A ‘New Calvinism’
The June issue of TableTalk, published by Ligonier Ministries, focuses on what is being called the ‘New Calvinism.’ A popular new book by Collin Hansen, published by Crossway, is titled Young, Restless, and Reformed. Apparently there is renewed interest and attraction to Calvinistic or Reformed theology. In this article I want to comment on how one person came to embrace the doctrines of grace—this is my own story.
My Own Story
At age twenty-one I was converted through the ministry of a Southern Baptist preacher, Bob Lewis, at the First Baptist Church of Fairfield, California. The theology was staunchly dispensational and, of course, Arminian. Later I attended a Southern Baptist Seminary and pastored a Southern Baptist church. I loved evangelism and studied the evangelistic methods of R.A. Torrey and Charles G. Finney. Billy Graham was my hero and the person I tried hard to emulate.
Discovering that "methods" are not a guarantee of conversion
But after twenty-nine years of leading people to Christ by using the various techniques I had learned from Torrey, Finney, Graham, and others, I began to take another look at the nature of conversion. This investigation was prompted by two things: one, the reality that so many were not converted after repeating the sinner’s prayer and confessing Christ publically. I cannot say that all who submitted to the dominant Arminian paradigm went unconverted, but enough did, and obviously so, that I knew something was wrong.
Then two, while studying the debate between Asahel Nettleton and Charles Finney that occurred during the Second Great Awakening in America—the debate regarding the use of the ‘new measures’ employed by Finney—I realized that I had inherited the methodology of Finney. I had to consider the possibility that Finney’s decisionism was flawed.
Considering my own conversion
The prospect that I had been headed in the wrong direction, at least partially so, for the entirety of my ministry shook me to my foundation. I recalled that I myself had not been converted after repeating the sinner’s prayer with deacon Al Becker after I had come forward at an invitation; nor was I converted when questioned about my faith in Jesus in front of the congregation prior to being voted into membership on the promise of my baptism. It was neither of those occasions, but rather nine months later that I was born from above, and during those nine months I went through an intense spiritual storm dealing with my sinfulness and my lack of faith in Jesus. In a way I cannot explain, I was converted, saved--and knew it instantly. There was a change, the start of a lifetime of changes, but I now believed in Jesus as my Saviour, and suddenly I loved to read the Bible and pray. Most surprising of all, given my attitude toward churches and Christians, I now sought to be in church every time I had the chance.
The Doctrines of Grace--a new attitude
Now decades later, I searched the Scripture to examine the nature of conversion and slowly came to a new understanding of things. It became abundantly clear to me that ideas about predestination and election—the doctrines of grace that I had developed such antagonism for earlier in my life—were what the Bible clearly and actually taught. I could not get around it. This was in 1995-1996.
At that point I longed for someone to talk to about what I was discovering. Somehow information came to me about Brother Shelton in Pensacola, Florida and the ministry of Mt. Zion Church and the Free Grace Broadcaster. Over the course of many months of phone calls to Brother Shelton, he patiently answered my questions and suggested some authors and material to read. He introduced me to, among others, Charles Spurgeon and Iain Murray of the Banner of Truth Trust. Little by little I was reforming, starting at probably 2.5 points on the ‘TULIP’ scale, then 3.5 points, until finally I am up to 4.5 points now. ‘Wow’ is all I can say, and glory to God.
A book about my journey of discovery
As a result of my work in the area of true and false conversion, I wrote a book about my journey of discovery. David Clark of Evangelical Press liked it, and the book was published in 1998. (Editor's note: the title of that book is Are You Really Born Again, and of course we have it available at Earthen Vessel Publishing--see in the footer below.)
The issue is still conversion
For me, the issue was and is conversion, since I have always been focused on mission and evangelism. Reformed theology moved me to a more careful proclamation of the person and work of Jesus Christ. My favorite verse had always been, ‘For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek’ (Romans 1:16). To this is now added another verse from Romans, chapter 10 verse 17: ‘So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.’
So this must place me as part of the ‘New Calvinists’ of the Baptist variety. I am not young, not restless, but I am Reformed.
Kent Philpott
