The Frozen Chosen

There's a common misconception among the Christian community at large that Reformed theology somehow negates the possibiltiy of a Christian to be a good evangelist. We've all heard Calvinists ever so affectionately referred to as the "Frozen Chosen." In essence, there is an unspoken belief that Calvinists don't make very good Christians. According to a critic: "Nothing will foster pride and indifference as will an affection for Calvinism...The doctrines of Calvinism will deaden and kill anything: prayer, faith, zeal, holiness." But as Phillip Graham Ryken says, and I echo his words with even more volume and assurence, "If [you] are not a very good Christian, then [you] must not be a very good Calvinist either."

In truth, we've all had our run-ins with prideful, holier-than-thou reformers, made arrogant by some sense that they alone have been elected by God to know the Truth. Still, the notion that Calvinism deadens prayer, faith or even holiness is just plain silly. But what about zeal? Mr. Ryken goes on to say that, "...a true understanding of Reformed theology results in a vibrant Christian experiece that is full of spiritual vitality. Far from hindering warm personal piety, the doctrines of grace help cause it to flourish." These are easy words to say, but do all Calvinists walk this talk? I would regretably be forced to admit they don't, myself included. But there are a few things I feel obliged to point out.

Firstly, I submit that the definition of zeal does not involve the height to which one rasies his hands during singing or the number of times he has sung the chorus of the latest praise song. I say this with a bit of sarcasm, but the fact remains that the "vitality" of a church, and I dare say even one's own faith, is all too often measured by how lively their style of worship is. The argument I always get from those who advocate a praise band during Sunday morning worship is that the style of music shouldn't matter, as long as the meaning of the song is right and the heart of the worhiper is in the right place. Can this argument not go both ways? Can a "boring" hymn not be just as spiritualy vital as an upbeat praise song, if indeed it does depend on the heart of the worshiper and not on the style of music?

The other big criticism is that the doctrine of election kills any need to evangelize. After all, God's elect will come to Him, with or without our help. Why do we need to evangelize? Well that isn't the point, is it? God has told us to go and make diciples of all nations, and that is what we will do. You see, this notion of a "5-point Calvinism" fogs the truth and depth of Reformed theology, and I dislike the term. Calvinism is a systematic theology of the entire Bible, not simply a list of 5 points. Those 5 points were merely a response to the 5 major criticisms of Arminians. In fact, the doctine of sola scriptura may be the most imporant in all Reformed theology, yet it isn't one of the 5 points. Thus the doctrine of election does not take precedence in any way over the great commission, they work in conjunction with one another. As Charles Spurgeon (A Calvinist and one of the greatest evangelists of the late 19th century) argued, Calvinism is merely a nickname for true biblical theology.

My high school Bible teacher once said, "It doesn't matter how good your theology is, if your church isn't growing, it stinks!" Obviously that isn't true. Good theology is good theology, regardless of how rapidly a church is growing. However, if your church isn't growing, you should definately figure out why. Bottom line; you're a Calvinist, you have good theology (I dare say you hold the truth itself). Well, good for you. Now what are you going to do with it?