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There are numerous Bible verses and quotations from the church fathers supporting the five points of Calvinism. The doctrines of grace are simply a convenient way of articulating what’s already revealed in the Bible.
It’s only called “Calvinism” because John Calvin popularized the doctrines of grace, he did not originate them. It’s the same doctrines that Augustine taught against Pelagius and Luther taught against Rome.
Most importantly, since Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2), we should look to the words of Jesus and see if they support the doctrines of grace.
Irresistible grace doesn’t mean that God’s elect will never rebel, but that God’s grace is powerful enough to overcome the elect’s rebellion, transform their wills and desires, and lead them to ultimate salvation.
Here are just a few verses from the Gospels:
Total Depravity (Total Inability)
Matthew 7:18
A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit.
Matthew 15:19
For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.
Mark 10:18
Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.
John 3:6
That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
John 3
3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.
19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.
John 8:34
Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.
John 8:44
You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires.
Unconditional Election
Matthew 11:27
All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
Matthew 13:11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
Matthew 15:13 But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.
Matthew 20:23 So He said to them, “You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father.”
Matthew 22:14
For many are called, but few are chosen.
Matthew 22:16
So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality.
(Unconditional election is entirely contingent on God’s grace, rather than partiality to anything in the individual.)
Matthew 24
22 And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.
31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Matthew 26:24
The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.
Mark 10
10 When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. 11 He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables 12 so that, “‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!”
Mark 13
20 And unless the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake, whom He chose, He shortened the days.
27 And then He will send His angels, and gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of earth to the farthest part of heaven.
Luke 18:7
And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them?
John 6
64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him.
65 And He said, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.”
John 8:47
Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.
John 12
37 But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him,
38 that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke:
“Lord, who has believed our report?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”
39 Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again:
40 “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts,
Lest they should see with their eyes,
Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
So that I should heal them.”
John 13:18
I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill this passage of Scripture: ‘He who shared my bread has turned against me.’
John 14:6
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
John 15:16
You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.
John 15:19
If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
John 17
2 Since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.
6 I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.
12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
Limited Atonement (Definite Atonement, Particular Redemption)
Matthew 1:21
And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.
Matthew 26:28
For this is My blood of the New Covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
Luke 1:68
Blessed is the Lord God of Israel,
For He has visited and redeemed His people
John 10
11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
26 but you do not believe because you are not my sheep
John 11
49 And one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all,
50 nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish.”
51 Now this he did not say on his own authority; but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation,
52 and not for that nation only, but also that He would gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad.
John 15
13 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends
John 17:9
I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.
Irresistible (Enabling, Efficacious) Grace
Matthew 3:9
and do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children of Abraham from these stones.
Matthew 19
25 When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?”
26 But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Matthew 22:37
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!“
(“You” is the religious authorities, while “your children” refers to God’s elect among the nation of Israel, whom Jesus gathers like a hen under His wings.)
Mark 9:24
Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”
Luke 14:23
And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.
Luke 17:5
And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”
Luke 19
5 When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. “Zacchaeus!” he said. “Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today.” 6 Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy. 7 But the people were displeased. “He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner,” they grumbled. 8 Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, “I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!” 9 Jesus responded, “Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.”
Luke 24
16 But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him.
31 Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight.
45 And He opened up their minds, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.
John 1
12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:
13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
John 3
8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.
John 3:27
John answered, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven.
John 5
21 For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will.
25 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.
John 6
37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.
44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws (Greek helkó, "to drag") him. And I will raise him up on the last day.
63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.
John 10:16
And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.
John 14
16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever
17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.
26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.
John 15:26
But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.
John 16
8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment
13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.
14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
Preservation/Perseverance of the Saints
Matthew 6:13
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
Matthew 10:22
And you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
Matthew 18
12 “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off?
13 And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off.
14 In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.
Mark 16:16
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
Luke 22:32
But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren
John 1:12
But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,
John 3
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.
John 4:14
But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.
John 5:24
Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.
John 6
35 And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.
36 But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe.
37 All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.
39 This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.
47 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.
