A Look inside the Concept of Predestination

    When one embarks on a study of salvation, they will indubitably come across the idea of double predestination, which is commonly known as Calvinism (1). This doctrine is founded on the principle that God not only predestines people to be saved, but also predestines them to be lost. Interestingly enough, this concept predates John Calvin.  The earliest mention of which I found of this doctrine was a book from St. Augustine called, “On the predestination of the Saints” (2).  Even though this doctrine predates Calvin, he had a significant effect on its development. In 1963, another contribution was made to the doctrine of double predestination. A booklet called, The Five Points of Calvinism Defined, Defended, Documented, popularized the acronym T.U.L.I.P. In this acronym, each letter stands for a principle of Calvinism (3). However, even though the concept was of Calvinism was more easily understood through this acronym that does not mean understanding is the base of correctness.
    Having clearly summarized the history and defined the doctrine of double predestination, we will explore several of the errors contained within it.
    One of the bases of this belief is that, obviously, only some are destined to salvation while others are destined to eternal condemnation. However, this belief clearly contradicts scripture. If we look at Romans 1:16, it clearly says that salvation is for whoever believes, not just those who are “chosen”. Also, this line of thinking clearly contradicts the nature of God. God is willing that all should come repentance, as shown in 2 Peter 3:9, and is not willing that any should be lost. One other problem with this line of thinking is that it renders the crucifixion null. If God was to already determine who was to be saved and who was not to be saved, then of what use was Jesus coming to earth to die on the cross? It would be of no use. Therefore, we can clearly see that the belief of some predestined to be saved and others predestined to be unsaved, completely unbiblical.
    Another erroneous concept which double predestination advocates, is the concept of special or irresistible grace. Now, according to Calvinists there are two types of grace. One type is common grace, which is extended to all men, but cannot save. And the other type is irresistible grace. Irresistible grace is extended to only true believers who will make it to heaven because this grace extended by God cannot be resisted. However, this concept of irresistible grace violates scripture. Roman 3:22-24 states that, “For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,  and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus”. Therefore we can plainly see that the saving grace of God is for all men and is not restricted to certain individuals.
    Also, another error which is commonly found in Calvinist theology is the concept of the total depravity of man. This concept states that, “Because of the Fall, man is totally depraved and dead in his sin. Man is unable to save himself and, therefore, God must initiate salvation. (4)”However, this concept also is found untrue when the word of God is consulted. When one looks at James 4:8, it is clear to see that if we begin to draw near to God, then he will draw near to us. Also in 2 Chronicles 7:14, God says, “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” It is then easy to see that man can indeed initiate salvation.
    In conclusion, it is easy to see the errors of Calvinism when looking at the word of God. Though it may seem to make sense at first, when placed against the word of God it does not hold water. Many times in life we may come across things which seem to make sense, but we must remember to measure it against the word of God. Only then will we see the truth.

References
(1) En.wikipedia.org. 2011. Calvinism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. [online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvinism#Five_points_of_Calvinism [Accessed: 20 Jul 2013].
(2) Fairchild, M. n.d.. Calvinism and Arminianism. [online] Available at: http://christianity.about.com/od/denominations/a/calvinarminian.htm [Accessed: 20 Jul 2013].
(3) Opc.org. 2013. Q and A. [online] Available at: http://www.opc.org/qa.html?question_id=229 [Accessed: 20 Jul 2013].
(4) Pages.uoregon.edu. 2002. Predestination. [online] Available at: http://pages.uoregon.edu/dluebke/Reformations441/Predestination.html [Accessed: 20 Jul 2013].