Unconditional Election

Calvinism Exposed (2)

Unconditional Election

2004002

Topic # 1798 (Calvinism)

Introduction:

A. Calvinism has infiltrated in varying degrees

B. Leading denominational author: John MacArthur:

1. John Calvin rightly interpreted the Bible to teach that man is totally depraved. What that means, is that, not every human being is as sinful as he could be or she could be, but that every human being is sinful to the point that they’re incapable of altering their condition.

2. That is to say, total depravity means you can’t do anything to save yourself. You can’t even make a right choice. You can’t awaken your spiritual deadness. You can’t give life where there is death. You can’t come to a right conclusion on your own. Total depravity means that everyone, is by virtue of their own will and their own power and their own choices, incapable of redemption. That’s total depravity.

3. I think we are dead in trespasses and sin, and dead people don’t make choices. Dead people can’t make themselves alive.

C. So..the logical progression of this doctrine is that God must unconditionally elect individuals to be saved.

1. all others are hopelessly and helplessly lost.

D. Some believe: God arbitrarily chose to save some and destroy others before the foundation of the world. Nothing can be done to change God’s sovereign decree.

E. Here is the doctrine of unconditional election in a nutshell:

Based solely on God’s choice, only a few will be saved:

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 these only, He purposed to save. God could have chosen to save all men (for He had the power and authority to do so,) or He could have chose to save none (for He was under no obligation to show mercy to any) – but He did neither. Instead He chose to save some and to exclude others. His eternal choice of particular sinners unto salvation was not based upon any foreseen act or response on the part of those selected, but was based solely on His own good pleasure and sovereign will. Thus election was not determined by, or conditioned upon, anything that men would do, but resulted entirely from God’s self-determined purpose.

All others are excluded from salvation:

Those who were not chosen to salvation were passed by and left to their own evil devices and choices. It is not within the creature’s jurisdiction to call into question the justice of the Creator for not choosing everyone to salvation. It is enough to know that the Judge of the earth has done right. It should, however, be kept in mind that if God had not graciously chosen a people for Himself and sovereignty determined to provide salvation for them and apply it to them, none would be saved. The fact that He did this for some, to the exclusion of others, is in no way unfair to the latter group, unless of course one maintains that God was under obligation to provide salvation for sinners, a position which the Bible utterly rejects.

I. Objections to this doctrine:

A. It makes God a respecter of persons.

1. The Calvinist would believe when a person dies & spends eternity separated from God – God is responsible for that.

2. In other words, God ordained that persons eternal destruction.

3. Problems with this conclusion:

a) God is impartial. See Rom. 2:11; Col. 3:25; Eph. 6:9; Acts 10:34

b) God does not act toward man in any fashion based upon respect of persons.

B. It makes God responsible for the damnation of the world.

1. Calvinist: Man is hopelessly lost in sin. He is unable to choose spiritual good over evil. He cannot be responsible for what he cannot do.

2. Problem with this conclusion:

a) If God could save man but unconditionally choose not to do so, then God would be responsible for leaving helpless man in a damned condition.

b) Scriptures teach that God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked. See Ezek. 33:11; 18:21-23; 26-30; 32

C. It nullifies the great commission.

1. If predestination is true then the only obvious conclusion is that He must not want those to be saved whom He does not choose.

2. Scriptures say to teach the gospel to the world. See Mk. 16:15-16; 1 Tim. 2:4; 2 Pet. 3:9; Titus 2:11-14

3. Some questions:

a) If nothing can change anybody’s status before God, why preach the gospel?

b) Why warn people to flee the wrath to come?

c) If they are elect, they will not incur the wrath of God regardless of what they do. If they’re not elect, they can’t flee anyway!

D. It refuses to accept that Christ died for all.

1. Christ died for every man – Heb. 2:9. See also 1 Tim. 2:6; 1 John 2:2; 1 John 4:14.

E. It rejects the free will choice of man.

1. If God has fixed the destiny of each one before time began, then man cannot be held responsible for the life he lives.

2. The Scriptures teach man is responsible for his actions. Man has a spirit, intellect, and the ability to choose good from evil.

