Calvinism is often misunderstood. There are some non-Calvinists who have embraced Calvinists as brethren. I pretty don’t want to make Calvinism a divisive issue. Some great preachers weren’t Calvinists. The late Bob Hughes, for example, wasn’t a Calvinist. Yet, what’s often ignored is that Calvinistic scholars have been involved in hymn-writing and the translation of the King James Version (KJV). Today, we use the 1769 version of the KJV. Some will confess they know of the Calvinist contributors but still feel the doctrine of election is hard to accept. It’s like, “We respect these Calvinist scholars but Calvin is just a man.”
Yet, tonight’s meditation with Charles H. Spurgeon, a preacher admired by both Calvinists and non-Calvinists, writes this one:
“For He saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.”
In these words the Lord in the plainest manner claims the right to give or to withhold his mercy according to his own sovereign will. As the prerogative of life and death is vested in the monarch, so the Judge of all the earth has a right to spare or condemn the guilty, as may seem best in his sight. Men by their sins have forfeited all claim upon God; they deserve to perish for their sins-and if they all do so, they have no ground for complaint. If the Lord steps in to save any, he may do so if the ends of justice are not thwarted; but if he judges it best to leave the condemned to suffer the righteous sentence, none may arraign him at their bar. Foolish and impudent are all those discourses about the rights of men to be all placed on the same footing; ignorant, if not worse, are those contentions against discriminating grace, which are but the rebellions of proud human nature against the crown and sceptre of Jehovah. When we are brought to see our own utter ruin and ill desert, and the justice of the divine verdict against sin, we no longer cavil at the truth that the Lord is not bound to save us; we do not murmur if he chooses to save others, as though he were doing us an injury, but feel that if he deigns to look upon us, it will be his own free act of undeserved goodness, for which we shall for ever bless his name.
How shall those who are the subjects of divine election sufficiently adore the grace of God? They have no room for boasting, for sovereignty most effectually excludes it. The Lord’s will alone is glorified, and the very notion of human merit is cast out to everlasting contempt. There is no more humbling doctrine in Scripture than that of election, none more promotive of gratitude, and, consequently, one more promotive of gratitude, and, consequently, none more sanctifying. Believers should not be afraid of it, but adoringly rejoice in it.
The very act of divine election is there. John 6:37-65 has our Lord Jesus saying that none can come unto Him except by the drawing of God the Father. People, on their own, can’t seek God. Romans 3:10-19 says that none seeks after God and none is purely righteous. The taint of sin where every fiber of being is tainted by it is what total depravity means. Total depravity stands for humanity’s tainted nature. It’s different from utter depravity. The late Robert C. Sproul Sr. calls it radical corruption.
Many times, we wonder why some people will never believe no matter how hard they are preached to. There are tears of compassion, there’s evidence, and there’s a proper presentation of the Word of God. Why are they so stubborn? 1 Corinthians 2:14 says that the natural man knows not the things of God. In short, they are still stuck in unbelief because of how fallen humanity is unable to understand God. Remember what happened to Adam and Eve? The sin nature passed on and we know how the world became so wicked as a result. Cain was just one example. Humanity today is descended from Seth and Noah but most follow the ways of the extinct line of Cain.
The very act of mercy is on the person unable to choose Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Some people get saved in a crusade, a TV program, a Christian school, a radio program, invited to church, etc. Some people have said the sinner’s prayer and they are genuine converts. However, it’s easy to forget how often such people ignored the Gospel warnings more than once. I read the plan of salvation from Gideon’s Bible and had a hard time understanding it. I was told salvation is by grace and I didn’t immediately believe it. I’d say that such people got saved. Some people will get saved because of this divine act of mercy. True, there are no signs and wonders but isn’t it a miracle that a person who resisted the Gospel too long finally got saved? Besides, Paul was on his way to Damascus to persecute Christians before Jesus chose Him in Acts 9 to be one. Yet, we also see other people who grew up hearing the Gospel and are still not saved. This is why now I believe in the doctrine of unconditional election.
Who are to be saved from their sins? Matthew 1:24 says the people of God are to be saved from their sins. Later, Revelation 18:4 has the voice from Heaven calling the elect out of the Great Whore of Revelation. The doctrine of election indeed is both fearful and wonderful. It’s a very humbling doctrine. None can think of how humbling election is that nobody would ever get saved in evangelism if it wasn’t for election.
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