Comments on: How Calvinism Informs Evangelism

By: Caffeinated Thoughts - » Twenty Items of Interest (v. 16)

Caffeinated Thoughts - » Twenty Items of Interest (v. 16) — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 14:55:18 +0000

[...] 19. Being a reformed evangelical when discussing Calvinism with some Arminian brothers and sisters I’m often asked, “Why evangelize if God has predestined those who are saved?” Bob Hayton has a great blog post on this topic sharing how Calvinism informs evangelism. [...]

By: Les

Les — Sun, 04 May 2008 11:57:58 +0000

Bob, as usual Piper’s sermons have blessed me. Thanks for this post.

For me, when I embraced the reformed, Calvinistic theological positions, I came to feel more like Bill in St Lou. There is a great sense of freedom when we are able to trust the whole evangelistic process to our sovereign God.

By: Twenty Items of Interest (v. 16) « Caffeinated Thoughts

Twenty Items of Interest (v. 16) « Caffeinated Thoughts — Thu, 01 May 2008 00:52:45 +0000

[...] often asked, “Why evangelize if God has predestined those who are saved?” Bob Hayton has a great blog post on this topic sharing how Calvinism informs evangelism. Despite what many have said or heard, Calvinism does not negate or downplay evangelism. [...]

By: fundyreformed

fundyreformed — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 21:05:05 +0000

Thanks, Seth. Good post.

By: Seth McBee

Seth McBee — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 04:25:00 +0000

Hey Bob…I think that a story from overseas might help this understanding of Calvinism and Evangelism…it really helped me better understand…

I wrote about it over at contend if you want to check it out…

I, as you, get very tired of this thought that Calvinism kills evangelism…I really don’t get it…

By: fundyreformed

fundyreformed — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 18:11:06 +0000

Thanks, Joe. Blessings to you from the cross.

I’m envious that you got to attend T4G. I just finished posting on it.

By: joe

joe — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 03:10:46 +0000

I just returned from T4G conference where Piper was a guest speaker. I have never heard better, radical, gospel saturated Holy Spirit filled preaching in my 33 years of life.

And 25 of the years were spent in ” KJB, (it is THE Bible not a translation) Independent, fundamental, soul-winning, separated, Baptist churches.”

Then, while asst. pastoring in a church like the described above, God saved me. Truly born-again, I saw that when God saves people, He does it for a reason, to conform them to the image of His Son and to glorify Him.

When the fundamentalist preacher saves them by getting them to bow their head and pray a prayer, there is no repentance, just the jackpot lottery of heaven. I have witnessed for 25 years, churches more interested in decisions than conversions. Appreciate the blog Bob. Keep courageous, this is the gospel we are contending for. Decisional regeneration is a plague.

Joe VonDoloski
Vanderbilt, MI

By: Larry Lawton

Larry Lawton — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 01:08:36 +0000

Awesome! Just a tidbit from Spurgeon…

“I fear lest God should forsake me, to prove that he is the author of salvation, that it is not in the preacher, that it is not in the crowd, that it is not in the attention I can attract, but in God, and in God alone.” — Delivered on May 10, 1857.

By: fundyreformed

fundyreformed — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 17:19:30 +0000

Bill in St. Lou,

Great comments. I agree totally, and would that we all are so energized by this doctrine to go out and reach the lost for our Lord Jesus.

Blessings in Christ,

Bob

By: Bill in Saint Lou

Bill in Saint Lou — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 17:17:28 +0000

Reformed doctrine has set me free to perform evangelism with so much greater confidence, joy, and, well, love. I knew of nothing except Wesleyan/Arminian/charismatic doctrine for most of thirty years. It was up to me and my clever persuasions or a preacher’s heart-tugging altar call to get an unbeliever to “pray the sinner’s prayer.” Now, I realize that God is the Great Evangelist. He uses Christendom with all of our imperfections as a means to proclaim the Good News.

More than any other tradition Calvinism explains the cosmos, mankind’s condition and behavior, and God’s actions from Creation to the culmination of time and beyond.

Calvinism is not evangelistic? Please don’t believe that. Biblical Reformed doctrine sets a person free to evangelize.