A Critique of Arminianism in the Light of Biblical “Chosen” Promises of God
Arminianism is a theological system, named after its founder Jacob Arminius. Arminius was a Dutch Reformed theologian who believed and taught the “freedom of the will” in opposition to Calvin’s belief and teaching on “unconditional election” and “irresistible grace”. Arminians hold to this day that freedom of the human will is not incompatible with the Sovereignty of God and that Jesus Christ died for all humanity, not just the elect of God. Arminius rejected the clear testimony of Scripture pertaining to God’s predestined election, stating that to him, this was too harsh a position.
Based on the following tenets of Arminian theology it is not inaccurate to state that Arminianism has created an impotent god of their own choosing as evidenced by the fact that their god cannot accomplish his will for all men to be saved without the willing agreement and cooperation of the lost individual. This belief inherently makes man sovereign over their god.
The following are fifteen tenets that are said to constitute the belief system of Arminianism. This list can be found in Nelson’s Dictionary of Christianity. There are Arminians who take issue with this list and its accuracy one example of which will be considered in this critique. Allowing for some legitimacy in stating that these fifteen tenets are not totally accurate, the points that the reviewer does acknowledge to be correct Arminian beliefs are more than enough to deem Arminianism, at those points, to be heretical in its beliefs and teachings. To say these teachings are heretical is to understate the magnitude and rejection of God’s word on which they are founded and that has to be exercised in order to maintain them.
Fifteen Arminian beliefs/teachings:
- Human beings are free agents and human events are mediated by the foreknowledge of God.
- God’s decrees are conditional, not absolute.
- God created Adam as innocent.
- Sin consists in acts of the will.
- Only the pollution, not the sin of Adam, is imputed to his descendants.
- Man’s depravity is not total, and his will is inclined toward God and good.
- The Atonement was not necessary, but once offered, is available to all.
- The Atonement does not actually effect the salvation of human beings but merely makes it possible.
- Salvation becomes effectual only when accepted voluntarily by penitent sinners.
- Regeneration is determined by the human will, not divine decree.
- Faith it self is a good work.
- There is no distinction between common grace and special grace.
- Grace may be resisted.
- The righteousness of Christ is never imputed to the believer.
- A believer may attain full conformity to divine will in this life, but may also fall from grace and be lost eternally.
Taken at face value, all fifteen of these statements of belief can be said to be, to one degree or another, a denial of clear Biblical truth that, as one definition states, is “an opinion that is repugnant to the doctrines of Divine revelation”, namely God’s Holy word – Proverbs 30:5-6; Revelation 22:18-19. To state it more succinctly, they each are, to one degree or another, heretical. For the sake of clarity and the avoidance of confusion, the following are definitions of heresy : “the Scripture being the standard of faith, any opinion that is repugnant to its doctrines is heresy”; “adherence to a religious opinion contrary to Biblical doctrine”; “belief or opinion contrary to orthodox Christian doctrine”. Based on these definitions these fifteen Arminian beliefs and teachings are as stated, to one degree or another, heretical.
Not only do Arminians repeatedly deny the clear teaching of the Bible, but they compound that denial by rewriting it to accommodate their humanly preconceived opinions.
Just as Amillennialism was given birth by the rejection of the literal “forever” promises of God to Israel, so likewise was Arminianism given birth by the rejection of the “chosen” promises of God to Israel and the church.
The following is a brief response to the above stated fifteen tenets of Arminianism beginning with point number one.
1. To say that “Human beings are free agents and human events are mediated by the foreknowledge of God.”, at both points, necessitates the denial of the clear, unambiguous revelation of Scripture. First, what does it mean for something to be “mediated”? By definition for something to be mediated it comes to be as the result of “indirect causation, connection, or relation”. There is nothing “indirect” about Genesis 1:1; Psalm 139:16; Acts 17:26; Romans 8:7-8. To hold the position that man is a free agent is a denial of Genesis 3:6; 6:5, Jeremiah 17:9-10 and Romans 8:7(6-8). Additionally, to hold that it is the foreknowledge of God that determines human events, meaning that mans daily decisions are what they are because God knew what he, the man, would do, constitutes a total and outright rejection of the Sovereign, predestined, foreordained, creative power, majesty, and plan of God as revealed in Isaiah 6:1-6; 44:6; 46:8- 10; Proverbs 16:1,4,9; 21:1,30-31.
Genesis 1:1: 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth
Psalm 139:16: 16 Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.
