Tag: Romans 9-11
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Universal Justification But Not Universal Final Salvation
I was recently asked a series of excellent questions about universalism. The questions arise from a real tension. The Bible teaches that Jesus died for the sins of the whole world. God genuinely reconciled the world to himself through the blood of Christ. He sincerely desires the salvation of every person. Does that mean that…
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Calvin’s Confusion about Predestination: 8 The Olive Tree
God genuinely wants all people to hear the Gospel. He genuinely gives salvation to all who believe the Gospel, so the Gospel is the Christian’s certain and only basis for confidence. All who believe the Gospel do so only because of God’s grace in electing them. All who don’t believe it do so only because…
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Calvin’s Confusion about Predestination: 7 Don’t Climb into Heaven
How do I know God has chosen me? In the apostle Paul’s clearest discussion of predestination, the middle chapter is all about preaching the Gospel. But in John Calvin’s key chapter on predestination, he barely mentions proclamation at all. This contrast is crucial for understanding Calvin’s confusion about predestination. This is part seven of a…
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Calvin’s Confusion about Predestination: 4 Genesis, Malachi, and the Line of Promise
God wants all people to be saved, and so he chose a particular nation through which he could give his Son, Jesus, as the saviour of the whole world. John Calvin, and many who followed him, was confused about this, thinking that God’s election of the nation of Israel meant God did not create all…