Doctrines of Grace: Class 08 – Answering Common Objections to Calvinism

In this class, I took questions from the students. I had brought along a list of questions to tackle, but time got away from us, so I used them to create an article which you can read below.

Upon encountering the doctrine of predestination, many questions arise almost immediately. Having wrestled through most of these questions myself, I seek here to present some of the most common objections, along with what I believe to be faithful biblical answers.

Why Use the Term Calvinist?

This one may not seem like it should be first, but its one I get often. Epscially from folks who say that its wrong to use the name of a man to describe their theological system. When someone says, “I’m not a Calvinist, I’m a biblicist,” my response is simple: If what you mean is that “I am a Bible-believing Christian” then so am I. To identify as a Calvinist is not to set oneself in opposition to Scripture. It is to say that one’s theology aligns with a certain set of doctrines historically associated with the Reformed tradition which we believe is derived from scripture.

In that sense, the term Calvinist is no different in principle from other theological or denominational labels Christians use without hesitation. Baptists identify with convictions about baptism. Methodists derive their name from the methodical pursuit of holiness associated with Wesley and his movement. Episcopalians are identified by a model of church government rooted in the idea of an overseer, from the Greek word episkopos. Throughout church history, believers have also been described as Augustinian or Pelagian depending on whether they followed the theological convictions of Augustine or Pelagius.

The fact that a term is connected to a historical figure does not mean that those who use it are worshiping that man. Lutherans are not worshipers of Luther. Wesleyans are not worshipers of Wesley. Likewise, Calvinists are not worshipers of Calvin. The term simply identifies a system of doctrine.

That does not mean everything Calvin said or did was above criticism. It is entirely possible to appreciate Calvin’s theological clarity while taking issue with aspects of his ministry, his leadership in Geneva, or the way certain historical controversies were handled. No faithful Calvinist believes Calvin was infallible. The point is not that Calvin was right because he was Calvin. The point is that the doctrines associated with Calvinism are believed to be biblical.

So when someone objects to the term Calvinist, it is often helpful to ask whether they also object to terms like Baptist, Lutheran, or Methodist. If not, then the objection is not really to labels as such. It is to the doctrines that the label represents.

If Predestination Is True, Why Do We Evangelize?

If ever there were a question most often asked when people first encounter the doctrine of God’s sovereign election, this is it. For many, it seems only logical that if God has ordained the salvation of His elect people, then our evangelistic efforts must be unnecessary or even pointless.

The answer, given historically by Reformed theologians and rooted deeply in Scripture, is that God ordains the meansas well as the end in His program of redemption. Sometimes when I give this answer I see eyes roll, either because it is misunderstood or dismissed as a theological escape hatch. But it is neither. It is the correct answer.

God has ordained the end. He does not merely know the end from the beginning, He has decreed it. Nothing occurs outside His sovereign will. Even Satan could not touch Job apart from divine permission. The end God has determined for His elect is eternal life, yet He has also ordained the means to that end: the preaching of the gospel.

Consider an analogy from ordinary life. Most conservative Christians affirm that their physical lives come by God’s decree. No one is born by accident. God forms us in the womb and appoints our days. Yet none of us came into existence apart from natural means. In all of human history there has been only one virgin birth, that of Christ. Everyone else was conceived through ordinary procreation. These means in no way diminish God’s sovereignty; rather, they are the instruments through which His decree is fulfilled.

Likewise, no one is born again apart from the means God has ordained. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of Christ. God grants the ability to believe, and the preaching of the gospel provides the object of that faith. Evangelism, therefore, is not unnecessary, it is essential.

Does Predestination Mean That I Do Not Have a Will?

Answering this requires careful reflection on the nature of the will itself. Jonathan Edwards famously defined the will as “the mind choosing.” In that sense, all people possess a will and make real choices.

The confusion arises when we speak of a “free will.” The will is free in that it always chooses according to its strongest desire. If someone points a gun at you and demands your wallet, you may not want to give it to him, but you want to live more than you want to keep your money, so you comply. Your will is operating according to desire.

But the will is not free in an absolute sense because fallen human desires are corrupted by sin. Scripture consistently teaches that our natural inclinations are opposed to God. Thus, the will is bound. A helpful illustration is skydiving: a man can move north, south, east, or west, but he is always descending.

This relates directly to predestination. Fallen man does not choose God because he does not naturally desire Him. Instead, he is at enmity with God and prefers idols, even himself, to the true and living God. Therefore, while man has a will, it is enslaved to sin until liberated by grace. Regeneration frees the will so that it may truly believe. All who have come to Christ should rejoice that God has graciously set them free.

Doesn’t Predestination Mean That God Is Unfair?

This is another frequent objection. We must begin by acknowledging that God is under no obligation to conform to human standards of fairness. Whatever He does is right, not because there exists some higher standard above Him, but because He Himself is the standard of righteousness.