Acts 17:26: 26 and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation,
Romans 8:7-8: 7 because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, 8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
2. To declare God’s decrees to be “conditional” is to, in a very subtle way, deny the reality of the Sovereignty of God. Isaiah 44:6; 41:10; 42:8-9; 43:13(10-13); 55:8,9-13; 66:1-2; Proverbs 16:1,4,9,33; 21:1,30-31; Psalm 51:20 are but a few passages from God’s word, all of which testify to the immutable Sovereignty of God and the fact that His decrees are absolute. Consider just two of these passages – Isaiah 43:13 and Proverbs 16:30-31:
Isaiah 43:13: 13 “Even from eternity I am He. And there is none who can deliver out of My hand; I act and who can reverse it?”
Proverbs 16:30-31: 30 There is no wisdom and no understanding and no counsel against the LORD. 31 The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but victory belongs to the LORD.
3. God created Adam as innocent. This, on the surface, accurate sounding statement, when considered in the light of point four, is in actuality, not an accurate acknowledgement of Adams created innocence, but a justification for the equally subtle and wrong belief stated in number four.
4. Sin consists in acts of the will. On the surface this is clearly a Biblically accurate statement. However, in Arminian theology, it is taught that man is not a spiritually dead son of Adam until he “willfully” sins (this is the meaning of “innocent” in belief three), therein denying that all men are conceived and born spiritually dead, totally and completely unable to do anything to change their already condemned condition – Romans 8:7(6-8); John 3:17-18; Ephesians 2:8-10.
5. Only the pollution, not the sin of Adam, is imputed to his descendants. This statement is basically irrational in that it states as existing as fact, something that is in essence impossible. How do you separate the result of an action, in this scenario, the pollution of Adams sin from Adam, the sinner, the source of the act of sin? Answer? You don’t. This belief serves to further substantiate beliefs three and four – Jeremiah 17:9-10; Romans 8:7(6-8).
6. Man’s depravity is not total, and his will is inclined toward God and good. Herein is a belief that grows out of the erroneous idea that because Adam was created innocent, therefore it follows that his descendants are not spiritually dead until they “willfully” sin rather than as Scripture teaches, they are conceived dead in sin as sons of Adam – Jeremiah 17:9-10; John 3:17-18; Romans 3:18. Additionally, there is absolutely nothing in God’s word that even remotely suggests that mans will is “inclined toward God and good”. To the contrary Scripture clearly states that not only is sinful man hostile to and hating of God, but he is equally totally uninterested in changing that condition even if he could – Romans 8:7; 1:18-20; I Corinthians 2: 14.
7. The Atonement was not necessary, but once offered is available to all. This belief is blasphemous in its rejection of God’s requirement of a sinless, Holy Sacrifice, namely our precious Lord Jesus Christ – Romans 5:11; II Corinthians 5:18 (In Romans 5 the KJV says “atonement” whereas the NAS says “reconciled”. In II Corinthians both say “reconciled”). It is equally in error in stating that it “is available to all” – Job 21:30; Psalm 92:7; Proverbs 16:4; Romans 9:22-24.
8. The Atonement does not actually effect the salvation of human beings but merely makes it possible. This too is blasphemous in its abominable mocking of our Lord’s enduring the Holy wrath of His Father to atone for the rebellious Adamic hearts of His elect children – Ephesians 1:3-6; John 14:6; Acts 4:12; Colossians 2:9-10; 1:22-23; Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:14.
9. Salvation becomes effectual only when accepted voluntarily by the penitent sinner. This is the foundational belief of unbiblical, ungodly “free will” soteriology – sinful, unredeemed lost men have the freedom to willfully accept or reject God’s “offer” of salvation. One profoundly heinous result of this belief is that by attributing to man the ability to reject God’s “offer”, sinful man is inherently made sovereign over God. There is no other explanation for how man can reject God’s “offer” of salvation. Yet God’s word clearly states the opposite when Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, clearly declares in Roman’s 8 verses 7-8 that “the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, 8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
10. Regeneration is determined by the human will, not divine decree. This is just another way of declaring the heretical teaching of “free will” salvation (soteriology). When Biblically evaluated this stated belief is, in reality, so absurd that it borders on being irrational – the idea that a spiritually dead human being has the ability and power to regenerate his own soul from being dead in trespasses and sin, to being alive in Christ is indeed immeasurably absurd – Jeremiah 17:9-10; Romans 8:7; 3:18; 1:18-20.
