Is predestiny about who we are or free will choices? Calvinist beliefs.

Predestiny and free will are two choices given to us by Christian denominations. By people, really. Those who influence what denominations believe about what God said. But are they choices given to us by God? You know, the One who gave the words to the people who actually wrote the books in the Bible? What if God’s words, not men’s words, say that predestiny is about the free will choices we make? We begin with Calvinist core beliefs.

Is predestiny about who we are or free will choices? Calvinist beliefs. is article #4 in the series: Predestiny versus Free Will. Click this button to view the titles for the entire series

Then, a few days ago, something else came to me. One of the issues I have with the predestiny in Calvinism has to do with things Jesus said that don’t appear to line up with predestiny. But then, what do we do with the verses Calvinists use to justify their position on predestiny?

As we go through Calvinism, we’ll see if my impressions of its theology really are along the lines of the adjacent image. We see a road between two hills. One is dead. Let’s call it Hell. The other is alive. Let’s call it Heaven.

There are road signs, but they don’t say anything. They don’t need to. Because according to Calvinism, we seem to have no choice about which hill we’re going to.

There’s nothing we can do about it. Salvation, the path to the green hill, isn’t even available to people unless God chose to make it available.

There’s nothing we can do to avoid the green hill either, even if, for whatever reason, we wanted the dead hill.

Our goal is to see if that truly lines up with what God Himself told us, in His book. The Bible.

If you’re a regular here, then you know I don’t like to pull out a verse and make a conclusion. We have to look at the context of any given verse. And we also have to look at the overall context of the Bible. What does the New Covenant say? How does the Old Covenant support that context? Where does culture come in? What did words mean at the time, from both a cultural and language usage point of view?

What am I doing here? Questioning God?

Yes, God is God. As we say, God is sovereign. He can do what He wants. And if He wants to do that that sentence says, who are we to deny that?

At the same time, just as the Old Testament writers did, why can’t I ask about it? Like Job, I probably won’t get an answer. God can question me back and I know I have nothing that will change anything.

And yet, there are questions. I think, hope, believe, these questions are about the people who put forth this theology and support it, not with God Himself. After all, the conclusions of both Arminian and Calvin came from the same Scripture.

To approach this fourth segment, I decided to do something different. Given the emergence of Artificial Intelligence, I decided to see what ChatGPT has to say. See if it’s a good starting point for this topic, rather than rewriting/modifying the existing first two segments of the series, use it as a starting point for this one.

The summary it produced is a good one. It has both the core beliefs on predestiny for Calvinism and free will for Arminianism. It also gave the common verses used to support each belief.

Rather than footnote every instance of each segment of ChatGPT’s responses, they can be identified by the text font/color of this sentence.

So, with that, let’s get into it. Let’s see if God predestined certain people to be saved because He already knew what choices they would make in their life. And, that with that knowledge, God helps us achieve His goals and helps us live the life to the full that Jesus spoke of.

What do Calvinists believe about predestiny?

I posed the following question to ChatGPT: what do Calvinists believe about predestiny?

It returned a brief background paragraph, followed by five key beliefs held by them.

Calvinist predestiny summary

First, here’s the summary paragraph.

Calvinists, followers of the teachings of John Calvin, hold the belief in the doctrine of predestination as a central tenet of their theological system. Predestination refers to the idea that before the foundation of the world, God determined the eternal destiny of every individual, either for salvation or damnation. Here are some key beliefs of Calvinists regarding predestination:

The key here, for today’s topic, is within this sentence: Predestination refers to the idea that before the foundation of the world, God determined the eternal destiny of every individual, either for salvation or damnation.

It’s those words – every individual. The concept of God predetermining the eternal destiny of every person, individually, is what we’re going to closely examine.

Every Christian should believe God is all-knowing. In other words, God already knew what was going to happen before He created anything or anyone. That means, among other things, not only did God know how the things in His creation were going to turn out, He also knew the heart of every person He was ever going to create. Therefore, does the issue of predestiny need to be on an individual basis, or could it be based on the heart of each individual?

