This sermon is from the Rev. Charles G. Dennison sermon archive, part of “The Bible and Calvinism” series, and was preached at Grace Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Sewickley, PA, during a worship service on Sunday, November 8, 1987.

Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calleth his own sheep by name and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him, for they know not the voice of strangers. This parable Jesus spake unto them, but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them. Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.

I am the door. By me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth. And the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and know of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep have I, which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd.

Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. This commandment have I received of my Father?

Our Father, throughout the world, in this day, your people are gathered in various locations. They are congregated beneath your rule and authority, manifest in Christ, whose body the Church is. Father, your word comes to your own to refresh your own and to strengthen them. And Father, we, claiming to be your own, would receive the word as it is received in many places this day. May we receive it, Lord, with love. May we lay it up in our hearts, cherish it, and practice it in our lives. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

We are living in a time when Calvinism is not widely popular. Not that this should concern us greatly. Not that it should concern us much, whether or not the truth is popular. Nevertheless, I believe this is a fair assessment of our situation. We are living in a time when Calvinism is not widely popular.

We can, however, find comfort in the knowledge that Calvinism has expressed itself with unique zeal and wide effect at various times throughout the history of the Church. This reflection upon it can be a great source of joy to us. We recognize, for instance, that even in a very early and undeveloped form, the influence of Augustine lies at the foundation of Catholicism. We can say that Augustine was a Calvinist before his time, and his influence was remarkable, though within a generation of his death many of his teachings had been compromised. Still, the flame that he ignited burned brightly. And interestingly, the essential doctrine of Calvinism—regarding God’s work of salvation—burst once more upon the world through a sixteenth-century Augustinian monk named Martin Luther.

It was, of course, more fully developed in Calvin through Calvin himself, and from him it thrived in Switzerland, in Poland, in Hungary, in Germany, in France, in England, in Scotland, in the American colonies, in the Far East, and in Africa. James Proud, a great teacher of Church history at Oxford, said of Calvinism, “This was the religion of your fathers, which overthrew spiritual wickedness and hurled kings from their thrones, and purged England and Scotland for a time at least of lies and charlatanry. Calvinism is the spirit which rises in revolt against untruth, the spirit which has appeared and reappeared, and in due time will appear again, unless God be a delusion and man be as the beasts that perish.” This Calvinism of which Froude speaks is nevertheless a learned language.

In other words, this Calvinism is not our native tongue, for our native tongue is consistently natural, while Calvinism is consistently supernatural, and as such it must be rehearsed by us constantly in order that we may keep it fresh and active in our thoughts and actions.

And like any learned language, if you do not use it, you lose it. I have thought of sending that line to Robert Shuler. Like any learned language, if you do not use it, you lose it. Here, if I may say, is a compelling argument for your use of the Confession. Just reading it. Here is a compelling argument for your use of the catechisms of the Church. Yes, you are reading them, but also you are committing the catechism to memory.

Our forefathers realized that what they were seeking to help people understand was, after all, a learned language, and therefore that language had to be practiced. It had to be rehearsed, it had to be reviewed again and again, so that it might be firmly established in the mind and also become the expression of the heart. Not merely memorization or repetition for the sake of memorization and repetition, but so that we might be familiar with the central doctrines of our faith and with the truths we hold dear.

If you need encouragement to begin, if you need a strong motivation to take up the confession once more and read it, please consider these words as that motivation and that encouragement. If you do not have a confession of your own, and I hope you do, obtain one. If you cannot find one elsewhere, simply use the hymnal. At the back of the hymnal, you will find the confession in full. If you need a catechism, ask for one.

We will supply you. But also in terms of rehearsing our Calvinistic heritage and our doctrine. It is no mystery to me that Calvinists have not only been those who have insisted on memorization and rehearsal of the doctrines of the faith, but they have also been those who have insisted on literacy. They have insisted on literacy because they want people to read not only the Catechisms and the Confession, not only the Catechisms, Confession, and the Bible, but also to read good Calvinistic literature and to be familiar with it. It is not surprising to me that the lion’s share of strong, weighty, and substantial theological works are regularly read by Calvinists. Nor is it strange that Calvinists have been behind the recent movement to revive the practice of reading Christian literature. The major publishing and distribution companies in this country today all have their roots in Calvinism. Since Calvinism is a learned tradition, and since we do well to be familiar with Calvinistic literature, do not overlook the opportunity to engage with it. This is a way to regularly involve yourself with the great statements of Reformed and Calvinistic thought through the centuries.

