Considering Calvinism: A Brief Response to Unconditional Election
This article excerpt continues a four-part series on Calvinism, summarizing brief responses to the remaining points in the TULIP system after addressing total depravity. It introduces unconditional election as a distortion of predestination and begins a point-by-point reply grounded in Scripture.
- The excerpt frames unconditional election as a distortion of biblical predestination.
- It affirms predestination as a biblical fact while distinguishing it from Calvinist claims.
- It begins outlining differences regarding how individuals become and remain “the elect.”
This article is no longer available online, but the entire four-part series is available for purchase as a downloadable resource/pdf.
Considering Calvinism • Item 02972 • $4.99
What is Calvinism? How should we feel about what it teaches? How does Calvinism contrast with what we believe to be a more biblical view of sin and salvation?
Jack Cottrell examines the essence and errors of Calvinism in this 10-page resource that originally appeared as a four-part series in CHRISTIAN STANDARD.
The articles focus on “Sovereignty and Free Will According to Calvinism” and “According to the Bible,” and a two-part explanation and response to “The T-U-L-I-P Doctrines.” Included are an article on the history of Calvinism—which didn’t originate with John Calvin—and a bibliography of the best books explaining Calvinism and Arminianism.
All downloads include permission to reproduce material up to 10 times for ministry and educational purposes.
To order this resource, CLICK HERE. To sample the first few paragraphs of article one, continue reading below . . .
The previous article explained the “five points of Calvinism” and responded to the first one, total depravity. This last article offers brief responses to the other four points.
Unconditional Election
The second doctrine in Calvinism’s TULIP system is unconditional election, which is a distortion of the biblical doctrine of predestination. Here are four points in response.
First, predestination is a fact. Predestination is simply God’s precreation determination to cause a specific thing to happen in the course of universal history. Several times the Bible says that God “predestines” something, including some people for salvation (Romans 8:29, 30; Ephesians 1:5, 11). Many times it says God “elects” or “chooses” people for some purpose (e.g., John 15:16; Ephesians 1:4; 1 Peter 1:1).
Second, God does predestine some people to go to Heaven. Some may think this sounds like Calvinism, but there is a significant difference. Calvinism says God predetermines not only the final destiny of his elect (i.e., Heaven), but also the very fact that certain people will be “his elect.” In other words he determines not only which individuals will go to Heaven, but also which totally depraved individuals will actually become believers and remain believers forever. The chosen sinners themselves have no say in their own election. . . .
