Which Soteriological view is more 'Humanistic?'

These are some recent comments sent to me via social media:

“Your theology is man-centered…”
“You are a humanistic Pelagian…”
“You start with man and build your view of God around humanistic reasoning.”
“Making God in your own image is not theology, Mr. Flowers!!!”

And those were the nice ones.

First, I would like us to try and objectively consider which soteriological perspective is actually more “humanistic.” To do so we need a good working definition. The American Heritage Dictionary defines humanistic as “one who is concerned with the interests and welfare of humans.”

I’ll objectively concede this point: When compared to the claims of Calvinism related to God’s ultimate desire for self-glorification it does appear that our soteriological perspective does put more emphasis on God’s concern with humanity over and above His concern for self-glorification. Notable Calvinists are known to argue that God’s primary concern is not the welfare of man, but for Himself and His own glory.

In my journey to becoming a Calvinist, I was very drawn to the teachings about God’s desire for His own glory. This was especially attractive to me coming out of the more “seeker-sensitive” movement that seemed to put way too much focus on pleasing man rather than on glorifying God. And quite honestly, Calvinistic authors introduced me to many texts within scripture which so clearly supported the doctrine of God’s self-glorification that I could not begin to understand how any Bible-believing Christian could deny such truth. They would have to be selfish and humanistic to do so, right?

Regardless of what some of my Calvinistic friends may think; in my journey out of Calvinism, I did not abandon the truth that God seeks His own Glory. Instead, I realized that God’s Glory is best revealed in His self-sacrificial love for all. I came to understand that God does not sacrifice creation for the sake of His own glory, but instead He sacrifices Himself for sake of His creation, which in turn reveals Him as the most glorious of all.

By putting the welfare of man above His own self-glorification, God reveals Himself to be so much more abundantly glorious than anything we could imagine. The Calvinist seems to think that God’s glory is best manifest by putting His own exaltation first, whereas the example of Christ reveals just the opposite. It is through giving up His glory, by putting the needs of lowly undeserving humans first, that He is most abundantly glorified.

In the flesh, I always care more about my own glory than the needs or wants of others. Don’t you? Yet, would Calvinists have us believe that God has this same “humanistic” characteristic? Does God care more about His own glory than the welfare of humanity? Or, does God’s care for all humanity reveal just how glorious He really is? How can the Calvinist rightly accuse our view of God as being “humanistic” when their view of God looks and sounds just like self-seeking humans who desire all the glory for themselves even if it means the sacrifice and suffering of others?

John Piper is quoted as saying, “God is the one Being in all the universe for whom seeking his own praise is the ultimate loving act. For him, self-exaltation is the highest virtue.” And I would re-word that by saying, “God is the one Being in all the universe who actually deserves to seek His own glory, praise, and self-exaltation, but instead chooses to empty Himself for the sake of worthless humanity in the ultimate act of love on Calvary. This act, once accepted by faith, leads us to freely praise, exalt and glorify Him for the self-sacrificial God He is.”

Are God’s genuine care and loving provision for all humanity the true reflection of His glory? Or, is God seeking His own glory at the expense of most humanity? And which of those views is really more “humanistic?”

[trebmaster]

"God does not sacrifice creation for the sake of His own glory, But instead He sacrificed Himself for the sake of His creation, thus revealing Himself as the most glorious One of all"

Mic drop.

[qcbtbx]

"I have centered my theology on man, the man Jesus Christ."🙌🏾

[GoLainoGo]

I rarely comment on YouTube videos Dr. Leighton Flowers but your ministry is such a blessing. I have never been a calvinist but when I first got saved 7 years ago, in my ignorance as a new Christian, I went to a liberal church that did not seriously believe or teach the Bible. Because I was hungry for teaching/preaching and not being fed at my church, I turned to YouTube. And as you have already mentioned before in your videos, Calvinism dominates the internet. Because Calvinists actually believe and teach the Bible, it fed me and I grew spiritually from guys like Washer, MacArthur, Baucham, Piper, Conway, etc. A year or so later I eventually left the liberal church and went to a Dispensational Bible Believing church that subscribed neither to arminianism or calvinism . However, the seed of calvinism was planted and my view of Eph 1 and Rom 9 was tainted. I knew Calvinism wasnt true but I could not seem to figure these passages out. They LOOKED like Calvinism to me every time I read them. As a matter of fact I avoided those chapters. They were probably my least favorite places in the Pauline Epistles because they made no sense to me. I sought out help from my teachers to no avail. No one could give to me an exegisis of the passages. It seemed to always be ad hominem rebuttals and philosophical answers. I needed a solid logical line by line exposition of the chapters within their context and Dr. Leighton Flowers you have unlocked those Chapters for me. The seed of Calvinism has been plucked from my heart and flooded with the truth of God's word. I no longer fear Rom 9 and Eph 1. I no longer fear the words election and predestination. As I watch and listen more and more I can feel the liberation and see the error of Calvinism. Thank God for this ministry and God bless you.