All of these, then, which we have discussed, are wonderful opportunities to rehearse what we are striving to master, so that increasingly it is no longer a learned language, but one that is spoken easily and naturally, and that comes readily from our tongues at all times.

I dare say that those periods of greatest strength for the Church of Christ have been those in which the church has been forced, for whatever reason, to concentrate upon that learned language— the language that is consistently supernatural in its character and in its intent. Those times when the Church has been compelled, both corporately and individually, to pursue mastery of that language of the supernatural. And I dare say that for you in your personal life, as if your personal history were like the history of the church herself, those times of greatest zeal, greatest happiness, and greatest productivity have been those in which this supernatural language— in which all glory and praise are given to God— has had its way with your heart.

So while it may be a day in which Calvinism, according to the press notices, is not thriving, still it is a day in which we can be active by ensuring that our beloved, though learned language, is increasingly becoming the language we know best, the language we speak from our hearts. You may be saying, “But isn’t Calvinism just another way in which man has endeavored to avoid the language of the Bible? Better to spend my time in the Scriptures than in the catechisms and confessions. Better to spend my time in the Scriptures than in Calvinistic literature.” I agree. Far better. But don’t you see?

Your Calvinism has sought, in what I consider the best way, to come to grips with the language of Scripture itself. I say this because, above all other expressions of Christian faith, Calvinism has carefully considered what we have come to call the whole counsel of God. That is, the full range of the biblical record, including those doctrines of God’s eternal predestination and election that are often considered unpopular. But equally, if not more importantly, Calvinism has focused on the clear teaching of the Bible about the end times, its doctrine of our promised and eventual destination.

For we are those who are destined—indeed, predestined—to see the glory of God. To paraphrase the great Calvinist from the turn of the century, B. B. Warfield, the Calvinist is one who has stood in the presence of the glory of God. There will come a day when we shall surely stand before God in all of His glory. And in that day it will be more clearly evident than it is now that from beginning to end, our standing before God is the result of His direct and sovereign oversight of our lives. He predestinated us, chose us, and worked for us and in us to bring us to Himself, so that before Him we may confess that all things are from Him, through Him, and to Him, forever and ever. Amen. Because of our commitment to this biblical perspective—both in terms of the whole counsel of God and in terms of our ultimate end, where we will stand before His presence and before His glory.

It is because of our commitment to these things that we have insisted upon teaching the so-called hard doctrine of total depravity. Our doctrine of man is not very flattering to man, but it is biblical, true, and absolutely essential to the Bible’s gospel of sovereign grace. Man is affected in all of his parts by sin and corruption, so that he cannot, of himself, be commended before a holy God. Unconditional election, our doctrine of God, again not very flattering to man, but biblical and absolutely essential to the Bible’s gospel of sovereign grace. The cause of God’s election does not reside in us. It is not conditioned by anything in us, or upon anything in us. Rather, its basis is found in God, and in God alone. He is the source, and to him be all praise.

Limited atonement, our doctrine of Christ, again not very flattering to man, but biblical and absolutely essential to the Bible’s gospel of sovereign grace. This is the point to which we have come in our consideration of the five points of Calvinism. We have come to the doctrine of limited atonement.

This doctrine teaches us that Christ, in his death, shed his blood and gave his life as a saving sacrifice for the elect, for the chosen of God. In other words, Christ died for his sheep. Not for everyone. He died for his sheep, and that is why I have read for you the first eighteen verses of John chapter ten, so that it might be impressed upon you that it is not Calvin saying these things, nor is it Augustine, nor any recent-day Calvinist. It is Jesus Christ who is saying these things.

Now, it is not as if we must wait for the fourth gospel to hear this. All we need do is open to the first gospel and read in its first chapter. That remarkable statement by the angel to Joseph—“You shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins”—reveals the divine purpose. It is impossible to move beyond Genesis 1 and not acknowledge the absolute sovereignty of God. Who instructed God in how to create Adam? Why those specific chromosomes? Do you see it? This is the work of God’s absolute sovereignty.