In other words, could predestiny be based on God’s foreknowledge that some of us would love Him, while others among us would not? Could that choice God knew beforehand be the criteria upon which God predestined some of us for eternal life with Him, as to eternal life without Him?

Honestly, I don’t know for sure where this is going to end up. I think it’s going to show that the premise is possible.

Truth be told, none of us know for sure whether either, or both, of the two theologies are correct. After all, we’re just people. God is God. He can do what He wants. However, He gave us some amount of knowledge about Himself. And He gave us a brain. And the Holy Spirit.

Also, God gave us the command to love Him with all our heart, soul, and mind. That’s what this is about.

Personally, while admitting I could be wrong, I find it odd that God would create a large number of people who were predestined by a loving God to go to Hell, with no chance at all for redemption. To me, it seems to fly in the face of the good news of the Gospel.

Finding out that there’s at least hope for everyone to be saved feels more loving to me. But, as I said, I’m not God. I’m certainly not going to walk away from His offer of salvation if I’m wrong. But then, having said that, as we’ll soon see, if Calvin was right then what I just called God’s offer of salvation isn’t an offer at all. More to come on that last thought.

Calvinist belief #1: Unconditional Election

Unconditional Election: Calvinists believe that God’s choice of who will be saved is not based on any foreseen merit or action of individuals. It is an act of God’s sovereign will and grace alone. God elects certain individuals to salvation purely out of His own good pleasure and without regard to their deserving or earning it.

Notice: God’s choice of who will be saved is not based on any foreseen merit or action of individuals

Several questions arise from this.

Does God ignore His foreknowledge of His creation?

As mentioned, God already knows everything about everything. So what are we to make of this statement in light of the belief that God knows everything ahead of time? Here are the options:

Foreknowledge is understood variously as God’s eternal loving regard and saving purpose, or merely as his passive awareness of the future choices of free individuals.

The word “foreknowledge,” with reference to men, carries the simple significance of “perceiving in advance” (Acts 26:5; 2 Pet 3:17). All orthodox believers have affirmed what Scripture everywhere affirms: that God knows all things in advance (e.g., Isa 46:9–10; Acts 15:18). But orthodox interpreters are divided in their understanding of Scripture’s use of this word with reference to God. Many retain a more passive idea of God’s awareness of the future. But whether the term “foreknowledge” is used with a passive connotation or a different nuance is the question at issue.  ¹Zaspel, F. G. (2018). God’s Foreknowledge. In M. Ward, J. Parks, B. Ellis, & T. Hains (Eds.), Lexham Survey of Theology. Lexham Press.

So, the question becomes one of whether God is passive about His knowledge, or whether He does something with it. There is another possibility. The reality could be that God is somewhere in between passivity and active. We see just one example of that when the Israelites were captive in Egypt.

The passage below comes in the time between Moses fleeing Egypt because he killed an Egyptian man for beating a Hebrew man – and God telling Moses to go back and rescue His people from slavery.

Moses Flees to Midian

…
Ex 2:23 During that long period, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. 24 God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. 25 So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them.

This shows God as, seemingly, passive. But, eventually, God does act. That appears to put God somewhere between totally passive and active in all things.

However, let’s not just stop at that conclusion and think we’re done. Instead, let’s ask, why was God seemingly passive? In other words, was God truly passive, or was there a reason why God waited?

I believe we need to ask this question. As I pointed out in earlier segments in this series, we run a risk of making God the author of evil if we make Him too passive. So let’s examine this just a bit. Here’s the meaning of passive:

Passive:

1. 1. 1. not reacting visibly to something that might be expected to produce manifestations of an emotion or feeling.
      2. not participating readily or actively; inactive:
         a passive member of a committee.

Notice the part about something that might be expected to produce some emotion or feeling. That should then, we’d expect, some kind of action.

However, maybe there was a reason why God waited, as it turns out, hundreds of years before He acted on the cries of His people?

As it turns out, tor here is. It had to do with the covenant God made with Abram, subsequent to the name change from Abraham.

God’s Covenant With Abram

…
Ge 15:12 As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. 13 Then the LORD said to him, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. 14 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. 15 You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a good old age. 16 In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.”

