The determinism in Calvinist theology (i.e., the TULIP doctrines), is the cause of the series of errors within its soteriology. Given that Calvinism is a universal divine causal determinism, God must be the cause of all that occurs. Therefore, God predetermined whom he will save and accomplished all that is necessary for their salvation. But God accomplished all that is necessary for the salvation of the elect, not only in the sense of working their salvation out in history in Jesus, but also by causing in these elect persons their every thought, desire, and response related to God, Christ, and salvation – including their faith or unbelief. Hence, God causes the elect to believe. And he causes unbelief in the non-elect or reprobate. God predestines them to unbelief. He is the direct cause of their rejection of Jesus and salvation. All their divinely predetermined thoughts, desires, and responses also work towards their eternal damnation. They cannot believe and be saved. Indeed, this is an all-encompassing theistic determinism. It applies to everything and everyone. For as the Westminster Confession states, “God from all eternity did by the most wise and holy counsel of his own will, freely and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass…” 1
Calvinists also maintain, that because of sin, persons are “totally depraved” or “totally unable” to believe the gospel message (the “T” in TULIP). But this is incoherent with Scripture because the gospel message comes to sinners telling them how their sin problem has been remedied and how they can appropriate this remedy for themselves by faith. The biblical witness to the nature of faith shows that this Calvinist doctrine of “total inability” is wrong. The Calvinist will interpret Rom. 3:10-18 as teaching “total inability.” But not only is Rom. 1 clear on personal responsibility with respect to the knowledge of God, and people failing to glorify, worship, and give thanks to God, but many other passages tell us about many different circumstance in which people seek God or are commanded to do so (Deut. 4:29; 1 Chron. 16:10-11, 22:19, 28:9; 2 Chron. 7:14, 11:6, 12:14, 15:12-13; Is. 45:19, 51:1, 55:6; Jer. 29:13; Lam. 3:25; Dan. 9:3; Hosea 7:10, 10:12; Amos 5:4; Zeph. 2:3; Zech. 8:22; Mal 3:11; Mt. 6:33; Acts 17:27; Heb 11:6). There is nothing in Scripture to make us to think that a sinner cannot believe in Christ and that faith must be caused or generated in the individual by God himself first so that they may believe. Note that it is incoherent to think that God must cause a person to believe so the person can believe. Who is doing the believing? Is faith merely transferred to the sinner by God? And what is the rationale of a caused faith? Isn’t the very purpose of faith to reveal to God how that individual sinner is responding to God’s message of grace to him in Christ? Isn’t that defeated by a faith that is caused by God? Furthermore, Calvinists will say that the sinner is dead because of sin and cannot respond at all to God. They say the sinner first needs to be regenerated or made spiritually alive. But to be regenerated or be made spiritually alive is just what it means to be saved. But it is incoherent to say God regenerates (i.e., saves) the sinner so that they can be saved. And if the Calvinist maintains that the sinner first needs to be regenerated or made spiritually alive, then what?! Does God regenerate a person so they can believe? But we were told by the Calvinist that God must cause faith in the sinner. So we see that Calvinism’s determinism has God doing everything and the sinner doing nothing. But this is contrary to what we have discovered about the definition of faith and the nature of faith from the scriptures. We cannot deny that faith is a sinner’s own response to God’s revelation of himself in nature (Rom. 1:18ff.) and especially the “good news” of their salvation in Christ.
Indeed, the Calvinist doctrines are confused. That confusion is the result of failing to read the Bible in context, as I have just demonstrated above. Now, context is directly related to coherence. If the Calvinists would take coherence on board in their hermeneutic they would be required to read and interpret the scriptures coherently, that is, coherently with other scriptures, which is to say, in context. You are not reading in context when you ignore the incoherence your interpretation creates with what is said elswhere in the immedaite text or the Scripture as a whole.
The confusion in Calvinism also results from Calvinism’s theistic determinism and an unbiblical understanding of the nature of man and faith. But we don’t need to accept this confusion. Nothing could be more obvious than that God himself calls all sinners to believe the “good news” of their salvation. And because God cannot be false or disingenuous, each person hearing this gospel message may believe it. God cannot call a sinner to belief and salvation in Christ while predetermining and causing their unbelief and rejection of Christ. Therefore, all who hear the “good news” may believe. It is the proclamation of God’s gracious work in having accomplished salvation for all. That is what makes it “good news.!” It is sinners who are called upon to believe the gospel. The gospel is for sinners. And since we are all sinners, that means this “good news” is for us all. It is for everyone, and as such, everyone can believe and be saved. The reason that many do not believe is because they choose to reject God and the gospel. Hence, they are culpable for their unbelief, condemnation, and eternal punishment just as the Bible says.
1 G. I. Williamson, The Westminster Confession of Faith for Study Classes (Phillipsburg: Puritan and Reformed Publishing Co., 1978), III.1, p. 30. (Emphases mine)
The Truth of the Gospel 