A lot of people believe the same things for different reasons or agendas. The eternal security/ once-saved-always-saved teaching is one of those things. Calvinists teach OSAS in a different light. Their particular version is called "Perseverance of the Saints." And it seems to me, yet again, that this brand is just another philosophically derived theory rather than a positive statement from the Bible.
Calvinists teach:
A) the Elect cannot possibly resist the Holy Spirit.
B) Therefore, a believer cannot possibly lose faith.
They start out with the teaching of God's sovereignty over all things and run it through the gamut of soteriology. The reason goes like this: Not all people are saved, therefore God didn't want all people to be saved, therefore Jesus didn't die for everyone, therefore his elect cannot resist him and will persevere in faith. So they say.
A few problems come from this line of reasoning.
1. Those who fall away from faith never had faith.
2. You cannot be assured of your salvation.
Quite the conclusions!
If someone had strong faith and falls away, this theology must claim they never had faith. When something like this happens it must cause other believers to doubt whether their own faith is genuine. And their systematic answer isn't exactly the Gospel. It turns themselves inwards rather than outward to the cross.
This also must be hard for Calvinist pastors to provide pastoral care. The certainty of their salvation doesn't necessarily come from Christ crucified, but from their own experience and response to it. A Calvinist cannot really say with any credibility that "Christ died for you" because who knows if he in fact did? After all, people don't have "elect" tags on their backs. Therefore, they have faith in their own faith which leads to a curious spirituality which down spirals.
In effect, it is a cosmic game of chicken. Jesus doesn't declare forgiveness until you have faith. But the question is, how do you have faith unless he declares to forgive you? Who is going to give first? You see the dilemma. It's a catch 22. You may believe Jesus was raised from the dead as an unmovable fact, but you don't know if your faith is genuine, you don't know if the Holy Spirit is in you. And looking to the cross may not make it anymore assuring to you. It's all quite impersonal.
Verdict: Calvinism is a strange disco. And I love to dance but I'm not sure if I'm invited.
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