Here’s a famous verse from Calvinism to prove that God elects which people go to heaven, and when people go to hell, that’s under God’s elect, He made that happen.
Proverbs 16:4 “The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.”
Calvinist will claim that God intentionally made wicked people for His glory.
Genesis 1:31 “And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.”
When God made something, it was very good.
God did not create sin. Calvinists are going to insist that God made the wicked for destruction.
This is something that we can’t deny: the things that God has made, do you think God will put sin into that? I don’t think a Calvinist would admit that God Himself put sin inside that thing. Because if God puts sin in them then what is God? Then He’s a sinner. But God is untouched, He is holy.
How did sin come to pass? Because of free choice, free will.
Romans 5:12 “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:”
This verse shows that wickedness/sin was created by free choice, free will.
James 1:13-15 “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.”
v13, God is not the one putting in sin, He’s not the one that has anything to do with sin. v14-15 sin was created from man’s free choice, free will.
Here’s a problem, why did Proverbs 16:4 say God made the wicked for destruction?
God made everyone, including both good and wicked people. This good and wicked is from man’s free will, because of the free will, through that free choice, wickedness and goodness were born. God is not going to let His creation go to waste, He’s going to take good people into heaven and wicked people into hell. This verse shows the sovereignty of God but this sovereignty has to be balanced with free will. God is so powerful and mighty that it doesn’t matter what free choice we make, He’s going to use it for His glory and honor.
So when they quote Proverbs 16:4, they’re using this to quote the sovereignty of God, they’re actually degrading His sovereignty. Why not raise that sovereignty higher by insisting that this is from free will and free choice?
Let’s read exactly every word as it says in Proverbs 16:4.
‘The Lord hath made all things for himself’: everything God made is used for His glory.
‘yea, even the wicked for the day of evil’: so that includes the ones who became wicked from their free choice, the wicked are cast into hell for God’s glory.
That’s what the verse is talking about, it’s not saying that He forced it or made it happen. The wickedness is from the free choice of man, however, He can still use that mightily for His glory.