Calvinists readily admit their teachings are difficult to swallow even for the most committed believer. Calvin himself refers to the doctrine of reprobation as a “dreadful decree” which leads to unfathomable mysteries. <link> And Calvinists are known to describe their conversion into Calvinism as being a painstaking process of giving into the overwhelming evidence of scripture. For instance, John Piper speaks of the “agony,” “torment” and “days of weeping” he went through when first grappling with these doctrines (as discussed further on THIS PODCAST.)
Considering how difficult the Calvinistic doctrines are to accept, one must think the scriptures are overwhelmingly convincing in order to persuade anyone to adopt them, right? Well, we will let you be the judge of that as you read through these proof texts for yourself.
I would like for us to consider the various passages most often referenced by Calvinists in defense of their doctrines. For the sake of brevity I will provide a summary rebuttal to each proof text followed by a link for further study. Though some links will be provided, I will leave it to the reader to do his or her own study to find the Calvinistic defense for each of the passages referenced.
Let us begin with “the big three.” Calvinistic apologist, Dr. James White, refers to Ephesians 1, Romans 9 and John 6 as the “classicus locus,” in an article seeking to defend the TULIP systematic. <link> I contend that if any one of these passages did not exist in the canon of scripture that Calvinism would have never even existed. That is how heavily Calvinistic scholars have leaned on these texts to support their foundational premise. That is not to say that these are the only proof texts for Calvinistic doctrine, far from it. It is only to say that the formation, foundation and greatest source for defense are rooted in these three passages, without which the entire system would crumble like a house of cards.
We will unpack each of them to see if they really teach what Calvinists claim:
Ephesians 1:1-11
(Read a Calvinistic rendering of this passage HERE)
Non-Calvinistic Rendering: From the first verse of the chapter we learn that Paul is addressing “the faithful in Christ Jesus.” The theme of being “in Him” continues throughout the entire passage. The question is “how does one come to be in Christ?” The Calvinist contends that certain individuals were chosen before the world began and predestined to become believers, but that is simply not what the text says. Paul teaches that those “in Him” have been predestined to become “holy and blameless” and “to be adopted as sons,” but he never says that certain individuals were predestined to believe in Christ. Paul is speaking of what “the faithful in Christ” (vs. 1) have been predestined to become, not about God preselecting certain individuals before the foundation of the world to be irresistibly transformed into believers. In verse 13, the apostle clearly teaches his readers that it was when you “heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation” and “when you believed” that you were “marked in Him.”
For more on this passage CLICK HERE.
Romans 9:6-24
(Read a Calvinistic rendering of this passage HERE)
Non-Calvinistic Rendering: Paul is answering the question, “Why have most Israelites rejected their own Messiah? Has God’s promise to Israel failed?” Calvinists believe Paul answers this question by saying, “No, God’s promise has not failed, because God’s plan was not to effectually save every Israelite, but only a preselected remnant.” Non-Calvinists believe Paul answers this question by saying, “No, God’s promise has not failed, because God’s plan was not to effectually save anyone on the basis of their nationality, desires or works, but on the basis of their faith (Rom. 9:30-32). And God is fulfilling His promise to bless all the families of the earth through Israel by hardening some Jews and “mercying” others from that same lump of “Israelite” clay (vs. 21). This may seem unfair to some, but its actually quite just and gracious given that redemption is accomplish through the hardening of Israel and those hardened may eventually be “provoked to envy and saved” (Rom. 11:14).
For more on this passage CLICK HERE.
John 6:25-71
(Read a Calvinistic rendering of this passage HERE)
Non-Calvinistic Rendering: At this time the Messiah is “down from heaven” in the flesh to fulfill the will of the Father (vs. 38). While in the world, Jesus is not entrusting himself to everyone (Jn. 2:24). In fact, he has kept his identity somewhat secret for much of his public ministry (Matt. 16:20; Mark 1:24-25, 34, 43-45; 3:12; 8:30; 9:9). God only gave to Christ a few from Israel to serve the noble calling of being his “holy apostles” (Eph. 3:1-11; Jn. 17:6-19). He slowly reveals his identity and his redemptive plan to those set apart for this apostolic calling, but “to those on the outside everything is said in parables…otherwise they might turn and be forgiven” (Mk. 4:11-12).
