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Unconditional Election Vs Conditional Election INTRODUCTION

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Unconditional Election Vs Conditional Election INTRODUCTION Unconditional election vs Conditional election INTRODUCTION Calvinism and Arminianism are two systems of theology which attempt to explain the relationship between God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility with regards to salvation. 1. The Calvinist viewpoint highlights man’s depravity, the salvation by grace alone of God’s elect, but emphasizes God’s sovereignty. 2. The Arminian viewpoint accepts man’s depravity, salvation by grace alone of all who believe, but emphasizes man’s responsibility. INTRODUCTION More often today the term ‘Calvinism’ is used to refer to the particular Calvinist views of predestination, as expressed in the 5 ‘points’ of Calvinism which are denoted by the acronym TULIP. Here they are contrasted with the 5 articles of Arminianism. Calvinism Arminianism Total Depravity Prevenient Grace Unconditional Election Conditional Election Limited Atonement Unlimited Atonement Irresistible Grace Resistible Grace Perseverance of the Falling from grace Saints PREDESTINATION Lutheranism: Single Predestination - while God in eternity past did indeed elect a people for himself whom he would actively save in the outworking of history, he did not decree that the rest of mankind would be lost. Calvinism: Double Predestination and Unconditional Election - from eternity God has chosen some to be saved and he has chosen others to be damned. Arminianism: Conditional Predestination and Conditional Election - predestination is based on God’s foreknowledge. God’s election is conditional on faith in Jesus. God does not arbitrarily consign some people to eternal damnation; their wilful rejection of God’s salvation makes them responsible. PREDESTINATION Calvin taught double predestination. He wrote: “...Not all men are created with similar destiny but eternal life is foreordained for some, and eternal damnation for others. Every man, therefore, being created for one or the other of these ends, we say, he is either predestined either to life or death” 1 “We assert that by an eternal and immutable counsel, God has once for all determined both whom he would admit to salvation and whom he would condemn to destruction.” 2 2 Institutes 3.21.7 1 Institutes 3, ch 23 PREDESTINATION Calvin states that “The reprobate like the elect are appointed to be so by the secret council of God’s will” 1 and “...their doom was fixed from all eternity and nothing in them could transfer them to a contrary class...” 2 Arminius rejected the idea of double predestination, “for this doctrine says that he wishes to damn… Truly this differs much from the goodness of God”. 3 He says that the doctrine of double predestination “is inconsistent with the freedom of the will, in which and with which man has been created by God; for it prevents the use of freedom”. 4 1 Institutes 2, ch 22 2 Institutes 3, ch 3 3 Bangs, 307 4 From G.J. Hoenderdaal’s annotated edition of the text of the “Declaration” (Werklaring van Jacobus Arminius), Lochem 1960, 78f DETERMINISM & FATALISM Determinism is the position that for every event, including human action, there exists conditions that could cause no other event. E.g. materialistic psychology teaches that man is at the mercy of stimuli in his environment. Fatalism is the teaching that all things are subject to fate and beyond our control. Another form of fatalism is the belief that although actions are free, they nevertheless work toward an inevitable end. Fatalists stress an acceptance of these inevitable future events as “fate” or “destiny”. Predeterminism is the idea that all events are determined in advance or are already known (by God, fate, or some other force) and none of which can be altered. DOUBLE PREDESTINATION The Calvinist view of predestination has similarities to what is taught by ungodly materialists and other fatalistic religions. Calvin has men lacking free will to make any choice between good and evil and with no option but to follow an already predetermined and inevitable plan. FATE DETERMINISM PREDESTINATION GOD’S FOREKNOWLEDGE It is clear that God has precise knowledge of the future: Isaiah 42:9 “See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you.” Isaiah 44:7 “Who then is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and lay out before me what has happened since I established my ancient people, and what is yet to come-- yes, let them foretell what will come.” Daniel 2:28 “… but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come.” PREDESTINATION Amazingly even the length of our life, including every day ordained for us is already known by God. Psalm 139:13,16 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb… Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. PREDESTINATION What we do or say doesn’t take God by surprise: Psalm 139:4 Before a word is on my tongue you, LORD, know it completely. Paul was set apart from birth, long before God revealed his Son in him: Gal 1:15-16 But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles… Jeremiah’s destiny was foreknown: Jer 1:5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” PREDESTINATION Jesus knew that Judas would betray him: John 6:64 “Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. God knew in advance that Jesus would suffer: Acts 3:18 But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Messiah would suffer. Acts 4:27-28 (NASB) “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 Your purpose predestined to occur.” PREDESTINATION The Bible speaks of God predestining our salvation: Eph 1:4-5 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will… Grace was given us before the beginning of time: 2 Tim 1:9-10 … This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Saviour, Christ Jesus… But God exists I make known the outside of time and end from the sees the future as beginning, from ancient times, what is clearly as the still to come. (Isa 46:10) present. ETERNITY GOD ETERNITY PAST FUTURE CREATION CRUCIFIXION THE PRESENT GOD’S FOREKNOWLEDGE In his foreknowledge God has written down the names in the book of life since the creation of the world: Revelation 17:8 … The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished… But does it follow that God has predetermined those who will be saved? GOD’S FOREKNOWLEDGE No! While God knows who will be saved, he does not decide or predetermine their salvation or destiny. 1 Peter 1:1-2 says we are “chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father”. Arminius argued that God’s foreknowledge did not require a doctrine of determinism. Rom 8:29-30 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called… So those who put their faith in Christ are predestined to salvation, but their faith is logically prior to their predestination. THEOLOGICAL FATALISM Got Questions Ministries defines Theological Fatalism: Theological fatalism’s premises are stated as follows: God is omniscient. Since God is omniscient, God has infallible foreknowledge. If God has infallible foreknowledge that tomorrow you will engage in an event (mow the lawn), then you must invariably engage in that event (mowing the lawn). Therefore, according to theological fatalism, free will is not possible, since you have no alternative except to participate in the event (mow the lawn). If you do not mow the lawn, then God is not omniscient. But if you mow the lawn, then you don’t have free will, on account of your inability to choose an alternative. 1 1 http://www.gotquestions.org/fatalism.html GOD’S FOREKNOWLEDGE Here is an opposing argument to theological fatalism: God is omniscient. Since God is omniscient, He is also infallible. If God has infallible foreknowledge that tomorrow you will mow the lawn, then you will freely choose to do so, not out of obligation or lack of choice. You still have free will to mow the lawn or not mow it; God merely knows your choice before you make it. You are not obliged to mow the lawn tomorrow… If you were going to change your mind, God would have seen that also, so you still have free will in all matters. Also, you will still make the same choices (exercising your free will), even if God chose not to see the future. God’s passive foreknowledge of the future does not alter your free will.
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