Friday, April 17, 2020

1 Clement 35:3-4 vs. Reformed Theology


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