Part 1
John Calvin’s Doctrine of Predestination (Fair Summary)
Note: The word predestination (the noun) does not appear in the KJV.
The KJV uses the verb “predestinate”/“predestinated” four times (Rom 8:29–30; Eph 1:5, 11).
Calvin’s doctrine goes beyond those specific verses to a larger system (often remembered as TULIP).
The Core Ideas
- Total Depravity:
Asserts that sin has corrupted every part of human nature, leaving people unable to save themselves or even desire spiritual good. Humanity’s fallen state.
- Unconditional Election: Before the foundation of the world, God chose certain individuals to salvation, not based on foreseen faith or merit, but solely according to His will.
- Limited Atonement: The doctrine that Jesus’ death on the cross was intended to atone only for the sins of the “elect,” a specific group of people chosen by God for salvation.
- Irresistible Grace: The elect will in time be effectually called; they cannot finally resist saving grace.
- Perseverance of the Saints: All who are truly elect will persevere to final salvation.
** “John Calvin’s TULIP” refers to the five points of Calvinism—Total Depravity, Unconditional Election, Limited Atonement, Irresistible Grace, and Perseverance of the Saints—which were not, however, articulated by Calvin himself but developed by his followers and codified at the Synod of Dordrecht in 1618-1619 in response to Arminianism.
Important: Our goal is not to caricature Calvinists, but to test claims by Scripture (Acts 17:11).
Part 2
Thesis: Why Calvinistic Predestination Is False (KJV Case)
Calvinism claims God unconditionally selects who will be saved and passes over the rest. The KJV consistently presents:
- Universal Provision: Christ died for all—salvation is genuinely offered to every person.
- Real Human Responsibility: People can resist God’s gracious call; they are commanded to repent and believe.
- Predestination’s object is the destiny of believers “in Christ,” not the selection of unbelievers into faith.
God’s Saving Will & Universal Offer
1 Timothy 2:3–6 (KJV)
For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.
All men and ransom for all resist narrowing to a secret subset. This is God’s heart revealed; it aligns with many “whosoever” promises.
2 Peter 3:9 (KJV)
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
God’s patience points to a sincere desire for all to repent—contradicting the idea that He never intended salvation for most.
John 3:16 (KJV)
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Titus 2:11 (KJV)
For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
1 John 2:2 (KJV)
And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
Hebrews 2:9 (KJV)
…that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
Genuine Human Response (and Resistance)
Revelation 22:17 (KJV)
And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come.
And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
Acts 7:51 (KJV)
Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost…
Luke 7:30 (KJV)
But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him.
Matthew 23:37 (KJV)
…how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
Scripture shows grace offered and yet resisted—contrary to “irresistible grace.”
What Predestination Actually Targets in the KJV
When the KJV uses “predestinate/predestinated,” it speaks of what God has determined beforehand for those who are in Christ: conformity to Christ, adoption, and inheritance. It does not depict God arbitrarily choosing who will believe.
Key Insight: Predestination in Scripture concerns the destination of the redeemed,
not a pre-selection of unbelievers to become believers. Faith response places one “in Christ”; predestination then describes what God has set for those in Him.
Part 3
Every KJV “Predestinate/Predestinated” Verse in Context
Scope Note: The KJV never uses the noun “predestination.” The four relevant verses are:
Romans 8:29–30 and Ephesians 1:5, 11.
Romans 8:29–30 — “Conformed to the image of his Son”
Romans 8:29 (KJV)
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.
Romans 8:30 (KJV)
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.
Context (Rom 8:18–39): Paul encourages suffering believers with the Spirit’s help, our adoption, and God’s unbreakable purpose for those who love Him (v.28).
The focus is on believers’ destiny: to be “conformed to the image of his Son”—Christlike character and final glory.
Explanation: “Foreknow” (v.29) precedes “predestinate.” Biblically, God’s foreknowledge includes His prior knowledge of persons and their faith (cf. 1 Pet 1:2).
