IF YOU WANT TO GET TECHNICAL ABOUT “UNCONDITIONAL ELECTION”: A Devotional and Theological Refutation of Calvinistic Determinism

The Gospel is both simple enough for a child to receive and profound enough for a scholar to explore for a lifetime. Our Lord calls us to love God not only with all the heart but with all the understanding. For that reason, Christians must never accept the claim that rejecting Calvinism is the product of theological weakness. The central issue is not intellectual ability but fidelity to Scripture and the character of God as revealed in Jesus Christ.

This article is written for those who know the Calvinistic system well—those who understand its arguments, its logic, and its vocabulary—and yet sense that something is fundamentally out of step with the biblical portrait of a God who sincerely calls all people to Himself. The aim here is devotional and pastoral, yet rigorously grounded in Scripture, Greek exegesis, and clear theological reasoning.

1. The Universal Call of God in the Greek New Testament

The New Testament speaks with unmistakable clarity concerning God’s desire for all people to be saved. Its language is not vague or elastic; it is direct, forceful, and inclusive.

• God “desires (θέλει / thelei) all people (πάντας ἀνθρώπους / pantas anthrōpous) to be saved” (1 Tim. 2:4).

• God is “not willing” (μὴ βουλόμενος / mē boulomenos) “that anyone (τις / tis) should perish” (2 Pet. 3:9).

• Christ gave Himself as “a ransom for all (πάντων / pantōn)” (1 Tim. 2:6).

• The Father sent the Son because He “loved the world (τὸν κόσμον / ton kosmon)” (John 3:16).

The Greek terms pas/pantas (“all”), tis (“anyone”), and kosmos (“world of humanity”) carry naturally universal meanings unless the context restricts them—and these contexts do not. Any attempt to limit “all” to “all the elect,” or “world” to “the elect scattered throughout the world,” requires importing a system into the text rather than drawing meaning from it.

The burden of proof lies entirely on those who wish to narrow these universal expressions. That burden remains unmet. The straightforward, unstrained reading is the biblical one: God’s saving desire and call extend to every human being.

2. Moral Responsibility Requires Genuine Ability

The New Testament presupposes a moral universe in which God’s commands are sincere invitations empowered by grace—not theatrical pronouncements to people rendered incapable of obeying them. When Paul declared that God “commands all people everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30), he spoke of a divine command that assumes a genuine capacity to respond.

A moral obligation without corresponding ability is not a command but an absurdity. While Calvinism seeks to resolve this by claiming that humans possess “moral inability” due to sin, this does not address the deeper issue: if the inability itself was decreed by God before creation, then it is not truly a moral inability but an imposed one.

By contrast, Scripture presents grace as having “appeared to all” (Titus 2:11), creating a genuine possibility for response. Divine sovereignty does not crush human responsibility—it establishes and upholds it. Determinism, however, nullifies responsibility by rendering human decisions inevitable and unalterable.

3. What Romans 9 Actually Teaches

Romans 9 is often cited as the decisive chapter for unconditional individual election. Yet Paul’s argument, when read in the flow of Romans 9–11, teaches something very different.

Paul is addressing the historical and covenantal question:

Why have so many Jews rejected their Messiah, and has God’s promise failed?

His method is corporate, historical, and typological:

• Jacob and Esau represent lines of covenant identity, not eternal destinies.

• Pharaoh illustrates how God can use the stubbornness of nations and leaders to advance His redemptive purpose.

• “Vessels of wrath” and “vessels of mercy” (Rom. 9:22–23) describe groups responding differently to God’s patient kindness (cf. Rom. 2:4), not eternally decreed individuals.

Paul’s own conclusion makes this unmistakable:

“Whoever (πᾶς / pas) calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Rom. 10:13).

Romans 9 must be read through Romans 10. The climax of the whole section is the universal offer of salvation. Paul is explaining how the covenant people narrowed down to the remnant and widened to include the nations—not that God eternally decreed some to salvation and others to damnation.

4. John 6, John 12, and Ephesians 1: A Consistent Biblical Pattern

John 6: Drawn by the Father

Calvinism interprets the Father’s “drawing” in John 6:44 as irresistible grace given only to the elect. But Jesus uses the same verb (ἑλκύσω / helkysō) in John 12:32:

“And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all to Myself.”

The drawing of John 6 cannot be restricted if Jesus Himself universalizes it. The biblical pattern is clear: God draws all, yet not all respond.

Ephesians 1: Election in Christ

Paul writes that God chose us “in Christ” (1:4), not apart from Christ. Christ is the Elect One; believers participate in His election through union with Him by faith. Predestination in Ephesians 1 is corporate and Christ-centered—never an abstract selection of individuals without reference to Christ or faith.

The early church fathers unanimously interpreted these passages this way long before Calvinism existed.

5. The Character of God in the Face of Jesus Christ

The ultimate test of any theological system is whether it aligns with the character of God revealed in the life and teaching of Jesus.

Jesus calls all.

Jesus weeps over the lost.

Jesus laments unbelief.

Jesus invites freely.

Jesus warns sincerely.

Jesus offers Himself universally.

To claim that Christ commands all to repent while knowing that most cannot repent is to divide the heart of God into contradictory wills—a division the New Testament never makes. The invitations of Christ are genuine. His compassion is real. His love is universal. His warnings are sincere. His longing is authentic.

The Father is not double-minded.

The Son is not deceptive.

The Spirit is not selective in His drawing.

The God revealed in Jesus delights in mercy, not in withholding it.

Conclusion

Rejecting Calvinistic determinism is not a rejection of divine sovereignty, nor is it a concession to emotionalism or theological naivety. It is a return to the clear testimony of Scripture and the radiant goodness of God revealed in Jesus Christ.

We reject deterministic Calvinism not because we fail to understand it, but because it fails every major test of biblical theology:

• Linguistically it narrows universal terms.

• Morally it attributes to God what Scripture condemns in man.

• Logically it undermines human responsibility.

• Exegetically it misreads key passages.

• Pastorally it distorts the heart of Christ.

The Gospel is for all.

Christ died for all.

The Spirit draws all.

And whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.

This is the good news that sets hearts free, strengthens faith, and honors the God who truly “so loved the world.”

BDD