Do you believe God predestined you to be saved?
If it is to salvation itself that God’s elect were predestined, then the logical flip side of that coin is that those who are not ultimately saved were just as surely predestined to eternal damnation.
Think about it.
If God predestined particular individuals before the foundation of the world to receive salvation, then the rest of humanity was also predestined by God to spend eternity with Satan and his angels in the lake of fire. That’s your mother, your father, your spouse, sister, brother, best friend, or even your children who depart this world as unbelievers. If you believe in this doctrine, you are a Calvinist. And whether you realize it or not, you believe that God ordained many of your beloved non-Christian family members and friends to an existence of inevitable and inescapable eternal suffering apart from Him. They can never know the abundant love, forgiveness, grace and mercy of God we read about so often in His Word. Furthermore, Calvinism teaches that our loving God decided this fate for them before they were even created. It begs the question: “Why did God even create them?” It would have been more loving not to!
Though this “double predestination” is fiercely denied by many today who believe and teach Calvinism, John Calvin himself called a spade a spade:
“By predestination we mean the eternal decree of God, by which he determined with himself whatever he wished to happen with regard to every man. All are not created on equal terms, but some are preordained to eternal life, others to eternal damnation; and accordingly, as each has been created for one or other of those ends, we say that he has been predestined to life or death.” (Calvin’s Institutes, iii, xxi, sec. 5)
Consider also The Westminster Confession of Faith, considered by leading Calvinists to be one of the clearest expositions of their doctrine, which also readily admits the implications of Calvinism:
“By the decree of God, for the manifestation of His own glory, some men and angels are predestined unto everlasting life, and others foreordained to everlasting death.”
From these definitions of predestination, we can only conclude that we are all merely puppets acting out the elaborate scripts God wrote for us before the foundation of the world. This sad depiction of God’s creation, however, contradicts not only our personal daily experience but scripture as well, where people throughout history frequently exhibited a free will, which was at times influenced but never controlled by Almighty God. The cry of the Calvinist is that if man has a free will, God is not sovereign. But the only conclusion to be drawn from that fallacious reasoning is that God causes all events to take place – even sin. Many Calvinist authors who have reached this unhappy but inevitable conclusion are somehow content to let it rest there, not wanting to probe deeper into the mysterious mind of God to see how He can justly punish man for the sin He Himself ordained. “His ways are past finding out,” is a verse we often hear paraphrased to somehow justify this otherwise inexplicable dilemma Calvinism finds itself in. Since the beginning of time, actions have taken place that are outside of God’s will. This is the overwhelming testimony of scripture, especially in the history of His people, Israel (eg. Is. 1:2). But this doesn’t cause God to cease to be sovereign! He can work out His desired ends and remain in control, even through the free, sinful acts of men, be it David, Nebuchadnezzar or Judas. How exactly He does it…well, that’s what is past finding out!