3. See Rom. 6:16; 14:12; Josh. 24:15; Deut. 30:19; Isa. 7:15-16

4. Whosoever will, come and take the water of life freely. Rev. 22:17

F. It makes every call to repentance hypocritical.

1. If the non-elect cannot accept and the elect cannot reject, then why invite anybody?

2. God has commanded all men everywhere to repent – Acts 17:30. See also Mt. 11:28; 2 Cor. 5:9-11; Acts 10:34-35.

II. What the Scriptures Teach About Predestination

A. Ephesians 1:3-14

B. Note: God chose the plan of salvation to be in Christ.

1. The emphasis in this context is NOT on individuals who will be saved, but upon Jesus through whom redemption is made possible.

2. Note the emphasis on Jesus in 1:3-13:

3. The terms in Christ; In Him; By Christ Jesus; and In Him all refer to Jesus here.

a) in fact – there is a reference to Jesus 12 times in these 10 verses.

4. What is in the plan that God has had in place before the foundation of the world?

1:3 – the elect are entitled to all spiritual blessings.

1:4 – they are holy & w/o blame

1:5-7 – they have been adopted; accepted; and redeemed.

1:11 – they are entitled to an inheritance

C. Note 1:12-13 – salvation is described as being conditioned upon having "heard" and "believed."

D. Read Romans 8:28-30

1. 8:29 - Whom He foreknew… Long before their actual existence – God foresaw that certain persons, of their own choice, would willingly submit in obedience to Him.

2. 8:29 – He also predestined… He foresaw they would do His will voluntarily. Thus we have the plan in Christ by which they should obey Him. See Eph. 1:4-14

3. 8:30 – He also called… Men are called by the gospel. (2 Thess. 2:14). This is for all men. See Acts 17:30; Mk. 16:15-16; Titus 2:11-14. Not all accept the gospel.

4. 8:30 – He also justified… Man needed a righteous means of forgiveness. Jesus paid the penalty for our sins that God must justify those who believe on Him. (3:23-26)

5. 8:30 – He also glorified… The eternal destiny of the righteous is that they should be made in the image of God’s Son. (Phil. 3:21)

E. God is able to look out across a great vista and foresee things that shall be brought into being.

F. He is able to speak of things which do not exist as though they were already completed. Focus on the phrases in these 3 verses:

