Calvinism
Unity
Just a quick comment: here I am talking about what I feel is a "secondary issue". It is important to remember to be respectful and love one another (Ephesians 4:2-3). Free-will and predestination is an issue I have thought a lot about lately and wanted to capture my thoughts on one page. And by "predestination", I mean the idea that God foreordained or chose who, of those He was creating throughout history, would believe and follow Him.
If it sounds like I am being argumentative or defensive in the text below, it might be because I listened to many hours of podcasts of people debating, as well as podcasts for and against Calvinism. I'm also writing this text more as a reference for myself if I ever talk to someone about Calvinism. So I apologize if anything comes off as rough or in your face. I'm trying to summarize a few notebooks I'd put together. Also, a good majority of the material came from a great podcast called Consistent Calvinist. I highly recommend you listen to it if you want a more thorough approach.
Introduction
A very sobering verse says, "it is destined for people to die once, and after this comes judgment" (Hebrews 9:27). If you asked a non-believer what this meant, they might say "your good works will be compared to your bad ones and if you had more good then bad, then you get to go to heaven." If you asked a Christian, they might say, "you can only be saved from judgment through belief in Christ" (John 14:6, Acts 4:12). The Christian is able to safely make this claim because the Bible backs them up on this. At a young age this was explained to me, and it made sense. If it was the other way, I used to wonder, how would we know how much good we had to do in order to tip the scale? And is my measuring stick the same as someone else's? I remember making a choice to follow Christ. The justice of God sending those to hell who didn't accept Christ sounded fair. Only later did I start to hear about how "God chose me" and that really confused me.
God Chooses Us
"He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world" Ephesians 1:4-6
"beloved by God, His choice of you" 1 Thessalonians 1:4
"God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation" 2 Thessalonians 2:13
"God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise" 1 Corinthians 1:27
"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession" 1 Peter 2:9 (Deuteronomy 14:2, Exodus 19:5-6)
"these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified" Romans 8:29-30
"Blessed is the one You choose and allow to approach You" Psalm 65:4
Different Interpretations
We are told "it is due to Him that you are in Christ Jesus" (1 Corinthians 1:30-31) so that we may boast in the Lord. How do we reconcile the Bible saying God chose us as well as asking us to choose Him (Romans 10:9, Revelation 3:20)? Here are some of the different ways people may align these two possibly conflicting ideas:
- God looked forward in time and saw who would choose Him. He then "predestined" or chose them before really creating all things. Perhaps this is what the Bible meant by "foreknew" (1 Peter 1:2)?
- Based on how He was going to make each individual, God could tell who would choose Him, and so God "predestined" them.
- God chose Christ (Isaiah 42:1, 1 Peter 1:20). He then decided that if anyone were to believe in Christ then they would be saved. This "group" was chosen by God and "predestined" for salvation even though no one was in the group yet. All people are welcome to join this group. This is kind of like the nation of Israel in the Old Testament. Most were born into or joined Israel at a later time and could tell others they were a part of God's Chosen Nation.
- Before time, God chose some people He would make to be saved, and some to... not be saved. Through God's choice, they were predestined to choose Him during their lifetime.
- At the beginning of time, God chose all people to follow Him. It was up to them if they would accept God and follow Christ. If they did then they were one of the many "predestined" ones who actually made it.
God's Sovereignty
If we were to put aside the question of whether God chose us or we chose Him for now, perhaps we could ask: just how much control does God have over us? Let's see what God controls in the universe as there are different ways to think of this, and they may be:
- Did God make the universe and then leave the universe to tumble forward on its own, obeying a set of laws He dictated, like gravity? Perhaps He sits back and watches?
- Or does God step in occasionally when He desires, like to speak as the burning bush to Moses or to send His Son to be crucified?
- Or does God sustain the universe and nothing would happen without His doing it, but He allows beings within the universe to make their own decisions?
