According to Calvinism, in eternity past, before the Creation, God chose or elected those individuals who would have everlasting life. That choice was unconditional, that is, He did not use foreknowledge to know who would freely believe or who would willingly serve Him. His choice was not based on anything in the people chosen.  

What’s wrong with Calvinism’s Unconditional Election is that it is unbiblical. The U in TULIP is Unbiblical.

There are two reasons. 

First, it is unbiblical because in the Bible, election is always to service and never to eternal destiny. 

Second, Biblical election is often conditioned upon the faithfulness of the person chosen. For example, all church age believers could be chosen to rule with Christ. But only those who persevere in the faith will be so chosen.  

In my book, Is Calvinism Biblical? I cite two verses that disprove the U in TULIP: Acts 13:46 and John 5:39-40.  

Using language inconsistent with unconditional election, Paul rebuked Jews in Antioch for rejecting the Lord Jesus Christ: “…you… judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life…” (Acts 13:46). If God elected unconditionally, then no one could judge himself either worthy or unworthy of everlasting life.  

I discussed John 5:39-40 in the blog on total depravity. Jesus said that some legalistic Jews were “not willing to come to [Him] that [they] may have life.” That is inconsistent with the U in TULIP. According to Calvinism, if God did not elect someone, then there is nothing they can do in order to avoid eternal condemnation. The non-elect are doomed. Willingness or unwillingness has nothing to do with everlasting life, according to Calvinism. 

I’ve debated many Calvinist pastors and theologians. None of them have been able to say that they are sure they have everlasting life. One reason is because they cannot be sure that they are of the elect. They look at their works to try to determine whether they are on a trajectory that suggests they will probably persevere (the P in TULIP). But they know that they might fall away and, in their view, if they do, then they prove that they were never elected by God.  

What a sad way to live. You can’t know where you will spend eternity until after you die.  

The Calvinist teaching of unconditional election is unbiblical and dangerous. Don’t believe it for a second. It is hazardous to your spiritual health. 

Keep grace in focus and you won’t wonder whether you are eternally secure.