John Calvin-Life,Legacy and Theology

JOHN CALVIN : LIFE, LEGACY AND THEOLOGY -
PROF. M. M. NINAN
pleased, according to the unsearchable counsel of his own will, whereby he extendeth or withholdeth
mercy as he pleaseth, for the glory of his sovereign power over his creatures, to pass by, and to
ordain them to dishonor and wrath for their sin, to the praise of his glorious justice.”
Westminster Confession:
“Predestination we call the decree of God, by which He has determined in Himself, what He would
have to become of every individual of mankind. For they are not all created with a similar destiny: but
eternal life is foreordained for some, and eternal damnation for others” (Calvin: Institutes of the
Christian Religion, Book III, chap. 21).
“[God] devotes to destruction whom he pleases … they are predestinated to eternal death without any
demerit of their own, merely by his sovereign will. … he orders all things by his counsel and decree in
such a manner, that some men are born devoted from the womb to certain death, that his name be
glorified in their destruction. ... God chooses whom he will as his children … while he rejects and
reprobates others” (Calvin: Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book III, chap. 23).
"CONDITIONAL election" would mean that God chooses to be His those who first love and choose
Him. But the Bible says: "You have not chosen me, I have chosen you" John 15:16. (Please also look
at Romans 9:11-21.) Acts 13:48 says that "as many as were ordained to eternal life believed." Only,
when we speak this language is the horse placed before the cart. CONDITIONAL election puts the
cart before the horse, because it says that man believes and THEN is ordained to eternal life. Read
carefully John 10:26 for another plain "horse before the cart" passage. Can one imagine what the
denial of this doctrine would mean? If we remember that before we are saved, we can do nothing
good (John 15:5; Ephesians 2:1-6), the only conclusion is that we could never choose God. And never
would. And never would be saved.
https://redeeminggod.com/acts-13_48-unconditional-election/
Does Acts 13:48 teach Unconditional Election? By Jeremy Myers
It would have been perfectly just for God to have left all men in their sin and misery and to have shown
mercy to none. God was under no obligation whatsoever to provide salvation for anyone. It is in this
context that the Bible sets forth the doctrine of election.
Romans 20:15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
Apparently according to Calvin, the Book of Life was written before the creation of the world.
The only problem here is nobody knows who these are until you reach heaven. How do we know
whether you are one of the elect?
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