What does the Bible say about being forced to be saved and what verse can I find it in?

by Jessica Bullin
(North Carolina)

What Calvinists really believe

What Calvinists really believe



Calvinists - people who follow the teaching of the Protestant Reformer John Calvin - also known as Monergists, teach that God does "force" people to get saved.

They teach this in spite of the fact that the Bible never says anything like that. Calvinists have embraced a false human philosophical system instead of believing the Bible in context.

The Bible never states that God forces anyone to get saved. Scripture is clear that human beings have freewill to get saved or not, to serve God or not.

Calvinism/Monergism is not a Biblical belief clearly stated in the Bible. For example, no Calvinist can show us a verse which says what they believe, that God overpowers the human will and forces someone to get saved against their will.

Calvinists reason that God chose to save only some people, that Jesus only died for the people He chose and that in order for the chosen few to get saved, God must save them against their will (force them to get saved) and then and only then, are they capable of believing on Jesus.

The false teaching of Calvinism/Monergism is never presented as fact in the Bible. According to the Bible, everyone has free will to accept or reject salvation.

Jesus said to folks who rejected Him:

"And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life." John 5:40 They chose not to come to Jesus.

Yet Jesus also said:

"Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28

Salvation is freely available to anyone who repents (changes his mind about sin) and receives Jesus Christ as Savior.

Just for the record, no one in the Old Testament was born again yet everyone in the Old Testament had free will. Here's what the Bible says.

Verses about freewill

Lev 22:18 - "Speak unto Aaron, and to his sons, and unto all the children of Israel, and say unto them, Whatsoever he be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers in Israel, that will offer his oblation for all his vows, and for all his freewill offerings, which they will offer unto the LORD for a burnt offering;"

Lev 22:21 - "And whosoever offereth a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the LORD to accomplish his vow, or a freewill offering in beeves or sheep, it shall be perfect to be accepted; there shall be no blemish therein."

Lev 22:23 - "Either a bullock or a lamb that hath any thing superfluous or lacking in his parts, that mayest thou offer for a freewill offering; but for a vow it shall not be accepted."

Lev 23:38 - "Beside the sabbaths of the LORD, and beside your gifts, and beside all your vows, and beside all your freewill offerings, which ye give unto the LORD."

Num 15:3 - "And will make an offering by fire unto the LORD, a burnt offering, or a sacrifice in performing a vow, or in a freewill offering, or in your solemn feasts, to make a sweet savour unto the LORD, of the herd, or of the flock:"

Num 29:39 - "These things ye shall do unto the LORD in your set feasts, beside your vows, and your freewill offerings, for your burnt offerings, and for your meat offerings, and for your drink offerings, and for your peace offerings."

Deu 12:6 - "And thither ye shall bring your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and heave offerings of your hand, and your vows, and your freewill offerings, and the firstlings of your herds and of your flocks:"

Deu 12:17 - "Thou mayest not eat within thy gates the tithe of thy corn, or of thy wine, or of thy oil, or the firstlings of thy herds or of thy flock, nor any of thy vows which thou vowest, nor thy freewill offerings, or heave offering of thine hand:"

Deu 16:10 - "And thou shalt keep the feast of weeks unto the LORD thy God with a tribute of a freewill offering of thine hand, which thou shalt give unto the LORD thy God, according as the LORD thy God hath blessed thee:"

Deu 23:23 - "That which is gone out of thy lips thou shalt keep and perform; even a freewill offering, according as thou hast vowed unto the LORD thy God, which thou hast promised with thy mouth."

2 Ch 31:14 - "And Kore the son of Imnah the Levite, the porter toward the east, was over the freewill offerings of God, to distribute the oblations of the LORD, and the most holy things."

Ezra 1:4 - "And whosoever remaineth in any place where he sojourneth, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, beside the freewill offering for the house of God that is in Jerusalem."

Ezra 3:5 - "And afterward offered the continual burnt offering, both of the new moons, and of all the set feasts of the LORD that were consecrated, and of every one that willingly offered a freewill offering unto the LORD."

