2. Unconditional Election
T.U.L.I.P; Calvin’s doctrinal system as it relates to the spiritual condition of man.
Total Hereditary Depravity
è Unconditional Election
Limited Atonement
Irresistible Grace
Perseverance of the Saints
A. Unconditional Salvation – Since man is incapable of doing good apart from the
impulse of the Spirit, there are NO conditons placed on salvation. Only God has a
role in man’s redemption.
Election means "choice". God's choice from eternity, of who He will bring to Himself, is not based on foreseen virtue, merit or faith in the persons He chooses but rather, is unconditionally grounded in His own mercy.
Rom. 9:16 "So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy."
Eph. 1:4 "Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him."
John 1:13 "born not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God." – Wikpedia
God has elected, based solely upon the counsel of his own will, some for glory and others for damnation (Rom. 9:15,21). He has done this act before the foundations of the world (Eph. 1:4-8) … - CRTA
B. “We say, then, that Scripture clearly proves this much, that God by his eternal and immutable counsel determined once for all those whom it was his pleasure one day to admit to salvation, and those whom, on the other hand, it was his pleasure to doom to destruction. We maintain that this counsel, as regards the elect, is founded on his free mercy, without any respect to human worth, while those whom he dooms to destruction are excluded from access to life by a just and blameless, but at the same time incomprehensible judgment.” (John Calvin)
“The doctrine of election declares that God, before the foundation of the world, chose certain individuals from among the fallen members of Adam’s race to be the objects of his undeserved favor. These, and those only, He purposed to save. God could have chosen to save all men, or he could have chose to save none – but he did neither. Instead he chose to save some and exclude others…Thus election was not determined by, or conditioned upon, anything that men would do, but resulted entirely from God’s self-determined purpose.” (David Steels, Calvinism, Defined, Documented, and Defended, Pg 30, 31)
“By the decree of God, for the manifestation of his glory, some men and angels are predestinated unto everlasting life, and others foreordained to everlasting death. These angels and men thus predestinated and foreordained are particularly and unchangeably designed and their number is so certain and definite that it can not be either increased or diminished.” (Presbyterian Confession of Faith, chap. 3, sec. 3,4,5)
A. TWO QUESTIONS:
1. Does God elect People? YES, he has.
2. Does he UNCONDITIONALLY elect for salvation? NO, he never will.
B. HOW DOES GOD ELECT? WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?
C. EXAMPLES OF GOD’S ELECTION:
1. INDIVIDUALS
a. Christ (Isa. 42:1; 1 Pet. 2:6).
b. Abraham (Gal. 3:16).
c. Isaac (Gen.21:12).
d. Jacob (Isa.41:8).
e. Judah (Heb. 7:14).
Election has been a necessity from Abraham to Jesus the promised seed – not to benefit the elected exclusively but to benefit the world through them.
2. More examples of INDIVIDUALS THAT GOD CHOSE:
a. Moses (Psa. 106:23).
b. Aaron (Psa. 105:26).
Yet neither made it to the promise land!
c. Saul (1 Sam. 10:24).
Stripped of Kingdom
Though elected it did not make their position or their souls any more secure than another.
3. ISRAEL.
a. Israel was God’s Elect Nation (Ex. 3:7, 10; Deut. 7:6-8).
b. He dealt with his elect nation as he did with individuals (Ex. 19:3-6).
Does this sound like they were unconditionally elected for salvation?
- Ex. 32:28 – 3,000 killed
- Num. 25:9 – 24,000 killed
- Heb. 3:18-19; 1 Cor. 10:5-12
4. The CHURCH.
a. Today we are God’s elect nation (1 Pet. 2:5, 9).
b. Will God deal with us differently? (Rom. 11:20-22).
A. ACTS 13:48.
1. Calvinists claim that those that believe were already chosen beforehand.
Does your version or any version say “foreordained”?
2. The ordination (appoint) in Acts 13:48 being before the foundation of the world is
merely an assumption. And if that was what God meant he could have said
Appointed/set/determined for eternal life.
3. Now how is it that God has decided to ordain men?
Eph 1:13 – “In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation …” – NKJV
a. What happened back in Acts 13:48? They heard, were glad, glorified the word.
b. Calvinism teaches that ordination happened at the foundation of the world
. . .before the gospel could be heard.
c. God’s plan is that faith comes by hearing as they did in Acts (Rom. 10:17).
