If God Chooses Certain People for Salvation, Does That Make God Unrighteous?
In the strongest possible terms, the answer to that question is NO! God is altogether holy, sinless, righteous, pure, just, total light where there is no darkness at all. Therefore, it’s not possible for God to be unrighteous in anything He does. That God chooses who receives salvation and who doesn’t, does NOT make God unrighteous. Unrighteousness falls on no one else but those who accuse God of being unrighteous based on their own understanding about God when they consider Unconditional Sovereign Election. I believe that such assertions place such persons on very dangerous ground.
We as sinful human beings are not qualified to make such judgments about God. Yet, such accusations are easy to find on social media by those who are opposed to Calvinist teachings. We’re extremely limited in how much we know about God and how He carries out His will in the world and among humanity. Therefore, it’s extremely foolish to come to such conclusions about God regarding things that God Himself has not revealed to us.
Personally, I’m not a strict determinist, as some Calvinists are. In fact, I would guess that most Calvinists do not agree with the idea that God is the originator and instigator of the sin and evil in the world. James is really clear about that (Ja 1:13-14). Nor do I believe or accept the idea that God is responsible for the false beliefs people have. That’s total nonsense. God hates both sin and false religion.
Let’s be clear. Sinners deserve punishment. Furthermore, sinners do not deserve to be saved from it. Further still, for God to choose who is saved from punishment, does not make God unjust. There’s simply no way for us to know how an all-powerful, all-knowing, everywhere-present God makes decisions. God is all-wise, infinite in intelligence, who’s bound by neither time nor space, who is the creator of the entire universe and of every created being in it. How then, are we capable of understanding such a God as He? We’re not in position to accurately evaluate the character of God. It’s utterly foolish to try and do so. I believe Christians who make such judgments about God will be held accountable for it. Will they be saved? Of course. But I do believe it will result in a loss of rewards. And if eternal rewards were not something special and something to be desired, the Bible wouldn’t place such value on it. So my advice to Christians who seem to have God all figured out, is to tread carefully, because we stand on holy ground.
For me personally, when it comes to the eternal outcome of the lost, I take comfort in God Himself, knowing that He does all things good and right. I take comfort in knowing that He’s a God of love, mercy, grace and compassion. Therefore, I know that whatever God does, it’s done in total righteousness.
I also take comfort in the idea that sinners are not sent into an eternity of conscious suffering—which is the traditional view of punishment. I’ve come to believe that the Bible teaches what is known as conditional immortality. This position teaches that human beings are not inherently immortal, but that immortality must be given to us by God. I believe this is what Jesus accomplished for us on the cross. Yes, He died in payment for our sins, providing us with forgiveness and eternal life in His presence. But it includes immortality. Such is part of the gift granted to us. In other words, Jesus died bodily so that we would not die bodily (resurrected body)—which is what I believe happens to the lost. I believe that when the Bible refers to “perishing” (Jn 3:16), it really means to perish—body, soul and spirit.
Those who are in Christ will live forever in God’s presence. Those who die in their sins, apart from Christ, will not live on forever. Both saved and unsaved will be bodily resurrected. The redeemed will be ushered into the Eternal Kingdom of the New Heaven and New Earth of Revelation 21 & 22—while the lost will be cast into the lake of fire (Rev 20:15) to be temporarily punished for their sins. Punishment will fit the sins committed by each person. No one will be punished in a way that is undeserved. The type and duration of punishment will be completely just, and determined by God Himself.
Upon completion of punishment, God will end their existence (resurrected body, soul and spirit). They’ll all be sent back into the same non-existence from which they came before coming into the world. This to me best reflects the just and merciful character of God. For all eternity-past we were unaware of anything about anything. At some point, God chose to change that by bringing us into the world via physical birth. After an eternity of not knowing anything at all, we suddenly came to life and became fully aware of ourselves and of life in this world—and to some extent, aware of the One who created us.
The point I’m making here is that being sent back to the sphere of non-existence makes absolute sense, especially considering what the Bible says about the restoration of all things (Acts 3:19-21; 2 Pe 3:13; Rev 21:3-5). I believe restoration must include the eradication of all sin in the universe, where we return to the place of perfection before sin existed. I believe the perfect Garden of Eden was a type of the perfect new creation of Revelation 21 & 22. In regard to the lost, returning to a place of non-existence where they were before, is not something they will be aware of, just like before in eternity-past. I see this as the ultimate mercy and compassion of God, even in regard to the very worst of sinners.
I want to end this article on this point: Even if I’m wrong about the position of conditional immortality, and that the lost do suffer eternal conscious torment, I know that the lost will not experience what they do not deserve. Because again, God is merciful and compassionate and just in everything He does. Therefore, I believe that those who were good and kind and caring people, who lived decent lives and helped others, will suffer the bare minimum. On the other hand, I believe that those who were truly evil, who caused much pain and suffering to others, will themselves suffer much pain and suffering. Again, that’s if the traditional view of punishment is correct.
HOWEVER, I do truly believe that the traditional view of eternal conscious punishment is incorrect. I no longer believe that this is what the Bible teaches. I wrote a three-part study on this subject. I encourage you to read it. It really does make sense. Here’s the link for Part One.