Ezra 7:13 - "I make a decree, that all they of the people of Israel, and of his priests and Levites, in my realm, which are minded of their own freewill to go up to Jerusalem, go with thee."

Ezra 7:16 - "And all the silver and gold that thou canst find in all the province of Babylon, with the freewill offering of the people, and of the priests, offering willingly for the house of their God which is in Jerusalem:"

Ezra 8:28 - "And I said unto them, Ye are holy unto the LORD; the vessels are holy also; and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering unto the LORD God of your fathers."

Psalm 119:108 - "Accept, I beseech thee, the freewill offerings of my mouth, O LORD, and teach me thy judgments."

How To Know You Are Saved
Bible Study


How To Be A Spiritual Christian
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How To Study The Bible
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How To Live Like Jesus
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How To Disciple Others
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Comments for What does the Bible say about being forced to be saved and what verse can I find it in?

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Oct 09, 2012
Freewill
by: UnderChristLaw

JOHN 6:43-45
43“Stop grumbling among yourselves,” Jesus answered.
44 “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him,
and I will raise him up at the last day.
45 It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’
Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me.

JOHN 6:65
65 He went on to say, This is why I told you that
no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him.”


How can we have free will if the Bible says "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him" or "enabled him"?

Rick's comment: Great question. Jesus said in John 12:32 -

And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.

Read Psalm 19 and see God's great love for every human being, which caused Him to create the universe to declare His power and love in a visible way. All who obey their conscience will find their way to the God of the Bible.

Oct 09, 2012
Freewill
by: UnderChristLaw

ROMANS 8:6-7
The mind of sinful man is death,
but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace;
7 the sinful mind is hostile to God.
It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.

The mind of sinful man is death. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so.

ROMANS 11:32
For God has bound all men over to disobedience
so that he may have mercy on them all.
 
We have all been bound over to disobedience. None of us can obey God, because we have been bound to disobedience.

2 CORINTHIANS 4:4
The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

Rick's comment: Sweetie, I know where you're coming from. I was a sovereign grace Baptist in my college days. I encourage you to dig deeper and you'll discover that what is known as the doctrines of grace or monergism or Calvinism or new Calvinism is really nothing more than a man-made philosophical system imposed on the Bible.

As noted in the original post, the Bible is clear that unsaved men in the Old Testament who were not born again, still had free will. Hope this is helpful to you.

Oct 09, 2012
Freewill
by: UnderChristLaw

4 But because of his great love for us,
God, who is rich in mercy,
5 made us alive with Christ
even when we were dead in transgressions--
it is by grace you have been saved.

It is by grace we have been saved even though we were dead in transgressions!

EPHESIANS 2:8-9
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--
and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--9 not by works, so that no one can boast.

A gift of God, so that no one can boast.

So no, your free will did not save you. You did not make the choice to turn to Jesus. You did not freely choose anything. You were drawn (dragged) by God and you were given the free gift of grace by God, not by your works (free will?).. And he did this so that No One can boast "I did it". And yet if you believe in free will you are saying exactly that.

Rick's comment: Well of course my free will did not save me. Jesus saved me when I called upon Him and not one second before I called upon Him, Romans 10:13. The guys who've led you astray doctrinally into the fallacies of monergism apparently taught you to misread clear statements of scripture so they could impose their Calvinist philosophical system upon scripture.

If you're a disciple of Jesus, He expects more of you than following a man-made philosophical system. You may be interested in reading, The Other Side of Calvinism, by Lawrence Vance, available on Amazon. Thanks for stopping by.

Feb 03, 2013
Good job
by: Ken Qualls

I enjoyed your article. I trust in the Rose of Sharon not the TULIP. Keep up the good work.

Rick's comment: Amen Ken! Whether Pharisees in the first century or Calvinists in the twenty first century, men love "teaching for doctrine the commandments of men." By always interpreting scripture in context we need not be among those who do that.

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