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Clip: The Hyper-Calvinism Lie

Jim Butler · 2022-02-26 · Acts 2 · 313 words · 2 min

1689 London Baptist Confession

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Summary

Expository

Divine sovereignty and human responsibility are both affirmed in Scripture without contradiction, and Hyper-Calvinism's erasure of human accountability is a lie that must be rejected.

Peter's Pentecost sermon in Acts 2 simultaneously affirms God's comprehensive sovereignty over the crucifixion and demands personal repentance from those who crucified Christ. Hyper-Calvinism distorts both truths by collapsing human responsibility into divine decree, leaving sinners with no reason to repent. The sermon argues that Scripture holds divine sovereignty and human accountability together without theodicy or apology, and calls every hearer to repent and believe the gospel.

Key quotes

The problem of Hyper-Calvinism is not only that it removes God or removes Christ from the sinner, but it removes the responsibility of sin from the sinner.
They've accepted the hyper-Calvinistic lie, oh yeah, God's decreed everything, that part's not a lie, but therefore it doesn't matter what we do.
God is absolutely, comprehensively sovereign. He has decreed whatsoever comes to pass, but you are responsible.

Applications

  1. Do not use the doctrine of divine sovereignty as a reason to avoid repentance or dismiss your own sinfulness before God.
  2. Recognize that your sin is your sin — even if God sovereignly ordained it — and bring it to Christ in repentance and faith.
  3. Reject the hyper-Calvinistic lie that because God decrees all things, human response to the gospel is irrelevant.

Questions this sermon answers

What is wrong with Hyper-Calvinism?

Hyper-Calvinism wrongly uses divine decree to remove human responsibility for sin, leaving sinners with no reason to repent or believe the gospel.

Does God's sovereignty over the crucifixion mean no one was guilty?

No — Peter in Acts 2 declares both that Christ was delivered by God's determined counsel and that those who crucified him did so with lawless hands and must repent.

How does Scripture hold sovereignty and responsibility together?

Scripture simply declares both truths — God has decreed whatsoever comes to pass, and sinners are genuinely accountable for their acts — without offering a philosophical reconciliation.

Divine Sovereignty and Human Guilt

Notice what he goes on to say in verse 23. You have taken by lawless hands, have crucified and put to death. Notice that Peter doesn't get into some theodicy and some explanation as to how all of these things transpire. The reality is that God is comprehensively sovereign and the reality is that you are sinful and lawless and you need to repent.

Notice that in verse 36. Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. Now, when they heard this, they were caught to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, men and brethren, what shall we do? And Peter said to them, Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.

The Error of Hyper-Calvinism

You see, the problem of Hyper-Calvinism is not only that it removes God or removes Christ from the sinner, but it removes the responsibility of sin from the sinner. Because in hyper-Calvinism, you're only doing what you were decreed to do. You're only doing what God planned for you to do. It's to minimize the responsibility of the sinfulness of man.

Perhaps that's why more persons aren't coming to a knowledge of the Savior, because they don't see themselves as sinful before God. They've accepted the hyper-Calvinistic lie, oh yeah, God's decreed everything, that part's not a lie, but therefore it doesn't matter what we do. But that's not how the scripture deals with the second half.

Sovereignty and Responsibility Together

God is absolutely, comprehensively sovereign. He has decreed whatsoever comes to pass, but you are responsible. When you act the way you do, say, as a Jerusalem sinner, and you cry, away with him, away with him, crucify him, that's your sin. You need to repent.

You need to believe the gospel.

Scripture References

Study notes

Theological terms

  • Divine Decree×3
  • Human Responsibility×3
  • Hyper-Calvinism×4
  • Repentance×3
  • Sovereignty×3