Is Calvinism Consistent?

2 Peter 2:1 "But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction."

If "denying the Lord that bought them" is a damnable heresy for these false teachers, then I would also strongly caution against a Calvinism which denies that the Lord has even bought these false teachers, as it is a system which limits Christ's purchase, bringing upon itself a swift destruction of its own. (But, I do recognize Calvinists as Christians, and this destruction has more to do with systems and consistency.)

Let me explain. God reveals himself in two ways: Law and Gospel. Under the Law we find ourselves to be at odds with the will of God, and do not obey at every point, and are sinners. In the Gospel we are sinners declared to be righteous, justified by the works of another - Jesus, our brother and saviour. This Gospel declares to the whole world that Jesus embodies all of humanity and has reconciled us to God, freeing us from condemnation of the law, in his own death. The Gospel reveals God's disposition of grace to all humanity and intends for it to be proclaimed to everyone.

Calvinists systematically confuse Law and Gospel. They filter the atonement through a matrix of inscrutable eternal decrees which land on nobody. Try as they might, by explaining away the non-elect, excluding these from the sacrificial atonement, they rob themselves of their own assurance and transfer it to their own inner-being and works which by default are still locked in the chains of sin. After all, if you cannot know God's disposition toward you by looking at the cross (who knows if you are elect?), you start looking inside of yourself for your salvation. Trying to repent and believe without assurance of Christ's all availing sacrifice for you is like trying to be free from sin with God's word of law still condemning you.

To have Christ is to have his assurance of his forgiveness. But this assurance doesn't originate from inside of yourself. This word comes from the outside and works its way in you, creates faith, repentance and delivers forgiveness of sin. It is a word that comes with all the power that it proclaims. "You are forgiven." On the other hand, a word that withholds the direct forgiveness of sin is powerless and creates no genuine faith, because it turns faith inward on itself, rather than outward to Christ and his saving work accomplished at Calvary. Faith must not look to itself for forgiveness (otherwise it would be like plucking out your eyes to look at yourself), but is merely the instrument through which we see Christ as he is truly for us. Direct your assurance from where the forgiveness comes from, a gift of God, the humble form of a servant, a Word that suffers to be rejected.