03/11/2025
Reposted:
A BIBLICAL TRUTH, NOT A THEOLOGICAL SYSTEM
I have never liked the term Calvinism being attached to a doctrine that is simply biblical. The truth of God’s sovereign election was not born in the mind of a 16th-century reformer—it was penned by the Holy Spirit in the pages of Scripture itself. I am not a fanboy of Calvin, nor am I here to defend him. Though I respect his extensive work, he was just a man, and like all men, he had his flaws. My concern is not with Calvin. My concern is with the truth of God’s Word.
Let me be clear—IF CALVIN HAD NEVER EXISTED, THE DOCTRINE OF GOD'S SOVEREIGN ELECTION WOULD STILL BE IN THE BIBLE. It would still thunder from the pages of Genesis, shine in the words of Christ, and echo through the letters of Paul. It is not a doctrine built on the intellect of a theologian but on the UNCHANGING WILL OF A SOVEREIGN GOD.
ELECTION IN GENESIS: THE GOD WHO CHOOSES
Before there were nations, before the law, before any theological system, God established a pattern: He chooses whom He wills.
God chose Noah and his family to be saved from judgment—not because of his own righteousness, but because he found favour in the eyes of the Lord (Genesis 6:8–9).
God called Abraham out of paganism—not because Abraham sought God, but because God sought him (Genesis 12:1–3; Nehemiah 9:7).
God chose Isaac over Ishmael (Genesis 17:19–21; Romans 9:7–9) and Jacob over Esau, declaring before they were even born, “The older shall serve the younger” (Genesis 25:23). Paul later explains, “Though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of Him who calls” (Romans 9:11–13).
The pattern is unmistakable: God’s sovereign choice determines salvation, not human effort.
ELECTION IN EXODUS: GOD'S SOVEREIGN HAND OVER SALVATION AND JUDGMENT
Israel did not choose God—God chose Israel.
“It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set His love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that He swore to your fathers” (Deuteronomy 7:6–8).
God hardened Pharaoh’s heart to display His power and justice (Exodus 9:16; Romans 9:17–18).
Just as Israel was helpless in slavery, so is mankind helpless in sin—until God alone acts to save.
ELECTION IN THE PSALMS AND THE PROPHETS: GOD'S SOVEREIGN GRACE
The Old Testament is filled with declarations of God’s sovereign choice:
“Blessed is the one You choose and bring near, to dwell in Your courts!” (Psalm 65:4).
“I have chosen you and not cast you off” (Isaiah 41:9).
“I am the Lord, I have called You in righteousness” (Isaiah 42:6).
Salvation is never initiated by man—it is God’s doing from beginning to end.
ELECTION IN THE GOSPELS: JESUS TEACHES DIVINE SOVEREIGNTY
Jesus made it abundantly clear that salvation is not a matter of human decision:
“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him” (John 6:44).
“All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and whoever comes to Me I will never cast out” (John 6:37).
“You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you” (John 15:16).
“For many are called, but few are chosen” (Matthew 22:14).
Jesus did not say, “Whoever chooses Me will be Mine.” He said, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me.”
ELECTION IN ACTS AND THE EPISTLES: PAUL’S UNCOMPROMISING MESSAGE
The apostles, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, affirmed this truth:
“As many as were appointed to eternal life believed” (Acts 13:48).
“He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world” (Ephesians 1:4–5).
“It depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy” (Romans 9:16).
“For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined… those He predestined He also called, and those whom He called He also justified” (Romans 8:29–30).
“So then He has mercy on whomever He wills, and He hardens whomever He wills” (Romans 9:18).
If salvation was based on free will, why does Paul repeatedly emphasize that it is God who calls, predestines, and justifies?
ELECTION IN REVELATION: THE NAMES WRITTEN BEFORE TIME
Even at the final judgment, we see that salvation was foreordained by God:
“All who dwell on the earth will worship [the beast], everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the Book of Life” (Revelation 13:8).
“And if anyone’s name was not found written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:15).
“But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life” (Revelation 21:27).
Who writes the names? God does. And He wrote them before the foundation of the world.
GOD SAVES WHOM HE WILLS
The doctrine of God’s sovereign election is not an invention of Calvin, Augustine, or any theologian. It is written in the Word of God from Genesis to Revelation.
Man does not author his own salvation—God does. He calls, He saves, and He keeps His people for His glory.
This is not Calvinism. This is Scripture. If you reject election, you are not rejecting Calvin—you are rejecting the testimony of the entire Bible.
So, the real question is not whether Calvin was right or wrong.
The real question is: Do you believe the Word of God?
He, who has ears to hear, let him hear.
Jeremiah Knight
The Reformation Resurgence
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Welcome to The Reformation Resurgence, a ministry of Jeremiah Knight. This ministry exists to proclaim, teach, and defend the holiness of God in all its fullness to as many people as possible. The heartbeat of The Reformation Resurgence is based on the solid Biblical doctrine of the “five solas”...