Question: On the last night of the Tulsa Prophecy Conference, during the Q&A session, a question was directed to Dave Hunt that related to Calvinism. He stated that election and predestination were never unto salvation but unto service. Mike Gendron responded by reading 2 Thessalonians:2:13But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:
See All...: "God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth." Doesn't that sound like God has chosen certain ones to be saved, which of course would mean that the rest are chosen to damnation by default?
Response: I had already stated that I did not want to prolong a discussion about Calvinism. Looking back, I do not want to leave the impression that I had no answer to the verse Mike read. One thing you will notice when this subject comes up: there are a few favorite verses that Calvinists quote. This is one of about four or five, and Mike didn't mention any of the others.
Had I wanted to continue the discussion, I could have noted that whereas Calvinists have a handful of favorite verses, there are literally hundreds proving that God has not chosen certain ones for heaven and others for hell. For example, Christ introduces and explains John:3:16For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
See All... ("For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.") with a reference to the incident in the wilderness involving the brazen serpent: "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." This reference is to Numbers 21. Let's notice the wording there: "Every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live....If a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived" (Num:21:8And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.
See All...,9). This was the way Christ explained John:3:16For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
See All.... The Calvinists say that Christ was not talking about the whole world but only the world of the elect. Christ's example shows that this is not the case.
Christ does not allow this misinterpretation. Here is one of the reasons Calvinists generally avoid references to the Old Testament. Calvinism, far from being supported there, is refuted. It was not the homes of a few elect over which the destroying angel passed but every home where the blood had been applied. Who went through the Red Sea on dry land? An elect few? No, everyone who had been delivered from Egypt by the blood. Who ate of the manna in the wilderness? For whom did the water flow out of the rock? Who was led by the pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night? Was it an elect few among the Israelites? No, it was all of them, even though all did not believe.
Such examples could be multiplied by the dozens. In comparison, the few verses of doubtful interpretation that Calvinists hold out to prove their case are far from conclusive on their side. Even 2 Thessalonians:2:13But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:
See All..., which Mike read, includes the proof that there is more involved than God simply choosing some to heaven. Something more is required of man: "through...belief of the truth."