B. ROM. 8:29-30.
1. The context is vital in our understanding – see vs. 28.
2. Who is he talking about – who are those who are foreordained?
a. Did foreknow proegnoo, “It does not mean "foreordain." It signifies "prescience," not "preelection." (Vincent's Word Studies in the New Testament).
b. Predestinate – foreordain –proorizo – What did God foreordain?
- Those he foreknew would be conformed to the image of his son, that Jesus might
be the “firstborn among many brethren.”
c. Those whom he called (2 Thess. 2:14).
- Who did he call thru the gospel (Mark 16:15; Rom. 1:16), All who will hear.
- Them that love God – those who are called according to his purpose (vs. 28).
3. A class or type of people, not certain ones.
C. EPH. 1:4-5,11.
1. CHOSE, elektos, “picked out.”
a. Emphasis on what God does IN CHRIST.
b. Our election has its ground IN CHRIST, in the sense that apart from Christ,
there is no election.
2. Who is chosen? “US!”
a. Specific individuals?
b. Believers in general? (Rev. 22:17; 2 Tim. 2:3-4)
3. God purposesed to bless in Christ before creation(1 Pet. 1:18-20; Acts 2:22-23).
4. WHAT DID GOD DETERMINE BEFOREHAND ABOUT HIS CHOSEN?
a. Holy, hagios, different, set apart (2 Cor. 6:14, 17-18; Rom. 12:2)
b. Without blemish
i. Forgiven, therefore without sin (Eph. 5:25-27).
ii. Pure in our behavior (Phil. 2:14-15).
5. FOREORDAINED, prooridzo, “denotes to bind, set a boundary.”
a. English word – “horizon.”
b. Once again, who is foreordained? Specific individuals? NO! But the kind of
person who is within the set boundary God has set forth. A peculiar kind of
person (Titus 2:14; 1 Pet. 2:9-10)
6. Keep in mind that Paul’s object is to tell us WHAT GOD HAS DONE IN CHRIST.
7. PREDESTINATE proorizo has special reference to that to which the subjects of His
foreknowledge are "predestinated."(Vine )
8. WHAT WAS FOREORDAINED? Those elected, believers, would be adopted children
(Gal. 3:26-27; 4:4-7).
D. EPH. 2:8-9.
1. There is a misunderstanding of the word “grace.”
a. charis, grace, “good-will, loving-kindness, favor.” (Thayer)
b. No indication of it being unconditional.
Favor or kindness shown without regard to the worth or merit .… In the Old Testament, the … example … was the redemption of the Hebrew people from Egypt …. This did not happen because of any merit on Israel's part, but in spite of their unrighteousness (Deut 9:5-6). Although ... grace … is always free and undeserved, it must not be taken for granted. Grace is only enjoyed within the COVENANT-… and the gift is received by man through repentance and faith (Amos 5:15) .… (Rom 3:21-28). Paul makes it abundantly clear that salvation is not something that can be earned or merited; it can be received only as a gift of grace (Rom 4:4). Grace, however, must be accompanied by faith; even while it is undeserved (Rom 4:16). (Nelson)
c. Usage in the New Testament implies “unmerited” (1 John 4:9-10; Rom. 5:8).
2. WHAT BROUGHT US HERE? (vs. 8).
FOR BY GRACE HAVE YOU BEEN SAVED THROUGH FAITH.
a. GRACE is GOD’S PART in our redemption.
1. Before it can save it must find expression in Christ.
2. What does Grace do?
a. Justifies (Rom. 3:24)
b. Saves (Eph. 2:5).
c. Redeems & Forgives (1:7)
d. Thru it we reign (Rom. 5:17)
3. How is Grace Expressed?
a. Christ’s death (Rom. 3:24-25).
b. In Christ’s prayer (Luke 23:34).
c. In the first and subsequent gospel
sermons (Titus 2:11-12).
B. FAITH IS MAN’S PART AND, LIKE GRACE, MUST FIND EXPRESSION
(see John 6:28-29).
1. What does faith do for us?
a. Justifies (Rom. 5:1).
b. Motivates (2 Cor. 5:7).
c. Directs (Rom. 14:23).
d. Protects (1 Pet.1:5; Eph.6:16).
2. Faith finds expression in what it
causes one to do.
a. What’s faith? Trust (Heb. 11:6).
b. Old Testament (Heb. 11:7, 8, 24).
c. James (Jas. 2:22-24; Gal. 5:6)
d. What specifically does faith express
itself in?