Ge 15:17 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. 18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates— 19 the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, 21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.”

So we see, God wasn’t passive. God wasn’t idly watching things happen, when He should’ve had some emotions about the events taking place that would drive Him to action. Rather, God was doing exactly what He said He would do. In His time, God acted.

But why wait? That goes back to when Abraham’s name was changed to Abram. It was the first time God said something that He repeated often. And which His people failed to hold up their end of the covenant, often.

The Covenant of Circumcision

…
Ge 17:3 Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, 4 “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. 5 No longer will you be called Abram ; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. 6 I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. 7 I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. 8 The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.”
…

This is the part I mean: I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.

It would be repeated later in various forms, along the lines of: I will be your God and you will be my people.

God was, is, and always will be our God. However, as individuals and as. a group, we often fail act as His people. The waiting time is for us to learn our lesson. To turn back to God. It’s not unlike what parents do with their children.

So, was God passive? Even in the instance we just looked at – hundreds of years went by, but I don’t believe God was passive. Not only that, but He did use His foreknowledge in both the prophecy to Abram and in the time He waited before stepping into action.

Does God choose certain individuals?

Notice: God elects certain individuals to salvation purely out of His own good pleasure and without regard to their deserving or earning it.

Since this is the crux of the entire segment, we won’t go into much detail here, except to point out some things we’ll be looking at later.

• Our goal here is to look into the possibility that it’s not an individual, but a criteria based on our own free will choice.
• We do believe God is sovereign, and He can certainly do whatever He wants with His creation.
• There’s nothing we can do, no actions we can carry out, no amount of “good” things we can do that could ever balance out our sins. It’s only from God’s grace, because of His good pleasure, that we have any means of salvation.

Calvinist belief #2: Total Depravity

Total Depravity: Calvinists emphasize the concept of total depravity, which asserts that all human beings are born into a state of sin and are incapable of choosing God or contributing to their own salvation. Due to the fall of Adam and Eve, every person is spiritually dead and morally corrupt.

So this is about The Fall. And something Christians call original sin. Let’s take a look at that.

Original sin is the doctrine that, as a result of Adam’s fall, all mankind are sinners by nature, having a propensity to sin that underlies every actual sin.

Original sin is the propensity to sin that affects all human beings as a result of Adam’s fall. While this propensity is not simply an act of the will, it has the character of sin and does not serve as an excuse for actual sins.

Scripture emphasizes repeatedly the universality of human sin. God brought a flood upon the world because of the universality of human sin, which extended even to Noah and his family, who were spared. While the prophets condemned the wickedness of the nations around Israel, they condemned no nation more strongly than Israel itself. In Romans, the apostle Paul compiles a series of Old Testament quotations in Romans in order to prove that sin affects every person, that no one has escaped its influence. “All, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin” (Rom 3:9).

The only explanation for this universality is that, underlying every individual sin is a propensity to sin that affects all mankind. While man has a will and the responsibility for action that comes with it, his will is influenced and shaped by his heart. From the heart of man proceed all types of evil (Mark 7:21–23). “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick” (Jer 17:9).

As a result, human beings can even be described as enslaved to sin (Rom 6:6) and unable to please God (Rom 8:8). In the New Testament, sinners are described as dead in sin, not only lacking freedom, but even life (Eph 2:1). But this slavery cannot be the sort of slavery that removes responsibility from individuals; we are willing slaves.  ²Carini, J. B. (2018). Original Sin. In M. Ward, J. Parks, B. Ellis, & T. Hains (Eds.), Lexham Survey of Theology. Lexham Press.

The question here is one of just how that original sin impacts us. Does it make us unable to choose God? Or are we will able to do that?

Made Alive in Christ

While we’re going to go through the verses pointed out by ChatGPT as important for the Calvinist beliefs, there is one above that’s not in that list. I want to bring that one up briefly, to kind of set the tone for what’s coming. It’s the reference to Ephesians. That one verse is part of the passage below, with the specific verse underlined.

Made Alive in Christ

Eph 2:1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Notice: As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins…

With that passage, and that verse in mind, here’s the focus for our look at the Calvinist belief on Total Depravity.

