The Calvinist belief is based on Ephesians 1:4 where the Calvinist reads the verse essentially as God chose us (meaning you and me specifically) to be in Christ before the foundation of the world (before anything was created) for salvation.
Further, Total depravity for Calvinist means you are dead, annihilated, incapable and incapacitated. You can only do evil not that you necessarily do the worse evil possible but that you are only bent towards doing evil. Thus, God has to reach into the pit of death where you are wallowing around in the muck of sin and regenerate you (rebirth you again/be born again) before you can EVEN hear the gospel, before you can EVEN see the error of your ways, before then placing you in Christ for salvation. The Calvinism view is Predetermine election, reborn again by the Spirit, placed in Christ, then you hear the gospel, then you know your sin and then you can repent and become sanctified.
Consequently, salvation is only for the elect. The elect are only those that God chose beforehand or predetermined to be given to Christ for redemption through his death. God did this by His good grace and will and man is incapable of understanding why God selected some and left others to damnation. But, we understand that we are lucky to be chosen because God didn’t have to choose anyone at all because we are all in sin. We accept the lost ones because it is God’s will and who are we to question God. So we are to become resigned to accept that others are marked for death by God and that is the end of it.
In Ephesians 1:4 the Calvinist sees the “Chose” being operational on the “us.” Thus, they have God chose us. The view from Arminianism is to place the emphasis on God’s foreknowledge, thereby, saying God pre-knew our demonstration of faith and so he placed us in Christ beforehand.
Personally, I disagree with both views. The “us” in Ephesians 1:4 references a “type of people.” It is not a specific person such as-- “your name–” as many come to read it. The “us” references believers. The verse really reads: Accordingly, God chose us [believers in Christ] at the foundation of the world, that we [whosoever believes] should be holy and without blame before him in love: having predestined us [believers] unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will."
Here more clearly you see that it isn’t you [the individual] who is at the foundation of the world but rather God’s plan for the salvation of man which is Christ our Saviour. So, whosoever believes in Christ [the Anointed One, the Messiah], will be saved for God has by His good will predestined that anyone who believes will be saved and conformed to the image of Christ and be holy and blameless.
So it isn’t in respect to an individual person (personal salvation) but rather to a type of people: believers in God’s son. The verse is really only saying that God established at the foundation of the world his plan for salvation and that plan is that anyone who believes in His son (whom God sent as the Messiah) will be saved, for God has promised to save them.
So, who can believe in God or who can believe in the Gospel? Anyone can, right? Hold on there. The Calvinist say no because we are in total depravity so we can’t hear the message and “elect” or reject to be saved or to chose Christ, remember God chose us and not we chose God.
Thus, I disagree with the Calvinist view on total depravity too. For us per Calvin’s view, to be annihilated by sin gives sin sovereignty over God’s created work in us (we are created in God’s image). Sin distorts, lies, deceives but it is God who brings us to death because of our sin and evil ways. Sin doesn’t have the authority of destruction; God does.
Our death is established in two parts as it relates to our now broken relationship to God and our physical bodies which God has appointed to die. God has to repair the relationship and draw us back to Him and consequently promises to give us a new uncorrupted body upon our resurrection.
Further we ate from the fruit of Knowledge of GOOD and EVIL and not just EVIL alone as Calvin(ist) have so constructed. It isn’t that we can’t comprehend good or distinguish good from evil (Matthew 7:9-11). But rather, our evil is in reference to been apart from God (1 John 3:10) for righteousness is the absence of sin.
Also, there is grace and Spirit in the Gospel message of Christ for it is from God, so it isn’t so much that I’m saying we are of such worth to become saved but to say that there is sufficiency in the Word of God alone to bring forth salvation.
We are cleansed of our sins; it isn’t that we become an entire new construction of being. (You still have your same old personality and you have to become sanctified/drawn from your desire for sin.) We are born again because we are born with the Spirit of God again, as it was intended from the beginning. Unfortunately, we don’t have that new shiny bod yet (how nice that will be).
Finally, the Calvinist argues that if you make God having died for the whole world then you have people going to hell whom Christ died for and that makes Christ in error or fallible. We know not all are saved or will be saved as Judas is given as a prime example. So, Christ can only die for the elect where his death is in perfect alignment with those saved and those not saved are in hell because Christ didn’t die for them.
The problem here is that the Calvinist has flubbed the understanding of Christ’s death and sacrifice. You have to turn to the understanding of the “Day of Atonement” in the Jewish sacrifice to understand what happened at the cross for the purpose of God’s salvation.
First off, we aren’t saved by his death but rather we are saved by his blood. His death served to satisfy God’s wrath against our sin. Consequently, we are under grace for the sin of the world was removed by his death. Christ became sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21). In the Jewish sacrifice there are two goats. The first one serves to have the sin of ALL (everyone) transferred to it and then that goat is released into the wilderness to disappear. The second one serves to be killed and the blood is to be sprinkled on the mercy seat of God to serve as an atonement of sins (meaning doesn’t exist anymore) for those who have a personal identification with the sacrifice.
So, Christ DIED FOR THE WHOLE WORLD for everyone is in sin. Thereby, all (everyone) is under the salvation grace of God for an appointed period of time rather than His wrath. But, not everyone has a personal relationship to Christ such to be covered by the blood of Christ and thus saved. When God ends His grace (noted as the coming of the rapture) then whoever remains not covered by the blood will be subject to the wrath of God which he will pour out onto the earth in the end of days.
We are chosen for salvation based on our relation to our sacrifice for it reflects our reverence to God Himself. God accepts us and places us in Christ to His predestination of salvation. But, this only occurs based on personal identification to Christ’s death and shedding of his blood on the cross. Most related to this via their Baptism (where we identify with him per a death at the cross as well). Those who don’t accept Christ are rejected and they don’t have a sacrifice, don’t have the blood of Christ and so their sins are not atoned for; thereby, they are subject to the wrath of God and judgment onto damnation by Christ. For Christ says, I never knew you implying the personal identification (Matthew 7:23).
Sorry so long but I get worked up on the subject of Calvinism.
Blessings to you, from PenguinTodd.
**and that I am to rest and be about my father’s business.”
. Her statement does not make sense to YOU because of your presupposition that “ALL” will be saved. You can’t comprehend how a loving God won’t save all but any honest person will admit that “ALL” doesn’t always mean “ALL” in the bible. We put scripture first, if it is God’s will then who are we to question God.
