Part 11 Calvinism & Predestination
We have already looked at Arminianism, but what is Calvinism?
“According to Calvinism: God has predestined to save a certain group of people; these are called God’s elect. God’s sovereign will for His elect cannot be resisted or thwarted as His irresistible grace ensures that all of them will freely and willingly choose and accept Jesus Christ, at some point in their lives before they die. The non-elect cannot come to Christ because natural man is totally sinful and depraved. Salvation is entirely the work of God from start to finish. All believers (the elect) will go to heaven, but all unbelievers (the non-elect) will be judged and cast into the Lake of Fire (hell), where they will remain and be eternally tortured.
Some Calvinist Christians believe in annihilation instead of endless torture.” From http://www.godoftheages.com/site/1351515/page/686563
I have ruled out annihilation and eternally torture, already. However is there Predestination? How can there be predestination if no one is burned in Hell or is annihilated?
Predestination
Ephesians 1:4-5 even as He elected us in Him before the foundation of the world, for us to be holy and without blemish before Him in love, predestinating us to adoption through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, {LITV}
Ephesians 1:11-12 in Him in Whom our lot was cast also, being designated {predestined} beforehand according to the purpose of the One Who is operating all in accord with the counsel of His will, that we should be for the laud of His glory, who are pre-expectant in the Christ. {CLV}
The scriptures support the fact that there are those who are predestined. However there are many Churches, and preachers that chose to ignore or over look this fact.
Others teach that those who chose Christ are the ones that are predestined. That is because God knew that they would chose Christ, they are called predestined. Or that God knew that they would select Christ, so He predestined them.
That is NOT how predestination works. It has nothing to do with us choosing Christ as our Saviour. As already covered in the Free Will part, you do not have freewill, no one has freewill, therefore no one can freely chose Jesus Christ as their Saviour. The only way to came to Christ is if God brings you to Christ, you have no part in choosing to come, or when you come {John 6:44}.
Do you choose Christ or does Christ choose you?
Most Christians believe in freewill, people can freely reject Christ or choose Christ. Therefore if you reject Christ it is your choice, and you only have yourself to blame for end up in Hell. However we have just worked out that no one has freewill, you can not reject God’s will, your will is not stronger than God’s will.
Now lets see if you can choose Christ all by yourself.
John 6:44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.
A? what? That’s right NO ONE can choose Christ, without the help of the Father {God}. If God does not act, you can do nothing to find Christ. This should be enough to throw out the theory of freewill, but here is another verse to help boot this concept out the door.
John 15:16 You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.
As we can see Christ done the choosing, you did not do the choosing. So only those who are chosen by Christ can be saved now {the elect}, however everyone else will be chosen in the future. The chosen or elect, should not feel that they are above everyone else, because they have been chosen, and others have not, it is a gift from God. As the next verse states:
Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.
And again another verse to deal a final blow to freewill and Arminianism.
John 6:37 All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.
He we can see it again, they are drawn by the Father, and given to Christ. And the saved can not lose there salvation. Christ does not cast them out.
Ephesians 1:3-6
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.
There is the body of Christ, Believers and then there are the overcomers, the elite. All those of the body are drawn to Christ by God, and have been chosen beforehand, and are thus predestined before the foundation of the world. Since you where not there back then, how can you chose?, the choice has already been made long before you where born.
People who realize the truth of these verses reject Arminianism and are then left to choose between Calvinism and Christian Universalism.
However because they don’t want unbelievers in heaven along side them, they reject Christian Universalism and choose Calvinism. However this is a mistake, there will be no unbelievers in Heaven along side believers. Everyone in heaven will be a believer.
If only the ones that God brings to Christ, came come to Christ, then what about all the other billions of people that do not come to Christ? If unbelievers don’t go to Hell or get annihilated? Only those in Christ would get to Heaven surely?
Yes only those in Christ get to heaven, however all will be in Christ in the end, because God will bring All unbelievers to Christ. Unbelievers will get to heaven, however along the way they will be converted into believers. All unbelievers will become believers in the end…..
John 10:14-16
14 I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. 15 As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. 16 And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.
John 10:26-30
26 But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. 27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand. 30 I and My Father are one."
As we can see in the above verses, there are two kinds of sheep {People}. My sheep are the elect, and are saved while they are alive, they have been chosen and are given the free gift. But Jesus the good shepherd has other sheep, the large body of unbelievers. And what does it say of them, it says they will hear his voice. It says the two kinds will become one flock, unbelievers will be saved…….they will here his voice and become believers, there will be one flock….
Copyright © M J Farquharson 2006 & 2020