People go to heaven
because they believe and were choosen before the
foundation of the world. People go to Hell because they
do not believe. And that is as far as the scripture
goes, and I know thats hard to understand. Very hard,
and there really is no way around it. People say I'd
feel a lot more comfortable if God doesn't choose
anybody, and everybody does what they want. If everybody
did what they want, nobody would be saved. But even if
everybody did what they want and some people choose not
to be saved you would have to ask the question "If God
knows everything and He knew that when he created them
they wouldn't choose Him, why did He go a head and
create them?" You have the same problem. If you are
trying to get God off the hook, you do have a problem.
John MacArthur from
"The Sovereignty of God in Salvation" GC 80-46 1988
(Acts 13:48) The only
people who believe are those who had been appointed to
eternal life. God only grants the gift of faith to those
who are predestined to salvation. He choose us, and to
those he has choosen he gives the power to believe.
John Calvin from
"Institutes Book III" chapter 23 section 1
The human mind, when
it hears this doctrine, cannot restrain its petulance,
but boils and rages as if aroused by the sound of a
trumpet. Many professing a desire to defend the Deity
from an invidious charge admit the doctrine of election,
but deny that any one is reprobated, (Bernard. in Die
Ascensionis, Serm. 2.) This they do ignorantly and
childishly since there could be no election without its
opposite reprobation. God is said to set apart those
whom he adopts for salvation. It were most absurd to
say, that he admits others fortuitously, or that they by
their industry acquire what election alone confers on a
few. Those, therefore, whom God passes by he reprobates,
and that for no other cause but because he is pleased to
exclude them from the inheritance which he predestines
to his children.
Copied from http://www.smartlink.net/~douglas/calvin/bk3ch23.html
Westminster
Confession of Faith (1646)
Chapter III
Of God's Eternal
Decree
I. God from all
eternity did by the most and holy counsel of his own
will, freely and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to
pass; yet so as thereby neither is God the author of
sin; nor is violence offered to the will of the
creatures, nor is the liberty or contingency of second
causes taken away, but rather established.
II. Although God knows
whatsoever may or can come to pass, upon all supposed
conditions; yet hath he not decreed any thing because he
foresaw it as future, as that which would come to pass,
upon such conditions.
III. By the decree of
God, for the manifestation of his glory, some men and
angels are predestinated unto everlasting life, and
others foreordained to everlasting death.
IV. These angels and
men, thus predestinated and foreordained, are
particularly and unchangeably designed; and their number
is so certain and definite that it can not be either
increased or diminished.
V. Those of mankind
that are predestinated unto life, God, before the
foundation of the world was laid, according to his
eternal and immutable purpose, and the secret counsel
and good pleasure of his will, hath chosen in Christ,
unto everlasting glory, out of his free grace and love
alone, without any foresight of faith or good works, or
perseverance in either of them, or any other thing in
the creature, as conditions, or causes moving him
thereunto; and all to the praise of his glorious grace.
VI. As God hath
appointed the elect unto glory, so hath he, by the
eternal and most free purpose of his will, foreordained
all the means thereunto. Wherefore they who are elected
being fallen in Adam are redeemed by Christ, are
effectually called unto faith in Christ by his Spirit
working in due season; are justified, adopted,
sanctified, and kept by his power through faith unto
salvation. Neither are any other redeemed by Christ,
effectually called, justified, adopted, sanctified, and
saved, but the elect only.
VII. The rest of
mankind, God was pleased, according to the unsearchable
counsel of his own will, whereby he extendeth or
withholdeth mercy as he pleaseth, for the glory of his
sovereign power over his creatures, to pass by, and to
ordain them to dishonour and wrath for their sin, to the
praise of his glorious justice.
VIII. The doctrine of
this high mystery of predestination is to be handled
with special prudence and care, that men attending to
the will of God revealed in his Word, and yielding
obedience thereunto, may, from the certainty of their
effectual vocation, be assured of their eternal
election. So shall this doctrine afford matter of
praise, reverence, and admiration of God; and of
humility, diligence, and abundant consolation to all
that sincerely obey the gospel.
Copied from http://aardvark.apana.org.au/~skroeger/wcf.html
Loraine Beottner from
"The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination"
The Reformed Faith has
held to the existence of an eternal, divine decree
which, antecedently to any difference or desert in men
themselves seperates the human race into two portions
and ordains one to everlasting life and the other to
everlasting death. ( Chapter XI Section 1 page 83.)
R.C. Sproul from
"Divine Sovereignty and Man's Helplessness" TH26.3
What I find in the
Bible is a description of fallen man not as one who with
respect to the things of God is mortally ill, but one
who is dead in sin and trespasses. He
is as dependent upon the grace of God
to be raised to spititual life as Lazarus was for the
power of Christ to come out of the grave. We don't see a
person sick unto death in a hospital bed at his dieing
moment having to open up his lips to receive the
medicine. We see somebody who has been pronounced dead
whom God must bring back from the dead if that person is
to become alive. God just doesn't throw a life preserver
to a drowning person. He goes to the bottom of the sea,
and pulls a corpse from the bottom of the sea, takes him
up on the bank, breathes into him the breath of life and
makes him alive. Thats what the Bible says happens in
your salvation.
R.C. Sproul from
"What is Free Will?" TH23.13
So the bottom line is
the arminium position has people who are not yet born
again seeing and choosing the King, of the Kingdom of
God. Boggles the mind doesn't it? That is why the axiom
of augustinium theology is this,
Regeneration preceeds faith.
Jack Hyles from
"Calvinism, the Enemy to Soul Winning"- Nov. 4, 1992
Now you listen
carefully, God never predestinated anybody to go to
heaven or hell. He simply looked down and saw who was
going to trust Him according to His foreknowledge and
predestinated everybody that would trust Him to someday
look exactly like Jesus and become and adult in Christ
and have a body just like the body of Christ.
Jack Hyles from
"Calvinism, the Enemy to Soul Winning"- Nov. 4, 1992
For by grace are you
saved through faith and that not of yourselves it's the
gift of God. But Paul tells us in Romans that He's given
a measure of faith to every man. God has given you faith
and you can put your faith where ever you want to.
Jack Hyles from
"Calvinism, the Enemy to Soul Winning"- Nov. 4, 1992
I had a question and
answer session an boy God help me. I had one of these
predestined for heaven and predestined for Hell folks in
the service. He said, "Dr. Hyles turn to John 6:44" (it
just so happened I knew it already). But he said "No man
can come to me except the father which has sent me draw
him". He said, "Dr. Hyles if God has not predestinated
some people why did it say nobody can come unless God
draws him". I said turn to John 12:32 and you will find
out what it means when He draws. And I, if I be lifted
up will draw all men unto me.
Jerry Johnston from
"The Truth about Soul Winning"
..that is the doctrine
of a Hyper-Calvinist. If God wants a man saved, let God
save him. Jesus didn't die for everybody. There are some
people Jesus didn't die for.
My friend, you have to
be spiritually immature to believe that type of
teaching. Don't you tell me when Jesus was hanging at
Calvery, and when He was crying out "My God, My God why
have you forsaken me?", that Jesus Christ was not giving
himself for everyone. Why, 1 Timothy 2:4, He who would
have all men to be saved and come unto the knowledge of
the truth. The Lord Jesus 2 Peter 3:9, what does it say,
the Lord is not slack concerning his promise to usward,
but He is not willing that any should perish but that
they all should come unto repentance.
