#2 of 5 rebuttals of Calvinism/Reformed/Sovereign Grace Movement.

TULIP is the acronym used to describe Calvinism.

"U" stands for UNCONDITIONAL ELECTION.

Right away, the Calvinist/Reformed/Sovereign Grace Movement break a cardinal scriptural rule...adding to the Scripture. “Unconditional” is an addition to the scriptural term, election. They add insult to injury by employing this true term in a false doctrine. Once again, we shall see the Reformed teachers are much more interested in “protecting” God’s sovereignty than they are in actual understanding what He said in His Word.

The term elect and election are used very sparingly in scripture, yet if we had cars that got as much out of so little as the Reformed crowd have gotten out of “elect/election”, we would only have to refuel once a year!

First, let us state very clearly what elect and election really mean in scripture: they mean certain people and nations have been chosen for a specific purpose. For instance, Israel has been chosen by God to show all the rest of the nations what God is like. Jesus said, in John 4, “Salvation is of the Jews”. And so it is…as someone has said, “If you don’t believe in God, study the history of Israel.”

Isaiah 45:4

For Jacob My servant’s sake, And Israel My elect, I have even called you by your name; I have named you, though you have not known Me.

Now please, note, ALL of Israel was chosen for this purpose, not just the individuals who were made righteous by personal faith in Christ. So we see the term “elect” cannot be held to the one purpose the Calvinist believes it to describe, i.e., election to personal salvation.

This truth is further shown in the Person and purpose of the Son of God, who most certainly never needed to be saved.   Isaiah 42:1: [ The Servant of the Lord ] “Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles.

While the term “elect” is used for all of Israel, saved or unsaved, Israel’s purpose will change when they are all converted and dwell in the Millennium. Then they will bring glory to God, unhindered by sin, under the New Covenant written in their new hearts. God will delight in them, which was his purpose resulting in their election by Him.   Isaiah 65:22: They shall not build and another inhabit; They shall not plant and another eat; For as the days of a tree, so shall be the days of My people, And My elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. (Please read the whole chapter)

There is no better way in a short piece to show the misuse of “election” as God’s choosing specific people and nations for a special purpose than to observe how the Calvinist employs it. He adds to the term and changes its meaning from the simple term election into UNCONDITIONAL ELECTION.

R. C. Sproul, a leading apologist for the Reformed position teaches thusly:

“In the book of Romans, we find a discussion of this difficult concept.(Election)  Romans 9:10–13 reads: “And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, 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—she was told, ‘The older will serve the younger.’ As it is written, ‘Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.’” Here the Apostle Paul is giving his exposition of the doctrine of election. He deals with it significantly in Romans 8, but here he illustrates his teaching of the doctrine of election by going back into the past of the Jewish people and looking at the circumstances surrounding the birth of twins—Jacob and Esau. In the ancient world, it was customary for the firstborn son to receive the inheritance or the patriarchal blessing. However, in the case of these twins, God reversed the process and gave the blessing not to the elder but to the younger. The point that the Apostle labors here is that God not only makes this decision prior to the twins’ births, He does it without a view to anything they would do, either good or evil, so that the purposes of God might stand. THEREFORE, OUR SALVATION DOES NOT REST ON US; IT RESTS SOLELY ON THE GRASCIOUIS, SOVEREIGN DESCSION OF GOD.” END QUOTE (Caps added)

Now, please, let us agree God made a decision before the twins were born and thus their subsequent roles in life were set by God. God is the potter, and when working with men or nations of clay, He can well determine what role they will play in the earth. Yet He cannot contradict His own word and never does.  So where, oh where, in this passage, does it say He chose Jacob to be saved and Esau to be sent to Hell? Paul quotes scripture written after Jacob and Esau had lived and died which has God revealing He loved Jacob and hated Esau. We know from Hebrews that God hated Esau because Esau despised God by despising His birthright. The same birthright which brought with it the blessing of God!  So the passage is twisted by RC Sproul from showing God’s sovereign right to determine what roles men will play in the earth to compromising and contradicting the free offer of salvation to all men in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

In the larger context of scripture, Paul’s real purpose in writing in Romans 9-11 is to show to  ISRAEL, God has a perfect, sovereign right to show mercy to the Gentiles through the same Gospel they had rejected! So Esau, though born with the natural right of blessing, rejected it and it is was given to one who desired it, Jacob.


Romans 11:32   For God has committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all.


God’s mercy is not synonymous with salvation, as the Reformed teach. It is God’s mercy to offer salvation to all men through believing in Jesus. This offer is limited and requires an RSVP to be activated in the individual. Trust Christ today and be saved forever while you may! (John 5:14)