As a result, human beings can even be described as enslaved to sin (Rom 6:6) and unable to please God (Rom 8:8). In the New Testament, sinners are described as dead in sin, not only lacking freedom, but even life (Eph 2:1). But this slavery cannot be the sort of slavery that removes responsibility from individuals; we are willing slaves. 

Notice: In the New Testament, sinners are described as dead in sin, not only lacking freedom, but even life (Eph 2:1)

There’s no question about dead in sin. Or about life, when life is meant to be spiritual life. But are we lacking freedom?

There’s nothing in the one verse called out – Eph 2:1 – that indicates a lack of freedom. By that, I mean a lack. of freedom to choose to follow Jesus. Furthermore, there’s nothing in the rest of the passage that says that either.

Yes, it’s by God’s grace that we’re saved. That’s made very clear. But what specifically makes us the recipient of God’s grace? This passage doesn’t say. It doesn’t indicate whether it’s God’s sovereign choice to pick us as individuals, without using His existing foreknowledge about our heart, or whether it’s because of some criteria such as knowledge that given the opportunity we would choose Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

It’s just not there.

If this was the only passage we have to support the Calvinist view that we’re selected without God’s use of His foreknowledge, I’d say the belief is in trouble. But there’s more coming.

Hang in there. We’ll get to it.

Calvinist belief #2: Limited Atonement

Limited Atonement: Calvinists believe that Christ’s sacrifice on the cross was intended to save the elect only, not all of humanity. Jesus’ death is considered to be effective in securing salvation for those whom God has chosen, and the benefits of His atonement cannot be frustrated or lost.

There are two things to examine here. What is atonement and what’s meant by the elect?

Who are the elect?

Elect, Election. In modern English, terms referring to the selection of a leader or representative by a group of people. An element of choice is involved, since usually there are several candidates out of whom one must be chosen.

When the verb “elect” is used theologically in the Bible, it usually has God as its subject. In the OT it is used for God’s choice of Israel to be his people (cf. Acts 13:17). Israel became God’s people, not because they decided to belong to him, but because he took the initiative and chose them. Nor did God’s choice rest on any particular virtues that his people exemplified, but rather on his promise to their forefather Abraham (Dt 7:7, 8). God also chose their leaders, such as Saul and David (1 Sm 10:24; 2 Sm 6:21), apart from any popular vote by the people. The word thus indicates God’s prerogative in deciding what shall happen, independently of human choice.

The same thoughts are found in the NT. God’s people are described as his “elect” or “chosen ones,” a term used by Jesus when speaking of the future time when the Son of man will come and gather together God’s people (Mk 13:20, 27). He will vindicate them for their sufferings and for their patience in waiting for his coming (Lk 18:7). In 1 Peter 2:9 God’s people are called an “elect nation.” This phrase was originally used of the people of Israel (Is 43:20), and it brings out the fact that the people of God in the OT and the Christian church in the NT stand in continuity with each other; the promises addressed to Israel now find fulfillment in the church.  ³Elwell, W. A., & Beitzel, B. J. (1988). Elect, Election. In Baker encyclopedia of the Bible (Vol. 1, pp. 681–682). Baker Book House.

The fact that the Israelites were God’s chosen people in the Old Testament is quite clear. It wasn’t like they had a choice in the matter either. They were literally born into it.

However, the thoughts above leave something out. There are three passages that we’ll consider here, to bring out what’s missing. Two from the Old Testament, the other from Jesus in the New Testament.

A blessing through God’s chosen people in the Old Testament

Yes, The Israelites were God’s chosen people in the Old Testament. More properly, I think we should say God’s “original” chosen people. Here’s why I say that:

The Call of Abram

Ge 12:1 The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.

Ge 12:2 “I will make you into a great nation
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.

Ge 12:3 I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”
…

Yes, we go all the way back to Genesis. Even before there were any Israelites. Before Israel, meaning before Jacob was renamed Israel. That didn’t happen until Ge 32:28.

But look what it says. Especially the underlined portion of the verse:

I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.