Behind every false teaching is a subtle perversion of the truth. Calvinism begins by rightly celebrating the wonder of God’s amazing love and grace. But from that fundamental biblical truth it quickly takes a dark turn by limiting this love to a small fraction of humanity. I think people need to put down scholarly-sounding books which promote these doctrines and stick to their Bibles, believing the simple truths proclaimed in verses such as John 3:16. “For God so loved the world…” The gospel is not rocket science! God loves you, every member of your family, every friend or enemy you ever had, every human life with a beating heart created in His image. But doesn’t God have a particular love, as He did towards the nation of Israel? Yes…towards those who have embraced his freely offered gift of salvation! They, scripture tells us, have been predestined to certain blessings – adoption and inheritance – because God foreknew their choice to respond to His call (Rom. 8:29, Eph. 1:5, 1 Pet. 1:2). Yes, God may bless the unregenerate with many temporal benefits such as health, prosperity, sunshine and rain, but if He has not provided their greatest need – a way for them to repent of their sins and be saved – then He doesn’t truly love them. It is obvious that this unthinkable teaching contradicts the universal call to repentance so clear throughout God’s precious Word. “Turn to Me and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; For I am God and there is no other! (Is. 45:22)” It is unfortunate that Calvinists have concocted ways of twisting even the most lucid statements from scripture such as this in order to prevent their theory from collapsing under the weight of scripture and reason. One does not need seminary training and the ability to read Hebrew and Greek to fully understand the gospel (2 Tim. 3:14-15). Isn’t it interesting that the Calvinist camp is comprised largely of “learned” individuals who typically boast of two distinct high points in their Christian life – their conversion and their subsequent enlightenment into what they like to call “Reformed Theology” or “The Doctrines of Grace”? (By the way, calling Calvinism by these misnomers is a shameful tactic designed to lead many ordinary Christians into thinking that if they reject Calvinism, they must also be rejecting the Reformation and salvation by grace alone) No, we need only be born again once my friends, then we immediately assume our roles as ambassadors of Christ (2 Cor. 5), charged to proclaim the good news to every creature (Mark 16:15). But how can one proclaim the “good news” to “every creature” if it is not good news for many of them, as Calvinism teaches? For if, according to Calvinism, a large part of humanity was predestined to hell, there is no gospel (literally “good news”) for them. “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful,” exhorts Jesus (Luke 6:36). For the Calvinist this can only mean one thing – pick and choose just who you’d like to be merciful to…to most people you need not be, for isn’t that the example you believe God sets in dispensing His mercy? Friends, context and common sense make it clear that what Jesus meant in this passage is that we should be merciful to all people we come in contact with, without exception! Though that interpretation clearly does not jibe with Calvinism, it harmonizes perfectly with one of scripture’s most oft-repeated exhortations – that we should love our neighbor. Believer and non-believer. It is through our choice to be godly and loving to those around us that people visibly see the love of Christ and are drawn to God. As Jesus said, “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven (Matt. 5:14).”
In the hands of a persuasive orator, Calvinism appears palatable. The Calvinist will teach that “Salvation is of God – man can play no part in obtaining it…he cannot even contribute faith…to deny this is to take away God’s sovereignty.” Superficially, this may sound convincing, even biblical, but our faith in no way assisted Jesus in the work He accomplished on Calvary’s cross in atoning for our sins. How ridiculous! No, our faith is in the finished work of Jesus Christ. We come humbly to the foot of the cross on our hands and knees, asking God to forgive us and heal us because of our own unworthiness…there is no cause for boasting here. No, God’s Word tells us that we are not saved by faith, but through faith (Eph. 2:8), the same faith that God commends many throughout scripture for exercising! Furthermore, faith cannot be considered a meritorious “work.” In the very scripture just cited, faith is contrasted with work in regards to salvation. “To the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness (Rom. 4:5).” Scripture is resoundingly clear on the subject – faith is not a work, therefore having faith in God is not grounds for boasting.
My friends, Calvinism does much harm to the loving character of God by denying His love for much of lost humanity. It also does harm to the walk of the Christian who believes it, for all sense of urgency and diligence in evangelistic endeavors is lost in light of Calvinism’s fatalistic belief system. This teaching has surely given Satan a foothold in the minds of many believers, deceiving them into thinking, “I need not witness…God will surely bring His elect to Heaven with or without my help.” Let’s face it, even as regenerated believers we are prone to laziness. Imagine how many opportunities to plant spiritual seeds were lost because of this deception.
But wait a minute…many of the Calvinists you know seem to be very evangelical in their beliefs and actions. Some even teach evangelism techniques. Many “evangelical Calvinists” would most likely assert that it is simply their great privilege and honor to be used by God in His sovereign plan of redeeming sinners from “every tribe and tongue.” But I would then ask, “By witnessing, aren’t these men now “playing a part” in the redemption of the elect, the very thing Calvinism says man cannot do?!”
We believe our Bible to be divinely authored, without error or contradiction. I therefore conclude that this doctrine called Calvinism must be unbiblical, for it is a teaching wrought with contradiction…a doctrine characterized by assertions which go directly against the plain teaching of scripture. Pray for the Holy Spirit’s guidance and discernment as you seek God’s Word first and foremost for the truth to this matter yourself.