Many people believe that God has chosen certain people to be saved and others to be eternally lost. That doctrine is called “Predestination.” This doctrine teaches that God’s grace is only for certain individuals and they will be saved no matter what they do. It teaches that the opposite of that is true as well, no matter what you do if you are not chosen you can do nothing to obtain God’s mercy and salvation.
The doctrine of Calvinism removes man’s free will from the process of salvation. This runs counter to what the Bible clearly teaches. Notice that Peter proclaims that the Lord is “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9). And, Paul said that God “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:4). God has not predetermined (i.e., predestined) who will be saved or lost (Ez. 18:19-32; 33:12-20). I must choose to come to the Lord through belief and obedience.
Our Lord came to seek and save those who are lost (Mt 18:11). He even invites ALL men to enter His eternal rest (Re 22:17). He did not limit His love and mercy for a “predestined” group of people that already had God’s grace and salvation forced upon them.
Notice John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Whoever believes means just what it says anyone who believes will be saved. Belief means that we not only accepting that Jesus exists but accepting and obeying the things He commands (Luke 6:46; James 2:14-26). You can’t believe in Jesus without being obedient to His commandments.
Calvinism imputes God as cruel and merciless. Why would God allow a person to be born only to be eternally lost? That is not the God of the Bible. Our God loved us so much that He died for us when we deserve it the least.
Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Worship Thoughts 