Calvinists will quote these 2 passages quite often and they have a teaching called ‘Golden Chain of Redemption’. It teaches that how a person got saved is through this redemption process: it’s a step-by-step process where it’s not man’s free will that chose salvation but rather God’s step-by-step process in this golden chain of redemption where He made you say so.
Romans 8:28-31 “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?”
This is their argument used where God foreknew and predestinated (before we were even born, our destiny was already planned out by God) a certain group for salvation long before the beginning of the world.
Ephesians 1:4-12 “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: 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: That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.”
It’s true that God foreknew and predestinated a certain group of people into the adoption of children and to conform to the image of Christ.
The easy answer to this is, who did He foreknew and predestinated to become adopted and transformed? Look at Eph 1:4, it’s conditional. Calvinists think that it’s unconditional but we deny that and there is always a condition.
‘According as he hath chosen us in him‘: the condition is the people who are in Jesus Christ. People who are in Jesus Christ are foreknown and predestinated to be adopted and transformed into the image of Christ.
Romans 8:29 is a great verse on assuring ourselves that we are going to heaven no matter what. Notice that the verse is not talking about God knowing ahead of time and made the destiny of this person to be saved and that person not to be saved. That predestination that was made is that a saved person would be conformed to the image of Christ. He foreknew and predestinated for the saved people (people who believe in Jesus Christ), not that He foreknew and predestinated which people will be saved.
1 John 3:2 “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”
Ain’t that a blessing to have a body like Jesus Christ?
Here’s the general idea of Calvinist’s step-by-step process:
- Foreknowledge to whom He foreknew would be saved before the foundation of the world
- Predestinated them to become saved
- At the right time, He eventually called those people to become His elect (chosen people)
- Then He fully glorified them by His grace which resulted in them becoming justified for salvation
They use Ephesians 1:4-12 for their ‘process’ but the major flaw with this is in v12, the first thing we did so that we can get all these is the condition again: first trusted in Christ. Even back in v4, the same condition is in the first step of the process: in him. God planned this process out for people to follow the condition, for people who make the choice, who believe on Jesus Christ for their salvation.
When we get that condition first, of believing in Jesus Christ, then we get all these things happening. Calvinists try to place salvation long after God picking and choosing but they never look at the condition to begin with which is in Jesus Christ first.