When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed. (Acts 13:48)The Calvinist assumes that this verse expresses the doctrine of unconditional election, which teaches that in eternity past, God the Father chose certain individuals from humanity to redeem—and His selection of these individuals was not in any way based on or related to a foreknowledge of any future faith or expression of human free human will, but rooted entirely in His sovereign will. We have already considered Calvinism, in the article “Calvinistic Confusion”[1] including the concept of unconditional election. In the doctrine of unconditional election, all of those whom God lovingly predestined to salvation will be saved through the death of Christ (which was on behalf of the elect only) and the regeneration of the Holy Spirit. Says Calvinist James White:
"Unconditional election is simply the recognition of the biblical teaching that God is free in the matter of salvation. He chooses to exercise mercy and grace toward undeserving creatures solely on the basis of 'the good pleasure of His will' (Ephesians 1:5)."[2]
Regarding Acts 13:48, White writes:
“The ‘surface meaning’ of the text is clear: When Paul announces that the message of eternal life is for all men, including the Gentiles, there is rejoicing, and on the part of some, belief in the truth. But it is Luke’s comment on who believes that makes Acts 13:48 so relevant to our discussion of unconditional election. He says that those who had been appointed to eternal life believe. This divine appointment obviously precedes and brings about the act of faith. God has appointed them to eternal life, and they believe. Obviously, this statement touches upon not only unconditional election, but upon irresistible grace as well.[3]”
While it is true that God’s appointment of the elect in eternity past precedes the act of faith, White is reading something into the verse that is not there when he tells us that the divine appointment also “brings about” the act of faith. He is reading the verse through Calvinistic glasses.
DIVINE OMNISCIENCE ANTICIPATES HUMAN VOLITION
God is omniscient; that is, He is all-knowing. Being eternal, He has always known everything that has happened, is happening, and will happen. He is perfect in knowledge (Job 37:16b). He is also omnipotent; that is, all-powerful (Genesis 17:1; Job 11:6; Isaiah 9:6; Revelation 4:8). In His omnipotence, He preprogrammed free human volition into His plan. Although His foreknowledge (included in His omniscience) extends throughout all time and eternity, it does not interfere with free human volition—because free human volition is a part of His sovereign plan. God’s Son Jesus Christ suffered substitutionary spiritual death on the cross on behalf of every member of the human race. Every human being is invited to appropriate the value of His finished work by believing on Christ. Salvation is promised to whoever believes on Him (John 3:16). In Acts 13:48, the ones who had been appointed to eternal life were one in the same with those who exercised their free will in faith. In choosing His elect, God, in His omniscience, has anticipated the expression of human free will. His sovereignty has included such free will in His plan. Who are the elect? Believers in Christ. This is really not a difficult concept to grasp—we only need to allow the Scripture to speak for itself!
YOU MAY HAVE FOOLED YOURSELF
One of the most appalling things about the doctrine of unconditional election is that you can never really be sure you are one of the elect. If the free will of man has no place with regard to eternal salvation, how can anyone really know whether he is truly one of the elect? Any assurance of salvation is, at best, uncertain. Did I really become saved? Am I really one of the elect? Was my faith genuine, or did I just fool myself? And of course, because of the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints, the Calvinist will have you checking out your own performance to determine whether or not your faith in Christ was real.
DR. SPROUL'S TERRIFYING EXPERIENCE
Dr. R.C. Sproul is a well-known champion of Calvinism. In an article in a monthly publication of Ligonier Ministries’ "Tabletalk" he wrote of a chilling personal experience he had undergone:
“There are people in this world who are not saved, but who are convinced that they are. The presence of such people causes genuine Christians to doubt their salvation. After all, we wonder, suppose I am in this category? Suppose I am mistaken about my salvation and am really going to hell? How can I know that I am a real Christian?
“A while back I had one of those moments of acute self-awareness that we have from time to time, and suddenly the question hit me: ‘R.C., what if you are not one of the redeemed? What if your destiny is not heaven after all, but hell?’ Let me tell you that I was flooded in my body with a chill that went from my head to the bottom of my spine. I was terrified.
“I tried to grab hold of myself. I thought, ‘Well, it’s a good sign that I’m worried about this. Only true Christians really care about salvation.’ But then I began to take stock of my life, and I looked at my performance. My sins came pouring into my mind, and the more I looked at myself, the worse I felt. I thought, ‘Maybe it’s really true. Maybe I’m not saved after all.’
“I went to my room and began to read the Bible. On my knees I said, ‘Well, here I am. I can’t point to my obedience. There’s nothing I can offer. I can rely only on Your atonement for my sins. I can only throw myself on your mercy.’ Even then I knew that some people only flee to the Cross to escape hell, not out of a real turning to God. I could not be sure about my own heart and motivation. Then I remembered John 6:68. Jesus had been giving out hard teaching, and many of His former followers had left Him. When He asked Peter if he was also going to leave, Peter said, ‘Where else can we go? Only You have words of eternal life.’ In other words, Peter was also uncomfortable, but he realized that being uncomfortable with Jesus was better than any other option."[4]
What a way to live! We are supposedly left, until we are home with the Lord, to sometimes wonder whether or not we are really saved. There are some striking things about Sproul’s description of his experience. One is how he artfully convinces the undiscriminating reader that the resolution of the personal struggle he described actually involved reliance upon God. Read again—it did not! Sproul describes how he could not possibly stand before God based on his own performance—and then turns around and makes his own performance the issue! What the resolution to this dilemma was really all about was that R.C. reminded himself that he was still hanging in there; he was still clinging to Jesus. The editor’s note at the bottom of Sproul’s text concludes:
“Assurance grows from faith, and faith means clinging to Jesus Christ. Christians don’t always have full assurance, but Christians always hold fast to Christ when the ‘chips are down.’ Have you ever had a crisis like the one R.C. describes? How did you work through it with God?”[5]
Another remarkable thing about Sproul’s article is that it conveys the idea that struggling with whether or not one is truly one of God’s elect is actually a healthy thing for a Christian to undergo from time to time. Our heavenly Father simply would not have His children live this way—anymore than a human father would have his son wondering whether or not he was really his father’s son.
As children of God, we are not to look to our own personal experience to determine whether or not we are truly of the elect. We defer to the testimony of God concerning His Son, Jesus Christ. Have I believed on the person and work of Christ as my substitute on the cross? Therein lies my assurance of salvation.
“Truly, truly I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.” (John 5:24)
1. On this web site.
2. Dave Hunt and James White, Debating Calvinism: Five Points, Two Views (Sisters, Oregon: Multnomah Publishers, 2004), p. 91.
3. Ibid., pp. 95-96.
4. R.C. Sproul, “Assurance of Salvation,” Tabletalk (November, 1989), p. 20.
5. Ibid.
Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. www.lockman.org
This article is a revised excerpt from “Then the Proconsul Believed: A study of the Acts of the Apostles, Volume I—Acts Chapters 1—13,” by Lee Griffith, available free of charge, upon request.
Copyright © 2006 Lee Griffith. All rights reserved.
