John Calvin is well known for his views on election and predestination. Qualben’s “A History of the Christian Church” gives this evaluation of Calvin’s belief.<\/p>\n
“As a logical tonsequence, Calvin asserted that God had from eternity foreordained all things that should come to pass. Absolute predestination was the divine program of human history, involving a decree of the election of certain people unto salvation, and a decree of reprobation for others unto eternal damnation. This was the way Calvin understood the teaching of the bible. He admitted that it was a ‘horrible’ decree but ‘the will of God is the highest rule of justice; so that what he wills must be considered just; for this very reason, because he wills it.’ The elect were made willing to be saved by God’s grace, which was irresistible. They were regenerated by the Holy Spirit, and once saved, always saved. The saved ones could not finally fall away from a state of grace.<\/p>\n
“The doctrine of predestination influenced Calvin’s doctrine of the sacraments. Accepting the two sacraments which the Lord had directly instituted, he taught that these produced their intended effect only in the elect. To the non-elect, the sacraments were empty and meaningless. All the elect received the forgiveness of sins in baptism, but since salvation depended on sovereign election alone, the sovereign will of God might work regeneration without baptism. Hence, water baptism was not strictly necessary, and elect children who died without baptism were sure of salvation.” (p. 269)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
These views of Calvin furnished the basis for what the Presbyterian Constitution refers to as “Of the Perseverance of the Saints.” It is stated as follows:<\/p>\n
“I. They who God hath accepted in his Beloved, effectually called and sanctified by his Spirit, can neither totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace; but shall certainly persevere therein to the end, and be eternally saved.” (p. 29)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Of those ordained to eternal life, the Presbyterian Constitution says:<\/p>\n
“…hath chosen in Christ, unto everlasting glory, out of his free grace and love alone, without any foresight of faith or good works, or perseverance in either of them, or any other thing in the creature, as conditions, or causes moving him there unto; and all to the praise of his glorious grace” (p. 20).<\/p><\/blockquote>\nThis means that there’s nothing one can do, either good or bad, that will affect his election to eternal life. The elect may live immoral lives, neglect to worship God, murder, ruin the lives of others, and in other ways disgrace the name of Christ, yet still receive the reward of eternal life.
\nIs this the teaching of the New Testament? Most emphatically not! Why did Paul say of himself, “But I keep under my body<\/em> {buffet}, and bring it under subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway<\/em>” (I Corinthians 9:27)? The word “castaway” signifies one who is rejected and has suffered the loss of future reward.\nIf man is elected before and without obedience to the gospel, what need have we of the word of God? If election takes place at birth, why must parents bother to bring their children up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord? If election occurs without baptism, why preach it? If election is in no way affected by one’s lifestyle, why so much New Testament teaching on godly living? Paul said the grace of God teaches us “…denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world<\/em>” (Titus 2:12). Why?<\/strong> What can be changed by godly living or ungodly living? This is just another way of asking, “What difference does it make as to what one believes or practices?” If Calvin’s theories are true, it makes no difference at all.<\/p>\n
Will the unfruitful branch of John 15:6 be saved eternally? It was once in the vine, you know, Will the two Christians, Annanias and his wife Saphira, be saved in the end after they lied to God and were struck dead without the opportunity to repent (Acts 5:1-11)? Will those Galatians who returned to keeping the law of Moses and rejected Christ be saved in heaven (Galatians 5:1-4)?<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Kenneth Frazier via Sentry Magazine, Vol. 18 No. 1, 31 March 1992 John Calvin is well known for his views on election and predestination. Qualben’s “A History of the Christian Church” gives this evaluation of Calvin’s belief. “As a logical tonsequence, Calvin asserted that God had from eternity foreordained all things that should come…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[59,562,563],"class_list":["post-91290","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-calvinism","tag-predestination","tag-unconditional-election"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":37783,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/calvinism-and-the-great-commission\/","url_meta":{"origin":91290,"position":0},"title":"Calvinism and the Great Commission","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 10, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Wayne Jackson John Calvin (1509-64) was a religious reformer and theologian. The basic premise of his theology was the absolute sovereignty (right to reign) of God, out of which evolved his misguided theory of \"predestination.\" The Swiss reformer believed that human \"free will\" was destroyed by man's \"original sin\";\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":50951,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-sovereignty-of-god-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":91290,"position":1},"title":"The Sovereignty of God (Hamilton)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 13, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: I Timothy 6:13-21 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0When looking at the history of the development of the denominational world, one issue that has significant impact revolves around understanding God\u2019s sovereignty. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Sovereignty is being above or superior to others; to be chief, greatest, or supreme. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The question is: Can\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":40180,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/did-he-say-that-john-calvin-on-instrumental-music\/","url_meta":{"origin":91290,"position":2},"title":"Did He Say That? John Calvin on Instrumental Music","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 12, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer Why is it that those who want to identify with Calvinism are quick to quote Calvin on matters like predestination, but don't appear to want to quote Calvin on instrumental music in the assemblies? Here are a couple of pieces of Calvinism that modern Calvinists seem to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":17610,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/could-god-have-two-wills-one-that-tells-man-what-to-do-and-a-hidden-will-where-he-makes-some-men-sin-to-accomplish-his-other-will\/","url_meta":{"origin":91290,"position":3},"title":"Could God have two wills, one that tells man what to do and a hidden will where He makes some men sin to accomplish His other will?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 27, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have heard a popular Baptist preacher named John Piper preach about predestination.\u00a0 He talked about the two wills of God.\u00a0 He said that there is a revealed will of God and there is also a decreed will.\u00a0 The former, according to him, is his will of command.\u00a0 Meaning,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4329,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-judaism-calvinistic\/","url_meta":{"origin":91290,"position":4},"title":"Is Judaism Calvinistic?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 28, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Does the Jewish religion teach predestination, foreordination and election? Do they teach that David was born in sin? Do they teach that God hates some people before they were born just because He hated Esau before he was born? Answer: Modern day Judaism is divided into three main sects\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":84935,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-still-small-voice\/","url_meta":{"origin":91290,"position":5},"title":"The Still Small Voice","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 23, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by James P. Needham via Sentry Magazine, Vol. 13, No. 4, December 31, 1987 One of the cardinal doctrines of Calvinism is \"effectual calling.\" Its basis is another cardinal doctrine of Calvin, namely, hereditary total depravity, that is, that every person is born guilty of Adam's sin, which is so\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91290","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=91290"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91290\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91290"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91290"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91290"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}