John 10
27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.
29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.
John 17:12
While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
John 18
8 Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. If you are looking for me, then let these men go.”
9 This happened so that the words the had spoken would be fulfilled: “I have not lost one of those you gave me.”
The preaching of the Gospel is the means God has ordained to awaken faith in His elect. (Matthew 28:19) Some of the greatest missionaries and evangelists have been Calvinists.
I’m not here to convince non-Calvinists that they must follow Calvinism. I just want them to at least understand its Biblical and historical foundations, so that they will be less likely to condemn Calvinism for something that it isn’t.
If your apartment building was burning down, and a firefighter died while saving you but not your neighbor, what would your proper response be?
Should you gripe and grumble about how unfair it was that the firefighter gave up his life for you, but not your neighbor? Or should you be thankful for his sacrifice?
There is nothing unfair about God’s sovereignty in election.(Romans 9:21) No one who desires to be saved will be turned away. (John 6:37) If you sincerely care about your salvation, that’s a sign you are among God’s elect.
With all this in mind, let’s take a look at the Lord’s Prayer:
In Matthew 6:9, we are asking for God’s name to be hallowed, that the hearts of God’s people will be changed by His grace, so that they will give Him all the glory.
In Matthew 6:10, we are asking that God’s will be done, not our own, on earth as it is in heaven. We are praying for God’s people to do His will, through His enabling grace.
In Matthew 6:11, we are asking that God’s grace free us to trust in His provisions, so that we will not worry over how we are to eat and drink. (Matthew 6:25)
In Matthew 6:12, we are asking God, through His grace, to enable us to forgive our neighbor’s sins, so that our own sins will be forgiven as well. (Matthew 6:14-15)
In Matthew 6:13, we are asking God for the enabling grace which turns us away from the temptations of sin and the wiles of the evil one, the devil.
If you are an Arminian who loves Jesus, that’s awesome. Your love for God matters more than the rightness of your theology. May God’s will be done in your own life too.
1 Corinthians 8:2-3
Anyone who claims to know all the answers doesn’t really know very much. But the person who loves God is the one whom God recognizes.
It’s only called “Calvinism” because John Calvin popularized the doctrines of grace, he did not originate them. It’s the same doctrines that Augustine taught against Pelagius and Luther taught against Rome.
Most importantly, since Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2), we should look to the words of Jesus and see if they support the doctrines of grace.
Irresistible grace doesn’t mean that God’s elect will never rebel, but that God’s grace is powerful enough to overcome the elect’s rebellion, transform their wills and desires, and lead them to ultimate salvation.
Here are just a few verses from the Gospels:
Total Depravity (Total Inability)
Matthew 7:18
A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit.
Matthew 15:19
For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.
Mark 10:18
Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.
John 3:6
That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
John 3
3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.
19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.
John 8:34
Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.
John 8:44
You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires.
Unconditional Election
Matthew 11:27
All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
Matthew 13:11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
Matthew 15:13 But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.
Matthew 20:23 So He said to them, “You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father.”
Matthew 22:14
For many are called, but few are chosen.
Matthew 22:16
So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality.
(Unconditional election is entirely contingent on God’s grace, rather than partiality to anything in the individual.)
Matthew 24
22 And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.
31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Matthew 26:24
The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.
Mark 10
10 When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. 11 He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables 12 so that, “‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!”
Mark 13
20 And unless the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake, whom He chose, He shortened the days.
27 And then He will send His angels, and gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of earth to the farthest part of heaven.
Luke 18:7
And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them?
John 6
64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him.
65 And He said, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.”
John 8:47
Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.
John 12
37 But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him,
38 that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke:
“Lord, who has believed our report?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”
39 Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again:
40 “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts,
Lest they should see with their eyes,
Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
So that I should heal them.”
John 13:18
I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill this passage of Scripture: ‘He who shared my bread has turned against me.’
John 14:6
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
John 15:16
You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.
John 15:19
If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
John 17
2 Since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.
6 I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.
12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
Limited Atonement (Definite Atonement, Particular Redemption)
Matthew 1:21
And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.
