Concerning Those Crusty Calvinists

Those who’ve been delivered from crusty Calvinism need to be as gracious to the crusties as we encourage them to be to non-C’s.

I tweeted that last week and I thought I should give it a bit of explanation.

First, what do I mean by crusty Calvinism?

I was once a pretty crusty Calvinist. I thought people who didn’t adhere to the doctrines of grace were either woefully uninformed or stubbornly ignorant. I found heretics under every bush—and I spent a good deal of my time talking about what was wrong with fellow Christians rather than enjoying grace.

When I met a new believer my first concern was whether or not he’d given his heart to Calvin and less about what God was doing in his life. I wanted to pin down his doctrine, put him in a tidy theological box, and decide whether or not he was worthy of my time and fellowship.

I was also arrogant. I assumed that my doctrine was because of my superior intellect, my devotion to God and His Word, and because I was humble enough to accept God’s Word for what it said. In some very painful respects I was the Angry Preacher Dude I wrote about a few days ago.

Of course in the midst of all of this God was working in my heart. In spite of my pride and ignorance he was still using me. In spite of my crusty Calvinism God wasn’t done with me. He was shaping me and transforming my heart to match the doctrines I held so dear.

And this is why I say we need to be gracious to crusties.

My rescue from crusty Calvinism came in the form of a smack to the face from my good friend John Newton. His letter On Controversy jolted me, truly humbled me, and caused me to cry out to the Lord for real heart change.

Crusty Calvinists can change. And truth be told not all crusty Calvinists are alike. Consider this from Kevin DeYoung:

Some Calvinists are angry, proud, belligerent people who find Calvinism to be a very good way to be angry, proud, and belligerent. Other Calvinists are immature—they don’t understand other people’s struggles, they haven’t been mellowed by life in a good way, they can only see arguments and not people. The two groups can be the same, but not always.”  (Quoted from here)

I was closer to the latter group DeYoung mentions. I was just immature and the Lord had plenty of chiseling and growing to do in my heart. And so I needed grace. I needed gracious and gentle people to put up with my immaturity and help me grow in life. I needed room to be a goober.

I’ve written in the past ways to help a crusty Calvinists. And I believe those still apply.

What I see is a growing movement of gracious Calvinism…at least in regards to how we relate to non-Calvinists and others who differ. I praise God for a growth of humble Calvinism. But I believe there is still room to grow as humble Christians. What I mean is that we’ve figured out how to be humble—or maybe appear humble—to those who aren’t Calvinists. But I wonder are we being gracious and seeking to help crusty Calvinists?

Or are we just banning them?

Dismissing them?

Writing them off as curmudgeons that will never change?

We’ve got some room to grow here.