What does it mean by all peoples on earth will be blessed through you?

Here’s what it means from a Messianic Jewish point of view:

And all the families of the earth / Shall bless themselves by you This rendering understands Hebrew ve-nivrekhu as reflexive. People will take your own good fortune as the desired measure when invoking a blessing on themselves. A more likely translation of the verb is as a passive: “shall be blessed through—because of—you.”8 God’s promises to Abram would then proceed in three stages from the particular to the universal: a blessing on Abram personally, a blessing (or curse) on those with whom he interacts, a blessing on the entire human race.

These promises to Abram, given in Haran, make no mention of a gift of land, perhaps so as not to detract from the pure, disinterested act of faith involved in heeding the simple command, “Go forth!”  ⁴Sarna, N. M. (1989). Genesis (pp. 89–90). Jewish Publication Society.

Notice what it says about land not being part. of the blessing. These promises to Abram, given in Haran, make no mention of a gift of land, perhaps so as not to detract from the pure, disinterested act of faith involved in heeding the simple command, “Go forth!” 

Now, think about and compare that to something Jesus said to His followers, including us today.

The Great Commission

Mt 28:16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

No, the Old Testament Hebrew/Israelite/Jewish people were going to make disciples of Jesus among people. But they were to be part of bringing about a blessing through acts of faith among other people in their time. Just as we’re commanded to spread the Gospel to all people in our time.

That raises a question. It appears from God’s promise to Abram that his descendants weren’t the only ones to be blessed. Yes, the only ones to receive land. But not the only ones to be blessed.

Now, let’s bring in one more Old Testament passage. It’s from Isaiah, in a passage about the Servant of the Lord to come.

The Servant of the LORD

Isa 42:1 “Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen one in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him
and he will bring justice to the nations.

Isa 42:2 He will not shout or cry out,
or raise his voice in the streets.

Isa 42:3 A bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.
In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;

Isa 42:4 he will not falter or be discouraged
till he establishes justice on earth.
In his law the islands will put their hope.”

Isa 42:5 This is what God the LORD says—
he who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spread out the earth and all that comes out of it,
who gives breath to its people,
and life to those who walk on it:

Isa 42:6 “I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness;
I will take hold of your hand.
I will keep you and will make you
to be a covenant for the people
and a light for the Gentiles,

Isa 42:7 to open eyes that are blind,
to free captives from prison
and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.
…

Let’s pay special attention to verses 6 and 7. Here’s that same Jewish commentary on them.

6–7. A direct summons to God’s servant to proclaim the word of redemption (cf. 42:1). The formulation derives from prophetic commission scenes. As in Jer. 1:5, the messenger has been “created” and “appointed” to bring God’s word to the “nations.” In the present case, God also calls upon His servant to serve as a “covenant people” and a “light of nations.”6 These expressions are difficult. Rashi understood the addressee in Isa. 42:5 to be the prophet himself, who was called to restore the nations to God’s covenant; these nations are the tribes of Israel. On the other hand, it is possible to interpret the messenger as an individual whose task is to reestablish Israel so that they may serve as a beacon of light for all peoples (Ibn Ezra). If, however, the messenger is Israel, then the phrase would mean that God has established the entire people for a universal mission (Kimḥi).

Commission language also occurs in Isa. 43:1–2, where the nation is called upon to follow God to their homeland. The language of support used there (“fear not,” “I will be with you”) is a hallmark of the divine response to prophetic expressions of fear or unworthiness (see Jer. 1:8). The language of divine assistance through grasping the prophet’s hand (ʾaḥzeik be-yadekha) occurs in Isa. 42:6, and similar terminology is found in 41:13 and 45:1. The idiom is arguably influenced by Babylonian hymns, where a god “takes the hand” of his servant and “supports the hands of the weak.”  ⁵Fishbane, M. A. (2002). Haftarot (p. 6). The Jewish Publication Society.

Now, let’s focus on this part:

These expressions are difficult. Rashi understood the addressee in Isa. 42:5 to be the prophet himself, who was called to restore the nations to God’s covenant; these nations are the tribes of Israel. On the other hand, it is possible to interpret the messenger as an individual whose task is to reestablish Israel so that they may serve as a beacon of light for all peoples (Ibn Ezra). If, however, the messenger is Israel, then the phrase would mean that God has established the entire people for a universal mission (Kimḥi).