If God were dragging unwilling sinners into heaven while keeping willing seekers out, the charge of unfairness might carry weight. But Scripture presents the opposite picture: humanity is fallen, rebellious, and hostile toward God. No one deserves salvation. God freely chooses to save a people for Himself by grace alone.

To illustrate the point, imagine a king who leaves his kingdom in the hands of trusted servants. While he is away, those servants ravage his land, abuse his household, destroy his property, and bring shame upon his name. When the king returns, what do those men deserve? Judgment. If the king decides to execute justice, no one can accuse him of wrongdoing. But if he chooses to show mercy to some, that mercy is not an obligation. It is grace. And if those guilty men did not even want mercy, yet the king is able to change their hearts so that they received his kindness, that would display an even greater grace. That is where Calvinism enters the discussion. The Calvinist position is that no sinner naturally wants Christ until God, by His Spirit, changes the heart. No one seeks God in a saving sense apart from grace. Therefore, if anyone is saved, it is because God has acted mercifully to do what the sinner would never do for himself.

The question, then, is not why God does not save everyone, but why He saves anyone. As B. B. Warfield memorably said, “The marvel of marvels is not that God, in his infinite love, has not elected all this guilty race to be saved, but that he has elected any.”

Doesn’t Predestination Make God Capricious or Arbitrary?

Critics often argue that if election is not based on foreseen merit, then God must act arbitrarily. But this misunderstands both God’s nature and Scripture’s teaching. A perfect being cannot be arbitrary. Everything God does is purposeful, even when His purposes remain hidden from us.

Ephesians 1 makes this explicit. God predestined us “according to the purpose of his will… to the praise of his glorious grace.” Later the chapter declares that He works “all things according to the counsel of his will.” These statements exclude whimsy. Capricious people do not act according to counsel; they act impulsively. But God’s will is the highest counsel in the universe.

That His reasons for choosing us are not found within us does not mean He had no reason. It simply means His reason lies in Himself.

Do Calvinists Believe Babies Go to Hell?

Years ago, I was listening to a well-known Southern Baptist preacher in my area who decided to preach a sermon against Calvinism. He provided many of his objections (some of which I have mentioned in this article). But I also remember at one point, seemingly out of nowhere, he said, “And Calvinists believe babies go to hell!” This was obviously an attempt to appeal to one of the most emotional issues we face, the salvation of our children. But I also think it was also meant to “poison the well” for his congregation and inoculate them against even considering a Calvinistic point of view. But, was he correct?

The issue surrounding infant death and salvation actually is based in the question of original sin and the concept of inherited corruption and imputed guilt. Those are subjects that I do not have the space to properly address in this short article, but I will say that original sin is not something that only Calvinists believe. Infant salvation is not uniquely a Calvinistic problem. All traditions have had to wrestle with this sad question. It is false to claim that all Calvinists consign infants to damnation. John MacArthur’s Safe in the Arms of Jesus is one well-known defense of infant salvation from a Reformed perspective. Some who hold to a Reformed perspective hold to the concept of elect infants, maintaining that God is free to save them in the same way He is to save adults. Indeed, one might argue that the doctrine of predestination provides a stronger foundation for hope, since it emphasizes that salvation is wholly the work of God rather than dependent upon human response.

Personally, I believe infants who die (as well as the mentally infirm) are in heaven, though I also believe this conviction rests more on theological inference and the need for comfort than on explicit texts. Passages such as Jesus’ welcome of children and David’s words regarding his deceased son provide encouragement, but not exhaustive explanation. My favorite verse to consider is actually in Genesis 18. Abram asks the Lord, “Will not the judge of all the earth do what is right?” I rest in the fact that, indeed, He will.

What If Someone Truly Comes to Christ but Is Not Predestined?

This question rests on a misunderstanding of Reformed theology. Scripture teaches that no one comes to Christ apart from the Father’s drawing (John 6:37, 44, 65). Romans 3:11 declares that no one seeks God. Ezekiel 36 describes salvation as God replacing a heart of stone with a heart of flesh.

Therefore, if a person truly comes to Christ, it is because he has been effectually called. The scenario proposed in the objection cannot occur. One might speculate that if someone could produce faith independently God would accept it, but Scripture makes clear that fallen humanity cannot do so. (See my article on the bondage of the will).

Conclusion

Far from undermining evangelism, responsibility, or the character of God, I believe Calvinism exalts His sovereignty, magnifies His grace, and humbles human pride. If we approach the subject with reverence for Scripture and humility before God, I believe we will find not a doctrine to fear, but one to adore.

For further study, I recommend R. C. Sproul’s Chosen by God, James White’s The Potter’s Freedom, and A. W. Pink’s The Sovereignty of God. Also the companion series For Calvinism by Michael Horton and Against Calvinism by Roger Olson.