Calvinism Finale: Is Every Christian A Calvinist Without Knowing?

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I trust you have been following the tread of this topic from the first part. Because much ground has already been covered until we have come to this 5th and final section. Just to redigest our minds: the main idea of Calvinism is that God is sovereign, it’s dependent not on your will, or your prayers but on God who shows mercy.

We have also dealt with the opposite of this, which stresses that it's actually dependent on our free choice between good and evil. As I said, believers today are divided into these two camps: those who elevate God's sovereignty and those who elevate man's free will. It's the Calvinists vs the Arminians. Today, however, I want to bring attention to the fact that there is a certain point that even Arminians themselves become Calvinists, whether they are conscious of it or not. That is, one way or the other, every believer admits that it’s dependent on God and Him alone. This fact is evident by:

     1.)Prayer for the unsaved
Prayer on its own means something. That is, when a believer bows their head in prayer, they are already surrendering their own will to that of the Lord. They are admitting that the Almighty is indeed sovereign: it’s dependent on Him. At that point, nobody protests about their free will, but we all become humble and willing to accept whatever the Lord decides for our lives. This is most true when it comes to prayers for those who are unsaved. I mean, if an Arminian sincerely believes that free will is effective and it plays a critical part in saving a sinner, then there is no need to pray to God to open their hearts. Because apparently, a sinner can open his own heart, and can seek God for themselves, there is no need for The Almighty to “quicken them unto life.” However, true is the fact that even the most devoted free-will believer does not believe that sinners can open their eyes without God's intervention. They do believe in the sovereignty of God to save their lost loved ones, as evidenced by their prayer for them. Therefore, every Christian is a Calvinist in that sense.

     2.) When a loved one dies
Based on my experience with death and funerals, I have noticed a sense of acceptance; a sense of surrendering to the will of God when a loved one has died. According to our human will, nobody must die, certainly not our closest family members, yet these things happen nevertheless. And we accept them because we understand that it’s God who has control of our breath. He is sovereign enough to decide who will and will not make it through this year of 2025. It could be me, it could be you; either way, let the will of the Lord prevail.

Having said that, I know a few brethren who believe that death is not the will of God but the will of Satan. My question to them is: so you believe Satan’s will is more powerful than God's will for our lives? I mean, God is more powerful, therefore, does He not have the power to stop Satan from killing mankind? Nonetheless, I am sure you know without a doubt that it’s God who gives life, and takes life whenever He decides. According to Job, “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the Name of the Lord” (Job 1:21). Therefore, it’s only a matter of time between me and you. That is why at funerals, nobody complains to the Almighty, but we all grieve with a sense of submission to the Sovereignty of our Creator. Hence all, even unbelievers are Calvinists in that sense. What do you think?

Sinothi Ncube


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