Pastor John, there are some fairly common and popular phrases that we hear occasionally,

phrases like this, work like an Armenian, sleep like a Calvinist, or sometimes it said

pray like an Armenian, but sleep like a Calvinist, or sometimes it said evangelize like an

Armenian, but sleep like a Calvinist.

What do you make of these phrases?

Well, each one of those is a little bit different.

I don't like any of them, and let me focus on the first one.

I think it was first when you said work like an Armenian, sleep like a Calvinist.

The other two, I think, have the same kind of simple answer, you know, evangelize like

an Armenian and pray like an Armenian, not like a Calvinist sort of imply that poor

Calvinists, they don't have any motive for evangelism and prayer because God rules

everything, but I think in answering the first one, the others would be more clear.

The reason I don't like saying work like an Armenian and pray like a Calvinist is

because I just think it's unhelpful and misleading both historically in the effect that the

reformed vision had on the world, and biblically, it's just misleading because of many texts,

but you know what occurs to me is that there are listeners who may not even know what those

terms mean, so let me sketch that out and then try to tackle it.

So get this term Armenian and Calvinists, and here's the key difference for me.

Work Armenians believe with Calvinists that people are so sinful and rebellious that they

can't believe in Jesus without divine grace, they both agree on that, but Armenians say

that God gives this grace, prevenient grace coming before grace to everybody so that now

they have the ability to believe, and in this way the decisive cause of faith is us,

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