Matthew 26:28
For this is My blood of the New Covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
Luke 1:68
Blessed is the Lord God of Israel,
For He has visited and redeemed His people
John 10
11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
26 but you do not believe because you are not my sheep
John 11
49 And one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all,
50 nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish.”
51 Now this he did not say on his own authority; but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation,
52 and not for that nation only, but also that He would gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad.
John 15
13 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends
John 17:9
I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.
Irresistible (Enabling, Efficacious) Grace
Matthew 3:9
and do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children of Abraham from these stones.
Matthew 19
25 When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?”
26 But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Matthew 22:37
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!“
(“You” is the religious authorities, while “your children” refers to God’s elect among the nation of Israel, whom Jesus gathers like a hen under His wings.)
Mark 9:24
Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”
Luke 14:23
And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.
Luke 17:5
And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”
Luke 19
5 When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. “Zacchaeus!” he said. “Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today.” 6 Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy. 7 But the people were displeased. “He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner,” they grumbled. 8 Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, “I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!” 9 Jesus responded, “Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.”
Luke 24
16 But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him.
31 Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight.
45 And He opened up their minds, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.
John 1
12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:
13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
John 3
8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.
John 3:27
John answered, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven.
John 5
21 For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will.
25 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.
John 6
37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.
44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws (Greek helkó, "to drag") him. And I will raise him up on the last day.
63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.
John 10:16
And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.
John 14
16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever
17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.
26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.
John 15:26
But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.
John 16
8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment
13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.
14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
Preservation/Perseverance of the Saints
Matthew 6:13
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
Matthew 10:22
And you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
Matthew 18
12 “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off?
13 And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off.
14 In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.
Mark 16:16
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
Luke 22:32
But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren
John 1:12
But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,
John 3
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.
John 4:14
But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.
John 5:24
Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.
John 6
35 And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.
36 But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe.
37 All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.
39 This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.
47 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.
John 10
27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.
29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.
John 17:12
While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
John 18
8 Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. If you are looking for me, then let these men go.”
9 This happened so that the words the had spoken would be fulfilled: “I have not lost one of those you gave me.”
The preaching of the Gospel is the means God has ordained to awaken faith in His elect. (Matthew 28:19) Some of the greatest missionaries and evangelists have been Calvinists.
I’m not here to convince non-Calvinists that they must follow Calvinism. I just want them to at least understand its Biblical and historical foundations, so that they will be less likely to condemn Calvinism for something that it isn’t.
If your apartment building was burning down, and a firefighter died while saving you but not your neighbor, what would your proper response be?
Should you gripe and grumble about how unfair it was that the firefighter gave up his life for you, but not your neighbor? Or should you be thankful for his sacrifice?
There is nothing unfair about God’s sovereignty in election.(Romans 9:21) No one who desires to be saved will be turned away. (John 6:37) If you sincerely care about your salvation, that’s a sign you are among God’s elect.
With all this in mind, let’s take a look at the Lord’s Prayer:
In Matthew 6:9, we are asking for God’s name to be hallowed, that the hearts of God’s people will be changed by His grace, so that they will give Him all the glory.
In Matthew 6:10, we are asking that God’s will be done, not our own, on earth as it is in heaven. We are praying for God’s people to do His will, through His enabling grace.
In Matthew 6:11, we are asking that God’s grace free us to trust in His provisions, so that we will not worry over how we are to eat and drink. (Matthew 6:25)
In Matthew 6:12, we are asking God, through His grace, to enable us to forgive our neighbor’s sins, so that our own sins will be forgiven as well. (Matthew 6:14-15)
In Matthew 6:13, we are asking God for the enabling grace which turns us away from the temptations of sin and the wiles of the evil one, the devil.
If you are an Arminian who loves Jesus, that’s awesome. Your love for God matters more than the rightness of your theology. May God’s will be done in your own life too.
1 Corinthians 8:2-3
Anyone who claims to know all the answers doesn’t really know very much. But the person who loves God is the one whom God recognizes.
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