Then, those foreknown are predestinated—not to believe, but “to be conformed” to Christ. The text nowhere says God predestinated unbelievers to become believers;
rather, it speaks of God’s settled plan for those who are His.
Ephesians 1:5 — “Unto the adoption of children”
Ephesians 1:5 (KJV)
Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
Context (Eph 1:3–14): A cascade of blessings “in Christ”—chosen “in him” (v.4), accepted “in the beloved” (v.6), redemption “through his blood” (v.7).
The phrase “in Christ” or its equivalent saturates the paragraph, defining the sphere of all blessings.
Explanation: God predestinated the status of those in Christ: adoption into His family. The verse does not say God predestinated certain sinners
to become believers; it says He set beforehand the filial privilege for those who are united to Christ by faith.
Ephesians 1:11 — “Obtained an inheritance”
Ephesians 1:11 (KJV)
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:
Context (still 1:3–14): All blessings are “in whom”—in Christ. The predestination here fixes the believer’s inheritance, not the unbeliever’s fate.
Explanation: God sovereignly determined that those “in whom” (Christ) receive an inheritance. Again, Scripture targets the destiny of the redeemed,
not a secret list of people irresistibly made to believe.
Thinking Prompt: In all four uses, what is predestinated? Conformity to Christ, adoption, and inheritance—the believer’s
future blessings—not an unconditional decree about who will believe.
Part 4
Common Calvinist Objections — Fair Replies (KJV)
Objection 1: “Ephesians 1 says we were chosen before the foundation of the world.”
Ephesians 1:4 (KJV)
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:
Reply: The sphere is “in him.” God eternally purposed that all who are in Christ would be holy and blameless. The choosing is corporate and Christ-centered:
God chose the class (those in Christ) and what He would do for that class—adopt, redeem, inherit. Individuals enter that class by faith (Gal 3:26; Eph 1:13).
Objection 2: “If God is sovereign, He must unilaterally cause who believes.”
Reply: Sovereignty includes the sovereign choice to condition salvation on faith (Mark 1:15), to plead with sinners (Isa 1:18), and to allow real resistance (Acts 7:51).
God’s decree can include genuine human response without losing sovereignty.
Objection 3: “Foreknowledge in Rom 8:29 means fore-love, not foresight.”
Reply: Either way, the text still says what is predestinated: conformity to Christ. The passage never says God predestinated unbelievers to become believers.
Moreover, Scripture often connects God’s saving purpose with belief (John 3:16; 1 Cor 1:21; Rom 10:9–13).
Objection 4: “Christ died only for the elect (limited atonement).”
Reply (KJV): “ransom for all” (1 Tim 2:6), “the whole world” (1 Jn 2:2), “every man” (Heb 2:9), “all men” (Titus 2:11), “world” (John 3:16).
Scripture’s plain language teaches universal provision, applied to the believer.
Part 5
Reflection, Invitation, and Further Scriptures
Invitation: The Bible never tells a sinner to wait and discover if he is elect;
it commands all to repent and believe the gospel now (Mark 1:15). “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Rom 10:13, KJV)
More KJV Witnesses
Romans 11:32 (KJV)
For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.
John 12:32 (KJV)
And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.
Deuteronomy 30:19 (KJV)
I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:
Joshua 24:15 (KJV)
Choose you this day whom ye will serve…
Questions to Provoke Thinking
- In the four KJV texts, is predestination about who believes or about what God has prepared for those who do believe?
- If God “will have all men to be saved” (1 Tim 2:4), how can we say He never intended salvation for most people?
- How do passages about resisting the Holy Ghost (Acts 7:51) fit with “irresistible grace”?
- Does “in Christ” (Eph 1) point to a corporate election—God choosing the blessings of a people in His Son—rather than a secret list?
Bottom Line: The KJV’s “predestinate/predestinated” verses concern the destined privileges of believers—Christ-conformity,
adoption, inheritance—not a decree that unilaterally selects who will (or will not) believe. God sincerely invites all; those who believe are then the very ones God has predestinated to these blessings. Jesus invites all to come follow him. Mark 8:34.