Theocast
Why New Calvinism Is Not Reformed
May 21, 2025
Summary
New Calvinism, while it has some good aspects, has also caused a lot of problems for many people today. Jon and Justin are going to have a conversation about how historical Reformed theology differs from New Calvinism—a movement that has really taken shape and gained a lot of traction over the last few decades, particularly in America. There are good things about New Calvinism, which we discussed a few weeks ago. But there are also key differences—differences we believe are vital for the clarity of the gospel and for emphasizing Christ for us. So today, we're going to talk about those differences and give you some helpful categories. We hope this conversation brings clarity, and more than anything, we pray you are comforted in the Lord Jesus Christ, who has done everything necessary to save you.
Topics
- Where historical Reformed theology differs from New Calvinism
- Gains and losses in a recent American movement
- Differences that matter for gospel clarity and rest
Links
- Theocast Community
- Rest — free ebook on faith vs. faithfulness
- Partner with Theocast
Transcript
Edited machine transcript. May contain errors. Select a timestamp to watch that moment.
New Calvinism, while it has some good things about it, has caused a lot of problems for a lot of people.
Today, John and I are going to have a conversation about how historical Reformed theology is different than New Calvinism.
This movement that we've seen really take shape and gain a lot of traction in the last few decades in America, anyway.
There are good things about it, which we talked about a few weeks ago, but there are ways that we differ that we think are really important for the clarity of the gospel, for the emphasis of Christ for us.
And so, we're gonna talk about those things today, give you some categories.
We hope it's clarifying, and more than anything, we hope you're comforted in the Lord Jesus Christ, who has done everything necessary to save you?
Stay tuned.
Hey guys, this is Justin.
Maybe you know that you are forgiven because of Jesus Christ, but you're wondering: what does Jesus have to do with my Christian life?
How is he involved in my sanctification, even?
Or is he concerned at all with the ways that I struggle and the way that my life goes up and down?
Is there any comfort for me in Jesus when it comes to all of that?
Well, I've written a book called More Than Forgiven: How Being in Christ Changes Everything that deals with this topic from Romans chapter 6.
You can find this book at theocast.org.
Welcome back, everybody.
This is Theogast.
Our goal today is to encourage you in Christ.
We're going to do so by pulling the clutter off of the gospel.
So, if you're weary, exhausted, and you're tired, and you're thinking, man, I really would like to be encouraged over the next 30 minutes.
That's our aim, is to help you do that.