11. Faith itself is a good work. This again, in the light of God’s Holy word, is heretical. Peter’s greeting, in his second letter to the churches of the diaspora, in the first verse declares a glorious truth pertaining to God’s gift of salvation when he says “To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:”. Be it understood by all who read this passage that anything that is “received”, a letter in the mail, a bonus at work, a birthday gift, or the gift of God in the form of repenting, saving, sanctifying faith is given to the recipient by someone “outside” or apart from the recipient, in this case, by God to His elect children. This is the same truth Paul declared in Ephesians 2:8 when he states “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;”. Repenting, saving, sanctifying faith is not the product of human effort (work). It is the blessed gift of God to His elect children, making them complete in Christ – Colossians 2:9-10.
12. There is no distinction between common grace and special grace. This is plain and simple, yet another heretically blatant rejection of truth, this time in Psalm 19:1-6(common grace), and 7-11(special grace).
13. Grace may be resisted. The insidiousness of the ongoing distorting effect of the “free will” heresy of Arminianism is evident in this belief – John 6:44,65; 14:6; 10:28-29; II Peter 1:1; I Peter 1:3 (“caused”).
14. The righteousness of Christ is never imputed to the believer. This is a blatant denial and rejection of Roman’s 4:11,22-24; 5:13; Colossians 2:13-14.
15. A believer may attain full conformity to divine will in this life, but may also fall from grace and be lost eternally. This reeks of the satanic lie of Roman Catholicism’s “mortal sin” heresy as well as being yet another rejection of Biblical truth – John 14:6(1-5); 10:28-29; Roman’s 8:1, 29-30,31,32-39.
Having briefly addressed each of these fifteen purported Arminian beliefs it’s time to consider one Arminians objections to these fifteen statements. Let me repeat my statement from the opening paragraphs of this study – “Allowing for some legitimacy in stating that these fifteen tenets are not totally accurate, the points that the reviewer does acknowledge to be correct Arminian beliefs are more than enough to deem Arminianism, at those points, to be heretical in its beliefs and teachings.”. It is those points that this objector agreed with as being Arminian that we will now give consideration to.
Ben Henshaw, in an article on a website entitled “Arminian Perspectives” offers the following as his reasons, as an Arminian, for refuting an article in Nelson’s Dictionary of Christianity entitled “The 15 Major Tenets of Arminianism”. I discovered that Ben Henshaw has a blog & that he has rules stating what he requires of anyone who would respond to any of his blog articles. I have included his first rule as being insightful in relation to his professed interest in the truth of God’s word.
Blog rule #1:
“1. I do not want to be called a heretic. If you believe that Arminianism is heresy keep that opinion to yourself when commenting at my site. The same goes for Calvinism. I think Calvinism is very wrong about a great many things but I do not believe that Calvinists are not saved just because they are Calvinists. If they are trusting in Christ for salvation then they are saved. Calvinists are often passionate about their faith and work hard to spread the gospel. We disagree on how exactly God goes about saving people but agree that God alone can save and that through Jesus Christ alone. I consider Calvinists to be my brothers in the Lord and I pray that they will come to recognize the errors in their TULIP doctrines. If you want to give your opinion on what you perceive to be the errors of Arminianism or Calvinism refrain from charging either system with damnable heresy and refrain from disrespectfully using a lower case “g” while referring to their conception of God. This gives the impression that the other side worships a false god and that will not be tolerated on this blog.”
Mr Henshaw’s first rule basically requires the true believer to not be a Berean (Acts 17:11) and, as such, to reject any and every passage of Scripture that commands the true believer to “keep you eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you have learned, and turn away from them (Romans 16:17). I find it interesting too, that in this specific rule and thru out his refuting of the fifteen tenets in question he continuously couches what is said by himself and others as “opinion” while rarely stating it as Biblical truth with the authority of Biblical truth. Mr. Henshaw, with a constant flow of “if this is what it means”, “I suppose if”, “I think”, proves himself to be quite adept at dodging accountability by straight forwardly acknowledging a belief to be Arminian. He, like our former vice president Kamala Harris, dishes up servings of “word salad” that are confusing and ultimately have no substantive meaning. He consistently attempts to discredit or reject a given point by posing “What if…..” questions that he never follows up with a conclusive answer Biblically or otherwise.
Having identified at least nineteen specific points where Henshaw acknowledges these 15 tenets being, in one degree or another, accurately Arminian, it is interesting that he persists in still saying they are inaccurate.