Concluding Thoughts

A. God is in sovereign control.

B. God has made man a free moral agent.

C. Man has the responsibility to either accept or reject God’s plan of salvation.

D. What will your decision be?

E. I N V I T A T I O N



Calvinism Exposed (2) *Unconditional Election* 2004002 Topic # 1798 (Calvinism) Introduction: A. Calvinism has infiltrated in varying degrees B. Leading denominational author: John MacArthur: 1. John Calvin rightly interpreted the Bible to teach that man is totally depraved. What that means, is that, not every human being is as sinful as he could be or she could be, but that every human being is sinful to the point that they’re incapable of altering their condition. 2. That is to say, total depravity means you can’t do anything to save yourself. You can’t even make a right choice. You can’t awaken your spiritual deadness. You can’t give life where there is death. You can’t come to a right conclusion on your own. Total depravity means that everyone, is by virtue of their own will and their own power and their own choices, incapable of redemption. That’s total depravity. 3. I think we are dead in trespasses and sin, and dead people don’t make choices. Dead people can’t make themselves alive. C. So..the logical progression of this doctrine is that God must unconditionally elect individuals to be saved. 1. all others are hopelessly and helplessly lost. D. Some believe: God arbitrarily chose to save some and destroy others before the foundation of the world. Nothing can be done to change God’s sovereign decree. E. Here is the doctrine of unconditional election in a nutshell: Based solely on God’s choice, only a few will be saved: 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 these only, He purposed to save. God could have chosen to save all men (for He had the power and authority to do so,) or He could have chose to save none (for He was under no obligation to show mercy to any) – but He did neither. Instead He chose to save some and to exclude others. His eternal choice of particular sinners unto salvation was not based upon any foreseen act or response on the part of those selected, but was based solely on His own good pleasure and sovereign will. Thus election was not determined by, or conditioned upon, anything that men would do, but resulted entirely from God’s self-determined purpose. All others are excluded from salvation: Those who were not chosen to salvation were passed by and left to their own evil devices and choices. It is not within the creature’s jurisdiction to call into question the justice of the Creator for not choosing everyone to salvation. It is enough to know that the Judge of the earth has done right. It should, however, be kept in mind that if God had not graciously chosen a people for Himself and sovereignty determined to provide salvation for them and apply it to them, none would be saved. The fact that He did this for some, to the exclusion of others, is in no way unfair to the latter group, unless of course one maintains that God was under obligation to provide salvation for sinners, a position which the Bible utterly rejects. I. Objections to this doctrine: A. It makes God a respecter of persons. 1. The Calvinist would believe when a person dies & spends eternity separated from God – God is responsible for that. 2. In other words, God ordained that persons eternal destruction. 3. Problems with this conclusion: a) God is impartial. See Rom. 2:11; Col. 3:25; Eph. 6:9; Acts 10:34 b) God does not act toward man in any fashion based upon respect of persons. B. It makes God responsible for the damnation of the world. 1. Calvinist: Man is hopelessly lost in sin. He is unable to choose spiritual good over evil. He cannot be responsible for what he cannot do. 2. Problem with this conclusion: a) If God could save man but unconditionally choose not to do so, then God would be responsible for leaving helpless man in a damned condition. b) Scriptures teach that God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked. See Ezek. 33:11; 18:21-23; 26-30; 32 C. It nullifies the great commission. 1. If predestination is true then the only obvious conclusion is that He must not want those to be saved whom He does not choose. 2. Scriptures say to teach the gospel to the world. See Mk. 16:15-16; 1 Tim. 2:4; 2 Pet. 3:9; Titus 2:11-14 3. Some questions: a) If nothing can change anybody’s status before God, why preach the gospel? b) Why warn people to flee the wrath to come? c) If they are elect, they will not incur the wrath of God regardless of what they do. If they’re not elect, they can’t flee anyway! D. It refuses to accept that Christ died for all. 1. Christ died for every man – Heb. 2:9. See also 1 Tim. 2:6; 1 John 2:2; 1 John 4:14. E. It rejects the free will choice of man. 1. If God has fixed the destiny of each one before time began, then man cannot be held responsible for the life he lives. 2. The Scriptures teach man is responsible for his actions. Man has a spirit, intellect, and the ability to choose good from evil. 3. See Rom. 6:16; 14:12; Josh. 24:15; Deut. 30:19; Isa. 7:15-16 4. Whosoever will, come and take the water of life freely. Rev. 22:17 F. It makes every call to repentance hypocritical. 1. If the non-elect cannot accept and the elect cannot reject, then why invite anybody? 2. God has commanded all men everywhere to repent – Acts 17:30. See also Mt. 11:28; 2 Cor. 5:9-11; Acts 10:34-35. II. What the Scriptures Teach About Predestination A. Ephesians 1:3-14 B. Note: God chose the plan of salvation to be in Christ. 1. The emphasis in this context is NOT on individuals who will be saved, but upon Jesus through whom redemption is made possible. 2. Note the emphasis on Jesus in 1:3-13: 3. The terms in Christ; In Him; By Christ Jesus; and In Him all refer to Jesus here. a) in fact – there is a reference to Jesus 12 times in these 10 verses. 4. What is in the plan that God has had in place before the foundation of the world? 1:3 – the elect are entitled to all spiritual blessings. 1:4 – they are holy & w/o blame 1:5-7 – they have been adopted; accepted; and redeemed. 1:11 – they are entitled to an inheritance C. Note 1:12-13 – salvation is described as being conditioned upon having "heard" and "believed." D. Read Romans 8:28-30 1. 8:29 - Whom He foreknew… Long before their actual existence – God foresaw that certain persons, of their own choice, would willingly submit in obedience to Him. 2. 8:29 – He also predestined… He foresaw they would do His will voluntarily. Thus we have the plan in Christ by which they should obey Him. See Eph. 1:4-14 3. 8:30 – He also called… Men are called by the gospel. (2 Thess. 2:14). This is for all men. See Acts 17:30; Mk. 16:15-16; Titus 2:11-14. Not all accept the gospel. 4. 8:30 – He also justified… Man needed a righteous means of forgiveness. Jesus paid the penalty for our sins that God must justify those who believe on Him. (3:23-26) 5. 8:30 – He also glorified… The eternal destiny of the righteous is that they should be made in the image of God’s Son. (Phil. 3:21) E. God is able to look out across a great vista and foresee things that shall be brought into being. F. He is able to speak of things which do not exist as though they were already completed. Focus on the phrases in these 3 verses: Concluding Thoughts A. God is in sovereign control. B. God has made man a free moral agent. C. Man has the responsibility to either accept or reject God’s plan of salvation. D. What will your decision be? E. I N V I T A T I O N