for YOUR grace! How humbling!!!

[BloodCovenant]

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. He created everything in the earth by Himself, for Himself. If we can accept this, our Christian life will be way less complicated, because we would then realize the He is God and we are not! He will do as He chooses without the need for our permission!

[bakhtior]

Honestly because a lot of our Reformed friends are so condescending of non-Reformed believers. Not a theological response but it's a personal response

[briancross]

Skeptic: "If God is saving people all by himself, why doesn't he just go ahead and save everyone?"
Calvinist: "Oh you've got the wrong question. The real question, if you understood how bad man is, is why does he save anyone?"
Skeptic: "Feel free to answer either question then."
Calvinist: "I think I've sufficiently dealt with this."

[jackjones]

The Bible, when read with a contrite spirit, seems to me exceedingly straightforward. God has not condescended through Christ to take such amazing pains to save us in order to obfuscate and mystify His will. The question is whether we are willing to acknowledge and trust Him.

[theronwright]

Because you don’t have to be reformed to be saved.

[Appregator]

I just read the Bible seeking and wondering where to find God. God chose to reveal who he was.. I obeyed, gave my life fully to him. Now I pray to understand scriptures I don't understand. Learned many things. I don't even know what reformed theology is, I don't care, I just want to know God. It is wonderful.

[nenorov]

Why so people against Reformed Theology?
Wouldn't the simple answer be because God determined it to be so?

[cbrooks]

I'll never understand why Calvinists work so hard to convert other Christians to their theology. It seems like that energy can be better spent elsewhere. I'll never understand why they do not realize that they are just like everyone else in thinking that their position is the one that is most consistent with scripture. And I am not a Calvinist because I do NOT think it is most consistent with scripture. "Oh, well then you're not reading the scriptures right." That's exactly what your opponents say of you.

[saulm]

Maybe most people resist Reformed theology not so much because of theological reasons as because of its fruits. More specifically, when a doctrine tends to make people arrogant and condescending towards others, that very fact will inevitable make people suspicious that something is deeply wrong.

[derekmobbs]

"God sovereignly decreed that man should be free to exercise moral choice, and man from the beginning has fulfilled that decree by making his choice between good and evil. When he chooses to do evil, he does not thereby countervail the sovereign will of God but fulfills it, inasmuch as the eternal decree decided not which choice the man should make but that he should be free to make it. If in His absolute freedom God has willed to give man limited freedom, who is there to stay His hand or say, 'What doest thou?' Man’s will is free because God is sovereign. A God less than sovereign could not bestow moral freedom upon His creatures. He would be afraid to do so."

-A.W. Tozer, from The Knowledge of the Holy

[Ashwin]

God has already said why he saves people:
Ezekiel 18:  32  For I have no pleasure in the death of him who dies, ” says the Lord Yahweh. “Therefore turn yourselves, and live!

It's God desire that all people repent and so live. And so God made a way for us to be forgiven on the condition that we repent and turn to Jesus..

And of course, if people are not willing to repent, they face judgement for their actions.
The question why me comes up only if we think we are some kind of "chosen ones"... The rest of us know that there is nothing special in us and the only reason we are saved is because of Jesus.. So we cling to him..
Why me doesn't make much sense in such a scenario... Lord thank you, makes a lot more sense.

[fredcloud]

Knowledge puffs up, it is God's love that identifies and unifies His children.

[rob]

When what Scripture teaches, is resisted it may be because the Bible challenges presuppositions about who God is and how He should act. This is exactly what concerns us about those who adhere to Reformed Theology (i.e. those Calvinists who attempt to own that term exclusively).

[rhondae]

Thank you for sharing this biblical truth. Praise God (Christ). 😊

[krakenhuevos]

Standard Calvinist presuppositions and logical fallacies. You have to watch out for them.
A few things to notice in this video:
1. He starts off saying the God he had been taught about was a God who did things a certain way and not another way. Well, on Calvinism, God very much does things a certain way and not another way. So Parsons STILL has presuppositions, and many non-reformed believers would say they are not biblical. Some of his unbiblical presuppositions are: Regeneration precedes faith, man is unable to respond to God.
2. He says that there are many Christians who still struggle with the 'doctrines of grace' because of academics, exegetics, and hermeneutics. He suggests that until he got his hermeneutical method correct he wasn't able to make scripture consistent with each other. But there is A LOT of scripture twisting that has to take place on Calvinism. Example, "all" doesn't really mean all. "Whole world" doesn't really mean whole world. Faith somehow becomes a meritorious work even though it is constantly contrasted with works over and over and over. God's says he desires one thing but really means another. God becomes the one who decreed the evil things everyone does, yet somehow He's not the author of evil.
3. He characterizes people who don't accept reformed theology as having a desire for universalism. This is a strawman argument. He says they struggle with how a loving God could condemn, and that they struggle wondering why God couldn't just elect everyone. He then burns this strawman, making his view seem like the logical answer.
4. He then begs the question "why does God save anyone?" and "Why me?" Yes, those are good questions. A biblical answer would be that Christ died and rose again, atoning for the sins of and saving anyone who puts their faith in Him.

We have to be careful of not falling into the logical trap of thinking that just because a certain theological view supposedly gives God "more glory" that it is the correct view. It gives God more glory to honor his word and the sacrifice He made for the WHOLE WORLD.

[JCATG]

This is a good and honest response to the question as I also struggled with Reformed Theology during my early years of coming to the faith. The best way to enter this query is to pray that the Holy Spirit will guide our minds and hearts as we read the Scriptures in wisdom.

[craigdrury]

GODS GRACE doesnt give me a license to sin.