Christ hid the truth from the “wise and learned” and revealed it to the weak (Mt. 11:25) so as to fulfill the Father’s purpose of redemption on Calvary. And the leaders of that day would not have crucified Christ if they believed he was the long awaited Messiah (1 Cor. 2:7-8). Therefore, the reason much of the Jewish audience in John 6 were not enabled to come to Christ was not because they were born hated by God and innately disabled due to the Fall of Adam, as presumed by Calvinists. Not at all! God loved Israel and genuinely desired for them to repent and be saved (2 Peter 3:9; 1 Tim. 2:4; Rom. 9:1-3; 10:1,21; Matt. 23:37; Lk. 19:42; Matt. 5:44; Hos. 3:1; Ezk. 18:30-32). They were not enabled to come to Christ while down from heaven UNTIL he had fulfilled redemption on Calvary and was “raised up.” Then and only then would Christ commission the gospel to be sent to “every creature” so as to “draw all peoples to Himself” (John 12:32; Acts 1:8; Matt. 28:16-20).
For more on this passage CLICK HERE.
Other proof texts used by Calvinist in defense of their perspective:
Romans 8:28-30 – And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
(Read a Calvinistic rendering of this passage HERE)
Non-Calvinistic Rendering: Much debate centers on the meaning of the word “foreknew” (proginōskō). While there are various non-Calvinistic approaches to interpreting this text, the simplest and most basic reading essentially goes as follows: “For those God ‘formerly knew’ (proginosko), He previously determined them to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He might become the firstborn of many brethren.” So, instead of this passages being about some mystical divine knowledge of preselected individuals before the world began, it is actually about people God personally knew in former times (Israelites of old who loved God). In verse 29, Paul is giving an example of how God has worked out good for those formerly known in the past (proginōskō) so as to back up his claim in verse 28 that “God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (vs. 28). What better proof of this truth than looking to God’s faithfulness in the lives of those formerly known, who were conformed into the very image of the one who would come through their lineage and purchase their redemption?
For more on this passage CLICK HERE.
Acts 13:48 – When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.
(Read a Calvinistic rendering of this passage HERE)
Non-Calvinistic Rendering: Before Christ began his public ministry there were both Jews and Gentiles who worshipped God and genuinely believed in what revelation they had been given. They were “God-fearing” men and women who sincerely loved the Lord but simply were not yet aware of the gospel of Christ. In Acts 13:16 we are shown these are the people the apostles were addressing, “Fellow Israelites and you Gentiles who worship God, listen to me!” Many God-fearing Gentiles genuinely believed in God and had not yet grown calloused in the religiosity of the Pharisaical teachings. No one could rightly describe these God-fearing Gentiles as “totally disabled, hardened or spiritually dead” individuals in need of an irresistible calling. Instead, they were “appointed” or “previously disposed” for eternal life as believers who already worship God.
For more on this passage CLICK HERE.
God’s sinless use of sinful means:
Genesis 50:20 – Joseph being sold by his brothers into slavery: “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”
Exodus 9:12 – Pharaoh hardened by God to accomplish the Passover: “But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart and he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said to Moses.”
Acts 2:23; 4:28 – The Crucifixion of Jesus: “This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men,[a] put him to death by nailing him to the cross…They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen.”
CLICK HERE for a thorough explanation of these passages from a non-Calvinistic perspective.
Let’s examine Calvinism’s chief proof texts on God’s “sovereignty” (defined as God’s meticulous determinism over all things).
<FROM: LINK>
Ephesians 1:11 – In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will.
This is a marvelous verse and tells us how great God is, but it says nothing about whether God has given man a will and to what extent he can exercise that will. It says nothing about whether a sinner can believe on Christ savingly. To say that God worketh all things after the counsel of his own will is not contrary to the doctrine that God created man with a will and with the ability to respond to God or to reject God. It is the Calvinist that creates this alleged “problem” and then answers it by his own logic rather than by the plain teaching of Scripture.
Daniel 4:35 — “And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?”
This statement was made by king Nebuchadnezzar after he was punished by God and his reason had returned to him and he had repented of his pride. This verse is stating simply that God is God and He rules ultimately over the affairs of men. The verse says nothing about whether or not man can accept or reject the gospel, about whether God’s grace is resistible. It says nothing about whether God sovereignly chooses some men to election and some to reprobation. For a sinner to refuse to repent is not to “stay God’s hand,” because God’s eternal program rolls right on regardless of what individual men do in these or any other matters.