- Or does God sustain the universe and nothing would happen without His doing it, and we are all robots, unable to make independent choices?
What does the Bible say about God sustaining the universe?
"[He] upholds all things by the word of His power" Hebrews 1:3
"in Him all things hold together" Colossians 1:17
"for in Him we live and move and exist" Acts 17:28
"For from Him, and through Him, and to Him are all things." Romans 11:36
So the sustaining part is clear. His control is the very ground of our being and existence. That would mean "miracles" are not examples of God exerting His power where He normally isn't, but that they are examples of Him exerting His power differently than he normally does. So how do we determine if God's control of the universe is choice three (He sustains and we have free-will) or four (He sustains and we are controlled by Him)? Perhaps we can look at how God controls other objects in the universe. In the table below, notice who is causing something to happen (God). He controls all and He does so with a purpose. Everything has a purpose. In fact all God does has a purpose (Proverbs 16:4, Ecclesiastes 3:11).
| Verse | Purpose |
|---|---|
| "When He utters His voice, there is a roar of waters in the heavens, And He makes the clouds ascend from the end of the earth; He makes lightning for the rain, And brings out the wind from His storehouses." Jeremiah 10:13 | To show that God is great and idols are nothing but wood. |
| "Furthermore, I withheld the rain from you While there were still three months until harvest. Then I would send rain on one city, But on another city I would not send rain" Amos 4:7 | Judgment on cities, so they would stagger from one city to another. |
| "From the breath of God ice is made, And the expanse of the waters is frozen. He also loads the clouds with moisture; He disperses the cloud of His lightning. It changes direction, turning around by His guidance, That it may do whatever He commands it On the face of the inhabited earth. Whether for correction, or for His earth, Or for goodness, He causes it to happen." Job 37:10-13 | For correction or for goodness. Notice the wording used: "by His guidance", "do whatever He commands". |
| "He causes the grass to grow for the cattle, And vegetation for the labor of mankind" Psalm 104:14 | Food for animals and man. |
| "Who has split open a channel for the flood, And a way for the thunderbolt, To bring rain on a land without people, On a desert without a person in it, To satisfy the waste and desolate land, And to make the seeds of grass to sprout?" Job 38:25-27 | Water for vegetation. |
| "It is He who covers the heavens with clouds, Who provides rain for the earth, Who makes grass sprout on the mountains." Psalm 147:8 | To give us things to be thankful for (Psalm 147:7). |
| Verse | Purpose |
|---|---|
| "The One forming light and creating darkness, Causing well-being and creating disaster; I am the Lord who does all these things." Isaiah 45:7 | So that people will know that there is no one besides the Lord (Isaiah 45:6). |
| "If a trumpet is blown in a city, will the people not tremble? If a disaster occurs in a city, has the Lord not brought it about?" Amos 3:6 | I'm not sure. God's judgment on sinful Israel? |
| "who makes anyone unable to speak or deaf, or able to see or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?" Exodus 4:11 | Speaking to Moses that he should not be afraid to talk to pharaoh. |
| "For to you it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer on His behalf" Philippians 1:29 | We will suffer on His behalf for Christ's sake. |
What does God say about when we are born and die?
"The Lord puts to death and makes alive; He brings down to Sheol and brings up. The Lord makes poor and rich; He humbles, He also exalts." 1 Samuel 2:6-7
"See now that I, I am He, And there is no god besides Me; It is I who put to death and give life. I have wounded and it is I who heal, And there is no one who can save anyone from My hand." Deuteronomy 32:39
"in Your book were written All the days that were ordained for me" Psalm 139:16
What about general randomness?
"The lot is cast into the lap, But its every decision is from the Lord." Proverbs 16:33
What about hardened hearts? It is a sin to harden your heart and yet God has no problem saying "I harden hearts".