The following is a consideration of Ben Henshaw’s disputing of the accuracy of these fifteen tenets. For the sake of time and space we will only consider three or four of nineteen points that he acknowledges to be, to one degree or another, legitimate Arminian beliefs and teachings.
It will be indelibly clear that those points of this total of fifteen, that Mr. Henshaw agrees are to some degree Arminian will be more than enough to deem Arminianism as false at best and at worst, heretical. For the sake of all readers being on the same page, the measure of something being ruled “heresy” is – Heresy: 1. The Scriptures being the standard of faith, any opinion that is repugnant to its doctrines, is heresy; 2. an opinion or doctrine contrary to Biblical (I inserted “Biblical” where Websters 2022 said “church”) (1.Webster’s 1828/2.Websters 2022).
Ben Henshaw, in an article on a website entitled “Arminian Perspectives” offers the following as his reasons for refuting an article in Nelson’s Dictionary of Christianity entitled “The 15 Major Tenets of Arminianism” which are listed at the beginning of this critique.
The following are three specific points at which Mr. Henshaw declares one of the fifteen tenets in question to be an accurate belief of Arminianism. I have selected tenet number one, number four, and number thirteen, any one of which is sufficient to declare Arminianism, as stated previously, at best, false teaching and at worst, heresy.
Tenet number one of the fifteen tenets states:
“Human beings are free agents and human events are mediated by the foreknowledge of God.” Mr. Henshaw’s response to this statement is “Arminians certainly affirm that some human actions are truly free. Arminians also affirm that God has exhaustive foreknowledge of all things, including truly free human choices and actions. If that is what is meant, then the point is accurate”. Mr. Henshaw readily acknowledges the Arminian belief that human beings are free agents meaning, in Arminian soteriology, that they are endowed with the ability to exercise their “free will” to accept or reject God’s “offer” of salvation. As to the Arminian affirmation of the “exhaustive foreknowledge” of God, he conveniently doesn’t bother to explain the Arminian interpretation of “exhaustive foreknowledge” which is that God, in eternity past, foreknew which individuals would choose to accept His “offer” and their names would be recorded in the Lambs Book of Life at the point of their acceptance of His “offer”. At one point in his refuting these fifteen tenets he forthrightly acknowledges the Arminian total rejection of the Biblical doctrine of God’s Sovereign predestined, foreordained determination of all creation and all events of human history when he states, “If an absolute decree has reference to an unchangeable and irresistible eternal decree that determines everything that will ever happen (including every human choice, sinful or otherwise), then Arminians do indeed reject such an “absolute” view of God’s decrees.”. This Arminian belief indeed, qualifies as false teaching. I wonder what Arminians do with Biblical truths like Psalm 135: 6-7; 90; 91; 33; 67-68; 100; 103-104; 139:16(all); 145-150; Proverbs 16:1,4,9,33; 21:1,30-31; 8- 9; Job 21:30; Psalm 92:7; Job 37-41; Acts 17:26(24-28); Romans 11:33-36; Revelation 20:15. I encourage you to, with diligent, thoughtful meditative study, make the time to read each of these passages that gloriously reveal the humanly incomprehensible glory (I Corinthians 2:15-16; 3: 16-17; I John 2:20,27) of the Sovereign, Trinitarian, Omniscient, Omnipotent, Omnipresent predestined, foreordained, creative plan of God for all of human history – Isaiah 46:8-10. Consider these two passages, the first and the last referenced passages:
Psalm 135:6: 6 Whatever the LORD pleases, He does, in heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps. 7 He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; Who makes lightnings for the rain, Who brings forth the wind from His treasuries.
Isaiah 46:8-10: 8 “Remember this, and be assured; call it to mind, you transgressors.
9 “Remember the former things long past, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, 10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, “My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure”.
Tenet number four of the fifteen tenets states:
“Sin consists of acts of the will.”
Mr. Henshaw’s response to this statement is “Correct. James 1:13-15 establishes that well enough. However, if this is meant to say that Arminians do not believe that we have a corrupt (sinful) nature, then this is entirely false.”. First of all Mr. Henshaw misinterprets James 1:13-15. He either fails to rightly understand that James is admonishing believers concerning dealing with sin in their own daily living, or he intentionally misapplies it to justify his agreement with this tenet. James is not, as this tenet is, referring to the inherent, sons of Adam, eternally damned sin nature of every human being conceived – John 3:17-18. Again he isn’t clear about the Arminian interpretation of “acts of the will”, in that he fails to acknowledge, whether it is true of all Arminians or not, that there are those who interpret this tenet “Sin consists of acts of the will.” to mean that man is not born sinful but becomes such at the point of his first sinful act. This indeed can be declared heretical.
