John Calvin is the founder of the Presbyterian Church. A while back I was reading an article about some of the things he taught. He used different Scriptures to come up with his doctrine, one of which is from Rom. 9, where Paul is showing why the Jew is lost. Calvin came up with His doctrine of "predestination" from such verses. He also uses I Pet. 2:8, "And a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense; for they stumble because they were disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed."
This is a direct quote from Calvin himself: "God arranges all things by His sovereign counsel, in such a way that individuals were born, who are doomed from the womb to certain death, and are to glorify him by their destruction." (Institutes 3.23.6) Did you get that? Can you even imagine that God creates people only to doom them? Can you imagine a baby being born, dying as a baby, and being carried off into a world of fire and destruction because God 'chose' them to be lost? What all this means is man has no choice in the matter. Man is not a creation to choose but a choice is made for each of us and we have no say so in the matter! Calvin insists God cannot be resisted in the fact that He will decide who will be saved and lost and there is nothing anyone can do about it! His teachings that God eternally elects to save a small number and the rest are condemned to eternal torture and those condemned have no choice is a complete abuse and misuse of the holy Scriptures.
What Calvin seems to miss, and more and more are following his teachings, is that people are doomed because they choose to love wickedness and practice sin! Calvinism teaches people are doomed because at their birth, God arranged it beforehand that they would be born doomed and that's God's choice! What about God giving the sinful, lost world hope through Jesus Christ? God 'predestined' His Son (Acts 2:23/I Pet. 1:19-20) to save mankind. God 'predestined' a gospel message to save people (I Cor. 1:21). God 'predestined' that a way of life would be for those who received this gospel message (Eph. 2:10). What is more disturbing about Calvin's doctrine is to read places like Ezek. 18:23, where God says, "Do I have any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, rather than that he should turn from his wicked ways and live?" God wants mankind to live! He did not create us to destroy us. He did not send His Son to live and die our death because the majority were chosen to be eternally punished! Can you imagine God saying, "I created you for no other purpose than to torture you eternally?"
Listen carefully to the words of Jesus to Nicodemus and let me supply the Calvinistic idea and see what you think: "For God so loved the world (the few He chose?) that He gave His only begotten Son (only for the few elect?) that whoever (only the elect that has been chosen) believes in Him shall not perish (just a few He created not to perish?) but have eternal life." (John 3:16)
Let me say this: If you want little to do with the Lord Jesus Christ and His Father, that is tragic beyond expression. That is your choice and the consequences will be your choice! But do not allow anyone following the Calvinistic doctrine tell you that you were created simply to be doomed, no matter how deeply you want a real, genuine relationship with God. Why not reach out, and believe you are one of the "whoever" in John 3:16 and love the Lord by seeking His face and righteousness. Your life will only improve. If I can help, just drop me a note!
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