Psalm 115:3 — “But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.”
We definitely believe that God does whatsoever pleases, and we bless His name that what He pleases is always righteous and good. Further, God has revealed His pleasure in the Scriptures, and the Scriptures tell us that it was His pleasure to send Jesus to die so that “whosoever believeth in him should not perish.”
One need only to read vs 16 of the same Psalm to see what God was pleased to do.
Isaiah 14:27 — “For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?”
The context of this verse is God’s determination to judge the nations. “This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations” (verse 26). Indeed, when God purposes something His will cannot be thwarted. But this verse says nothing about Sovereign Election or Sovereign Reprobation or Irresistible Grace or any of the points of TULIP theology.
Acts 15:18 — “Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.”
This verse simply says that God knows all of His works and has always known them. It says nothing one way or the other about any of the points of TULIP. That God knows all of His works from the beginning of the world is not to say that men are sovereignly elected to salvation or reprobation. It is not to say that God preordains everything that happens.
Proverbs 16:9 — “A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.”
This verse does not support Calvinism, because it says that man’s heart deviseth his way. Thus it teaches that man has a will that he can exercise. The fact that God overrules man’s decisions and has the final say in all matters is not contrary to the doctrine that man has a will whereby he can accept or reject God’s dealings with him.
Proverbs 19:21 — “There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand.”
Again, this verse does not support Calvinism, because it says man wills things in his heart. The fact that God’s counsel overrules man’s will is not a defense for Calvinism. Those that the Calvinist calls (usually falsely) “Arminians” believe this, as well.
Proverbs 21:1 — “The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.”
The fact that the Lord overrules the king’s heart does not prove Calvinism’s doctrine of the sovereign predestination of all things nor does it prove Calvinism’s doctrine that man cannot accept or reject God’s offer of salvation. These Proverbs teach the simple and important doctrine that though man has a will that he exercises within the sphere of freedom that God assigns to him, it is God who ultimately determines whether man is allowed to act out his will or not.
Proverbs 21:30 — “There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the LORD.”
This verse means that there is no ultimate counsel against the Lord and that He always has the final say. We know from other Scriptures that the devil and sinners have made many counsels against the Lord, but that counsel cannot stand. It does not follow that man has no will that he can exercise either for or against the Lord. He can definitely exercise such a will and he does and by so doing he hangs himself with his own rope, because God always has the final say, and He has said that “he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned” (Mark 16:16).
Psalm 33:11 — “The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.”
That the counsel of the Lord stands forever, and we know that it does, does not mean that God could not have sovereignly determined to create man with a will that he can exercise and with the ability even to go so far as to believe in God or not to believe in God.
Isaiah 10 — God’s use of the Assyrians to bring judgement on Israel: CLICK HERE
Isaiah 14:27 — “For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?”
Nothing that God purposes can be disannulled, but this does not mean that God foreordains everything that happens, even the decisions and actions of men and devils. God has purposed that “whosoever believeth” in Jesus Christ “should not perish, but have everlasting life.” That Almighty God has given sinners a choice in the matter does nothing to overthrow His sovereignty or power.
Isaiah 46:9-10 — “Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.”
That God’s counsel shall stand and He will do all of His pleasure is not to say that “no actions of men, no errands can come to pass otherwise than God has eternally purposed” (Pink). For God to allow something and ultimately to work that thing into His overall program for the ages is not the same as purposing it. God’s counsel is revealed in Scripture, and there we learn that God has given man a will that he can exercise against God. We see this in the Garden of Eden, and in the case of Adam and Eve’s firstborn Cain, and in the case of the world before the Flood, and in the case of the Tower of Babel, and in the case of Israel before the coming of Christ, and in the case of Israel during the earthly days of Christ, and in the case of sinners today, and throughout history.
Calvinistic Proof Texts used to support the doctrine of Total Depravity:
Romans 8:7-9 — “For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.”
Mankind’s inability to submit to God’s law does not prove their inability to trust in Christ who fulfilled the law for mankind. Mankind’s inability to please God while acting in the flesh does not prove mankind’s inability to respond to the spiritual appeal of God so as to receive his spirit.
