In his
translation of 1 Clement, Bart Ehrman provided the following rendition of
35:3-4:
What therefore has been prepared for those
who wait? The Maker and Father of the ages the All Holy One, he himself knows
both their magnitude and their beauty. We should therefore strive to be counted
among those who wait, so that we may receive the gifts he has promised. (Bart
D. Ehrman, The New Testament and Other
Early Christian Writings: A Reader [2d ed.; New York: Oxford University Press,
2004], 312)
This is very
strongly opposed to Reformed theology. Why? Clement, addressing believers, tells them that they should “strive to be
counted” among the elect (ἀγωνισώμεθα, the first person plural subjunctive
present middle of αγωνιζομαι, "to contend for a prize/struggle”). But if
they were eternally secure, had their past, present, and then-future sins
propitiated, and so forth, why would they have to contend for eschatological salvation?
Clement is clearly not Reformed, which explains why Reformed apologists like
William Webster and Matthew Paulson are forced to wrest 1 Clement out of
context to support the bogus claim early Christians were proto-Calvinists. On
this, see, for e.g.:
No, 1 Clement does not teach Sola Fide
On the anti-biblical nature of Reformed theology, see, for e.g.:
An Examination and Critique of the Theological Presuppositions Underlying Reformed Theology and
Response to a Recent Attempt to Defend Imputed Righteousness