"I [the Lord] will harden his [Pharaoh's] heart so that he will not let the people go." Exodus 4:21
Pharaoh hardens: "But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder had stopped, he sinned again and hardened his heart, he and his servants." Exodus 9:34
No, it was the Lord: "Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, so that I may perform these signs of Mine among them'" Exodus 10:1
"But Sihon king of Heshbon was not willing for us to pass through his land; for the Lord your God hardened his spirit and made his heart obstinate, in order to hand him over to you, as he is today." Deuteronomy 2:30
"For it was of the Lord to harden their hearts" Joshua 11:20
"They closed": "For the heart of this people has become dull, With their ears they scarcely hear, And they have closed their eyes" Matthew 13:15
Same message, but "He hardened": "He has blinded their eyes and He hardened their heart, so that they will not see with their eyes and understand with their heart, and be converted, and so I will not heal them." John 12:40
"So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires." Romans 9:18
What about God appointing people for evil?
"they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this they were also appointed." 1 Peter 2:8
"For certain people have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation" Jude 4
"For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Your hand and purpose predestined to occur." Acts 4:27-28
Calvinism Is Hard to See in the Bible
Much of the language used throughout the Bible seems to allude to free-will even though it never states something like "man has free-will". You have Christ asking us to believe in Him. (Why, if we're chosen?) You have the Great Commission where Christ sends us out to make disciples (Matthew 28:19). You read about the Lord "not willing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9). (Why, if He already chose them?) When the Lord sees people burning their children to Baal, He says about the act, "nor did it ever enter My mind" (Jeremiah 19:5). (In other words, the very act is foreign to God's nature.) We pray that God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10). (Wouldn't it always be done?)
But we also have "The earth is the Lord’s, and all it contains, The world, and those who live in it." (Psalm 24:1) as well as "we exist for Him" (1 Corinthians 8:6). If we exist for Him, can we also have free-will? We were made for Him, but do we operate or function for Him?
To answer this, we could say God's ways are not like our ways (Isaiah 55:8), or maybe "It is the glory of God to conceal a matter" (Proverbs 25:2). But it isn't really concealed. There is certainly a question there of what's going on. This gives us an opportunity to lean not on our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5-6). For when we are with God, then we will know fully (1 Corinthians 13:12).
Difficult Questions for Calvinists
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Why does God ask us to follow Him if He already chose us? | Even if He did choose us, it is still our responsibility. You don't know if you were chosen. By never choosing Him, you can certainly prove you weren't chosen (John 12:48)! |
| I'm deciding to sit in my chair right now. I can stand up or sit down any time I want. I feel free to do all these things. How can predestination be true? | I think a great verse that covers this is "The mind of a person plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps." Proverbs 16:9 |
| Why would God condemn people for their choice if He was the one that decided it in the first place? He even says He wishes that none would perish. Isn't that being duplicitous? | Aye! This is a most difficult question. The scripture plainly says, "they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this they were also appointed" (1 Peter 2:8). In other words, it just states it. They are sent to hell for their unbelief and because of their actions on earth... and they acted that way because they were appointed. "who answers back to God?" (Romans 9:19-20). We should accept our place in this universe and believe that God is continuing to act in love and righteousness in all He does. |
| According to Calvinism, why does God bother to interact with us if everything has been decided? | All of history is a preordained story that God has orchestrated. He planned the time that Christ would be resurrected, He planned your life. I don't know why He interacts with us. Why would He even bother to redeem us? I am grateful He does, and He does interact and wants us to daily call out to Him. |
| Why does God act in a non-deterministic manner? In Genesis 18:23-26, for example, Abraham pleads with God and it seems as if it is up for discussion. In Genesis 11:6, the Lord speaks as though He was surprised the people were building the tower of Babel. In Exodus 12:13, God gives the people a choice to wipe blood on the doorpost or not. | I believe God acts non-deterministic because the story is very important to Him. For example, when God asks Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac, and Abraham starts to follow through, but God delivers a ram instead, Abraham ends up calling the place "The Lord will provide" (Genesis 22:14). How would Abraham know the Lord provided if he hadn't gone through that experience? |