Tenet number thirteen of the fifteen tenets states:
“Grace may be resisted.”
Here we see the reality of the ongoing undermining effect of the foundational Arminian false, erroneous belief in the free agency of human beings as stated in tenet number one. And, in his response to this tenet, with his own words, Mr. Henshaw exposes Arminianism to be at best a false system, and at worst a heretical system when he enthusiastically responds, “Yes, this could be rightly classified as a “major tenet” of Arminianism.” Affirmation of this one tenet alone, disregarding the other fourteen, is enough to declare the entire Arminian system false and at some points heretical. This Arminian belief inherently makes man sovereign over God and rejects all of the following – Romans 8:7; Ephesians 1:3-6; John 3:3-8; 6:44,65 (Ezekiel 36:25-27 – what God promises Israel concerning their eventual restoration here in Ezekiel is exactly what we as New Covenant believers have already received in Christ.) – Ephesians 2:8- 10; Hebrews 11:1,6,39-40; Colossians 2:9-10; 1:22-23; I Peter 1:3,4-5-6a; Romans 4; John 10: 9-11,27-29.
The intent of this critique of these Arminian beliefs is not to attack or demean or belittle any human being. The intent is to present passages from God’s literal word that must be altered or outright rejected in order to manufacture any/all of the doctrines of free will soteriology and the ensuing errors that grow out of it. In the light of a literal reading and interpretation of Deuteronomy 12:32, Proverbs 30:5-6; Isaiah 29:16 and Revelation 22:18-19, any presumptive attitude that says that a man has the authority to alter the clear, literal meaning of the word of God in order to proof text his human, preconceived belief is a man who is in opposition to God and may well be declared a liar by God. Such a man was Jacob Arminius when he took it upon himself, among other things, to declare the clear truth of God’s elective grace to be “too harsh a position”. Arminius’ assertion that God’s Holy, just, and righteous hatred and wrath against evil, clearly testified to in Scripture (Ezekiel 9:3-11; Romans 9:22-24; Revelation 20:15) gives evidence of his failing to rightly understand the reality of the Holy, pure, sinless, righteous hatred of God toward all evil. Any system that professes to be Christian while at the same time, in any way, makes God subservient to human will is a false, heretical, blasphemous system – Isaiah 44:6; 42:5-9; Psalm 50:21. Arminianisms belief and teaching pertaining to the “free agency” of man inherently attributes the salvation of a spiritually dead, hostile toward God man (Jeremiah 17:9-10; Romans 8: 7), to the conscious willful choice of that man and in so doing, it does attribute to that man the power, with his sinful human will, to override the will of God for him to be saved/born again. This being true, this Arminian system that makes salvation the result of a “free will” choice on the part of a spiritually dead, depraved, God hating sinner (Romans 8:7) instead of the predestined, foreordained, elective chosen grace of God (Ephesians 1:3-6; 2:8-10) is unavoidably, inherently a false system (II Timothy 4:3-4; II John 7-11).
For the benefit of space and time the following will address only passages containing the word “chosen”. There are numerous other passages that contain the words choose, chooses choosing, and chose that space nor time allow for considering. You the reader will be edified should you determine to pursue the study of these as well.
The word “chosen” appears in the NASB 213 times in 205 verses, 171 times in 165 verses in the Old Testament leaving 42 occurrences in 40 verses in the New Testament. In the Old Testament the words “chosen” and “Israel/Jacob” appear together in the same verse at least 10 times.
Every “bold” word or phrase indicates the word of God to Israel and the church, as His chosen, elect children, pertaining to His eternal covenant promise of having, in love out of the kindness of His will, recorded their names in His Lambs Book of Life before the foundation of the world. Each passage is the testimony of His faithfulness to honor that covenant promise. As you consider His word, be careful that you not respond with “I think this means”. It doesn’t matter what you or I think. What matters is what God means as revealed in His literal word and it behooves us as true believers to daily obey the command of II Timothy 2:15, always being mindful of the truth of Numbers 23:19.
II Timothy 2:-5: 15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.
Numbers 23:19: 19 God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent; has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?
Genesis 18:19: 19 “For I have chosen him, so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice, so that the LORD may bring upon Abraham what He has spoken about him.”