If I warn my rebellious son saying, “You cannot please me by acting selfishly,” does that suggest the child is unable to heed my warning, humble himself and repent of acting selfishly? Of course not. It only suggests that as long as my child continues to rebel and act according to his pride that he will not please me. This verse says nothing of man’s inability to respond to God’s powerful truth and appeal to humble ourselves. Each individual has the choice to remain in their flesh and pride or respond to the spirit’s call to humble themselves. If you choose the former YOU CANNOT PLEASE GOD.
Neither side is suggesting that man can please God apart from His enabling grace. So, the question is whether or not the grace is enabling (as John 6:65 teaches), or does this grace irresistibly cause which choice the individual will make (as Calvinism presumes)?
1 Corinthians 2:14 — “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.”
So, the lost man needs someone to spiritually discern the “deep things of God” (vs. 10), right? What are the means God uses to discern spiritual truths to mankind? Is not the very epistle that Paul is writing to the carnal believers in Corinth a means of “spiritual discernment?” And since the “brethren” in the Corinthian church are “not able to receive” these same “deep things of God” (1 Cor. 3:1-3) one would be hard pressed to suggest that Paul was intending to teach that no one is able to understand the simple gospel appeal to be reconciled unless they are first reconciled.
Again, this text never suggests that mankind is born unable to respond to God’s clearly discerned gospel appeal. It only affirms that that mystery of the gospel must be discerned for us, which it has been. As Paul states, “When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.” Eph. 3:4
Neither side is suggesting that lost men can understand the deep spiritual truths of God apart from the means God has chosen to discern these mysteries. So, the question is whether God’s means of discernment through the apostles is a sufficient work of discernment that enables those who hear it to respond? More HERE.
Ephesians 2:1-3 — “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.”
This passage says nothing about the sinner not being able to believe and nothing about the condition of his will in regard to the accepting or rejecting the gospel. It says the sinner is dead in trespasses and sin, walks according to the course of this world and according to the prince of the power of the air, is a child of disobedience, and is by nature the child of wrath.
But this is not the same as the Calvinist doctrine of total depravity which goes beyond the actual words of Scripture, such as those we find in this important passage, and adds the business about the sinner’s will and him not being able to believe.
Isaiah 64:6-7 — “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee: for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because of our iniquities.”
Again, though this verse teaches us that fallen man has no righteousness that is acceptable before God and that even his alleged righteousnesses are as filthy rags before a thrice-holy God, the verse says nothing about man’s will or his ability or inability to respond to God’s grace.
That there is none that calls upon the name of the Lord or stirs himself up to take hold of God does not mean that the sinner is unable to respond to God’s grace and does not mean that he cannot believe the gospel. Left to himself, the sinner does not seek God nor call upon His name, but sinners are not left to themselves. They are given light (Jn. 1:9), convicted (Jn. 16:8), and drawn to Christ (Jn. 12:32). God has commanded that the gospel be preached to every sinner and that those who believe will be saved (Mk. 16:15-16), and there is nothing in Isaiah 64:6-7 that says the sinner cannot believe in response to God’s work of enlightenment, conviction, and drawing.
Romans 3:10-18 — “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
No one is righteous according to the works of the law. No one is able to attain righteousness by law through works. But how does that prove no one is able to obtain righteousness by grace through faith? In verse 21 of this same chapter Paul introduces the means for man to obtain righteousness, which is separate from the law. Calvinists seem to think that proof of our inability to earn righteousness through our own works likewise proves our inability to trust in the imputed righteousness of Christ.
Proving that the lost cannot seek God does not prove that they are unable to respond to a God who is actively seeking to save the lost. Proving that I cannot call the President on the phone does not prove I cannot answer the phone if the President chose to call me.
Genesis 6:5 — “And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”
Again, there is nothing in this verse about man’s will and whether or not he can believe in God and accept His offer of grace. Calvinists simply read their presumption into this text whereas an examination of this entire chapter hardly appears to support a Calvinistic rendering given that it also goes on to state, “The LORD regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. So the LORD said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.” But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. More HERE.
Jeremiah 17:9 — “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”
This verse addresses the sinner’s heart but not his will. It tells us plainly that the sinner’s heart is deceitful and desperately wicked, and no one can properly understand mankind today unless they understand and believe this teaching; but it does not tell us that the sinner cannot believe the gospel. It says nothing about the condition of the sinner’s will in regard to exercising faith.
Check back in as we add to this list as needed…