| Why does Christ get angry at the money changers (John 2:14-16) if God was the one who deterministically, according to Calvinism, put them there? | God has a purpose in all He does. In this story, the disciples remembered "Zeal for your house will consume me". |
| If God created the problem (fall of Man), and then sent His Son to save mankind, isn't that kind of like a fireman lighting your house on fire and then coming to rescue you? | "God created particular people as fallen sinners who hate Him so that He can come along and bestow grace on them and save them from that sin, and cause them to start loving Him and spend an eternity with Him and glorify His Son. This is the way He chose to do things. Just because it's not the way you would have done it doesn't mean it's not the way God is doing it." This is how the Consistent Calvinist put it. It's an extremely abrasive response that is only mentioned after you've listened for hours and hours to build up to this point, but I wanted to shorten the ride for you. (Maybe I shouldn't have?) |
| Can't Calvinist logic be summed up as having God playing both sides of the chessboard? (Also, how can God stay Holy if He is the one causing sin?) | God has planned, purposed, and determined what will come to pass. He then brings it about. Why is God being the author of everything a problem? If you are worried about God causing sin, first ask "what is sin"? It is lawlessness (1 John 3:4). Then who is God responsible to? (No one.) He has no rules or laws He needs to play by regarding His creation. We need to get rid of false assumptions of what God can and cannot do. God's actions are always good and righteous, even when they include sinful actions of creatures. |
Conclusion
A great verse is "man shall live on everything that comes out of the mouth of the Lord" (Deuteronomy 8:3). For me, Calvinism is accounting for all passages in the Bible. I am very aware that people say, "Calvinism makes God a moral monster". I've heard some explain evil as: "You can only love someone if you have a choice, so God gave man free-will. However this also introduced evil." I've also heard, "God can't just send people to heaven, and in order to justify sending people to hell, He gave us free-will." Now, these might sound correct, or perhaps how I would design the universe, but is it Biblical? If I know my heart is wicked (Jeremiah 17:9), then I am going to desperately cling to all the Bible says, and not rely on my own intuition or what I feel is right.
A very key verse for me, that sort of breaks it all down, is: "I [God] will have mercy on whom I will have mercy" (Romans 9:15, Exodus 33:19). Now this wasn't just a New Testament saying, but also showed up in the Old Testament. And why would God find it necessary to speak it? If we are living on everything that comes out of the mouth of the Lord, then we must accept this as well! So then, is it safe to say God causes evil or makes men who are destined for hell?
In the words of Joseph, "you [his brothers] meant evil against me, but God meant it for good" (Genesis 50:20). So let us rejoice that "God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God" (Romans 8:28). When the "fire of God fell from heaven", and most of Job's family had been destroyed, Job declared, "The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord." (Job 1:21). Job rightfully saw what had happened as being from the Lord, yet "Despite all this, Job did not sin, nor did he blame God" (Job 1:22).
Throughout this task of trying to discern why I believed in the ideas of Calvinism, I kept asking myself the question: how would I be living my life differently if I didn't believe it? As a Calvinist, have I resolved to just sit at home waiting for God's deterministic world to happen? As Paul likes to say, "by no means!", or "far from it!" Have I decided I don't need to evangelize to others whom I think are not "chosen"? We have no idea who God is planning to choose. We are never told to even think that way. In fact, the idea of God choosing us is meant as an encouragement to believers. To lift their spirits. To remind them to hang in there.
It also really helped to see how much in control of the universe God has. And that He is doing everything, even rain, with a purpose! I also love to think about how God wants us to ask Him for things and to come to Him in prayer. As a Calvinist, I earnestly pray "God's will be done". I know He has predetermined all things, but I also know the story is important to Him, and I want to see how His story will play out, and I want to be a part of it.
Update
I've placed more material here: Calvinism Video