Remember, this is from someone who doesn’t believe Jesus was the one promised in Isaiah.

We know from what Jesus said that it wasn’t His intent to restore the nations to the original covenant with Israel. Jesus came to establish a new covenant. A covenant born from the old one, but not exactly like it.

The Fulfillment of the Law

Mt 5:17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19 Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

So we know Jesus was here to fulfill The Law, not to abolish it. To complete what was started. In fact, a work that was begun way back at the beginning.

The Beginning

Ge 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
…

The Fall of Man

…
Ge 3:14 So the LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,
“Cursed are you above all the livestock
and all the wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly
and you will eat dust
all the days of your life.

Ge 3:15 And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel.”
…

For a detailed look at how verse 15 refers to the coming of Jesus, check out the adjacent inset box.

Since Jesus wasn’t here to restore the nations to God’s first covenant, and He wasn’t here to restore Israel, then the third conclusion from above is the only one left:

… the phrase would mean that God has established the entire people for a universal mission.

That begs a question. If God’s plan was to establish the people for a universal mission, which is what Jesus told us in the Great Commission, then does the Calvinist view of salvation make sense? Hold on to that question as we move into the fourth item on the list of Calvinist beliefs.

The Great Commission

Mt 28:16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Calvinist belief #4: Irresistible Grace:

Irresistible Grace: Calvinists teach that when God chooses to save someone, His grace is irresistible and efficacious. It means that the Holy Spirit works in the hearts of the elect, regenerating them and drawing them to God in a way that they cannot ultimately resist. This grace is effectual, ensuring that those whom God has chosen will respond in faith and be saved.

Notice: ensuring that those whom God has chosen will respond in faith and be saved

Between the Great Commission, which tells us to spread the Gospel to everyone, and the passage below, does the conclusion above follow?

What did the angels say to the shepherds?

The Shepherds and the Angels

Lk 2:8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
Lk 2:13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
Lk 2:14 “Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”
Lk 2:15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
Lk 2:16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Notice the underlined verse above: But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.

How is the birth of a savior good news to all the people if you happen to be one of those God hasn’t chosen?

Introduction (1:1–4:13). The first division in Luke’s Gospel describes who Jesus is and his fitness to secure the forgiveness of sins. It is immediately clear that the protagonist of Luke’s account is no ordinary man. Jesus’ birth is announced by angels, is described in terms of the fulfillment of God’s ancient promises to his people, and is celebrated by the spiritually enlightened (Luke 1). From the time of his birth (2:1–40) to his late childhood (2:41–52), Jesus’ uniqueness is clear. Luke skips from the time Jesus is twelve until he is thirty years old, when he begins his public ministry (3:1, 23). As evidence that Jesus is the long-expected Messiah, Jesus’ arrival is heralded by John (3:1–20). This Messiah is not just the one to redeem Israel, however; he identifies with all humanity (3:21–38). ⁶Mangum, D., ed. (2020). Lexham Context Commentary: New Testament (Lk 1:1–4:13). Lexham Press.

Notice: he identifies with all humanity (3:21–38)

Just in case you’re curious, as you should be, the Greek words we read as “all the people” in our English Bibles mean the whole people.

But what about the praise from the Heavenly host?

However, before we get too excited, let’s look just a bit later. Remember what the Heavenly host said in verse 14.

“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”

How can we reconcile that with what the angels told the shepherds? Is there a problem here? A conflict between the two? Did the angels tell the truth, but not the whole truth? Did the angels flat out lie?

Or is it the difference between potential and reality? Here’s what I mean.

When the angels said it was “good news of great joy that will be for all the people“, that could mean it had the potential to be news of great joy. That God has an offer of salvation for everyone.

On the other hand, when the Heavenly host said, “peace to men on whom his favor rests”, did that reflect the reality that this good news would be rejected by some? Was it a reflection of what Jesus said below?

