Calvinists, Arminians, Meritocracy, and Coffee

The other day, I was sitting with some friends in Barnes and Noble, drinking a cup of coffee, as per usual, and the conversation fell, as per usual, to theological issues. Today, the topic of discussion was predestination versus free will. And as one friend eloquently gave his dissertation on predestination, I found myself departing from the conversation into my own world of reflection... allow me to take you there for a few moments...

There are several tenets of faith that both Calvinists (predestinationalists) and Arminians (free-willers) hold to be true. While they differ on election and irresistibility of grace, both agree on the total depravity of mankind and the substitutionary nature and effects of Christ's death, limited to and only received by the elect. Further, both agree that humankind is unable to know their need for salvation or fully understand the Gospel, unless the Holy Spirit first shows them their need. While Arminians then go on to claim that such a nudging from the Holy Spirit is resistible, and Calvinists would say that it is irresistible, both (with a few exceptions) agree that humankind cannot recognize their own depravity or fully grasp the Gospel hope without the Holy Spirit.

So why the theology lesson?

You see, friends, my revere was sparked, not by deep intellectual thought, but by a profound sadness in realizing that I had once again fallen into the pattern of missing the Gospel.

Don't miss what I'm saying for the words: I fully believe the Gospel to be true. And I live my life accordingly. Yet, often times, I fall into a system of meritocracy in which I begin to realize my own depravity, but rather than leaning into the cross, I start buying into the idea that I don't deserve love, grace, salvation, friendship, funding, good things, you name it. And the truth is, I don't deserve any of those. But instead of seeing my own depravity as a source of freedom, I see my failures as a reason to strive harder. To work harder. To punish myself, until I am sufficiently pardoned. Even to work harder to understand the Gospel. And when I fail, we begin that cycle again. Meritocracy. You are only given what you deserve. And the fact is, I don't deserve very much at all.

But friends, therein, I miss the Gospel.

The power of the Gospel is that Jesus died for me while I was entirely undeserving, merit-less, and messed-up. Total Depravity. I can do nothing to earn it. In fact, I cannot even recognize my need for the Gospel, or its totality, without the Holy Spirit's nudging. The beauty of the Gospel is that it is entirely substitutionary-- Jesus' actions, not mine. And it is God's free gift to you and to me. I am given worth and meaning, because God created me in his own image, called it good, and is now actively redeeming, restoring, and making me whole. Not on my own merit, but because of His goodness. And it is only through the Holy Spirit that we begin to grasp the fullness of that gift.

So friends, forgive me if I disappeared temporarily from the conversation over coffee. But thank you, for sparking a conversation which left room for the Holy Spirit to do His work.

Simply put: no matter how old you are, no matter how many times you've heard or spoken the Gospel, the Holy Spirit always will have work to do, revealing to us, over and over again, the depths of our depravity and the incomparable depth of the Gospel freedom.