I am utterly amazed that people who call themselves New Testament Christians can read beyond chapter 1 in Matthew and still not be convinced that the design behind God’s saving activity was that Christ should come and offer himself as a sacrifice for his people.

How rich John’s gospel is with this teaching. How fully it is filled. I do not know about you, but you might wish to immerse yourself, as I do, in John chapter six. The remarkable events of that chapter, as well as the profound words spoken by Christ himself.

In verse 37 of that chapter, he says: “All that the Father gives me will come to me. Not only is this a matter of sovereignty in the call, but it also affirms that those who come do so because of the sovereign choice of the Father. For them and for them alone has Christ come. For them and for them alone will he die.” Nothing seems clearer to me than this truth as we read through John chapter 10.

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and my own know me. They hear my voice, and they follow me.” And what can we say about Jesus’ high priestly prayer in John 17? Again, it is unmistakable. The purpose of Christ’s coming, as expressed in his prayer, is for his elect, just as it is in his death. His prayer is but an extension of his priestly work. The other part of that priestly work is his death. And what can we say of Ephesians 1?

Over and over again, throughout the entire New Testament, this reality confronts us. It is stated, restated, expressed explicitly and implicitly, assumed, yet remains undeniable. Now, admittedly, the doctrine of limited atonement has been misunderstood. The Calvinist is saying to us, and we as Calvinists are saying, that the atonement is limited in its application. It is specifically directed to the elect. But while we say this, there is also a sense in which we affirm that the atonement is not limited at all. For it is not limited in its effect, nor in its power.

Christ’s death is a sacrifice of unlimited power and strength, in that it fully addresses the sinner’s condition. Therefore, Christ’s death fully satisfies God’s demand for justice and righteousness concerning sinners—those who are called, those for whom Christ has come. It is because the Calvinist affirms that the atonement is limited in application but unlimited in effect and power that he is able to say that Christ’s death is effective. On the other hand, those who oppose Calvinism or deny it—especially those known as Arminians—hold a position that reverses the true situation. They claim that the atonement is unlimited in application, meaning that Christ died for everyone without exception. It is unlimited in application.

They go on to say that Christ died for everyone, but that the atonement is limited in its effect and power. For if Christ died for all, yet not all are saved, then His death was not effective for all. This is why the classical Arminian has been forced to admit that although Christ died for all, as they say, His death cannot save anyone.

All that it can do is provide an opportunity for salvation. The best that the Arminian can say is that Christ’s death provides an opportunity for the salvation of everyone, a salvation that belongs to those who recognize the opportunity through their own effort and according to their own judgment. It is no longer grace, do you see? It is no longer grace. Christ’s death is not complete. It is incomplete. And in the end, it proves to be so powerless as to be of no value to you at all. Why believe in Christ in this way?

I think that Lorraine Vettner, a prominent advocate of Calvinism in this century, has one of the most fitting illustrations regarding the distinction between the Calvinist position on the Atonement and the Arminian position. Think of two bridges. Think of the bridge to nowhere in Pittsburgh. According to the Arminian, there is an incredible bridge that can accommodate everyone, but it only takes you out into the middle of the river and then stops. It is now your responsibility to find a way to continue. If you can, may God bless your cleverness and your ingenuity. The Calvinist says there is a narrower bridge.

It is not narrow in width; it is wide enough. In fact, its dimensions are perfect. This bridge goes all the way across the river. Christ did it all. His sacrifice was complete, and though limited in application, it is unlimited in power and effect. So that if you are in Christ and claim it as your own, be assured that you are on the bridge that takes you clear across the river. What a Christ. What a God. What a gospel. There is no other gospel than this. Believe it.

Let’s pray. O Lord, though we are brought up short by our doctrines and humbled again and again by them, still we would rehearse them. Though they be a learned language, Father, by our rehearsing we pray that this language would increasingly become the language of our hearts. Father, we ask that we might bow before You, and that through Christ, who in His death provided the full and complete atonement, we may be brought over the bridge of that atonement. In the end, we may stand before You and Your glory with exceedingly great joy. These things we pray, and we ask for the strengthening of our souls and the souls of others like us who believe these precious things. Amen.

The sermon text provided above is derived from the sermon audio recording making use of generative tools. It has not been manually edited. While transcription tools have a high degree of accuracy, the output may include generative textual, punctuation, and/or formatting errors.