[Rolan]

Thanks for this video, Leighton. It helped instill a sense of calm in my inner world, despite the Calvinistic circles I walk in.
In truth, I hate being at odds with others in my church on this matter, and often find myself not sharing my opinions or what I think Scripture actually means because I don't want to undermine the beliefs of others (because otherwise I'd have to take on the whole Calvinistic model in a 2 minute snippet - not a great way to build relationships in bible study). But you laid out how 1. God is glorious, period. 2. He is glorified by selflessly giving Himself for the good of others. It is not about man adding one more hallelujah in worship to God, it is about all of creation being grateful to the One who has given them 1. Existence and 2. Redemption. There are no set amounts of glory that God needs, and we need not worry about "stealing" God's glory if we claim that everything we have comes from Him.
And applying the story of the Good Samaritan to show God's attitude towards us was a balm for my soul.
Thank you Leighton, I am truly thankful for the work you've done.

[TrueSaint]

Thank you so much for putting to words what I have felt for so long yet have been unable to communitcate. I appreciate your fidelity to sound doctrine and caring attitude.

[marcosbatista]

Its a really good work man ! I feel alone sometimes because here in brazil calvinism is growing so much !

[nathanburgett]

Definitely calvinism. It's just sad. Its such a mess of philosophy and tradition. People with good intentions get sucked into it. I really just wish people would see it. Calvinism has a god made in our own image. If we would just submit to the indwelling Spirit and focus on walking in love with each other, as we grow and mature we would come to a unity of the faith and knowledge of jesus. I think the enemy is extremely pleased how devieved and divided we are as a body over man made traditions. Pretty powerless and in many cases more of a stumbling block to faith. Then we are shocked and wonder why 1500 "pastors" a month leave the faith, or why 4000 "church" buildings a month are indefinitely.❤☹

[branch]

Leighton, God used you to open my eyes to this video content 2 years ago. It put a big finger on much of my internal struggles in respect to better understanding the character of God. Great to see it refined in this video...thanks. :) It is a scary sign of our times that proper exegesis in Ephesians and Romans is hard (and for some, seemingly impossible) to find. Reminds me of Amos 8:11. InTruthbyGrace
pointed out Jeremiah 13:11 in response here to your video. That might be a really good verse to include in one of your future videos. Thanks for staring the year off right with us. Happy New Year Leighton and to all in this community. :)

[opindras.bangerh]

Thank you Leighton this is a beautiful presentations. Now I know why James White and John Piper don't respond to your invitation to come on your show.

[rachelvanzile]

This is up and down AWESOME truth. It's so clear and truly what I wish Calvanists and ALL people could understand. Calvanistic soteriology does not give hope. This message from Dr. Flowers expresses the hope we have been given.

[zzzzz]

Great video, brother.
I'm on the fence with this as I hear both views and tend to lean more toward the Calvinist side. Although I find myself saying aloud during calvanistic sermons sometimes "WHAT!?" as I think they strawman the non calvanistic side quite a lot.

For instance they say that if man has free will than man's will trumps God's Will but that's nonsense, as God ALLOWS man to have free will, thus God remains completely sovereign. The way they do that is misleading but I think they mean well.

I find the whole thing interesting and I enjoy trying to figure it all out. Your channel is valuable in this subject.

[RTreturns]

I am planning sometime next year to go chapter by chapter and refute James White book called the Potter's freedom. I plan on a video on each chapter. I hope to interact if possible with you before I put out this rebuttal. I have 5 chapter done in a rough draft but I have a lot of work to go. Even after I do finish I usually pretend to preach it out loud about 10 times and mediate before I release it. Hoping we can interact on this. By going chapter to chapter maybe it can be a conversation that can open up the debate in a fresh way.

[guipe]

Outstanding in every way. May God continue to bless you and your ministry.
Happy New Year!

[JasonSchmidt-]

We are saved by grace through faith and this is the gift of God so no man can boast.

[marydetray]

Yes! I loved this! It hit right at the heart of what is SO wrong with Calvinism, I don't understand how they can just overlook this HUGE issue with their position.

[jameshoyt]

Your best video yet Leighton. I am sharing this with other Christians I know.

[davidblack]

Best video of yours I have seen. And I’ve seen most.

[EmperrHrde]

I'm always struck by people who accuse you of creating God in your own image because your understanding of Christian theology isn't a carbon copy of theirs. Or people who accuse you of editing the word of God because your interpretation of the scriptures is different from theirs.

[KISStheSON...]

Quote sent to Leighton from a Calvinist - “You start with man and build your view of God around humanistic reasoning.”

Actually, God first started by SENDING his word of truth into the world to be heard and understood.
Second, God gave each of us the POWER to reason with his word that he first sent.
Reason = "the power of the mind to think, understand, and form judgments by a process of logic."
God teaches us through his word to be wise as we are reasoning.
Wise = "responding sensibly or shrewdly to a particular situation."

John 17:17
“Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.”

Psalms 94:8
“Understand, ye brutish among the people: and ye fools, when will ye be wise?”

[mrnoedahl]

Don't you ever get tired of fighting Calvinists? They are a very proud lot.