The Narrow and Wide Gates – Matthew

Mt 7:13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

It seems reasonable. It fits. There’s no trying to twist words around to somehow say that the angels meation nt it was good news only for those who God chose, and the rest of the people were just doomed. But maybe they didn’t have a need to know? It just doesn’t feel right.

This same logic applies in so many places in the Bible.

At its core, the question still keeps coming back to our question about whether it’s individuals with God not utilizing His foreknowledge of our hearts, or was it God’s knowledge of who would accept His offer and who wouldn’t?

BTW, I’ve written often before about how we, as Christians, need to assume that everyone we come across could be saved. Why? Because we just don’t know. Anyone, no matter how they act, could be saved later. For us to ignore that reality could doom someone that we could’ve given the news of the Gospel. We just don’t know what’s in people’s hearts. But God does.

Calvinist belief #5: Perseverance of the Saints

Let’s move on now to the fifth, and final, belief for this topic.

Perseverance of the Saints: Calvinists believe in the perseverance of the saints, also known as eternal security or “once saved, always saved.” Those who are truly elected and regenerated by God will persevere in faith until the end. God’s saving work in their lives is seen as secure and certain, and they cannot lose their salvation.

You can see from the excerpt below, there’s a lot of disagreement across denominations about this one.

The permanence of salvation refers to the question of whether all Christians inevitably reach final salvation or whether it is possible for any to fall away (commit apostasy).

The early church believed that final salvation was conditional upon the faithfulness of the believer. This is why the issue of postbaptismal sin was so thorny for them: if baptism was required to wash away sins but baptism was a one-time event, what recourse did those people have who sinned afterward? Some church leaders, on the basis of Hebrews 6:4–8 (interpreting “enlightenment” as baptism), believed that such people could not be saved. This concern led some people to postpone baptism, sometimes even until just before death. The church eventually came to a more lenient position, creating the penitential process to restore those who fell into sin.

Augustine agreed that it was possible to lose salvation, but he gave a different reason for his position. In his view, God had chosen (elected) certain individuals to be saved in order to replace the angels that fell. While anyone who was baptized was regenerated, only the elect individuals would receive the gift of perseverance; all others would fall away and be lost. The Second Synod of Orange in 529, while it affirmed Augustine’s argument against Pelagius, implicitly rejected Augustine’s understanding of perseverance, declaring that all baptized persons were able, with Christ’s help, to do what was necessary for their continued salvation.

The Catholic tradition continues to teach that final salvation is possible for all those who avail themselves of the divine grace conveyed by the sacraments of the church. Many Protestant traditions believe that final salvation, while unconditional on God’s side, requires the continued faithfulness of the believer, which is possible because of the Holy Spirit but is not guaranteed. While continued salvation is not tenuous or based on the believer’s works, it is possible for the believer to turn away from Christ and thereby forfeit salvation. All of these traditions believe that salvation is synergistic—that is, they believe that both God and human beings are actors in the salvation process, although God is always the initiator and humans can only respond.

The Reformed tradition, however, picking up some aspects of Augustine’s teaching, believes salvation to be monergistic—that is, God is the sole cause of salvation. Because human beings contribute nothing to the salvation process, not even a free-will response, all individuals who are chosen by God for salvation will inevitably be preserved by God until final salvation. This view, called the “perseverance of the saints,” forms the “P” of the mnemonic acronym TULIP, which is often used to teach the Reformed view of salvation. The doctrine of perseverance means that any individuals who seem to commit apostasy were never really believers at all.

Dispensational theology, which began in the 1820s in England, developed a modified version of the Reformed perspective that became influential in American fundamentalism and evangelicalism. In this view, while salvation is synergistic at the beginning, it becomes monergistic thereafter. In other words, while anyone can make a free response to the gospel invitation, once people become Christians they can never fall away. This view is often referred to as “eternal security.” It lacks the theological consistency of the other views and requires the least commitment from believers.