Romans 6:1-7
i. (vs. 7) He that hath died is justified (by grace thru faith – Eph. 2:8).
ii. Baptized into his death so that we die to sin (vs. 2-3).
iii. United with him in the likeness of his death (vs. 4-5).
iv. When do faith and grace justify? When we die? When is this?
(Rom. 6:6-7, 8,11)
E. ISA. 64:6: For we are all become as one that is unclean, and all our righteousnesses are as a polluted garment (filthy rags –KJV): and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. ASV
1. The argument is made that even our best effort is not regarded by the Lord.
a. In the context, Judah’s righteousness was like a filthy rag because they had
no righteousness (vs. 5-7; 46:12; 48:1; 59:1-8).
b. Likewise, all of us our shut up under sin (Rom. 3:9ff., 23).
2. Does God regard our righteous behavior?
a. Peter’s testimony (Acts 10:34-35).
b. Good is expected of us (3 John 11; 1 John 2:29; 3:7).
3. What is going to be judged in the last day?
a. The Calvinist says that God will see only Christ’s righteous life.
b. But … (2 Cor. 5:10; Rev. 20:12; Matt. 16:27; Rom. 2:5-10; Gal. 6:7-8
Ecc. 12:13-14).
A. RELATED TO TOTAL DEPRAVITY. IS TOTAL DEPRAVITY TRUE?
B. THE DOCTRINE OF “IF.”
1. This doctrine ignores one of the most important words in the language and the Bible.
That word is "if."
a. The purpose of that word is to define conditions for something to come about.
b. It is throughout the Old and New Testaments, indicating that the spiritual
blessings of God are conditional.
2. Matt. 16:24; John 8:31; John 15:14; Rom. 6:4-5; Rom. 10:9; Gal. 6:9;
2 Tim. 2:11-13; 1 John 1:7.
3. No question that these passages place conditions on salvation.
4. But the Calvinist will not deny that these things are necessary, he simply denies that
man does these things as a result of his own volition.
5. Therefore, he is not fulfilling conditions, but someone else is fulfilling those
conditions in him.
C. FAITH AS A CONDITION (Heb. 11:6; Rom. 5:1-2).
1. But faith, in Calvinist dogma, is not an act of the one who has it. It is an act of the
Holy Spirit in the believer.
2. Eph. 2:8-9. In the Calvinist doctrine, faith is the gift of verse 8. So even though a
man has faith, he has not fulfilled a condition because his faith is not of his own
doing.
a. First of all, salvation is the gift of Eph. 2:8. Paul speaks here of the fact that
salvation is a gift, not a wage. It cannot be earned or deserved (Rom. 6:23).
b. Second, though we can't deny that faith is a gift, how God gives faith is
significant (Rom. 10:17; John 20:30-31).
c. Faith comes as a result of considering the evidence and deciding whether or not
the assertions made from it are believable.
Faith is an ordinary intellectual process.
d. It is not imparted by some mysterious operation of the Holy Spirit.
e. It is a work of man (John 6:28-29). Faith is a work.
f. So are all those other conditions that we read in the other passages cited. And
they are done by the man at his volition, not as an impulse of the Spirit.
D. GOD WOULD HAVE ALL MEN TO BE SAVED (1 Tim. 2:4; 2 Pet. 3:9).
1. Christ died for all (2 Cor. 5:14-15; Heb. 2:9).
2. His grace is extended to all (Titus 2:11).
3. Yet many are not saved (Matt. 7:13-14; 2 Cor. 6:1).
4. They haven't done what God has commanded (Matt. 7:21).
A. WHY DOES GOD INVITE ALL TO BE SAVED? (Rev. 3:20; 22:17; Matt. 11:28).
B. WHAT IS THE SENSE OF THE GREAT COMMISSION?
(Mark 16:15-16: Matt. 28:19-20).
C. HOW CAN MAN BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR SOMETHING GOD
FOREORDAINED HE MUST DO? (2 Cor 5:10; Rom. 14:10-12).
D. HOW IS GOD NOT A RESPECTER OF PERSONS IF HE CHOSE SOME TO BE
SAVED AND SOME TO BE LOST? (Acts 10:34-36; James 3:17)
IT isn't enough to just want salvation. We must do the will of the Father. Under Calvinism, even wanting salvation is impossible without the Holy Spirit putting that desire there. Calvinism is the not a religion for men, but for robots and toys. Are we just toys of God? Is that what it means to be created in his image? I don't think so.
