Calvinist Bad Logic #5: Does God Love "All" People?
Bad Logic #5: Calvinists say that if God really loved all people then He would save all people. But since He doesn't save all people, it must mean He doesn't love them all in the same way. They say this because they assume that God's love has to ALWAYS end in saved people. And so therefore, according to them, God only really loves those He saves and only really saves those He truly loves. (Can you see the philosophizing going on here?)
And so then to make the verses about God "loving everyone" fit with Calvinism, they redefine "God's love" by breaking it into two types of love: a "save your soul" kind for the elect and a "gives you food and water while you're alive" kind for the non-elect. (And God's grace is along the same lines. Calvinists LOVE the idea of grace. They talk about it all the time. But they don't mean that God gives grace to all people. They mean that God gives grace - saving grace - to only a few people. The elect. So don't be fooled by their "God's grace is so good" bit. They simply mean that "God's grace - which is poured out only on us, the elect - is so good!")
And then, to make sure Jesus's blood wasn't "wasted" on those who would inevitably reject it, Calvinists say that Jesus couldn't really have died for those who would reject Him anyway, for the non-elect. So, they say, Jesus only really died for the elect.
But ... where is any of this clearly stated in the Bible? What verses teaches any of this nonsense? It's all based on their own assumptions of what God's love is and how He shows it. They have formulated their theology using philosophy, not the Bible.
Because if you go to the Bible, you'll see that God's love sent Jesus to the cross to pay for all men's sins. God's love is what made salvation available and possible for all men. But it's up to us to accept or reject that gift of salvation. God's love doesn't mean you WILL BE saved; it means we all can be saved because all of our sins were paid for on the cross, because God loves us all and wants us all with Him in heaven. But He will not force it on anyone. You have to want it and accept it.
This is what God's love did for us, according to the Bible!
But according to the Calvinist, His love is only for the elect and Jesus's sacrifice was only for the elect. And Calvi-god decides who’s elected and who’s not, and there's nothing you can do about it. And you have no part in "having faith" or "believing in Jesus"; it's something that’s done to you by Calvi-god.
This is why I say that Calvinism is a whole different Gospel than what the Bible teaches. Calvi-god, Calvi-Jesus, Calvi-Holy-Spirit, and that Calvinist way to salvation are VERY DIFFERENT from what the Bible teaches.
Calvinism isn't just a deeper way to understand the Bible or a better way to understand the Bible; it's a completely different, false way of understanding the Bible!
The true Gospel is good news to all people. But Calvinism's Gospel is good news for a few people who may or may not really be saved because Calvi-god might be tricking them into thinking they're saved when they're not, but they won't know for sure till they're dead. (See under "Evanescent Grace" in this post: "Can You Lose Your Salvation?")
Yep! Sounds like trustworthy "good news" to me!
And so then to make the verses about God "loving everyone" fit with Calvinism, they redefine "God's love" by breaking it into two types of love: a "save your soul" kind for the elect and a "gives you food and water while you're alive" kind for the non-elect. (And God's grace is along the same lines. Calvinists LOVE the idea of grace. They talk about it all the time. But they don't mean that God gives grace to all people. They mean that God gives grace - saving grace - to only a few people. The elect. So don't be fooled by their "God's grace is so good" bit. They simply mean that "God's grace - which is poured out only on us, the elect - is so good!")
And then, to make sure Jesus's blood wasn't "wasted" on those who would inevitably reject it, Calvinists say that Jesus couldn't really have died for those who would reject Him anyway, for the non-elect. So, they say, Jesus only really died for the elect.
But ... where is any of this clearly stated in the Bible? What verses teaches any of this nonsense? It's all based on their own assumptions of what God's love is and how He shows it. They have formulated their theology using philosophy, not the Bible.
Because if you go to the Bible, you'll see that God's love sent Jesus to the cross to pay for all men's sins. God's love is what made salvation available and possible for all men. But it's up to us to accept or reject that gift of salvation. God's love doesn't mean you WILL BE saved; it means we all can be saved because all of our sins were paid for on the cross, because God loves us all and wants us all with Him in heaven. But He will not force it on anyone. You have to want it and accept it.
This is what God's love did for us, according to the Bible!
But according to the Calvinist, His love is only for the elect and Jesus's sacrifice was only for the elect. And Calvi-god decides who’s elected and who’s not, and there's nothing you can do about it. And you have no part in "having faith" or "believing in Jesus"; it's something that’s done to you by Calvi-god.
This is why I say that Calvinism is a whole different Gospel than what the Bible teaches. Calvi-god, Calvi-Jesus, Calvi-Holy-Spirit, and that Calvinist way to salvation are VERY DIFFERENT from what the Bible teaches.
Calvinism isn't just a deeper way to understand the Bible or a better way to understand the Bible; it's a completely different, false way of understanding the Bible!
The true Gospel is good news to all people. But Calvinism's Gospel is good news for a few people who may or may not really be saved because Calvi-god might be tricking them into thinking they're saved when they're not, but they won't know for sure till they're dead. (See under "Evanescent Grace" in this post: "Can You Lose Your Salvation?")
Yep! Sounds like trustworthy "good news" to me!
(For all the posts in this series, see the "Intro ..." Or look for "'Calvinist Bad Logic' Series" in the labels on the side-bar. Or find the whole series in one post, "When Calvinism's 'Bad Logic' Traps Good Christians.")
