I had a discussion awhile back with my beloved in-laws about the doctrine of sovereign grace. I love them dearly and I know that they truly love God and are tireless servants of Him. However, they are Armenians and I am a 5 point Calvinist, so there are some areas where we disagree with one another in love and charity. One question posed to me was, "Don't you think you might fall into a prideful state in thinking you are one of the chosen while others are not?" I must admit, I was rather taken off guard by this question. It had never occurred to me that I might be prideful of my election. In my surprise, I didn't have an answer for them other than to say, "No, I have no pride in my election." I had never even considered the thought.
I now can say with clarity that anyone who truly understands the doctrine of grace could in no way have any pride in their own election. I have done nothing, could do nothing to deserve the grace my Lord has given me. God sees nothing in me that is worthy of saving, He simply does so according to His own good pleasure. So what do I have to boast about? My natural desires are against God in every way and it is He and He alone who opened my eyes to my rotten state and called me to Himself. My peers who are unbelievers (the ones who will die in that state, I don't know who is who) cannot believe. It is against their nature as they are slaves to their sin. A river would have an easier time reversing the direction it flows than a man enslaved by his sin nature could turn to God. I am not better than him, I was simply set free.
On the other hand, an Armenian can boast of their salvation. He is either smart enough, logical enough, open minded enough, or had the proper Christian upbringing to come to the point where they made that first small step towards Christ. Their peers who have rejected the Gospel, and will until they die, are too closed minded, unwilling to see the truth. They are unsaved because they refuse to see what is plain to them.
I am sure there are some who call themselves Calvinists who boast that they are elected by God. They have a distorted view of His grace, though. And while Armenians may give God the glory for their salvation, when it boils down to it, some of the glory they must give to themselves.
I now can say with clarity that anyone who truly understands the doctrine of grace could in no way have any pride in their own election. I have done nothing, could do nothing to deserve the grace my Lord has given me. God sees nothing in me that is worthy of saving, He simply does so according to His own good pleasure. So what do I have to boast about? My natural desires are against God in every way and it is He and He alone who opened my eyes to my rotten state and called me to Himself. My peers who are unbelievers (the ones who will die in that state, I don't know who is who) cannot believe. It is against their nature as they are slaves to their sin. A river would have an easier time reversing the direction it flows than a man enslaved by his sin nature could turn to God. I am not better than him, I was simply set free.
On the other hand, an Armenian can boast of their salvation. He is either smart enough, logical enough, open minded enough, or had the proper Christian upbringing to come to the point where they made that first small step towards Christ. Their peers who have rejected the Gospel, and will until they die, are too closed minded, unwilling to see the truth. They are unsaved because they refuse to see what is plain to them.
I am sure there are some who call themselves Calvinists who boast that they are elected by God. They have a distorted view of His grace, though. And while Armenians may give God the glory for their salvation, when it boils down to it, some of the glory they must give to themselves.