Deuteronomy 7:6: 6 “For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
Deuteronomy 14:2: 2 “For you are a holy people to the LORD your God, and the LORD has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
Deuteronomy 18:5: 5 “For the LORD your God has chosen him and his sons from all your tribes, to stand and serve in the name of the LORD forever.
Deuteronomy 21:5: 5 “Then the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come near, for the LORD your God has chosen them to serve Him and to bless in the name of the LORD; and every dispute and every assault shall be settled by them
I Chronicles 9:22: 22 All these who were chosen to be gatekeepers at the thresholds were 212
I Chronicles 16:13: 13 O seed of Israel His servant, Sons of Jacob, His chosen ones!
Psalm 89:3: 3 “I have made a covenant with My chosen; I have sworn to David My servant, 4 I will establish your seed forever and build up your throne to all generations.” Selah.
Psalm 105:6: 6 O seed of Abraham, His servant, O sons of Jacob, His chosen ones!
Isaiah 41:8-10: 8 “But you, Israel, My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, descendant of Abraham My friend, 9 You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called from its remotest parts and said to you, ‘You are My servant, I have chosen you and not rejected you. 10 ‘Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God, I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’
Isaiah 43:10: 10 “You are My witnesses,” declares the LORD, “And my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe Me and understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, and there will be none after Me.
Isaiah 44:1: 1 “But now listen, O Jacob, My servant, and Israel, whom I have chosen:
Isaiah 45:4: 4 “For the sake of Jacob My servant, and Israel My chosen one, I have also called you by your name; I have given you a title of honor though you have not known Me.
Isaiah 65:9: 9 “I will bring forth offspring from Jacob, and an heir of My mountains from Judah; even My chosen ones shall inherit it, and My servants will dwell there.
Isaiah 65:22: 22 “They will not build and another inhabit, they will not plant and another eat; for as the lifetime of a tree, so will be the days of My people, and My chosen ones will wear out the work of their hands.
Amos 3:2: 2 “You only have I chosen among all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.”
Haggai 2:23: 23 ‘On that day,’ declares the LORD of hosts, ‘I will take you, Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, My servant,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will make you like a signet ring, for I have chosen you,'” declares the LORD of hosts.
Before moving to the New Testament passages, it is eternally significant to understand that all of the above Old Testament passages addressing God having chosen “Israel for His own possession” were and are the result of God’s divine eternal covenant choice out of His love for them, as opposed to any merit on their part. Ezekiel 16 gives a very graphic picture of the condition of Israel when God chose them to be His own. In verse eight Ezekiel records the word of the Lord – “Then I passed by you and saw you, and behold, you were at the time for love (of maturity for marriage); so I spread My skirt over you (this was an ancient custom of betrothal – Ruth 3:9) and covered your nakedness. I also swore to you and entered into a covenant (the covenant speaks of marriage, herein signifying God’s unbreakable covenant of love with Israel) with you so that you became Mine,” declares the Lord God. As one writer stated it, “The concept of Israel as a “Chosen People” is based on a series of revealed divine selections — of Abraham, the children of Israel, Aaron’s priesthood, David as king, the land itself, and Jerusalem as the sanctuary site. Importantly, election does not confer special privileges but instead imposes extra obligations and responsibility.”
Matthew 12:18: 18 “BEHOLD, MY SERVANT WHOM I HAVE CHOSEN; MY BELOVED IN WHOM MY SOUL IS WELL-PLEASED; I WILL PUT MY SPIRIT UPON HIM, AND HE SHALL PROCLAIM JUSTICE TO THE GENTILES.
Matthew 22:14: 14 “For many are called, but few are chosen.”
Luke 12:32: 32 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.
John 13:18: 18 “I do not speak of all of you. I know the ones I have chosen; but it is that the Scripture may be fulfilled, ‘HE WHO EATS MY BREAD HAS LIFTED UP HIS HEEL AGAINST ME.’
Acts 9:15: 15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel;
Acts 10:41: 41 not to all the people, but to witnesses who were chosen beforehand by God, that is, to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead.
Romans 11:7: 7 What then? What Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened;
Colossians 3:12: 12 So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience;
II Thessalonians 2:13: 13 But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.
II Timothy 2:10: 10 For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory.
Titus 1:1-2: 1 Paul, a bond-servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness, 2 in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago,
I Peter 1:1-2: 1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen 2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.
I Peter 2:9: 9 But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out darkness into His marvelous light;
I Peter 5:13: 13 She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you greetings, and so does my son, Mark.
II Peter 1:10: 10 Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble;
Revelation 17:14: 14 “These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful.”