All orthodox theological traditions agree on several points: God desires to keep believers in salvation and has the power to do so; God has given believers everything they need in order to remain faithful; believers’ continued salvation is not based on their works but on God’s grace. Traditions differ on the point of whether believers themselves can reject Christ and thereby forfeit the salvation they had received.  ⁷Colijn, B. B. (2018). The Permanence of Salvation. In M. Ward, J. Parks, B. Ellis, & T. Hains (Eds.), Lexham Survey of Theology. Lexham Press.

I’m going to save the larger discussion of whether salvation can be lost until the end. It’s too complex and requires much to be added. Since much of the prerequisites for it will be coming as we move along, it seems best to just wait.

Having said that, the key for us at this point in our look at Calvinist beliefs is this:

Because human beings contribute nothing to the salvation process, not even a free-will response, all individuals who are chosen by God for salvation will inevitably be preserved by God until final salvation. This view, called the “perseverance of the saints,” forms the “P” of the mnemonic acronym TULIP, which is often used to teach the Reformed view of salvation. The doctrine of perseverance means that any individuals who seem to commit apostasy were never really believers at all.

As expected, it carries through the thought that salvation is entirely up to God. There’s nothing we can do. We cannot, according to Calvin, make a choice.

To me, it seems odd then that we read things like the following from Paul:

The Rights of an Apostle

1Co 9:1 Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not the result of my work in the Lord? 2 Even though I may not be an apostle to others, surely I am to you! For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.

1Co 9:3 This is my defense to those who sit in judgment on me. 4 Don’t we have the right to food and drink? 5 Don’t we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Cephas ? 6 Or is it only I and Barnabas who must work for a living?

1Co 9:7 Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its grapes? Who tends a flock and does not drink of the milk? 8 Do I say this merely from a human point of view? Doesn’t the Law say the same thing? 9 For it is written in the Law of Moses: “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.” Is it about oxen that God is concerned? 10 Surely he says this for us, doesn’t he? Yes, this was written for us, because when the plowman plows and the thresher threshes, they ought to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest. 11 If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you? 12 If others have this right of support from you, shouldn’t we have it all the more?  But we did not use this right. On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ. 13 Don’t you know that those who work in the temple get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar? 14 In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.

1Co 9:15 But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this in the hope that you will do such things for me. I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of this boast. 16 Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! 17 If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me. 18 What then is my reward? Just this: that in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not make use of my rights in preaching it.

1Co 9:19 Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21 To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. 23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.

1Co 9:24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27 No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

If Calvinist theology is correct, does Paul really do the things he says he does? Is there any point to his encouraging others to follow his example? After all, if this theology is right, then can we actually choose to, for instance, run in such a way as to get the prize?

Conclusion – Is predestiny about who we are or free will choices? Part 1.

Now that we’ve viewed the core beliefs of Calvinism,TULIP, what can we say about our title question? Is predestiny about who we are or free will choices? It still seems to me that a number of passages bring questions as to whether Calvinist theology lines up with what we’ve seen so far.

It’ll be most interesting to see what happens in part two, where we look at some of the passages used to point to Calvinist beliefs.

I’ll add a link here when it’s published.

Footnotes

• 1
  Zaspel, F. G. (2018). God’s Foreknowledge. In M. Ward, J. Parks, B. Ellis, & T. Hains (Eds.), Lexham Survey of Theology. Lexham Press.
• 2
  Carini, J. B. (2018). Original Sin. In M. Ward, J. Parks, B. Ellis, & T. Hains (Eds.), Lexham Survey of Theology. Lexham Press.
• 3
  Elwell, W. A., & Beitzel, B. J. (1988). Elect, Election. In Baker encyclopedia of the Bible (Vol. 1, pp. 681–682). Baker Book House.
• 4
  Sarna, N. M. (1989). Genesis (pp. 89–90). Jewish Publication Society.
• 5
  Fishbane, M. A. (2002). Haftarot (p. 6). The Jewish Publication Society.
• 6
  Mangum, D., ed. (2020). Lexham Context Commentary: New Testament (Lk 1:1–4:13). Lexham Press.
• 7
  Colijn, B. B. (2018). The Permanence of Salvation. In M. Ward, J. Parks, B. Ellis, & T. Hains (Eds.), Lexham Survey of Theology. Lexham Press.