15 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? 17 So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 So then, you will know them by their fruits. Matthew 7:15-20 (NASB)
When I began studying Theology as part of my spiritual renewal back in 2004-2006 it never occurred to be at that time that I would end up as a Calvinist, but that is what happened. How?…
It was through the study of God’s Word and taking what it said about our Salvation then comparing that with how I had been taught in church for years upon years. From that it became obvious that something was amiss. This caused me to dig deeper. I then discovered that there was indeed a difference between Arminianism (I actually had never heard of that term before) and Calvinism. From that study I concluded that what I had been taught was actually a mishmash of the two. The Southern Baptist Churches I had attended as a child preached the gospel much like John Wesley except there was that “once saved, always, saved” part that true Arminians hate. From my study of several weeks I came through it as a 5 point Calvinist and have never looked back.
Interestingly, my mother was the theologian in our family, but after that period she and I would spend time alone discussing the Gospel with joy. She was a Southern Baptist, but when I shared my faith and understanding of the Gospel with her she rejoiced. Why? She could see that I was not placing my faith in a religious system, but rather, in my Lord Jesus Christ and what He had done. I was in Christ because of His work, not mine. She rejoiced when I would say things like that and she would say the same thing about her faith.