Five Problems With Calvinism

The Bible says that God chose to save you before you were born (2 Thess 2:13).  To put it another way, God chose to save you before you put your faith in Christ.  He chose not to save others before they rejected Christ.

This leads to some difficult questions.  Why did God choose to save you?  Why did God choose to not save everyone?  

The idea of God choosing us in advance is called the doctrine of election, or predestination, and it is a huge debate among Christians.

There are two main views of the doctrine of election:  Calvinism and Arminianism (both named after Christian theologians, and both views are within orthodox Christianity).  Calvinism can be remembered with the acronym TULIP.  Arminianism can be remembered with the acronym FACTS.  

The TULIP of Calvinism:

• Total depravity.  Unbelievers are dead in sin cannot accept Christ as Lord and Savior without God enabling them to do so.
• Unconditional election.  God chooses to save some and not others, and it is not based on any condition met by the individual.
• Limited atonement.  Christ died only for the elect, not for the whole world.  
• Irresistible grace.  The elect are regenerated – born again – by the Holy Spirit, moving them to accept Christ as Lord and Savior. 
• Perseverance of the saints.  Those God saves are protected by Him from losing their salvation.  

The FACTS of Arminianism.

• Freed by grace to believe.  As opposed to irresistible grace, God enables unbelievers to accept or reject Christ.  This is also called prevenient grace, or grace that goes before salvation.
• Atonement for all.  Christ died for all sinners, not just the elect.
• Conditional election.  God chooses in advance to save some and not others based on His foreknowledge of who will accept Christ.
• Total depravity.  Unbelievers are dead in sin and cannot accept Christ as Lord and Savior without God enabling them to do so.
• Security in Christ.  Those God saves are protected by Him from losing their salvation.  Some Arminians believe that a Christian can forsake Christ and lose their salvation.

As you read the Bible, sometimes you will read verses that seem to point to Calvinism, and sometimes you will read verses that seem to point to Arminianism.  Calvinist and Arminian scholars have ways of addressing these difficulties.  The reason I am an Arminian is that I believe the Scriptural evidence points to Arminianism.  

For example, the Bible clearly says that God loves everyone (Jn 3:16), Christ died for everyone (1 Pt 3:18), God wants to save everyone (2 Pt 3:9), salvation is received by faith (Jn 1:12-13), and the Bible condemns people for their lack of faith (Jn 3:18).  Everyone agrees with these points.  But these clear points present some very real problems for Calvinists:

First, how can Calvinists claim that God loves everyone, and at the same time claim that He doesn’t give everyone the chance to be saved?  Can a God like that still be called "loving"?  

Second, how can Calvinists say that Christ didn’t die for everyone, but only the elect?  In multiple places the Bible makes it very clear that Christ died for ALL (Jn 1:29; 2 Cor 5:14-15; 2 Cor 5:19; 1 Tim 2:6; 1 Tim 4:10; Titus 2:11; Heb 2:9; 1 Pt 3:18; 1 Jn 2:2; 1 Jn 4:14).  

Third, how can Calvinists say that God wants everyone to be saved, but at the same time claim that God doesn't give everyone the chance to be saved?  If God wanted to save everyone, wouldn't He try to save everyone?

Fourth, how can Calvinists say that we must have faith to be saved, but at the same time say that we must be saved in order to have faith?  Calvinists believe in pre-faith regeneration; first a person experience receives spiritual life (salvation), and then they repent and believe.  The Bible teaches the opposite (Jn 1:12-13).  First we believe, and then we are born again.  

Fifth, how can Calvinists say it is just for God to condemn people for not believing, but at the same time say the reason that people don’t believe is because God hasn’t enabled them to believe?  The only way a person can believe is by the illuminating and convicting work of the Holy Spirit, which Arminians call prevenient grace (grace that goes before).  Calvinists say that God only extends this grace to the elect, so that only the elect have the ability to believe.  

Bonus question for Calvinists:  Why does God invite everyone to believe, but Calvinists claim that salvation isn't available to everyone (Lk 16:16; Jn 3:16)?